Congratulations to Barry Hawkins, a nice guy and a quality player who is £32,000 richer tonight after winning the Partypoker.com Shootout in Blackpool.
Hawkins beat Graeme Dott in the final of the super-fast event, which gave 64 players a chance of scooping the loot over three days.
Barry was once ranked 12th in the world. He has appeared in four ranking event semi-finals without quite making a final.
He has been looking for a step forward for some time and maybe the confidence this will bring will herald a general improvement in fortunes.
The tournament is intended as a bit of fun, but there was pressure on the players in matches which lasted only ten minutes.
The two highlights came today. Martin Gould produced a 135 total clearance, a sensational break given the time pressures.
And Barry Pinches pulled off a dramatic last gasp win over Liang Wenbo, potting the winning ball with a second to spare.
Not everyone or every player is a fan of the Shootout by any means and it perhaps made less of an impact this year.
This is understandable. Last year it was a novelty but novelties soon wear off.
This is why Barry Hearn was right not to listen to those – including players – who called for more of these events or even to incorporate some of the rules into established tournaments.
But I don’t see the harm in the Shootout. It entertained those who enjoyed it, is not a serious threat to snooker as we know it and was a chance for players to get together, however briefly, and have some fun.
The crowds, who were nowhere near as boorish as at Power Snooker, seemed to have a good time too.
The players have been granted two days off before the German Masters – an altogether more serious and significant affair – gets underway on Wednesday.
29.1.12
THE LINKS EFFECT
Due to what may best be described as 'technical issues' the links on this blog have disappeared.
Sorry about this. I have started adding the links I can remember but if a link to your site was here before and you would like it restored, email me at snookersceneblog@aol.com.
Sorry about this. I have started adding the links I can remember but if a link to your site was here before and you would like it restored, email me at snookersceneblog@aol.com.
26.1.12
BLACKPOOL BOUND
The Shootout in Blackpool was great fun last year and there is every reason to expect more high jinks when it returns tomorrow, sponsored by Partypoker.com.
Tickets have gone like hot cakes (should that be hotpots?), indeed more have been released, and players are looking forward to another three days of frenetic and, with a top prize of £32,000, potentially lucrative speed snooker.
Unlike six reds (anyone remember that?) and Power Snooker, nobody is spinning that this is the future of the game. Nobody is cueing an imaginary revolution. It is what it is: three days of rapid fire snooker-based entertainment.
One of the great plus points is that you get to see so many players, including those down the rankings not used to a crowd and an atmosphere. Nobody outstays their welcome. Each match lasts just ten minutes.
Last year there was some genuine drama, including Neil Roberton’s last gasp win over Alan McManus and Rory McLeod outrageously fluking the final black against Tony Drago.
Blackpool Tower Circus is a terrific venue, although in time a bigger one may be required to meet demand.
Sky Sports, the great innovators of TV sport, are host broadcasters.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has not entered and Joe Jogia has reportedly withdrawn after sustaining a knee injury which he believes sparked the flurry of bets on him to lose to Matt Selt being investigated by the WPBSA disciplinary committee.
Frankly, the personalities involved are less important than the entertainment they provide. Anyone could win this event, although a cool head is required and was demonstrated last year by Nigel Bond.
The Shootout is about fun outside of all the serious tournaments. It’s about showcasing the game and its players in a different way.
It was a success last year and I have every expectation it will be this season too.
Good luck everyone!
Tickets have gone like hot cakes (should that be hotpots?), indeed more have been released, and players are looking forward to another three days of frenetic and, with a top prize of £32,000, potentially lucrative speed snooker.
Unlike six reds (anyone remember that?) and Power Snooker, nobody is spinning that this is the future of the game. Nobody is cueing an imaginary revolution. It is what it is: three days of rapid fire snooker-based entertainment.
One of the great plus points is that you get to see so many players, including those down the rankings not used to a crowd and an atmosphere. Nobody outstays their welcome. Each match lasts just ten minutes.
Last year there was some genuine drama, including Neil Roberton’s last gasp win over Alan McManus and Rory McLeod outrageously fluking the final black against Tony Drago.
Blackpool Tower Circus is a terrific venue, although in time a bigger one may be required to meet demand.
