Snooker is a game that has long been associated with conservative play, lengthy matches, and a standard pattern of shots and breaks. Each shot is well-established, many safety battles have been played out in similar ways, and each elite player has their own style of break building.
Ask anyone in the upper echelons of the game about how to improve it, and they will talk about the need to find more ‘personalties’ in the mould of O’Sullivan, White, Higgins, and Trump. But there’s also a completely different approach that the sport is also benefiting from: data. It’s this that will be our focus in the following analysis.
The Principle Of Data Integration
Before we begin to look at how data can enrich the game we all know and love in so many ways, we first need to think about how it’s gathered and used. The principle of data integration is to combine as many sources of data as possible into the live viewing experience for the benefit of the fans. Of course, coaches, pundits, and players can also benefit if they choose to use this new centralised source of information, but the developers are principally putting it together for the benefit of the viewing public.
For this reason, you can expect any live snooker broadcast to offer so much more than simply shot-by-shot updates of the score. Results from other tables that show who the players are likely to come up against in the next round are common, as are average shot times, safety success, pot success, and pot success when using the rest or other forms of bridge. There is also a deeper set of data points that are increasingly being used by online platforms to further enhance the viewing experience:
Fan behaviour can be analysed to determine which player may be feeling the most pressure from the crowd, and reflecting the tension in their shot selection
Decision-making time during prolonged safety exchanges can show if a player is being pushed to their limit, as well as if a tactical player is attempting to break the rhythm of a faster player
The thoughts of leading players and pundits can also be factored in through comments made in the commentary box, studio, or on social media. Doing so can highlight unorthodox play or when a player is experimenting with a new cue action
Rather than focusing on the need for any one particular data point, the key is to remember that the more data that is available, the richer the overall experience will be. This is provided that the data is combined in a way that makes it usable.
Unifying The Data-Driven Overview
Data comes in many forms and from a variety of different locations, meaning that it may not be instantly compatible with every other element in the database. Unification is needed here, with a range of data sources needing their own dedicated attention:
Historical Records: These largely static data sources are gradually updated, a match at a time, providing context for the game that is currently playing out
Player Tracking: Looking at various playing metrics during the course of the match and then comparing them to season and career averages reveals changes in playing habits
Fan Data: Assessing support on social media, betting volumes online, and even the mood of the crowd can help determine which player is under more pressure
Each of these sources can enrich the context and understanding of the match, taking it far beyond a simple running live score. This is important when sports platforms want to be able to provide fans with a deeper level of understanding of what they are seeing play out on the table.
The Rise Of Technical Innovation
APIs are needed to pull data from a variety of different sources and then centralise them accordingly. Anyone checking out the snooker odds today, for example, will find that the odds of a player prevailing are highly dynamic, often shifting as each frame enters the latter stages. What’s fascinating about this is that it helps to quantify the quality of play of both players in a way that extends beyond the score and the frame count.
If you consider technical innovation as a matter of integrating data into the ebb and flow of live sport, you start to see that it has a range of benefits. Rather than simply being a case of dropping a few extra facts and statistics for the die-hard fans who love to memorise details, it’s about providing a deeper understanding. This shift towards deeper, more meaningful data can then be used by a variety of different parties, including fans, broadcasters, sports betting platforms, and even the players themselves.
Driving The Fan Experience
The more that data is integrated into a live snooker broadcast, the more it can be used to redirect and reimagine the fan experience. For example, Sportsbet and others allow users to place bets using a range of cryptocurrencies, rather than limiting them to traditional fiat currency. While betting is clearly a major part of the next generation of sports platforms, there is more to the fan experience as you start to dive deeper and think more clearly.
In-depth player statistics and form guides can soon be fed into AI-driven content models for a level of personalisation that conventional broadcast media cannot compete with. Imagine a fan whose viewing habits have shown them to be someone who loves safety exchanges, being shown stats on escape routes during safety, or the equivalent for fans who love free-scoring frames. The result would be an unrivaled level of fan engagement and immersion that ensures everyone watching gets to see exactly what they are most interested in.
Optimization Of Player Performance
With the rise of data comes an opportunity for players to really start to focus on new elements of their games. Yes, they have coaches and many years of experience at the table, but who would turn down a treasure trove of new information that is accessible for free because someone else has done the hard work?
At the elite end of the game, the tactical nuances can so often make the difference between a half chance and full clearance. Looking at trends and patterns, not just during games, but across the season as a whole, could provide players with new insights into how they are approaching different situations. The more a player and their team lean into the data, the more likely it is that they will be able to find an edge that allows them to show their best form when it matters most.
Smarter Snooker Betting
We may have left the most obvious application to last, but that’s with good reason. If you think of betting on snooker as nothing more than making judgments on likely outcomes based on data, you can see why having more data is so important. Fans who want to place a bet will always prefer an integrated approach that allows them to watch the action, be fed key data, and then go digging for more should they wish to refine their strategies. The platforms that win the battle for audience attention and higher retention rates will be the platforms that give fans as many options as possible, and gambling will certainly be right there.
Conclusion
Moving sport away from a linear experience and towards a multi-media activity that offers depth and clarity is something that is becoming increasingly common. The more you find that you can immerse yourself in the action, as opposed to simply sitting and watching it, the more likely you are to engage for longer periods and to engage on a more frequent basis. Given the entry of the major streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime into live sport, this is something that is going to become even more important in the years ahead.
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