BBC snooker presenter Ray Stubbs is leaving to present Premier League football on ESPN.
Stubbs has worked for the BBC for 25 years. In the 1980s, he was a producer and put together the famous 'Way We Were' montage featuring the way players had changed over the years.
He began presenting snooker in 2002 and was the BBC's main presenter at the Crucible this year as Hazel Irvine was on maternity leave.
17.7.09
16.7.09
ONE SMALL STEP...
As it’s 40 years since man first walked on the moon, so it must be 40 years since the launch of the programme that led to snooker becoming a television success.
Unlike the Apollo 11 mission, Pot Black really was staged in a TV studio, at Pebble Mill in Birmingham.
It came about because the then BBC2 controller, David Attenborough, wanted colour programmes for the new channel.
Snooker was an obvious choice with its different colours and it was also held indoors and involved a small playing area and so was cheap to produce.
All this was music to the ears of Ted Lowe, who had tried for years to interest the BBC in a snooker series.
With the BBC producer Philip Lewis, Lowe cobbled together eight players and a simple format: each match would be played over a single frame.
It was introduced with ‘Black and White Rag’, played by Winifred Attwell, and first aired on July 23, 1969. Lowe commentated, Alan Weekes presented and the referee was Sydney Lee.
All that was expected of the players is that they would ensure the frames lasted half an hour to fit the slot.
Ray Reardon beat John Spencer in the first final. Spencer and Eddie Charlton would each win it three times.
It gave the players of the day invaluable exposure as they made most of their money from exhibitions. An appearance on Pot Black would lead to bookings and a degree of fame unthinkable just a few years earlier.
These were simpler times before internet betting, indeed before the internet. I know more than one person who fleeced the bookies by betting on an event that had already been played.
In time, Junior Pot Black was launched, won twice by John Parrott and once by Dean Reynolds.
It all seems incredibly prosaic now but Pot Black’s significance cannot be underplayed.
The success of the programme led to the BBC covering the World Championship, in bits and pieces at first and then from first ball to last from 1978 onwards.
The huge audiences it attracted meant they were soon covering other tournaments and ITV piled in as well as the airwaves became saturated with snooker during the 1980s.
Viewers were captivated by proper tournament play and Pot Black came to be seen as a relic of the past. In 1986, it was discontinued.
However, in 1991 it was revived and shown on BBC1 in the afternoons.
And then in 1992 some bright spark – last seen wandering the streets wrapped in bacon rind pretending to be Florence Nightingale – introduced a calamitous new format.
‘Timeframe’ was designed to guarantee half an hour’s snooker, with each player having the same amount of time. So after a shot the player would have to stop their own clock, which would automatically start their opponent’s.
Farce doesn’t even cover it. Some players forgot completely, others were seen sprinting, Linford Christie like, to save a couple of seconds.
For those of you who think the shot clock or six reds is a nonsense, this had to be seen to be believed.
It was never used again but, after the 1993 staging, the programme was scrapped.
But in TV land, nothing is dead forever (ask Bobby Ewing) and Pot Black was once again revived in 1997 as a seniors event. It gave the old boys who had played in some of the original programmes the chance to do battle again.
And then in 2005 Pot Black returned with the top professionals as Saturday afternoon entertainment.
It was played in the plush surroundings of the snooker room at the RAC Club in London and allowed players the chance to relax and show a different side to the game.
It was all very convivial but, two years later and acting on the time honoured snooker principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, break it’ the event was moved to Sheffield City Hall, a venue with all the atmosphere of an abandoned mausoleum.
Worse still, it was scheduled opposite one of England’s matches in the rugby union World Cup. The audience was dire and Pot Black bit the dust once again.
But don’t bet against it returning at some point in the future. Maybe it could be a showcase for six reds, maybe it could be for veterans or juniors or international talent.
Pot Black was the programme that got generations of players interested in snooker.
It will forever be remembered as a giant leap for the sport.
Unlike the Apollo 11 mission, Pot Black really was staged in a TV studio, at Pebble Mill in Birmingham.
It came about because the then BBC2 controller, David Attenborough, wanted colour programmes for the new channel.
Snooker was an obvious choice with its different colours and it was also held indoors and involved a small playing area and so was cheap to produce.
All this was music to the ears of Ted Lowe, who had tried for years to interest the BBC in a snooker series.