Sky Sports, the great innovators of TV sport, are host broadcasters.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has not entered and Joe Jogia has reportedly withdrawn after sustaining a knee injury which he believes sparked the flurry of bets on him to lose to Matt Selt being investigated by the WPBSA disciplinary committee.
Frankly, the personalities involved are less important than the entertainment they provide. Anyone could win this event, although a cool head is required and was demonstrated last year by Nigel Bond.
The Shootout is about fun outside of all the serious tournaments. It’s about showcasing the game and its players in a different way.
It was a success last year and I have every expectation it will be this season too.
Good luck everyone!
24.1.12
THE GREAT HAUL OF CHINA
There will be five ranking tournaments in China next season, beginning with the Wuxi Classic, upgraded from invitation event status, in July.
A new Chinese ranking event in October will carry a top prize of £125,000. In addition, the Shanghai Masters, Haikou World Open and China Open will return.
Players unenthusiastic about travelling to China can of course opt out but it will cost them precious ranking points, not to mention the chance to win big money. As a snooker territory it is here to stay.
China first staged a ranking event in 1990 but it wasn’t until 1999 that it held another.
I was there. It was the China International in Shanghai and featured an all Scottish semi-final line-up.
Billy Snaddon beat Stephen Hendry in one semi but then lost to John Higgins, who beat Alan McManus in the other.
There had been forays to China long before this, some involving Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable. One time Hearn had been savvy and invited the then WPBSA chairman Rex Williams along, which led to Rex turning up for a photo-shoot on the Great Wall resplendent in a posh cashmere coat.
When Barry reminded him the dress code was supposed to be casual, Rex responded, “dear boy, this is casual.”
Anyway, by 1999 there was clear interest and tournaments were staged again later that year, in 2000 in Shenzhen and back in Shanghai in 2002.
All went quiet as the WPBSA’s resources dwindled but by 2005 the China Open had been revived in Beijing.
This is possibly the best snooker event I have ever attended. It is hard to explain exactly why to those who weren’t there but everything about it was an eye-opener, from seeing the sights of Beijing itself to the snooker and the emergence of a new national hero in Ding Junhui.
That we are now at the stage where there will be five ranking events in China is down to Ding.
He turned 18 that week and was a revelation, beating Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty in whitewashes before his 9-5 defeat of Stephen Hendry in the final.
It was an incredible triumph and the nation immediately took him to their hearts. More significantly, major companies started to see snooker as a sport they wished to become involved in.
Here in the UK it is still seen as something of a working class pursuit, hence it mainly attracts sponsors associated with perceived working class activities (smoking, drinking and gambling).
In China snooker is regarded as a bit of a cut above, an activity that appeals to the moneyed. Actually, the truth is that is has always been a game enjoyed by all different types of people but China’s image of snooker has led to serious investment and fully funded, underwritten ranking events.
The TV viewing figures are huge and growing the more they show. This is a genuine boom. I have been to a Star table factory in China which runs 24/7 to meet the demand.
Snooker clubs are full and more and more youngsters are taking to the game.
There seems to be something in the national make-up which makes snooker a sport the Chinese take to.
The new Welsh Open sponsor, to be announced soon, has apparently come about due to moves from the company's Chinese office, due to viewing figures for this tournament being so strong.
However, ordinary Chinese people do not earn fortunes and ticket prices for tournaments are high, so when you turn on Eurosport to watch the China Open the hall seems half empty and the assumption is understandably drawn than not many people in China like snooker.
I can assure you this isn’t the case. I’ve seen unlikely players chased down corridors for their autograph as if caught up in Beatlemania.
It’s a little different to schlepping past the swimming pool at the Newport Centre unnoticed.
Chinese tournaments traditionally start with a red carpet parade. The media go nuts when snooker hits town. And sponsors are clearly willing to invest big money for more and more events.
Not all players like this. I have sympathy with those who dislike travelling full stop. Not everyone enjoys flying but the British players should see how lucky they are: Chinese players have to leave their home country for most of the year to come and live in the UK, away from their families, to play qualifiers and PTCs. This is far more of a sacrifice.
I’m afraid there is also a degree of cultural ignorance. More than once I’ve heard a player complain that ‘nobody speaks English over there’ or that ‘the food is all different.’
Actually, in the hotels in which the players stay almost everyone speaks English and you can get just about any sort of food you like.
