What rule(s) would you change?
If I was in charge of snooker, these are the first two changes I would make, and my reasons why.
- Eliminate the three-miss frame concession.
We saw this last night where Si was forced to hit a red on the side cushion after twice missing his intended red. For me, this rule is against the spirit of snooker, which is about trying to play the correct shot and not the fastest shot. It feels especially odd considering there is no limit to how many snooker escapes can be attempted when a red cannot be seen full ball.
- If a pot is missed, the turn ends even if the ball flukes into a different pocket
Ordinarily, a player's turn is over if they miss their pot. Except for when they miss so much, with enough speed, that the ball goes into a different pocket. My new rule would be for the turn to end because they missed the pot they attempted. In effect this is like a pocket nomination rule — snooker already has a colour nomination rule, and this is only mentioned when two colours are close together and there could be doubt about which one they intend to hit. The same would apply with a pocket nomination rule i.e. it would almost never be said, except for something like a double.
Currently, players can get a frame or match winning opportunity after missing a pot, and that doesn't feel fair to me. Here's an example, where Maguire won this frame and then the match, when he missed his intended shot and Tian Pengfei should have had the opportunity to pot match ball.
Another example: https://www.tiktok.com/@worldsnookertour/video/7349130277785963808
When I've mentioned this before, people have said that flukes are part of the game and can't be removed. I agree with this, and the rule would not eliminate flukes. Run of the ball, an accidental snooker, a fluke pot off a safety — all of these would remain unchanged. The only change would be that if a player attempts a pot and misses it, they go back to their seat.
What would you change?