With the BBC producer Philip Lewis, Lowe cobbled together eight players and a simple format: each match would be played over a single frame.
It was introduced with ‘Black and White Rag’, played by Winifred Attwell, and first aired on July 23, 1969. Lowe commentated, Alan Weekes presented and the referee was Sydney Lee.
All that was expected of the players is that they would ensure the frames lasted half an hour to fit the slot.
Ray Reardon beat John Spencer in the first final. Spencer and Eddie Charlton would each win it three times.
It gave the players of the day invaluable exposure as they made most of their money from exhibitions. An appearance on Pot Black would lead to bookings and a degree of fame unthinkable just a few years earlier.
These were simpler times before internet betting, indeed before the internet. I know more than one person who fleeced the bookies by betting on an event that had already been played.
In time, Junior Pot Black was launched, won twice by John Parrott and once by Dean Reynolds.
It all seems incredibly prosaic now but Pot Black’s significance cannot be underplayed.
The success of the programme led to the BBC covering the World Championship, in bits and pieces at first and then from first ball to last from 1978 onwards.
The huge audiences it attracted meant they were soon covering other tournaments and ITV piled in as well as the airwaves became saturated with snooker during the 1980s.
Viewers were captivated by proper tournament play and Pot Black came to be seen as a relic of the past. In 1986, it was discontinued.
However, in 1991 it was revived and shown on BBC1 in the afternoons.
And then in 1992 some bright spark – last seen wandering the streets wrapped in bacon rind pretending to be Florence Nightingale – introduced a calamitous new format.
‘Timeframe’ was designed to guarantee half an hour’s snooker, with each player having the same amount of time. So after a shot the player would have to stop their own clock, which would automatically start their opponent’s.
Farce doesn’t even cover it. Some players forgot completely, others were seen sprinting, Linford Christie like, to save a couple of seconds.
For those of you who think the shot clock or six reds is a nonsense, this had to be seen to be believed.
It was never used again but, after the 1993 staging, the programme was scrapped.
But in TV land, nothing is dead forever (ask Bobby Ewing) and Pot Black was once again revived in 1997 as a seniors event. It gave the old boys who had played in some of the original programmes the chance to do battle again.
And then in 2005 Pot Black returned with the top professionals as Saturday afternoon entertainment.
It was played in the plush surroundings of the snooker room at the RAC Club in London and allowed players the chance to relax and show a different side to the game.
It was all very convivial but, two years later and acting on the time honoured snooker principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, break it’ the event was moved to Sheffield City Hall, a venue with all the atmosphere of an abandoned mausoleum.
Worse still, it was scheduled opposite one of England’s matches in the rugby union World Cup. The audience was dire and Pot Black bit the dust once again.
But don’t bet against it returning at some point in the future. Maybe it could be a showcase for six reds, maybe it could be for veterans or juniors or international talent.
Pot Black was the programme that got generations of players interested in snooker.
It will forever be remembered as a giant leap for the sport.
15.7.09
PAST MASTERS#9
This week, one of the all time legends...
Fred Davis was the younger brother of snooker’s first world champion but forged a professional career full of success in his own right which was to span nearly 60 years.
Fred was 12 years the junior of Joe Davis. His own professional career began in unpromising fashion. He lost to Bill Withers 17-14 in the 1937 World Championship.
Joe was furious. He didn’t rate Withers and could not believe his brother had been beaten by him.
This shook Fred’s own self confidence but it also led him to seek help from an optician, who fitted him with ‘sportsman’s glasses’, which undoubtedly improved his game.
Nobody beat Joe in the World Championship from its first staging in 1927 to 1946, when he retired.
Fred came closest in 1940, losing 37-36 in the final and was an obvious favourite for the title when his brother finally bowed out.
He lost to Walter Donaldson in the 1947 final – they were to contest eight in a row – but beat him in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952 (see this story about Horace Lindrum), 1953 and 1954.
In 1955 and 1956 he defeated John Pulman to complete an eighth title triumph but the writing was on the wall for snooker, which was struggling to stay alive.
These were dark days for the professional game. Those who today complain about the sport’s fortunes should put themselves in the shoes of the professionals of the 1950s, where TV coverage was sporadic and prize money more like pocket change.
