God. The snooker world is absolutely BUZZING right now. I spent 3 hours yesterday watching Selby methodically dismantle his opponent while my wife kept asking why I was subjecting myself to "watching paint dry in waistcoats." She's not entirely wrong.

Some of the sport's biggest names are finally speaking up about dragging snooker kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins (who've got 6 Crucible titles between them) just opened up about everything from shot clocks to dress codes, and let me tell you - the opinions are about as varied as their playing styles.

Murphy's War on Snookers - Entertainment or Tradition?

Murphy's on his soapbox again. The Magician wants to completely abolish playing for snookers. His take? It rewards defensive boring play and turns frames into absolute snoozefests. I was at the Crucible in 2019 when a frame went on for nearly AN HOUR. My friend Tom actually fell asleep and started snoring... tournament officials were not amused.

Selby (Mr. Tortoise himself) and Robertson surprisingly backed some limits on this too. The Aussie basically said it's television poison - and he's not wrong. Try explaining to a non-fan why they're watching someone deliberately NOT pot balls for 20 minutes.

Hawkins, tho? Complete opposite. He's standing firm that removing snookers would kill the "tactical" element of the game. Translation: "I like winning boring."

The Miss Rule Mess

This one gets complicated.

Hawkins wants to keep the current miss rule intact. Murphy? Scrap deliberate misses entirely. Selby suggested limiting how many fouls you can make. But Robertson went nuclear with his suggestion - make a deliberate miss result in ball-in-hand for your opponent.

His exact words to Sporting Life: "If you can see a red directly and if you take that risk and you try to come off a cushion to hit another ball, if you miss then the opponent gets the ball in-hand. That would speed the game up massively. It would be a massive win for snooker, whether the authorities would I don't know but it's a big change, I'd love to see."

I've been watching snooker since 1997, and honestly... Robertson might be onto something here. The miss rule debates at tournaments are like watching lawyers argue over contract clauses. Fascinating if you're into that sort of thing. Excruciating if you're not.

Tick-Tock: Is It Time For A Shot Clock?

Murphy didn't hold back here (does he ever?). He basically called the current pace of play "boring" and reminded everyone that "we're an entertainment industry."

Listen. The man has a point. I was at Alexandra Palace back in January when a match went past midnight. My last train home left at 11:30pm. Cost me £65 for an Uber. Still bitter about it.

"Matches going onto 12am or 1am in the morning is the biggest indicator we need a shot clock," Murphy argued. "I'm not talking about a shootout style in every event, but we need some sort of time limit. Players averages approaching 30 seconds and above. It's just boring. Who wants to watch a player take 30 seconds to play a shot? It's too slow."

Selby and Robertson - who aren't exactly speed demons themselves - admitted a shot clock would be challenging to implement. No kidding. Imagine telling Selby he only has 30 seconds per shot. He'd retire on teh spot.

Bathroom Breaks: Sport's Oldest Mind Game

All four players agreed that toilet breaks are often used as "gamesmanship" to "relieve pressure" rather than... you know... actual bladder emergencies.

Poor O'Sullivan once had to play in his socks after claiming a bathroom emergency during a crucial frame. Was it real? Was it tactical? We'll never know.

The problem is nobody seems to have a solution. What are they gonna do - assign bathroom monitors? "Sorry sir, you've already gone once this session, you'll have to hold it." Yeah, that'll go over well.

Robertson's Fashion Revolution

This one caught me off guard. Robertson wants to completely overhaul the dress code!

"Over the last six months I have got really addicted to golf," he explained. "I have seen all the clothes line and footwear have progressed massively over the years and in snooker we should definitely do that."

He's got a point about comfort. I tried playing in a waistcoat once at my local club. After 20 minutes I was sweating like I'd run a marathon. No idea how these guys do it under hot TV lights for hours.

Robertson continued: "We're looking at targeting a young generation my son, for example, he is not looking at a snooker player and thinking, 'I want to wear a waistcoat and bow tie one day'. We need to progressing with these things and not staying still. If you stay still you regress."

His compromise? Keep the formal wear for the Triple Crown events (like Wimbledon does with its all-white rule) but modernize for everything else.

I showed my 13-year-old nephew this quote and asked if waistcoats were stopping him from getting into snooker. His response: "Snooker is just old people golf with sticks." Ouch. Maybe Neil's onto something...

Hawkins, predictably, seems happy with things just as they are. The man probably still uses a flip phone and pays with checks at the supermarket.