tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296054522024-03-14T04:02:22.585+00:00SNOOKER SCENE BLOGNews, opinion and insight from the green baizeDave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.comBlogger2299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-58599113213785085612014-01-09T23:10:00.003+00:002014-01-09T23:10:33.230+00:00WE HAVE MOVED<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
new website I mentioned yesterday is <a href="http://www.inside-snooker.com/">www.inside-snooker.com</a>.
This is a joint venture between myself and fellow snooker journalist Hector
Hunns.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
blog will remain here as an archive.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-15794036950145552872014-01-08T19:51:00.003+00:002014-01-08T19:51:22.709+00:00THE LAST POST<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
almost eight years, this blog is coming to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
reason is not that I am sick of writing it: quite the opposite. Tomorrow, all
being well, I will be launching a much expanded website with additional
content. Rather than just blog posts it will include snooker news, interviews
and features.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Therefore,
the material I have traditionally posted here will move there. I will post full
details tomorrow when the site launches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the meantime I want to thank everyone who has read and contributed to Snooker
Scene Blog since 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snooker
was not in a great state of health back then. There were such long gaps between
events, and it was before I was commentating, that I decided to set up the blog
to give news and opinions and some analysis of the snooker world from my
position as a journalist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Graeme
Dott had just won the World Championship. Neil Robertson was yet to win a
ranking title, neither had Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Ali Carter and a few others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John
Higgins had won one world title and Ronnie O’Sullivan two. Stephen Hendry was
back at world no.1.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
internet was also a different a place. The blog launched a few months after
Youtube, a month before Twitter and three months before Facebook became open to
all. Snooker’s presence on the web was down to a small band of enthusiasts, in
particular Hermund Ardalen (snooker.org) and Janie Watkins (Global Snooker
Centre).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the last eight years we’ve lost some wonderful, iconic characters from the
snooker world including Alex Higgins, John Spencer, Len Ganley, Ted Lowe, David
Vine and, most sadly of all, Paul Hunter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve
also seen the rise of new champions, the advent of new tournaments and the ever
shifting sands of snooker’s political landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
blog was never intended to be political but it was impossible to ignore what
was happening off table. I was deeply sceptical of the structure of the old
WPBSA and was delighted when Barry Hearn made his bid to take control of World
Snooker. Hearn and his team have transformed the circuit, mainly for the
better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snooker’s
calendar is now packed with tournaments and the sport has become far more
global, reaching more television viewers than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
number of websites catering to snooker fans has also increased, which is a good
thing. But I feel there is room for a site offering primarily original news
content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
after 2,338 posts, this blog is no more, although it will remain in cyberspace
if anyone wishes to read old posts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All
good things must come to an end but hopefully the new site will enhance snooker
fans’ enjoyment of this game we all love and to which I remain committed.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-80710261662763482822013-12-18T08:38:00.002+00:002013-12-18T08:38:49.472+00:002013 IN SNOOKER: THE HITS AND MISSES<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
is no more snooker this year so it’s time to take stock, preferably with as
much food and alcohol as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
traditional to review the season rather than the calendar year but the whole
concept of seasons has become somewhat irrelevant in this era when snooker
rolls on and on. No sooner does the World Championship end as the new ‘season’
is about to start.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
as we have this chance to pause, we can reflect on 2013, a year in which there
were many events, many winners, many terrific matches, controversy, drama and
much more besides.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To
simplify, there were hits and misses. Here are mine:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>HITS</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>RONNIE
O’SULLIVAN</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan
predicted his return at the Crucible would be a ‘car crash.’ In fact, he
motored to a sensational victory, proving once again that he produces his best
when the odds are apparently against him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
was one of snooker’s most notable achievements, but just as notable was the
fact nobody had stepped up and taken him on. This has changed now that O’Sullivan
is playing more snooker…but the Crucible is a different prospect and he goes
there clearly capable of making it six world titles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>DING
JUNHUI</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
winning three successive ranking titles, Ding proved that it is possible to
dominate: you just have to be exceptional. Steve Davis was. Stephen Hendry was.
Ding at his best is sublime and his patience and discipline got him through the
various dodgy times in matches he may have lost a couple of years back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
still five months until the world final. If Ding is in it then the viewing
audience in China will be colossal. And if he’s in it playing the snooker he’s
already produced this season then he will take some stopping.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CHAMPION
OF CHAMPIONS</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
was a welcome new event for several reasons. First, it was for the elite. There
was one table, not ten, and the game’s best were rewarded for their
achievements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ITV4
also provided excellent coverage, the crowds were good and it gave snooker in
the UK a shot in the arm. One thing though: Matchroom should announce now what
the criteria is for places next season. Anthony McGill came up with a good
idea: invite the last 16 major tournament winners and thus avoid any arguments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>NEIL
ROBERTSON</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson’s
century tally for the season now stands at 60, just one off Judd Trump’s
seasonal record set during 2012/13. The Australian completed the triple crown
at the UK Championship and ends 2013 as world no.1.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More
than that, he is an eloquent speaker and his positive attitude is refreshing in
a sport where so many enjoy a moan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>BARRY
HEARN</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hearn
is Britain’s leading sports promoter. I know because he told me. But behind his
boastful demeanour, Hearn is a shrewd operator with a genuine sense of what the
public wants and the business savvy to make it happen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many
top players disagreed with the flat draw system but in the early stages of this
format they have been the main winners: literally – at the recent World Open
qualifiers every member of the top 16 made it through.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>TWITTER</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fans
can now interact with players and others in the snooker world in a way
impossible and unimaginable years ago thanks to Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not
every tweet is helpful or edifying but they each represent the truth of the
moment for players and are a world away from shiny and false PR. Players are
human beings, not robots. For good and bad, Twitter has provided a window on
the range of human emotions which come with life as a sportsman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>SNOOKER
LEGENDS</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
has been another successful year for a successful exhibition series which
showcases some of the players who did so much to put the game on the map in the
first place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Legends nights have the right mix of fun and competition and the televised
event in Bedworth last May was a good way to wind down after the World
Championship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>MISSES</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>THE
WORLD OPEN</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
nothing wrong with this as a tournament but the complete lack of atmosphere due
to low crowds was a disappointment. Participation levels in China are
remarkable but ticket prices remain a problem. Quite simply, many ordinary
Chinese snooker fans are priced out of attending live matches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was a particular shame in Haikou because it marked ITV’s return to broadcasting
snooker. They are not understood to be particularly keen to show the World Open
again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>JUDD
TRUMP</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2013
was a disappointing year for Trump’s fans as he did not win a professional title
this calendar year, having won at least one each year since 2008. He had a good
run in the World Championship but lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals.
This season, results have been hard to come by.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
think one of his problems is that the fear factor he had a couple of years ago
when he was the exciting new kid on the baize has gone. There is also the
pressure of raised expectations: before he was winning titles, 2013 would have been
judged a successful year, now he’s there to be shot at. But there’s another
year on the way and Trump remains both young and talented. All great players
have endured slumps and found their way out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>POWER
SNOOKER</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing
whatsoever was heard about this in 2013 beyond a vague announcement of an event
last March which never happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
truth is, there was never anything wrong with snooker as a game, just how it
was being run. Now that has been addressed the traditional game is flourishing
and gimmicks will recede into history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>STEPHEN
LEE</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lee’s
appeal against his 12-year ban for match and frame fixing will be heard on
January 30. If he is unsuccessful his snooker career is over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snooker
is no more susceptible to cheating as any other sport but neither is it immune.
It has embraced the betting industry but needs to remain constantly alive to
ensuring players are not led astray by those looking to make a fast buck, which
appears to be what happened to Lee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WOMEN’S
SNOOKER</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World
Snooker launched a ‘Ladies Day’ at the Crucible where warm words were spoken
about helping the women’s game but when Reanne Evans qualified for the Wuxi
Classic she had to play a wildcard and, had she won, would have played Neil
Robertson in a session not televised in Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
good news for the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association is that Mandy
Fisher, who has probably done more than anyone to champion the women’s game,
has returned to the helm, which should hopefully help their circuit to grow
again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LIVEWORLDSNOOKER.TV</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
service has taken a few backward steps this year. They dispensed with
commentary to cut costs and also reduced the number of cameras used.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always
the problem on the Internet is how to make money out of something when people can get it for free.
