CAN RONNIE RESTORE CREDIBILITY?

I would never criticise the great game of snooker or run down tournaments but the fact remains that the Welsh Open has thus far been poorly attended and poorly organised.

This is the last thing we need at a time when the sport's integrity is being openly questioned, even if you believe, as I do, that claims of match fixing are mainly nonsense.

The acid test is what sort of crowd Ronnie O'Sullivan draws for his match with Judd Trump today. If he can't bring the punters in, nobody will.

Some will say the pre-tournament marketing has been poor but I'd argue the low crowds are more likely to be because of the scene outside the Newport Centre, where the main road is closed for major rebuilding work.

Walking over from the bus station, you can't even see the Newport Centre. It's hardly accessible and may have put a lot of people off.

World Snooker wouldn't put proper money into the Malta Cup - played in five-star luxury at the Portomaso Hilton - to make it a ranking event and yet have taken one here.

Inside the Newport Centre, it's a shambles. Countless people, including members of the public, traipse through the press room. The background noise at some press conferences is so loud it's sometimes hard to hear what the players are saying.

The day before the event when it was being set up a WPBSA laptop was stolen from the venue. On Monday, I found one of the security staff rifling through my papers on my desk.

The press room phones don't work. Neither does the ISDN line booked by BBC Wales. Neither does the software used to email score sheets to the outside world.

Which bright spark thought the schedule was going to work? How are two best of nines going to be done and dusted by 7pm with a 1pm start?

Last night, Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham didn't get on until nearly 9.30pm and were still going at midnight.

For whose benefit is this? The players? The spectators? The media?

Why don't we just play the first match in the morning? If it's good enough for the World Championship then it's good enough for the Welsh Open.

This is supposed to be a professional tournament but virtually everything about it - with the exception of what's actually happening on the table - is amateur.

TIME TO DITCH THE ROUND ROBINS

"Such formats are very popular on the WSA Main Tour. The Royal Watches Grand Prix last month also had the same format. It was a great success with the players and fans as it keeps the interest alive throughout the whole week."

So said Neal Stevens, World Snooker's Commercial Manager, at the launch of the Malta Cup, played using a round robin format.

I wonder if Mr. Stevens still believes this following the revelation in this morning's Guardian newspaper that the tournament is under investigation by the Gambling Commission after irregular betting patterns were reported.

Criminal prosecutions may follow if any hard evidence is discovered.

I doubt whether there was any malpractice. The problem is simple and applies throughout round robin snooker: players aren't motivated when there's no chance of getting through to the next stage.

Peter Ebdon, a World Snooker board member, was even smashing the pack against Mark Williams.

Bookmakers who offer betting on such matches are asking for trouble. Anyone who bets on a 'dead' match needs their head looking at.

What it all does, though, is create the idea in the public mind that the game is somehow corrupt.

It isn't but there is only one way to prevent this notion from festering: ditch the round robins.

Contrary to what Mr. Stevens asserts, most players don't like it. There's little evidence that spectators or TV viewers enjoy it either.

The Malta Cup should have been a ranking tournament once plans for one in the Middle East fell through.

It would be a shame if this established event fell by the wayside because of the fallout from last week.

(Guardian story here: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/snooker/story/0,,2255835,00.html)

THORNE IN THE SIDE

According to today's Sun newspaper, Willie Thorne is to appear on the new series of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.

Willie, who last year tripped the light fantastic on Strictly Come Dancing, can expect to spend up to three weeks in the jungle eating grubs, wrestling with all manner of animals and sleeping in a tent.

He was due to go on the show a couple of years ago but the producers went with Jimmy Osmond instead, preferring a long haired lover from Liverpool to a bald headed snooker player from Leicester.

DING LOOKING GOOD

Ding Junhui has looked a million dollars so far in this year’s Malta Cup.

He kicked off with three successive centuries against Peter Ebdon and made another at the start of his match with Graeme Dott, even though he was eventually held to 3-3.

Ding again impressed today in beating Dominic Dale 4-2 and I’d be amazed if he didn’t get at least a draw – all he needs – to qualify for the semi-finals on Friday.

The Chinese prodigy suffered a dip in form last year after losing the Wembley Masters final to Ronnie O’Sullivan but this was always going to be a mere blip in form.

He’s far too good a player for it not to be.

Let’s not forget that Ding’s still only 20 and has already won three ranking titles.

He has, quite naturally, found it difficult to adjust to life far from home in Sheffield, where he lives and practises, and also has to cope with the huge weight of expectation from his army of fans back in China.

How he handles this in the next year or two is up for debate but what isn’t in dispute is his remarkable talent.

Watch how quickly he gets the reds open. Study his face and you can almost see his mind ticking over as he weighs up how to get a break going.

Here’s what Daniel Wells, recipient of the Paul Hunter scholarship who has been practising with Ding, told me for an interview in February’s Snooker Scene:

“I lose pretty much all of the time to Ding but I still learn a lot from picking out the balls.

“He’s very good at knowing when to go into the pack and figuring out which ball he’ll be on. He’s an expert at it. There’s only a few in the world who are that good.

“So I don’t mind picking the balls out for him because it’s an education and my standard has improved.”

Ding has a good chance to win the Malta Cup but I personally think the place to watch out for him this season is at the Crucible.

The first Asian world champion? The youngest ever winner?

Quite possibly.

WHY NO HIGH BREAK PRIZE?

I'm enjoying the Malta Cup so far. Not everyone likes the round robin format but this isn't a ranking event and the quality of snooker has been high on the opening two days.

Just one question though: why is there no high break prize?

Surely World Snooker - who repeatedly tell us how flush with cash they are now - could have bunged a couple of grand into the pot for this?

There's £10,000 up for grabs for a 147 but this is the first tournament I can ever remember not having a highest TV break prize (feel free to correct me if I've got this wrong.)

By the way, you can watch all the matches from the televised table live on the Eurosport website, even when Eurosport is not broadcasting live.

Click here for full coverage:
http://www.eurosport.yahoo.co.uk/

GOLDEN OLDIE

There have been various initiatives over the years to make snooker 'more appealing to young people.'

These are usually ill-thought through cosmetic exercises, such as when players removed their bowties a few years ago, which left most of them looking like they couldn't be bothered to get dressed properly.

These initiatives are pointless. Young people will either take to the sport or not. Gimmicks don't make the slightest difference. Also, if the powers-that-be really wanted youngsters to get into snooker they wouldn't play major finals so late at night.

Apart from that, it's also insulting to the significant number of older people who loyally follow the sport.

It stands to reason that the viewing audience on an afternoon will be mainly made up of retired people and the elderly.

I wonder, though, how many are as old as Catherine Cortis, who will be in the front row at the Malta Cup in Portomaso this week.

Catherine is 91 and profiled in today's Times of Malta. She avidly watches the game on Eurosport and has her favourites - Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry in particular.

Let's hope she enjoys her week at the tournament. The same goes for all those watching, whatever their age.

Here's the Times of Malta article:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080203/sport/91-year-old-granny-likes-snooker-and-hendry-too

WILLIAMS AND DOHERTY IN NEW LEAGUE

Former world champions Mark Williams and Ken Doherty have been confirmed for Matchroom's new Championship League, which will run over 16 days, starting at the end of February.

Williams and Doherty appear in the first of eight groups that will eventually produce a player for the Premier League, which is staged around Britain from September to December.

The other players in the first group will be Matthew Stevens, Ali Carter, Ryan Day, Barry Hawkins and Joe Perry.

The winner will go through to the final group. The bottom two will be eliminated. The other four players will go into group two to try again, where they will be joined by Joe Swail, Anthony Hamilton and one further player to be confirmed.

Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby will feature in later groups.

The League will be broadcast exclusively on the internet on betting websites.

For more details, visit the Matchroom site:
http://matchroomsport.com/articleDetail.asp?intArticleID=493

STAR OF MALTA SET TO SHINE ONE LAST TIME

Malta is a popular stopping off point for the snooker circuit. The Mediterranean setting makes a pleasant change from the UK events and everyone is well looked after by the promoters, Richard Balani and Joe Zammit.

This year’s Malta Cup is not a ranking tournament because World Snooker would not fund it sufficiently.

However, any snooker is better than none and the field in Portomaso is fiercely competitive with only two members of the top 16, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Steve Davis, missing.

It could be an emotional week – when isn’t it? – for Tony Drago, who seems certain to be relegated from the professional circuit at the end of the season.

Drago, Malta’s no.1 sportsman, is out of all of the campaign’s other events so his home tournament looks like being his swansong.

He’s landed in the toughest possible group – alongside Shaun Murphy, Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby.

Tony is still great to watch when he’s playing well. He won a frame in the 888.com World Championship qualifiers last month in less than four minutes.

Unfortunately for him, though, he has become much more inconsistent as he’s got older. The difference between his best and worst form is probably wider than any player on the circuit.

However, at his best he was one of the most naturally gifted players ever to pick up a cue – up there with O’Sullivan and Jimmy White.

They call him the ‘Star of Malta.’ That star has waned in recent years but I’m sure his home supporters will be out in force to cheer him one last time.

FU'S GLOBAL VISION

Marco Fu – Hong Kong’s greatest ever player – believes China represents snooker’s best hope to go truly global.

The reigning Royal London Watches Grand Prix champion commutes from Happy Valley to play on the circuit, which is still largely based in the UK even though it’s now 20 years since the first ranking event was staged outside British shores.

Of the seven ranking events now staged, five are in the UK and two in China.

Fu for one would rather the sport spread it’s tournaments around the globe more evenly.

In a wide ranging interview for the magazine Squat, he eyes the Chinese snooker boom spearheaded by Ding Junhui as the chance to break the British stranglehold on the circuit.

