Next in our series on former professionals, a likeable Yorkshireman who stood on top of the snooker world.
When Joe Johnson was scraping a living working for the gas board, he may have allowed himself to dream of making it at professional snooker.
Then again, in the 1970s the game had little money and few professionals. Players made most of their cash in exhibitions or money matches.
Johnson built a reputation as one of the leading amateurs from the Yorkshire region but even after reaching the 1978 world amateur final did not want to turn pro.
He didn’t think there was a living in it.
What changed his mind was Terry Griffiths’s 1979 Crucible triumph at his first attempt, which seemed to suggest the old order had been blown away and new players could make their mark.
And so, at the age of 27, Johnson joined the professional circuit, which consisted of only two tournaments open to all.
In 1983, Johnson reached the final of the Professional Players Tournament, a ranking event, where he was edged 9-8 by Tony Knowles.
He was a semi-finalist in the 1985 Mercantile Classic and had quietly made his way into the top 16 by the time of the 1985/86 season.
A comfortable 10-3 defeat of Dave Martin at the Crucible was followed by a 13-6 victory over Mike Hallett, who had beaten the defending champion, Dennis Taylor, in the opening round.
He had a poor record against Griffiths, his quarter-final opponent. When he trailed him 12-9, Johnson’s fairytale run looked set to end but he put together a brilliant four frame spell, including two centuries, to come through a 13-12 winner.
In the semi-finals, he beat Knowles 16-8, earning him a meeting with Steve Davis, who was aiming to make amends for his dramatic black ball defeat to Taylor the previous year.
As an amateur and in money matches, Johnson had the beating of Davis. He also knew that all the pressure was on the former champion whereas he, as the underdog, could go out and enjoy it. He had a career best £42,000 coming his way even if he lost.
Johnson was easy to support: a likeable family man, he was genuinely unassuming and clearly loving his moment in the spotlight.
He wore a distinctive pair of pink and white shoes and enjoyed huge support in his native Yorkshire as he kept pace with Davis, ending the first day of the final level at 8-8.
He led 13-11 going into the final session and then turned it on to complete an 18-12 victory and become champion of the world.
This was at a time when snooker was the no.1 sport on British television and Johnson was thrown headlong from a life of anonymity into the world of celebrity.
He was in demand for exhibitions and personal appearances, was the subject of This Is Your Life and had photographers follow him around the world.
A singer in a local band, he released a record, 'Bradford's Bouncing Back' for the appeal following the Valley Parade fire that claimed the lives of 56 football fans.
There’s something like 20 players who have only won one ranking title but, because Johnson never won another, some people attempt to do down his Crucible victory. But they ignore a number of key points.
Firstly, he reached the final again the next year. Indeed, he came the closest of any first time, Crucible champion to defending the trophy.
He entered the final session of the 1987 final 14-10 down to Steve Davis and pulled back to 14-13 before losing 18-14.
Also, Johnson suffered major health problems, including a number of heart attacks, which seriously affected his career.
But it should also be remembered that he was coming towards the end of his career when he won the world title. He was 33. Most players start declining in their mid 30s.
However, the most important point to make is this: nobody flukes the world title. It has always been difficult to win but Johnson beat two of the best players in the game at that time – Griffiths and Knowles – and then the best player of the entire decade in the final.
His triumph was witnessed by many millions of TV viewers and he still gets recognised to this day. He could not have chosen a better time in snooker history to become world champion.
His other major title victory came at the 1987 Scottish Masters. He also won the 1990 European Grand Prix and reached the semi-finals of the 1987 UK Championship where he missed the pink on 134 with a maximum waiting.
Johnson coached the young Paul Hunter and Shaun Murphy and carried on playing as he slipped down the rankings but his professional career was effectively ended when he broke bones in his foot in 2003.
He won Seniors Pot Black in 1997 and currently commentates for Eurosport where his insight comes from being one of only 22 players to have had their name inscribed on the famous silver trophy since the World Championship began in 1927.
23.6.09
22.6.09
TAKING THE PIOS
Today sees the start of the first of eight Pontin's International Open Series events at Prestatyn.
This is effectively the game's secondary tour and eight players will earn promotion to the professional circuit for the 2010/11 season after the last PIOS tournament next May.
Among the starters in event 1 is Brian Morgan, who spent six seasons in the top 32 and was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 1996 Asian Classic.
The last I heard of Brian after he was relegated from the main tour two years ago was that he had followed his fellow Tiptree pro Ali Carter in taking to the skies to train as a pilot.
He obviously fancies chartering a course back onto the pro circuit as well.
You can follow all the action on Global Snooker.
This is effectively the game's secondary tour and eight players will earn promotion to the professional circuit for the 2010/11 season after the last PIOS tournament next May.
Among the starters in event 1 is Brian Morgan, who spent six seasons in the top 32 and was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 1996 Asian Classic.
The last I heard of Brian after he was relegated from the main tour two years ago was that he had followed his fellow Tiptree pro Ali Carter in taking to the skies to train as a pilot.
He obviously fancies chartering a course back onto the pro circuit as well.
You can follow all the action on Global Snooker.
19.6.09
JUST THE TICKET
It has been announced that the UK Championship is returning to Telford next season.
I would draw your attention to the paragraph towards the bottom of worldsnooker.com's story, which reads 'Tickets bought from unauthorised sources may not be valid and admission to the event may not be permitted.'
There are a number of online ticket agencies offering tickets for snooker tournaments.
Do not, do not, do not buy tickets from them. Only purchase tickets from the official ticket supplier as stated on the World Snooker website.
There is an online agency currently selling tickets for the Northern Ireland Trophy. This tournament is not taking place.
These people do not deserve your money and buying tickets from them will only end in disappointment.
I would draw your attention to the paragraph towards the bottom of worldsnooker.com's story, which reads 'Tickets bought from unauthorised sources may not be valid and admission to the event may not be permitted.'
There are a number of online ticket agencies offering tickets for snooker tournaments.
Do not, do not, do not buy tickets from them. Only purchase tickets from the official ticket supplier as stated on the World Snooker website.
There is an online agency currently selling tickets for the Northern Ireland Trophy. This tournament is not taking place.
These people do not deserve your money and buying tickets from them will only end in disappointment.
POST 1,000
I want to use this pointless landmark to stick up for snooker.
Is there any mainstream television sport that regularly takes such a battering?
Yet it continues to weather the storm and defy the merchants of doom.
Snooker the game is a bit like the blackbox recorder on an aeroplane: even when the rest of the aircraft is destroyed it’s still intact.
So what is the current state of snooker?
The answer is in two parts. Most people in the UK think only of snooker in the UK, where it has undeniably declined in popularity over the last 20 years.
But this is starting from an unbelievably high watermark. Snooker in the 1980s regularly drew television audiences of more than 10m, a very difficult figure to maintain.
These days it’s generally 2-3m. TV has changed and so all audiences have come down. Also, no honeymoon period will last forever. Snooker’s viewing figures in Britain are satisfactory but not extraordinary.
However, snooker clubs have shut down at an alarming rate, to a large extent because of the smoking ban. Snooker is no longer seen as being fashionable and fewer young people play it compared to the boom years.
But there’s a whole world out there. In China, there is a boom and it’s resulted in two fully funded world ranking events. In Europe, the TV coverage from Eurosport has created a huge market of new snooker fans, which for reasons unknown is not being exploited by the governing body.
In short: snooker in the UK is struggling a little; snooker around the world has never been so popular.
That won’t stop newspaper columnists sneering at the sport from afar. Some hate it because of its working class image. Some hate it because they don’t consider it a sport. None of them ever come to tournaments to see what it is like up close.
Many sportsmen have gone to the Crucible over the years to watch the World Championship and they are always in awe of the skill on show. Snooker gets the respect from other sports it lacks from the media in general.
I like Andy Murray and shall support him at Wimbledon. He is on the front cover of this week’s Radio Times. Indeed, he’s everywhere at the moment.
Yet his victory at Queens Club last week attracted a peak viewing audience of 2.6m. Last season’s Wembley Masters final peaked at 3.1m, but try telling newspaper sports editors that.
The space they give to snooker in British newspapers has declined to such a shockingly low level that it has disappeared beneath the radar.
You often hear that there are ‘no characters any more.’
What does this actually mean and why does it matter?
Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman. How is he a ‘character’ and why does he need to be one?
Let’s take a name from the 80s – how was Tony Meo any more of a character than, say, Ali Carter, who has been successful despite suffering from Crohn’s Disease and is a qualified airline pilot?
When people talk about ‘characters’ what they actually mean are people they recognise and can relate to.
It is true that if you are a casual viewer you may be confused between today’s top players. This is because they all pretty much play the same way. They have all modelled their games on the way Stephen Hendry played in the early 1990s. There are differences between individual technique but almost all of today’s top players are ultra attacking and can be hard to tell apart.
This is why their individual personalities must be encouraged to come through. Threatening players with disciplinary action for speaking their mind works against the interests of the sport.
I’d like to think snooker has a golden future but it’s impossible to make such a prediction.
It remains a fascinating game. It has touched the heights of popularity with the viewing public that many other sports can only dream of. When have golf, tennis or cricket ever got 18m viewers?
It’s has been big before and it can be big again, maybe not in the UK but as a global sport.
That’s what everyone who reads this blog wants and that’s why we should all continue to stick up for snooker.
Is there any mainstream television sport that regularly takes such a battering?
Yet it continues to weather the storm and defy the merchants of doom.
Snooker the game is a bit like the blackbox recorder on an aeroplane: even when the rest of the aircraft is destroyed it’s still intact.
So what is the current state of snooker?
The answer is in two parts. Most people in the UK think only of snooker in the UK, where it has undeniably declined in popularity over the last 20 years.
But this is starting from an unbelievably high watermark. Snooker in the 1980s regularly drew television audiences of more than 10m, a very difficult figure to maintain.
These days it’s generally 2-3m. TV has changed and so all audiences have come down. Also, no honeymoon period will last forever. Snooker’s viewing figures in Britain are satisfactory but not extraordinary.
However, snooker clubs have shut down at an alarming rate, to a large extent because of the smoking ban. Snooker is no longer seen as being fashionable and fewer young people play it compared to the boom years.
But there’s a whole world out there. In China, there is a boom and it’s resulted in two fully funded world ranking events. In Europe, the TV coverage from Eurosport has created a huge market of new snooker fans, which for reasons unknown is not being exploited by the governing body.
In short: snooker in the UK is struggling a little; snooker around the world has never been so popular.
That won’t stop newspaper columnists sneering at the sport from afar. Some hate it because of its working class image. Some hate it because they don’t consider it a sport. None of them ever come to tournaments to see what it is like up close.
Many sportsmen have gone to the Crucible over the years to watch the World Championship and they are always in awe of the skill on show. Snooker gets the respect from other sports it lacks from the media in general.
I like Andy Murray and shall support him at Wimbledon. He is on the front cover of this week’s Radio Times. Indeed, he’s everywhere at the moment.
Yet his victory at Queens Club last week attracted a peak viewing audience of 2.6m. Last season’s Wembley Masters final peaked at 3.1m, but try telling newspaper sports editors that.
The space they give to snooker in British newspapers has declined to such a shockingly low level that it has disappeared beneath the radar.
You often hear that there are ‘no characters any more.’
What does this actually mean and why does it matter?
Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman. How is he a ‘character’ and why does he need to be one?
Let’s take a name from the 80s – how was Tony Meo any more of a character than, say, Ali Carter, who has been successful despite suffering from Crohn’s Disease and is a qualified airline pilot?
When people talk about ‘characters’ what they actually mean are people they recognise and can relate to.
It is true that if you are a casual viewer you may be confused between today’s top players. This is because they all pretty much play the same way. They have all modelled their games on the way Stephen Hendry played in the early 1990s. There are differences between individual technique but almost all of today’s top players are ultra attacking and can be hard to tell apart.
This is why their individual personalities must be encouraged to come through. Threatening players with disciplinary action for speaking their mind works against the interests of the sport.
I’d like to think snooker has a golden future but it’s impossible to make such a prediction.
It remains a fascinating game. It has touched the heights of popularity with the viewing public that many other sports can only dream of. When have golf, tennis or cricket ever got 18m viewers?
It’s has been big before and it can be big again, maybe not in the UK but as a global sport.
That’s what everyone who reads this blog wants and that’s why we should all continue to stick up for snooker.
18.6.09
THE STATE OF SNOOKER...CONTINUED
Sir Rodney Walker will not now be taking part in the BBC Radio 5 Live 'State of Snooker' discussion programme next Tuesday.
Apparently he has to attend a dinner instead.
I think this probably says more about the state of snooker than anything he would have said on the programme.
Apparently he has to attend a dinner instead.
I think this probably says more about the state of snooker than anything he would have said on the programme.
YOUNG GUNS OVERLOOKED
What is the point in the WPBSA having discretionary wildcards for the main tour if they are not going to show any imagination in doling them out?
Today the governing body has announced that David Gray, Ian Preece, Andrew Norman and Joe Jogia will receive the four remaining places on the circuit.
Jogia finished top of the PIOS but he wasn't a member of his national association - a condition of entry. However, he did the business on the table and I think it's right he - and Chris Norbury, who finished ninth on the PIOS - are on the tour.
But Gray, Preece and Norman have been chosen purely because they were the next three players on the one year list. This is not what the concept of wildcards is supposed to be about.
This was a golden opportunity to promote much needed young talent. I have nothing against the three players and wish them all well but the fact is they did not do enough last season to stay on the circuit.
Surely three newcomers should have been given the chance to show the snooker world what they could do or at the very least three younger players who came off the main tour after only one season.
Take Vincent Muldoon. He had a few decent results last season but, starting out with minimum points, it was always going to be hard to stay on.
Now he's back on the PIOS while three experienced players - who had two full season's points - are given yet another go.
Remember the 'Hotshots' PR campaign?
That was supposed to be focused on getting youngsters involved in snooker.
What a shame the WPBSA doesn't seem interested in getting young players onto the main tour - even when it had the perfect chance to do so.
Today the governing body has announced that David Gray, Ian Preece, Andrew Norman and Joe Jogia will receive the four remaining places on the circuit.
Jogia finished top of the PIOS but he wasn't a member of his national association - a condition of entry. However, he did the business on the table and I think it's right he - and Chris Norbury, who finished ninth on the PIOS - are on the tour.
But Gray, Preece and Norman have been chosen purely because they were the next three players on the one year list. This is not what the concept of wildcards is supposed to be about.
This was a golden opportunity to promote much needed young talent. I have nothing against the three players and wish them all well but the fact is they did not do enough last season to stay on the circuit.
Surely three newcomers should have been given the chance to show the snooker world what they could do or at the very least three younger players who came off the main tour after only one season.
Take Vincent Muldoon. He had a few decent results last season but, starting out with minimum points, it was always going to be hard to stay on.
Now he's back on the PIOS while three experienced players - who had two full season's points - are given yet another go.
Remember the 'Hotshots' PR campaign?
That was supposed to be focused on getting youngsters involved in snooker.
What a shame the WPBSA doesn't seem interested in getting young players onto the main tour - even when it had the perfect chance to do so.
17.6.09
CRACKER-JACK
I think everyone in the snooker world will wish Jack Lisowski well in his year as the WPBSA's Paul Hunter scholar.
Jack is a great talent who had to go through the ordeal of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphona last year.
In his first column for worldsnooker.com, he writes about how this has left him feeling weak but he's hoping regular gym sessions with Daniel Wells - the inaugural scholar two years ago with whom he is living while he is in Sheffield - will help build his strength up.
(One idea World Snooker should consider is having Jack take photos so we can see him going about his various duties during his year as scholar, not just read about them).
I interviewed Jack at the Crucible this year. Even though he is only 17 I can honestly say that he is already more articulate than several members of the top 16.
What snooker needs more than ever is for new talent to emerge. The rankings have stagnated in recent years. The new season sees only one new face join the top 16 - Mark Williams - and he's not a new face at all.
In the late 1980s, Stephen Hendry emerged as a potent threat to the game's elite.
In the early-mid 1990s, John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Williams started turning over the established stars, followed by Matthew Stevens and Hunter.
All of these players started to make inroads while they were still teens (Hendry, Higgins, O'Sullivan and Hunter all won ranking titles before they were 20).
More recently, Ding Junhui has followed suit but for whatever reason teenage talent is finding it harder to break through.
Lisowski will spend next season on the PIOS tour and thus has a chance to become a professional in 2010.
Snooker is, of course, a hard game full of moments of great disappointment and frustration.
But after everything he's been through I'd expect Jack to make the most of his chance should it come along.
Jack is a great talent who had to go through the ordeal of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphona last year.
In his first column for worldsnooker.com, he writes about how this has left him feeling weak but he's hoping regular gym sessions with Daniel Wells - the inaugural scholar two years ago with whom he is living while he is in Sheffield - will help build his strength up.
(One idea World Snooker should consider is having Jack take photos so we can see him going about his various duties during his year as scholar, not just read about them).
I interviewed Jack at the Crucible this year. Even though he is only 17 I can honestly say that he is already more articulate than several members of the top 16.
What snooker needs more than ever is for new talent to emerge. The rankings have stagnated in recent years. The new season sees only one new face join the top 16 - Mark Williams - and he's not a new face at all.
In the late 1980s, Stephen Hendry emerged as a potent threat to the game's elite.
In the early-mid 1990s, John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Williams started turning over the established stars, followed by Matthew Stevens and Hunter.
All of these players started to make inroads while they were still teens (Hendry, Higgins, O'Sullivan and Hunter all won ranking titles before they were 20).
