Earl Strickland at the Snooker World Championships?

ibuycues said:
Thanks for taking the time to post these two clips of Miz at snooker. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Glad you watched them. Did you catch these remarks from the commentators?



"He's certainly shown me enough in the snooker here, that if he'd ever'd come over and got the experience, he'd have been a very formidable opponent."

"He's certainly shown us that he's a very capable opponent."

"Yeah, this is very good stuff from Steve Mizerak. It's not easy to change games, and we were only talking when they were playing the pool how Stephen Hendry would adapt to the pool game, and to be fair, he didn't adapt as well as Steve Mizerak has to the snooker."

"I thought that if you were giving it points for all rounds, ability under both games, I think I'd just say it's Steve Mizerak at the moment."



These comments should at least give one pause for thought before coming to any firm conclusions as to the possibility of a top pool player doing well in snooker once sufficient experience is gained. As for Earl, he's one smart cookie when it comes to pool. He already knows spin, rails, CB control, speed, position play, strategy, and safety play as well as anyone on the planet. He's run over 400 balls in 14.1, so he knows how to pick apart a rack, even without having a 7-point ball constantly replaced in the same spot. Give him a few months and he'll have those funny pockets figured as well.

It's all probably a moot point, though. All we know right now is that they are adding 16 wild card players. First off, they have to get through three rounds of best of 19 just to qualify. IF Earl were to be one of the chosen, he would still have to beat 3 professional snooker players. If he can get past that stumbling block, he will prove he can play the game.

Besides, Davis merely mentioned Fisher and Strickland as examples of the type of player that might be selected. He even included himself as a possibility when asked. I would think that of the top pool players, Corey and Alex should get a chance first since they have already made very public attempts to get on the tour. Then there are probably dozens of talented snooker player around the globe that deserve a shot more than Earl does. If he does get in, though, I definitely am going to watch if I can.
 
Pidge said:
In the Crucible as your first outing too...enough to make anyone feel sick to their stomach with nerves.
Click to expand...

Earl would not start out at the Crucible, he will have to slug it out in the Qualifiers at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. :D

And win 4 matches. :D

Bookmark
http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=368

Should he actually play, all you Earl supporters should bet the farm with the British bookies and make a fortune. One expects the odds to be astronomical :D:D:D
 
Pidge said:
They are ear pieces. The connect to the BBC commentators in the booth. So you get the commentary that you would on TV here in the UK. I think they were like £6/7 last year so the venue must make a killing off of them.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply.
 
Scaramouche said:
Earl would not start out at the Crucible, he will have to slug it out in the Qualifiers at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. :D

And win 4 matches. :D

Bookmark
http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=368

Should he actually play, all you Earl supporters should bet the farm with the British bookies and make a fortune. One expects the odds to be astronomical :D:D:D
Click to expand...
His first proper venue I meant. You cant count some dodgy back room with you another guy and a ref as your first outing if you make it through. Id definitely be calling the crucible my first outing. :-)
 
Grantstew said:
Maybe 20 years ago, but at his age, the 12 foot tables require such good vision. That is why most snooker players go downhill fast after about the age of 35.
Click to expand...

In Hendry completely washed up as a pool player? Earl just beat him in Chinese 8 ball.

Earl could well be a complete flop at snooker but I'd watch if it was available on a live stream.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
I dunno, could be. All I know is what I got from Earl's FB page.
Click to expand...

maybe i'm wrong. ;)
maybe she posted that the BBC had called Earl regarding doing the movie about his life?
or maybe i've got it totally confused since the BBC is vying for Snooker in the Olympics @ 2020 @ Japan.

3 announcements in 3 days.... coincindence?
 
There was a Canadian Snooker player at a pro pool tournament one time and he matched up with Johnny Archer on a snooker table and spotted Johnny something like only 4 points and got beat by Johnny.
 
I played in in Farmington Mo and he was still using a snooker cue.

cueman said:
There was a Canadian Snooker player at a pro pool tournament one time and he matched up with Johnny Archer on a snooker table and spotted Johnny something like only 4 points and got beat by Johnny.
Click to expand...

Was that Jerry Watson?

His best game was snooker, however, he also became an accomplished pocket billiard player. I played in in Farmington Mo and he was still using a snooker cue.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Glad you watched them. Did you catch these remarks from the commentators?

"He's certainly shown me enough in the snooker here, that if he'd ever'd come over and got the experience, he'd have been a very formidable opponent."

"He's certainly shown us that he's a very capable opponent."

"Yeah, this is very good stuff from Steve Mizerak. It's not easy to change games, and we were only talking when they were playing the pool how Stephen Hendry would adapt to the pool game, and to be fair, he didn't adapt as well as Steve Mizerak has to the snooker."

"I thought that if you were giving it points for all rounds, ability under both games, I think I'd just say it's Steve Mizerak at the moment."
Click to expand...

Mizerak's play was horrendous, both in shot selection and execution. Low percentage shots, over and over.

The commentators were being polite. If there had been an all around competition between Hendry and Mizerak, the win/loss percentiles would surely be something like this:

Snooker:
Hendry 99%, Mizerak 1%

Pool
Hendry 20%, Mizerak 80%

(I allowed a 1% chance for Mizerak at snooker in case Hendry got hit in the head with a baseball bat while down on a shot)

Of course, we'll never know how Miz could have performed at Snooker had he started out at it while young.

