Williams press conference puts snooker back in the frame
Mark Williams won his third World Championship title this
year at the Crucible in Sheffield. His victory over fellow veteran of the baize
John Higgins made the Welshman the oldest player to ever lift the trophy. The
match itself finished 18-16 and was an exciting contest with the momentum swinging
on numerous occasions, at one point Williams won seven frames on the bounce to
go 14-7 up before Higgins hit back to take eight of the next nine drawing level
at 15-15. Despite the high octane match it was what happened after the contest
that will go down as the competition’s most memorable moment.
Williams, having joked pre-tournament that he would do his final press match in the nude if he won was forced to honour his promise, baring all for a swarm of journalists eyeing an opportunity for the perfect viral video. An incident that helped put snooker in the sporting spotlight.
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| The Crucible in Sheffield (Pic/World Snooker) |
Williams, having joked pre-tournament that he would do his final press match in the nude if he won was forced to honour his promise, baring all for a swarm of journalists eyeing an opportunity for the perfect viral video. An incident that helped put snooker in the sporting spotlight.
The 43-year old has been a controversial character for a
long time now, often splitting opinion with his direct attitude. Earlier this
year, fellow Welshman Darren Morgan accused Williams of being a ‘bully’ and a
‘keyboard warrior’ saying that numerous members on tour had blocked him on
social media. Williams’ response was to accuse Morgan of being ‘jealous’ saying
that he would take the comments on the ‘chin or chinssssss’. Williams then said
that he thought Morgan was a a ‘fella who used to impersonate a snooker player
about 30 years ago’. Love him or hate
him his recent actions over the last few weeks have attracted more media
attention than snooker has had for a very long time.
For many snooker has always been considered a boring sport, even with the introduction of various new innovations to try and shake things up like walk on music or moody black and white TV montages the game lags behind. The real problem driving that, in my opinion at least, is the players. For years now the one and only true ‘personality’ within the game has been Ronnie O’Sullivan, a character who has produced some of the sport’s most memorable moments on and off the table. He would be the first name many people would come out with when reciting professional snooker players. One because he is exceptionally good but two because he is exciting and entertaining, put simply, he doesn’t conjure feelings of watching an automated robot. Williams is now following the same path, exciting to watch if you like snooker and exciting to follow even if you don’t.
Around 2000 people favourited a tweet proclaiming Williams as the 2018 World Champion whilst a video of him (on the same channel) appearing wearing just a towel at a press conference received close to 15000 hits. It is these kind of antics that will bring in the crowds and attract the audiences (more the jovial ‘banter’ than Williams’ naked body), I can make a guarantee that more people will able to tell you who won the 2018 World Championship than could have told you who won the 2017 installment at this time last year.
Add a shot clock or shorten the matches but the sport will remain largely the same and so will its viewing figures, the reality, good or bad is that snooker isn’t a sport that will naturally attract masses of viewers. It is a game of precision and patience, traits appreciated by most viewers but not ones that often captivate or excite. If the game is naturally not engaging then the focus must then be on the players to make it a spectacle. I will watch the odd match when on TV but here ends my affinity to the sport, mainly because I do not feel invested in the game or players enough to want to stay involved when they aren’t on the first channel I turn on.
Why? Well, firstly, unlike team sports I don’t have a local connection, there are players from my hometown but it is not the same community or historic background that you get with football or rugby clubs, it is one person from the same place as me, which is nice but nothing more. There is no passing of the baton involved, parents don’t say ‘follow Shaun Murphy, that’s who I always supported!’ the lack of team and community spirit means they are isolated individuals.
This isn’t a revolutionary or groundbreaking position to be in though, tennis players for example, also operate predominantly on their own. The difference is that these athletes have personalities regularly exercised in press conferences and even during matches, Roger Federer oozes class and humility, Gael Monfils is a trickster and entertainer and even Andy Murray has now adopted and played on his previously ‘non-existent’ personality.
Sports, particularly ones played individually, attract audiences in two ways, they are either exciting to watch (tennis has an edge here in my opinion as well), most would argue snooker doesn’t fall into this category, or via the athletes who are participating. If people are not engaging with the sport itself then there is still a chance of them finding an involvement with the game through an affinity with a particular player, whether they be supporting or rooting against that individual. This is where snooker is trailing behind and where it can, if successful, make up a lot of ground.