More recently, Ding Junhui has followed suit but for whatever reason teenage talent is finding it harder to break through.
Lisowski will spend next season on the PIOS tour and thus has a chance to become a professional in 2010.
Snooker is, of course, a hard game full of moments of great disappointment and frustration.
But after everything he's been through I'd expect Jack to make the most of his chance should it come along.
16.6.09
THE STATE OF SNOOKER
The BBC will be investigating the state of snooker in a special programme on Radio 5 Live a week today.
It airs on June 23 from 9-9.45 pm.
Confirmed guests include WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker and six times world champion Steve Davis.
It airs on June 23 from 9-9.45 pm.
Confirmed guests include WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker and six times world champion Steve Davis.
PAST MASTERS#5
More from our series on ex-professionals with the focus on a player who is perhaps better known for his chairmanship of the game's governing body...
Without Rex Williams, professional snooker may never have enjoyed the revival that led to the birth of the circuit as we know it today.
The game had withered in the 1950s and the World Championship was not staged from 1957 until 1964 when Williams, ambitious and enthusiastic, marshalled various forces to get it back on as a series of challenge matches.
The defending champion, John Pulman, first played – and beat – Fred Davis and then Williams himself over six weeks in South Africa. One night, the crowd was pretty much non existent so they flipped a coin rather than play the match.
The following year, Williams compiled a 147 in an exhibition, believed to be only the second constructed following Joe Davis’s maximum in 1955.
The challenge format ended in 1968 and the following year the modern era began as the World Championship reverted to the knockout system still used today.
Williams’s best chance to be champion came in 1972 when he was 30-30 with Alex Higgins in the semi-finals. In the deciding frame, he missed a simple blue with the balls at his mercy. Had he not done so, the entire course of subsequent snooker history may have been very different but, as it was, Higgins won frame and match and then the title.
Williams entered the first ever ranking list in sixth place and is one of only two players, the other being Joe Swail, to have dropped out of the top 16 and top 32 and then rejoined the top 16.
He did so in 1986 and that season became, at 53, the oldest player ever to reach a ranking event final at the Grand Prix in Reading. Williams led Jimmy White 5-3 but was eventually beaten 10-6.
Four years later at the age of 57 he reached what proved to be his last ranking event quarter-final at the Dubai Classic.
Williams played at the Crucible eight times but never won a match, an unwanted record he shares with Cliff Wilson. In 1984, he made the highest break of the championship, 138.
He served as a BBC commentator – and was in the box for Cliff Thorburn’s historic Crucible 147 in 1983 – before switching to ITV.
Williams was also chairman of the WPBSA, the game’s governing body, and attracted criticism from those who saw his management style as autocratic.
He was a good front man, always well turned out and professional, but seemed to have a hard time believing anyone could form the opposite point of view to the one he held.
Williams was the WPBSA's first chairman before resigning in 1987 in the wake of the beta blockers controversy. The then sports minister, Colin Moynihan, had described taking them as “tantamount to cheating.” Williams himself admitted to using beta blockers.
He was elected chairman again in 1997. All was well until, in December of that year, he fired Jim McKenzie, the WPBSA chief executive, a decision which (whether justified or not) led to a long running civil war for control of the sport that almost left it bankrupt.
Williams survived a series of knife-edge votes in AGMs and EGMs but was finally ousted in September 1999.
Despite all this, Williams could be good company, with a wealth of stories about snooker in the days before it became a major television attraction.
He prided himself on his appearance. Once on a tour of China with Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable of players he took part in a trip up the Great Wall.
Williams turned up wearing a very expensive cashmere coat. When Hearn said to him that the dress code was supposed to be casual, he replied, “Dear boy, this is casual.”
He was a fine billiards player and won the World Championship in the three ball game seven times between 1968 and 1983.
Williams is now retired from playing any role in billiards or snooker. He will be 76 next month.
Without Rex Williams, professional snooker may never have enjoyed the revival that led to the birth of the circuit as we know it today.
The game had withered in the 1950s and the World Championship was not staged from 1957 until 1964 when Williams, ambitious and enthusiastic, marshalled various forces to get it back on as a series of challenge matches.
The defending champion, John Pulman, first played – and beat – Fred Davis and then Williams himself over six weeks in South Africa. One night, the crowd was pretty much non existent so they flipped a coin rather than play the match.
The following year, Williams compiled a 147 in an exhibition, believed to be only the second constructed following Joe Davis’s maximum in 1955.
The challenge format ended in 1968 and the following year the modern era began as the World Championship reverted to the knockout system still used today.
Williams’s best chance to be champion came in 1972 when he was 30-30 with Alex Higgins in the semi-finals. In the deciding frame, he missed a simple blue with the balls at his mercy. Had he not done so, the entire course of subsequent snooker history may have been very different but, as it was, Higgins won frame and match and then the title.
Williams entered the first ever ranking list in sixth place and is one of only two players, the other being Joe Swail, to have dropped out of the top 16 and top 32 and then rejoined the top 16.
He did so in 1986 and that season became, at 53, the oldest player ever to reach a ranking event final at the Grand Prix in Reading. Williams led Jimmy White 5-3 but was eventually beaten 10-6.
Four years later at the age of 57 he reached what proved to be his last ranking event quarter-final at the Dubai Classic.
Williams played at the Crucible eight times but never won a match, an unwanted record he shares with Cliff Wilson. In 1984, he made the highest break of the championship, 138.
He served as a BBC commentator – and was in the box for Cliff Thorburn’s historic Crucible 147 in 1983 – before switching to ITV.
Williams was also chairman of the WPBSA, the game’s governing body, and attracted criticism from those who saw his management style as autocratic.
He was a good front man, always well turned out and professional, but seemed to have a hard time believing anyone could form the opposite point of view to the one he held.
Williams was the WPBSA's first chairman before resigning in 1987 in the wake of the beta blockers controversy. The then sports minister, Colin Moynihan, had described taking them as “tantamount to cheating.” Williams himself admitted to using beta blockers.
He was elected chairman again in 1997. All was well until, in December of that year, he fired Jim McKenzie, the WPBSA chief executive, a decision which (whether justified or not) led to a long running civil war for control of the sport that almost left it bankrupt.
Williams survived a series of knife-edge votes in AGMs and EGMs but was finally ousted in September 1999.
Despite all this, Williams could be good company, with a wealth of stories about snooker in the days before it became a major television attraction.
He prided himself on his appearance. Once on a tour of China with Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable of players he took part in a trip up the Great Wall.
Williams turned up wearing a very expensive cashmere coat. When Hearn said to him that the dress code was supposed to be casual, he replied, “Dear boy, this is casual.”
He was a fine billiards player and won the World Championship in the three ball game seven times between 1968 and 1983.
Williams is now retired from playing any role in billiards or snooker. He will be 76 next month.
SCOTS MIFFED
Nothing says 'summertime' like a venal struggle for power at the heart of a snooker association and it has fallen to our friends in Scotland to oblige this year.
An EGM has been called for July 5th in which members of Scottish Snooker Ltd, the governing body of amateur snooker in Scotland, will vote on whether to remove the entire board of directors, which is currently chaired by Stevie Baillie.
If you ever visit the forums of the Scottish Snooker website, you will see that all sides, from players to board members, are not averse to having a good old ruck in public.
They would all doubtless argue they are doing the best for snooker north of the border and I have no reason to question any of their intentions.
However, the country that gave us Stephen Hendry and John Higgins doesn't seem to be producing much in the way of new talent.
Anthony McGill is a teenager who has plenty of potential but the wave of players who came through in Hendry's wake appears to have turned into a slow trickle.
You'd hope that, whatever happens at the EGM, all involved will be prepared to put aside personal squabbles and get on with the job of providing a fertile breeding ground for fresh talent.
If they don't, one of snooker's historic strongholds may become just that - a thing of history.
An EGM has been called for July 5th in which members of Scottish Snooker Ltd, the governing body of amateur snooker in Scotland, will vote on whether to remove the entire board of directors, which is currently chaired by Stevie Baillie.
If you ever visit the forums of the Scottish Snooker website, you will see that all sides, from players to board members, are not averse to having a good old ruck in public.
They would all doubtless argue they are doing the best for snooker north of the border and I have no reason to question any of their intentions.
However, the country that gave us Stephen Hendry and John Higgins doesn't seem to be producing much in the way of new talent.
Anthony McGill is a teenager who has plenty of potential but the wave of players who came through in Hendry's wake appears to have turned into a slow trickle.
You'd hope that, whatever happens at the EGM, all involved will be prepared to put aside personal squabbles and get on with the job of providing a fertile breeding ground for fresh talent.
If they don't, one of snooker's historic strongholds may become just that - a thing of history.
14.6.09
HOGAN'S HEROICS
David Hogan is the new European amateur champion after beating his Irish compatriot Mario Fernandez 7-4 in the final in Duffel, Belgium.
It means Hogan, 21, will join the professional circuit for the first time next season.
"I thought I'd blown my chance of getting on the main tour when I didn't finish no.1 in Ireland," he said.
"I missed a couple of PIOS events so wasn't in the running on that and I was ready to put my entry in for next season."
Wendy Jans won the women's title and former world no.8 Darren Morgan secured the seniors crown.
It means Hogan, 21, will join the professional circuit for the first time next season.
"I thought I'd blown my chance of getting on the main tour when I didn't finish no.1 in Ireland," he said.
"I missed a couple of PIOS events so wasn't in the running on that and I was ready to put my entry in for next season."
Wendy Jans won the women's title and former world no.8 Darren Morgan secured the seniors crown.
12.6.09
WE ARE THREE
Some self-regarding nonsense now. I started this blog three years ago today. Nobody read it for quite a long time and now a lot of people read it.
In the last year alone we have had visitors from 131 countries.
The original idea was to make the blog an extension of the magazine but something that could respond immediately to events from the snooker world and also to stir up some debate and pass on bits of news to snooker fans that they can’t read anywhere else.
It was never intended to be political but, at times, it has had to be, such is the nature of this weird and wonderful sport.
I have always tried to be fair to the players who are, after all, the guys out there on the frontline driving the interest in the game. This includes respecting their privacy rather than blurting out gossip. I know a number of them read it, hopefully without any cause for complaint.
Blogging has a bad name in some quarters. David Simon, the creator and head writer of The Wire, one of the best drama series ever to come out of the US (and they’ve had a few) recently criticised the whole industry because of his concerns, as a former journalist, that comment was replacing proper journalism.
His point was that too many bloggers were merely commenting on other people’s stories rather than writing their own.
Perhaps there is something in this, but blogging is a democratic medium. Anyone can do it. It allows for different viewpoints and healthy (and at times unhealthy) debate.
Unlike a newspaper, you are not at the behest of a proprietor. My views on here are my own. I don’t follow any set ‘party line.’
And whatever anyone thinks of blogs, they are here to stay.
As for comments, I have always welcomed them. Only rarely do any have to be deleted for reasons of gratuitous offence or possible libel.
I tend to agree with Guido Fawkes, the UK's leading blogger, who writes an insider's account of political affairs. He says of blog comments:
"The comments are not a general forum, the convention with blogs is that you discuss the subject in the post, perhaps going off occasionally in a tangent, perhaps referencing breaking news, but not posting off topic about your hobby horse again. Nor are they somewhere to repetively spam with links."
I plan to carry on in much the same way but am always open to suggestions, so if you have any feel free to leave them.
In the meantime, many thanks to all those who take time to read the Snooker Scene Blog.
For the record, this is post no.992.
In the last year alone we have had visitors from 131 countries.
The original idea was to make the blog an extension of the magazine but something that could respond immediately to events from the snooker world and also to stir up some debate and pass on bits of news to snooker fans that they can’t read anywhere else.
It was never intended to be political but, at times, it has had to be, such is the nature of this weird and wonderful sport.
I have always tried to be fair to the players who are, after all, the guys out there on the frontline driving the interest in the game. This includes respecting their privacy rather than blurting out gossip. I know a number of them read it, hopefully without any cause for complaint.
Blogging has a bad name in some quarters. David Simon, the creator and head writer of The Wire, one of the best drama series ever to come out of the US (and they’ve had a few) recently criticised the whole industry because of his concerns, as a former journalist, that comment was replacing proper journalism.
His point was that too many bloggers were merely commenting on other people’s stories rather than writing their own.
Perhaps there is something in this, but blogging is a democratic medium. Anyone can do it. It allows for different viewpoints and healthy (and at times unhealthy) debate.
Unlike a newspaper, you are not at the behest of a proprietor. My views on here are my own. I don’t follow any set ‘party line.’
And whatever anyone thinks of blogs, they are here to stay.
As for comments, I have always welcomed them. Only rarely do any have to be deleted for reasons of gratuitous offence or possible libel.
I tend to agree with Guido Fawkes, the UK's leading blogger, who writes an insider's account of political affairs. He says of blog comments:
"The comments are not a general forum, the convention with blogs is that you discuss the subject in the post, perhaps going off occasionally in a tangent, perhaps referencing breaking news, but not posting off topic about your hobby horse again. Nor are they somewhere to repetively spam with links."
I plan to carry on in much the same way but am always open to suggestions, so if you have any feel free to leave them.
In the meantime, many thanks to all those who take time to read the Snooker Scene Blog.
For the record, this is post no.992.
10.6.09
PREMIER LEAGUE FIELD ANNOUNCED
Next season's PartyPoker.com Premier League will feature Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Marco Fu, Neil Robertson, Stephen Hendry and Judd Trump.
Matchroom Sport, the promoters, have released the following statement confirming the line up:
"Matchroom Sport can announce the seven players set to take part in this year’s PartyPoker.com Premier League which commences at Penrith Leisure Centre on Thursday 3rd of September and concludes with the play-offs at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea on the weekend of the 28th and 29th November.
Leading the way is defending champion and World No.1 Ronnie O’Sullivan who will be attempting to lift this title for an astonishing sixth consecutive season and ninth time overall.
The Essex-based ‘Rocket’ has made this Sky Sports-televised event his own in recent times, beating Mark Selby 7-2 in last year’s final, John Higgins 7-4 in 2007 and Jimmy White 7-0 in ’06.
World Champion Higgins will be returning to Premier League action in an attempt to halt O’Sullivan’s dominance and he will be joined by UK Champion and World Championship runner-up Shaun Murphy.
Higgins was a winner of the Premier League ten years ago when he beat Jimmy White in Maidenhead and will be looking to have a good run after failing to qualify for the play-offs last year.
Murphy makes his second appearance in the event, having played in 2005, following a massive return to form over the past 12 months.
World No.8 Marco Fu is also a previous Premier League Champion when in a memorable weekend in May 2003, he toppled O’Sullivan 6-4 in the semi-finals before beating then World Champion Mark Williams 9-5 to land his first professional title.
The second overseas player in the line-up is Australia’s improving Neil Robertson, who bagged his third career ranking title last year when he won the inaugural Bahrain Snooker Championship.
Robertson had a torrid time of it on his only other Premier League outing in 2007 and will be looking to improve on that year’s showing.
While ‘legend’ is a term freely used in sport, it is hard to think of any other word when describing seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry.
The 40 year-old Scot has achieved everything there is to achieve in the game, several times over, and is still a very dangerous competitor. Hendry last won the League in 2004 but that will mean nothing when the action gets underway.
Finally, the joker in the pack is Bristol teenager Judd Trump. The up-and-coming World No.30 qualified for the Premier League by winning the ultra-competitive Championship League Snooker. Hailed as one of snooker’s greatest ever prospects, Trump now gets his chance to see what he can do among the game’s elite.
Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, “I think this is very exciting line-up with a diverse selection of top players competing.
“Of course, Ronnie will always be the man to beat in this event, but I feel anyone of the others has a chance of winning this title come the end of November.
“Some of the players have struggled with the 25 second shot clock but coping with that has always been one of O’Sullivan’s many strengths.
“The standard is high and I am looking forward to 12 nights of top class snooker in September, October and November this year.”
Now entering its 24th season, the PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker is the world’s only major snooker tournament played to a league format. The field consists of seven of the very best players in the world and each player plays the others once over the best of six frames, making a total of 21 matches.
There are two points available for a win and a point for a 3 – 3 draw and following the round robin section of play, the top four players moved forward to the big money play-offs in December.
The total prize fund is in excess of £200,000, and the money for the round-robin section will be dished out on a ‘frames won’ basis with £1,000 awarded for each frame. In addition, there is a ‘Double Your Money’ bonus for a break of 100 or over of another £1,000.
Successful players carry forward their bonuses to the play-offs where the serious money is up for grabs. The £1,000 for a century bonus stays and the champion receives £30,000, the runner-up takes home an additional £15,000 and the beaten semi-finalists make an extra £5,000 each.
The semi-finals are the best of 11 frames and the final is over 13 frames.
The event will be broadcast for over 48 hours LIVE coverage on Sky Sports in the UK and Matchroom Sport Television will produce 24 x 2 hour highlight programmes syndicated globally."
The one player who can count himself unlucky is Mark Selby, who finished runner-up to O'Sullivan in the Premier League last year.
I expect Robertson got the nod over him because of Australian TV sales, although the Melbourne man did win a ranking event (Selby didn't) and got further than the Leicester Jester at the Crucible.
The other surprise is the exclusion of Ding Junhui, but Fu is now the highest ranked Asian and was the UK Championship runner-up last season.
Matchroom Sport, the promoters, have released the following statement confirming the line up:
"Matchroom Sport can announce the seven players set to take part in this year’s PartyPoker.com Premier League which commences at Penrith Leisure Centre on Thursday 3rd of September and concludes with the play-offs at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea on the weekend of the 28th and 29th November.