I once heard a group of hangers-on complaining that the beer in the official hotel was too expensive – as if the thought of going outside and experiencing the varied and remarkable sights on the streets of Beijing was just too much of an adventure.
A more justifiable complaint is the cost of actually getting to China for all these tournaments, although prize money for the Chinese events is on the rise.
The bottom line is this: snooker’s growth and sustainability depends on it becoming a properly global sport. There is money in China, and company bosses want to spend it on snooker.
The circuit remains predominantly British in terms of player representation but it can’t remain this way in terms of the spread of tournaments.
Not everyone in snooker is happy with the fact, but it remains true: there is a whole world out there, and China’s green baize bubble shows no sign of bursting just yet.
A new Chinese ranking event in October will carry a top prize of £125,000. In addition, the Shanghai Masters, Haikou World Open and China Open will return.
Players unenthusiastic about travelling to China can of course opt out but it will cost them precious ranking points, not to mention the chance to win big money. As a snooker territory it is here to stay.
China first staged a ranking event in 1990 but it wasn’t until 1999 that it held another.
I was there. It was the China International in Shanghai and featured an all Scottish semi-final line-up.
Billy Snaddon beat Stephen Hendry in one semi but then lost to John Higgins, who beat Alan McManus in the other.
There had been forays to China long before this, some involving Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable. One time Hearn had been savvy and invited the then WPBSA chairman Rex Williams along, which led to Rex turning up for a photo-shoot on the Great Wall resplendent in a posh cashmere coat.
When Barry reminded him the dress code was supposed to be casual, Rex responded, “dear boy, this is casual.”
Anyway, by 1999 there was clear interest and tournaments were staged again later that year, in 2000 in Shenzhen and back in Shanghai in 2002.
All went quiet as the WPBSA’s resources dwindled but by 2005 the China Open had been revived in Beijing.
This is possibly the best snooker event I have ever attended. It is hard to explain exactly why to those who weren’t there but everything about it was an eye-opener, from seeing the sights of Beijing itself to the snooker and the emergence of a new national hero in Ding Junhui.
That we are now at the stage where there will be five ranking events in China is down to Ding.
He turned 18 that week and was a revelation, beating Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty in whitewashes before his 9-5 defeat of Stephen Hendry in the final.
It was an incredible triumph and the nation immediately took him to their hearts. More significantly, major companies started to see snooker as a sport they wished to become involved in.
Here in the UK it is still seen as something of a working class pursuit, hence it mainly attracts sponsors associated with perceived working class activities (smoking, drinking and gambling).
In China snooker is regarded as a bit of a cut above, an activity that appeals to the moneyed. Actually, the truth is that is has always been a game enjoyed by all different types of people but China’s image of snooker has led to serious investment and fully funded, underwritten ranking events.
The TV viewing figures are huge and growing the more they show. This is a genuine boom. I have been to a Star table factory in China which runs 24/7 to meet the demand.
Snooker clubs are full and more and more youngsters are taking to the game.
There seems to be something in the national make-up which makes snooker a sport the Chinese take to.
The new Welsh Open sponsor, to be announced soon, has apparently come about due to moves from the company's Chinese office, due to viewing figures for this tournament being so strong.
However, ordinary Chinese people do not earn fortunes and ticket prices for tournaments are high, so when you turn on Eurosport to watch the China Open the hall seems half empty and the assumption is understandably drawn than not many people in China like snooker.
I can assure you this isn’t the case. I’ve seen unlikely players chased down corridors for their autograph as if caught up in Beatlemania.
It’s a little different to schlepping past the swimming pool at the Newport Centre unnoticed.
Chinese tournaments traditionally start with a red carpet parade. The media go nuts when snooker hits town. And sponsors are clearly willing to invest big money for more and more events.
Not all players like this. I have sympathy with those who dislike travelling full stop. Not everyone enjoys flying but the British players should see how lucky they are: Chinese players have to leave their home country for most of the year to come and live in the UK, away from their families, to play qualifiers and PTCs. This is far more of a sacrifice.
I’m afraid there is also a degree of cultural ignorance. More than once I’ve heard a player complain that ‘nobody speaks English over there’ or that ‘the food is all different.’
Actually, in the hotels in which the players stay almost everyone speaks English and you can get just about any sort of food you like.
