What a shame that a tournament named in honour of the people's champion has failed to attract the people to Killarney.
The Alex Higgins Trophy has been full of interesting snooker with a good line-up for the last day. Hopefully the crowds will improve.
Ireland has always been a snooker hotbed but new events notoriously struggle, regardless of what promotion has been done.
Still, it should be a very interesting day with eight members of the world's top 16 still going strong.
Of these, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Judd Trump must be the favourites.
Mark Allen is also worth following, Northern Ireland's best prospect since the heady days of the Hurricane and Dennis Taylor.
Ken Doherty won three deciding frame finishes yesterday to book his last 16 place, including against Ali Carter in the last 64.
Doherty forced the decider by doubling the re-spotted black the full length of the table, after which he seemed destined to win the match.
Ken was a big pal of Alex Higgins and would dearly love to win a title named after him. He plays Alan McManus this morning, who he beat in the final of the 1993 Welsh Open, his first ranking event win.
23 comments:
dave
in his book...does ken mention his introduction to commentating and it seemingly not leading to loads more work elswhere (except occasionally the bbc studio)?
I was disappointed to hear the PTC was being held in Killarney. The chosen location meant that I probably wouldn't be able to go.
Killarney is a popular tourist resort in the summer but at this time of year it is inhabited by natives, whose only sporting interest appears to be gaelic football.
Most Irish people have never set foot in Killarney. A place of scenic beauty, it nevertheless involves a long journey to get there.
Any location from the midlands to the North would have ensured good crowds.
I don't know who chooses the PTC venues, but if you are putting on any more events please please put them somewhere accessible for the public.
Does it mean that Ireland's snooker is in trouble?
Ken won't be short of media work - when he's finished playing
dave, i dont doubt it.
my post wasnt meant to suggest anything otherwise, so not sure why you replied with that.
only asked a specific question which you didnt answer, instead posting as if i was being negative about ken.
ken was a great player.
to some, he appeared to be accepting his decline and lining up commentary and occasional studio apearances.
lately the commentary box has had few visits from him
that was the reason for my question.
thanks
Not surprised the Irish haven't turned up. It's ANOTHER meaningless, pointless, dreary PTC. There's decent meaningful sport on TV today so I doubt they'll turn up today either.
Why do they keep putting Selby on the tv table. nobody wants to watch him.
It's probably why the locals have steered clear of the event in droves. Selby is hardly an advert for the game, and they may not realise there are plenty of other matches to watch given the coverage he's getting. The guy really needs to be shoved on an outside table as much as possible. Obviously if he's still there by the SF/Final time then you haven't got much choice but to show his match, but if you minimise his exposure as much as possible it will limit the damage to the sport.
Nobody has drawn a crowd in Killarney
Selby drew huge ones for the two German finals he was in, and in Shanghai too
well said dave.
we all know who the selby bashers are (mostly)
shame. hes a great player and a nice guy too. good to watch also, if you appreciate all forms of snooker. hes got it all. in spades!
To be fair finals always have large crowds, and the tickets are usually sold out by the time the tournament starts. There would probably be a huge crowd in Germany and Shanghai if the final were contested by Mark King and Adrian Gunnell.
I said before that it would be justice for Judd to win this one (or another flair player) but since Ronnie is out, I can think of no better winner. And no better finalist than Robertson. It will be a cracker of a final I feel. Hopefully some good tons.
I am so glad that Selby didn't make it, would be like sacrilege to Alex Higgins due to his style of play.
completely agree with anon at 9.39am. I too would have loved to go.
Killarney is a beautiful tourist spot but its in the arse end of no where and its off season.
when the grand finals were in dublin the crowds were excellent for the final 2 days and even held up well on Patricks day when most people were in the pub. therefore the public appetite in Ireland should not be in question.
There was NO advertsing of the event in the national media and no reporting of the results, most people don't know its on.
If the event was held in a city or near dublin and a had some national exposure the crowd would have been better. But I accept that a large venue is need to accommadate up to 10 tables.
Heres hoping we get our full ranker next year in goffs or the excellent Helix because it looks like the grand finals will be in Malta
Change the record Seifer. Selby's a great player and if he plays well, he deserves to get to the final of whatever event he's in. Not your cup of tea? - Tough!
Selby is a very good player, but he is also boring and he doesn't bring the same crowds in as a Trump or O'sullivan, and the tour does not cater to flair players, it caters to his type of gamesmanship plodding.
It's not gamesmanship. Selby plays his natural way.
The game shouldn't 'cater' to any sort of player, other than those who win.
I know what you are saying is correct Dave, but there is a case for bending the proceedure slightly to occasionally showcase a "tabloid", or flair player.
I firmly believe that major championship matches should feature the best or highest ranked players, but the reason I love watching PTCs is because I get to see players that I don't usually see.
Lisowski, Woolaston, Jones etc and even old stagers like White, Doherty and Davis. Its nice to see them for a change.
While I have nothing but the height of respect for the likes of Robinson, Murphy, Selby and Maguire, I have seen them play each other about 6 million times.
I still relish the prospect of two top players in a major championship but in a PTC its a case of "who cares" when the big boys are on.
With the lower ranked pros and fading oldies there is tension, monumental effort and a sense of achievement when they win a TV match.
I just get the feeling that the person who chooses the TV matches has never played and doesn't watch the game.
They showed Higgins and Greene yesterday when they could have shown Allen V Day or Trump V Lee.
Robots win matches and good luck to them but flair players are more likely to attract new fans and should, in my opinion, occasionally get the nod over the usual suspects.
that what made Stephen Hendry such a great player he played his way against anyone the Grinders of the 80s or Jimmy white and more Atacking players.
he never allowed other players pace to affect his own game.
that is the secret of snooker.
kc, who is this robinson youve seen play 6 million times?
The results were reported fairly enthusiastically by RTE although the fact that Ken had a run was a big bonus there. Killarney is not very readily accessible for a lot of people and I heard that accommodation was pricey. I think a new Irish event would be better developed in a major city and, crucially, with a sponsor who would drum up guests and media interest.
kc - robinson kroozo?
seems kc has went on holiday......
Agree with u ruthie and get it on rte with you commentating too!
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