Leading the way is defending champion and World No.1 Ronnie O’Sullivan who will be attempting to lift this title for an astonishing sixth consecutive season and ninth time overall.
The Essex-based ‘Rocket’ has made this Sky Sports-televised event his own in recent times, beating Mark Selby 7-2 in last year’s final, John Higgins 7-4 in 2007 and Jimmy White 7-0 in ’06.
World Champion Higgins will be returning to Premier League action in an attempt to halt O’Sullivan’s dominance and he will be joined by UK Champion and World Championship runner-up Shaun Murphy.
Higgins was a winner of the Premier League ten years ago when he beat Jimmy White in Maidenhead and will be looking to have a good run after failing to qualify for the play-offs last year.
Murphy makes his second appearance in the event, having played in 2005, following a massive return to form over the past 12 months.
World No.8 Marco Fu is also a previous Premier League Champion when in a memorable weekend in May 2003, he toppled O’Sullivan 6-4 in the semi-finals before beating then World Champion Mark Williams 9-5 to land his first professional title.
The second overseas player in the line-up is Australia’s improving Neil Robertson, who bagged his third career ranking title last year when he won the inaugural Bahrain Snooker Championship.
Robertson had a torrid time of it on his only other Premier League outing in 2007 and will be looking to improve on that year’s showing.
While ‘legend’ is a term freely used in sport, it is hard to think of any other word when describing seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry.
The 40 year-old Scot has achieved everything there is to achieve in the game, several times over, and is still a very dangerous competitor. Hendry last won the League in 2004 but that will mean nothing when the action gets underway.
Finally, the joker in the pack is Bristol teenager Judd Trump. The up-and-coming World No.30 qualified for the Premier League by winning the ultra-competitive Championship League Snooker. Hailed as one of snooker’s greatest ever prospects, Trump now gets his chance to see what he can do among the game’s elite.
Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, “I think this is very exciting line-up with a diverse selection of top players competing.
“Of course, Ronnie will always be the man to beat in this event, but I feel anyone of the others has a chance of winning this title come the end of November.
“Some of the players have struggled with the 25 second shot clock but coping with that has always been one of O’Sullivan’s many strengths.
“The standard is high and I am looking forward to 12 nights of top class snooker in September, October and November this year.”
Now entering its 24th season, the PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker is the world’s only major snooker tournament played to a league format. The field consists of seven of the very best players in the world and each player plays the others once over the best of six frames, making a total of 21 matches.
There are two points available for a win and a point for a 3 – 3 draw and following the round robin section of play, the top four players moved forward to the big money play-offs in December.
The total prize fund is in excess of £200,000, and the money for the round-robin section will be dished out on a ‘frames won’ basis with £1,000 awarded for each frame. In addition, there is a ‘Double Your Money’ bonus for a break of 100 or over of another £1,000.
Successful players carry forward their bonuses to the play-offs where the serious money is up for grabs. The £1,000 for a century bonus stays and the champion receives £30,000, the runner-up takes home an additional £15,000 and the beaten semi-finalists make an extra £5,000 each.
The semi-finals are the best of 11 frames and the final is over 13 frames.
The event will be broadcast for over 48 hours LIVE coverage on Sky Sports in the UK and Matchroom Sport Television will produce 24 x 2 hour highlight programmes syndicated globally."
The one player who can count himself unlucky is Mark Selby, who finished runner-up to O'Sullivan in the Premier League last year.
I expect Robertson got the nod over him because of Australian TV sales, although the Melbourne man did win a ranking event (Selby didn't) and got further than the Leicester Jester at the Crucible.
The other surprise is the exclusion of Ding Junhui, but Fu is now the highest ranked Asian and was the UK Championship runner-up last season.
STEVE PREST
A post mortem into the death of the much respected snooker coach Steve Prest has found he died of peritonitis, a burst appendix.
Steve had gone to hospital complaining of a pain in his stomach but doctors apparently discharged him.
He died on Friday, May 30 at the age of 43.
Steve's funeral was held yesterday and was attended by a number of prominent snooker personalities, including Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon, Willie Thorne, Joe Johnson, Mike Hallett and members of the Yorkshire snooker community.
Prest had coached Murphy during the build up to his 2005 Crucible triumph and was also with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson during the World Championship this year.
Steve had gone to hospital complaining of a pain in his stomach but doctors apparently discharged him.
He died on Friday, May 30 at the age of 43.
Steve's funeral was held yesterday and was attended by a number of prominent snooker personalities, including Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon, Willie Thorne, Joe Johnson, Mike Hallett and members of the Yorkshire snooker community.
Prest had coached Murphy during the build up to his 2005 Crucible triumph and was also with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson during the World Championship this year.
9.6.09
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN TO STAR IN NEW GAMESHOW?
A former producer of the popular 1990s snooker-based gameshow Big Break is reported to be launching a new TV quiz featuring Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Thewharf.co.uk reports that John McGee is developing a programme called 'Step Up to the Rocket.'
The website says: "A quartet of contestants are to be paired up with four professional snooker players, and will draw on skill and knowledge to make it to the final stage.
The format is also expected to be picked up elsewhere in the world, in countries such as China.
He said: "There's going to be a lot of skill involved, but it's all slapstick, silly stuff.
"Ronnie O'Sullivan is like the David Beckham of snooker. He's admired all over the world and is a huge star."
For the uninitiated, Big Break was a mainstay of the BBC Saturday night schedules for a number of years.
It paired three players with three contestants and was hosted by Jim Davidson and John Virgo.
Anything that allows the players to better project their personalities is fine by me, so good luck to McGee.
Ronnie is a big star, although whether 'slapstick' is really his thing remains to be seen.
Thewharf.co.uk reports that John McGee is developing a programme called 'Step Up to the Rocket.'
The website says: "A quartet of contestants are to be paired up with four professional snooker players, and will draw on skill and knowledge to make it to the final stage.
The format is also expected to be picked up elsewhere in the world, in countries such as China.
He said: "There's going to be a lot of skill involved, but it's all slapstick, silly stuff.
"Ronnie O'Sullivan is like the David Beckham of snooker. He's admired all over the world and is a huge star."
For the uninitiated, Big Break was a mainstay of the BBC Saturday night schedules for a number of years.
It paired three players with three contestants and was hosted by Jim Davidson and John Virgo.
Anything that allows the players to better project their personalities is fine by me, so good luck to McGee.
Ronnie is a big star, although whether 'slapstick' is really his thing remains to be seen.
LUCAN CLASSIC FIELD ANNOUNCED
Some of the game's leading Irish players will take part in a three day event at the end of July as a warm up for the new season.
The Lucan Racing Irish Classic, now in its fourth year, will be played at Celbridge Snooker Club, County Kildare from July 24-26.
The players are divided into two groups. Ken Doherty, the defending champion, has been drawn against Fergal O’Brien, Joe Swail and David Morris.
Joe Delaney, Patrick Wallace, Michael Judge and Brendan O’Donoghue have been drawn in the other group.
The top two in each will go through to the semi-finals. Mark Allen had been due to take part but misses the event because of other commitments.
Doherty said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's great for Irish snooker that we've got a tournament like this.
"I always look forward to playing the other Irish boys, there's also good competition between us. A lot of us practice together, so we all know each other's games inside out, but we'll all want to win."
O'Brien is one of the organisers and it makes sense to bring together his fellow Irish players for such an event with the new season getting underway on August 3.
The Lucan Racing Irish Classic, now in its fourth year, will be played at Celbridge Snooker Club, County Kildare from July 24-26.
The players are divided into two groups. Ken Doherty, the defending champion, has been drawn against Fergal O’Brien, Joe Swail and David Morris.
Joe Delaney, Patrick Wallace, Michael Judge and Brendan O’Donoghue have been drawn in the other group.
The top two in each will go through to the semi-finals. Mark Allen had been due to take part but misses the event because of other commitments.
Doherty said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's great for Irish snooker that we've got a tournament like this.
"I always look forward to playing the other Irish boys, there's also good competition between us. A lot of us practice together, so we all know each other's games inside out, but we'll all want to win."
O'Brien is one of the organisers and it makes sense to bring together his fellow Irish players for such an event with the new season getting underway on August 3.
PAST MASTERS#4
Next up in this weekly series on former professionals, one of the most resolutely determined players ever to pick up a cue...
There have been many grinders to have played professional snooker but few were tougher than Eddie Charlton, a hard, durable Australian who appeared in three World Championship finals and was the last 60-something to compete at the Crucible.
Charlton first played snooker at the age of nine at his grandfather’s club in New South Wales but enjoyed a range of other sporting interests during his formative years.
He was a keen cricketer and boxer, played senior grade football for ten years and was part of the Swansea Belmont Club crowned Australian National Surfing champions in 1950. Charlton was especially proud of being asked to carry the torch during its journey through Melbourne at the 1956 Olympic Games.
Working as a coal miner, Charlton turned professional in 1963 and won the Australian Championship 20 times in 21 years, his only defeat in this period coming in 1968, the same year he made the first of around 200 trips to the UK, where snooker was entering a boom period.
Charlton was a regular on the BBC series Pot Black, which first showcased the game for British audiences, and won the title three times.
He earned the nickname ‘Steady Eddie’ because of his methodical approach to the game, which included long bouts of safety and playing almost every shot plain ball rather than employing side.
Charlton entered the first ranking list in 1976 as world No 3 and remained there for five years and as part of the game’s elite top 16 for ten seasons, spending a further seven ranked inside the world’s top 32.
His first attempt at the world title ended in a 39-34 defeat to John Pulman in 1968.
In 1974, Ray Reardon defeated him 38-32 and beat him again in 1975 in what proved to be the most disappointing result of Charlton's long career.
He seemed certain to clinch the title when he opened a 29-25 lead over Reardon at the Nunawading Basketball Centre in Melbourne. However, a missed brown cost him the next frame and gave Reardon the second wind he needed to turn the match around. He beat Charlton 31-30 in a close finish to the dismay of the partisan crowd.
Charlton did win the 1976 World Matchplay, the biggest title of his career, and was in the World Championship semi-finals again in 1979 but lost 19-17 to Terry Griffiths.
Charlton remained a constant presence at leading tournaments for the next decade, appearing in a total of seven ranking event semi-finals and 13 quarter-finals.
Evidence of his unshakeable desire to win was clear at the 1989 World Championship, where he fought for 10 hours, 24 minutes to battle past the Canadian Cliff Thorburn 10-9, the match finally ending at 2.40am.
Asked in the post match press conference if he felt a responsibility to the crowd to entertain, he replied (and this is, to say the least, cleaning the quote up): “I don’t care about the crowd, I’m here to win.”
Despite his hard boiled on table persona, Charlton was every inch a character and a well liked member of snooker’s cast of players during the boom years.
He was a champion swearer and would have been docked hundreds of frames were the rule against expletives in operation during his career.
His hair having receded into middle age, he nevertheless managed to acquire some more.
A great all-rounder, Charlton twice unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World billiards title and finished runner-up to Mark Wildman in the 1984 final by the slender margin of 1,045-1,012.
He reached the final of the only staging of the World Seniors Championship, in 1991, but was beaten 5-4 by Cliff Wilson having led 4-2.
In 1992, he endured the ignominy of becoming the first player to fail to win a frame at the Crucible Theatre. His 10-0 defeat to John Parrott in the first round remains as the only Sheffield whitewash.
At the age of 62, it proved to be his last Crucible appearance.
As the circuit expanded to over 700 players in the 1990s, Charlton, who spent several years as a member of the BBC commentary team, began to slip down the rankings, eventually retiring in 1996 and returning to Australia where he still competed in pool events.
Charlton received the Australian Order of Merit in 1980 and the Australian Sports Medal in 2001. In 1993, he was given a special award by the WPBSA for his services to the game.
He died in November 2004 at the age of 75.
There have been many grinders to have played professional snooker but few were tougher than Eddie Charlton, a hard, durable Australian who appeared in three World Championship finals and was the last 60-something to compete at the Crucible.
Charlton first played snooker at the age of nine at his grandfather’s club in New South Wales but enjoyed a range of other sporting interests during his formative years.
He was a keen cricketer and boxer, played senior grade football for ten years and was part of the Swansea Belmont Club crowned Australian National Surfing champions in 1950. Charlton was especially proud of being asked to carry the torch during its journey through Melbourne at the 1956 Olympic Games.
Working as a coal miner, Charlton turned professional in 1963 and won the Australian Championship 20 times in 21 years, his only defeat in this period coming in 1968, the same year he made the first of around 200 trips to the UK, where snooker was entering a boom period.
Charlton was a regular on the BBC series Pot Black, which first showcased the game for British audiences, and won the title three times.
He earned the nickname ‘Steady Eddie’ because of his methodical approach to the game, which included long bouts of safety and playing almost every shot plain ball rather than employing side.
Charlton entered the first ranking list in 1976 as world No 3 and remained there for five years and as part of the game’s elite top 16 for ten seasons, spending a further seven ranked inside the world’s top 32.
His first attempt at the world title ended in a 39-34 defeat to John Pulman in 1968.
In 1974, Ray Reardon defeated him 38-32 and beat him again in 1975 in what proved to be the most disappointing result of Charlton's long career.
He seemed certain to clinch the title when he opened a 29-25 lead over Reardon at the Nunawading Basketball Centre in Melbourne. However, a missed brown cost him the next frame and gave Reardon the second wind he needed to turn the match around. He beat Charlton 31-30 in a close finish to the dismay of the partisan crowd.
Charlton did win the 1976 World Matchplay, the biggest title of his career, and was in the World Championship semi-finals again in 1979 but lost 19-17 to Terry Griffiths.
Charlton remained a constant presence at leading tournaments for the next decade, appearing in a total of seven ranking event semi-finals and 13 quarter-finals.
Evidence of his unshakeable desire to win was clear at the 1989 World Championship, where he fought for 10 hours, 24 minutes to battle past the Canadian Cliff Thorburn 10-9, the match finally ending at 2.40am.
Asked in the post match press conference if he felt a responsibility to the crowd to entertain, he replied (and this is, to say the least, cleaning the quote up): “I don’t care about the crowd, I’m here to win.”
Despite his hard boiled on table persona, Charlton was every inch a character and a well liked member of snooker’s cast of players during the boom years.
He was a champion swearer and would have been docked hundreds of frames were the rule against expletives in operation during his career.
His hair having receded into middle age, he nevertheless managed to acquire some more.
A great all-rounder, Charlton twice unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World billiards title and finished runner-up to Mark Wildman in the 1984 final by the slender margin of 1,045-1,012.
He reached the final of the only staging of the World Seniors Championship, in 1991, but was beaten 5-4 by Cliff Wilson having led 4-2.
In 1992, he endured the ignominy of becoming the first player to fail to win a frame at the Crucible Theatre. His 10-0 defeat to John Parrott in the first round remains as the only Sheffield whitewash.
At the age of 62, it proved to be his last Crucible appearance.
As the circuit expanded to over 700 players in the 1990s, Charlton, who spent several years as a member of the BBC commentary team, began to slip down the rankings, eventually retiring in 1996 and returning to Australia where he still competed in pool events.
Charlton received the Australian Order of Merit in 1980 and the Australian Sports Medal in 2001. In 1993, he was given a special award by the WPBSA for his services to the game.
He died in November 2004 at the age of 75.
8.6.09
MORE TO COME FOR ALLEN
Congratulations to Mark Allen, who defeated local hero Ding Junhui to win the Jiangsu Classic in Wuxi City.
Allen’s rise has been rapid since he turned professional in 2005 but this is his first title.
It won’t be his last in my opinion. Far from it. He’s got the game, the self belief and time on his side and will be a top player for many years to come.
An advantage for him is that he was used to winning when he turned professional having won everything he conceivably could as an amateur: the Northern Ireland title at all age levels, the world amateur championship, European amateur championship and European under 19 championship.
What a shame the Northern Ireland Trophy has been axed from the schedule. Allen’s involvement would have created a great buzz after his run to the World Championship semi-finals.
Even so, we’ll be seeing plenty more of him in the future.
Congratulations should also go to Mark Selby, who joined snooker’s 147 club during the tournament.
Selby’s break-building has improved considerably over the last three years. Last season, he finished second on the list of century makers behind John Higgins.
He constructed a 141 break at the 2008 Masters and superseded that with a 145 last season.
His maximum was the 69th in snooker history. OK, so they’ve become far more common in recent years but making one is still a landmark worth celebrating.
Credit to the players who went out to play in the Jiangsu Classic, which further enhanced the game’s growing status in China.
One player who would have gone anywhere for snooker was Paul Hunter, who died in 2006.
Every year since a tournament has been organised in his name. The Paul Hunter English Open returns in July and, as the name suggests, it’s open to everyone.
It’s a good way to remember Paul and take part in event that attracts several professionals.
You can do so by downloading the entry form from the EASB website.
Allen’s rise has been rapid since he turned professional in 2005 but this is his first title.
It won’t be his last in my opinion. Far from it. He’s got the game, the self belief and time on his side and will be a top player for many years to come.
An advantage for him is that he was used to winning when he turned professional having won everything he conceivably could as an amateur: the Northern Ireland title at all age levels, the world amateur championship, European amateur championship and European under 19 championship.
What a shame the Northern Ireland Trophy has been axed from the schedule. Allen’s involvement would have created a great buzz after his run to the World Championship semi-finals.
Even so, we’ll be seeing plenty more of him in the future.
Congratulations should also go to Mark Selby, who joined snooker’s 147 club during the tournament.
Selby’s break-building has improved considerably over the last three years. Last season, he finished second on the list of century makers behind John Higgins.