I once heard a group of hangers-on complaining that the beer in the official hotel was too expensive – as if the thought of going outside and experiencing the varied and remarkable sights on the streets of Beijing was just too much of an adventure.
A more justifiable complaint is the cost of actually getting to China for all these tournaments, although prize money for the Chinese events is on the rise.
The bottom line is this: snooker’s growth and sustainability depends on it becoming a properly global sport. There is money in China, and company bosses want to spend it on snooker.
The circuit remains predominantly British in terms of player representation but it can’t remain this way in terms of the spread of tournaments.
Not everyone in snooker is happy with the fact, but it remains true: there is a whole world out there, and China’s green baize bubble shows no sign of bursting just yet.
23.1.12
ROBERTSON'S TITLE
Neil Robertson’s reputation as one of the hardest players in the game was further enhanced tonight by his capture of the BGC Masters in London.
The Aussie is now as tough as they come, an all-round match-player in the Steve Davis/John Higgins mould.
Shaun Murphy will be disappointed that he didn’t score more heavily but there is no disgrace in losing to Robertson, whose all round game has come on leaps and bounds in the last two years.
This is a guy who arrived in the UK for a final shot at the professional circuit with just £500 on him. You won’t hear Robertson moaning about all the travelling necessary to make snooker a proper international sport because he made a huge sacrifice by moving to the other side of the world, away from his family and friends to pursue his ambition to be a top player.
Well, the kid who learned his trade a stone’s throw from the sun-drenched beaches of Melbourne remained ice cool in the capital amid the chilly British winter and becomes the fourth non-British player, after Perrie Mans, Cliff Thorburn and Ding Junhui, to win the Masters.
The scenes afterwards with his partner, Mille, and their young son, Alexander, were wonderful...one for the family album.
That’s now nine TV finals and nine victories, some record for a player who seems most at home when the pressure is on.
Every facet of his game was working well. He has made 38 centuries this season – more than anyone else – and his safety game is rock hard. He is a brilliant potter and so finds ways into frames. It is some package.
I congratulate Neil, a genuinely nice bloke who treats the game with respect. The Masters is one of our majors and it’s been won by a player who has come a long way, both geographically and in terms of the way he has sharpened his game.
He is now one tough nut to crack.
The Aussie is now as tough as they come, an all-round match-player in the Steve Davis/John Higgins mould.
Shaun Murphy will be disappointed that he didn’t score more heavily but there is no disgrace in losing to Robertson, whose all round game has come on leaps and bounds in the last two years.
This is a guy who arrived in the UK for a final shot at the professional circuit with just £500 on him. You won’t hear Robertson moaning about all the travelling necessary to make snooker a proper international sport because he made a huge sacrifice by moving to the other side of the world, away from his family and friends to pursue his ambition to be a top player.
Well, the kid who learned his trade a stone’s throw from the sun-drenched beaches of Melbourne remained ice cool in the capital amid the chilly British winter and becomes the fourth non-British player, after Perrie Mans, Cliff Thorburn and Ding Junhui, to win the Masters.
The scenes afterwards with his partner, Mille, and their young son, Alexander, were wonderful...one for the family album.
That’s now nine TV finals and nine victories, some record for a player who seems most at home when the pressure is on.
Every facet of his game was working well. He has made 38 centuries this season – more than anyone else – and his safety game is rock hard. He is a brilliant potter and so finds ways into frames. It is some package.
I congratulate Neil, a genuinely nice bloke who treats the game with respect. The Masters is one of our majors and it’s been won by a player who has come a long way, both geographically and in terms of the way he has sharpened his game.
He is now one tough nut to crack.
22.1.12
THE FINAL
Before the final, a word on the semis, in particular the fall-out from Neil Robertson’s victory over Judd Trump.
I personally have no problem with Robertson’s clenched-fist in potting frame and match ball. This was not a protracted celebration, just a release of emotion.
Equally, I have no problem with the supporters of players shouting out between shots. As long as they don’t put the players off when they are down at the table a bit of audience participation is fine.
Flukes have always been applauded and people who are partisan to begin with become more so as the match wears on.
Robertson had his say afterwards, not about Trump but some of his entourage. Said members of the Trump massive did themselves few favours with some unpleasant tweeting about Robertson in the aftermath. Trump, to his credit, wished the Australian well for the final.