“China is a big market,” Fu said. “In China there are 50 million people playing snooker.“Ding Junhui is doing very well over in England. And we've got two tournaments in China. If it keeps up like that, the standard will get higher in China. Then we'll get more tournaments on this side of the planet

“Just like when Thai player James Wattana was in his prime, we had two or three tournaments in Thailand.

“This is good. It's always England, England, England – all the tournaments are in England. And we're getting a little tired of that. We want to travel all over the world like they do in golf and tennis. But there's still a long way to go in snooker.”

Marco is certainly right in this latter comment. Ten years ago, there were ten ranking events. Now there are just seven.

However, John Higgins’s new World Series promises to help spread the snooker word in continental Europe this summer and the plan is to expand this tour to other countries in future years.

You can read the rest of the interview with Marco here:
http://batgwa.com/squat/article.php?articleId=316&issueId=14

WATTANA RELEGATED FROM CIRCUIT

James Wattana, Thailand's greatest ever player, will be relegated from the circuit after 19 years at the end of the season.

His 5-2 defeat to Rod Lawler in the final qualifying round of the Welsh Open yesterday was the last in a long line of disappointing reversals over the last couple of years.

Unless World Snooker award Wattana a discretionary wildcard he will be off the main tour as he can't now finish inside the top 64 in the two year rankings or among the top 8 of players on the one year list not already in the top 64.

What a great shame this is. Wattana is only 38 and, in the early 1990s, sparked a snooker boom in his home country on a par with what is now happening in China courtesy of Ding Junhui.

He had first risen to prominence as a teenager in 1986 when, invited to play on the Matchroom tours of Thailand, he won an invitation tournament, beating Terry Griffiths 2-1 in the final.

Wattana stunned snooker by reaching the final of the inaugural Asian Open in Bangkok in 1989, losing to Stephen Hendry.

He soon became one of the leading players of the next decade, reaching a highest ranking of no.3 and winning three ranking titles.

Two of these came in his native Thailand (the other was the 1992 Strachan Open) and he also won the prestigious World Matchplay in 1992.

Wattana was certainly good enough to be world champion but lost twice in the semi-finals, in 1993 and 1997.

He is perhaps best known for making a 147 at the 1992 British Open on the day he learned his father had been shot in Bangkok.

After constructing the break, then only the fourth maximum ever made on TV, Wattana was informed his father had died.

He lived in Bradford in the UK for many years and his grasp of English improved through games of scrabble.

Just two years ago, he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0 in the China Open but, like many a former great, found the Prestatyn qualifying scramble almost impossible.

Wattana's contribution to snooker has been immense. He has business interests in Thailand to keep him occupied but I can't help feeling his professional career has ended far too early.

CASH BOOST FOR PAUL HUNTER SCHOLARSHIP

The Paul Hunter Scholarship - set up by World Snooker in memory of the three times Masters champion who died of cancer at the age of just 27 in October 2006 - has received a £5,350 boost courtesy of Saga Insurance, the sponsors of the Wembley event.

Saga donated £50 for every 50 break made in the Masters as reported on http://www.worldsnooker.com/.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a promising young player and provides free practice at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield plus free accomodation and access to a gym, psychological advice and various other benefits.

Daniel Wells, 19, was chosen as the inaugural scholar.

Daniel is a bright, enthusiastic player who has made the most of his big chance, as readers of Snooker Scene will see from a feature on him in our February issue, which is out next week.

FORMER GREATS STRUGGLE IN QUALIFIERS

Here's something interesting: there are eight players in the current top 16 who were there ten years ago with three of them (Ken Doherty, Mark Williams and Steve Davis) struggling to stay in.

Of the remaining eight, two (Alain Robidoux and Darren Morgan) have retired.

The other six are Nigel Bond, John Parrott, Alan McManus, Tony Drago, James Wattana and Anthony Hamilton.

Bond is still flogging on, as he proved by qualifying for the final stages of the China Open today, and Hamilton, though suffering from patchy form, was a Crucible quarter-finalist for the fourth time last year.

However, it appears to be close to the end for McManus, Wattana, Drago and Parrott.

None of them qualified for Beijing, although McManus and Parrott could still reach the Crucible.

No career lasts forever. Many players can go on long past their best but once they end up in the qualifying scramble it is very hard to produce consistently good form.

The conditions are a world away from the TV arena and tend to remind former greats that their best days are behind them. Jimmy White has found it almost impossible to handle.

Parrott does not need to keep playing. He has a successful media career and is not under pressure to get results.

Perhaps this is why his decline is not as sharp as, say, White's. JP plays because he enjoys competing, and though he obviously prefers to win it isn't a must.

It may be sad to see great names of the past struggling but giving up is a very difficult thing to do when snooker has been your life.

And there's always the nagging thought that, maybe, the golden form will return.

Remember Doug Mountjoy in 1988? He was thought to be finished but won two ranking titles in succession.

Marco Fu, Dominic Dale and Fergal O'Brien have all turned the clock back this season so, for McManus, Wattana and co, there's renewed hope of a revival however unlikely it may seem.

STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Matt Selt yesterday compiled three successive centuries during his 5-1 victory over Fraser Patrick in the first qualifying round of the China Open.

Not so long ago, this would have been regarded as a very special achievement, not to mention a rare one. However, standards across the board have risen so highly that it passed off virtually without mention.

Nobody today is playing any better than Stephen Hendry did at his peak in the 1990s - as far as I'm concerned the best anyone has ever played - but there is far greater strength in depth now.

Any player on the 96-man main tour is capable of making big breaks. It is so competitive at the qualifiers that few players manage to get on the kind of winning runs the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins managed in the early 1990s.

This is because the game then was open to anyone who wanted to pay to turn pro, so there was no minimum standard required to compete on the circuit. Ronnie in particular was so much better than everyone else that he tended to steamroller opponents.

There were over 700 pros then; now there are less than 100. However, it's probably harder than it's ever been for young players to qualify for final stages of tournaments because everyone at Prestatyn is a very, very good player.

A STAR IS BORN

Mark Selby's capture of the Saga Insurance Masters was thoroughly deserved.

He played his best snooker when it mattered most: amid the intense pressure of a major final in one of the game's most intimidating arenas.

At just 24, Selby has served notice he will be around for a long time to come. His Wembley title victory is surely the first of many.

His cheerfulness and desire to entertain, allied to a great talent, is reminiscent of the late Paul Hunter, who won the Masters three times in four years from 2001 to 2004.

Hunter helped to raise snooker's profile through his force of personality. Selby - known as the 'Jester from Leicester' has the potential to do the same.

Good luck to him. Snooker has a new star.

MICHAELA'S BIG DAY

It's not just a big day for Mark Selby and Stephen Lee but also for Michaela Tabb who has become the first woman ever to referee one of snooker's 'big three' finals.

Michaela has donned her white gloves for the final of the Saga Insurance Masters at Wembley Arena.

The venue holds 4,000 and is around three quarters full so the pressure is on her as well as Selby and Lee.

“I’ve tried not to think about it too much this last week and just concentrate on the other matches because I knew it was such a daunting prospect,” Tabb told me in an interview for the Scottish Sunday Herald.

“However, when I refereed Marco Fu against Ding Junhui and there was plenty of audience involvement I found myself thinking how on earth I’m going to cope with 4,000 people.”

Tabb was an experienced pool referee before being fast-tracked into snooker in 2001 by the WPBSA, together with broadcasters, wishing to change what they considered to be the game’s somewhat conservative image.

Initial opposition from some of the old guard and inevitable politically incorrect comments from a sport whose circuit is roughly 95% male have quickly receded into memory as Tabb gradually grew to be respected as an efficient presence in the arena.

“Every step along the way has been a big one for me,” she said. “My first TV match was major, so was my first quarter-final and then my first semi-final and of course the Welsh Open final last season.

“I’m hoping to do the world final next year or the year after. That’s the one I want to do. It may sound selfish but I’m not going to let another woman come and steal that from me.

“Snooker is very male dominated but I feel like I’m just another ref now, which is as it should be. I’ve been accepted and I enjoy the attention I still get because it’s always good natured.”

RONNIE BEATS RONALDO!

The Eurosport website is running a contest to find the greatest sportsperson in the world at the moment.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has come through the group stage after holding off Man UTD star Cristiano Ronaldo, Aussie cricket captain Ricky Ponting and New Zealand rugby player Dan Carter.

The contest is voted for by users of the website and a panel of experts.

Read more here: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16012008/58/greatest-rocket-man.html

WILL MARK WILLIAMS RETIRE?

Mark Williams yesterday said he would seriously consider retirement if he dropped out of the top 32 at the end of the season.

How likely is this to happen?

As for dropping out of the top 32, it could easily occur. Unless he has good runs in the Welsh and China Opens, Williams will probably have to win his first round match at the Crucible, which is no certainty given the high standard of the qualifiers and pressure he will be under.

But would he walk away at the age of 33?

I seriously doubt it. Snooker has been his life since boyhood. He turned professional at 17 and it is all he has known.

The obvious question, then, is what else he would do.

I can only think of one player who has retired while still at the top level, other than Chris Small and Martin Clark who did so because of illness.

The player in question was Terry Griffiths, who put his cue away after dropping out of the top 16. However, Terry was 49 at the time and his best years were behind him, even if he could have survived on the tour for several more seasons.

I’d be amazed if Williams did the same. His reaction yesterday was more than likely simple disappointment at another early exit.

What is incredible, though, is the current plight of a player who has won two world titles in this decade.

STEVE DAVIS: 50 AND OUT?

Steve Davis walked out of Wembley Arena for quite possibly the last time this afternoon following a disappointing 6-2 defeat to Marco Fu this morning.

It was Davis’s 50th match in the Masters – appropriate really considering the sponsors, Saga Insurance, specialise in holidays for the over 50s. He is, of course, 50 himself and the first 50-something to play in the tournament since Cliff Wilson in 1989.

