By Elliott West
Introduction
Snooker has long been labelled as having a shelf life. That is to say that as a player gets older, their game deteriorates. This theory has stuck for many years and was probably true from the start of the modern game in 1969 when there were ten players on the circuit and few tournaments. As the years have gone by, you could probably pick out the odd player who defied their age, Fred Davis, Ray Reardon, Doug Mountjoy, and Cliff Wilson to name but a few. However their form wasn’t consistent and they fell away as the game reached the late 1980s.
The Age Revolution
Today snooker has been revolutionised and is unrecognisable from that of its early days. Tables are no longer clunky, venues have massively improved and the tour has expanded across the globe, increasing the number of players to 128. A temporary pause of normal working has of course had to occur due to Corona Virus but the sport has adapted. Today the major figures of the ‘Class of 92’ still remain in the top 16 with the likes of Joh Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams still a dominant force despite being in their mid forties.
Longevity in snooker today is prevalent and is likely to be down to the advance in coaching skills. Programmes such as Sight Right and leading coaches including Chris Henry, have been instrumental in removing imperfections that have creeped into an older player’s game. This maybe something simple like a timing or stance issue or a degrading of eyesight that is often rectified by wearing contact lenses. The point being that a lot of obstacles that prevented an older player from continuing their professional career have now been removed.
The difficulty for a person advancing in years is that they have to deal with a degrading game as well as the competition that the main tour throws at you. You may not miss a ball in a practice environment but when one had to play in a tournament situation, the mistakes are magnified and an element of doubt creeps into the player’s game. This comes alongside the risk that every player faces when they play on the big stage of not turning up or in layman’s terms, failing to live up to expectations
However it could be argued like a good wine, some players improve with age. A professional may have the ability but in the end, it is down to results and someone could play badly for the first part of their career but for whatever reason, improved in their forties. The reasoning for this is hard to pin point but it could be something like a lifestyle change or purchasing a new cue.
The exception to the rule seems to be the player, Ronnie O’Sullivan who has fared well despite reaching his mid forties. Ronnie is able to play to a high standard even when he is not playing so well on the day. He combats bad play by dividing his game into so called ‘gears’, being able to play an A, B or C game to still outplay his opponent. An approach that only fails when O’Sullivan is not in the right mindset to win the match. Ronnie has worked on this and with the help of his sports’ coach, Dr Steven Peters, has conquered many of his inner demons, now being able to carry on in a match without throwing in the towel and accepting a defeat if that is the outcome.
Players such as Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry walked away from snooker when they knew they had reached their cut off point. They had nothing to lose because they had won every trophy there was there to win. However Stephen Hendry has made the bold decision recently to come out of retirement and compete on the main tour again, thanks to WST offering him a two year wildcard. Working again with Chris Henry, Stephen has found some form which recently got him to the semi-final of the World Seniors at the Crucible. Whether that will be repeated on the main tour is debatable but he may be able to win matches against lower ranked players by drawing on his experience and coaching. As a result, this will give him confidence when he is drawn against a player in the top 32 or 16.
Conclusion
The age debate is complex and is not cut and dried. Many factors may contribute to a player’s decline and age is only is part of the bigger equation. Some players fare better than others as they grow older but it clear that the advancement of snooker has definitely brought along with it many advantages that the game of the past were sadly lacking. The fact that many of the familiar faces still hover in the top sixteen, shows that the top spots are niche and only the very best younger players can challenge those that reign at the top of the rankings.