He constructed a 141 break at the 2008 Masters and superseded that with a 145 last season.
His maximum was the 69th in snooker history. OK, so they’ve become far more common in recent years but making one is still a landmark worth celebrating.
Credit to the players who went out to play in the Jiangsu Classic, which further enhanced the game’s growing status in China.
One player who would have gone anywhere for snooker was Paul Hunter, who died in 2006.
Every year since a tournament has been organised in his name. The Paul Hunter English Open returns in July and, as the name suggests, it’s open to everyone.
It’s a good way to remember Paul and take part in event that attracts several professionals.
You can do so by downloading the entry form from the EASB website.
3.6.09
DRAGO WINS
And Tony Drago has done it. He beat Roy Stolk 5-4 tonight to win the European play-off and secure his return to the professional circuit.
It was not without anxiety for this most anxious of players. He trailed 4-3 and needed a snooker in the eighth frame but duly got it and made a break of 53 in winning the decider.
Well done to Tony. I know this will mean an awful lot to him.
He said: "After 25 years as a professional, I can't tell you how much I missed it.
"I couldn't have done any of this without Jimmy White. He gave me the keys to his club so I could go and practice and he reignited my love for the game. We practiced together a lot and I fell in love with the game again. He was always my hero and I want to thank him publicly.
"When you come to a tournament and you know you have to win it that is huge pressure. If anyone doubted before that I do have the bottle, then I have proved to them and myself that I have a big heart and the bottle to stand up under the pressure."
It was not without anxiety for this most anxious of players. He trailed 4-3 and needed a snooker in the eighth frame but duly got it and made a break of 53 in winning the decider.
Well done to Tony. I know this will mean an awful lot to him.
He said: "After 25 years as a professional, I can't tell you how much I missed it.
"I couldn't have done any of this without Jimmy White. He gave me the keys to his club so I could go and practice and he reignited my love for the game. We practiced together a lot and I fell in love with the game again. He was always my hero and I want to thank him publicly.
"When you come to a tournament and you know you have to win it that is huge pressure. If anyone doubted before that I do have the bottle, then I have proved to them and myself that I have a big heart and the bottle to stand up under the pressure."
DRAGO ON THE BRINK
Tony Drago is on the verge of securing a return to the main tour after reaching the final of the European play-offs in Belgium.
Drago, Malta's best known sportsman, was relegated from the professional circuit last year.
He needs to beat Yvan Van Velthoven or Roy Stolk in the final to book his return.
There have been few players as entertaining as this one time world no.10 and it would be good to have him back on the circuit.
Like James Wattana's return through his Asian Championship victory, it proves these former leading lights still love playing and can still play to a high enough standard to earn their places on the pro tour.
Drago, Malta's best known sportsman, was relegated from the professional circuit last year.
He needs to beat Yvan Van Velthoven or Roy Stolk in the final to book his return.
There have been few players as entertaining as this one time world no.10 and it would be good to have him back on the circuit.
Like James Wattana's return through his Asian Championship victory, it proves these former leading lights still love playing and can still play to a high enough standard to earn their places on the pro tour.
2.6.09
POLLS APART?
The folks at worldsnooker.com are running an interesting poll asking who will win the most ranking titles in their career: Ronnie O’Sullivan or John Higgins.
Almost everyone who has voted as I write this has plumped for Ronnie. This is an interesting conclusion as after 17 years on the circuit it’s currently O’Sullivan 21, Higgins 20.
Certainly Ronnie is ahead on most meaningful stats: tournament wins, maximums and centuries, but these are the two finest players of the last decade and I don’t think there will be much in it when they finally hang up their respective cues.
Which begs the question, how much longer can they continue at the top level?
John is 34 and Ronnie will be in December. Most players start to decline in the mid 30s but many can continue to play to a high standard into their 40s.
O’Sullivan is the most naturally gifted player in snooker history (although as he himself is keen to stress, his success has come from hard work, not simply showing up).
Higgins is the best all round player since Steve Davis. His mix of attack and defence, as we saw at the Crucible this year, is deadly.
Which of these attributes will most likely guarantee longevity?
I suppose it depends on a number of factors. Natural talent endures. You can still see it in the likes of Jimmy White and Tony Drago. However, as players age unforced errors creep into their games and consistency goes out the window.
O’Sullivan gets frustrated now, even when he’s playing unbelievably well, so how is he going to cope when he starts to decline?
Higgins may be revered as a master tactician now but if this side of his game becomes less effective he may find results harder to come by.
But surely the most crucial factor is this: desire. How much longer do Ronnie and John really want to continue?
I suspect I’m in a minority here but I fancy Higgins to pack the game in before O’Sullivan.
If you listened to my podcast interview with him it’s clear it’s something he has thought about. As much as he loves snooker, he is a family man and has his sights set on various off table activities.
If he slips down the rankings, certainly out of the top 16, he may decide enough is enough, though this is a number of years away.
O’Sullivan may be tortured at times by snooker but it is the glue that holds his life together. He has many times threatened to retire or take a break, including after two world title wins. But he first talked of it at the age of 18 and he’s still going strong.
I think he would find it hard to walk away. There will come a time – as for every player – when it will happen but I don’t think it will be any time soon.
O’Sullivan can, I suspect, still win titles when he’s in his 40s. That sort of talent doesn’t just disappear.
For this reason, he will probably finish ahead of Higgins on the all time ranking titles table.
Whatever, both players belong high up on any list of the all time greats.
For all the talk of young up-and-comers, O’Sullivan and Higgins remain the men to beat not just at the moment but for the foreseeable future.
Almost everyone who has voted as I write this has plumped for Ronnie. This is an interesting conclusion as after 17 years on the circuit it’s currently O’Sullivan 21, Higgins 20.
Certainly Ronnie is ahead on most meaningful stats: tournament wins, maximums and centuries, but these are the two finest players of the last decade and I don’t think there will be much in it when they finally hang up their respective cues.
Which begs the question, how much longer can they continue at the top level?
John is 34 and Ronnie will be in December. Most players start to decline in the mid 30s but many can continue to play to a high standard into their 40s.
O’Sullivan is the most naturally gifted player in snooker history (although as he himself is keen to stress, his success has come from hard work, not simply showing up).
Higgins is the best all round player since Steve Davis. His mix of attack and defence, as we saw at the Crucible this year, is deadly.
Which of these attributes will most likely guarantee longevity?
I suppose it depends on a number of factors. Natural talent endures. You can still see it in the likes of Jimmy White and Tony Drago. However, as players age unforced errors creep into their games and consistency goes out the window.
O’Sullivan gets frustrated now, even when he’s playing unbelievably well, so how is he going to cope when he starts to decline?
Higgins may be revered as a master tactician now but if this side of his game becomes less effective he may find results harder to come by.
But surely the most crucial factor is this: desire. How much longer do Ronnie and John really want to continue?
I suspect I’m in a minority here but I fancy Higgins to pack the game in before O’Sullivan.
If you listened to my podcast interview with him it’s clear it’s something he has thought about. As much as he loves snooker, he is a family man and has his sights set on various off table activities.
If he slips down the rankings, certainly out of the top 16, he may decide enough is enough, though this is a number of years away.
O’Sullivan may be tortured at times by snooker but it is the glue that holds his life together. He has many times threatened to retire or take a break, including after two world title wins. But he first talked of it at the age of 18 and he’s still going strong.
I think he would find it hard to walk away. There will come a time – as for every player – when it will happen but I don’t think it will be any time soon.
O’Sullivan can, I suspect, still win titles when he’s in his 40s. That sort of talent doesn’t just disappear.
For this reason, he will probably finish ahead of Higgins on the all time ranking titles table.
Whatever, both players belong high up on any list of the all time greats.
For all the talk of young up-and-comers, O’Sullivan and Higgins remain the men to beat not just at the moment but for the foreseeable future.
PAST MASTERS#3
Our series on former professionals continues with a man who played a part - albeit briefly - in a piece of snooker history...
Mick Price is perhaps destined to live on for all eternity as the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question: who was Ronnie O’Sullivan’s opponent when he made his record five minute, 20 second maximum break at the Crucible in 1997?
The man was indeed Price, a very good player in his own right who reached 21st in the world rankings.
He turned professional in 1988 but his first major breakthrough came in 1992 when he reached his first ranking tournament quarter-final at the Strachan Open.
Price then reached the quarter-finals of two of the next three ranking events at the European Open and Dubai Classic.
In between, he appeared at the Crucible for the first time where he sprung a surprise by beating Dennis Taylor 10-6 in the opening round.
Price held Alan McManus to 10-10 in the second round before going down to a 13-10 defeat but the ranking points he accrued got him into the top 32, where he remained for five seasons.
His best performance came at the 1993 European Open in Antwerp, Belgium where he beat Dave Harold, Willie Thorne, Joe Johnson and Mark Johnston-Allen to reach the semi-finals.
Price gave Stephen Hendry a decent game before the then world champion beat him 6-3.
In 1995, Price appeared in his last two ranking tournament quarter-finals, losing to Steve Davis in the International Open and to James Wattana in the British Open.
He reached the Crucible on two further occasions, losing to McManus in 1996 and, of course, to O’Sullivan the following year.
That match was closer than many remember. Price led 4-3 and entered the final session only a frame behind before O’Sullivan stepped it up, the 147 the crowning glory of an excellent last afternoon.
It has seen Price’s name crop up on quiz shows, in pub conversations and between snooker anoraks.
A few years afterwards, he recalled: “I realised from very early on that he could get a maximum and the way he did it was amazing - he was just getting quicker and quicker and at one point I thought he was going to explode.
“I’ve been on the snooker circuit for a while now and the sheer speed at which he moved around the table was hard to take in.
“I only realised the guy was human when he took a breath before the green.
“The crazy thing was that before the frame he had whispered to me that he was tired – well, if that was him when he was tired I wouldn't like to play him on top of his game.”
Price was a solid, salt of the earth type of professional who loved snooker and he had an easy, self-deprecating sense of humour.
I recall him working in the press room at the Crucible one year for his manager’s website and telling the story of how he’d been approached by a fan at stage door who asked him, ‘didn’t you used to be Mick Price?’
After a moment’s thought he replied, ‘yes.’
He was affectionately given the nickname ‘The Postman’ because of his likeness to the children’s TV character Postman Pat.
Price retired from the circuit in 2004. He still plays in his local area and last month retained the Nuneaton Winter League individual title.
He turns 43 today.
Mick Price is perhaps destined to live on for all eternity as the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question: who was Ronnie O’Sullivan’s opponent when he made his record five minute, 20 second maximum break at the Crucible in 1997?
The man was indeed Price, a very good player in his own right who reached 21st in the world rankings.
He turned professional in 1988 but his first major breakthrough came in 1992 when he reached his first ranking tournament quarter-final at the Strachan Open.
Price then reached the quarter-finals of two of the next three ranking events at the European Open and Dubai Classic.
In between, he appeared at the Crucible for the first time where he sprung a surprise by beating Dennis Taylor 10-6 in the opening round.
Price held Alan McManus to 10-10 in the second round before going down to a 13-10 defeat but the ranking points he accrued got him into the top 32, where he remained for five seasons.
His best performance came at the 1993 European Open in Antwerp, Belgium where he beat Dave Harold, Willie Thorne, Joe Johnson and Mark Johnston-Allen to reach the semi-finals.
Price gave Stephen Hendry a decent game before the then world champion beat him 6-3.
In 1995, Price appeared in his last two ranking tournament quarter-finals, losing to Steve Davis in the International Open and to James Wattana in the British Open.
He reached the Crucible on two further occasions, losing to McManus in 1996 and, of course, to O’Sullivan the following year.
That match was closer than many remember. Price led 4-3 and entered the final session only a frame behind before O’Sullivan stepped it up, the 147 the crowning glory of an excellent last afternoon.
It has seen Price’s name crop up on quiz shows, in pub conversations and between snooker anoraks.
A few years afterwards, he recalled: “I realised from very early on that he could get a maximum and the way he did it was amazing - he was just getting quicker and quicker and at one point I thought he was going to explode.
“I’ve been on the snooker circuit for a while now and the sheer speed at which he moved around the table was hard to take in.
“I only realised the guy was human when he took a breath before the green.
“The crazy thing was that before the frame he had whispered to me that he was tired – well, if that was him when he was tired I wouldn't like to play him on top of his game.”
Price was a solid, salt of the earth type of professional who loved snooker and he had an easy, self-deprecating sense of humour.
I recall him working in the press room at the Crucible one year for his manager’s website and telling the story of how he’d been approached by a fan at stage door who asked him, ‘didn’t you used to be Mick Price?’
After a moment’s thought he replied, ‘yes.’
He was affectionately given the nickname ‘The Postman’ because of his likeness to the children’s TV character Postman Pat.
Price retired from the circuit in 2004. He still plays in his local area and last month retained the Nuneaton Winter League individual title.
He turns 43 today.
1.6.09
A BIT OF...
Here's actor, writer and all round good egg Stephen Fry quoted in today's Manchester Evening News:
"I’d rather watch snooker than do almost anything, to be honest."
Quite right too. Maybe Fry should become a commentator. He has, after all, got some experience in this area.
"I’d rather watch snooker than do almost anything, to be honest."
Quite right too. Maybe Fry should become a commentator. He has, after all, got some experience in this area.
31.5.09
STEVE PREST: 1966-2009
Steve Prest, a former professional and coach, has died suddenly at the age of 43.
Prest coached Shaun Murphy to victory at the 2005 World Championship and was in Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan’s corner at the Crucible this year.
He worked with youngsters in his native Yorkshire and was an accredited World Snooker coach.
He was found dead at his home on Friday.
Steve was an affable bloke and well regarded as a coach. His death at such a young age has come as a terrible shock to his many friends in the snooker world.
We here at Snooker Scene send our sympathies to his family.
Prest coached Shaun Murphy to victory at the 2005 World Championship and was in Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan’s corner at the Crucible this year.
He worked with youngsters in his native Yorkshire and was an accredited World Snooker coach.
He was found dead at his home on Friday.
Steve was an affable bloke and well regarded as a coach. His death at such a young age has come as a terrible shock to his many friends in the snooker world.
We here at Snooker Scene send our sympathies to his family.
28.5.09
ASK CLIVE!
Snooker Scene's editor Clive Everton will be answering questions in the next Snooker Scene podcast.
If you have a question for him about players, snooker history or the game in general, email it to snookersceneblog@aol.com rather than posting it below.
We will be recording it next Tuesday so obviously need your questions by then.
If you have a question for him about players, snooker history or the game in general, email it to snookersceneblog@aol.com rather than posting it below.
We will be recording it next Tuesday so obviously need your questions by then.
27.5.09
NO PLACE LIKE ROME
Good luck to Ken Doherty who was on Sky News live from Rome this afternoon where he will tonight be watching his beloved Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Champions League final (or the European Cup in old money).
Here are clubs supported by some other players:
Ronnie O'Sullivan - Arsenal
Neil Robertson - Chelsea
Ding Junhui - Liverpool
Mark Selby - Leicester City
John Higgins - Celtic
Graeme Dott - Rangers
Joe Perry - Arsenal
Stephen Hendry - Hearts
John Parrott - Everton
Mark Williams - Manchester United
Dave Harold - Stoke City
Michael Holt - Nottingham Forest
Paul Davies - Ipswich Town
Nigel Bond - Manchester City
Ian McCulloch - Preston North End
Here are clubs supported by some other players:
Ronnie O'Sullivan - Arsenal
Neil Robertson - Chelsea
Ding Junhui - Liverpool
Mark Selby - Leicester City
John Higgins - Celtic
Graeme Dott - Rangers
Joe Perry - Arsenal
Stephen Hendry - Hearts
John Parrott - Everton
Mark Williams - Manchester United
Dave Harold - Stoke City
Michael Holt - Nottingham Forest
Paul Davies - Ipswich Town
Nigel Bond - Manchester City
Ian McCulloch - Preston North End
THE HUNT FOR SPONSORS
It's easy to say 'there should be more sponsors' but not quite so easy to attain any, particularly in the current economic climate.
Last weekend's Independent on Sunday points out how all sports are struggling at the moment.
Snooker has enjoyed some recent success. Betfred.com has signed a four year deal to sponsor the World Championship while Sportingbet.com will back the World Series for the next three years.
But the golden days of snooker sponsorship are over. In the 1980s, companies were queueing up to have their brands associated with the sport. Not any more.
Snooker is no longer considered fashionable and has to fight its corner against sports where major firms believe they will get a better return: football, rugby union, tennis, golf, cricket.
Darts, perhaps snooker's closest competitor, has also been successful in attracting sponsorship because it has reinvented its image without changing the sport.
This is presumably why World Snooker has engaged Tim Darby, formerly Barry Hearn's right hand man at the PDC, to look at ways of changing the perception of snooker.
I wish him well. The sport can't afford to stand still and the complacent attitude that nothing can ever change has to end.
As we saw at the World Championship, professional snooker is still a first rate product and the game includes a fascinating cast of characters, including those younger players emerging into the limelight.
The challenge now is to harness the interest that is there and persuade potential sponsors that snooker is a sport worth supporting.
Not an easy task but not an impossible one either.
Last weekend's Independent on Sunday points out how all sports are struggling at the moment.
Snooker has enjoyed some recent success. Betfred.com has signed a four year deal to sponsor the World Championship while Sportingbet.com will back the World Series for the next three years.
But the golden days of snooker sponsorship are over. In the 1980s, companies were queueing up to have their brands associated with the sport. Not any more.