PS: Thanks from me also for posting those clips of Miz!
 
shinobi said:
Mizerak's play was horrendous, both in shot selection and execution. Low percentage shots, over and over.

The commentators were being polite. If there had been an all around competition between Hendry and Mizerak, the win/loss percentiles would surely be something like this:

Snooker:
Hendry 99%, Mizerak 1%

Pool
Hendry 20%, Mizerak 80%

(I allowed a 1% chance for Mizerak at snooker in case Hendry got hit in the head with a baseball bat while down on a shot)

Of course, we'll never know how Miz could have performed at Snooker had he started out at it while young.

PS: Thanks from me also for posting those clips of Miz!
Click to expand...

The hardest things for non snooker players to grasp is quite how difficult it is to gain control of the table from the get-go. It would take even skilled players like Mizerak YEARS to develop this, even if he had started as a child and played nothing else. Anyone can pot a few balls but do so whilst controlling the table is insanely difficult. This is why a pool player cannot ever become a top snooker player.

For snooker, think violin. For pool, think banjo.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Glad you watched them. Did you catch these remarks from the commentators?



"He's certainly shown me enough in the snooker here, that if he'd ever'd come over and got the experience, he'd have been a very formidable opponent."

"He's certainly shown us that he's a very capable opponent."

"Yeah, this is very good stuff from Steve Mizerak. It's not easy to change games, and we were only talking when they were playing the pool how Stephen Hendry would adapt to the pool game, and to be fair, he didn't adapt as well as Steve Mizerak has to the snooker."

"I thought that if you were giving it points for all rounds, ability under both games, I think I'd just say it's Steve Mizerak at the moment."



These comments should at least give one pause for thought before coming to any firm conclusions as to the possibility of a top pool player doing well in snooker once sufficient experience is gained. As for Earl, he's one smart cookie when it comes to pool. He already knows spin, rails, CB control, speed, position play, strategy, and safety play as well as anyone on the planet. He's run over 400 balls in 14.1, so he knows how to pick apart a rack, even without having a 7-point ball constantly replaced in the same spot. Give him a few months and he'll have those funny pockets figured as well.

It's all probably a moot point, though. All we know right now is that they are adding 16 wild card players. First off, they have to get through three rounds of best of 19 just to qualify. IF Earl were to be one of the chosen, he would still have to beat 3 professional snooker players. If he can get past that stumbling block, he will prove he can play the game.

Besides, Davis merely mentioned Fisher and Strickland as examples of the type of player that might be selected. He even included himself as a possibility when asked. I would think that of the top pool players, Corey and Alex should get a chance first since they have already made very public attempts to get on the tour. Then there are probably dozens of talented snooker player around the globe that deserve a shot more than Earl does. If he does get in, though, I definitely am going to watch if I can.
Click to expand...

Do you realize that today's top snooker players are wayyyyyy better than Steve Davis was, and even he would admit that. He wouldn't have won nearly as much against today's competition.

I do agree that if he beat 3 professional snooker players it would show he can play the game, but it would never happen against true professionals. He'd have his hands full against top amateurs.
 
Ron Swanson said:
The hardest things for non snooker players to grasp is quite how difficult it is to gain control of the table from the get-go. It would take even skilled players like Mizerak YEARS to develop this, even if he had started as a child and played nothing else. Anyone can pot a few balls but do so whilst controlling the table is insanely difficult. This is why a pool player cannot ever become a top snooker player.

For snooker, think violin. For pool, think banjo.
Click to expand...

So, all we hear about is how our players have such bad fundamentals that they can't even cue the ball well enough to make the long, accurate shots required for snooker. I link to a couple videos of an aging pool player making low percentage shot after low percentage shot, firing them into those funky pockets with authority, now all of a sudden it's, "But they could never learn how to control the table." Lol

You're a blackballer, Tim. What do you know about controlling a snooker table that Miz or Earl couldn't learn in an hour or two with a top snooker coach?

I have a better musical analogy that may explain why Americans have shown little interest in the game.


For snooker, think classical. Technically perfect, beautiful in form, reserved and correct... and boring as f*ck.

For pool, think blues. Free, improvisational, cerebral, wild, and exciting as all get out... perfect technique be damned.


American tolerate classical, but we love our blues. So much so, we even exported it to you Brits.:cool:
 
Like they say in the movies, "Pool is for bangers". Snooker requires more skill and precision than pool ever could. The closest pool comes to being challenging is when it is played on 9ft Diamond ProAms.

I've never played snooker but I do like to watch
 
BeiberLvr said:
Do you realize that today's top snooker players are wayyyyyy better than Steve Davis was, and even he would admit that. He wouldn't have won nearly as much against today's competition.

I do agree that if he beat 3 professional snooker players it would show he can play the game, but it would never happen against true professionals. He'd have his hands full against top amateurs.
Click to expand...

Uh, no I wasn't aware of that. :smile-us-down:

Both Davis and Miz were products of their times. The game has evolved in both disciplines, not just snooker.

Looking back through this thread, I can't see where I thought I liked Earl's chances, just that he might surprise some with a higher level of play than initially predicted. Personally, I think he has close to zero chance of making it through the qualifying rounds, but that fact does nothing to diminish my desire to watch him try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top