Those who have watched on dodgy streams rather than subscribing certainly
haven’t helped but by and large people do pay if they feel a service is worth
it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>THE
BRITS</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
professional circuit is still comprised of 75% British players, largely because
the entire qualifying set-up has been based in Britain for decades. But all six
major ranking events this season have been won by non-British players, with
only two British finalists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
does not represent the end of snooker in the UK but does point to the game
becoming more global, which is the key to its ultimate survival as a big money
sport.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And with all that, and plenty of snooker to look forward to in 2014, I wish a very merry Christmas and happy New Year to all readers of this blog.</span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-84941556544745576212013-12-12T12:36:00.000+00:002013-12-12T12:36:43.621+00:00O'SULLIVAN FAILS BBC PERSONALITY TEST<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was no great surprise to me that Ronnie O’Sullivan was not named on the
shortlist for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is no fault of O’Sullivan but a reflection of the way snooker is still viewed
by many sections of the media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SPOTY
used to be the concluding moment of the BBC Sports Review of the Year, which
did what it said on the tin: reviewed the sporting year, in the company of those
British sportsmen and women who had made it so memorable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
the name of the programme changed, so did its focus. It is now an awards show
in which personalities dominate over sport.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
over 40 years the voting system for SPOTY was very simple: you voted for
whoever you liked. Whoever got the most votes won.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
more recent years it was changed to a pre-chosen shortlist of ten, from which
the public could choose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
there to be a shortlist, there has to be people choosing the shortlist, and
this is where things went bad for snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because
years ago, when it was a free vote, snooker fared really well. Steve Davis
appeared in the top three more than anyone else. In 1988, after becoming he
first player to complete the triple crown of world, UK and Masters titles he
won the main award, although he was playing in a tournament in Belgium so could
not accept his prize in the studio.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stephen
Hendry would also appear in the top three but no snooker player since has got
close.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan,
in the year he returned from a long sabbatical to win a fifth world title,
deserved proper consideration. He didn’t get it. His name was put forward to
the selection panel but they quickly dismissed it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hendry,
a member of the BBC snooker team but very much his own man, told the Daily
Star: “There’s a snobbery towards snooker that has always been there. Ronnie’s
a personality. When you take the whole title ‘Sports Personality’, you couldn’t
really get much more of a personality than Ronnie. And in terms of sporting
achievement I would like to see someone else take a year off and then come back
and win the major title in their chosen sport.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
of the problems is that, since National Lottery funding transformed British
sport, we are actually very good at a number of sports. So it’s a lot harder
than it once was to get on the list.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/sports-personality/24145324">glance at the people who chose this shortlist</a> was a clue as to the sort of
sports they would consider. There was an overwhelming middle class bias and also
representatives of sports whose competitors then found themselves among the
final ten.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan
is one of the biggest personalities in any sport. He’s divisive, certainly, but
his personality combined with his achievement in becoming world champion again
deserved some recognition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike most of the other contenders, he actually won his major title on the BBC.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of
course some will say, who cares? It’s only a TV show. Yes, and it was a chance
for snooker to gain some coverage outside its own bubble on a programme watched
by general sports fans and some people who don’t much follow sport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
snooker can’t get a player on the final list in a year like this then it surely
never will.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neil
Robertson’s recovery from 5-1 down to beat Mark Selby 10-7 and win the UK
Championship in York last night was final confirmation, as if it were needed,
of his status as a modern great.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World
champion in 2010 and Masters winner in 2012, Robertson’s capture of the UK
title makes him the eighth player to have won the game’s ‘triple crown’ of
major events.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
a good list to be on: Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry,
John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
triumph looked unlikely early on. Robertson appeared inhibited and unable to
produce his best as Selby took control of the first session.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
Robertson must have left the arena feeling confident after ending the afternoon
with a century and made two more in levelling at 6-6. His tally of centuries
for the season now stands at 58, just three away from the record Judd Trump set
during 2012/13.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
pressure had by now transferred to Selby, who having led 6-3 found himself 8-6
down. At one point Robertson had amassed 410 points without reply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selby
rallied to 8-7 but missed the final black for 8-8, after which victory, even
for a player as determined as the Leicester man, seemed unlikely.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
Selby, the UK Championship turned into a tale of two black balls, which between them
emphasised the conflicting emotions sport can produce: joy as the black went in
for the maximum, despair at missing it to level the final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson
too was emotional, seemingly wiping away a tear at the end. His mother, Alison,
who he is able to see only rarely, is in the UK for Christmas. She has a 100%
record in finals, having previously seen Neil win the World Championship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
is a worthy world no.1 and a player whose attitude and demeanour should serve
as inspiration to all those who have ambition to rise up the ranks. A fine player,
he also speaks well and conducts himself professionally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
was a terrific final of high quality with an absorbing closing session
befitting the status of the tournament.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Barbican Centre and its audience certainly played its part. It would be a great
shame if York was snubbed next year. There were complaints about space and the
format but does anyone really think they will vanish if the UK Championship is
held somewhere else next year? I doubt it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
are qualifiers this week for the German Masters and World Open but the UK
Championship was the last tournament of 2013. It was a great way to end the
year.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
tournament which began with a chorus of complaints will end in a grandstand
finish when world no.1 Neil Robertson meets world no.2 Mark Selby for the UK Championship
title in York today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
two tough, dedicated match players have made it through the melee of six rounds
of snooker at the Barbican Centre to set up what seems likely to be a close,
high quality final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
Selby wins he will replace Robertson at the head of the rankings and become
only the third player and the first since Stephen Hendry in 1996 to successfully
defend the UK crown.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
Robertson wins it will be the sixth successive ranking title won by a non-Brit
and he will become the eighth player after Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Alex
Higgins, Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan to have won
the world, UK and Masters titles – snooker’s triple crown.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson
and Selby somehow avoided each other in draws for years but have played a fair
amount over the last couple of seasons, including a right old grind in York
last year when Selby recovered from 4-0 down to win 6-4 in the quarter-finals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite
a late night semi-final, Selby also beat Robertson 10-6 in the Masters final, a
scoreline reversed by the Australian in the China Open final earlier this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They
are evenly matched in temperament and style, though despite Selby’s maximum
yesterday, Robertson has scored more heavily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most
bookmakers have made him slight favourite but it would be a surprise if either
player won be a large margin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
£150,000 for the winner. It’s been a long tournament – probably too long – but we
are left with what could be a classic final featuring two players imbued with
the qualities needed to win the game’s biggest titles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson
and Selby are two of snooker’s real fighters and this will be a fight to the
finish.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From
Oldham Civic Centre to the Barbican in York with many stops in between it has
taken just under 32 years since Steve Davis made the first official 147 break
for Mark Selby to compile the 100<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fittingly,
it was dramatic. Selby played a great shot to go round the table from brown to
blue but was left needing the rest for the pink. He potted it but was left with
a tough black, which he dropped in dead weight to the left middle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was a moment of magic and a moment of history, a milestone that was thankfully
achieved in a televised match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selby
had missed the final black on 140 in last season’s China Open but, with the
pressure on and £59,000 available for the maximum, was cool and deadly accurate
in sinking the final ball.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
Davis made his 147 at the 1982 Lada Classic in Oldham it was a significant
first. The maximum has enlivened many an event since.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of
the 100, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan have each made 11. John Higgins
has made seven.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
total of 52 players from 13 different nations are on the list of 100 maximums.