Snooker is no longer considered fashionable and has to fight its corner against sports where major firms believe they will get a better return: football, rugby union, tennis, golf, cricket.
Darts, perhaps snooker's closest competitor, has also been successful in attracting sponsorship because it has reinvented its image without changing the sport.
This is presumably why World Snooker has engaged Tim Darby, formerly Barry Hearn's right hand man at the PDC, to look at ways of changing the perception of snooker.
I wish him well. The sport can't afford to stand still and the complacent attitude that nothing can ever change has to end.
As we saw at the World Championship, professional snooker is still a first rate product and the game includes a fascinating cast of characters, including those younger players emerging into the limelight.
The challenge now is to harness the interest that is there and persuade potential sponsors that snooker is a sport worth supporting.
Not an easy task but not an impossible one either.
26.5.09
IN THE NEWS
A few updates...
Jimmy Robertson has won the English Amateur Championship, snooker’s oldest title, with a 9-8 defeat of David Craggs in Sheffield.
Robertson, 24, is thus eligible to return to the main tour next season having played on the pro circuit during the 2002/03 season.
The amateur title was first contested in 1916. It was won in 1987 by Mark Rowing who last weekend defeated Colin Norton 6-4 to win the English seniors title.
The Irish national title has been won by Martin McCrudden, who beat David Hogan 8-6. However, Brendan O’Donoghue finished top of the RIBSA rankings and will therefore be nominated for a place on the ranking event circuit.
Mark Boyle (no relation, as far as I’m aware, to Susan) is also heading for the pro tour after winning the Scottish title with a 7-0 defeat of Ross Vallance.
Michael White is the new Welsh champion, Warren Horsley has retained his South African national title and Robin Hull, whose professional career ended because of illness, has won the Finnish Championship.
Meanwhile Ronnie O’Sullivan, for whom running has become an obsession, was in Derby today launching a new charity challenge.
Has this video been speeded up or is Ronnie the new Usain Bolt?
Jimmy Robertson has won the English Amateur Championship, snooker’s oldest title, with a 9-8 defeat of David Craggs in Sheffield.
Robertson, 24, is thus eligible to return to the main tour next season having played on the pro circuit during the 2002/03 season.
The amateur title was first contested in 1916. It was won in 1987 by Mark Rowing who last weekend defeated Colin Norton 6-4 to win the English seniors title.
The Irish national title has been won by Martin McCrudden, who beat David Hogan 8-6. However, Brendan O’Donoghue finished top of the RIBSA rankings and will therefore be nominated for a place on the ranking event circuit.
Mark Boyle (no relation, as far as I’m aware, to Susan) is also heading for the pro tour after winning the Scottish title with a 7-0 defeat of Ross Vallance.
Michael White is the new Welsh champion, Warren Horsley has retained his South African national title and Robin Hull, whose professional career ended because of illness, has won the Finnish Championship.
Meanwhile Ronnie O’Sullivan, for whom running has become an obsession, was in Derby today launching a new charity challenge.
Has this video been speeded up or is Ronnie the new Usain Bolt?
PAST MASTERS#2
Continuing our series on ex-professionals...
Alain Robidoux followed in the footsteps of those great Canadian snooker players of the 1980s – Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk – and was his country’s no.1 player for a decade.
Robidoux was a French Canadian with an accent likened by one snooker journalist to Inspector Clouseau.
He was a friendly, laidback sort who reached ninth in the world rankings until his cue was broken beyond repair, which heralded a shockingly sudden decline and, ultimately, the end of his professional career.
Bizarrely, Robidoux joined the pro tour without winning a match. In the late 1980s, the WPBSA had a number of ‘non tournament’ professionals. They were on the ranking list but couldn’t play in most of the ranking events.
Robidoux could enter the 1988 World Championship but his first two opponents failed to show up and he amassed enough points to finish in the top 128 and thus join the tour full time.
He made an immediate impact by reaching the televised phase of his first tournament, the Fidelity International, and taking Steve Davis to a decider.
A month later, he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, losing 9-7 to Alex Higgins and it was clear he would soon pose a threat to the game’s elite.
In September 1988, he became only the sixth player ever to record an officially ratified 147 maximum break in the qualifiers for the European Open.
It took only two full seasons for him to be promoted to the top 16 and in 1990 joined Thorburn and Bob Chaperon in winning the World Team Cup for Canada.
Like many players, Robidoux’s form came and went in spells but by 1996 he was on an upward curve once again.
He qualified for the Crucible and drew Ronnie O’Sullivan in a match that ended in bitterness and controversy. Well ahead, O’Sullivan played left-handed for the first time in a major tournament. Robidoux believed he was making fun of him and, at 9-3 and with many, many snookers required on the pink, played on to make his point.
O’Sullivan elected not to pot the pink and so viewers watching live on the BBC were treated to ten minutes of nonsense.
Neither player covered themselves in glory with some ill judged post-match comments but they had patched things up by the German Open the following season, where they fought out a high quality final which O’Sullivan won 9-7.
In 1997, Robidoux enjoyed a run to the semi-finals of the World Championship, where his bid to emulate Thorburn as champion was ended in a 17-7 defeat to Ken Doherty.
It saw Robidoux rise to ninth in the world and poised to enjoy perhaps the best spell of his career.
But it wasn’t to be. Robidoux needed repairs done to his cue and sent it back to the man who had originally made it.
However, the cue maker was, it would be fair to say, something of a traditionalist and objected to Robidoux having fixed a sponsor’s logo to the butt end.
He objected so much that he smashed the cue up into several pieces.
It could not be repaired and Robidoux was forced to start the following season with a new model. But it didn’t feel the same and he failed to win a single match the whole campaign.
“It was like losing my right arm,” he said.
His form gone, he plummeted down the rankings and considered quitting altogether after suffering from bouts of depression.
Several years later I asked him his views on the cue maker, thinking the passage of time may have eased his anger.
“I want to kill him,” was his heartfelt response.
Robidoux never recovered from the incident and eventually slipped off the tour.
He still plays in Canada and also commentates on pool in French for Canadian television.
Alain Robidoux followed in the footsteps of those great Canadian snooker players of the 1980s – Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk – and was his country’s no.1 player for a decade.
Robidoux was a French Canadian with an accent likened by one snooker journalist to Inspector Clouseau.
He was a friendly, laidback sort who reached ninth in the world rankings until his cue was broken beyond repair, which heralded a shockingly sudden decline and, ultimately, the end of his professional career.
Bizarrely, Robidoux joined the pro tour without winning a match. In the late 1980s, the WPBSA had a number of ‘non tournament’ professionals. They were on the ranking list but couldn’t play in most of the ranking events.
Robidoux could enter the 1988 World Championship but his first two opponents failed to show up and he amassed enough points to finish in the top 128 and thus join the tour full time.
He made an immediate impact by reaching the televised phase of his first tournament, the Fidelity International, and taking Steve Davis to a decider.
A month later, he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, losing 9-7 to Alex Higgins and it was clear he would soon pose a threat to the game’s elite.
In September 1988, he became only the sixth player ever to record an officially ratified 147 maximum break in the qualifiers for the European Open.
It took only two full seasons for him to be promoted to the top 16 and in 1990 joined Thorburn and Bob Chaperon in winning the World Team Cup for Canada.
Like many players, Robidoux’s form came and went in spells but by 1996 he was on an upward curve once again.
He qualified for the Crucible and drew Ronnie O’Sullivan in a match that ended in bitterness and controversy. Well ahead, O’Sullivan played left-handed for the first time in a major tournament. Robidoux believed he was making fun of him and, at 9-3 and with many, many snookers required on the pink, played on to make his point.
O’Sullivan elected not to pot the pink and so viewers watching live on the BBC were treated to ten minutes of nonsense.
Neither player covered themselves in glory with some ill judged post-match comments but they had patched things up by the German Open the following season, where they fought out a high quality final which O’Sullivan won 9-7.
In 1997, Robidoux enjoyed a run to the semi-finals of the World Championship, where his bid to emulate Thorburn as champion was ended in a 17-7 defeat to Ken Doherty.
It saw Robidoux rise to ninth in the world and poised to enjoy perhaps the best spell of his career.
But it wasn’t to be. Robidoux needed repairs done to his cue and sent it back to the man who had originally made it.
However, the cue maker was, it would be fair to say, something of a traditionalist and objected to Robidoux having fixed a sponsor’s logo to the butt end.
He objected so much that he smashed the cue up into several pieces.
It could not be repaired and Robidoux was forced to start the following season with a new model. But it didn’t feel the same and he failed to win a single match the whole campaign.
“It was like losing my right arm,” he said.
His form gone, he plummeted down the rankings and considered quitting altogether after suffering from bouts of depression.
Several years later I asked him his views on the cue maker, thinking the passage of time may have eased his anger.
“I want to kill him,” was his heartfelt response.
Robidoux never recovered from the incident and eventually slipped off the tour.
He still plays in Canada and also commentates on pool in French for Canadian television.
22.5.09
HENDRY SET FOR JIANGSU CLASSIC
Stephen Hendry is among the field for the second staging of the Jiangsu Classic, which takes place in Wuxi City from June 3-7.
The seven times world champion joins the 12 man field for the invitation tournament won last year by local hero Ding Junhui, who beat Mark Selby 6-5 in the final.
Ding and Selby return alonsgide Hendry, Ali Carter, Mark Allen, Marco Fu, Shaun Murphy, Joe Perry, Peter Ebdon, Ryan Day and local wildcards Li Hang and Jin Long.
The seven times world champion joins the 12 man field for the invitation tournament won last year by local hero Ding Junhui, who beat Mark Selby 6-5 in the final.
Ding and Selby return alonsgide Hendry, Ali Carter, Mark Allen, Marco Fu, Shaun Murphy, Joe Perry, Peter Ebdon, Ryan Day and local wildcards Li Hang and Jin Long.
20.5.09
WHO WILL BE IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?
Note that the above question asks who will be in not who should be.
There is no should be when it comes to the Premier League. It’s Barry Hearn’s event and he can invite whoever he likes. He shouldn’t have to adhere to any criteria other than what is best for Matchroom.
(I point this out only because it’s amazing how many people in snooker get caught up in the phoney concept of ‘fairness.’ A governing body has to be fair; an independent promoter does not.)
We know Ronnie O’Sullivan, as defending champion, and Judd Trump, winner of the qualifying tournament, the Championship League, will be among the seven man field.
Hearn knows that having the world champion in the event will give it credibility, so John Higgins will also take part.
To facilitate TV sales to Asia, one of Ding Junhui, Marco Fu and Liang Wenbo can expect a call up.
Ding has taken part the last few years but has not too well of late and Fu is now Asia’s top ranked player, which may enhance his chances.
Fu also has an excellent record against the likes of O’Sullivan and Higgins and is a former champion.
Liang would bring his entertaining brand of snooker to the Premier League and would not struggle with the 25-second shot clock.
So that’s four spots taken care of, what of the other three?
Steve Davis has already been told he won’t be in the field for the first time since the Premier League began – as the Matchroom League – in 1987.
However, I’d expect Hearn to invite Stephen Hendry once again as his presence adds prestige to the tournament.
I expect the remaining two spots to be filled by two of the following: Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and Mark Allen.
Robertson’s great plus is that he is Australian and so may bring in extra TV revenue down under.
Selby was runner-up to O’Sullivan last season and has become one of the modern game’s most popular players.
Murphy is UK champion and was World Championship runner-up and so would bring an extra edge of credibility to the event.
Carter had an excellent year, finishing runner-up to O’Sullivan at the Crucible in 2008 and winning his first ranking title, the Welsh Open, last February.
Allen brought his bustling, exciting, pumped up form of snooker to the World Championship and reached the semi-finals.
So some excellent candidates but only seven places.
One thing the Premier League could do is have two groups of five with the top two from each going through to the semi-finals, which would actually mean one less match.
This is unlikely to happen and I understand the final seven will be announced within the next few weeks for the competition which starts in September.
But to return to the first point I made: whatever Hearn decides, nobody can complain.
It’s his event and he can pick whoever he likes.
There is no should be when it comes to the Premier League. It’s Barry Hearn’s event and he can invite whoever he likes. He shouldn’t have to adhere to any criteria other than what is best for Matchroom.
(I point this out only because it’s amazing how many people in snooker get caught up in the phoney concept of ‘fairness.’ A governing body has to be fair; an independent promoter does not.)
We know Ronnie O’Sullivan, as defending champion, and Judd Trump, winner of the qualifying tournament, the Championship League, will be among the seven man field.
Hearn knows that having the world champion in the event will give it credibility, so John Higgins will also take part.
To facilitate TV sales to Asia, one of Ding Junhui, Marco Fu and Liang Wenbo can expect a call up.
Ding has taken part the last few years but has not too well of late and Fu is now Asia’s top ranked player, which may enhance his chances.
Fu also has an excellent record against the likes of O’Sullivan and Higgins and is a former champion.
Liang would bring his entertaining brand of snooker to the Premier League and would not struggle with the 25-second shot clock.
So that’s four spots taken care of, what of the other three?
Steve Davis has already been told he won’t be in the field for the first time since the Premier League began – as the Matchroom League – in 1987.
However, I’d expect Hearn to invite Stephen Hendry once again as his presence adds prestige to the tournament.
I expect the remaining two spots to be filled by two of the following: Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and Mark Allen.
Robertson’s great plus is that he is Australian and so may bring in extra TV revenue down under.
Selby was runner-up to O’Sullivan last season and has become one of the modern game’s most popular players.
Murphy is UK champion and was World Championship runner-up and so would bring an extra edge of credibility to the event.
Carter had an excellent year, finishing runner-up to O’Sullivan at the Crucible in 2008 and winning his first ranking title, the Welsh Open, last February.
Allen brought his bustling, exciting, pumped up form of snooker to the World Championship and reached the semi-finals.
So some excellent candidates but only seven places.
One thing the Premier League could do is have two groups of five with the top two from each going through to the semi-finals, which would actually mean one less match.
This is unlikely to happen and I understand the final seven will be announced within the next few weeks for the competition which starts in September.
But to return to the first point I made: whatever Hearn decides, nobody can complain.
It’s his event and he can pick whoever he likes.
PAST MASTERS#1
Each week I will be looking back at the career of a former professional, starting with a player who is now involved in running the professional circuit...
Martin Clark was a great talent who rose to no.12 in the world rankings but whose career was ended by illness.
From Sedgley in the West Midlands in England, a long time hotbed for snooker, Clark was a talented junior who came to the fore in the region's highly competitive local league.
Sporting one of snooker’s best ever perms, he turned professional in 1987 and enjoyed a sensational television debut, beating Dennis Taylor – world champion in 1985 and at the time one of snooker’s best and most recognisable players – 5-0 in the Fidelity International at Stoke.
At the 1989 Mercantile Classic, Clark reached his first ranking event quarter-final and appeared in two more that season.
He was certainly good enough to win a title but never made it to a ranking semi-final. His defeat in ten quarter-finals remains a record.
Clark was a semi-finalist in the 1992 World Matchplay – a major invitation tournament – and recorded plenty of encouraging results against top players but never quite broke through into the upper echelons of the rankings.
Given his talent, he seemed to be heading for the top eight but was in fact relegated from the top 16 after four seasons inside.
His career declined through no fault of his own. Clark suffered from worn vertebrae in his neck. He had to wear a brace and his form inevitably dipped to the extent that he decided to retire.
It was a difficult, dispiriting decision to make but he did so without any complaint.
Clark is still very much involved in snooker as one of the WPBSA’s tournament directors and he is a credit to the governing body. He works hard, he’s very helpful and he has the respect of the players because he was one himself and he understands tournament life from their point of view.
He is a passionate Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter and so has, for once, had a good year at the Molineux.
Martin Clark was a great talent who rose to no.12 in the world rankings but whose career was ended by illness.
From Sedgley in the West Midlands in England, a long time hotbed for snooker, Clark was a talented junior who came to the fore in the region's highly competitive local league.
Sporting one of snooker’s best ever perms, he turned professional in 1987 and enjoyed a sensational television debut, beating Dennis Taylor – world champion in 1985 and at the time one of snooker’s best and most recognisable players – 5-0 in the Fidelity International at Stoke.
At the 1989 Mercantile Classic, Clark reached his first ranking event quarter-final and appeared in two more that season.
He was certainly good enough to win a title but never made it to a ranking semi-final. His defeat in ten quarter-finals remains a record.
Clark was a semi-finalist in the 1992 World Matchplay – a major invitation tournament – and recorded plenty of encouraging results against top players but never quite broke through into the upper echelons of the rankings.
Given his talent, he seemed to be heading for the top eight but was in fact relegated from the top 16 after four seasons inside.
His career declined through no fault of his own. Clark suffered from worn vertebrae in his neck. He had to wear a brace and his form inevitably dipped to the extent that he decided to retire.
It was a difficult, dispiriting decision to make but he did so without any complaint.
Clark is still very much involved in snooker as one of the WPBSA’s tournament directors and he is a credit to the governing body. He works hard, he’s very helpful and he has the respect of the players because he was one himself and he understands tournament life from their point of view.
He is a passionate Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter and so has, for once, had a good year at the Molineux.
19.5.09
THE OFF SEASON
So the 2008/09 campaign recedes into memory but there is still plenty to talk about in the coming months and I will, of course, be keeping this blog going.
After all, who wants to be lying on a beach in some far off sundrenched paradise now that the season is over?
Me, obviously, but them’s the breaks as Joe Davis may have put it.
The Jiangsu Classic takes place from June 3-7, the PIOS tour starts at the end of June, there is a big six reds event in Thailand in July and the World Series is likely to return the same month.
