http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/7991487.stm
The gist of it is they are trialing a 6 reds format. They believe this would shorten games making it easier to follow for the twitter generation.
The problem that I see is reducing the amount of balls on the table will lead to increased safety play and less offensive play. And I can't imagine people that lack the attention span to watch a full frame, will be pulled in by riveting tactical play.
If they want to try something new that shortens game times, I suggest 1 foul ball in hand, with no points awarded for fouls, best of 7 frames. The culprit of long frames comes down to extended safety play, where even a mistake often does not leave a shot to attack. Ball in hand will shorten these exchanges, and removing points awarded for fouls end games immediately once a player leads by more points than is available on the table. Furthermore the ball in hand will lead to more 50+ breaks.
The gist of it is they are trialing a 6 reds format. They believe this would shorten games making it easier to follow for the twitter generation.
The problem that I see is reducing the amount of balls on the table will lead to increased safety play and less offensive play. And I can't imagine people that lack the attention span to watch a full frame, will be pulled in by riveting tactical play.
If they want to try something new that shortens game times, I suggest 1 foul ball in hand, with no points awarded for fouls, best of 7 frames. The culprit of long frames comes down to extended safety play, where even a mistake often does not leave a shot to attack. Ball in hand will shorten these exchanges, and removing points awarded for fouls end games immediately once a player leads by more points than is available on the table. Furthermore the ball in hand will lead to more 50+ breaks.