Selby’s was the 50<sup>th</sup> on television.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maximums
became more common as the professional game expanded with more players, became more attacking and playing conditions
more conducive to heavy scoring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
were eight compiled in the 1980s, 26 in the 1990s, 35 in the 2000s and 31 so
far in this decade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
when you consider the thousands and thousands of frames that have been played –
from World Championship finals down to the lowliest qualifier – 100 isn’t that
many.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
were 11 in 2012 but for all the snooker played this year there have been four
in 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
is still an achievement worth celebrating, as Selby and the Barbican crowd did
with sheer joy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
maximum break, made under the pressure of tournament play, is that rare thing –
perfection in a very exacting sport. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ronnie
O’Sullivan turns 38 today and, judging by his performance at the UK
Championship in York last night, he will remain a major force for several years
yet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan
blew Robert Milkins away 6-0 in 69 minutes. Potting cleanly and not so much
controlling as ordering the cue ball around the table, he made a string of
sizeable breaks to book his quarter-final place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan
now faces Stuart Bingham, who ran him so close in the Champion of Champions
final in Coventry last month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neither
man played their best in that match but O’Sullivan exhibited the patience and
discipline which have also been in abundance at the Barbican this week. He seems
calm, relaxed and willing to take the rough with the smooth. It makes him
dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neil
Robertson said in Coventry that, having lost to Milkins in the first round at
the Crucible last season, he was in no mood to watch any of the World
Championship but tuned in for O’Sullivan’s matches and learned a great deal as
a result, particularly in terms of how he kills frames off with such ruthless
efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
seems to have rubbed off on Robertson, always a fine player but now one with a
tight all round game. When he gets in he invariably makes a pile, as evidenced
by the 54 centuries he has already made this season.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson
eased through 6-1 over Joe Perry last night and this afternoon faces Stephen
Maguire, a tough competitor who could well cause him problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight,
Mark Selby, yet to hit top gear but playing well enough, takes on Barry
Hawkins, who beat him in the second round of the World Championship earlier
this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ricky
Walden, who survived an error strewn ending to his match with Ding Junhui,
meets Mark Allen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding’s
great run – 22 matches in major ranking events – had to end some time. He put
up a great fight against Walden but eventually left him a dolly pink for
victory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen
was unaccountably nervous early on against Judd Trump but from 4-2 down turned
it around. Trump will be very disappointed that having so obviously been on top
he failed to convert victory.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-50687908659697907502013-12-03T09:29:00.000+00:002013-12-03T09:33:57.462+00:00THE END FOR YORK?<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
week into the UK Championship and talk remains centred around the format and,
more particularly, the venue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
seems to me the Barbican Centre is being set up as a kind of patsy to be blamed
for all the complaints about the format and playing conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World
Snooker has started making noises along the lines that the event will go
elsewhere next year. Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, which hosted the recent Champions
of Champions, has been mentioned and this is indeed a first class facility.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
York is a lovely city and the Barbican a great venue. Crowds are always good.
On the second night of the tournament when there were no star names playing
World Snooker had to install extra seating in the Sports Hall to meet demand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is
York really so bad? It’s a little cramped, sure, but the complaints have not
been as widespread as all that. All through my career, every event and every format has attracted criticism for varying reasons. It comes with the territory that someone, somewhere, will always be annoyed about something.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
another point to make. I think it enhances a tournament when it is established
in a particular place rather than being constantly moved around. When the
professional circuit was being built up 30 years ago events became synonymous
with their sponsors and their venues: the Rothmans Grand Prix at Reading, the
Coral UK at Preston, the Embassy World Championship at the Crucible, the
Bensons at Wembley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now,
the only venue that means anything is the Crucible. To leave somewhere which
attracts strong crowds who have supported the UK Championship would be a shame.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
main problem with the format is that there are so many interesting matches that
TV viewers can’t watch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comparisons
have been made to Wimbledon but there the BBC televises something like seven
courts. That’s not going to happen for the UK snooker Championship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
the sort of format which would have suited Sky Sports a decade ago when they
pioneered interactive snooker, showing a choice of three tables. However, Sky
has lost interest in the sport beyond their novelty events.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The top players rightly take centre stage on TV but there has so far been a dearth of close matches of the sort which draw and keep audiences, though that will change as the big names start to play each other.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barry
Hearn told the media this week that he was fed up with ‘whingers’ moaning about
the format changes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
said: “People are forgetting that snooker was dead in the UK. Players and
purists have this attitude that I’m messing with a great event. That is
rubbish. We are keeping it alive. We know the venue is not right and we have
made some mistakes, next year that will change but we were committed to York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The
128 draw stays, get used to it or get another job. I am fed up with listening
to whingers who were themselves culpable of helping destroy this game. My
advice is put your heads down, play snooker, earn your money, and leave it to
the experts.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
can see both sides here. Hearn is absolutely right to point out that some players
and, more specifically, ‘managers’ were the very people who almost brought the
game to its knees. He and his team has worked extremely hard to increase the
number of tournaments to an almost unimaginable level and with it more than
double the prize money on offer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
that doesn’t mean all criticism is unjustified. Players and anyone else should
be allowed to question and complain, although some may wish to consider the
manner in which they do so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
has to be a better response to these complaints than: “If you don’t like it,
get another job.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
player who might have had to do that was Neil Robertson after he dropped off
the tour as a teenager. But he worked hard and now he’s world no.1, and a very
eloquent one at that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robertson’s
ability on the table is obvious but he also seems to understand his
responsibilities off it too. He speaks positively about his sport and clearly
uses his own experiences to gain perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Australian is one of a number of big hitters still going strong in York as the
last 32 is completed today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also
still in the hunt are defending champion Mark Selby, world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan,
John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen and Judd
Trump, who last night compiled three centuries to see off Xiao Guodong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
Trump came to York two years ago he was flavour of the month following his
excellent performance in the World Championship earlier in 2011. He won the UK
title but it doesn’t take long for the knives to come out when players start to
become successful. Trump came into this year’s event with the world and his
wife offering opinions about his game and his lifestyle after a disappointing
start to the season.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is part and parcel of life as a top sportsman but can seem unfair when coming
from people who don’t actually know you, or the factors in the background
which, unknown to them, are affecting your performance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
best way to answer all of this is on the table. Trump looks to be coming good
again. His problem, though, is that so are so many others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
still six days to go and all signs are that it’ll be a high quality end to the
tournament which may still yet be remembered for the right reasons.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
of the undoubted positives of the new UK Championship format is that there are
more faces to see and, for the media, more to write about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already
this week there’s been a big feature in the Daily Mail on Shane Castle, who played his part in a
really exciting match last night against Mark Selby, with the defending
champion having to dig deep to come from 3-1 down and win 6-4.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today
another new face, Chris Wakelin, returns to action a few days after his
dramatic 6-5 defeat of Ryan Day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wakelin
was a full time delivery driver for Asda but has gone part time to concentrate
on his snooker after qualifying through the Q School, having battled depression
and debilitating attack of the snooker ‘yips.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
also John Astley, who edged three times UK Championship runner-up Ken Doherty
in the first round. He faces Stuart Carrington, from the snooker stronghold of
Grimsby, who had a good 6-2 win over Ben Woollaston in the opening round.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
Chris Norbury, who knocked out Martin Gould, takes on Scotland’s Anthony
McGill, himself a 6-5 black ball winner over Kyren Wilson.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
big names quite rightly get the TV tables, though, and Judd Trump is centre
stage this afternoon. Winner in York two years ago, he comes to the Barbican
Centre having failed to get past the last 32 of a major ranking event all
season, although he did reach a European Tour final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trump
was one of the players to complain about the format after his first round win
but he may be better off focusing on his game. I think it’ll turn around for
him soon but there’s no guarantee it’ll be this week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jimmy
White won the UK title in 1992 and reached two other finals. His win 21 years
ago stands as his greatest success and it’s a credit to his pure love of
snooker that he is still prepared to work hard, and that so many people still
will him on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
was a large crowd in York for his first round win over Michael Wasley, in which
White played really well, making the 300<sup>th</sup> century of his career,
the 12<sup>th</sup> player to reach this milestone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">White
has a foot injury which means he half limps around the table, but you feel that
as long as he can stand up or even hold a cue, he will still be out there doing
his best, whatever the format, whatever the system.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-73205363878653178272013-11-30T11:10:00.000+00:002013-11-30T11:10:36.700+00:00AMATEUR HOUR<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David
may have beaten Goliath according to biblical myth but victory for any of the
four amateurs playing the top four seeds in York today would make that
particular result look like a lot of fuss about nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shane
Castle is only 15 but faces Mark Selby. Rhys Clark will play Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Dylan Mitchell tackles Neil Robertson. Antony Parsons takes on Ding Junhui.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
no reason to suspect these four televised matches will be anything other than