But as Steve is down to 27th in the provisional rankings, the chances are it will be his last appearance in the prestigious invitation tournament.

“It was a day of frustration,” he said afterwards. “I wanted to scream out there. I practised quite a bit for this but struggled with the fast table. It was like Bambi on ice out there.

“I’m philosophical about whether I play here again. If I don’t then so be it. I don’t really want a wildcard. If I’m not good enough I can accept it.”

Davis has won the Masters three times. This isn't as a good as a record as in the World or UK Championship but only Stephen Hendry, with six, has won it more.

HENDRY: 'I'M STILL A WINNER'

Here's my interview with Stephen Hendry in the Sunday Herald:
http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/nationalsport/display.var.1961803.0.turning_the_tables.php

THE MASTERS: WHAT THE PLAYERS ARE SAYING

Such is the prestige of the Saga Insurance Masters (and the fact that it's held in London where all the national newspapers are based) that there has been a fair amount of coverage building up to the tournament.

Here are some of the more interesting stories.

My Snooker Scene colleague Phil Yates has written about the expansion of snooker across Europe, in particular in Germany, in The Times:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3174525.ece

Steve Davis has criticised World Snooker's restrictive logo policy in an interview in The Sun:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article678973.ece

Ken Doherty has called on Ronnie O'Sullivan not to retire (not that he will in any case) in the Daily Express:
http://www.express.co.uk/othersport/view/31197/We-can-t-afford-to-lose-the-Rocket

John Higgins has been asked a few not so serious questions by The Guardian:
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/smalltalk/story/0,,2239198,00.html

Ryan Day is looking forward to only his second appearance in the event in the South Wales Echo:
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/sports/sports-news-round-up/2008/01/12/ryan-hoping-it-s-his-day-in-saga-91466-20340938/

Shaun Murphy says he's on his way to becoming the best player in the game on the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7175492.stm

Marco Fu is relishing his match against Steve Davis on worldsnooker.com:
http://www.worldsnooker.com/tournament_news(id19104)-83.htm

My Eurosport commentary colleague Mike Hallett, twice a Wembley finalist, looks ahead to this year's event on the Eurosport website:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/12012008/58/ronnie-s-bid-immortality.html

WHO WILL WIN THE MASTERS?

I for one am pleased World Snooker have resisted the calls, that have come at various intervals over the years, to make the Masters into a ranking event.

It's prestige comes not from the fact that it carries ranking points but that it is for the elite. Only the top 16 plus Marco Fu (the season's Grand Prix champion) and Barry Hawkins (who won the qualifying event) will take part.

This is a tournament with a rich history. It was first staged in 1975 and has been won by most of the game's great and good.

Cliff Thorburn captured the title three times in the 1980s. Stephen Hendry won it the first five times he took part and has been the winner a record six times. The late Paul Hunter made three extraordinary comebacks to win it in deciding frame finishes earlier in this decade.

The Masters, sponsored by Saga Insurance, who are donating money for each 50 break made to the Paul Hunter Scholarship (which provides practice facilities and advice for a young up-and-coming players), is no longer held at Wembley Conference Centre.

It can't very well be as it's been knocked down. The Wembley Arena isn't quite the same but it least it provides continuity.

This year's event, like every year, is hard to call. The top two players in the provisional rnakings - Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire - face each other in a mouth-watering clash on the opening day.

888.com world champion John Higgins tackles last year's runner-up, Ding Junhui, in a tough last 16 meeting.

Who would you pick out of Ken Doherty (whose form has declined a little of late) and Mark Williams (who has begun to find some)?

Can Graeme Dott beat Stephen Lee for only the second time in eight meetings?

And what about Hendry, whose exploits at Wembley down the years saw him chosen as the first sportsman to have a cast of his hands laid at the Walk of Fame outside?

He turns 39 on Sunday and I have interviewed him for this weekend's Scottish Sunday Herald. Without giving too much away before publication, it would be fair to say he is feeling pretty bullish ahead of the tournament.

Any suggestion that he can't cut it at the top level was knocked out of the park like an on-fire Freddie Flintoff.

Hendry faces Mark Selby in his first match. After that it doesn't get any easier but Steve Davis won the title at the age of 39 in 1997 so you never know.

O'Sullivan, though, has been in the Masters final for each of the last four years. I for one expect him to be there again in just over a week's time.

VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH

In a victory for free speech, Graeme Dott has escaped any punishment for comments he made about Ian McCulloch in newspaper interviews last August.

The case against him (see post below) collapsed today after his lawyer produced evidence of previous instances in which players have made similar comments about their fellow competitors and no action had been taken.

Good on Dotty for standing up for himself. His original comments were, perhaps, ill advised but he refused to be intimidated by the prospect of disciplinary action and has set a precedent that should now put an end to players being threatened for speaking their minds.

DOTT FACING DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Here’s something you won’t read on worldsnooker.com – Graeme Dott is today up before the WPBSA disciplinary committee facing the charge of making disrespectful remarks about a fellow player.

The player in question was Ian McCulloch but he was not the complainant. That person has not been revealed, neither has the make up of the disciplinary committee or even that the hearing is taking place at all.

Dott was riled by comments he had read from McCulloch following his 10-7 defeat to the Preston man in the first round of last season’s 888.com World Championship.

Launching the Grand Prix last August, he was quoted in Aberdeen newspapers as saying: “To lose to McCulloch at any time is disappointing. I don’t like the guy, I don't respect him and I don’t think he is any good.

“I couldn’t have played any worse. Honestly, you could have taken a guy off the street and he would have beaten me. Yet McCulloch only managed to win 10-7.

“After that McCulloch said that Anthony Hamilton was in a different class to me, which is disrespectful. No disrespect to Anthony, who is a fantastic player - but has he won the world title? No.

“It is not good etiquette to say something bad about a fellow player, but since McCulloch has I feel no reason to hold back. McCulloch has done nothing, and will do nothing in the game - so I find his attitude astonishing.”

Is this worthy of disciplinary action? I disagree with Dotty’s comments but I can’t see how he can be punished for them.

What happened to the principle of freedom of speech?

McCulloch is the sort of character who would shrug it off. He did the important thing, which was winning their match.

Graeme probably didn’t do himself any favours saying what he did but did it damage the game?

No way. People love a good row and it’ll add some spice to their next meeting.

There’s another issue here as well. All too often you’ll see the old line trotted out that there are “no characters in snooker these days.” Indeed, it is in a snooker feature in this week’s Radio Times.

Modern players do have strong personalities but many of them are frightened to speak out because of constant threats that they will be disciplined.

Snooker is a sport struggling for newspaper coverage. Punishing the players for having opinions isn’t going to increase it.

ROBIN HULL RETIRES

Robin Hull, Finland's only professional, has resigned his membership of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and has therefore brought his pro career to an end.

Hull, 33, has been dogged with health problems for the last few years. He suffered from a virus so debilitating that he found it hard to walk in a straight line.

He is also suffering from an irregular heartbeat and the combined health issues have caused him to put his cue away for good.

This is a great shame. Hull was a very talented player whose illness came about at exactly the time he was starting to make a breakthrough.

He won 28 matches during the 2001/02 season which culminated in him beating Steve Davis to qualify for the Crucible where Graeme Dott beat him in the first round.

Hull joined the top 32 in the rankings at 32nd but his position declined as the virus forced him to pull out of several tournaments.

He appeared to have made a recovery when only last season he beat Neil Robertson - fresh from winning the Grand Prix - in the Maplin UK Championship.

He then spoke of his ordeal, saying: “I had to have similar physiotherapy to that given to stroke victims and I still have numbness on my right side.

“There was a time when I couldn’t go out of a room. My confidence was badly damaged because I couldn’t do a simple thing like walking to a bus stop without feeling very ill and dizzy.

“My neurologist tried to keep me positive but it was very frightening as you tend to fear the worst.

“In any walk of life it would be a terrible thing, but for a snooker player it was a nightmare. I couldn’t get down to the table to play a shot without being physically sick.”

Despite signs he was over the worst of it, Hull pulled out of the 888.com World Championship qualifiers a few weeks after beating Robertson and has been similarly affected this season, missing out on the UK Championship.

Hull famously missed the black on 140 with a maximum waiting in the 1999 World Championship qualifiers.

His best performances in ranking events were quarter-final appearances in the 2003 Welsh Open and 2006 Malta Cup.

We here at Snooker Scene send our sympathies to him that he has been forced to retire through no fault of his own and wish him all the best for the future.

LOGGING ON...

Snooker Scene's website has been revamped to make it easier to use and with additional content.

Among the new features are full results from the final stages onwards of all ranking events, which should prove useful if you find yourself idly wondering who beat who in the first round of, for instance, the 1987 Fidelity International.

We are also carrying readers letters that have appeared in the magazine plus some of those that there wasn't space for.

We will be adding more content in the next week or so, including the rules of snooker so that any disputes down the club can be quickly resolved.

The main feature remains the Snooker Scene Shop where back issues, cues, books, DVDs and all manner of other cue sports goodies can be purchased.

The address is http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/ or click on the link on the right.

DOWN THE AGES

Well done to Barry Stark who, at the age of 65, won a couple of matches in the prelims for the 888.com World Championship.

Snooker has come a long way since the great Fred Davis reached the Crucible semi-finals at the age of 64 in 1978.

At 50, Steve Davis is the oldest player on the 96-man main tour. There are only a handful of players above 40.

But there’s no reason, health obviously permitting, why players shouldn’t carry on playing at some sort of level into old age.

Snooker is not a physical sport, although a degree of physical fitness and stamina can be very useful.

At the other end of the age scale, congratulations to 9 year-old Shane Castle who made his first competitive century, 101, in the Rushden Snooker Club under 19 grand finals.

