Can't watch pool anymore, Snooker is so much nicer

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Really, I can't watch pool anymore.

If you compare World Cup of Pool against recent Snooker matches it's like watching infants in their toy cars competing against some serious Le Mans racing.
And yes, I'm also talking about the commentators.

Pool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbrDOk3oTc

versus Snooker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXStPUKsZRM

Those Snooker guys have again upped the bar on both potting and tactical play.
Also on a technical level, you see the Pool guys wobbling around with their huge sticks whereas the Snooker guys are steady and straight that it's pure fun to watch.

Cheerio - that has been an emotional post...
 

franko

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Admit

Really, I can't watch pool anymore.

If you compare World Cup of Pool against recent Snooker matches it's like watching infants in their toy cars competing against some serious Le Mans racing.
And yes, I'm also talking about the commentators.

Pool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbrDOk3oTc

versus Snooker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXStPUKsZRM

Those Snooker guys have again upped the bar on both potting and tactical play.
Also on a technical level, you see the Pool guys wobbling around with their huge sticks whereas the Snooker guys are steady and straight that it's pure fun to watch.

Cheerio - that has been an emotional post...

I hate to admit it but you are right. I tried to watch two of my favorite women Kristina T. vs Kelly Fisher and turned it off not because of their play but because the commentators constant talking and laughing at their own inside jokes.
 

Cron

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dude, as far as the commentators, just mute it. You know a lot of them don't get paid to do it and they are human. I like it because you get to put a personality behind some of these older retired players that you never would get a chance to otherwise. Also, I'm not sure why commentators feel it is a good idea to be so serious all the time. I know the PGA learned a lesson in being so serious, and their viewers grew (almost uncannily large).

The world needs less talking calculators.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
No problem here. You've found something you really fancy in snooker and should continue to enjoy it to the max.

As far as commentary in pool, yes it's horrific. There are only about five or ten in our sport that don't get the mute button from me.

When I think about the two greatest inventions of recent times, I am torn between the mute feature on streams, which helps me avoid a severe headache when I watch streamed pool, and caller ID, which allows me to ignore the phone calls of those with whom I do not wish to speak. These two inventions have been major positive forces in my life.
 
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Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
I loved the world cup of pool
I love snooker with jon virgo

Carom is better :)


But i tried to watch a snooker frame from this yr ronnie and some young chap and they were going for snookers for the first 6 or so mins of the frame just trying to hide it back up on the rail behind the balkline
I guess i dont get that part of it much when you miss you get to do it again, its not as punishing as ball in hand so you lose a point? I think? Not the kind of snooker i generally enjoy
 

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think anyone who plays at least one of the games, and has a reasonable idea of how good they themselves are at the game(s), will know that snooker is the more difficult game. Also, the snooker commentators are earning decent money rather than pocket money. That said, some aspects of pool are difficult for snooker players and some of the stuff that the corn-hole rivalling pool commentators come up with is insightful and will lead to improvements for most regular player who bother to actively listen.

I love both games. The commentary doesn’t bother me. Snooker commentary is generally better. Snooker players are generally better cuesmiths. I love both games. I prefer pool (I gave up playing snooker because I didn’t have the time/wasn’t good enough/couldn’t be bothered/wasn’t motivated to get better/can’t play it almost equally well sober and drunk/it’s less sociable/it’s just really really hard work/some other crappy excuse) so I play pool more and am interested in what anyone commenting on the game has to say about it.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
No problem here. You've found something you really fancy in snooker and should continue to enjoy it to the max.

As far as commentary in pool, yes it's horrific. There are only about five or ten in our sport that don't get the mute button from me.

When I think about the two greatest inventions of recent times, I am torn between the mute feature on streams, which helps me avoid a severe headache when I watch streamed pool, and caller ID, which allows me to ignore the phone calls of those with whom I do not wish to speak. These two inventions have been major positive forces in my life.
Add to those the 0h-so-AWESOME "Ignore" function here on AZ. I now have about 8-9 on my list. I wish EVERY forum/chat had this feature. For me the best pool commentary comes from Big Truck, POV and anything Jeremy Jones is on. Matchroom is also quite good.
 
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gogg

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I loved the world cup of pool
I love snooker with jon virgo

Carom is better :)


But i tried to watch a snooker frame from this yr ronnie and some young chap and they were going for snookers for the first 6 or so mins of the frame just trying to hide it back up on the rail behind the balkline
I guess i dont get that part of it much when you miss you get to do it again, its not as punishing as ball in hand so you lose a point? I think? Not the kind of snooker i generally enjoy

They are penalized a number of points with each miss.... hit a more valuable ball by mistake and get punished with those points as well.
It IS different, but it is cool in its own way.

Some of these boys, they have the goods as far as accuracy and positioning!
It is the ultimate game of f#@! Yer buddy, don’t ya think?

