Applying an Opinionated Rating System to Snooker Players
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by user Alex Holowczak
Higgins is Number 1 on my scale. He is ranked only at 4 in the World Rankings.
Take these statistics as my opinion of them after the 2006 Grand Prix. Admittedly, it hasn't finished yet, but enough matches have been played to gauge each player's form.
The Statistics
- WR - World Ranking
- Long Pot - Long Potting ability out of 10
- Break Building - Short-Mid Potting and Positional Play out of 10
- Safety - The ability to play good safety shots
- Shot Choice - The quality of shot selection (My Excel column couldn't fit "Shot Selection" in...)
- Coolness - Quality of play under pressure
- Temperament - The ability to put a bad shot out of a player's mind. Other stuff too, such as attitude to the game
- Form - The players current form, which has an influence on the first three characteristics.
By World Ranking
By Overall Rating
What It Shows
- The players with the best form are at the top. It shows the importance of form due to high levels of competativeness in the game, and therefore the need for more tournaments is crucial.
- Certain stats are dominating the best ratings - Break Building and Long Potting tend to have better ratings than Safety. This shows the modern attitude of the game, which favours attacking play over defensive play. (Defensive play was de rigeur 20 years ago.
- Usefully, it shows Higgins and O'Sullivan as 1 and 2, which is probably the opinion of most pundits.
- It shows the rising talents such as Robertson and Cope (Robertson is in the Final of the Grand Prix, Cope is currently playing King in the Semi). It will take the rankings a year or two to reflect this.
N.B. I included Paul Hunter (England) to give an indication, but since he is not playing (obviously), his form is 0. The Without Form column may be more appropriate for him.
Luckily, snooker is a thoroughly organised sport, with tournaments to decide whom the best is!