Shane, who made a century in a practice match last November, was 81 days off the record as the youngest player to compile a competitive century set by Michael White. Ronnie O’Sullivan made his first century in competition at the age of 10.

THE LONG ROAD TO THE CRUCIBLE

Happy New Year to everybody.

When you’re watching the final of the 888.com World Championship four months from now spare a thought for Donald Newcombe and Phil Seaton who have today kicked snooker’s biggest event off in the chilly confines of Pontin’s at Prestatyn.

Their match is the only one in the first qualifying round. It’s perhaps a little unkind to liken it to two bald men fighting over a comb but it’s a long, long way to the Crucible from here. Newcombe or Seaton would have to win a total of eight matches to make it to Sheffield.

Next week, Jimmy White enters the fray in what could conceivably be his last ever World Championship.

Jimmy is currently 78th in the provisional rankings. If he drops off the tour he may get a wildcard but this isn’t the certainly many seem to assume.

The six times runner-up starts out against Matt Selt or Fraser Patrick and will then have to beat Andrew Higginson and Mark King to qualify for the Crucible.

It’s by no means beyond him but, bearing in mind his form this season, is somehow hard to see.

By the way, it’s well worth going to Prestatyn because there are several other established names in action, including 1991 champion John Parrott, former semi-finalists Alan McManus, Andy Hicks and James Wattana and rising stars like Judd Trump, Michael White and the five-strong Chinese contingent.

And if a qualifier follows in the footsteps of Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy by actually winning the title you can always boast that you were there to see them as they set off on the long journey towards snooker’s greatest prize.

JOHN HIGGINS MBE

John Higgins has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list.

This is in recognition of his second Crucible triumph last season as well as his many other achievements in the sport.

Congratulations to John, who joins the likes of Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, Jimmy White and Mark Williams in being honoured in this way.

AND SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS...

We’re shutting up shop for another year here at Snooker Scene Towers so would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Looking back at 2007, what’s striking is how little snooker there has actually been in terms of tournaments. Just eight ranking events and a handful of invitation tournaments for the top professionals.

However, I think 2008 will be much, much busier with John Higgins’s new ‘World Series’ and, I understand, more events on the cards in the Far East.

Any major sport looking for exposure in the media needs to create a feeling of momentum, which has been severely lacking in snooker in recent times.

Having whole months go by with nothing happening makes the sport look like its in decline when, in fact, across Europe and China it is booming.

There was no player of 2007 even if the year was book-ended by Ronnie O’Sullivan’s fine performances in winning the Saga Insurance Masters and Maplin UK Championship.

Shaun Murphy was the most consistent player and there were also strong showings from the likes of Neil Robertson and Stephen Maguire but Higgins came good when it really mattered at the Crucible.

The last week of the 888.com World Championship offered what snooker at its best can: great snooker, close finishes and plenty of drama.

There are still problems in how the game is administered but at least there is now stability and little in-fighting.

There’s every reason to be positive heading into 2008.

RONNIE DESERVES PROPER RECOGNITION

What do the following have on common? – Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths, Jimmy White, John Parrott and Mark Williams.

It’s not just that they have all been great players but that they have all received honours from the Queen.

Missing is John Higgins, who is surely due one after his second Crucible triumph, and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Ronnie’s colourful off table life probably precludes him from receiving one in the eyes of many but why should it?

He has, more than anyone playing the game today, sustained the popularity of a sport that has been a huge favourite with television viewers for more than three decades.

Furthermore, his great natural style of play has created many new snooker fans around Europe who are seeing the game for the first time on Eurosport.

Ronnie is also one of British sport’s leading characters and most sublimely talented exponents.

Add in his considerable on table achievements and, even if you believe that the Honours system is highly questionable in many regards, he deserves recognition from his country.

RONNIE RULES UK

What an end to 2007.

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s first ranking title for 33 months came courtesy of a highly polished display against Stephen Maguire, who failed to produce any sort of form in the opening session.

It wasn’t the classic Maplin UK Championship final we’d been hoping for but the scenes that followed – Ronnie’s daughter Lily standing on the table – will live long in the memory.

It was nice to see this often troubled cueman with a broad smile on his face and holding one of the game’s major trophies aloft once again.

His maximum in the decider of his semi-final against Mark Selby was a slice of sheer genius, an incredible end to an absorbing contest.

The crowds turned out in force during a successful week in Telford and were treated to some excellent snooker. The sponsors should also be commended for their efforts in creating a buzz around the event not just limited to events in the arena.

And O’Sullivan’s capture of the title was the perfect way to mark the 30th anniversary of this great tournament.

HIGGINS LAUNCHES 'WORLD SERIES'

In what could potentially transpire to be one of the best things to happen to snooker in recent years, world champion John Higgins and his manager, Pat Mooney, are to launch a 'World Series' of events around Europe next year.

Four tournaments are planned between May and August with Higgins hoping the mini-tour will grow in future years.

Eurosport's blanket coverage of major events has done for snooker in Europe what the BBC did for it in the 1970s and 80s.

Warsaw, Moscow, Jersey and either Germany or Holland have been chosen as the stopping off points for the first four tournaments.

"I've been looking forward to doing something like this for a long time," revealed Higgins.

"The idea is to get some small invitational events going - and with time they will grow and grow. The future of snooker is in Europe.

"I've always wanted to give something back to snooker and, being the world champion, this is the ideal opportunity.

"My name carries a lot of weight in the game, so I want to do my best to promote the sport. I've been happy to sit in the background in the past, but with my business head on I know I've got to push myself more.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for snooker, myself and a lot of other players."

The tournaments, which will all be televised, will feature top players plus local hopefuls and will compliment rather than clash with the main World Snooker events.

This could be the start of a genuine expansion of the game across the continent.

SELBY AND FU SHATTER RECORD...SLOWLY

Myself and Joe Johnson have just commentated on the longest ever frame of televised snooker, a 77 minute, 31 second grind between Mark Selby and Marco Fu which Selby eventually won to edge their Maplin UK Championship quarter-final 9-7 at Telford.

This beats the record of 76 minutes held by Bill Werbeniuk and Eddie Charlton in their match against Les Dodd and Jim Bear in the 1985 World Doubles Championship.

The previous record in a ranking event was 74 minutes, 8 seconds set by Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon in the 2006 world final.

Time for bed, I think.

RONNIE THE MAN TO BEAT

It's a year to the day since Ronnie O’Sullivan walked out of the Maplin UK Championship trailing Stephen Hendry only 4-1 in the quarter-finals and it already seems like a distant memory.

He was classy in accounting for a 6-2 lead over Jamie Cope this afternoon and so anxious to get on with it that at one point he asked the referee, Terry Camilleri, to wait until he had walked round the table before retrieving the potted colour.

This is ominous form as O’Sullivan attempts to win his first ranking title since March 2005, but he still faces some tough opponents at Telford.

Marco Fu or Mark Selby awaits in the semi-finals with Stephen Maguire or Shaun Murphy to meet in the final.

I predicted last week that the cream would rise to the top and, for once, I’ve got something right.

LET THE PLAYERS SPEAK THEIR MINDS

One of the biggest misconceptions about snooker today is that ‘there aren’t any characters in the game.’

This is usually trotted out by people who have never spent any time on the circuit. If they had, they would know there are plenty of characters, not to say a fair number of eccentrics, among snooker’s travelling circus.

On Monday, Michael Holt was beaten 9-6 by Ronnie O’Sullivan. It was a disappointment because he knew he had a chance to win.

The Chris Evans show on BBC Radio 2 wanted to speak to him and he waited patiently at the venue for more than two hours to take part in the interview.

Evans was so taken with Holt that he immediately invited him back on yesterday’s show.

It takes players like Holt to put themselves out to assist the media and World Snooker in promoting the sport. Most players are helpful in this regard. Indeed, the relationship between press and players is generally very good.

However, shifting perceptions that snooker is a sport populated by robotic automatons isn’t easy.

What doesn’t help is the insistence of World Snooker that players should not say anything remotely controversial.

Graeme Dott said he didn’t like Ian McCulloch back launching the Grand Prix in August. It was the sort of meaningless spat that happens pretty much every day in football but Dott has now been threatened with disciplinary action.

If the players aren’t allowed to stray beyond some carefully crafted corporate image, how are their personalities supposed to come to the fore?

NEW TOURNAMENT LAUNCHED

Ever the innovator, Matchroom supremo Barry Hearn has found another gap in the market and intends to fill it by staging what is in affect a qualifying event for the Premier League.

It will run between February and May and be shown in betting shops and on the internet.

Read the official press release here:
http://www.matchroomsport.com

CHANGING OF THE GUARD?

Mark Allen’s victory over Stephen Hendry and Jamie Cope’s excellent performance last night against John Higgins, taken together with defeats for the likes of Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon and Stephen Lee, raises the question of whether we are entering a new era of snooker in which the old guard is being swept away.

I’m not so sure.

Nobody goes on forever in any sport and Allen are Cope are bona fide stars of the future but let’s not forget that Doherty, Ebdon and Lee weren’t beaten by young up-and-comers but vastly experienced players in the form of Nigel Bond, Ian McCulloch and Mark King.

Even so, there are clear signs of a changing of the guard represented by the likes of Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby coming to the fore in recent years.

Cope has already been in two finals and he produced the break of the day yesterday in clearing with 53 to win the sixth frame of his match with Higgins, bringing two reds off cushions and appearing as nonchalant as a multiple world champion as he knocked in a tough pink using the rest and a far from simple black.

New eras tend to be created gradually with young stars improving while the established elite begin to decline.

However, we can only say the old guard’s days are numbered if they start winning tournaments on a regular basis.

