Q School - Will Alex, Deuel, Melling Qualify?

As far as the breaks are concerned -- I'm guessing the fact that they are playing races to 4 is going to lower the average breaks a bit. First because of the added pressure of playing in such a short race format and secondly because you don't have the freedom to make as many mistakes as you do in a longer race.

I imagine even the top players when playing in shorter races tend to have lower average breaks. I could be wrong though.
 
Scaramouche said:
:speechless:

"That guy" is Frank Callan.
He apparently communicated pretty good with a seven-time world champion.
:grin: :grin: :grin:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...s-champion-and-his-magnificent-seven-1.293460
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I doubt It was through written communication. Maybe im misunderstanding one of my problems. Would not a guy who averages 147 be a 100+ breaker? I know that's impossible but would he not?

Also it says FCsnooker in association with Frank Callan. Maybe that says to you he wrote it-not to me.
 
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BeiberLvr said:
At this year's Masters, the quarter finals were best of 11 frames, or races to 6. Not quite races to 4, but not that far off.

In the 4 matches, the average high breaks were

68
84
86
68

The two highest breaks were 134 and 117 (the only 2 centuries).
The two lowest breaks were both 55
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Thanks -- that's interesting. I need to think about this break stuff a bit more.

I still think there's more going on mentally in the Qualifying matches than in a typical match on the tour. Of course I'm just theorizing here because I don't follow snooker that closely. I just think it's hard to directly compare what happens in these matches with what happens on the tour. I think if you took two players and had them play a qualifying match and then had them play a match on the tour, the matches would play out differently.

I'm just putting myself in someone like Alex or Chris Melling's shoes. You are playing a qualifying match and it's a race to 4 frames. You know that you ARE NOT playing Ronnie O'Sullivan or another top tier player. You know you don't have to have a 70+ plus break to win. Instead you are thinking a nice 30 will be good this inning. Throw in another 20 or 30 and you'll probably win yourself a frame.

I just compare it to the pool players that just know how to grind their way through a tournament. They may not always play pretty but they understand what they have to do to get through the first few rounds and they get it done. Later on -- as they work their way through the tournament they tend to play better.

Maybe I'm just trying to give these guys the benefit of the doubt.
 
If Alex does succeed at snooker, I don't think it will be huge runs (breaks) that get him the wins. I think he needs to rely on his safety game to compete.
 
AtLarge said:
Alex didn't have a break average of 26 (which I imagine would be pretty good). The 8 numbers you averaged to get 26 were the 8 highest breaks he had in the four frames he played, not the average of all of his innings or scoring innings.

But that does raise an interesting question. How many points (how large of a "break") do the top snooker players average per inning in major events? I imagine it is a lot like straight pool, where points per inning may not tell much of a story if the game involved a lot of safeties.
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This website breaks down all of the frame scores for every match at Qschool. Although there are some guys who posted 50+ breaks every frame, most frames are won in 2-3 innings. Typically 20, 30's and 40's.

http://livescores.love-snooker.com/Matches.aspx?t=13609

But as you get higher in the rankings, they make more frame winning breaks (60-70+). Lower in the rankings, players were typically making 30's and 40's with one or two 80-100 breaks. Every single player on the tour is at a century break standard, but there is a clear division between the top ranked players and mid-ranked players and bottom ranked players.

Using this website I calculated the average number of innings a professional player needs to win a frame about a year ago while I was bored. Top players averaged 1.8 chances if I remember correctly, where lower ranked players required 2.6 innings. This of course is from memory, but top players like Neil Robertson where making consistent 60-100 breaks and then other frames would make a 20 followed by a 50 to finish off the frame. Lower ranked players had more of the frames that required a 20 and a 50 or two 40's etc. They also had plenty of frames where they only made three 20's. It's worth noting that I was only looking at innings where the player had a decent chance score points, not including innings where there was clearly only 1-8 points available .

