THE LAST POST

After almost eight years, this blog is coming to an end.

The reason is not that I am sick of writing it: quite the opposite. Tomorrow, all being well, I will be launching a much expanded website with additional content. Rather than just blog posts it will include snooker news, interviews and features.

Therefore, the material I have traditionally posted here will move there. I will post full details tomorrow when the site launches.

In the meantime I want to thank everyone who has read and contributed to Snooker Scene Blog since 2006.

Snooker was not in a great state of health back then. There were such long gaps between events, and it was before I was commentating, that I decided to set up the blog to give news and opinions and some analysis of the snooker world from my position as a journalist.

Graeme Dott had just won the World Championship. Neil Robertson was yet to win a ranking title, neither had Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Ali Carter and a few others.

John Higgins had won one world title and Ronnie O’Sullivan two. Stephen Hendry was back at world no.1.

The internet was also a different a place. The blog launched a few months after Youtube, a month before Twitter and three months before Facebook became open to all. Snooker’s presence on the web was down to a small band of enthusiasts, in particular Hermund Ardalen (snooker.org) and Janie Watkins (Global Snooker Centre).

In the last eight years we’ve lost some wonderful, iconic characters from the snooker world including Alex Higgins, John Spencer, Len Ganley, Ted Lowe, David Vine and, most sadly of all, Paul Hunter.

We’ve also seen the rise of new champions, the advent of new tournaments and the ever shifting sands of snooker’s political landscape.

The blog was never intended to be political but it was impossible to ignore what was happening off table. I was deeply sceptical of the structure of the old WPBSA and was delighted when Barry Hearn made his bid to take control of World Snooker. Hearn and his team have transformed the circuit, mainly for the better.

Snooker’s calendar is now packed with tournaments and the sport has become far more global, reaching more television viewers than ever.

The number of websites catering to snooker fans has also increased, which is a good thing. But I feel there is room for a site offering primarily original news content.

So after 2,338 posts, this blog is no more, although it will remain in cyberspace if anyone wishes to read old posts.

All good things must come to an end but hopefully the new site will enhance snooker fans’ enjoyment of this game we all love and to which I remain committed.