The future of snooker?

Question

the great sport of snooker is dying in england, lower prize money fewer tournaments, more boring players coming through, more people who get bored of watching it very quickly.

but then we see china. ding vs fu world championship first round 150 million viewers in chinas early hours, 3 million juniors playing the sport over there, a booming economy over there, ding is the second most known sportsman over there and a national icon

i believe the sport has a bright future through china big prize money and fame to be earned, will that keep the game going

what do you think?

Answer 1

snooker has being in decline for the past 15 years and everyone was harping on about the chinese then.the truth is the sport doesnt attract sponsors that;s why after the world championship there's no more snooker for 5 months...that is very unhealthy.

Answer 2

Ding's father realised the opportunities that snooker can bring. To make money, more than the average Chinese could ever dream of.

Give anyone the chance to improve their lives through sport in poorer, more competitive regions, areas etc many will reach the top, eg working class football heroes of the past, street fighters becoming world champions, all those rags to riches stories we hear about.

Traditionally snooker in China has been associated with seedy gambling clubs and dens, only recently, and in no small part to Ding's success, gaining national awareness.

Ding's father sold almost everything to buy a table when Ding was a young boy after seeing that his son was naturally gifted, he was coached to spend all his free time practicing under the strict eye of his father. Therefore he is inward and quiet, unsocialised, whereas Liang was bought up in a more nuturing and social environment.

One should also remember 150million is only approximately 12% of the population, it has the potential to get much, much bigger.

However, there will always be UK players at the top of the game too, and more shorter competitions like the Premier League on Sky.

Not just snooker will benefit from China's (and India's for that matter) growth. Major tournaments for Golf, Tennis, Football, Motor Racing all are staged in China and the biggest of all this August.

Answer 3

China is gonna be the future did you see, Liang Wenbo? a very exciting player.

Answer 4

It's not just snooker.  There are a lot of great Chinese and Taiwanese pool players coming up too.  And pool might have even less money in it than snooker.