One point that is absurd, though, is Robertson’s ‘slow’ play. Trump is lucky he never had to play the real grinders to grace the snooker stage.
The fact is this: Robertson has made more centuries this season than any other player. He is not a grinder but he is a great match-player who plays to his strengths, not his opponents (there is a difference).
Robertson also seems to enjoy riling his fellow players a little and good on him for that. It’s a game, yes, but also a profession. There’s no reason why everyone has to be friends.
This has been made out to be some great feud but the slightly disappointing truth is this: both Neil and Judd are too nice to get involved in anything as serious as that. All the surrounding blather on Twitter and elsewhere doesn’t change this.
And so to the final...
NEIL ROBERTSON V SHAUN MURPHY
It’s a very difficult final to predict because it involves two proven winners both playing superbly and both good under pressure.
It is Robertson’s ninth TV final. He has never lost one. The Melbourne man also becomes the eighth non British player to appear in a Masters final.
Murphy, like Robertson, had done little of note in the Masters prior to this year but was superb again last night.
It would have been an injustice had he lost to John Higgins, even though the match was very close to going 5-5. Murphy scored heavily, making three centuries, and remained positive throughout.
He always has been ultra confident, but such self belief is understandable given his ability. His technique belongs in a textbook and his poise under pressure is why he’s one win away from becoming only the eighth player to complete the ‘triple crown’ of title successes in the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.
Prediction: I’m going Murphy to win 10-8 but I really don’t know or, for that matter, care. I’ll just sit back enjoy what promises to be an enthralling encounter.
I personally have no problem with Robertson’s clenched-fist in potting frame and match ball. This was not a protracted celebration, just a release of emotion.
Equally, I have no problem with the supporters of players shouting out between shots. As long as they don’t put the players off when they are down at the table a bit of audience participation is fine.
Flukes have always been applauded and people who are partisan to begin with become more so as the match wears on.
Robertson had his say afterwards, not about Trump but some of his entourage. Said members of the Trump massive did themselves few favours with some unpleasant tweeting about Robertson in the aftermath. Trump, to his credit, wished the Australian well for the final.
One point that is absurd, though, is Robertson’s ‘slow’ play. Trump is lucky he never had to play the real grinders to grace the snooker stage.
The fact is this: Robertson has made more centuries this season than any other player. He is not a grinder but he is a great match-player who plays to his strengths, not his opponents (there is a difference).
Robertson also seems to enjoy riling his fellow players a little and good on him for that. It’s a game, yes, but also a profession. There’s no reason why everyone has to be friends.
This has been made out to be some great feud but the slightly disappointing truth is this: both Neil and Judd are too nice to get involved in anything as serious as that. All the surrounding blather on Twitter and elsewhere doesn’t change this.
And so to the final...
NEIL ROBERTSON V SHAUN MURPHY
It’s a very difficult final to predict because it involves two proven winners both playing superbly and both good under pressure.
It is Robertson’s ninth TV final. He has never lost one. The Melbourne man also becomes the eighth non British player to appear in a Masters final.
Murphy, like Robertson, had done little of note in the Masters prior to this year but was superb again last night.
It would have been an injustice had he lost to John Higgins, even though the match was very close to going 5-5. Murphy scored heavily, making three centuries, and remained positive throughout.
He always has been ultra confident, but such self belief is understandable given his ability. His technique belongs in a textbook and his poise under pressure is why he’s one win away from becoming only the eighth player to complete the ‘triple crown’ of title successes in the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.
Prediction: I’m going Murphy to win 10-8 but I really don’t know or, for that matter, care. I’ll just sit back enjoy what promises to be an enthralling encounter.
21.1.12
DAY SEVEN
JUDD TRUMP V NEIL ROBERTSON
A repeat of their enthralling UK Championship semi-final, which Trump edged 9-7. He remarked afterwards that Robertson had been slow but it is naive to expect everyone to play the same game as him.
Actually, this is the worst mistake you can make playing Trump.
In the form he is in and with the confidence his success has brought it is going to be very hard to out-pot Trump, as Ronnie O'Sullivan discovered.
Robertson should instead play to his own strengths. He is a fine tactician but also a heavy scorer, a little like John Higgins.
Frustrate Trump if you can because, if you can't, he will take you apart.