After the 1957 event, the World Championship was scrapped. Fred would still play exhibitions and also take part in matches on the BBC against Joe for Grandstand, especially in the winter months when there was a risk that outdoor sport would be called off because of bad weather.
This gave him some exposure but it was not the same as playing in tournaments.
In 1959 Fred was asked by Clive Everton, who of course went on to become Snooker Scene’s editor, how he saw the future of snooker.
His reply was to the point. “It has no future,” he said.
Players made money primarily from exhibitions. Fred once turned up at one and asked where the table was, only to be told, “Oh, we thought you’d bring it with you.”
In this period, Joe Davis had continued to play in other events but was only ever beaten off level terms by one player: Fred.
The World Championship was revived on a challenge basis in 1964 and reverted to knockout in 1969.
By this time, Davis was past his prime but in 1978, at the age of 64, he reached the Crucible semi-finals. It was a fine performance by a player who slaved away in snooker’s most troubled times and was now receiving some much deserved recognition in the first World Championship the BBC had covered from first ball to last.
The BBC put together a musical montage set to the Beatles song ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ featuring various shots of Fred, usually smiling. His was a story the public instantly warmed to.
He could have beaten Perrie Mans but missed a pink that would have reduced his arrears to 16-15 and was beaten 18-16.
It was all too much for brother Joe, watching from the audience. He collapsed and died just over two months later.
Fred beat Kirk Stevens in the opening round the following year, making him the oldest ever match winner at the Crucible.
On the way to victory he constructed a 109 break that even the match referee applauded.
Davis made his last Crucible appearance in 1984 at the age of 70. It seems inconceivable now that anyone of that age will ever again play on snooker’s biggest stage.
I saw him play on his last ever TV appearance in Barry Hearn’s 1991 World Masters. He was 77 at the time and played Steve Davis.
Naturally, he lost 6-0 but his famous smile was much in evidence.
He carried on playing because he loved snooker. Even though he lost his place on the professional circuit through losing a pro ticket match (which pitted a low ranked player against a wannabe qualifier) to Jason Prince in 1990, he carried on competing when the game went open in 1991.
The following season, at the age of 78, he drew a 16 year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan in the qualifying rounds for the Grand Prix. Despite the 62-year age gap, Davis took a frame off the future world champion.
He finally retired at the age of 79 in 1993, some 57 years since he first competed as a professional.
He had been awarded the MBE in 1977. He also won two World Professional Billiards titles.
Fred may have lived for a long time in his brother’s shadow, but consider this: he played professional snooker in six different decades, a distinction that may never be bettered.
He died the day before the 1998 World Championship at the age of 84.
Fred Davis was the younger brother of snooker’s first world champion but forged a professional career full of success in his own right which was to span nearly 60 years.
Fred was 12 years the junior of Joe Davis. His own professional career began in unpromising fashion. He lost to Bill Withers 17-14 in the 1937 World Championship.
Joe was furious. He didn’t rate Withers and could not believe his brother had been beaten by him.
This shook Fred’s own self confidence but it also led him to seek help from an optician, who fitted him with ‘sportsman’s glasses’, which undoubtedly improved his game.
Nobody beat Joe in the World Championship from its first staging in 1927 to 1946, when he retired.
Fred came closest in 1940, losing 37-36 in the final and was an obvious favourite for the title when his brother finally bowed out.
He lost to Walter Donaldson in the 1947 final – they were to contest eight in a row – but beat him in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952 (see this story about Horace Lindrum), 1953 and 1954.
In 1955 and 1956 he defeated John Pulman to complete an eighth title triumph but the writing was on the wall for snooker, which was struggling to stay alive.
These were dark days for the professional game. Those who today complain about the sport’s fortunes should put themselves in the shoes of the professionals of the 1950s, where TV coverage was sporadic and prize money more like pocket change.
After the 1957 event, the World Championship was scrapped. Fred would still play exhibitions and also take part in matches on the BBC against Joe for Grandstand, especially in the winter months when there was a risk that outdoor sport would be called off because of bad weather.
This gave him some exposure but it was not the same as playing in tournaments.
In 1959 Fred was asked by Clive Everton, who of course went on to become Snooker Scene’s editor, how he saw the future of snooker.
His reply was to the point. “It has no future,” he said.