RANK AND FILE

I thought Ken Doherty played as poorly as I’ve ever seen him in losing 9-7 from 7-4 up to Nigel Bond in the first round of the Maplin UK Championship in Telford last night.

He didn’t seem able to do anything right – evidence, perhaps, of his lack of practice having become a father for the first time just over a week ago.

The defeat means Doherty is almost certain to be ranked outside the elite top 16 in the provisional world rankings heading into the New Year.

As we’ve seen with Matthew Stevens and, possibly, with Mark Williams, no-one is too good to be relegated.

It’s all about results and if you don’t win, you won’t survive the increasingly competitive drop-zone.

Shaun Murphy entered this event top of the provisional standings but returns level at 4-4 with Paul Davies and a shock result cannot be completely discarded.

Murphy is a fluent player whereas Davies is far more methodical and, if the Welshman can disrupt Murphy’s rhythm, he could spring a surprise.

Meanwhile, Ronnie O’Sullivan appears to be in good spirits and I expect him to have too much firepower for Michael Holt when they start out this afternoon.

O’Sullivan lies second in the provisional rankings and will be ready to pounce if Murphy slips up.

HENDRY'S WOES

Stephen Hendry may still beat Mark Allen in the first round of the Maplin UK Championship but - at the time of writing - this seems unlikely.

I well remember when Hendry was beaten 9-0 by Marcus Campbell in the first round of the 1998 event. Various pundits wrote him off and suggested it was the beginning of the end but he recovered to win a seventh world title later that season.

However, that Crucible triumph was the last time the Scot captured one of snooker's 'big three' titles (the UK and the Masters being the others) and there were signs this afternoon that he has real problems.

He wasn't helped by the fact Allen played superbly in claiming his 6-2 lead but, unlike Steve Davis, Hendry has clearly decided not to change his game despite the threat of decline.

The tricky cut-back black he went for leading 60-0 in the seventh frame was proof of this.

Hendry's always been adventurous in his shot selection and, in the glory years, most of them went in but he's starting to miss more and more of these key balls.

The 38 year-old hardly enjoyed a confidence-boosting build up to Telford after he was beaten 6-0 by an inspired Ding Junhui in the Premier League at Glenrothes and 5-1 in the semi-finals at Aberdeen by Ronnie O'Sullivan.

After everything Hendry has done in the sport, it would be foolish to write him off and he wouldn't play if he didn't think he could still win titles but this is surely a crossroads in his career.

RONNIE OUT OF MALTA

Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the Malta Cup.

Actually, that isn't quite correct. He didn't want to play in the first place and was entered without his knowledge by his management company.

Malta has never been a favourite destination for O'Sullivan (I've no idea why as it's a lovely place) but I understand his main reason for not going is that he doesn't wish to spend a week away from his family when there is a tournament - the Welsh Open - starting the day after the Malta final.

It looks like clumsy scheduling but there is method in this madness: a gap has been left for an eighth ranking event in the Middle East.

However, the signs are that this won't take place this season.

Some will criticise O'Sullivan but he has a right not to play if he doesn't fancy it and isn't to blame for being entered into a tournament without knowing about it.

It is, though, a blow to people who have already booked tickets for the Portomaso event on the understanding he would be playing.

The fear now, of course, is that other players who didn't wish to play and have found themselves in the draw will also pull out, which would cause huge problems bearing in mind the event is played using a round robin system and the players in each group have been carefully selected based on their rankings.

WHO WILL RULE UK?

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the UK Championship is the lack of surprises over the years.

Sure, there have been plenty of shock results but surprise winners have been thin on the ground.

In fact, I’d say there had only been three in this great tournament’s 30 years.

The first winner, Patsy Fagan, was by no means among the favourites (which would have been Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Alex Higgins and Doug Mountjoy) in 1977.

John Virgo would not have been tipped by many to win the 1979 event.

Mountjoy was 24th in the world rankings and widely thought to be in terminal decline when he won the title for a second time in 1988.

You could argue that, at 17, Ronnie O’Sullivan was a surprise winner in 1993 but most people recognised his prodigious talent and expected him to start capturing titles sooner rather than later.

Most of the game’s great and good have won the UK Championship, with the notable exceptions of Reardon, Spencer, Cliff Thorburn and Dennis Taylor.

This year’s event looks set to be competitive, but could there be a rare shock winner?

The way snooker is these days it seems more likely than a decade ago. But who are the contenders?

Mark Allen is certainly one. I think he’ll give an out of form Stephen Hendry real problems on Saturday and has the sort of game to go all the way.

Ricky Walden could prove a handful for Mark Williams, but would have to claim a series of other scalps were he to advance to the final.

How about someone like Stuart Bingham? He’s playing Steve Davis the first round, who he’s beaten three times out of three.

Or one of the veterans, like Nigel Bond and Dave Harold, aiming to follow Dominic Dale, Marco Fu and Fergal O’Brien in turning back the clock?

We will see over the nine days of the Maplin-sponsored tournament at Telford International Centre, which is broadcast live on the BBC and Eurosport.

And yet, for all the talk of shocks, I can’t help thinking that by the law of averages O’Sullivan – who is 32 years old today – has to win a ranking event some time soon (it’s been 33 months).

Looking at the draw, I fancy him to beat Shaun Murphy in the final on December 16.

That would certainly maintain the notion that, at the UK Championship, the cream always rises to the top.

DADDY KEN

Congratulations to Ken Doherty and his wife, Sarah, on the birth of their first child, a son, yesterday.

UPDATE: Ken and Sarah have named their son Christian

ON THE MARK

In my opinion, Mark Allen is the real deal. He will be one of snooker's top players for many years to come.

Yesterday, I watched part of his match in the Maplin UK Championship against Andrew Higginson, who himself played with great fluency.

Allen impressed me a lot. He compiled a number of big breaks - including a 146 - but his safety was also good and he played the right way in winnng 9-7.

The 21 year-old from Antrim reached the top 32 in the rankings after only two seasons on the main tour, which is good going by anyone's standards. He will surely join the top 16 next season.

I like his aggression and will to win, although he was in the wrong when he swore at the referee during his round robin match with Ken Doherty in the Grand Prix last month.

Allen immediately accepted he had been wrong. Before and after a match he is a mild mannered chap, it's only in matches where he becomes particularly animated.

And what's wrong with that? As long as he curbs his emotions and doesn't flout the game's ettiquette then I think it's refreshing.

At Telford, he will play Stephen Hendry, who beat him in his first pro event, the 2005 Northern Ireland Trophy.

Allen was over-awed then. It's fair to say he won't be when they meet in just over a week's time.

"I was a bit star-struck because it was my first tournament,” Allen told me. “But this is my third year on the tour and I don’t feel I have to look up to anyone any more.

“You have to give every player the same respect whoever they are. I’m just out there to do a job. It’s a tough match but I think I’m capable of winning it.”

TOMMY WHITE

Everyone here at Snooker Scene sends our sympathies to Jimmy White whose father, Tommy, died today at the age of 88.

Tommy was a regular fixture on the circuit and his friendly, cheerful manner never wavered despite all those Crucible disappointments.

Like all Jimmy's fans, Tommy experienced many highs and lows over the years but remained immensely proud of his son's achievements.

When Jimmy won the 2004 Players Championship in Glasgow, Tommy leapt out of the crowd to embrace his son and the man he beat in the final, Paul Hunter, also now sadly gone.

The moment was sweeter for Jimmy - and everyone who knew Tommy - because his dad was there to celebrate with him.

ANOTHER LATE, LATE SHOW IN PROSPECT

Here's a very simple question: who exactly believes that snooker fans are all insomniacs?

I ask because despite the 00.53am finish to the 2006 world final and the 00.54am finish to last season's Crucible finale, the final session of next year's showpiece showdown is scheduled to start, once again, at 8pm.

When John Higgins beat Mark Selby 18-13 last season, 2m viewers were watching. 5.2m had been watching 90 minutes earlier but most of them switched off, presumably because they were tired ahead of another week at work and could not stay with it.

How many children - the stars of snooker's future - woud have been watching at this time?

Let's not forget that there were still another four frames possible in the match.

Let's also remember that for many of those watching on Eurosport on the continent it was an hour later.

Very little got in the newspapers the following day because it was simply too late to meet print deadlines. Most of the coverage the day after this was focused on the scheduling.

Higgins himself was adamant the timings had to be changed to avoid a repeat of all this.

Surely, we all thought, lessons would have been learned and the final session this season would start at, say, 7pm.

In fact, nothing has changed and it's hard to see - barring a runaway - how another late, late show can be avoided next May.

The final afternoon session is, according to the booking form, supposed to start at 2.30pm. This was the case last year but it was changed to accomodate live BBC coverage of the women's FA Cup final and I'd be prepared to bet the same will happen this season.

Late night drama is all well and good but one of these days - perhaps next year - the final will finish at close to 3am and the sport will be a laughing stock.

They got away with it this year. Why take the risk next year?

MORE MISERY FOR JIMMY

Jimmy White faces a tough fight to keep his place on the professional circuit after crashing out of the Maplin UK Championship qualifiers in Prestatyn tonight.

White, 45, was beaten 9-7 by Mansfield’s Lee Spick in the second qualifying round of the £500,000 tournament.

The 1992 UK champion had needed to win three matches to reach the televised phase at Telford next month.

And White was hoping a good run in snooker’s second biggest event would kick-start a nightmare season in which he has failed to qualify for the final stages of the first four ranking events.

White, once as high as second in the world rankings, has fallen to 73rd in the provisional standings.

Only the top 64 at the end of the season will be guaranteed their places for the 2008/09 campaign.

TOUGH TEST FOR WHITE

Jimmy White, six times the Crucible runner-up, has been handed a tough qualifying draw for this season's 888.com World Championship.

