I look at these "No conflict rules" two ways : as a player and as a room owner.
As a player I have played in multiple events put on by Paul Scofield of Gold Crown Billiards in Erie. He has one of the largest followings for a quarterly event I've been to, not to mention its ran in a timely fashion. 64 players+ and turning some down...
The no conflict rules really are what they say they are. In every event I have played in there I have yet to see an argument about the rack (balls not touching/pattern racking/tilting/etc), the break, or people with animosity towards each other. Having the above mentioned things taken away there isn't reason for two players to get into a heated debate which takes a turn for the worst. Everyone has what they want : a fair opportunity in a game that allows each player the same amount of chances. Alternate break, rack your own, shoot again after the break, these are all things players want in every tournament they play in. What more could a player ask for? Everyone wants to shoot after the break. When a player loses a match one of the worst reasons is " I wasn't making balls on the break and it was crushing me". This makes it possible for each player to have the same amount of opportunities as his opponent. If you can't break and run out....Thats your fault!
The "No Conflict Rules" gives off an overall positive vibe to the room and you can feel it throughout the players. It may seem a bit awkward at first but we have grew to love it and everyone who has played comes back...Theres a reason why this tournament continues to grow...
Now that I have given my personal opinion as a player Ill give it to you straight as a room owner:
As owner of Steel City Billiards in Pittsburgh, Pa I have ran a few double elimination tournaments and they have ran well. The problem came about with long matches and we were only racing to 7. Opponent racks the balls and the breaker isn't happy. The correct balls aren't touching and the breaker is unsatisfied. The racker continues to finger the balls and re rack and re rack. This becomes tedious and frustrating for both breaker and racker. In the midst of this the clock is ticking for everyone and this holds up the rest of the tournament. Now the breaker feels as if the racker is intentionally toying with his mind. Aside from the subtraction of time I really like how theres no negative feelings amongst the players towards each other. With the rules people have a positive experience and they will come back. Negativity is contagious and it takes one guy to complain about anything from the rack, break, or people trying to get him. Why not adopt something that is smooth and allows players a fair chance at each others throats!
I hope this helps some room owners and players get a glimpse at what Paul is doing. I don't know how he comes up with this stuff but he's on to something. Give it a try. Whats the worst it could do...make you have a growing tournament? :wink: