World Snooker WST App Review (So Far)

Just over a week ago, WST launched a mobile app which will very well be widely recognised as the official snooker application. For a newly launched application which heavily relies on up-to-date information, news articles and scoring, the WST app is actually something worth installing and even hanging onto. Allow me to share my experience so far.

For those unfamiliar, or even those who are but just haven’t installed yet; the purpose of the WST app is to provide instant information relating to all things snooker. As opposed to specialising in a particular segment of snooker i.e. scoring, news, rankings etc. WST provides information relating to near enough everything you could require as a fan, all in a very functional application.

The chief aspect of the app that I commend is that it wasn’t a half-baked attempt at getting an ‘official’ snooker application on the store. A lot of thought has gone into each of the clickable elements, where everything effectively has more information/content behind it. Say you’re looking through the ‘Rankings’ tab and come across some players that you’d like to know more about – click on their name for relatively detailed bios. Looking at a specific tournament? Click around to look at tournament brackets, scores, as well as the ‘Roll of Honour’ which displays all the previous winners of said event. That’s a nice touch.

Further elements that are welcome additions when looking through various tournaments in the app are the ability to look at the scores for all matches that occurred in the tournament. You can view the scores of all Round 1 matches in an event if you’d like and can click further into the match to look at the points breakdown. It’s even categorised into sessions as well, so you could even look at which matches were morning or evening games and what dates they were played.

The ‘Tour’ tab makes it easy to see all the events in the season – which you can then look at the tournaments you want and the further information mentioned before (as well as purchase tickets). If you go to the ‘More’ tab, the calendar is a pleasant feature which simply highlights which weeks/months have events scheduled. And if that’s not enough, the home screen has a clear countdown to the next tournament.

There are also a few other features to the app. Live scoring seemed to work quite well when I was using it. The app was able to update the points and scores in quite a close parallel to the live action. News articles are clear and easy to access from the homepage. The voting polls probably won’t be most people’s favourite aspect however, it is a welcomed use of space in an all-in-one app, provided that it is updated frequently – which so far, it has been.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning overall usability and experience. Considering how new the WST app is, every credit to the team behind what is so far a seamless and smooth navigating environment. I haven’t had any crashes yet but this will vary across devices. However, upon testing with my Android phone, things have been going extremely well.

A particular aspect of the app that I am extremely fond of is that everything is internal. What I mean is that whenever you click on a news article, a video, or any link, it doesn’t just take you to an external website where you wait for information to load. Everything is quick and remains in the app, which is closer to my personal preferences; without any clutter of ads.

Obviously, nothing is perfect. Whilst technically I haven’t had any issues yet, there are those who have; mainly when it comes to favourite player selection or sign-in issues. My suggestions relate more to potential future additions:

• I would certainly like to see some inclusion of WWS into the app at some point, with similar features like rankings and tournaments in the women’s scene

• While I do appreciate the world rankings and one-year list, I know it would be useful to see a provisional list as well which specifically shows the monetary additions/subtractions a player suffers depending on how they perform

• Similar to favourite players, I’d hope there was a favourite tournament(s) that could be selected so you may perhaps get more relevant notifications geared towards these events i.e. when it would be available to purchase tickets

• Notifications for when your favourite players are about to start their match

• The ability to select two players and view their head-to-head stats

• The creation of some kind of archival tab where you could look at previous seasons. For example, when the 2019/20 season closes and we are in the middle of 2020/21, it would be useful to be able to view the 2019/20 info for reference

Overall, WST were able to create a smooth, functional application which exceeded expectation and has a lot of content behind it. The main challenge is keeping the app running and updated, particularly during the off-season when things are quieter. As long as the app receives continued support from WST, I see no reason for this to be an obstacle. Good job WST for creating an app useful for all snooker fans. If you haven’t already, give it an install. And if you’ve come across any bugs or have any feedback, now’s the time to let them know!

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Should A Shot Timer Be Introduced In Snooker?

In an environment where the Shootout exists which limits players to 15 seconds a shot, there isn’t officially a time parameter which players are hindered by when playing in other snooker tournaments. When players average close to 30 seconds and above per shot, they’re seen as performers on the slower end of the spectrum.

Whether it’s Peter Ebdon making a break of 12 or its Mark Selby taking over 6 minutes on a single shot, there will be circumstances which require more thought than one would initially expect. Following Barry Hearn’s decision a couple of years ago to publicly display average shot times in order to speed up gameplay, it has seemed to have an effective response in order to achieve this despite the criticism received for this method.

I don’t think average shot times are much of a problem; I think issues arise when players are taking literal minutes on a single shot when it’s completely unnecessary. When situations like this arise, for instance, the Selby shot: the referees should become more involved to nudge the players to take their shot. Understandably, some shots will be significantly more difficult than others, but if a player is taking almost a minute per shot in a simple break, then the referee should notify the player to speed things up.

This was the case once between an Ebdon/Dott match that required a third session in their two session contest which prompted a backlash from Dott. Obviously, all referees will have different judgements if they were going to intervene with regards to a players shot length but it’s something most would expect a referee to be able to manage. If a player is in a tight snooker or a tense safety battle is ensuing then of course, there’s no need to enforce a timer. However, if a player seems to noticeably be slowing down play or taking an excessive amount of time on a single shot, then some intervention is required.

I like to think of snooker as an art; and you just can’t rush art. A shot timer would potentially increase the speed of play, but at the expense of good shot selection and an all-round quality match. Snooker has never been associated as a fast paced sport and there haven’t been any complaints from viewers to speed things up.

Snooker is also a highly tactical sport and I think the quick, efficient break-building aspect is balanced out by the long tactical battles of the game. While most may find entertainment in watching speedy action, they are still happy with watching the elements of the game which require the competitors to show some creativity and bottle.

If there are those who enjoy the format of the Shootout, perhaps there can be more alternative variants of this event, which encourages a rowdier atmosphere and high paced action. I reckon the Shootout would be more successful if there were brackets like the snooker Champions League as opposed to a one-frame match. But as it stands, with the increasing competitiveness and experience, players are becoming naturally quicker at the game where a shot timer just isn’t required.

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Murphy’s Sprint! Welsh Open Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

The two contenders that graced the Cardiff audience in the Welsh Open final went through hard fought deciders in each of their respective semi-final matches. They were both 5-4 down but overcame their opponents to claim their spots in the final Home Nation event of the season. Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy took to stage as many hoped to see a closely fought battle of the ages. Sadly, that will have to wait.

Breakdown

Murphy was strong throughout as he began his stampede with a 108 break. This was a result of a tricky cutback red to right centre for Wilson, despite a fine opening long pot. Frame 2 involved a few more safety shots, but a failed long pot attempt by Wilson left Murphy with the opportunity to make 84.

Wilson found himself with a chance in Frame 3 as he capitalised off a failed fluke from Murphy, but faltered at 52 as he missed a black while there were still 6 reds remaining. A 34 break from Murphy as well as a fantastic final pink resulted in an unexpected steal. Frame 4 followed a similar pattern as Wilson made 45 but was a little unfortunate in that he couldn’t develop any more reds. One 48 break later led to a battle on the final red, which Murphy was able to secure along with a 4-0 lead.

In Frame 5, a missed second red from Murphy left Wilson in among the balls. However, Wilson was only able to make 64 as he ran slightly wrong side of the blue. With 4 reds remaining, Murphy was able to get the score line to 64-27 down, requiring one snooker – which he got. A couple of safety errors from Wilson resulted in an extension of Murphy’s lead. Murphy followed this up with a 76 in Frame 6.

Frame 7 was all that Wilson was able to capture in the Welsh Open final as he used a couple of misses and errors from Murphy to initiate a clearance that won him his first (and only) frame. Murphy didn’t get phased however, as he shrugged off that frame by ending the session with a 134 to lead 7-1.

Run-of-the-ball was on Murphy’s side that night as the opening safety exchange between the players led to a fluke that resulted in another century of 102. Sadly, the story of Wilson’s match didn’t improve as he was in first yet broke down at 56 off a fairly easy red. With 7 reds still left on the table, Murphy made a 73 to close out the contest and sprint to whatever appointment he was trying to make that night.

Afterthoughts

It depends what kind of matches you prefer to watch, but I know there are those out there that don’t necessarily enjoy watching landslide victories. However, when the victor is playing as well as Murphy was on Sunday, you have to appreciate the form and quality that he brought to the table during the final. His counter-attacking was phenomenal and he truly punished the mistakes made by his opponent. All while coming off a late night semi-final decider against Bingtao.

This win effectively cements Murphy as one of the season’s top performers. His first Home Nations trophy and second ranking title this season takes his tally up to 9 ranking wins. One more win would tie him with Jimmy White. Murphy has also made a further two finals and semi-finals during the season.

Furthermore, his form since the New Year has seemed to spike as he made the semi-finals of the Masters and German Masters. He’s come up against and beaten Trump in their past two encounters which has also occurred since this time. If this can continue, Trump and Robertson may have someone to worry about for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.

On the other hand, Wilson may have not had the day he was hoping for although, he handled the loss professionally and lightly as he realised the remarkable opposition he was up against. Oddly enough, Wilson potted some tricky shots throughout the match; his misses often rose from the simpler pots.

It’s a shame that his last Home Nations final ended in a similar result but he can take pride in the week that he had in Cardiff. His opening frame leading to the fifth 147 this season, as well as victories over Ding, Robertson and O’Sullivan along the way display a rising progression for The Warrior. I know we’ll be seeing more of him in the later stages of tournaments.

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Snooker Rankings Update (February 2020)

The World Grand Prix has passed and we are in the midst of the Welsh Open. As we head towards the business end of the season, there have been a few movements in the world rankings following the events of the past few weeks. Which players have been doing well and which need to be careful as we approach the World Championship?

The most notable change is Robertson’s jump to No. 2 in the rankings. His short run at the WGP last year meant that almost all his prize money from winning this year was added to his ranking total. Added with his string of successes at Austria and Germany further boosts his position to a comfortable No. 2 in the world.

O’Sullivan has dropped a couple spots to rank No. 6 – now surpassed by Selby and Higgins. The gap is fairly minimal so he could reclaim a higher spot with some tournament success but the change mainly comes from his WGP win in 2018 being subtracted from his total. If he is unable to add to his ranking position, there is a likely chance that he could drop to No. 7 (overtaken by Allen); particularly with the Players Championship coming up, which will deduct a significant £125,000 from his ranking position if he isn’t able to defend that title once again.

As the World Championship approaches, there are those that need to be cautious about their ranking position. M. Williams has enjoyed a comfortable voyage in the Top 3 thanks to his WSC triumph in 2018. Failure to match that this year means his ranking has the potential to fall from No. 3 to somewhere in the double digits as his total will then hover around the £400k mark.

This will be beneficial for Selby and Higgins as they will be keeping their eyes on getting into the No. 3 position. However, it won’t be a guarantee as they have significant sums that will be lost in the rankings once the season closes. Selby has prize money from the China Open to lose while Higgins has his WSC runners-up money to be subtracted. This is where if players like Allen or O’Sullivan can bag a big win in the next few weeks i.e. from one of the remaining Coral Cup tournaments, this will benefit their ranking tremendously.

In and around the Top 16 region of the rankings are where players are much closer. Dott’s recent performance these past few weeks have been useful to get him up a couple of places to No. 19. He now faces battle with numerous players such as Bingtao, Perry, G. Wilson, Un-Nooh and Carter as they try to capture No. 16. The main way to see who has a good chance at remaining/breaking into the Top 16 is by looking at each player.

There are two players that can suffer a drastic drop in their ranking position. K. Wilson (currently No. 8) has the potential to fall closer to the lower end of the Top 16 as his semi-final runs at the China Open and WSC in 2018 would mean a £100k+ loss in ranking points. Secondly, Hawkins (currently No. 11) could stand to lose a lot more with his runs at these same tournaments two years ago. Without further success in the remainder of the season could mean a falling out of the Top 16 for Hawkins. This is all assuming that both players get minimal ranking points for the rest of the season, which of course won’t be the case but it gives a general idea.

The last person to speak about is the No. 1 himself. It’s reasonable to say that Trump will be at the helm of the world rankings for quite some time. As we draw to the end of the season, Trump doesn’t have many ranking points remaining from the 2017/18 season to lose. Coupled with his tournament success last season as well as his continuing victories this season means that Trump has no reason to worry.

The only person that could potentially catch him is Robertson although that is heavily dependent on Robertson winning the World Championship and claiming the 500,000 ranking points. Even then, he may not completely topple Trump from the rankings but that will be the only way anyone could get close to the No. 1 spot.

Anyway, that’s this edition of the snooker rankings update! This will return any time there is a significant change in the rankings. So, there will most likely be another one after the World Championship. See you then!

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