Assuming White defeats Matt Selt or Fraser Patrick, he will have to beat Andrew Higginson, last season's Welsh Open runner-up, and the always tricky Mark King to make it through to the TV phase.

The perennial crowd favourite makes his bow at Prestatyn on January 8. The final round will be held at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from March 7-10.

White failed to reach the Crucible last season when he lost his first qualifying match 10-4 to Jamie Burnett.

The full qualifying draw is now available to view on worldsnooker.com:
http://www.worldsnooker.com/tournament_latest_drawsheet-93.htm

THE LONG ROAD TO TELFORD

It will take eight days and a great deal of snooker to find the 16 qualifiers who will join the elite top 16 for the final stages of the Maplin UK Championship.

The qualifying for snooker's second biggest ranking tournament got underway at chilly Prestatyn today with 80 hopefuls doing battle for the Telford places.

I've given up attempting to predict who will come through because the strength in depth these days is such that literally anyone could.

Only four of the qualifiers for the Grand Prix in Aberdeen made it through to the Northern Ireland Trophy at Belfast.

Even though the formats were different, this illustrates that the days of players qualifying for every event with a string of victories under their belts has gone.

The UK qualifiers are two days longer than originally planned because only the top 16 are seeded through this season rather than the top 32 as in previous years.

Therefore, the likes of Matthew Stevens [the 2003 winner], Joe Swail and Mark Allen will be in action in North Wales next week alongside former champions Jimmy White and John Parrott.

I'd advise anyone who has never been to Pontin's to go and watch because there's always plenty of drama in the qualifiers, especially when the nerves start to bubble up.

The prize of playing on TV is such that, on a good day, you can see more twitching than in one of Bill Oddie's nature shows.

DING SETS NEW WORLD RECORD

Ding Junhui set a new world record during his extraordinary 6-0 victory over Stephen Hendry in the partybets.com Premier League in Glenrothes tonight.

The 20 year-old Chinese ace knocked in three centuries on the way to amassing 495 points without reply in opening a 4-0 lead over the seven times world champion at Rothes Hall.

The run of unanswered points was one more than the record of 494 set by John Higgins during his 9-2 thrashing of Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2005 Grand Prix final.

Ding fired in breaks of 133, 87, 136 and 138 before Hendry finally stopped the rot by scoring five points at the start of the fifth frame.

But the Scot broke down and Ding pounced with a run of 54 to lead 5-0.

And Ding then wrapped up the whitewash by adding the sixth having out-pointed Hendry 636-41.

RILEYS BACK CHARITY APPEAL

I learned today that the great uncle of Gemma Atkinson, the actress currently appearing on British TV in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here, was the three-times world champion John Spencer.

She is taking part in a campaign for Everyman, which is Europe's first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research.

John died in July 2006 after a long and painful battle with cancer.

In support of the campaign, Rileys are aiming to raise £150,000 to help fund further research.

There's more news here: http://www.everyman-campaign.org/index.html

HAROLD ON A SWISS ROLL

Congratulations to Dave Harold for beating Ken Doherty 5-0 in the final of the Swiss Open.

This is the latest in a number of satellite events around Europe that are not only providing players with opportunities to get some good match practice but are also spreading the snooker word.

Dave is now 40 and one of a number of players who could figure in a World Seniors Championship, were such a thing to be organised.

The last, and indeed only, Seniors World Championship was staged some 16 years ago when Cliff Wilson beat Eddie Charlton in the final, with the tournament open to over 40s.

Think of the quality of the field using the same criteria today: main tour players Steve Davis, Jimmy White, John Parrott, Harold, Nigel Bond, Tony Drago and David Roe and possibly the likes of Tony Knowles, Mike Hallett, Willie Thorne, Cliff Thorburn, Darren Morgan, Joe Johnson and Alex Higgins.

Stephen Hendry himself turns 40 in just over a year's time and Ken Doherty and Peter Ebdon aren't far behind.

Would anyone else like to see such an event?

AWARD FOR CLIVE EVERTON

A good time was had by all at the Snooker Writers Association annual dinner on Sunday where the cream of snooker journalism was joined by our award winners Jamie Cope (Newcomer of the Year) and Andrew Higginson (Achievement of the Year).

Snooker Scene's editor and BBC commentator Clive Everton was also in attendance to pick up his Special Award in recognition of his long service and continuing battle for free speech with World Snooker, who have so far spent more than £100,000 of its members money trying - without success - to put him out of business.

Clive was first writing about snooker more than 40 years ago and his passion for the game remains as strong as ever. As Steve Davis said at the Crucible last year when Clive celebrated his 500th day there: "Thanks very much for all the memories and thanks very much for being such a snooker fan. You've given a lot of people a lot of pleasure by continuing with the magazine and all of your enthusiasm."

MAN OF THE CENTURY

Ronnie O'Sullivan compiled the first century of his professional career as a 16 year-old at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool during the long hot summer of qualifying for ranking events in 1992.

He fashioned his 500th last night in the partybets.com Premier League in Kidderminster.

Much has happened to him on and off the table in the 15 intervening years but one fact remains constant: on the table he is capable of genius.

O'Sullivan is only the second player to reach the 500 mark. Stephen Hendry is more than 200 ahead in first place.

However, Hendry has been on the circuit for seven years longer than O'Sullivan.

And if you average out the number of centuries per season for the two players they each come out at 31.

HOW SNOOKER CAN LEARN FROM DARTS

It isn't so long since darts was generally a bit of a joke in Britain.

The split in the early 1990s that resulted in two World Championships led many to predict the sport would whither and die.

In fact, it has grown to such a degree that it is now one of television's leading sports.

Each day next week, ITV4 will show around five hours of live coverage of the Grand Slam event featuring players from the PDC and BDO.

The top prize is £80,000 - more than the winner of every snooker ranking event bar the World and UK Championships will pocket - and a full house is expected at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

The rise in interest in darts can be attributed squarely to one man: Barry Hearn.

It was Hearn who realised the game's potential and marketed it with his usual flair and sound commercial decisions.

Let us not forget that two decades ago he was one of the biggest figures in snooker as manager of Steve Davis and various other leading players.

Hearn led expeditions to Thailand, Hong Kong, China and other outposts and helped build up interest that led to major tournaments being staged in these places.

He had bags of ideas and generated big bucks for his players but ran into what every entrepreneur who has ever become involved with snooker has suffered: envy and suspicion because he wanted to make money for himself.

The WPBSA's attitude to such people - from Mike Watterson to Hearn to Ian Doyle to Altium - has always been the same: we don't need you, we can do it all ourselves.

It is this attitude that has left snooker stagnated with fewer tournaments than in previous years and falling prize money while darts has thrived.

Hearn markets his sports at the top end. He concentrates on the stars - like the great Phil Taylor - because they generate the interest.

Because of how snooker is run, the same consideration has to be given to the world no.96 as the world no.1.

Actually, if the WPBSA used Hearn's model, the world no.96 would end up earning ten times as much as he does now because the sport as a whole would have a higher profile and there would be more playing opportunities.

Hearn still promotes snooker's Premier League but gradually became frustrated with the snooker world and concentrates instead on darts and other sports.

Nobody laughs at darts today. Snooker can learn a great deal from the way Hearn has transformed that game and should treat the next entrepreneur to come to our sport with greater respect.

MURPHY'S LAW

As a boy, Shaun Murphy's twin ambitions were to be world champion and world no.1

Two years ago, he achieved the first; in the latest provisional ranking list he is up to no.1 so well on his way to achieving the second.

The rankings don't lie. Of the seven ranking events staged so far in 2007, Murphy has won 1, been in the semi-finals of 3 and the quarter-finals of another 2.

This record of consistency suggests Murphy will be hard to shift when the rankings receive their annual revision after the 888.com World Championship next May.

To me, Murphy is the only top player around who exhibits similar characteristics to Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, in terms of his will to win and work ethic.

John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams are three of the greatest players of all time but did not - and still do not - have the drive of Davis and Hendry.

Players can become too comfortable and take their foot off the gas. Davis and Hendry would always forget about a tournament they had just won to concentrate on the next one.

Murphy seems to be cut from the same cloth and I feel he has more than one Crucible triumph to come.

He isn't to everyone's taste. The well publicised 'chalk-gate' incident with Stephen Maguire at the 2004 Grand Prix hardly endeared him to many.

Some dislike his religion, but this is just prejudice plain and simple.

And let's not forget how unpopular Davis and Hendry were with some people in their pomp.

Is this the age of Murphy? It's too early to say.

But at 25 he has time on his side and the world at his feet.

MAGUIRE ON FIRE AGAIN

He may have been saddled with a ridiculous nickname (what on earth is the 'Merlin of Milton' supposed to mean?) but on the table Stephen Maguire has proven this week that he is pure class.

His confidence was knocked by failing to put away Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the 2005 World Championship but the Glaswegian does not appear to have suffered a negative reaction to losing 17-15 from 14-10 up in the Crucible semi-finals last season.

By beating Fergal O'Brien 9-5 in the Northern Ireland Trophy final in Belfast tonight, he becomes only the 15th player to have won three or more ranking titles.

Up to third in the provisional rankings, he can relax a little now that his three-year wait for a title has ended and will surely challenge in the rest of this season's events.

Snooker is becoming increasingly difficult to predict but Maguire, like Dominic Dale in Shanghai and Marco Fu at the Grand Prix, had to play some top class stuff to win the title, capping a terrific and well supported week in Belfast.

FEARLESS FERGAL

Fergal O'Brien's break of 48 with which he clinched his 5-2 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach the Northern Ireland Trophy semi-finals in Belfast last night was one of the finest I have ever seen.

Although the context of the match was different, it would not be overstating things to compare it to Alex Higgins's match-saving 69 in the 1982 World Championship semi-finals against Jimmy White.

