Snooker is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet thanks to the emergence of a new generation of talented Chinese and Asian players. For many years, Ding Junhui was China’s No. 1 player, but his success has inspired countless of his fellow nationals who are now breaking through.
In the 2021/22 season so far, we have already seen Zhao Xintong win the UK Championship and the German Masters, and Fan Zhengyi win the European Masters. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee won the Women’s Masters and Nutcharut Wongharuthai of Thailand won both the British Women’s Open and the Women’s World Championship. Asian players now feature heavily in the Betfair snooker betting odds for the biggest tournament across the season, and there are 24 Chinese players alone in the World’s top 120.
China’s Fan, playing in his first ranking final, beat six-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9.#bbcsnooker
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 28, 2022
Mystery unraveled
As snooker evolves, so does the technology used in the game. One of the biggest mysteries of the game over the years has been the “kick.” This occurs when the contact between the cue and object balls is not clean and causes the balls to jump or move unpredictably. This phenomenon is a curse for players and those making snooker betting predictions who may be affected by the result of a kick. The kick is characterized by a duller sound on impact.
Solving the mystery of the kick has been a challenge in the modern snooker world. Some players were convinced it was the venue conditions that determined the likelihood of a kick, while scientific studies also pointed to surplus chalk on the cue and the presence of static electricity.
More than one cause
Slow motion technology has suggested that the cause of most kicks may come from the original contact between the cue and ball, sending the ball on a slightly different course, which results in a less than perfect contact. However, there seems to be a consensus that they may be more than one type of kick. One that is caused by chalk on the cue and another that is caused by static electricity.
Players have previously had problems with static electricity in certain venues. In 2013, match officials had to spray water on the stage carpet to stop Graeme Dott from receiving static electric shots during a World Championship game against Shaun Murphy.
A material solution
As a result, Strachan, one of the world’s leading snooker cloth brands, has developed a product that eliminates static electricity and reduces the number of kicks. The cloth stops the ball from carrying any static charge and reduces the number of chalk particles held on the ball, so it arrives at the object clean. Tests show that this technology reduces the number of kicks by around 80%.
The result is better performance for players and less margin for error for those looking to predict the outcomes of snooker games. The new cloth was introduced a couple of seasons ago across all the major tournaments and there has been a notable reduction in the number of kicks. In fact, the subject is now rarely mentioned by pundits and commentators.
