java712
Registered
Kaci, One of the most boring players in the world, who also happens to be a sore loser, want to rid of shot clock , good baby hesus lol
World Pool Championships 2025, July 21-26, Jeddah
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
I'd be OK with allowing a brief stoppage of the shot clock when a player must get their jump stick or the bridge, but I do not favor lengthening the shot clock to facilitate it.
This is one of many examples for which attending to the game's best interests must take precedence over what the players want. If there were ever a player vote on the shot clock, it would disappear completely, as would some of those who watch pro pool.
Slow play is boring, and Matchroom must continue to do what it must to avoid it.
jax_joe
Well-known member
40 seconds or so is the perfect amount. Watching them rush around like rats in 30 seconds is retarded and an insult to their craft. You can watch tournament after tournament where there are multiple instances of a player having to unnecessarily rush a hard shot because of the clock. Much more suitable limits than 30.
Yep,
30 sec is like a week, especially with the players that take the full 30 or beyond every shot, 45 would be a disaster and many would shut it off when the notoriously slow players are playing.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
Does Filler just decide faster on the right shot than the ones who scurry around like rats? Maybe that's a skill that can be learned.
I was watching one top player towards the end -- call him Nick O'Time -- and I kept wondering why he wasn't moving to shoot the obvious shot. Was he calculating the arctangent of 3.2 diamonds over 5.82?
There is a 3-cushion player who is celebrated for his excruciating deliberation over each and every shot. He uses the five beeps to time his final strokes most of the time. He has said, "I'll take as much time as they give me." He has a high run of at least 25 in competition. It's not always fun to watch him.
watch justin bergman in the ultimate pool thing. one of the slowest players with a 30 second / 15 second shot clock. ralf souquet or albin ouschan in the mosconi cup are other examples. they adapt and play great.
Those guys have a pretty good idea of what's in front of them. I'd guess with no time consideration, why risk careless oversight or even error. Back on the clock, they just stick to the layout and play.
Jeremy Bury?
I noticed even Fedor was running the shot clock down in the finals on many shots. Pressure for sure.
Like his older brother when Eklent was 19, Kledio plays more deliberate, wanting to be sure of the shot before he executes. All commentators at the WPC were commenting that Kledio has a time management problem.
Kid Delicious was well known as a slow player, and everybody complained about it, except me. I actually enjoyed watching him study the table, but I am a huge fan and was his friend. One year at the Glass City Open, they had the shot clock in force because the semifinals was shown on TV. Danny played great, ran a six-pack on Corey Deuel. He came in second place to Charlie Bryant who, by the way, is another slow player. Here's a couple photos of the players meeting with the semifinalists with Troy Frank, Corey Deuel, Kid Delicious, and Charlie Bryant. I am always an early riser at these tournaments, and Rob Sykora of Billiard Club Network, wearing the black shirt, allowed me to come in and watch. They were asked if they would play with a black cue ball for the TV matches and would be paid a nominal amount if they agreed to do so. Corey said no way. Pat Fleming had trouble containing his laughter at the reaction of the players. Troy Frank was in disbelief as he touched the black cue ball.
Charlie vs. Johnny Archer in a North Carolina tournament that was live streamed ended up going to 3 or 4 in the morning. I saw bits of it. Talk about watching paint dry, it was so slow with no shot clock.
I'm not sure whether it should be 30 or 40 seconds on the shot clock, but like chess, that has to be something to keep the flow moving, especially when being live streamed or on a TV table.
That said, it is interesting that there is never a shot clock used in professional snooker tournaments.
Like his older brother when Eklent was 19, Kledio plays more deliberate, wanting to be sure of the shot before he executes. All commentators at the WPC were commenting that Kledio has a time management problem.