walkovers given the gulf in experience and achievement between the players but
the same could be said for Marco Fu’s contest yesterday against Mitchell
Travis, another amateur. Travis won that one 6-5, albeit it wasn’t televised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
now 20 years since O’Sullivan won the first of his four UK titles and,
remarkably, he is still at the top.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back
then there were 700 professionals. When O’Sullivan turned pro the previous year
he had to plough through something like ten qualifying rounds to reach the
final stages and did so without complaint.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Doubtless
today all 700 players would be brought to the final stages to make everyone
feel good about themselves and the matches played on six foot tables over the course
of a month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
UK Championship will be the first tournament broadcasted by the BBC since the
World Championship last May.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
for the BBC, the professional game would never have become what it has. When
snooker was going through dark times the BBC stuck with it, unlike ITV and Sky,
who dumped it when it had served its purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite
simply, the BBC kept the sport alive. Without its backing in the early years of
the 21<sup>st</sup> century it would have gone under.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Exposure
on terrestrial television is important for snooker in the UK. Traditionally
clubs fill up when mass audiences are exposed to the game.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those
audiences have grown around the world, most notably because of Eurosport and
Chinese TV.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
events are now watched by far more people than 20 years ago, which can only be
a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
if you think the BBC coverage was all better in the old days then here’s the
opening day schedule from this tournament 20 years ago, in 1993:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BBC1:
3.50-4.35pm<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BBC2:
6.35-7.05pm, 11.45-1.40am<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And,
er, that was it. No red button. No website. No satellite alternatives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
no coverage of this year’s morning sessions, presumably because the BBC budget
is the same as last year when there weren’t any.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is a shame, but it’s also absurd that the much vaunted liveworldsnooker.tv can’t
show them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That
particular service has not had a good week, with the decision to stream matches
not from the main arena – where all the attractive ties have been staged – but in
the Sports Hall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
led to the situation on Thursday when matches involving Mark Williams, Mark
Allen, Jimmy White, Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham and Barry Hawkins all went
unstreamed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
been a hectic start to this UK Championship and the last 128 round hasn’t even
finished yet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stephen
Maguire yesterday joined the chorus of complainers among the top players,
saying: “the guys that walk about in their suits and put gel in their hair and
go for fancy meals at night with nice bottles of wine should sit down over that
wine, as there are a few of them here, and try to fix this tournament because
it is ruined.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those
of us with scarcely enough hair to justify any gel may raise an eyebrow at
this. More seriously, few work harder for snooker than Jason Ferguson, the
WPBSA chairman, who does indeed wear a suit and who was yesterday named as one
of 20 <a href="http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~3555619,00.html">Sports Innovators of the year</a> by industry magazine SportBusiness
International.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ferguson
said yesterday that he was listening to the complaints but the truth is there
has been a wide range of views expressed and by no means is there a majority
against the changes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway,
back to the snooker. Not least because I get the feeling that once this event
hits its stride the controversy of the first few days will be a distant memory.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-17964790529086960652013-11-29T11:27:00.000+00:002013-11-29T11:30:46.000+00:00FALLING FLAT<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s
like a circus,” said Judd Trump last night of the UK Championship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m
not sure when circuses started to get such a bad rap but that’s a side issue.
Trump’s point was that there are too many tables and too many matches being
played in York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
added: “with four tables in the main venue for a UK Championships, I think
that’s just poor. When it is down to two tables with the barrier up, you feel
like you’re at a tournament where there is pressure.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually,
had Trump been a top 16 player 20 years ago he would have played in an eight
table set-up at Preston Guild Hall and had to win two matches to reach the
televised stage, but his was not the only voice questioning the wisdom of
bringing 128 players to the Barbican Centre.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Far
from it. There seems to be three categories of player: those who agree with the
new system, those who have accepted it and those who are against it. Of these,
the latter camp are the most outspoken.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
main arena features four tables. The two in the middle, configured for TV, are
spacious enough but the two at either side are not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They’ve
crammed four tables in. It should be three in my opinion,” said Ali Carter, a
semi-finalist at York last year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They’ve
taken 128 players to a venue but, for me, I don’t think it can accommodate it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The
table I was on had about five foot of room around the black spot area. When you’re
tight on the side cushion you can’t walk into your shot. It’s like you’re closer
than at the Crucible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
“It’s not for me, this flat draw. I think it was working last year so I don’t
know why they’re doing this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The
top 16 all started at the bottom and got to the top. Why doesn’t everyone else
have to do that?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
counter to this is that the previous, labyrinthine qualifying structure was
stifling new talent. However, Graeme Dott argued that the flat draws are even
more damaging to young hopefuls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I
think it hinders the players coming through,” he said. “Neil Robertson fell off
the tour originally. If he’d got back on in this format, how would have he have done? If he’d been beaten by the players he was being beaten by, how would he
have handled playing Ronnie O’Sullivan? So you would have lost him. Would Judd
Trump have found it easier?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I
think it’s wrong for the future of the game. I don’t think it’s good for
snooker. Kids coming through should learn their trade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“People
think it’s a great idea now but ask them halfway through the season. Eight
players didn’t enter the UK Championship because they don’t have the money.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
would say top players just want to protect their privileged positions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of
course they do. Who wouldn’t? They’ve worked hard to attain them. They’ve put
the years in at soulless qualifiers and now they want the rewards for those
efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
not every top player agrees with Carter and Dott. Stuart Bingham, first and
foremost a snooker lover, has the attitude to just play, hopefully win and the
perks will come.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I
felt a little bit tight against the wall but from Wednesday it’ll be down to
two tables,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’ve
read a few comments from people saying it’s like a PTC. But it is what it is.
You have 128 players coming to a tournament and have to fit them in somewhere. You
just have to get on with it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’d
love to be 20 now and in the game. I’m 37 and one of the oldies but I wish this
was happening 20 years ago. Someone could come here, have a buzz up and get to
the quarters, semis or maybe even win it.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nigel
Bond has been around longer than most. He’s been at the top and now he’s down
in the middle ranks. Wherever he's been ranked he has remained a sober, measured voice in any debate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The
format is fine,” Bond said. “I was in the Sports Hall but at least you feel
part of the tournament in the fact that you’re at the venue.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most
would agree that snooker had stagnated before Barry Hearn’s takeover in 2010. A
dearth of new faces and a paltry number of tournaments had seen the sport
slowly gurgle towards the plughole.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
truth is, it is too early to judge whether the flat draw innovation will be a
positive for snooker or not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
I would say this: if it’s the right system, then it must be used in every
event, including the World Championship. To not do so is hypocrisy, almost an admission
that it is wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
would mean the end of the Crucible. Is four decades of tradition worth losing
for the sake of completely levelling the playing field?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
would also say this: players have every right to comment on their work
conditions. This is their livelihood after all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
problem, though, is that to the outside world they can just seem like a bunch
of moaners, unappreciative of what they have.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To
many, playing professional snooker where financial rewards are high seems like
a dream job. The temptation is to just say, ‘get on with it’ and there may be
something in that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
danger with this year’s UK Championship is that all anyone wants to talk about
is the format.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately,
like every other event ever played, it will come down to who plays the best.
For all the talk of quantity, it is quality which always triumphs.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-28844513774762222522013-11-28T11:19:00.000+00:002013-11-28T11:19:18.813+00:00ONE DAY IN YORK<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>In
866, the Vikings invaded York. This week, a horde of snooker players have
descended on the city in pursuit of one of the sport’s oldest and most
prestigious titles.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>There
won’t be any literal bloodshed but the williamhill.com UK Championship will
still be a fight to the finish, and it’ll take a while to finish with 128
hopefuls starting out.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Some
have already departed before the main arena even hosts any play. On the basis
that it’s best to comment on something when you’ve seen it, I ventured to York
yesterday to take a look at it all…</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With
the sort of timing only learned through long experience of free-loading, I arrived in the media
centre at the precise moment they were serving the complimentary food.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My
enjoyment of this was tempered only by then watching Dominic Dale devour a
water bug on behalf of World Snooker’s Youtube channel, in support of a jungle-confined
Steve Davis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
association hopes to persuade other players to do similar. “We have loads of
bugs and cockroaches,” an official cheerily said, as I eyed the remnants of my
lunch with growing unease.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pre-Christmas
snooker is always special. It’s the time of year city centres are lit up with
decorations as feelings of goodwill and glad tidings sweep away all negativity.
Almost.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“That’s
my season ruined,” said Dave Gilbert after losing 6-4 to Li Hang. In fairness,
there are no positives to take from a first round exit which leaves the loser
going home with not a penny for their efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Money
was upmost in Marcus Campbell’s mind after a disappointing recent run was ended
by his marathon 6-5 defeat of Lu Haotian.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’ve
got a young family and I haven’t had a cheque for a few months,” Campbell said.
