An email arrived early this evening from Stephen who gives his opinion about the atmosphere at the World Open today.
As a snooker lover, both playing and watching, I’m finding it quite difficult to become enthralled with any of the games being played at the World Open in China today. I could watch snooker all day long but today i was became bored.
For me, i believe the excitement of watching snooker is about 50% the players playing and 50% the atmosphere the crowd bring to a match. Without question, the atmosphere is certainly lacking here at the World Open. Where is the big intro’s or the loud chanting from the crowds?
Lets take an example of one of the matches i saw today between Jimmy White and Mark Selby. Firstly the front row seating had 2 people sitting there!! I know these are premium seats which are very expensive, but still why are they not filled? If this match was the UK’s, the Masters or indeed the World Championships, there wouldn’t be a seat to be had months prior!! There would be roars and shouts heard from the crowd when a good pot was sank, yet complete silence during each shot adding to the tension.
I’m sorry to say that here in the World Open, its lacking the intensity that such great players deserve. I’ll continue watching, but I’m not really getting into the buzz.
They say hundreds of millions of Chinese play and watch snooker, yet they can’t fill a relatively small arena? I just hope going further into the week that the atmosphere picks up.