When Fergal came to the table the only colour on its spot was the yellow. Various other colours and sundry reds were on cushions.

He fashioned a perfect run to secure victory and reach his first semi-final for eight years.

Well done to him. Just because he didn't make the break in five minutes does not mean it wasn't excellent snooker.

There is a common misconception about Fergal: that he is a grinder; a tactician.

In fact, he is an attacking player who plays at a measured pace.

He has made 90 centuries in his career, placing him 28th on the all time list. This is not the record of someone always keeping things tight.

Fergal loves snooker. It runs in his blood. If he wasn't playing he'd be watching.

Good luck to him this weekend.

TV MATCHES

A brief word about televised matches because I've heard some criticism of Eurosport for the matches that have been chosen, not least the decision to show Shaun Murphy v Peter Ebdon rather than Neil Robertson v Stephen Maguire today.

Eurosport do not pick the matches. Furthermore, they are not consulted about which matches are chosen.

The local broadcaster, TG4, and World Snooker are responsible for deciding on who plays on which table.

It's a shame we haven't seen Mark Allen yet bearing in mind he had brought in more spectators than any other player and we won't see him tonight because (understandably) the TV match is Ronnie O'Sullivan v Fergal O'Brien.

Thankfully, it goes down to one table from tomorrow so we can see every ball after that.

SNOOKER PERFECTION

Ronnie O'Sullivan today made five centuries in the five frames he won to beat Ali Carter 5-2 and reach the Northern Ireland Trophy quarter-finals in Belfast.

Nobody has done this before in a best of nine frame match.

Included in this was the seventh maximum break of his career, completed in the same nonchalent fashion - right and left-handed - as the other four centuries.

This is as good as snooker gets. It was sheer genius.

Whatever anyone may think of O'Sullivan's controversial career, you can only applaud a true sporting great at the top of his game.

TV MATCHES IN BELFAST

The following matches will be shown on TG4 and Eurosport over the first two days of the Northern Ireland Trophy:

Sunday
Afternoon: Joe Swail v Liu Song
Evening: Marco Fu v Adrian Gunnell

Monday
Afternoon: Matthew Stevens v Martin Gould
Evening: Gerard Greene v Liang Wenbo

The top 16 enter the fray on Tuesday.

110SPORT 'VICTIMS OF SMEAR CAMPAIGN'

110sport, who manage Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ken Doherty among others, have issued the following statement:

110sport Management Ltd, snooker’s biggest management group, have reason to believe they are victims of a smear campaign which has been directed against them by certain individuals form within the snooker fraternity.

Spokesman for 110sport, Stewart Weir said; “We became aware of this a number of weeks ago, firstly through the grapevine and latterly when we started receiving telephone calls from several newspapers.

“Once we had explained the situation to these newspapers, they decided in their best interests not to run with the story.

“However, the individuals who have instigated this campaign, and who we know are from the Yorkshire area and the Isle of Man , have persisted with their attempt to blacken our name and reputation by touting the same story around the newspaper world.

“Their claim, and not necessarily those of the players they have listed, is that several of our former clients have complaints concerning how they were managed during their time with our company.

“What we would say to those players, even after several years outside of our management, we would be willing to discuss those grievances. However, if they feel strongly enough, we would happily see them in a court of law, an option which has been open to them all along.

“We would also say that, if any financial claims are made against our company, counter-claims would be issued immediately.

“110sport are also adamant that if these underhand tactics continue against our company, we will forward our dossier on to both legal and snooker authorities.”

WHAT'S THE TIME, RONNIE?

Here's a picture from Ronnie O'Sullivan's photo-shoot for Vasto watches in China.

Has snooker finally gone upmarket?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED!

We send our birthday wishes to Ted Lowe, who is 87 today.

For those too young to remember him, or from outside the UK, Ted was a BBC snooker commentator for 50 years until his retirement in 1996.

He brought us Pot Black, which built snooker's popularity on TV and led to the creation of the professional circuit as we know it today.

Ted earned the nickname 'Whispering' because, in the 1950s, he would sit in the crowd to commentate and would obviously have to keep his voice down.

He still follows snooker and sent me a very nice letter this year after I wrote a piece about him in Snooker Scene.

We hope he's enjoying his birthday.

WPBSA AGM RESULTS

The WPBSA AGM was held today in Sheffield.

Mike Dunn and Jim McMahon, the two serving directors required to submit themselves for re-election, made it back on to the board while Brandon Parker was unsuccessful.

The results (votes for and against):
Mike Dunn: 45-14
Jim McMahon: 42-17
Brandon Parker: 16-42

RONNIE 'BECOMES SNOOKER'S RICHEST PLAYER'

110sport have issued the following statement:

RONNIE O’Sullivan has half-a-million reasons for putting the disappointment of last week’s Grand Prix final defeat behind him.

For the twice-world snooker champion is about to become the game’s highest-earning player off-table by entering in to a series of endorsement contracts in China.

The 31-year-old, who lost to stablemate Marco Fu in Aberdeen, is in Guangzhou this week to film a series of TV commercials and complete contracts that will boost the world No.5’s income by £500,000 over the next two years.

O’Sullivan will put his name to a series of products including watches, clothing and snooker tables.

A spokesman for Stirling-based 110sport, O’Sullivan’s management company said; “Ronnie is such a massive attraction in snooker, especially in China where the game has taken off.

“As the most spectacular player in the game it’s not a surprise that companies want to align themselves with the biggest character in snooker.”

Good luck to Ronnie. This certainly confirms his and snooker's popularity. I just hope it means he actually plays in tournaments in China in the future because his participation in the Far East will help grow the game even further.

WOMEN'S SNOOKER: WHERE NEXT?

I read a story in one of the newspapers last week which questioned why Reanne Evans, as women's world champion, should earn so much less than Ronnie O'Sullivan (who isn't the men's world champion but is someone the paper presumably thought its readers would know).

This is a question often asked and has a very simple answer: because the standard in the women's game is nowhere near as high as that in the men's, so sponsors, TV and the public are less interested.

I say the 'men's' but women have never been barred from playing on the professional circuit. Allison Fisher, the best women's player of all time, beat Mike Hallett and Neal Foulds in the Matchroom League but her highest ranking was only 192.

Barry Hearn televised the women's World Championship a few times but it didn't really catch on.

In 1997, the WPBSA took the women's game under their wing, staging finals during major ranking tournaments, including at the Crucible.

A few years later the women were cut adrift and now have to fend for themselves with meagre sponsorship but a circuit of sorts.

Fisher, Karen Corr and Kelly Fisher have all gone to America to play on the far more lucrative 9-ball pool circuit, where they are all doing well.

Evans has vowed not to follow them. She loves snooker and would like to make a decent living from it.

For this to happen she needs a more competitive circuit and that will only happen if more women take up the game.

Snooker has always had a strong female following but playing standards have not really risen. If they did and a woman emerged who could challenge the leading male players the game itself would receive a huge boost.

As snooker is not a physical game there is no reason in theory why this could not happen.

Only time will tell if it actually does.

WHIRLWIND SET FOR JUNGLE?

Jimmy White is rumoured to be among the celebrities being lined up for the new series of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

For non-UK readers, this is a TV programme in which celebs are ritually humiliated in a jungle setting.

Then again, Jimmy's spent so much time at Pontin's of late that it might come as a welcome relief.

DALE V FU - WHO SHOULD GET IT?

The Saga Masters wildcard will go to Grand Prix champion Marco Fu unless something extraordinary happens at the Northern Ireland Trophy.

This is bad news for Dominic Dale, the Shanghai Masters champion, who also missed out after winning the 1997 Grand Prix when Jimmy White got the nod instead.

Fu is favoured because he can do much to help raise interest in Asia. However, Dale won a tournament in China, which we are constantly told is the great emerging market for the game.

The obvious choice would be to invite them both but it may be too late for that now.

BEWARE CUE MAN FU

This may come back to haunt me but I don't expect Marco Fu to be roundly thrashed by Ronnie O'Sullivan in today's Royal London Watches Grand Prix final in Aberdeen - which is the outcome many are predicting.

Fu was sluggish to say the least in putting away Gerard Greene 6-5 in a four hour, 18 minute grind last night but experienced the jitters that heavy favourites often do.

Against O'Sullivan, he won't have this and, having beaten Ronnie five times in 11 meetings, is well capable of causing an upset.

That said, I'd be amazed if O'Sullivan doesn't win his first ranking title in 31 months. He was superb in recovering from 5-2 down to beat Shaun Murphy 6-5 and seems to be cueing as well as ever.

My prediction? Ronnie to win 9-5 or 9-6. Whatever the result, let's hope it's good stuff.

SPEAK UP, RONNIE

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been in sublime form at times in Aberdeen this week but is refusing to play ball with the media, answering only in mumbled half-phrases in his post match press conferences.

Most people at the tournament find this behaviour pretty tiresome. Shaun Murphy has just suggested it is unprofessional.

I'm not sure what Ronnie's exact problem is but the regular snooker press have nothing against him. Indeed, we like him so it's a shame he is choosing to act in the way he is.

AT LAST, IT'S A KNOCKOUT

So it's over then. 120 matches and we finally have the last 16 line-up.

Hopefully what has happened over the last five days will spell the end of the round robin format at the Royal London Watches Grand Prix.

There have been too many dead games, too much confusion, poor crowds in Aberdeen and, far worse, all sorts of insinuations about the integrity of certain matches.

None of this has done the sport any good whatsoever.

HIGGINS: 'I NEARLY WALKED OUT OF SHANGHAI'

John Higgins has revealed that he almost pulled out of the Shanghai Masters in August after being told that his world final re-match with Mark Selby was being put on a non-TV table.

Higgins told me how incensed he was in an interview for the Sunday Herald, which can be read here:
http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/nationalsport/display.var.1758705.0.the_gospel_according_to_john.php

I know some people will say, 'prima-donna, who does he think he is?'