“Your outgoings are so heavy and it’s difficult to find the money. You’re
outlaying £10- 15,000 and then waiting for two or three months for it to come
back in. That in itself brings pressure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The
system is very cut-throat. You’re flying to Poland or Germany for a PTC and
forking out £600 a time. My last three draws have been Andrew Higginson twice
and Joe Perry. So that’s nearly £2,000 in matches where you’re second favourite.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
was great excitement late in the afternoon as Liang Wenbo closed in on what
looked like being the 100<sup>th</sup> maximum in snooker history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
looked forward to telling my grandchildren that I was there for this moment of
history, and by ‘there’ I mean huddled round Matt from Prosnookerblog’s laptop
with a bunch of other journalists having been too lazy to actually go and watch
it close up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s
all about this shot,” I said as Liang stood over the 15<sup>th</sup> black,
trotting out a hoary old cliché which, for once, proved correct as he overran
position for the yellow and missed an awkward cut-back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liang
took it well considering the prize at the UK Championship for a 147 is £59,000
(though split if there is more than one).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I
had a good chance but I hit it too hard,” he said. It turned out he was unaware
of the big bonus: “I didn’t know. I was just concentrating on playing.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
had earlier ventured into the arena to watch some of the newer players, such as
Chris Wakelin and Elliot Slessor, both of whom impressed me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slessor
was beaten by Liang but Wakelin beat Ryan Day 6-5 having seen his 4-1 lead
wither away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
impressive a player as Wakelin seems, he is also an assured speaker, which
suggests World Snooker’s media training programme is working.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His
is a tale of triumph over adversity. A year ago he was being treated for
depression and suffered the ‘yips’, unable to properly deliver the cue. As his
health improved, so too did his snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It
was the hardest thing I’ve gone through to suddenly not be able to play the
game I’ve loved all my life,” Wakelin said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Snooker
is a lonely sport when you’re not playing well. At its worst, I played a local
match with the black over the pocket and the cue ball in the middle table. It
was the easiest shot ever but I played it with the rest because I couldn’t
deliver the cue.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thankfully
he recovered and came through Q School earlier this year. Whatever the set-up
here, he was determined to enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
it has to be said the set-up is not ideal. The Barbican Centre is a great venue
but possibly not for this format. The playing arena in the Sports Hall, which
houses four tables, is a little cramped to say the least.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snooker,
of course, has often been at its best when played in an intimate environment –
as at the Crucible – but this looked and felt a little like a club, certainly a
contrast with the excellent Badminton Hall layout in Sheffield, used for the
World Championship qualifiers these last few years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
no room for practice facilities so players have to go to a nearby club, although
conditions there are said to be good.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was encouraging, though, that yesterday attracted a large crowd even though the
game’s really big hitters are yet to start out. There was so much demand for
the evening session that extra seats were installed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That
evening session dragged on and on but included a career best win for Chris
Norbury, 6-3 over Martin Gould, who was suffering with throat problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
doubt Norbury’s assertion that the format is “better for everyone” will be
shared by all his fellow players. Some of the bigger names coming in today may
feel it’s a comedown compared to the two-table set up last year, although most of their matches will be played in the superior main arena.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is, after all, the UK Championship, one of snooker’s crown jewels. But whatever
the set-up, whatever the format, snooker still has the capacity to deliver high
drama, as proven by Alan McManus’s last ditch win over Joel Walker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walker
cleared the colours to force a re-spot but went in-off playing a safety, thus
handing a 6-5 victory to the Scot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That
one shot he played, and its outcome, sums up the narrow margin by which this
game is played. There’s a lot of talent out there. Some days you get the luck
you need, others it cruelly conspires against you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
everyone keeps coming back for more, and there’ll be much more before the
champion is crowned on December 8.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-25037768102482985952013-11-26T08:44:00.000+00:002013-11-26T08:44:00.198+00:00THE DUKES OF YORK<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
williamhill.com United Kingdom Championship has a fine history forged from 36 years of
competition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
event began as a non-ranking tournament for British and Irish players only but
gained ranking status in 1984. It was Steve Davis’s first major title and he
won six UK trophies from 1980 and 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stephen
Hendry has five UK titles to his name, Ronnie O’Sullivan four and John Higgins
three.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
many years the event was staged at Preston Guild Hall and had a best of 31
frame final but in 1993 the final was reduced to best of 19. Two years ago the
best of 17 frame early matches were reduced to best of 11.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
worked well for a 32-man TV format but this year it has changed again, with 127
matches to be played in 13 days at the Barbican Centre in York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
are so many matches to be crammed in that the venue itself has been split in
two, with some matches in the main Barbican arena and some in a sports hall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
prestigious and much loved event has become the Boxing Helena of tournaments –
sliced, cut and squeezed into as tight a space as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
BBC, host broadcasters, was not entirely happy with
the ‘flat’ everyone-in-the-first-round format which risked losing the game’s
big hitters before the cameras arrived on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
compromise has been reached. Seed no.1 plays seed 128, no.2 plays no.127 and so
on, which considerably reduces the likelihood of shocks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
players are doubtless unhappy with this rigid system but the fact is the BBC pays
something like £4m a year to televise their events and it’s completely
understandable that they want recognisable faces on the screens, because that’s
what most viewers want.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
four top seeds – Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui
– have had their last 128 matches held over for TV, although it remains to be
seen how competitive these will be as they are each playing amateurs with no
experience of the forbidding TV arena.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
is streaming of some earlier matches but the</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> problem for fans is that they have no idea when anyone is playing once the
first round is concluded. If you want tickets to watch, say, Judd Trump in the
last 64, you don’t know what session to buy them for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
is, though, a great venue in a nice city and the UK Championship remains a
title every snooker player wants on their CV.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
British players will have grown up watching it on the BBC, an often criticised
corporation but one, it should be remembered, who created the snooker boom
through showcasing it on colour television, and who stuck with the sport after
other broadcasters had dumped it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
constant at the UK Championship is a paucity of shock winners, certainly fewer
than in the World Championship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selby
is defending champion and starts in the group of favourites alongside O’Sullivan,
Ding and Robertson.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark
Allen will be hoping to translate good PTC form into a major event. Stuart
Bingham will try to maintain the momentum of his run to the Champion of
Champions final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judd
Trump, the winner two years ago, is looking for much needed confidence and an
upturn in form and results.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
there are many, many others hoping to come through the pack and spring a
surprise in the biggest tournament staged in Britain since the Crucible
showpiece last spring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
all starts today with TV coverage beginning, as is traditional, on Saturday.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-32365219422896145992013-11-25T12:10:00.000+00:002013-11-25T12:10:10.644+00:00MOUNTJOY'S TRIUMPH AGAINST THE ODDS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycH3IqvmEmzJ-xb3aiu1AQX2zOGGjr3KSXhpBXex8Q3-4Xz5fLYx_Fd017AwZPWQn0AcXThU6tNCWYs9Y90QcrTjlFonMwmRSwFb2_cHpHHHmyLYzXeBqrUOwQvfNeHKY0eb6EQ/s1600/mountjoy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycH3IqvmEmzJ-xb3aiu1AQX2zOGGjr3KSXhpBXex8Q3-4Xz5fLYx_Fd017AwZPWQn0AcXThU6tNCWYs9Y90QcrTjlFonMwmRSwFb2_cHpHHHmyLYzXeBqrUOwQvfNeHKY0eb6EQ/s1600/mountjoy.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
UK Championship was first held in 1977. Its champion in 1978 was Doug Mountjoy,
who two years earlier had won the world amateur title and thus found a way into
the professional game, at the time a shop not so much closed as boarded up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mountjoy
had won the Masters in 1977, went on to reach the 1981 World Championship
final, became a familiar face on TV and spent 11 successive years in the elite
top 16.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
by 1988, he was in decline. At the age of 46, he was dropping down the
rankings. A 13-1 defeat by Neal Foulds at the Crucible had ended a miserable
1987/88 season in which he had won only two ranking event matches and finished 24<sup>th</sup> in the world, surely destined to keep
sliding down the list.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or
so it seemed. In one of those rare, heart-warming moments sport uniquely and
sporadically produces, Mountjoy authored one of snooker’s most remarkable
fairytales, a compelling triumph against many odds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
first, some background. There was no thriving circuit for a teenage Mountjoy to
join. When the young players complain about money today they should consider
how lucky they are to be born at a time where there is any at all in
professional snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
their age, Mountjoy was down a coalmine in South Wales, working long days and
playing snooker only after his back-breaking shifts were done.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was a hard life and a harder road to the top. Mountjoy turned professional at 34,
when careers at the highest level are traditionally thought to be entering
their final phase.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
46, his game had declined but he made a decision which proved to be life
changing. He went to see Frank Callan, a former Blackpool fishmonger who had
gained a reputation as one of snooker’s leading coaches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
following ‘the drill’ – one of Callan’s key technical routines – Mountjoy began
to play with more confidence. The first sign that things might be turning round
for him came at the Grand Prix in Reading in October 1988 where he knocked out
the then defending champion, Stephen Hendry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
arrived at Preston Guild Hall the following month for the UK Championship ten
years after he had won it and found that the Hendry victory had been no fluke.