Players made money primarily from exhibitions. Fred once turned up at one and asked where the table was, only to be told, “Oh, we thought you’d bring it with you.”
In this period, Joe Davis had continued to play in other events but was only ever beaten off level terms by one player: Fred.
The World Championship was revived on a challenge basis in 1964 and reverted to knockout in 1969.
By this time, Davis was past his prime but in 1978, at the age of 64, he reached the Crucible semi-finals. It was a fine performance by a player who slaved away in snooker’s most troubled times and was now receiving some much deserved recognition in the first World Championship the BBC had covered from first ball to last.
The BBC put together a musical montage set to the Beatles song ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ featuring various shots of Fred, usually smiling. His was a story the public instantly warmed to.
He could have beaten Perrie Mans but missed a pink that would have reduced his arrears to 16-15 and was beaten 18-16.
It was all too much for brother Joe, watching from the audience. He collapsed and died just over two months later.
Fred beat Kirk Stevens in the opening round the following year, making him the oldest ever match winner at the Crucible.
On the way to victory he constructed a 109 break that even the match referee applauded.
Davis made his last Crucible appearance in 1984 at the age of 70. It seems inconceivable now that anyone of that age will ever again play on snooker’s biggest stage.
I saw him play on his last ever TV appearance in Barry Hearn’s 1991 World Masters. He was 77 at the time and played Steve Davis.
Naturally, he lost 6-0 but his famous smile was much in evidence.
He carried on playing because he loved snooker. Even though he lost his place on the professional circuit through losing a pro ticket match (which pitted a low ranked player against a wannabe qualifier) to Jason Prince in 1990, he carried on competing when the game went open in 1991.
The following season, at the age of 78, he drew a 16 year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan in the qualifying rounds for the Grand Prix. Despite the 62-year age gap, Davis took a frame off the future world champion.
He finally retired at the age of 79 in 1993, some 57 years since he first competed as a professional.
He had been awarded the MBE in 1977. He also won two World Professional Billiards titles.
Fred may have lived for a long time in his brother’s shadow, but consider this: he played professional snooker in six different decades, a distinction that may never be bettered.
He died the day before the 1998 World Championship at the age of 84.
14.7.09
HONG KONG CUEY
Another week, another tournament is underway in the Far East.
This one is the General Cup in Hong Kong, which features Liang Wenbo - fresh from his Beijing triumph - as well as Ricky Walden, Tian Pengfei and, of course, Hong Kong's greatest ever player, Marco Fu.
Also in the field are young prospects Chan Wai Kei and Li Yan, who beat the reigning Asian under 21 champion, Anda Zhang, to book his place in the round robin stage.
Full daily coverage is available at Global Snooker.
This one is the General Cup in Hong Kong, which features Liang Wenbo - fresh from his Beijing triumph - as well as Ricky Walden, Tian Pengfei and, of course, Hong Kong's greatest ever player, Marco Fu.
Also in the field are young prospects Chan Wai Kei and Li Yan, who beat the reigning Asian under 21 champion, Anda Zhang, to book his place in the round robin stage.
Full daily coverage is available at Global Snooker.
13.7.09
PREDICT THE TOP 16!
The world rankings are worked out using two seasons’ points. At the halfway stage of what will become the official list for 2010/11 the provisional list is as follows:
1) John Higgins
2) Ali Carter
3) Ronnie O’Sullivan
4) Shaun Murphy
5) Neil Robertson
6) Stephen Maguire
7) Ryan Day
8) Marco Fu
9) Mark Selby
10) Mark Allen
11) Stephen Hendry
12) Ricky Walden
13) Steve Davis
14) Joe Perry
15) Mark King
16) Peter Ebdon
What are your predictions for how the official list will look at the end of the season? Here’s mine:
1) John Higgins
2) Ronnie O’Sullivan
3) Shaun Murphy
4) Ryan Day
5) Ali Carter
6) Stephen Maguire
7) Mark Selby
8) Mark Allen
9) Neil Robertson
10) Ricky Walden
11) Marco Fu
12) Joe Perry
13) Jamie Cope
14) Mark Williams
15) Stephen Hendry
16) Barry Hawkins
As John Higgins has a 6,900 point lead at the head of the current provisional list it will take a poor season to threaten his no.1 position and with just six ranking events it would really need to be a shocking run for him to lose out.