If the lower ranked players sound beatable, they aren't. At least not for most players. We also have to keep in mind that these guys often have great safety play, so not a lot of easy chances. It's one thing to make three twenties against a buddy who is leaving you reds over the pocket and quite another to do it against someone who leaves you tight on the cushion with no path back to baulk. Now imagine how hard it is to be making 50-100 against these guys.

So the answer regarding average breaks is that it varies. There is a huge variation between a top 16 player and someone just inside the top 64.
 
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melling

melling by far the better of the 3 players…

his played on the main tour twice before and got t proviosnal 40 odd in rankings..

his beat many top players his won a few good tournaments pro/ams.

his qualified for the main tour twice before when it was tougher to get on..

his made 23 147 breaks around 1000 100s plus.

he stopped playing around 7 year ago.. when he was younger he should've kept playing he would've been top 20 player in world for sure if he was dedicated and disciplined..

his one of the the favs in that field for sure.. around 8 guys chance to qualify and chris one of them….

alex very small chance .,sadly corey got no shot.. but fair play for them having ago..

regards chris i just hope for his sake its not too late…. 35 old in snooker.
 
Magog30 said:
If Alex does succeed at snooker, I don't think it will be huge runs (breaks) that get him the wins. I think he needs to rely on his safety game to compete.
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Wouldn't it kind of follow that the more snooker he plays the better he will get at the patterns? And the more he plays top players the more he will see first hand what they do and why.

I would not count him out for developing into a player who can consistently put in high runs. As for the safety game it will be interesting to see if he applies any of his one pocket knowledge to snooker.
 
JB Cases said:
Wouldn't it kind of follow that the more snooker he plays the better he will get at the patterns? And the more he plays top players the more he will see first hand what they do and why.

I would not count him out for developing into a player who can consistently put in high runs. As for the safety game it will be interesting to see if he applies any of his one pocket knowledge to snooker.
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You need to hit the ground running in these events. Not the time and place for learning. Unless he can stay in the UK fro 18-24 months and find a couple of pro's to practice with daily, I dont see the above happening.

I would fancy him to pick the safety side of the game up fairly quickly, but the high-level, back to back break building that is needed to string frames together at the top level is a whole different story.

As Daz has pointed out, even given Chris' break building ability, he has found it difficult to compete with these guys over the years.
 
Nostroke said:
I doubt It was through written communication. Maybe im misunderstanding one of my problems. Would not a guy who averages 147 be a 100+ breaker? I know that's impossible but would he not?

Also it says FCsnooker in association with Frank Callan. Maybe that says to you he wrote it-not to me.
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I have Callan's book - Frank Callan's Snooker Clinic (1989).
It had a writer/editor who was a writer for the Daily Express and editor of Cue World.

The website has more material, and is better. :grin: IMHO :grin:
So I wouldn't recommend buying the book.

Callan's students include: Doug Mountjoy, Terry Griffiths, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry.

Callan, a fishmonger, flunked the Billiards and Snooker Foundation coaches' course.
He didn't make his first century break until he was 32.
 
Magog30 said:
If Alex does succeed at snooker, I don't think it will be huge runs (breaks) that get him the wins. I think he needs to rely on his safety game to compete.
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opposite

it's safety play that separates the best from the rest

most of the lower level guys tend to practice break building, it's more fun, and more practical when playing alone

Selby's safeties beat Ronnie this year, Higgin;s safety play beat Selby in his last finals apperance, Higgin's saftety play also beat Judd Trump too in Higgins' last final
 
smashmouth said:
opposite

it's safety play that separates the best from the rest

most of the lower level guys tend to practice break building, it's more fun, and more practical when playing alone

Selby's safeties beat Ronnie this year, Higgin;s safety play beat Selby in his last finals apperance, Higgin's saftety play also beat Judd Trump too in Higgins' last final
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Lets not forget that Ronnie missed A LOT of balls in the final - its not like he didn't get chances and was frozen out.
 
Don't know Bill. I wasn't there. But you can follow most matches by watching the live scoring. It looked like it was a very nervy decider.
 
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