Finding confidence and form, Mountjoy beat Foulds, Joe Johnson and John Virgo
to reach the semi-finals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the last four he beat his old friend and compatriot Terry Griffiths, finding
himself so relaxed that he went to sleep in his dressing room during one of the
intervals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
so, against any predictions, Mountjoy was back in the UK final. And facing him
was Hendry, still only 19 but a player well poised to inherit the snooker
earth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
was a clash of styles, of generations and of goals: Hendry was looking to win
the biggest title of his career to date, Mountjoy hoping to improbably turn
back the clock.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
those days the final was played over two days and four sessions. Hendry made
two centuries in the first of these but Mountjoy ended it 5-2 ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
98 break on the resumption made this 6-2 but in the next frame he missed a red
which would have given him a five frame lead. Hendry, always a ruthless
exploiter of opponents’ mistakes, seized his chance and levelled at 6-6. He
made a third century in the last frame of the day to leave the final poised at
7-7.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Logic
dictated Hendry would pull away on the second day. In fact, the opposite
happened as Mountjoy produced surely the finest session of snooker of his whole
career to win all seven frames played, ending with back-to-back centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
began the evening with a third in succession to lead 15-7. Watched by a peak
BBC audience of 13.2m, Hendry started to pull back the deficit, rallying to
15-12, but Mountjoy did enough in the next to win 16-12, land the £80,000 first
prize and see his name once again etched upon a major trophy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of
Callan’s contribution, he said: “I didn’t have a game. It’s difficult on your
own to find out what you’re doing wrong. I went to Frank. He’s helped me so
much he must be sick of seeing me. Without that guy I’m nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
alone would have been a fine story for the snooker annals but there was to be a
memorable postscript as Mountjoy went on to win the next ranking event as well,
the Mercantile Classic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
rose to fifth in the rankings and reached another ranking final at the 1991
Dubai Classic, losing to Hendry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
then, with everything going well again, Mountjoy suffered a double setback: he
had a cancerous lung removed and found that a manager had badly ripped him off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His
career declined again and he quit the circuit in 1997 to coach in Dubai. Recently
he has reappeared on TV screens in the World Seniors Championship and has
practised at Tredegar Snooker Club, owned by Mark Williams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mountjoy’s
second UK Championship triumph was 25 years ago this week. It doesn’t seem that
long, perhaps because it is one of those snooker moments which feels timeless –
a genuine tale of adversity conquered and of victory all the sweeter second time
around.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
first staging of the 888casino Champion of Champions event must be judged a
great success and it proved a number of things:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ronnie
O’Sullivan is still the man to beat</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O’Sullivan
sailed close to the wind against the two players of the season so far, Ding
Junhui and Neil Robertson, and did so again in the final against Stuart Bingham
before going on to win the title. The key was his determination to dig in and
graft when things weren’t going well. He kept his focus right to the end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He’s
an apt winner because, of all of last season’s champions, he stands apart. There’s
no doubt that with O’Sullivan there is an intimidation factor which comes from
his success, his personality and his general aura around the table. It’s hard
for the other players to just play the balls and not the man.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
players deny this but the facts, as at the Crucible last season, speak for
themselves. Nobody has stepped up and convincingly taken him on now for 18
months. It will be interesting to see if anyone can at the UK Championship and
the Masters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
think of all the top players, Mark Selby is best equipped to do this because he
can get under O’Sullivan’s skin, but he of course was a semi-final loser in
Coventry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>There
should be more invitation events<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
number of top players said there should be more events – like this – for top
players. They could be accused of self-interest but it doesn’t mean they aren’t
right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not
every tournament has to have a cast of thousands. Snooker works best as
entertainment – which is what it should be when televised – when matches are
evenly fought, and that happens when the players are evenly matched.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
general public – not those in the snooker bubble – don’t care about ‘fairness’
or ranking points, they just want to be entertained by the best in the world.
Snooker historically mixed ranking and invitation events successfully. Let’s
reward success more. Let’s reward achievement. Let’s give the top players more
events like this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They
drive the interest which keeps the rest in a job.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>You
don’t need to have been world champion to be a good commentator<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sports
broadcasting is not about what you’ve won but about how well you can
communicate. In Clive Everton, Neal Foulds and Alan McManus, ITV4 found three
of the best in the business.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neal
and Alan have both won major events but neither has been world champion. So
what? They are each intelligent, knowledgeable and have excellent vocabularies.
Their analysis was thoughtful and interesting. They mixed humour with genuine
insight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
was also discipline to the commentary because everyone knew what their role
was: Clive was the lead commentator doing that information-led role and
Neal/Alan the expert. It all made for an enjoyable, rewarding watch. ITV’s
coverage was excellent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Snooker
in Britain is not dead<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
has declined in interest and participation since the heady days of the 1980s
snooker boom. The smoking ban was one factor but not the only one. Society has
changed. Snooker is no longer a mainstay of terrestrial television like it once
was.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
the idea that the sport in the UK is dead is nonsense. Crowds were good this
week for a new event in a new place for snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
am about as far from a little Englander as you can get, I can’t stand that
parochial mind-set. I wanted snooker to go global many years before it did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
neither do I want it forgotten that the UK is the place that built the
professional game. It still has a place to play in this new era.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Barry
Hearn knows what he’s doing<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hearn
pulled this tournament together out of thin air. The nit-picking about the format before it began was quickly forgotten
once it started.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hearn
deserves credit but he isn’t a one-man band. Sharon, Luke and the others at
Matchroom organised and ran the tournament with their usual calm efficiency.
They did their best to make it stand out with the set and slightly different
dress-code.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matchroom
have a long record of giving people what they want, even when they don’t know
they want it, and they can chalk this one down as another success story.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-63886422777692252302013-11-21T20:12:00.000+00:002013-11-21T20:15:29.610+00:00SHOOTING THE MESSENGER<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
was literally putting my coat on to leave the 888casino Champion of Champions
event in Coventry when the latest Mark Allen controversy broke.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
his match against Ali Carter the two players came into the pressroom together. Carter
went to the main press conference, which I attended, and Allen sat down to
speak to a local radio reporter, who asked him a generic opening question along
the lines of “it wasn’t your day, can you tell us how you feel?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unprompted,
Allen then stated that he had been disappointed by Carter’s behaviour in the
arena, accusing him of resorting to “tricks” and “antics” to distract him.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reporter quite reasonably followed up by asking for examples of what Carter was supposed to have done but Allen did not elaborate with specifics.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
didn’t seem especially angry, more like a man stating his opinion. By the time
the wider media was alerted to what he had said, Carter had departed to prepare
for his evening match against Neil Robertson so could not be asked for his
version of events.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On
the Richter scale of Allen controversies this rates pretty low. Carter,
frankly, is tough enough to defend himself. I suspect any noise or movement on
his part was purely accidental but I wasn’t in the arena and didn’t watch every
moment of the match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
anyone with any journalistic sense knows that one player accusing another of
deliberately putting them off is a legitimate story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen
chose to say this in an interview, so obviously knew – or even demanded – that it
would be reported.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was therefore disappointing that, having had flak on Twitter – not a nice
experience I’m sure when it’s from people who weren’t there and possibly hadn’t
even heard the interview – he chose to blame the media for the whole thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’m
only have a reputation cause the media print the stories their way,” was one
tweet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No,
Mark, you have it because of things you have chosen to say in media interviews.