Kid Delicious was well known as a slow player, and everybody complained about it, except me. I actually enjoyed watching him study the table, but I am a huge fan and was his friend. One year at the Glass City Open, they had the shot clock in force because the semifinals was shown on TV. Danny played great, ran a six-pack on Corey Deuel. He came in second place to Charlie Bryant who, by the way, is another slow player. Here's a couple photos of the players meeting with the semifinalists with Troy Frank, Corey Deuel, Kid Delicious, and Charlie Bryant. I am always an early riser at these tournaments, and Rob Sykora of Billiard Club Network, wearing the black shirt, allowed me to come in and watch. They were asked if they would play with a black cue ball for the TV matches and would be paid a nominal amount if they agreed to do so. Corey said no way. Pat Fleming had trouble containing his laughter at the reaction of the players. Troy Frank was in disbelief as he touched the black cue ball.
Charlie vs. Johnny Archer in a North Carolina tournament that was live streamed ended up going to 3 or 4 in the morning. I saw bits of it. Talk about watching paint dry, it was so slow with no shot clock.
I'm not sure whether it should be 30 or 40 seconds on the shot clock, but like chess, that has to be something to keep the flow moving, especially when being live streamed or on a TV table.
That said, it is interesting that there is never a shot clock used in professional snooker tournaments.
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The idea that players should get more time to retrieve jump sticks is ridiculous imo. Jumping has changed the game, but I don't want to see jumping made any easier. It's a high risk, high-reward shot. The shot clock makes it even more so, and that's good.
Time pressure is now part of virtually every major sport, including baseball. And it's all for the sake of fans. As much as I love watching pro pool, I don't like watching matches without a clock. If I do, I use the FF button a lot. Very few people want to watch lots of four-hour matches.
Time pressure is now part of virtually every major sport, including baseball. And it's all for the sake of fans. As much as I love watching pro pool, I don't like watching matches without a clock. If I do, I use the FF button a lot. Very few people want to watch lots of four-hour matches.
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Badpenguin
Well-known member
The 30 seconds is for broadcast TV, they need to be able to schedule breaks for ads, and they need to be able to schedule matches for broadcast TV. They won't make their bazillions in licensing without it.
I don't mind the 30 second clock, but it doesn't come without tradeoffs. Maybe just allow more timeouts as there is a loss of drama when the game just continually marches along. Maybe other sports are just spoiled with good commentary compared to ours, but good commentators use the time between shots to set the stage and build up the drama. Watching a player really not know what to do, and even have trouble pulling the trigger is exciting for me. You see this in the older Accu-stats matches. We're missing that now.
Now, I'm not in favor of the snail paced play many employ without a clock, but I think Matchroom should keep an open mind on this topic because there might be a better way to do it. What if they just tracked average shot times, and as long you stayed below a certain threshold you were good? Logistically impossible? Maybe, but there's nothing like watching a great player have to talk themselves into shooting a difficult shot as long as they aren't doing it on every shot.
Now, I'm not in favor of the snail paced play many employ without a clock, but I think Matchroom should keep an open mind on this topic because there might be a better way to do it. What if they just tracked average shot times, and as long you stayed below a certain threshold you were good? Logistically impossible? Maybe, but there's nothing like watching a great player have to talk themselves into shooting a difficult shot as long as they aren't doing it on every shot.
35 seconds would be the middle ground.
For the vast majority of shots, the snails would simply run out the clock like they do now and shoot when the beeping starts. For a 3-hour race to 15 match, that would add substantial time. They'll do the same whether it's 35, 45, or 60 seconds. It's not worth changing the current setup just to avoid some occasional quick movements by the player to grab a jump cue.
I noticed that Fedor now carries around his extension to avoid a trip back to his chair. He seems to use it quite frequently.
Mark me down for a 20 sec shot clock as the standard. 3 extensions per set.
Badpenguin
Well-known member
He seems to obsessively swap extensions in and out, different sizes of them, for different shots that do not have a reach requirement for them, etc...
billiards_watch
Well-known member
I timed an opponent who took 2 minutes in-between every shot.
I started carrying a book in my car anticipating a rematch so I can subtly read it when he's shooting.
I started carrying a book in my car anticipating a rematch so I can subtly read it when he's shooting.