And carom rocks BIG TIME! Just nowhere to play around here...☹️
 

9 Ball Fan

Darth Maximus
Silver Member
Snooker is a darn fine game, but few people have room for a snooker table. I too enjoy watching snooker matches.

The average person would much rather play pool. There are multiple games, and the rules are simple. You can teach someone, in only a few minutes, how to lose at pool....
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Really, I can't watch pool anymore.

If you compare World Cup of Pool against recent Snooker matches it's like watching infants in their toy cars competing against some serious Le Mans racing.
And yes, I'm also talking about the commentators.

Pool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbrDOk3oTc

versus Snooker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXStPUKsZRM

Those Snooker guys have again upped the bar on both potting and tactical play.
Also on a technical level, you see the Pool guys wobbling around with their huge sticks whereas the Snooker guys are steady and straight that it's pure fun to watch.

Cheerio - that has been an emotional post...

This is why there is more than one type of beer and scotch being made. Snooker to me is like watching a straight pool match from 1920 with nicer cameras.
They are two separate games it's like trying to compare different types of car racing or baseball to cricket, football to rugby, wool to cotton. Each is it's own thing.
And there is nothing I enjoy more than reminding the "snoobs" (snooker snobs) in YouTube pool video comments about that. "sure it's easy with those giant pockets" "snooker players would beat them all", blah blah blah..
Snoobs are closely followed by those that have to mention Efren in every match comment to say how much better he is than anyone else playing in the video.
 
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DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is why there is more than one type of beer and scotch being made. Snooker to me is like watching a straight pool match from 1920 with nicer cameras.
They are two separate games it's like trying to compare different types of car racing or baseball to cricket, football to rugby, wool to cotton. Each is it's own thing.
And there is nothing I enjoy more than reminding the "snoobs" (snooker snobs) in YouTube pool video comments about that. "sure it's easy with those giant pockets" "snooker players would beat them all", blah blah blah..
Snoobs are closely followed by those that have to mention Efren in every match comment to say how much better he is than anyone else playing in the video.

You can be a great Pianist and a good Organ player, or a great Organ player and a good Pianist, but nobody is great at both.
 

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You can be a great Pianist and a good Organ player, or a great Organ player and a good Pianist, but nobody is great at both.

Nonsense.

Steve Davis played in a handful of 9 Ball World Championships. He made the quarter finals and the last 16 despite not practising the game. In one of those World Championships in Manila, he only played because he got knocked out of a snooker tournament - turned up completely jet lagged and looking like death but still did well. Tony Drago won the World Pool Masters. Mark Selby won world Championships in Snooker and English 8 Ball and was runner- up in Chinese 8 Ball. Neil Robertson went deep in Chinese 8 Ball and cut his gambling teeth playing pool in Australia. Ronnie O’Sullivan played the IPT because there was money in it - watch this space, he will win a major pool tournament one day not because of the money but because he can.
 

DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ronnie O’Sullivan has played very little American 8 Ball. When he has played it he has looked like a natural.

He has looked great, although every now and then, he makes a regular cue ball look like a Big Rock, obviously that is to be expected.
 

RiverCity

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If you want great commentary, someone needs to offer Neil Pickup enough cash.... :thumbup:

Neil-Pickup-announcing-UAL-close-up.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jbdLsemfdw

When he was still competing, he would sometimes commentate his own matches... :grin-square:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eP1ol_nR0
 

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was specifically targeting the "watching" part, not the game per se.

So please guys, don't talk about the game itself - we all know what Snooker and Pool and the players are all about.

And for sure, everybody has different likes. But as you see from previous comments, quite a few have a similar feeling about current state of affairs.
And it is undisputed that despite or because of its attire Snooker actually is successful.

Also dont forget - I have a European standpoint of formalism, restraint and quality :thumbup:

This is why there is more than one type of beer and scotch being made. Snooker to me is like watching a straight pool match from 1920 with nicer cameras.
They are two separate games it's like trying to compare different types of car racing or baseball to cricket, football to rugby, wool to cotton. Each is it's own thing.

I actually think the camera work does a lot to improve the watching part of a Snooker game. It's focussed but not sensationally motivated. It makes you feel like you are a part of the match without getting personal.
It is pure craftmanship.

Pool commentating has too much been about the commentator showing off how he would solve the table.
It's not about explaining the current table, which is a big difference. And sorry, I'm simply not interested in the commentator, but in the currently involved players.

And boy, are they making a fuss about some (even rather easy) finesse shots, how difficult it is and blabla. Actually, they're runing the more interesting shots by that.
Most of the commentators are also in dire need to speak training!

Also I was making a comment on skills: please watch the players on the video I linked. Their cues are wobbling about, the are by far striking too much down on the ball, use too much force, have funky alignment... it's no fun.

The Canada team was better on that, but still the level is noticeable worse.
Honorable mention: CHILE was actually nice to watch.

On a more personal level I'd recommend to not read, let alone write, youtube comments. It's precious life time wasted.

Cheerio,
M
 
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