Away from all of that, each week I shall be posting a piece on a player now retired. This is not some nostalgic whimsy but an attempt to honour some of those who have played their parts in the snooker story, which will hopefully prove interesting to those new to the sport.
If anyone has any other ideas for posts, please feel free to suggest them.
After all, who wants to be lying on a beach in some far off sundrenched paradise now that the season is over?
Me, obviously, but them’s the breaks as Joe Davis may have put it.
The Jiangsu Classic takes place from June 3-7, the PIOS tour starts at the end of June, there is a big six reds event in Thailand in July and the World Series is likely to return the same month.
Away from all of that, each week I shall be posting a piece on a player now retired. This is not some nostalgic whimsy but an attempt to honour some of those who have played their parts in the snooker story, which will hopefully prove interesting to those new to the sport.
If anyone has any other ideas for posts, please feel free to suggest them.
18.5.09
MURPHY'S NOT BITTER
Shaun Murphy tries the same in every frame of every match of every tournament.
His professionalism has seen him bounce back from his Crucible final defeat to John Higgins two weeks ago to win two titles in the Sportingbet.com World Series.
Last week it was the grand finals of year one. Last night he beat Jimmy White 5-1 in Killarney to win the first event of year two.
Of course, Murphy would swap them both for the World Championship trophy but he genuinely enjoys playing and these tournaments did him a favour: he could have been sat at home mulling over why he didn't perform in the Sheffield final but instead got back to the table with a fresh challenge.
The weekend was fun as snooker always is in Ireland. The crowds were large and a good time was had by all.
The World Series has quietly become a success. It doesn't have the profile of the ranking event circuit but, so far, it has made good impressions in each of the cities it has visited.
Its strength is that the events only last a couple of days and so don't outstay their welcome.
This can only be good for snooker. The sport needs as many televised tournaments as possible to keep it in the public mind.
It used to be that when the World Championship ended, snooker disappeared from our screens for five or six months.
It can only be good that those days are over.
His professionalism has seen him bounce back from his Crucible final defeat to John Higgins two weeks ago to win two titles in the Sportingbet.com World Series.
Last week it was the grand finals of year one. Last night he beat Jimmy White 5-1 in Killarney to win the first event of year two.
Of course, Murphy would swap them both for the World Championship trophy but he genuinely enjoys playing and these tournaments did him a favour: he could have been sat at home mulling over why he didn't perform in the Sheffield final but instead got back to the table with a fresh challenge.
The weekend was fun as snooker always is in Ireland. The crowds were large and a good time was had by all.
The World Series has quietly become a success. It doesn't have the profile of the ranking event circuit but, so far, it has made good impressions in each of the cities it has visited.
Its strength is that the events only last a couple of days and so don't outstay their welcome.
This can only be good for snooker. The sport needs as many televised tournaments as possible to keep it in the public mind.
It used to be that when the World Championship ended, snooker disappeared from our screens for five or six months.
It can only be good that those days are over.
17.5.09
PODCAST#9...PAT MOONEY
The latest Snooker Scene podcast features me talking to Pat Mooney, promoter of the World Series.
Click here to listen to him talking about the concept of the World Series, snooker's current fortunes and why he doesn't want to take over the game.
Click here to listen to him talking about the concept of the World Series, snooker's current fortunes and why he doesn't want to take over the game.
KILLARNEY NOTES
Day one of the Sportingbet.com World Series of Snooker in Killarney saw progress for each of the established names, although a couple were given scares by the invited Irish teenagers.
While Shaun Murphy (a 5-0 winner over Greg Casey) and John Higgins (who beat Andrew Gray 5-1) advanced with ease, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White were made to fight.
Indeed, Doherty, who trailed Tony Moore 4-2, could count himself fortunate after missing the pink in the decider and fluking a snooker.
Moore made contact but left the pink on and a relieved Doherty slotted it home for victory.
White was all at sea when he trailed Jason Delaney 3-0. He was guilty of some sloppy shot selections but won a tight fourth frame and the match turned round.
White made a century – not straightforward with only ten reds – and pounced when Delaney missed the black for 4-3, the Whirlwind going on to win 5-3.
So the semi-finals will pit Higgins v Murphy (again!) and Doherty v White.
Bad luck to the youngsters. At times, they each showed signs of great potential but it’s such a huge step up from the junior ranks to playing live on TV in front of a big audience against one of snooker’s best known names. If they felt nervous it was understandable.
The atmosphere backstage here is very relaxed and it was good to see such a sizeable crowd in as pro snooker returns to Ireland, always a stronghold for the game.
And hats off to Shaun for his interview skills. He has an ease in front of the camera that seems innate.
Higgins has his wife and three children here and Ken also has his wife and young son with him.
As it usually is in Ireland, this is a chance for a break as well as an opportunity to win a title.
The last Irish Masters was four years ago and many on the circuit still miss it.
Hopefully, this event can grow into a genuine replacement.
While Shaun Murphy (a 5-0 winner over Greg Casey) and John Higgins (who beat Andrew Gray 5-1) advanced with ease, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White were made to fight.
Indeed, Doherty, who trailed Tony Moore 4-2, could count himself fortunate after missing the pink in the decider and fluking a snooker.
Moore made contact but left the pink on and a relieved Doherty slotted it home for victory.
White was all at sea when he trailed Jason Delaney 3-0. He was guilty of some sloppy shot selections but won a tight fourth frame and the match turned round.
White made a century – not straightforward with only ten reds – and pounced when Delaney missed the black for 4-3, the Whirlwind going on to win 5-3.
So the semi-finals will pit Higgins v Murphy (again!) and Doherty v White.
Bad luck to the youngsters. At times, they each showed signs of great potential but it’s such a huge step up from the junior ranks to playing live on TV in front of a big audience against one of snooker’s best known names. If they felt nervous it was understandable.
The atmosphere backstage here is very relaxed and it was good to see such a sizeable crowd in as pro snooker returns to Ireland, always a stronghold for the game.
And hats off to Shaun for his interview skills. He has an ease in front of the camera that seems innate.
Higgins has his wife and three children here and Ken also has his wife and young son with him.
As it usually is in Ireland, this is a chance for a break as well as an opportunity to win a title.
The last Irish Masters was four years ago and many on the circuit still miss it.
Hopefully, this event can grow into a genuine replacement.
16.5.09
HERE'S (GOOD LUCK) TO YOU, MRS ROBINSON
Alex Higgins has recorded an edition of the BBC quiz show The Weakest Link.
I think this may be the only time I've ever felt any sympathy for Anne Robinson.
I think this may be the only time I've ever felt any sympathy for Anne Robinson.
15.5.09
ALL SET FOR KILLARNEY
There is more snooker on the TV this weekend with the next stage of the Sportingbet.com World Series in Killarney, Ireland.
John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White will be joined by four Irish juniors.
There's live coverage on Eurosport from 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.
More information here.
John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White will be joined by four Irish juniors.
There's live coverage on Eurosport from 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.
More information here.
14.5.09
BACK TO BAHRAIN?
Unlikely as it may seem, the Bahrain Championship could return to the calendar next season.
The event was not regarded as a success. The crowds were tiny, a scheduling clash with the Premier League kept some top stars away and it cost World Snooker a fortune.
However, Shaikh Abdulla bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Billiards and Snooker Association, has revealed he is putting together a bid to get the tournament on again in February of next year.
"We are currently working on getting our spot on the calendar and I'm very positive we can come to an agreement soon," he told the Gulf Daily News.
"We want to be a part of the World Snooker season and they want us to be there as well.
"Snooker is a very popular game around the world, especially here in the Middle East.
"Hopefully, we can get our deal done in the coming weeks and be included on next season's calendar, and hopefully we can begin our planning for a bigger and better tournament this time."
If Shaikh Abdulla can come up with the money to stage the event and it therefore doesn't cost World Snooker anything then the governing body should agree. The more tournaments the better.
However, I understand certain assurances were made last year that apparently failed to materialise.
If I were a betting man I'd say Neil Robertson will be holding on to his trophy for many years to come.
The event was not regarded as a success. The crowds were tiny, a scheduling clash with the Premier League kept some top stars away and it cost World Snooker a fortune.
However, Shaikh Abdulla bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Billiards and Snooker Association, has revealed he is putting together a bid to get the tournament on again in February of next year.
"We are currently working on getting our spot on the calendar and I'm very positive we can come to an agreement soon," he told the Gulf Daily News.
"We want to be a part of the World Snooker season and they want us to be there as well.
"Snooker is a very popular game around the world, especially here in the Middle East.
"Hopefully, we can get our deal done in the coming weeks and be included on next season's calendar, and hopefully we can begin our planning for a bigger and better tournament this time."
If Shaikh Abdulla can come up with the money to stage the event and it therefore doesn't cost World Snooker anything then the governing body should agree. The more tournaments the better.
However, I understand certain assurances were made last year that apparently failed to materialise.
If I were a betting man I'd say Neil Robertson will be holding on to his trophy for many years to come.
13.5.09
WHERE TO START?
I congratulate Daniel Wells and Li Hang for keeping their places on the professional circuit for another year having made their debuts last season.
This is a much better achievement than it sounds. The rankings are worked out using two season’s points.
Wells and Li had only one year’s points, plus the starter points they were awarded at the beginning of the campaign.
These points are the number earned by the lowest ranked player on the list, so they change in amount from year to year.
Actually, both Wells and Li stayed on through the WPBSA’s sensible decision to allow eight places for players who have earned the most points in a single season that are not already in the top 64 on the two-year list.
Even this is much harder than many people realise.
New on the scene, players start in the very first round of qualifying for ranking events and the qualifiers are as competitive as they have ever been.
There are some tough match-players at Prestatyn who will never win major titles but are adept at halting the progress of rising stars.
Daniel kept his place as a result of winning three deciders in the Betfred.com World Championship before losing a fourth to Barry Hawkins to be denied a trip to the Crucible.
By doing so, he has something to work on next season rather than being relegated and spending another year on the PIOS.
Not everyone’s heart will bleed at such a plight. Sport is, after all, the survival of the fittest but I do think new players are unreasonably disadvantaged because starter points vary from year to year and, however you look it, they are still starting right at the bottom.
Here’s an idea: why not just say to the new players that however many points they earn in their first season will be doubled?
This would have seen Wells finish 60th and not 70th while Li would have been placed 64th not 71st.
Would anyone begrudge them this?
Yes, almost certainly, because people begrudge one another all manner of things.
But doubling up would at least reward success to some degree and give the new faces more of a chance.
It will be even harder for those promoted for the 2009/10 season.
Only six ranking tournaments have been announced. If the individual points tariffs are not amended then I expect almost all of them to be relegated.
This is a much better achievement than it sounds. The rankings are worked out using two season’s points.
Wells and Li had only one year’s points, plus the starter points they were awarded at the beginning of the campaign.
These points are the number earned by the lowest ranked player on the list, so they change in amount from year to year.
Actually, both Wells and Li stayed on through the WPBSA’s sensible decision to allow eight places for players who have earned the most points in a single season that are not already in the top 64 on the two-year list.
Even this is much harder than many people realise.
New on the scene, players start in the very first round of qualifying for ranking events and the qualifiers are as competitive as they have ever been.
There are some tough match-players at Prestatyn who will never win major titles but are adept at halting the progress of rising stars.
Daniel kept his place as a result of winning three deciders in the Betfred.com World Championship before losing a fourth to Barry Hawkins to be denied a trip to the Crucible.
By doing so, he has something to work on next season rather than being relegated and spending another year on the PIOS.
Not everyone’s heart will bleed at such a plight. Sport is, after all, the survival of the fittest but I do think new players are unreasonably disadvantaged because starter points vary from year to year and, however you look it, they are still starting right at the bottom.
Here’s an idea: why not just say to the new players that however many points they earn in their first season will be doubled?
This would have seen Wells finish 60th and not 70th while Li would have been placed 64th not 71st.
Would anyone begrudge them this?
Yes, almost certainly, because people begrudge one another all manner of things.
But doubling up would at least reward success to some degree and give the new faces more of a chance.
It will be even harder for those promoted for the 2009/10 season.
Only six ranking tournaments have been announced. If the individual points tariffs are not amended then I expect almost all of them to be relegated.
R.I.P.
Two stalwarts of the snooker scene died recently.
Mario Berni was a leading Welsh amateur who won the country's national title in 1964 and also played snooker on black and white TV in the 1960s before the boom heralded by the introduction of colour television.
Billy Telford was a long time administrator of Northern Irish amateur snooker and also former treasurer of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, one of many positions he held in the amateur game.
They were linked by a deep love of snooker and the desire to be involved in it.
We here at Snooker Scene send our sympathies to their respective families.
Mario Berni was a leading Welsh amateur who won the country's national title in 1964 and also played snooker on black and white TV in the 1960s before the boom heralded by the introduction of colour television.
Billy Telford was a long time administrator of Northern Irish amateur snooker and also former treasurer of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, one of many positions he held in the amateur game.
They were linked by a deep love of snooker and the desire to be involved in it.
We here at Snooker Scene send our sympathies to their respective families.
12.5.09
THAT WAS THE SEASON THAT WAS
And so it is time to unveil the winners of my coveted awards, which have a rich history running back a whole two years.
This is a kind of six reds version of the Oscars. There is no ceremony or long speeches. Indeed, there are no actual awards.
However, the following can bask in the glow of a season that has brought success...
PLAYER OF THE SEASON – John Higgins
Higgins was the only player to win two ranking titles and, of course, one of them was the World Championship. He also earned more ranking points than anyone else despite not receiving any for the Bahrain Championship, having been forced out by a scheduling clash.
Nobody dominates snooker like the days of Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry but Higgins’s consistency has been solid and he raised his game when it really mattered at the Crucible.
BREAKTHROUGH OF THE SEASON – Ricky Walden
Walden has long been regarded as a genuine talent but ultimately you have to prove yourself by actually doing it. And he did in some style by winning the Shanghai Masters.
He beat Neil Robertson, Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan – proof that reputations don’t concern him.
MATCH OF THE SEASON – John Higgins 13, Mark Selby 12 (World Championship quarter-finals)
Selby constructed five centuries and still lost which was an indicator of how high the standard was for this Crucible classic.
He did little wrong but Higgins, already buoyed by a final frame escape in the previous round against Jamie Cope, produced a fine finish to win one of the best matches ever played at the home of snooker.
BREAK OF THE SEASON – Ronnie O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan’s 76 in the seventh frame of his Northern Ireland Trophy final against Dave Harold had to be seen to be believed.
With balls on cushions and awkwardly placed he artfully set about a clearance that was as sheer a demonstration as pure skill as witnessed all season.
SHOT OF THE SEASON – Mark Selby
Frame five of his Masters final against Ronnie O’Sullivan and Selby was faced with a choice: play safe on the brown or attempt a very difficult long pot, cushion first.
After giving it due consideration he powered it in and went on to take the frame. A pressure ball if ever there was one and perfectly executed.
ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SEASON – Judd Trump
For Trump to win the Championship League was a great achievement for the lowest ranked and youngest player in that competition.
He demonstrated his prodigious skill at Crondon Park and earned the right to do so again on a much bigger stage in next season’s Premier League.
FINAL OF THE SEASON – The Masters
The Ronnie O’Sullivan v Mark Selby battle at Wembley Arena was gripping stuff as big breaks shared centre stage with hard matchplay snooker.
O’Sullivan’s patience and ability to handle the pressure was key to his 10-8 victory, which he unsurprisingly regards as one of his greatest ever.
AMATEUR OF THE SEASON – Luca Brecel
Brecel is a bona fide boy wonder. At 14, he became the youngest ever winner of the European Under 19 Championship and defeated Jimmy White and Ken Doherty at the World Series grand finals in Portugal.
A great future beckons if he can handle the pressure of expectation that will inevitably be placed on his shoulders.
QUOTE OF THE SEASON – Ronnie O’Sullivan
“The people who are running snooker seem to be going backwards. Nothing seems to be happening and it just feels boring and the sport is dying” – rarely has a single quote from a snooker player sparked such a debate as O’Sullivan’s heartfelt rant about the state of the game during the Masters.
World Snooker immediately went on the defensive by denying it all but have since accepted O’Sullivan had a point and engaged Tim Darby – Barry Hearn’s former right hand man at the PDC darts – to look at ways of injecting life and enthusiasm into the sport.
This is a kind of six reds version of the Oscars. There is no ceremony or long speeches. Indeed, there are no actual awards.
However, the following can bask in the glow of a season that has brought success...
PLAYER OF THE SEASON – John Higgins
Higgins was the only player to win two ranking titles and, of course, one of them was the World Championship. He also earned more ranking points than anyone else despite not receiving any for the Bahrain Championship, having been forced out by a scheduling clash.
Nobody dominates snooker like the days of Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry but Higgins’s consistency has been solid and he raised his game when it really mattered at the Crucible.
BREAKTHROUGH OF THE SEASON – Ricky Walden
Walden has long been regarded as a genuine talent but ultimately you have to prove yourself by actually doing it. And he did in some style by winning the Shanghai Masters.
He beat Neil Robertson, Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan – proof that reputations don’t concern him.
MATCH OF THE SEASON – John Higgins 13, Mark Selby 12 (World Championship quarter-finals)
Selby constructed five centuries and still lost which was an indicator of how high the standard was for this Crucible classic.
He did little wrong but Higgins, already buoyed by a final frame escape in the previous round against Jamie Cope, produced a fine finish to win one of the best matches ever played at the home of snooker.
BREAK OF THE SEASON – Ronnie O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan’s 76 in the seventh frame of his Northern Ireland Trophy final against Dave Harold had to be seen to be believed.