Well here's who he is: the world champion and world no.1 who flew to Shanghai the month before the tournament to attend an official launch.

The matches chosen ahead of his were Steve Davis v Dave Harold and Stuart Bingham v Stuart Pettman.

As I said at the time, it was a bewildering decision.

RICHARD BEARE RESIGNS

Richard Beare, the circuit's master of ceremonies for the last two years, has resigned.

Beare was seen behind the mic at Pot Black last week but contacted World Snooker a few days later to say he did not wish to continue.

This would be a good chance for them to bite the bullet and ring up the much missed Alan Hughes, who did the job for two decades before resigning after being expected to do more work for less money.

Of all the people who have done the job at various tournaments over the years, Alan was easily the best.

NEW START COULD MEAN SAME OLD HENDRY

I think Stephen Hendry will do well in Aberdeen this week some 20 years after he first won the Grand Prix.

He has a new cue this season and a new coach in the shape of Chris Henry, who previously helped Hendry's great rival Peter Ebdon.

At 38, Hendry is not content to sit back and wallow in nostalgia for the good old days. He still believes there are many good days to come.

In recent seasons, he hasn't played consistently as well as he did when he was in his 1990s heyday but there have been flashes of the old Hendry at times and if he puts it all together he will remain a force to be reckoned with.

Of all the players I've watched, at his best he has been better than anyone else.

RONNIE ON THE RUN

Ronnie O'Sullivan preferred to take part in a 5km cross country race in Loughton instead of Pot Black last Saturday, I can reveal.

He was said not to have accepted his invitation to the one-frame event because of 'personal reasons'.

He was not compelled to play in the tournament but at least he would have been guaranteed a top eight finish.

In his race, he finished 19th.

RE: JOYCE

Mark Joyce makes his television debut this Saturday at the Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Aberdeen.

It gets better for him - he's making it against Ronnie O'Sullivan.

As he told me at the qualifiers, 'this is the reason I play the game.'

Mark has only been on the circuit since the start of last season. Indeed, this is only the ninth ranking event he has played in.

What chance does he have of causing an upset? You never know which Ronnie will turn up, of course, but it can be hard adjusting to the different conditions. TV lights, a big arena and, we hope, a large crowd will take some getting used to.

Nevertheless, Mark should think of his friend and fellow West Midlander Martin Clark, who made his TV debut at the 1987 International in Stoke against Dennis Taylor, then very much one of the sport's top stars.

The result? Clark 5, Taylor 0.

ONE YEAR ON

It is a year to the day since Paul Hunter died.

I’m sure many people remember the shock of hearing of his passing 12 months ago. Everyone knew he was seriously ill, but for someone so full of life to die at the age of 27 didn’t seem credible.

He certainly isn’t forgotten but, of course, life and snooker moves on.

I’m sure everyone in snooker would send their best wishes to his widow, Lindsey, and family today.

It would have been Paul’s 29th birthday this coming Sunday. It would be nice if this were acknowledged in some way at the Grand Prix in Aberdeen.

A plaque honouring him was today unveiled at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield by Daniel Wells, the first recipient of the Paul Hunter Scholarship.

Paul's father, Alan, and two of his uncles were present. The plaque reads:
In Memory Of Paul Hunter.
October 14th, 1978 to October 9th, 2006.
A Great Champion.

Wells said: "October 9 is a day when all snooker fans, and anyone that knew Paul, will pause for thought.

"The way Paul played as well as the way he conducted himself has been an inspiration to me and I feel extremely fortunate to benefit from the Scholarship that carries his name.

"I hope that this plaque will remind anyone who plays at the Academy to follow the example of sportsmanship which Paul set."

- Watch the deciding frame of Paul Hunter's last Wembley Masters victory here: http://www.worldsnooker.com/interactive_video.htm

POT BLACK A TURN-OFF

Pot Black attracted a viewing audience of only 800,000 to BBC1 on Saturday afternoon.

This could in large part be down to the fact England were playing (indeed beating) Australia in the Rugby Union World Cup quarter-finals on ITV.

But I can't help thinking that people would rather watch a competitive event that has meaning rather than what is basically a bit of a laugh, albeit one that carries a first prize of £10,000.

Well done to Ken Doherty, who clearly enjoyed himself.

Like all players involved other than Stephen Hendry, Ken wasn't born when Pot Black was first screened in 1969.

It was the first time snooker had been seen on colour TV and made stars of the early professionals, leading to the creation of the professional circuit we have today.

It is questionable, though, whether people are as beguiled by the one frame format now.

IF THEY ONLY HAD A TOURNAMENT...

Remember the Wizard of Oz? Dorothy and chums took a trip to the Emerald City but it was all a dream.

Well now the Emerald Classic, planned for Galway later this month, has been revealed to be a fantasy as well.

The tournament has been cancelled. A great shame, this, considering the high quality field that had been assembled.

Spiralling costs and poor organisation appear to be the reasons it's been called off.

Meanwhile, I understand the Kilkenny Masters, staged last March, is by no means certain to be held again.

WHY ISN'T RONNIE IN POT BLACK?

I see Ronnie O'Sullivan has attracted quite a bit of criticism because he isn't playing in Saturday's Pot Black.

I can understand snooker fans being disappointed but the fact remains that Ronnie DID NOT withdraw from the tournament. He was never in it to start with.

He had, as a member of the top 7, been invited to play but was under no obligation to compete.

What caused some irritation was that he left it so long to decide, meaning the draw could not be printed in, for instance, the Radio Times.

I've heard it suggested that he isn't playing because of disatisfaction over how his disciplinary hearing following his York walkout last season was handled.

Ronnie was fined £21,000 despite providing what his management considered to be compelling medical evidence pointing to his mental state at the time.

I think it was right he was punished for such a lapse in professionalism but there was a huge hypocrisy in that the very people fining him - the WPBSA - had covered up another premature concession, from Ding Junhui, at the Masters in January because they didn't want this showpiece final ruined.

OK, so Ding was 9-3 down in a best of 19 and Ronnie was only 4-1 down in a best of 17 but the same principle should apply.

Ironically, Ronnie took part in this cover-up but did so with the best of intentions, because he was concerned about Ding's welfare.

All of which leads us to here: Ronnie didn't play in Shanghai, he's not playing in Pot Black and his participation in all of the rest of this season's tournaments can't be taken for granted given his continuing depressions.

For those of us who enjoy watching him play this is all very sad.

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW

In the October issue of Snooker Scene, out today, Clive Everton examines Ronnie O'Sullivan's current mental state and asks whether it will stop him winning a title this season.

We also have full coverage of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix and Saga Insurance Masters qualifying events and the IBSF World Championship, as well as all the news and results from the worlds of snooker, billiards and pool.

We have also reviewed Lindsey Hunter's book 'Unbreakable' about the life and death of her husband, Paul.

RONNIE DOESN'T POT BLACK

So Ronnie O'Sullivan has decided not to play in Pot Black on Saturday.

He wasn't compelled to. It isn't a ranking event and he hadn't officially entered the tournament.

However, I understand he kept the WPBSA hanging on for weeks before finally making a decision so they can be forgiven for being unhappy with him.

THE GRAND NATIONALS

I'm in Dublin this week for the vcpoker.ie Irish Professional Championship here at the Red Cow Exhibition Centre.

It's a competitive field featuring all of Ireland's top pros and enlivened by the presence of Alex Higgins, who plays tonight.

The Irish players are all agreed that it's a source of pride that they have a national professional championship while the likes of England, Scotland and Wales do not.

Years ago, these events were subsidised by the WPBSA but, to cut costs, this subsidy was withdrawn in the early 1990s and the English, Scottish and Welsh Championships all came to an end (to be fair the tournament in Wales became the Welsh Open).

I recall Stephen Hendry electing not to play in later Scottish Championships because it was basically too easy for him. How times change. Can you imagine Hendry, John Higgins, Graeme Dott and Stephen Maguire battling it out for their national title?

Or how about Mark Williams, Ryan Day, Matthew Stevens and Dominic Dale fighting it out for the Welsh title?

England have a horde of players who would make their event competitive.

Broadcasters, sponsorship and venues need to be found, not to mention someone to organise them, but the return of the national championships would be a welcome step forward, with players competing not just to be the best at a particular tournament but the best in their own nation.

ANOTHER REF QUITS THE CIRCUIT

Johan Oomen has resigned as a WPBSA referee with immediate effect.

He officiated at the Shanghai Masters in August but has now put away his white gloves for good.

This is a shame as Johan had become established as one of the game's leading refs.

Over the last few years, several top referees have left the scene. Colin Brinded sadly passed away in 2005 while Lawrie Annandale, Paul Collier and Stuart Bennett all quit because of the meagre financial rewards for this very important job.

Veteran refs John Williams, Len Ganley and John Street have also disappeared from the circuit over the last decade.

All this leaves Jan Verhaas and Eirian Williams as the top two refs, with Michaela Tabb, Alan Chamberlain, Pete Williamson, Terry Camilleri and Colin Humphries making up the 'A-Team'.

It's a very, very hard job at times and needs superior concentration as well as a steely nerve.

That so many refs have got fed up in recent times suggests they are not being treated as they should.

NIGEL GETS HIS KIT ON

Following the revelation that Willie Thorne is to trip the light fantastic on Strictly Come Dancing comes the news that Nigel Bond is to appear on Sky One's Premier League All Stars.

The live show, hosted by Helen Chamberlain and Ian Wright, features former Premiership stars and celebrity fans of each club competing indoors in London next week.

Nigel is a long time fan of Manchester City and lines up alongside the likes of Rodney Marsh, Nicky Summerbee and the convicted fraudster Nick Leeson.