I am with you too, snooker is waaaaay harder to understand for newbies but there is also a lot more fans.
European Open 2025, Sarajevo, March 11-16
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
Are there any sports or games that try to level the playing field or at least make it appear as such? Optical illusions?
Maybe this year the Giants can start every drive on their own 40 and the Eagles and Chiefs begin on the 1 yard line.
The best athletes in the world are the best for many reasons.
Step up to the plate and go to work physically and mentally and you too may become a world champion/elite player.
Until then go get your head kicked in
on a routine basis.
Maybe this year the Giants can start every drive on their own 40 and the Eagles and Chiefs begin on the 1 yard line.
The best athletes in the world are the best for many reasons.
Step up to the plate and go to work physically and mentally and you too may become a world champion/elite player.
Until then go get your head kicked in
on a routine basis.
Get a robot to break for both players 
Filler is untouchable. He would destroy Gorst. 10 FargoRate points ahead is no accident, and is an absolute mile in pool.
In Vegas, when Filler lost to Grabe after Filler dominated him in the first two sets, Filler seemed to be a very gracious loser, too. That gives some more insight into his character.
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Or maybe we can give this years weaker team an earlier pick in the draft…
I first knew Buddy when he was lean and mean and the world needed weight….but I felt he wasn’t in the top hundred breakers….
……so I can see him leaning that way. Danny D was another who had everything but a break. When he told me about loser break, I told him the cream of the crop shouldn’t be thinking like an 8-ball leaguer.
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Salary cap, revenue sharing, etc
audiences give up watching when the score is lopsided, so having (the illusion of) a close game count could keep more eyes on the set
Filler now ahead 12 points over Gorst. It’s a mile.
but the number of people watching does matter, and when a score is 8-1 in a race to 13, it’s time to change the channel
Blowouts happen in all sports. It’s normal. No need to change anything.
Oh my god! Is that even possible? I think he may have played even better at the Derby City, 9ball where, in the late rounds, he beat both Krause and SVB 9-0, as well as beating Gorst easily.
pool is too easy for mr filler
the game has changed which gives the person who develops the trick break of making certain balls almost all the time or at least most of the time a big edge.
in the past it was a more random break. with the wood rack. pockets have gone down to 4 inches and more balls go in on the break and accidentally its the ball that the player plays for.
you dont need to level the field as the best players win in all sports over time. but making a smaller part of the game more decisive doesn't help it.
maybe make the break head on so its more random. or at the very least spot all balls made immediatly after the break. at least they will be making 9 balls to win. filler will still win. but games will be more competitive.
in the past it was a more random break. with the wood rack. pockets have gone down to 4 inches and more balls go in on the break and accidentally its the ball that the player plays for.
you dont need to level the field as the best players win in all sports over time. but making a smaller part of the game more decisive doesn't help it.
maybe make the break head on so its more random. or at the very least spot all balls made immediatly after the break. at least they will be making 9 balls to win. filler will still win. but games will be more competitive.
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set wins are not changed when both players break alike. but when one dominates the break his chances of winning each game and set go way up.
to use an extreme example so to understand the odds.
if say one player always makes a ball on the break and runs out every time.
with winner breaks as soon as he gets the break he wins the set.
if you alternate the breaks he only gets to run out 50% of the games without the other player shooting. yes he still should win but the scores will be closer and the other opponent does have a chance to win.
now bring those numbers of break and runs down and the games get closer with alternate breaks when no one is making the one in the side or such most times.
to use an extreme example so to understand the odds.
if say one player always makes a ball on the break and runs out every time.
with winner breaks as soon as he gets the break he wins the set.
if you alternate the breaks he only gets to run out 50% of the games without the other player shooting. yes he still should win but the scores will be closer and the other opponent does have a chance to win.
now bring those numbers of break and runs down and the games get closer with alternate breaks when no one is making the one in the side or such most times.
Just the opposite has been happening in Matchroom events. They have made the break less important than it has ever been. Nobody strings racks anymore at the Matchroom majors. Defense, kicking, jumping and two-way shots have become more and more important at the Matchroom majors, and the biggest breakers don't win as many titles as they did with the old break rules. Yes, Gorst and Filler are very good breakers, but they are also, along with Pagulayan, among the top three tacticians in our sport. They win because they are the two most complete players in the game.
I don't believe this is true. The very small break box with 9ball on the spot has forced the cut break from most Matchroom players, with the cue ball tracking back across the rack area, and getting a shot is harder and more random than it was back in the day, when the best players could break from anywhere in the kitchen and easily kill the cue ball in the middle of the table.
Yes, at the Derby City 9ball, they did not use the Matchroom break box and the players had a much easier time with the break, but that's not the break box that was used at the European Open nor is it the one that will be used in any Matchroom produced events.
What happens if you just cut the one at a hundred miles an hour ?- or hard enough to transfer enough energy. Run the ball multiple rails. Start with a 5" wide box etc...