That said, the fact Robertson has had to play in a new tip overnight doesn't add weight to the Australian's cause.
Prediction: Trump to win 6-4
JOHN HIGGINS V SHAUN MURPHY
Higgins has got it together for the first time in a big event this season. As professional snooker continues to evolve there are question marks over the three great players of the last 15 years, all 36, but Higgins remains a formidable match player.
Murphy has not been flawless in reaching his first masters semi-final but has at times been superb.
Martin Gould failed to press home his early advantage against him in the first round and Mark Selby made two key errors last night: a bungled safety on the black in frame two and a missed yellow in the sixth.
Murphy is exuding an air of great confidence. He is hitting the ball sweetly and scoring well when in.
The last player to complete the triple crown of world, UK and Masters titles was O'Sullivan by winning at the Crucible in 2001. Murphy has already won two and is closing in on a third.
Prediction: Murphy to win 6-3
A repeat of their enthralling UK Championship semi-final, which Trump edged 9-7. He remarked afterwards that Robertson had been slow but it is naive to expect everyone to play the same game as him.
Actually, this is the worst mistake you can make playing Trump.
In the form he is in and with the confidence his success has brought it is going to be very hard to out-pot Trump, as Ronnie O'Sullivan discovered.
Robertson should instead play to his own strengths. He is a fine tactician but also a heavy scorer, a little like John Higgins.
Frustrate Trump if you can because, if you can't, he will take you apart.
That said, the fact Robertson has had to play in a new tip overnight doesn't add weight to the Australian's cause.
Prediction: Trump to win 6-4
JOHN HIGGINS V SHAUN MURPHY
Higgins has got it together for the first time in a big event this season. As professional snooker continues to evolve there are question marks over the three great players of the last 15 years, all 36, but Higgins remains a formidable match player.
Murphy has not been flawless in reaching his first masters semi-final but has at times been superb.
Martin Gould failed to press home his early advantage against him in the first round and Mark Selby made two key errors last night: a bungled safety on the black in frame two and a missed yellow in the sixth.
Murphy is exuding an air of great confidence. He is hitting the ball sweetly and scoring well when in.
The last player to complete the triple crown of world, UK and Masters titles was O'Sullivan by winning at the Crucible in 2001. Murphy has already won two and is closing in on a third.
Prediction: Murphy to win 6-3
20.1.12
TO ERR IS HUMAN...
Jan Verhaas made a *ghastly error when he stopped play in the John Higgins-Graeme Dott match last night to correct an error that had not, in fact, been made.
Verhaas had a brain freeze and believed that a foul in which Higgins had caught the brown and then hit the blue should have been worth five rather than four.
He eventually realised and play resumed but Dott, who had been waiting to play his shot, immediately missed.
Dott lost this frame and the match, but it would take a ludicrous stretch of the imagination to blame Verhaas for Dott’s eventual defeat.
The fact is this: Jan is only human and, like the rest of us human beings, is capable of making mistakes.
We all make them. I do, you do, referees do. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t.
In some jobs it is more serious than others. If Jan were a heart surgeon he would probably be feeling worse this morning than for briefly losing the plot in a snooker match.
Referees are unsung heroes (and heroines). They have to retain concentration for long periods of time and are usually only noticed if they get something wrong.
They are also not paid fortunes – far from it – and have to not only ensure the match is played within the rules but also keep the audience in check and deal with the unexpected.
Snooker has been fortunate to have had many top referees over the years. They have all, at one time or another, done something inexplicable in a match.
Jan is one of the best refs and has been for many years. A cheerful Dutchman, he is a popular figure on the snooker circuit. Friendly, courteous and well liked, he is rightly regarded as a safe pair of white gloves.
He will be embarrassed I’m sure by his mistake but when he walks out at the Ally Pally today he will do so as an official trusted by the players and respected by the game at large.
*EDIT: further investigation of the actual footage reveals that Verhaas's call was, in fact, correct. It should have been five away, not four so his mistake was actually in changing his mind.
Verhaas had a brain freeze and believed that a foul in which Higgins had caught the brown and then hit the blue should have been worth five rather than four.
He eventually realised and play resumed but Dott, who had been waiting to play his shot, immediately missed.
Dott lost this frame and the match, but it would take a ludicrous stretch of the imagination to blame Verhaas for Dott’s eventual defeat.