You have a right to say them. Others have a right to either agree or disagree
with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
seems these days everyone is an expert in the media, particularly if they’re
not journalists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
have been one for 15 years. In that time, I can honestly say that instances of
a player being ‘stitched up’ by members of the press have been extremely rare.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
fact, most often problems occur when the original story filed has been rewritten
by someone in a newspaper office and inaccuracies inserted accidentally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it has happened deliberately it has angered the other journalists who are doing their best to promote the sport because it reflects badly on the media as a whole.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there is no media agenda against Mark Allen. There just isn't.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is actually quite popular, precisely
because he is prepared to say what’s on his mind, which leads to stories more
interesting than “I’m pleased to win and hope to go a long way in the
tournament.” But with freedom of speech comes the responsibility for what you say.
That responsibility is his.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
media’s is to report what happens and what is said. That is all that happened
today. That is what I am doing here (I’ve taken my coat off now).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
wasn’t even going to write about it until I saw the whole affair being misrepresented
on Twitter but I suspect it will blow over soon enough.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-39749186315716967902013-11-19T21:08:00.000+00:002013-11-19T21:08:25.103+00:00CHAMPIONS LEAGUE<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
spent the afternoon in Coventry for the first day of the 888casino Champion of
Champions and was impressed by what I saw.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
venue is big and lively and a huge effort has been put into making this new
tournament something special, from the set to the new dress code – normal ties
replacing bowties to give it a distinctive look.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With
one table and the world’s best, it already feels like a prestigious event.
Crowds were pretty good overall and there was some interesting snooker played.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John
Higgins had a great chance to beat Stephen Maguire 4-2 but admitted that he had
felt the pressure in the sixth frame. Higgins, as so often throughout his career,
has been chopping and changing cues and techniques and seems to have put
himself in a position where he lacks confidence in the basics of his game.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maguire
was surprised to win but delighted also. I suspect he spoke for many of the top
16 afterwards with his comments about the event when I asked him if it was nice
to have a tournament just for the elite.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
said: “The set-up is different class compared to what we’re used to now. A few
years ago we were used to that but we went backwards, or the top 16 did anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s
nice to be rewarded with a nice arena. I’d like more of them. Get the top 16
boys playing in big tournaments like this.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not
everyone will agree with Maguire’s comments but I know what he means. At times
the ‘pro fairness’ agenda sounds like anti-excellence. Everyone has the same
chance to climb the rankings and win titles. The sport’s champions deserve to
be feted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile,
the moaning and groaning about Shaun Murphy’s inclusion ended on the first
afternoon when he was beaten 4-2 by Mark Selby.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
says a lot about Selby’s commitment to the game that, having arrived home at
5.30am after winning in Antwerp on Sunday night, he went to practice for two
hours yesterday wearing a tie because he had never played snooker in one before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is how champions are made: by going the extra mile. It would have been much
easier to catch up on sleep – and most would have – but Selby wanted that edge
for the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
last thing, and this is something I haven’t written much about in the past
because of (accurate) accusations of bias, but having listened to him commentating
all day, what were the BBC thinking when they dropped Clive Everton from their
commentary team?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nobody
has ever so expertly combined snooker knowledge and use of language. The skill
of any great broadcaster is as much knowing when not to speak as what is
actually said on air.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combined
with the excellent Neal Foulds and Alan McManus, Clive’s presence lends the
event gravitas and makes ITV4’s coverage a really good watch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
should be a really absorbing week’s snooker.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
888casino Champion of Champions is a new event which starts tomorrow at the
Ricoh Arena and, refreshingly, it rewards success.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
this era of flat draws and ‘fairness’ it should be remembered that achievements
are worth celebrating. Winning is to be admired. Excellence is to be applauded.
The top players deserve to be recognised for being the top players.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus,
the cream of snooker will gather in Coventry for the next six days, chasing
down a top prize of £100,000 in this ITV4 televised tournament.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is effectively a re-tread of the Champions Cup, also televised by ITV, which
ran as a seasonal curtain raiser from 1999-2001.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That
event featured round robin groups. Thankfully, this one does not. In fact,
there aren’t really groups at all. It’s a straight knockout, it’s just that
each quarter of the draw is played in a single day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
the first four days will feature two best of sevens in the afternoon and a best
of 11 quarter-final at night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
qualification requirements were rightly made clear when the tournament was
announced: winners of all major tournaments, then the list topped up using the
world rankings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All
ranking titles were shared last season and with Stuart Bingham added as Premier
League champion and Martin Gould as winner of the Championship League, that
left just two more available places.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shaun
Murphy takes the first and Mark Davis, by a margin of just 75 points over
Robert Milkins, the second, although it could be argued Davis should be in
anyway as world six reds champion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark
Selby, fresh from his Antwerp triumph on Sunday night, kicks off against Murphy
on Tuesday afternoon, the winner to play John Higgins or Stephen Maguire in the
evening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ITV’s
renewed involvement is welcome, as is Clive Everton’s return to the commentary box
alongside two first rate analysts in Neal Foulds and Alan McManus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
will be interesting to see what crowd figures are like. The Midlands has been a
traditional stronghold for snooker but many traditional bases in the UK have
been in decline, with clubs closing down at an alarming rate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Also,
I’ve never understood why people think auditoriums should be full on a weekday
afternoon when most people are at work.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully,
the crowds will grow during the week. New events need time to build. I hope the Champion of Champions becomes a permanent fixture on the calendar. It’s good to have
different types of tournaments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is a new event which Barry Hearn’s Matchroom has pulled together out of
nothing. He has assembled a great field, a sponsors, big prize money and a
terrestrial broadcaster.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
deserves to succeed and, with the quality on show, it surely will.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ronnie
O’Sullivan has never enjoyed playing Mark Selby. In his recent autobiography,
Running, he described the Leicester man as ‘The Torturor,’ which was a compliment
so back-handed it could earn him a place in Britain’s Davis Cup team.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
in fact Selby didn’t torture O’Sullivan to win European Tour event 7 in Antwerp
tonight – he just played really well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
also proved that if you apply real, tangible pressure to O’Sullivan he can feel
it, just like any other player can.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Few
did this at the Crucible earlier this year and O’Sullivan’s big match
temperament is such that he if he gets in front he frequently converts a lead
into a victory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
Selby took the game to him and it worked. In the decider, O’Sullivan missed a
straightforward pot and Selby cleared for his 4-3 victory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
his first title of the season and means he has now won five Players Tour
Championship tournaments – more than anyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
O’Sullivan put it afterwards, in sport some days you win and some you lose. The
world champion certainly showed signs of becoming match fit ahead of the UK
Championship at the end of this month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
event was superbly supported by enthusiastic and respectful Belgian snooker
fans and they were treated to some compelling snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judd
Trump made the first maximum of his professional career on Friday night – and the
99<sup>th</sup> in snooker history – but was beaten by Selby.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jack
Lisowski, inconsistent but on his day brilliant, had a good run to the
semi-finals but was also beaten by Selby, as was in form Ding Junhui, who was
oddly subdued in the quarter-finals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
field for the Grand Finals – venue as yet unannounced – is filling up with
quality players with just the Gdynia event plus one more in Asia to come.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
action moves to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Tuesday for the inaugural
Champion of Champions tournament.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-80371676303035515482013-11-13T14:32:00.001+00:002013-11-13T14:35:25.421+00:00NEXT STOP ANTWERP<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hercule
Poirot, that meddling Belgian who sent many a murderer down despite having no
actual jurisdiction in law, takes his final bow on British television tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
apt in a way because the next event, in Belgium this week, will, like all
Poirot stories, come down to a dozen or so usual suspects, all with a good claim, the eventual
champion to be revealed in the final reel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
noticeable how few surprise winners of Players Tour Championship events there
have been, particularly since they started to be televised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
cream has risen to the top time and time again because though prize money and
ranking points are lower than in the bigger events, it’s the same difficult
game with the same pressures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What
the PTCs have done, though, is given less experienced players invaluable table
time against the world’s best and also imbued many with confidence to take into
bigger tournaments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hence,
Robbie Williams, a second season professional, reached the semi-finals of the
European Tour event in Mulheim then went to Delhi and got to the same stage of
the new Indian Open.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The PTCs have also given some lesser lights TV exposure and introduced audiences to different faces.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Antwerp event was won last year by Mark Allen, who has just captured the last