Of course you cannot make someone funny or interesting, many snookers players may well be boring and dull individuals who much prefer to shrink from the spotlight. Fair enough, you cannot force them or make them uncomfortable but there is bound to be others like Williams who are capable of entertaining and captivating us in some shape or form. As such snooker needs to begin a relaxation of its formal archaic past and, without forgetting its roots and values, start taking itself less seriously if it wants to connect with a younger audience who are finding their passions more and more online. The game needs to encourage more publicity stunts and begin to find celebrities within the sport who can replace the icons like Ronnie O’Sullivan who are at the moment perhaps the only link between the game and the majority of the public.
Henry Justice
For many snooker has always been considered a boring sport, even with the introduction of various new innovations to try and shake things up like walk on music or moody black and white TV montages the game lags behind. The real problem driving that, in my opinion at least, is the players. For years now the one and only true ‘personality’ within the game has been Ronnie O’Sullivan, a character who has produced some of the sport’s most memorable moments on and off the table. He would be the first name many people would come out with when reciting professional snooker players. One because he is exceptionally good but two because he is exciting and entertaining, put simply, he doesn’t conjure feelings of watching an automated robot. Williams is now following the same path, exciting to watch if you like snooker and exciting to follow even if you don’t.
Around 2000 people favourited a tweet proclaiming Williams as the 2018 World Champion whilst a video of him (on the same channel) appearing wearing just a towel at a press conference received close to 15000 hits. It is these kind of antics that will bring in the crowds and attract the audiences (more the jovial ‘banter’ than Williams’ naked body), I can make a guarantee that more people will able to tell you who won the 2018 World Championship than could have told you who won the 2017 installment at this time last year.
 |
| Mark Williams in his press conference (Pic/Irish News) |
Add a shot clock or shorten the matches but the sport will remain largely the same and so will its viewing figures, the reality, good or bad is that snooker isn’t a sport that will naturally attract masses of viewers. It is a game of precision and patience, traits appreciated by most viewers but not ones that often captivate or excite. If the game is naturally not engaging then the focus must then be on the players to make it a spectacle. I will watch the odd match when on TV but here ends my affinity to the sport, mainly because I do not feel invested in the game or players enough to want to stay involved when they aren’t on the first channel I turn on.
Why? Well, firstly, unlike team sports I don’t have a local connection, there are players from my hometown but it is not the same community or historic background that you get with football or rugby clubs, it is one person from the same place as me, which is nice but nothing more. There is no passing of the baton involved, parents don’t say ‘follow Shaun Murphy, that’s who I always supported!’ the lack of team and community spirit means they are isolated individuals.
This isn’t a revolutionary or groundbreaking position to be in though, tennis players for example, also operate predominantly on their own. The difference is that these athletes have personalities regularly exercised in press conferences and even during matches, Roger Federer oozes class and humility, Gael Monfils is a trickster and entertainer and even Andy Murray has now adopted and played on his previously ‘non-existent’ personality.
Sports, particularly ones played individually, attract audiences in two ways, they are either exciting to watch (tennis has an edge here in my opinion as well), most would argue snooker doesn’t fall into this category, or via the athletes who are participating. If people are not engaging with the sport itself then there is still a chance of them finding an involvement with the game through an affinity with a particular player, whether they be supporting or rooting against that individual. This is where snooker is trailing behind and where it can, if successful, make up a lot of ground.
Of course you cannot make someone funny or interesting, many snookers players may well be boring and dull individuals who much prefer to shrink from the spotlight. Fair enough, you cannot force them or make them uncomfortable but there is bound to be others like Williams who are capable of entertaining and captivating us in some shape or form. As such snooker needs to begin a relaxation of its formal archaic past and, without forgetting its roots and values, start taking itself less seriously if it wants to connect with a younger audience who are finding their passions more and more online. The game needs to encourage more publicity stunts and begin to find celebrities within the sport who can replace the icons like Ronnie O’Sullivan who are at the moment perhaps the only link between the game and the majority of the public.
Henry Justice
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