The game has become a hybrid of itself as far as positional play and safety play are concerned.

In snooker's more primitive years, the onus was on pure safety which led to frame lasting longer than the contemporary frame.

But having been involved in snooker over three decades, it has become apparent that players are prepared to miss more pots with a view to playing intelligent safety play.

Today's youngsters are entering the game with a more positive attitude, with people like Mark Williams and John Higgins attempting a pot with a view to leaving the white in a safe position.

The advantage of this kind of tactic is that players become less reliant on their opponent missing and more dependent on their own ability to pot.

It also has its benefits for the spectators, reducing the length of the average frame by a considerable amount of time.

Safety

Admittedly, there were a couple of forerunners in this type of game such as Cliff Wilson in the Eighties but nowadays this style of play has become almost a prerequisite.

This has forced older players like myself to try and upgrade our snooker as we strive to match the new generation of stars.

My game when I won the world championship was certainly more safety orientated than Williams when he won last year.

That wasn't because I was a particularly negative player - I was merely a player typical of that era.

But this more aggressive style has turned snooker into a much more attractive recreation for players and fans alike.