Pundits say players 'have to learn to adapt' to lengthy China snooker event schedule

A record seven big professional tournaments are set to be held in the Far East this season, although three of those have already been completed with the Shanghai Masters, China Open, and Wuhan Open having formed a triple-header that was played within the space of five weeks over the summer.

With so much snooker activity on opposite sides of the world - including lucrative exhibition and corporate opportunities - the scheduling of competitions on the top-flight circuit has been a hot topic over the past few years, with players speaking about the demands of regular long-haul travel, and having ample time to get to, and prepare for events in different continents.

This season - perhaps with the aim to make things a bit more manageable for the players - the World Snooker Tour arranged this 'Chinese swing' so cueists could maybe base themselves in the country for the month, and partake in other business interests whilst over there.

The schedule is not what the players asked for says Murphy

However, the timetable of events drew criticism from Shaun Murphy, who said the programme 'wasn't what the players asked for' and labelling it as a "strange decision".

New world number one Zhao Xintong liked the idea of being in his home country for a sustained period, meanwhile Judd Trump thinks the concept just needs some fine-tuning.

The issue Murphy has is that there were several days between the three competitions: five days between Shanghai and Taiyuan, and six days between Taiyuan and Wuhan. And of course, the wait is longer if you've been knocked out of the previous event in the early rounds.

Several players flew back home in between events which kind of defeated one of its objects; 51-year-old John Higgins explained how tough the schedule has been for him at the start of this campaign.

In response to recent comments, the World Snooker Tour released a statement saying how event organisation is based on many factors, and that they have the best interests of the players.

Pundits Hendry and Perry see both sides of the discussion

On punditry duties for Channel 5 for this week's British Open in Cheltenham - which started less than two days after the Wuhan Open ended - Stephen Hendry and Joe Perry discussed the 'Chinese swing' format, and could see the viewpoints of both the players and the snooker authorities.

"Five weeks for three events, I feel that's too long" said seven-times World Champion Stephen Hendry, who still regularly travels to China throughout the year for work.

"But I do understand from the Chinese point of view because each city, the tournament's backed by the local government, and sponsors, promoters...they want time to sort of build up their own event. If it went back-to-back-to-back, then maybe they don't have a chance to do that.

"So, I understand both sides, but five weeks in China is a lot for the players.

Two-time ranking event winner Perry only retired from the professional scene last year, so similar travel demands are recent in his memory. He said: "The players have been calling for back-to-back events in China, but they didn't quite get exactly what they wanted.

"It's been explained, they cannot get exactly what they want. They're not going to have to a tournament finish on a Sunday and another one start on a Monday - it's just not going to happen.

“But the difference is with the two week gap, if you don't go deep in the tournament and you get beat on the Monday, Tuesday, you've then sort of got two weeks hanging around till the next one starts."

Acknowledgement to the overseas players based in the UK

Both Hendry and Perry added that this recent scheduling debate shines a light on the commitment of non-UK, Asian players who have moved to the other side of the world to follow their snooker dreams.

With the sport still mainly UK-centric - all three Triple Crown events are held in England, as well as a plethora of other big competitions - Asian players base themselves in the country for long periods throughout the year.

Hendry said: "These Chinese players have had to travel to the UK to live here...thousands of miles from their home country and sort of set up home here, and it's completely different."

Looking ahead, with both the reigning World Champion, and the world number one being Chinese, it doesn't look like the demand for professional events in the Far East will be slowing down anytime soon, and it's something that the players will have to get used to says Perry.

"I think they have to learn to adapt, because I think we can now appreciate how good the overseas players have done to come here because they're asking these players to do it for five weeks, these guys have been doing it for years and years."