The fact is this: Jan is only human and, like the rest of us human beings, is capable of making mistakes.
We all make them. I do, you do, referees do. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t.
In some jobs it is more serious than others. If Jan were a heart surgeon he would probably be feeling worse this morning than for briefly losing the plot in a snooker match.
Referees are unsung heroes (and heroines). They have to retain concentration for long periods of time and are usually only noticed if they get something wrong.
They are also not paid fortunes – far from it – and have to not only ensure the match is played within the rules but also keep the audience in check and deal with the unexpected.
Snooker has been fortunate to have had many top referees over the years. They have all, at one time or another, done something inexplicable in a match.
Jan is one of the best refs and has been for many years. A cheerful Dutchman, he is a popular figure on the snooker circuit. Friendly, courteous and well liked, he is rightly regarded as a safe pair of white gloves.
He will be embarrassed I’m sure by his mistake but when he walks out at the Ally Pally today he will do so as an official trusted by the players and respected by the game at large.
*EDIT: further investigation of the actual footage reveals that Verhaas's call was, in fact, correct. It should have been five away, not four so his mistake was actually in changing his mind.
DAY SIX
It’s getting a bit repetitive to keep saying how impressive Judd Trump is but it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
He demolished Ronnie O’Sullivan yesterday, as O’Sullivan was the first to admit. It was another big performance on the big stage by the 22 year-old.
It seems absurd now to think that just a year ago people were questioning his talent and his ability to deliver.
Today’s two matches again feature proven winners...
MARK WILLIAMS V NEIL ROBERTSON
These two let me down in my first round predictions by winning. Williams probably should have won more easily against Stephen Maguire but got the job done in the end. Robertson was superb against Mark Allen, whose claim to have ‘lost interest’ was surely a reaction to losing. He actually competed very well.
Williams has always been able to win matches in tournaments where he hasn’t been playing at his best. He has been there, done it, worn the t-shirt and tweeted about it afterwards.
Robertson is yet to reach the Masters semi-finals but against Allen once again proved how strong he is under pressure.
These two left-handed winners of the World Championship invariably come good when the stakes are high. The standard is likely to be, too, but I just feel the Australian will shade it based on what I saw in the first round.
Prediction: Robertson to win 6-4
MARK SELBY V SHAUN MURPHY
Another tough one to call between two good friends. Murphy was brilliant against Martin Gould but Selby’s performance against Stephen Lee was hard to judge.
Lee was poor early on but when he started to come back Selby began to get a little edgy. However, he has won this tournament twice and that has to count for something.
He will also most likely raise his game against Murphy, a player he likes, respects and knows is playing well.
A close encounter is on the cards and Selby has won so many of these in the Masters that he would be favourite if it went all the way.
Prediction: Selby to win 6-5
He demolished Ronnie O’Sullivan yesterday, as O’Sullivan was the first to admit. It was another big performance on the big stage by the 22 year-old.
It seems absurd now to think that just a year ago people were questioning his talent and his ability to deliver.
Today’s two matches again feature proven winners...
MARK WILLIAMS V NEIL ROBERTSON
These two let me down in my first round predictions by winning. Williams probably should have won more easily against Stephen Maguire but got the job done in the end. Robertson was superb against Mark Allen, whose claim to have ‘lost interest’ was surely a reaction to losing. He actually competed very well.
Williams has always been able to win matches in tournaments where he hasn’t been playing at his best. He has been there, done it, worn the t-shirt and tweeted about it afterwards.
Robertson is yet to reach the Masters semi-finals but against Allen once again proved how strong he is under pressure.
These two left-handed winners of the World Championship invariably come good when the stakes are high. The standard is likely to be, too, but I just feel the Australian will shade it based on what I saw in the first round.
Prediction: Robertson to win 6-4
MARK SELBY V SHAUN MURPHY
Another tough one to call between two good friends. Murphy was brilliant against Martin Gould but Selby’s performance against Stephen Lee was hard to judge.
Lee was poor early on but when he started to come back Selby began to get a little edgy. However, he has won this tournament twice and that has to count for something.
He will also most likely raise his game against Murphy, a player he likes, respects and knows is playing well.
A close encounter is on the cards and Selby has won so many of these in the Masters that he would be favourite if it went all the way.
Prediction: Selby to win 6-5
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