John Higgins suspended in snooker bribe probe

[scoobydoo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8656905.stm

Just what snooker needed on finals day eh. :ermmm

[mathare]

That's a lot of money to throw a few frames though isn't it? And in snooker it's surely got to be quite easy to throw a frame. All you've got to do is adjust the cue angle slightly towards the end of the shot and a sure pot becomes a near miss, break over.

[scoobydoo]

It is a lot of money yes, but looking at this sport, it is bent at the moment if this is true. Maguire is under investigation still isn't he? As Hearn has said, once the integrity of the sport has gone, they are all finished. Do you think a lot of this has come about since all the tobacco advertising has been banned, has that much money been taken out of the sport?

[barrelmaniac]

Im gutted, I like a bit of snooker- and this just brings the whole lot tumbling down, If it hasn't got integrity its got nothing. I never liked that John Higgins anyway. But being number 1 in the world this is the biggest blow the sport could take.

Also saying that they were scared doesnt wash with me due to the fact Higgins was asking for the best way to hide the money from the taxman, and although the recording quality is bad they seem pretty relaxed and keen to take the bribe.

[mathare]

Do you think a lot of this has come about since all the tobacco advertising has been banned, has that much money been taken out of the sport?I think that's exactly it, yes. I remember reading a couple of years back that some of the top players were thinking of quitting because they just couldn't make the game pay any more, the money just wasn't there. I think that's why Barry Hearn wants to introduce more glitz and glamour, things like the boxing-style introductions and a few rule changes.

Think how darts is these days. There's money for the top players now thanks to Sky coverage and the big events drawing in the crowds. The Premier League Darts is a big deal now and really gets the crowds on the feet, playing to packed houses every week. It's accessible to the fans.

Sure, snooker fans are different, more refined perhaps. But the sport may need to shake some of that off to attract the fans and the support it needs to offer the best players the prize money they want to compete. They tried the Premier League idea for snooker too didn't they? Didn't work as well but that's not to say some regular short-format of the game won't work if the financial incentive is there.

If the top players aren't earning a decent living from the sport then it will always be open to corruption or the most talented players dropping out to seek a living elsewhere. Think of the number of snooker players who turned to poker a few years back. Hendry, Davis, Williams and numerous others who are no longer fighting it out at the top but are still top 16 or top 32 sought out cash elsewhere because the game they loved wasn't paying them enough.

[scoobydoo]

I think that's exactly it, yes. I remember reading a couple of years back that some of the top players were thinking of quitting because they just couldn't make the game pay any more, the money just wasn't there. I think that's why Barry Hearn wants to introduce more glitz and glamour, things like the boxing-style introductions and a few rule changes.

Think how darts is these days. There's money for the top players now thanks to Sky coverage and the big events drawing in the crowds. The Premier League Darts is a big deal now and really gets the crowds on the feet, playing to packed houses every week. It's accessible to the fans.

Sure, snooker fans are different, more refined perhaps. But the sport may need to shake some of that off to attract the fans and the support it needs to offer the best players the prize money they want to compete. They tried the Premier League idea for snooker too didn't they? Didn't work as well but that's not to say some regular short-format of the game won't work if the financial incentive is there.

If the top players aren't earning a decent living from the sport then it will always be open to corruption or the most talented players dropping out to seek a living elsewhere. Think of the number of snooker players who turned to poker a few years back. Hendry, Davis, Williams and numerous others who are no longer fighting it out at the top but are still top 16 or top 32 sought out cash elsewhere because the game they loved wasn't paying them enough.

Good points Mat. I think in the NOTW video, one of them said Higgins earned £500,000 last year. Seeming though he is at this moment World Champion, that is not that much money is it compared maybe to a few years ago. I am not sure how much some of the Premier League darts players earn but I would think even the player who finished last in that came close to earning that kind of money. Phil Taylor earns a fortune these days doesn't he? I feel gutted it is Higgins who has been caught doing this though, he has been an awesome snooker player these last 10-15 years. :ermmm

[mathare]

I think the money in snooker drops off a lot faster than in other sports. So Higgins as world champ and provisional number one maybe making half a million a year but outside the top ten the guys there may be struggling to make anything like a professional sportsmen ought to earn. I don't know any exact figures as these sorts of things are shrouded in secrecy because few people ever talk about them but snooker is nowhere near as big and rich as it used to be, that's for sure.