NEIL ROBERTSON has proposed radical changes to the snooker World Championship – complaining that it takes too long.
The 2010 tournament winner,, believes several serious rules need to be altered.
Neil Robertson wants a snooker World Championship rule change because matches are too long Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The 2010 winner also called for another controversial tweak Credit: Getty
at the Crucible and was the last player to seal his place in round two.
But he thinks things drag on towards the end of the competition.
He told Midnite : “I mean, the best out of 35 [final] is a very long match.
“In today’s day and age, I think a best out of 25 is enough.”
Currently, first round matches are played in a first to 10 format before it changes to 13 in the second round and quarter-finals.
It is then best-of-33 in the semis and first to 18 in the final.
And Robertson wants it cut drastically shorter.
He went on: “First to 13 – I think it’s a great match. It’s over three sessions.
“[For] me personally, I would probably change it to once you get to the second round, then it’s just best out of 25 for the whole way through.”
Former champ Robertson also urged chiefs to consider more tweaks.
He went on: “I think when players need snookers, sometimes we carry on hoping for that one-in-a-hundred chance that we’ll get a free ball and the opponent will fail.
“I think you have a restriction on either the time limit that they have to get the snookers, or a points threshold where if you need two snookers, then the frame is over.”
The world No3 – who still has an outside chance of going top of the rankings, but only if he wins the whole thing and crashes out in the last-16 – faces next.
That match starts at 10am on Saturday.
Should he be successful, Robertson would face off against the winner of and , who play later that day.
He started slowly in the win over Junxu, actually conceding the second frame despite still being able to come back.
Robertson miscalculated what was on the table and was left shocked when the ref gave him a warning, only to then realise what had happened.
He bounced back with a 127 break but still went on to find himself 3-2 behind.
Moving 5-3 up, he could not shake off his Chinese opponent, even with breaks of 72, 67, and 79.
Robertson was pegged back again, going to 5-5 before pulling away to 9-5 with scores of 88, 78, 84, and 82.
He lost another frame but rounded off the match with a giant 132.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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