The English proverb ‘good things come to those who wait’ may have more connotations with an alcoholic drink these days than a useful piece of advice, especially if the start of the week is anything to go by.
As Bank Holiday Monday rolled into just another Tuesday, snooker fans waited, bleary-eyed, but expectant. By 12.54am this expectancy had been replaced by relief – brought on by Neil Robertson amassing enough points to secure his 18th frame and the match against Graham Dott in the World Snooker Championship final.
A record not to be proud of
After a record-equalling period of waiting - the timing of the conclusion to the game matched the latest previous finish to a final when John Higgins beat Mark Selby in 2007 - there seemed very little evidence of any ‘good things’ at all, and just one would’ve been sufficient as one trundled off to bed.
Yes a new champion had been crowned and, as an Australian, Robertson has become only the third non-British player to win snooker’s biggest prize, but these achievements must be accepted rather begrudgingly.
In a final where the combined match time exceeded half a day’s worth of play, even the most pessimistic of snooker fans would expect a few highlights to sneak into their dreams. Instead, they clung on to the witticisms of a Scotsman.
Hours of drab snooker, a little laughter
Dott lightened an otherwise lacklustre evening in Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre with laughter inducing comments and sarcasm, the most notable episode coming after Robertson spent four minutes and 40 seconds contemplating whether to take the next shot or let Dott do so following a foul. The 2006 world champion clapped ironically but in a good humoured nature as Robertson decided to put Dott back in, ‘cue’ audience laughter. Thrilling stuff.
Yet it was both players who contributed to the stagnant pace frame after frame despite a lightning fast cloth, as Dott registered 23 seconds a shot to Robertson’s 29. Snooker is renowned for its unhurried nature, and not every cueist on the circuit is likely to attract a ‘rocket’ nickname as Ronnie O’Sullivan has. But, as the frame times ticked on and breaks repeatedly broke down, even the most patient of snooker’s followers would be forgiven for switching off.
Viewing figures averaged more than 2.5 million over a five hour period during Robertson’s 18-13 defeat of Dott and that can only be put down to loyalty. Maybe ‘seeing it through to its conclusion’ was another mantra adopted alongside that one of ‘waiting’ to encounter ‘good things’.
1985’s ‘where were you moment’
Whatever the reason for the public’s persistence, the figure looks particularly paltry when compared with another final that celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Dennis Taylor’s final frame decider and eventual black ball victory over Steve Davis in 1985 had 18.5 million hooked, and for good reason. It provided enough drama to produce the kind of reaction that only very few sporting occasions can ever demand – a ‘where were you moment’.
When people talk about the ’85 final which saw Taylor win his first and only world title, there is a sense of pride that they witnessed a historic event in sport. In years to come that question of ‘where were you’ is likely to crop up over and over but, in the unlikely event of it being asked in relation to the 2010 World Snooker Championship, the most common response will surely be ‘in bed’.
Davis, the entertainer
Before sending you to sleep with all this pessimism, it’s worth noting that this year’s tournament did offer a couple of memorable moments – albeit with an ironic twist.
The big story at the Crucible in 2010 came in the form of one of the ‘85 finalists, Steve Davis, who saw off 2009 winner John Higgins 13-11 on his way to reaching the quarter-finals. In a record 30th appearance in the Worlds, 52-year-old Davis also beat Mark King 10-9 before eventual winner Robertson knocked him out.
In a sub-plot to this year’s competition, Davis was in the spotlight again as he faced Taylor in a recreation of their epic encounter 25 years earlier. In their solitary frame the pair actually provided more entertainment than Robertson and Dott managed in 31, with the Northern Irishman accidentally and rather spectacularly doubling the black twice when he meant to miss.
Snooker cannot afford a repeat
Of course the pressure that Robertson and Dott were under in the final was always going to mean the type of comical and care-free snooker that Davies and Taylor played out was never going to surface. Yet snookers elite players must accept that as competitive as sport may be, it is also meant to produce entertainment. Davis, the elder statesman of snooker, epitomised this both during the tournament and in his frame with Taylor, but the old-guard won’t be around forever.
This year’s final, with just one century break in 31 frames, was distinctly lacking in any enduring ingredient. The 2.5 million or so who tuned in to only be disappointed may forgive snooker this time around, but if more drab affairs are repeated they may give up seeking a ‘good’ thing, and not bother waiting up in hope at all.