two European Tour titles this season, in Germany and Gloucester.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
<a href="http://www.prosnookerblog.com/2013/11/10/allen-downs-trump-for-gloucester-title/">was absolutely right</a> to point out that he has interrupted Ding’s run, which
encompassed the Shanghai, Indian and International titles. However, this does
not detract from Ding’s three in a row achievement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World
ranking events have traditionally been solely professional tournaments. On
occasion they have included amateurs, as when the World Championship was open,
but were still strictly seeded according to the world rankings. The PTCs are
pro-ams, open to everyone and anyone, with ranking points attached.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
statistical purposes, therefore, they are classed as ‘minor’ ranking titles, in
the same way that similar events in the mid 1990s were.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
does not diminish the worth of winning one. They are tough slogs, with seven
match wins required over a two-day period.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
my reckoning there have been 46 PTC events staged in the UK, Europe and Asia since
2010 with 25 different winners.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
Antwerp, Ding, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Allen, Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump
and Mark Selby are among the leading title contenders.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TV coverage starts live on Friday on Eurosport2 at 8.30 GMT.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the meantime, here is a list of PTC winners, by titles:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judd
Trump, Mark Selby<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John
Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Allen<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stuart
Bingham, Stephen Maguire, Michael Holt, Tom Ford, Stephen Lee, Mark Williams,
Ding Junhui<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rod
Lawler, Martin Gould, Barry Pinches, Shaun Murphy, Dominic Dale, Marcus Campbell,
Ben Woollaston, Andrew Higginson, Joe Perry, Ricky Walden, Ju Reti, Liang Wenbo</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark
Allen’s defeat of Judd Trump in last night’s European Tour final at Gloucester
means back-to-back PTC wins for the Northern Irishman, who heads to Antwerp
this week looking for a hat-trick.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
was the first professional title that Allen – not always the happiest traveller
– has won in the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last
season, he won the European Tour event staged in Antwerp and also defended his
World Open title. But in the really big events he was disappointing, making
first round exits at the UK and World Championships.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
27, he is precisely the right age to be challenging for major titles. He
certainly has the will to win, the temperament and, of course, the ability.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen’s
problem is that all too frequently it has not all come together at once. But he
said after his victory at the Ruhr Open how hard he had been working with Terry
Griffiths, his coach, and this bodes well for the next few months, which
includes the UK Championship and Masters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trump
too will take confidence from the week. He has not been getting the results in
big tournaments but, as I said after his Chengdu exit, this represented a slump
not a career crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neil
Robertson had five more centuries to take his seasonal tally to a whopping 44.
He also knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ken
Doherty won only one frame but did so by making the tournament’s highest break,
140.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Among
the players doing well were Chris Wakelin, a Q School graduate, who reached the
quarter-finals and Jamie Jones, largely off the radar since his appearance in
the 2012 Crucible quarter-finals, who reached the semi-finals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
first day was devoted to amateur rounds and these ground on for so long that
play did not end until close to 5am, a situation which did nobody any favours,
least of all the players.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
answer is to either extend the event if entries are high, cap the entries or
reduce matches in the amateur phase to best of fives.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steve
Davis has not entered the UK Championship, apparently so that he can instead
take part in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
will mean Davis going not to York to pot balls and sit in the BBC studio with
Hazel, JP and Hendry but travel to the Australian outback with rats, snakes,
grubs and spiders for company, as well as his fellow contestants.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steve
has more than earned the right to do what he likes but it strikes me an as odd
decision. I’d be very surprised if he needs the money. The celebrity world has
never been one which has appealed to him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still,
at least he is famous for doing something tangible. Reality shows tend to be
self-perpetuating: finding members of the public to appear on them who thus
become famous and can appear on more and more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Therefore,
Steve can expect to share a campsite with the denizens of mind-rotting trash
like the Only Way Is Essex and other gems of the schedules.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
the uninitiated, I’m A Celebrity takes well known people and humiliates them on
television through a series of undignified tasks, such as lying in a coffin
full of rats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
exactly what John Logie Baird had in mind when he legged it down the patent
office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
been suggested to me by more than one person that Davis likes a challenge, is
fascinated by any game and that this represents a high stakes chance to test
himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe,
but the contestants are at the mercy of the edit. There are two main ways to
get screen time: shout at and argue with everyone or cry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
thoughtful, dryly humorous person may not feature so prominently but Steve,
while not exactly appealing to the show’s core demographic, could still do very
well. He is much funnier than many people realise and is a likeable character.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
last snooker player to appear on the programme was Jimmy White, who finished
third. Can Steve go even further?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Davis
was once the king of snooker, now he is aiming the become king of the jungle
when the programme starts on November 17.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is an unexpected development in a glorious career but I wish him the best of
luck.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-12487553675412943742013-11-04T06:21:00.000+00:002013-11-04T06:21:04.100+00:00THE DING DYNASTY<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding
Junhui’s capture of the International Championship was final proof of how he
has matured into a formidable all round player, now strong in every department.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
a gripping final, he compiled five centuries but in the end had to come from
9-8 down to edge Marco Fu 10-9.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
seemed this final consisted of either big breaks – Fu himself made two
centuries – or lengthy, tense, tactical duels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fu
won most of the latter but Ding’s resolve never wavered. There was no slouching
in his seat, no shouldering arms. He competed superbly. His concentration was
excellent. He continued to go for his shots. He played two excellent final
frames.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding
is someone that other players, not always forthcoming with praise, purr over.
They admire the sheer skill he possesses and his ability to produce his best
with the pressure on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fu
likened his break building performances as like ‘Stephen Hendry in his prime,’ which is
as high a compliment as can be paid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
it’s three ranking titles in a row for Ding. The run has to end some time
because all runs do but he has shown qualities of late which point to continued
success in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Domination
in snooker is not necessarily about how many titles you win but which ones. In
the past, dominant players have been world champion and world no.1. Ding is
neither. Yet. But he’s up to third in the rankings, his highest ever position,
and if he can take this mindset to the Crucible will take some stopping next
spring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding
claimed the first of his nine ranking titles at the age of just 18. He won
three while still a teenager, a feat only previously achieved by John Higgins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
in recent months Ding has been transformed from the boy prince to the current
king of snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
he carries on like this he will be the player to beat not just this season but
in the years to come. At 26, he has age and time on his side.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We
may well look back at this golden spell in 2013 as the start of the Ding
dynasty.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</script>Dave Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037719321756898982noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29605452.post-78763113500343299992013-11-02T17:59:00.001+00:002013-11-03T07:26:37.684+00:00DING V FU IN CHENGDU<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You
wait 30 years for an all Asian ranking event final and three come along at
once.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
Ding Junhui v Xiao Guodong in Shanghai and Ding v Aditya Mehta in Delhi we now
have Ding v Marco Fu in Chengdu tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They
each had tough International Championship semi-finals, which themselves felt
like finals due to their two session format.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fu
battled past Joe Perry 9-8; Ding made a superb clearance to deny Graeme Dott a
deciding frame finish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding
is thus poised to become the first player to win three successive ranking
titles since Stephen Hendry in 1993 (not 1990 as I've been saying all week, though this was the last time it happened in the same season).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ding
has matured into a great all round player, reliant in all departments: potting, break
building, safety and big match temperament. His patience, focus and discipline
is rock solid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neil
Robertson became a similar sort of player a few years ago and has never looked
back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
Fu – as Robertson found out in this season’s Australian Open final – is no
stranger to spoiling the party.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
Hong Kong potter is always hard to read due to his ability to control his emotions
and has scored really heavily this week, although not so heavily against Perry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
two have played in a final, at the 2011 Masters, which Ding won 10-4. He starts
favourite again. His Shanghai win lifted the pressure he has felt playing in
China and, though it may be premature to say this, seems to have transformed
him completely.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not
only is he enjoying his snooker at the moment but he is prepared to play in
whatever way is required and give every frame the same commitment and
concentration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
makes him a danger for any title. Fu will need to start well but has more than
enough in his armoury to make the final a close and exciting climax to the week in Chengdu.</span></span></div>
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