With balls on cushions and awkwardly placed he artfully set about a clearance that was as sheer a demonstration as pure skill as witnessed all season.
SHOT OF THE SEASON – Mark Selby
Frame five of his Masters final against Ronnie O’Sullivan and Selby was faced with a choice: play safe on the brown or attempt a very difficult long pot, cushion first.
After giving it due consideration he powered it in and went on to take the frame. A pressure ball if ever there was one and perfectly executed.
ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SEASON – Judd Trump
For Trump to win the Championship League was a great achievement for the lowest ranked and youngest player in that competition.
He demonstrated his prodigious skill at Crondon Park and earned the right to do so again on a much bigger stage in next season’s Premier League.
FINAL OF THE SEASON – The Masters
The Ronnie O’Sullivan v Mark Selby battle at Wembley Arena was gripping stuff as big breaks shared centre stage with hard matchplay snooker.
O’Sullivan’s patience and ability to handle the pressure was key to his 10-8 victory, which he unsurprisingly regards as one of his greatest ever.
AMATEUR OF THE SEASON – Luca Brecel
Brecel is a bona fide boy wonder. At 14, he became the youngest ever winner of the European Under 19 Championship and defeated Jimmy White and Ken Doherty at the World Series grand finals in Portugal.
A great future beckons if he can handle the pressure of expectation that will inevitably be placed on his shoulders.
QUOTE OF THE SEASON – Ronnie O’Sullivan
“The people who are running snooker seem to be going backwards. Nothing seems to be happening and it just feels boring and the sport is dying” – rarely has a single quote from a snooker player sparked such a debate as O’Sullivan’s heartfelt rant about the state of the game during the Masters.
World Snooker immediately went on the defensive by denying it all but have since accepted O’Sullivan had a point and engaged Tim Darby – Barry Hearn’s former right hand man at the PDC darts – to look at ways of injecting life and enthusiasm into the sport.
11.5.09
WATTANA'S RETURN
Congratulations to James Wattana, the former world no.3 from Thailand, who has won the Asian Championship and will thus be returning to the professional circuit as from next season.
Wattana is now 39 and had pretty much retired after being relegated last year.
Good luck to him as he obviously still enjoys competing, although he will find it hard coming into the qualifiers from the very first round.
He was a very good player in his day and his influence in popularising snooker in Thailand and Asia in general can't be underestimated.
He'll be back in action for the qualifying rounds of the Shanghai Masters, which start on August 3.
Wattana is now 39 and had pretty much retired after being relegated last year.
Good luck to him as he obviously still enjoys competing, although he will find it hard coming into the qualifiers from the very first round.
He was a very good player in his day and his influence in popularising snooker in Thailand and Asia in general can't be underestimated.
He'll be back in action for the qualifying rounds of the Shanghai Masters, which start on August 3.
10.5.09
MURPHY WINS WORLD SERIES
Shaun Murphy compiled two centuries in defeating John Higgins 6-2 to win the inaugural Sportingbet.com World Series grand finals at the Portimao Arena in Portugal tonight.
Murphy, beaten 18-9 by Higgins in the world final six days ago, appeared sharper from the off and highlighted his victory with runs of 122 and 100.
He receives a cheque for 50,000 euros for winning the grand finals following World Series events in Jersey, Berlin, Warsaw and Moscow.
“It’s always nice to win. I was disappointed to lose last week but the only tournament on my mind coming here was this one,” Murphy said.
“I’ve been playing well for weeks and weeks. If my safety game had been better I’d have competed more in last week’s final and I made an effort tonight not to try and go head to head with John in the safety department but to go for my shots and it worked.”
Higgins is co-promoter of the World Series. The first year has not been without its problems and mistakes but it has been effective in exploiting the growing European market and seven events are planned for 2009, the first of which takes place next weekend in Killarney, Ireland.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Hopefully this is just the start and we can look forward to taking snooker to more countries where it’s new.”
The first match in Portugal attracted around five spectators. The final had close to 350, many of whom queued up for autographs at the end, and their appreciation for the sport is a sign that something has been started here that can lead to expansion in the years to come.
Murphy, beaten 18-9 by Higgins in the world final six days ago, appeared sharper from the off and highlighted his victory with runs of 122 and 100.
He receives a cheque for 50,000 euros for winning the grand finals following World Series events in Jersey, Berlin, Warsaw and Moscow.
“It’s always nice to win. I was disappointed to lose last week but the only tournament on my mind coming here was this one,” Murphy said.
“I’ve been playing well for weeks and weeks. If my safety game had been better I’d have competed more in last week’s final and I made an effort tonight not to try and go head to head with John in the safety department but to go for my shots and it worked.”
Higgins is co-promoter of the World Series. The first year has not been without its problems and mistakes but it has been effective in exploiting the growing European market and seven events are planned for 2009, the first of which takes place next weekend in Killarney, Ireland.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Hopefully this is just the start and we can look forward to taking snooker to more countries where it’s new.”
The first match in Portugal attracted around five spectators. The final had close to 350, many of whom queued up for autographs at the end, and their appreciation for the sport is a sign that something has been started here that can lead to expansion in the years to come.
IN THE SWIM
The Portugese tourist board are apparently pleased with how the tournament has gone so far and things are therefore looking good for a return next year.
Certainly everyone has enjoyed the sunshine break after the long days at the World Championship.
Every credit to Ken Doherty who did two full lengths of the hotel swimming pool this morning, which is about as active as it gets backstage at a snooker tournament.
After the six and ten reds snooker, which received a mixed response from the players - some favourable, some not - we're back up to 15 reds for the semis and final.
Certainly everyone has enjoyed the sunshine break after the long days at the World Championship.
Every credit to Ken Doherty who did two full lengths of the hotel swimming pool this morning, which is about as active as it gets backstage at a snooker tournament.
After the six and ten reds snooker, which received a mixed response from the players - some favourable, some not - we're back up to 15 reds for the semis and final.
9.5.09
YOUNG GUNS GO FOR IT
"If he steers clear of girls and beer he'll be a great player" was Graeme Dott's assessment of Luca Brecel, the talented 14 year-old Belgian who beat Jimmy White and Ken Doherty at the World Series grand finals in Portugal.
Brecel's run ended in a 5-4 defeat to Dott at the quarter-final stage. He acquitted himself very well but Dott made a break of 100 in the eighth frame and dominated the decider.
The crowds still aren't great but snooker in Portugal is in its infancy.
I did meet two young lads who have travelled many hours and miles between them to get here. Luis Alves and Joao E. Silva run The Snooker Planet, a Portugese snooker blog.
Luis is a big John Higgins fan while Joao's favourite is Stephen Hendry.
They are both fascinated by the game but it is hard to play with so few tables in the country - yesterday's estimation of three proved to be a little on the low side. The precise figure is believed to be seven.
Brecel - and the two young fans - represent the future of snooker, which belongs outside British shores.
There's a lot of negativity around this sport but the enthusiasm of youngsters is a wake up call to everyone that snooker is a game many dream of playing and watching and that they will often make a big effort to do so.
Brecel's run ended in a 5-4 defeat to Dott at the quarter-final stage. He acquitted himself very well but Dott made a break of 100 in the eighth frame and dominated the decider.
The crowds still aren't great but snooker in Portugal is in its infancy.
I did meet two young lads who have travelled many hours and miles between them to get here. Luis Alves and Joao E. Silva run The Snooker Planet, a Portugese snooker blog.
Luis is a big John Higgins fan while Joao's favourite is Stephen Hendry.
They are both fascinated by the game but it is hard to play with so few tables in the country - yesterday's estimation of three proved to be a little on the low side. The precise figure is believed to be seven.
Brecel - and the two young fans - represent the future of snooker, which belongs outside British shores.
There's a lot of negativity around this sport but the enthusiasm of youngsters is a wake up call to everyone that snooker is a game many dream of playing and watching and that they will often make a big effort to do so.
SHAUN OF THE REDS
Shaun Murphy can reasonably lay claim to having compiled the first ever century in Portugal (unless anyone knows different).
Shaun made a 105 to win the decider against Mark Selby and reach the semi-finals of the World Series grand finals.
This was not straight forward as the match was played using only ten reds, so the highest possible break is only 107.
Shaun made a 105 to win the decider against Mark Selby and reach the semi-finals of the World Series grand finals.
This was not straight forward as the match was played using only ten reds, so the highest possible break is only 107.
SINGING THE BLUES
Steve Davis has generally had the upper hand over Jimmy White and when I heard they were 4-4 in their match at the World Series grand finals this morning I said that he'd probably fluke the black to win.
Well, I wasn't far off as it was the blue.
(Incidentally, I wasn't slacking off. I was interviewing John and Denise Higgins for Eurosport's Hall of Frame magazine programme).
Meanwhile, Luca Brecel has beaten Ken Doherty 5-3 and so faces Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals.
Doherty was impressed. "He looks to be a very good player and very focused," he said.
Well, I wasn't far off as it was the blue.
(Incidentally, I wasn't slacking off. I was interviewing John and Denise Higgins for Eurosport's Hall of Frame magazine programme).
Meanwhile, Luca Brecel has beaten Ken Doherty 5-3 and so faces Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals.
Doherty was impressed. "He looks to be a very good player and very focused," he said.
8.5.09
MURPHY AND MAGUIRE ADVANCE
Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire are the first men through to the quarter-finals of the World Series grand finals.
Murphy beat Ryan Day 5-1 while Maguire got past Gary Britton 5-2.
“Normally I’d be away on holiday the day after losing in the World Championship,” Maguire said.
“It feels odd to be playing straight away but the boys have been crying out for more tournaments so you can’t have it both ways.”
The draw for the quarter-finals is:
Graeme Dott v Ken Doherty/Luca Brecel
Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy
John Higgins v Steve Davis/Jimmy White
Stephen Maguire v Ding Junhui
Murphy beat Ryan Day 5-1 while Maguire got past Gary Britton 5-2.
“Normally I’d be away on holiday the day after losing in the World Championship,” Maguire said.
“It feels odd to be playing straight away but the boys have been crying out for more tournaments so you can’t have it both ways.”
The draw for the quarter-finals is:
Graeme Dott v Ken Doherty/Luca Brecel
Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy
John Higgins v Steve Davis/Jimmy White
Stephen Maguire v Ding Junhui
HIS NAME IS LUCA
Luca Brecel defeated Jimmy White 4-3 in the grand finals of the World Series of Snooker tonight, the latest success for this rising star.
Earlier this year, Brecel became the youngest ever winner of the European Under 19 Championship at the age of 14.
His match against White was played under the six reds version of the game and Jimmy was clearly tired after doing an exhibition in the UK last night and having flown to Portugal early this morning.
Even so, Brecel seems remarkably composed around the table.
White was saying the youngster has been over to his house in Surrey to practice.
He certainly seems like one to watch.
Earlier this year, Brecel became the youngest ever winner of the European Under 19 Championship at the age of 14.
His match against White was played under the six reds version of the game and Jimmy was clearly tired after doing an exhibition in the UK last night and having flown to Portugal early this morning.
Even so, Brecel seems remarkably composed around the table.
White was saying the youngster has been over to his house in Surrey to practice.
He certainly seems like one to watch.
WORLD SERIES LATEST
A few things of interest from Portugal...
A sponsor has been announced in a new three-year deal. The World Series will be backed by Sportingbet.com.
The press turnout is encouraging. There are more journalists and photographers here than at some ranking tournaments this season.
One of them has come all the way from Belgium to report on Luca Brecel, whose popularity will help increase that of the game in that part of the world.
The crowds have been small so far although they are starting to slowly increase.
It's worth remembering that snooker is not a sport well known in Portugal. In fact, it's reckoned there are only three tables in the whole country.
But Eurosport's coverage can help it grow and, of course, having several of the world's best players here must be a plus.
Out on one of the main roads there is a huge billboard advertising the tournament with a picture of John Higgins - who'd have thought we'd ever see that in the Algarve?
One of the Portugese journalists told me Higgins is the third best known Scot in Portugal "after William Wallace and Sir Alex Ferguson."
As always he has been generous with his time, doing interviews and posing for pictures.
One Portugese newspaper has a two-page spread about the event in today's edition and, cleverly, printed the rules of the game for those new to it.
So there is a fair buzz around the place which organisers are hoping will translate into ticket sales, if not this year then next.
One slight change of plan: because the matches have been longer than anticipated, the games featuring Steve Davis and Ken Doherty will now take place tomorrow morning.
A sponsor has been announced in a new three-year deal. The World Series will be backed by Sportingbet.com.
The press turnout is encouraging. There are more journalists and photographers here than at some ranking tournaments this season.
One of them has come all the way from Belgium to report on Luca Brecel, whose popularity will help increase that of the game in that part of the world.
The crowds have been small so far although they are starting to slowly increase.
It's worth remembering that snooker is not a sport well known in Portugal. In fact, it's reckoned there are only three tables in the whole country.
But Eurosport's coverage can help it grow and, of course, having several of the world's best players here must be a plus.
Out on one of the main roads there is a huge billboard advertising the tournament with a picture of John Higgins - who'd have thought we'd ever see that in the Algarve?
One of the Portugese journalists told me Higgins is the third best known Scot in Portugal "after William Wallace and Sir Alex Ferguson."
As always he has been generous with his time, doing interviews and posing for pictures.
One Portugese newspaper has a two-page spread about the event in today's edition and, cleverly, printed the rules of the game for those new to it.
So there is a fair buzz around the place which organisers are hoping will translate into ticket sales, if not this year then next.
One slight change of plan: because the matches have been longer than anticipated, the games featuring Steve Davis and Ken Doherty will now take place tomorrow morning.
REVEALED: WPBSA DISCIPLINARY RESULTS
The WPBSA has revealed the results of its disciplinary hearings for the 2008/09 season.
These had previously been kept secret but will now be announced as in other sports after a meeting between WPBSA representatives and members of the Snooker Writers Association.
The results were as follows:
Frame concessions (2nd incident)
Dave Harold - fine £150
Mark Williams - fine £150
Ronnie O'Sullivan - fine £150
Lee Spick - £150 suspended for 12 months; £1,000 costs
Stephen Maguire - fine £150
Robert Milkins - fine £150
David Roe - fine £150
Jin Long - fine £150
Frame concessions (3rd incident)
Jin Long - no finding of breach
Other matters:
Declan Hughes - conduct at Prestatyn - fine of £500; £250 suspended for 12 months against future good conduct; £1,000 costs
Jimmy Michie - You Tube video - fine of £1,000; £1,000 costs
Two players that qualified for the 2008/2009 Tour had outstanding disciplinary matters dating back to 2005. These matters were revisited and the outcome of each hearing was as follows:
Declan Hughes - unacceptable behaviour - no penalty ordered on this occasion - reminder given as to future conduct
Kuldesh Johal - non attendance - no penalty ordered on this occasion - reminder given as to future conduct
The frame concessions are usually for when a player gives up when there is more than enough left on to win. I’m not sure why Lee Spick’s fine was suspended or how he could run up £1,000 in costs.
Jimmy Michie appeared in a Youtube video in which he was seen snorting a white powder. His punishment comes under the catch-all ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ category.
What’s apparent is that snooker does not have a big problem when it comes to the behaviour of the players, which makes the decision in recent years to keep all disciplinary findings covered up all the more absurd.
It is however good news that matters will be conducted in a more open fashion from now on.
These had previously been kept secret but will now be announced as in other sports after a meeting between WPBSA representatives and members of the Snooker Writers Association.
The results were as follows:
Frame concessions (2nd incident)
Dave Harold - fine £150
Mark Williams - fine £150
Ronnie O'Sullivan - fine £150
Lee Spick - £150 suspended for 12 months; £1,000 costs
Stephen Maguire - fine £150
Robert Milkins - fine £150
David Roe - fine £150
Jin Long - fine £150
Frame concessions (3rd incident)
Jin Long - no finding of breach
Other matters:
Declan Hughes - conduct at Prestatyn - fine of £500; £250 suspended for 12 months against future good conduct; £1,000 costs
Jimmy Michie - You Tube video - fine of £1,000; £1,000 costs
Two players that qualified for the 2008/2009 Tour had outstanding disciplinary matters dating back to 2005. These matters were revisited and the outcome of each hearing was as follows:
Declan Hughes - unacceptable behaviour - no penalty ordered on this occasion - reminder given as to future conduct
Kuldesh Johal - non attendance - no penalty ordered on this occasion - reminder given as to future conduct
The frame concessions are usually for when a player gives up when there is more than enough left on to win. I’m not sure why Lee Spick’s fine was suspended or how he could run up £1,000 in costs.
Jimmy Michie appeared in a Youtube video in which he was seen snorting a white powder. His punishment comes under the catch-all ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ category.
What’s apparent is that snooker does not have a big problem when it comes to the behaviour of the players, which makes the decision in recent years to keep all disciplinary findings covered up all the more absurd.
It is however good news that matters will be conducted in a more open fashion from now on.
WORLD SERIES RESULTS
These are the results so far:
Group 1: Ryan Day beat Gary Britton 4-0; Day beat Michal Zielinski 4-1; Lasse Munstermann beat Zielinski 4-1; Britton beat Munstermann 4-2; Day beat Munstermann 4-1; Britton beat Zielinksi 4-3
Qualifiers: Ryan Day and Gary Britton
Group 1: Ryan Day beat Gary Britton 4-0; Day beat Michal Zielinski 4-1; Lasse Munstermann beat Zielinski 4-1; Britton beat Munstermann 4-2; Day beat Munstermann 4-1; Britton beat Zielinksi 4-3
Qualifiers: Ryan Day and Gary Britton
DIVING INTO POOL
If pool is your thing, you can watch an event live online this weekend.
