6-red snooker: the new Twenty20 cricket?

As it says on the tin, it is played with six reds instead of the usual 15 and some say it could be snooker’s answer to quick-fire Twenty20 cricket. The inaugural 6-Red World Championship is to kick off tomorrow in Killarney, Ireland (15 to 18 December), and – in view of the recent debate about whether snooker needs to spice up its act (Snooker: towards a brave new world) – the event will be a timely opportunity to assess the credentials of this faster form of the sport. Exhilarating spectacle or not a true test of skill? In the snooker blogosphere, reaction to the 6-red variant ranges from those who see it as “farcical rubbish” to those who are happy to give it a chance. For this correspondent’s money, it does look rather ‘mickey mouse’ – especially with memories still fresh of the sort of drama that the 15-red original served up in the latter stages of the UK Championship that has just come to a conclusion. But one shouldn’t prejudge these things. You never quite know where they will lead – and it will be interesting to see what coverage the 6-Red World Championship generates (or not) in the mainstream press...