Who's break is it???

Snooker and Carom, two old dogs at the pool game, are playing each other again in Tournament play in a singles match. They are both Masters, so they are playing a race to 7. This means that they could potentially play 13 games if they go hill to hill with 6 wins each. It is alternate breaks. Snooker wins the flip and wants to break. Snooker should then be breaking games 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. Carom should break games 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. The match starts without any incident; however, somewhere during the match, one of the shooters broke back to back. Neither Snooker or Carom know when it happened or which shooter broke back to back. But for a period of time and games, Snooker was breaking the even numbered games, and Carom was breaking the odd numbered games. This match is close. Snooker breaks in game 12. Snooker wins game 12 which now ties the match with Snooker having won 6 games and Carom having won 6 games. They are now hill to hill with the next game being the game which decides the match. As Snooker scores his win, and seeing that game 13 is next, he realizes that he has been breaking the even number matches instead of the odd number matches. At that time Snooker declares that he should break game 13 since he should be breaking all odd numbered games. Carom declares that he cannot break game 13 since it is alternating breaks and Snooker had just broken in game 12. They cannot resolve the issue as to who should break in game 13. You are called as the Referee to decide the issue.


You make the call!!!!


This call becomes easier if you think about team matches with five person teams playing a 25 game format. In those matches, in the final round, the shooters alternate breaks. Just like it is in team play, if you allow your opponent to break when it is not their turn to break, then you simply lose your break. It doesn’t make any difference if your opponent just broke, or if it is deep into the game when it is discovered that the wrong person broke, or if the game is over. You lose your break. Same here. Carom, by allowing Snooker to break 12, lost her opportunity to break game 12. It is not made up later. The games to break do not change. You would not modify the breaking sequence in team play for the remaining games. In this case, you do not modify the breaking sequence in the singles match where there is a race to a specified number even though it is alternate breaks. Snooker, by winning the flip, is breaking all the odd number games. Snooker gets to break game 13 even though he also broke in game 12.

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