The 2024 British Open – Poor conditions, poor crowds

Monique opinion, Professional snooker tournament, Snooker,

I would like some feedback on this one, by people who attended the event, and people who play the game and are able to express a meaningful opinion about the way the tables play in this event, and played in recent events.

Mark Allen has been very critical about the conditions

‘The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing’ – Mark Allen

Antrim snooker player blasts tables at the British Open championship.

THE FOLLY OF LEAVING doors open to drafts was exposed at the British Open snooker championships, when Mark Allen lost his cool with the state of the tables after his 4-3 win over Gary Wilson.

Speaking to ITV after his match at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse, the Co Antrim man got a few things off his chest.

“The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing,” Allen told ITV.

“It’s some of the worst weather outside and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid, out there.”

He got on a roll then, proclaiming, “The table needs to be burned.

“The cushions are unplayable, uncontrollable. It was heavy. The speed was decent.

“There are new guys doing the tables this year and they’re clearly not up to it.”

World Snooker then issued a response, saying in a statement, “Our table-fitting team has been consistent for some time and works to the highest standards.

“The weather in the area has seen unprecedented rainfall over the last couple of days which can negatively influence the conditions.

“We have raised the issue of an open door with the venue.”

Allen has since clarified his remarks on X, formerly Twitter, this morning, writing about his interaction with interviewer Rob Walker, ‘After having some time to calm down I’d like to apologise to @robwalkertv for that interview. My anger wasn’t directed at him and he definitely deserved a better interview. My frustrations were 100% at the conditions which frankly haven’t been anywhere good enough this season.’

Indeed it seems to me that the conditions in general this season have been suboptimal. I have seen a lot of players this season staring at the table in incredulity after shots went astray.

And it seems to me that the fans haven’t exactly been “crowding” the venue. Most matches I watched were not on the main table and the “crowd” watching was very small, only a few people really. Also it’s been like that in early rounds in previous events as well. It’s only at the final week-ends1 that things get better.

  1. And for some player(s) when they elect to play… ↩︎

4 thoughts on “The 2024 British Open – Poor conditions, poor crowds”

  1. Bad crowds because of scheduling games that could go on beyond 23:00, that is just bad planning by the ejits running the competition.

    People use public transport, which stops at 23:00 or earlier in most towns & cities!

    Bad tables (according to players), why cut corners and 2nd rate team in to set-up tables, when you just turn off your audience. Cue ball moving on its own more than once, that is more than amateurish set-up.

Comments are closed.