For more details, click here.
For more details, click here.
PUT DOWN IN WORDS
The World Series grand finals opened last night with a well attended press conference in which representatives of the Portugese tourist board spoke along with John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Steve Davis.
Players are practising on a table at the hotel that was originally donated by King Edward VII in 1903.
After an informal reception, it was off into town to relax before the start of the tournament.
This included a visit to a karaoke bar and special mentions must go to Higgins (Handbags and Gladrags) and Mark Selby (Your Song) for getting into the spirit of things.
I'm looking forward to seeing Jimmy White take on Luca Brecel - a legend of snooker's past against a star of the future.
Crowds are not expected to be great. There is no real history of snooker in Portugal but the idea is to try it out and hopefully build up interest.
Players are practising on a table at the hotel that was originally donated by King Edward VII in 1903.
After an informal reception, it was off into town to relax before the start of the tournament.
This included a visit to a karaoke bar and special mentions must go to Higgins (Handbags and Gladrags) and Mark Selby (Your Song) for getting into the spirit of things.
I'm looking forward to seeing Jimmy White take on Luca Brecel - a legend of snooker's past against a star of the future.
Crowds are not expected to be great. There is no real history of snooker in Portugal but the idea is to try it out and hopefully build up interest.
7.5.09
POSTCARD FROM PORTUGAL
Well we're here and it's hot.
No, really. I fear John Higgins may be mistaken for a lobster when he gets off the golf course.
I saw Luca Brecel studiously practising earlier. The boy seems to already have a very solid technique and a certain steely presence that suggests good things for the future.
I will be providing updates on the matches and from backstage over the next few days when time permits.
Look out for a few interviews I've recorded for Eurosport as well.
No, really. I fear John Higgins may be mistaken for a lobster when he gets off the golf course.
I saw Luca Brecel studiously practising earlier. The boy seems to already have a very solid technique and a certain steely presence that suggests good things for the future.
I will be providing updates on the matches and from backstage over the next few days when time permits.
Look out for a few interviews I've recorded for Eurosport as well.
HIGGINS HEADS WORLD SERIES FIELD
Snooker returns to our TV screens this weekend for the grand finals of the World Series, which are being played in the picturesque climes of the Algarve in Portugal.
It’s a great field, including world champion John Higgins, his Crucible final victim Shaun Murphy as well as Stephen Maguire, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Steve Davis, Ryan Day, Graeme Dott, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White.
Also in action is Luca Brecel, the talented 14 year-old winner of the recent EBSA European under 19 title.
Here’s what Higgins told the press this week about the World Series:
“We’re doing something totally different, trying to take tournaments to countries that are crying out for snooker.
“I’ve been to Copenhagen, Israel, Prague, so many places where I didn't think snooker would have existed.
“These countries are buzzing for it. Portugal has not got any great history with snooker, but the Algarve Tourist Board came to our organisation and said, 'We would love to host the final'.
“It was meant to be held in Moscow but obviously things happened with the economy.
“We were going to play in the Kremlin which would have been an unbelievable experience, but we did go over to Moscow and experienced a crowd of 1,000 people there to watch me and Ding Junhui play.
“It would mean everything if one of these countries could produce a champion in the future. We’ve got a young Belgian boy Luca Brecel, we've put him in the series.
“He’s just won the European Under-19s so we gave him a wildcard into it, so it's all going to be about giving the cream of the talent wildcards into it.
“It would be as satisfying seeing one of them win something as it would me winning it. I was over in Israel playing a young chap, Shachar Ruberg, who's 14.
“For him to get the chance to play me, he had a whole apartment renovated, in match conditions, for me to go over there and play him for a few days."
“We’re not about creating a different world champion like in boxing. We spoke to World Snooker about that.
“World Snooker is like a big ship that can’t turn around as quickly as a smaller organisation.
“They’ll maybe take a wee while to turn the ship around whereas we're like in a dinghy bouncing from one wave to the other.
“But the countries are really loving it and if at the end of the day it makes snooker more popular in these countries, everybody wins.”
In my opinion, any attempt to increase interest in snooker outside the UK – particularly on mainland Europe where it is booming – should be applauded.
Here are the Eurosport transmission times:
(all times UK)
Friday, May 8: 6.45-10.15pm
Saturday, May 9: 8.45pm-12am
Sunday, May 10: 8.30pm-12am
There's more information here.
It’s a great field, including world champion John Higgins, his Crucible final victim Shaun Murphy as well as Stephen Maguire, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Steve Davis, Ryan Day, Graeme Dott, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White.
Also in action is Luca Brecel, the talented 14 year-old winner of the recent EBSA European under 19 title.
Here’s what Higgins told the press this week about the World Series:
“We’re doing something totally different, trying to take tournaments to countries that are crying out for snooker.
“I’ve been to Copenhagen, Israel, Prague, so many places where I didn't think snooker would have existed.
“These countries are buzzing for it. Portugal has not got any great history with snooker, but the Algarve Tourist Board came to our organisation and said, 'We would love to host the final'.
“It was meant to be held in Moscow but obviously things happened with the economy.
“We were going to play in the Kremlin which would have been an unbelievable experience, but we did go over to Moscow and experienced a crowd of 1,000 people there to watch me and Ding Junhui play.
“It would mean everything if one of these countries could produce a champion in the future. We’ve got a young Belgian boy Luca Brecel, we've put him in the series.
“He’s just won the European Under-19s so we gave him a wildcard into it, so it's all going to be about giving the cream of the talent wildcards into it.
“It would be as satisfying seeing one of them win something as it would me winning it. I was over in Israel playing a young chap, Shachar Ruberg, who's 14.
“For him to get the chance to play me, he had a whole apartment renovated, in match conditions, for me to go over there and play him for a few days."
“We’re not about creating a different world champion like in boxing. We spoke to World Snooker about that.
“World Snooker is like a big ship that can’t turn around as quickly as a smaller organisation.
“They’ll maybe take a wee while to turn the ship around whereas we're like in a dinghy bouncing from one wave to the other.
“But the countries are really loving it and if at the end of the day it makes snooker more popular in these countries, everybody wins.”
In my opinion, any attempt to increase interest in snooker outside the UK – particularly on mainland Europe where it is booming – should be applauded.
Here are the Eurosport transmission times:
(all times UK)
Friday, May 8: 6.45-10.15pm
Saturday, May 9: 8.45pm-12am
Sunday, May 10: 8.30pm-12am
There's more information here.
5.5.09
THREE MILLION SEE CRUCIBLE FINALE
And the last last word on the final: the last session attracted an average viewing audience of 3m, which is impressive considering the match was all but over.
This was the number of people watching on BBC2 so does not include online, digital interactive or Eurosport viewers.
Last year's final, which was also over quickly, drew an average of 3.4m for its final session so it isn't unreasonable to assume the figure would have grown had either match been closer.
This is one of the quandries for BBC schedulers. They expect their best audience post 10pm so start the finals at 8pm hoping it will finish after around two hours.
But, of course, close finals can go on so long that they finish after midnight and millions turn off.
The press coverage this morning was healthy, which is a consequence of the early finish.
This was the number of people watching on BBC2 so does not include online, digital interactive or Eurosport viewers.
Last year's final, which was also over quickly, drew an average of 3.4m for its final session so it isn't unreasonable to assume the figure would have grown had either match been closer.
This is one of the quandries for BBC schedulers. They expect their best audience post 10pm so start the finals at 8pm hoping it will finish after around two hours.
But, of course, close finals can go on so long that they finish after midnight and millions turn off.
The press coverage this morning was healthy, which is a consequence of the early finish.
THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE CRUCIBLE 2009
And so the Betfred.com World Championship recedes into memory but not before a little look back at the best and worst moments...
BEST MATCH
John Higgins v Mark Selby was a bona fide Crucible classic. It featured snooker of the highest quality. Selby made five centuries and still lost.
WORST MATCH
I don’t think many people will be ordering DVDs of the Mark King v Rory McLeod slog-a-thon.
BEST SHOT
The two that really stood out for me were a shot of Ricky Walden’s where he had to come off three cushions to roll up to a red and did so expertly and the screw back by Mark Allen on a long red in the semis.
WORST SHOT
Bearing in mind all the brouhaha that ensued as a result, it must be Graeme Dott’s in-off stopped with his fist.
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
This is an easy one. John Higgins.
STAR OF THE TOURNAMENT
Mark Allen proved he is a big occasion player and also that his passionate style of snooker is a great favourite with fans.
FALLEN STAR OF THE TOURNAMENT
Peter Ebdon’s first round defeat to Nigel Bond was a big surprise given his form in winning the China Open.
BREAK OF THE TOURNAMENT
Stephen Hendry’s second Crucible 147 – 14 years after his first – was marvellous to witness. Get that statue up now!
HEROES
Betfred were enthusiastic sponsors who did much to build excitement backstage without disrespecting the championship – it’s good to have them on board.
The table fitters took stick over the pockets but they were the same size as before. The reason balls were sliding in was because the cushion cloths were changed more regularly. This made conditions better overall.
Jack Lisowski was remarkably self assured for a young lad thrust into the spotlight as recipient of the Paul Hunter Scholarship. Good luck to him for the next year.
Strictly speaking a heroine, but Michaela Tabb handled the final with great authority despite all the attention surrounding her.
The WPBSA ran the event efficiently without any kind of problems as far as I can tell.
VILLAINS
Simon Hattenstone and the many other sneering newspaper columnists who seem to make it an annual mission to do the sport down. Stick to football if you don’t like it.
DAMP SQUIB
The much-hyped Super 6 event didn’t exactly get the juices flowing, did it?
BEST MATCH
John Higgins v Mark Selby was a bona fide Crucible classic. It featured snooker of the highest quality. Selby made five centuries and still lost.
WORST MATCH
I don’t think many people will be ordering DVDs of the Mark King v Rory McLeod slog-a-thon.
BEST SHOT
The two that really stood out for me were a shot of Ricky Walden’s where he had to come off three cushions to roll up to a red and did so expertly and the screw back by Mark Allen on a long red in the semis.
WORST SHOT
Bearing in mind all the brouhaha that ensued as a result, it must be Graeme Dott’s in-off stopped with his fist.
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
This is an easy one. John Higgins.
STAR OF THE TOURNAMENT
Mark Allen proved he is a big occasion player and also that his passionate style of snooker is a great favourite with fans.
FALLEN STAR OF THE TOURNAMENT
Peter Ebdon’s first round defeat to Nigel Bond was a big surprise given his form in winning the China Open.
BREAK OF THE TOURNAMENT
Stephen Hendry’s second Crucible 147 – 14 years after his first – was marvellous to witness. Get that statue up now!
HEROES
Betfred were enthusiastic sponsors who did much to build excitement backstage without disrespecting the championship – it’s good to have them on board.
The table fitters took stick over the pockets but they were the same size as before. The reason balls were sliding in was because the cushion cloths were changed more regularly. This made conditions better overall.
Jack Lisowski was remarkably self assured for a young lad thrust into the spotlight as recipient of the Paul Hunter Scholarship. Good luck to him for the next year.
Strictly speaking a heroine, but Michaela Tabb handled the final with great authority despite all the attention surrounding her.
The WPBSA ran the event efficiently without any kind of problems as far as I can tell.
VILLAINS
Simon Hattenstone and the many other sneering newspaper columnists who seem to make it an annual mission to do the sport down. Stick to football if you don’t like it.
DAMP SQUIB
The much-hyped Super 6 event didn’t exactly get the juices flowing, did it?
SNOOKER'S MOMENT IN THE SUN
And so the Betfred.com World Championship is over and snooker can look back with pride over a very entertaining 17 days.
We have a top drawer world champion in John Higgins, someone who commands universal respect from his fellow players.
It is interesting that the last two world crowns of the decade were won by players who came to the fore in the 1990s. It seems unlikely that Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan will still be competing for titles in ten years time but they have shown their class to keep the new generation at bay.
And there is a new breed of player coming through: Mark Allen, Jamie Cope, Judd Trump et al. They are fierce potters and talented break builders but they could do with Higgins’s superior tactical game, something they will undoubtedly learn in the years to come.
It’s been a great championship and it’s something of an irony that it started to get really interesting when O’Sullivan went out.
If you believe some of the newspaper pundits, the whole sport rests on O’Sullivan’s shoulders. I’m sure Ronnie will be relieved to know that it doesn’t.
What we saw in the second week was a slew of players emerging from his shadow to stake their places in the limelight.
Snooker suffers from an overly nostalgic tendency to look back at the 1980s and think that nothing will ever be the same again, or that it was all so rosy it could never be topped.
This is counter-productive and unfair on the current players.
Alex Higgins once entered the Crucible arena wearing a hat. He doffed it to rapturous applause. Imagine if Shaun Murphy had done the same this year: it would have been presented as proof that he is somehow arrogant or above his station.
Similarly, Bill Werbeniuk was a big guy who guzzled lager to prodigious amounts. He was feted for it. Today, Stephen Lee is roundly abused for occupying the same sort of frame.
Eddie Charlton was a grinder who got involved in many seemingly endless wars of attrition but is fondly remembered. Peter Ebdon is nowhere near as slow but criticised nonetheless.
And can anyone explain to me how Cliff Thorburn – to use an example – was more of a 'character' than Neil Robertson?
The past is another country. In the present, we have a bunch of players as fascinating as have ever occupied the upper echelons of the rankings.
The challenge now will be to build on the momentum created by the World Championship.
This won’t be easy as there will be only six ranking tournaments next season. This means huge gaps between televised events.
It’s a shame that snooker’s period in the spotlight tends to be limited to 17 days per year.
But what a 17 days it has been: drama, excitement and high quality snooker by the bucketload.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Crucible extravaganza.
We have a top drawer world champion in John Higgins, someone who commands universal respect from his fellow players.
It is interesting that the last two world crowns of the decade were won by players who came to the fore in the 1990s. It seems unlikely that Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan will still be competing for titles in ten years time but they have shown their class to keep the new generation at bay.
And there is a new breed of player coming through: Mark Allen, Jamie Cope, Judd Trump et al. They are fierce potters and talented break builders but they could do with Higgins’s superior tactical game, something they will undoubtedly learn in the years to come.
It’s been a great championship and it’s something of an irony that it started to get really interesting when O’Sullivan went out.
If you believe some of the newspaper pundits, the whole sport rests on O’Sullivan’s shoulders. I’m sure Ronnie will be relieved to know that it doesn’t.
What we saw in the second week was a slew of players emerging from his shadow to stake their places in the limelight.
Snooker suffers from an overly nostalgic tendency to look back at the 1980s and think that nothing will ever be the same again, or that it was all so rosy it could never be topped.
This is counter-productive and unfair on the current players.
Alex Higgins once entered the Crucible arena wearing a hat. He doffed it to rapturous applause. Imagine if Shaun Murphy had done the same this year: it would have been presented as proof that he is somehow arrogant or above his station.
Similarly, Bill Werbeniuk was a big guy who guzzled lager to prodigious amounts. He was feted for it. Today, Stephen Lee is roundly abused for occupying the same sort of frame.
Eddie Charlton was a grinder who got involved in many seemingly endless wars of attrition but is fondly remembered. Peter Ebdon is nowhere near as slow but criticised nonetheless.
And can anyone explain to me how Cliff Thorburn – to use an example – was more of a 'character' than Neil Robertson?
The past is another country. In the present, we have a bunch of players as fascinating as have ever occupied the upper echelons of the rankings.
The challenge now will be to build on the momentum created by the World Championship.
This won’t be easy as there will be only six ranking tournaments next season. This means huge gaps between televised events.
It’s a shame that snooker’s period in the spotlight tends to be limited to 17 days per year.
But what a 17 days it has been: drama, excitement and high quality snooker by the bucketload.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Crucible extravaganza.
4.5.09
JOHN HIGGINS: WORLD CHAMPION
Before marriage, before fatherhood, before the stresses of everyday adult life became a reality, John Higgins was world champion.
He won the title for the first time on May 4, 1998, 11 years ago to this night.
It took him nine years to win it for a second time but only two more to win it for a third.
He could have lost in the second round when he trailed Jamie Cope 12-10, but brought his exceptional poise under pressure to the fore to fight through in a decider.
He could have lost in the quarter-finals but again survived a deciding frame finish to see off Mark Selby.
He played superbly in pulling away early against Mark Allen and demonstrated his superior all round game in exposing Murphy’s weaknesses in the final.
Higgins joins Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan in capturing at least three Crucible crowns. In the modern era, only Ray Reardon and John Spencer have also accomplished this feat.
On any roll of honour bearing the names of snooker’s all time greats, he would have earned a place before today.
But, were there any doubt, John Higgins tonight joined the pantheon of green baize legends.
He won the title for the first time on May 4, 1998, 11 years ago to this night.
It took him nine years to win it for a second time but only two more to win it for a third.
He could have lost in the second round when he trailed Jamie Cope 12-10, but brought his exceptional poise under pressure to the fore to fight through in a decider.
He could have lost in the quarter-finals but again survived a deciding frame finish to see off Mark Selby.
He played superbly in pulling away early against Mark Allen and demonstrated his superior all round game in exposing Murphy’s weaknesses in the final.
Higgins joins Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan in capturing at least three Crucible crowns. In the modern era, only Ray Reardon and John Spencer have also accomplished this feat.
On any roll of honour bearing the names of snooker’s all time greats, he would have earned a place before today.
But, were there any doubt, John Higgins tonight joined the pantheon of green baize legends.
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