I predict reasonably strong seasons from Marks Selby and Allen and from Ryan Day and Ricky Walden, so I have them all moving up.
There are just 950 points separating Steve Davis in 13th place and Graeme Dott in 22nd so the race for a top 16 place could be very interesting this season.
I’m predicting a good season for Jamie Cope, who I think will breakthrough and possibly win a tournament.
I was also impressed pretty much every time I saw Barry Hawkins play last season and think he’ll get the bits of luck he missed out on last term.
I’d like to be wrong but I think Stephen Hendry will continue his decline – albeit gradual – and slip down a little.
As for the players being relegated: take out the China Open and Peter Ebdon was poor last season. I also don’t think Mark King will hang on to his place in the elite.
And I’m afraid Ding Junhui doesn’t make the cut for me either.
But this is only a bit of fun based on nothing more than guesswork.
Remember, as the satirist Robert Storm Petersen said: it’s tough making predictions, especially about the future.
1) John Higgins
2) Ali Carter
3) Ronnie O’Sullivan
4) Shaun Murphy
5) Neil Robertson
6) Stephen Maguire
7) Ryan Day
8) Marco Fu
9) Mark Selby
10) Mark Allen
11) Stephen Hendry
12) Ricky Walden
13) Steve Davis
14) Joe Perry
15) Mark King
16) Peter Ebdon
What are your predictions for how the official list will look at the end of the season? Here’s mine:
1) John Higgins
2) Ronnie O’Sullivan
3) Shaun Murphy
4) Ryan Day
5) Ali Carter
6) Stephen Maguire
7) Mark Selby
8) Mark Allen
9) Neil Robertson
10) Ricky Walden
11) Marco Fu
12) Joe Perry
13) Jamie Cope
14) Mark Williams
15) Stephen Hendry
16) Barry Hawkins
As John Higgins has a 6,900 point lead at the head of the current provisional list it will take a poor season to threaten his no.1 position and with just six ranking events it would really need to be a shocking run for him to lose out.
I predict reasonably strong seasons from Marks Selby and Allen and from Ryan Day and Ricky Walden, so I have them all moving up.
There are just 950 points separating Steve Davis in 13th place and Graeme Dott in 22nd so the race for a top 16 place could be very interesting this season.
I’m predicting a good season for Jamie Cope, who I think will breakthrough and possibly win a tournament.
I was also impressed pretty much every time I saw Barry Hawkins play last season and think he’ll get the bits of luck he missed out on last term.
I’d like to be wrong but I think Stephen Hendry will continue his decline – albeit gradual – and slip down a little.
As for the players being relegated: take out the China Open and Peter Ebdon was poor last season. I also don’t think Mark King will hang on to his place in the elite.
And I’m afraid Ding Junhui doesn’t make the cut for me either.
But this is only a bit of fun based on nothing more than guesswork.
Remember, as the satirist Robert Storm Petersen said: it’s tough making predictions, especially about the future.
12.7.09
WHITE'S SIX APPEAL
Whether you love six reds snooker or hate it - and many snooker fans really do hate it - it's here to stay.
Jimmy White today beat Barry Hawkins 8-6 to win the Sangsom Grand Prix in Bangkok.
For those who think the whole tournament was some kind of joke, consider this: White won £18,000 - over £5,000 more than he pocketed for the whole of last season.
Why does six reds snooker appeal?
Well, it should guarantee shorter frames in theory because the reds are quickly split. That said, there's no reason why a half an hour safety battle on the green can't ensue in this form of snooker just as it can in the 15 red version.
Perhaps it's more that it is regarded as 'new' and therefore some sort of answer to the game's problems.
Twenty/20 has been heralded as doing the same for cricket. But anyone who followed the conclusion of the first Ashes Test from Cardiff today knows that the traditional game is still capable of delivering great entertainment.
Even so, three of the WPBSA's new Pro Challenge Series events will be played using only six reds. It's been used in the World Series and is being used in various club competitions in the UK and beyond.
So does this spell the end of 'normal' snooker?
Of course not. The slow burning drama served up during the World Championship is what makes it such a highpoint of the sporting calendar.
Taking away reds or having a shot clock would wreck it as a spectacle.
But I predict more six reds events will crop up. The fact that they level the playing field goes against the survival of the fittest ethos of top level sport but it also makes them an attractive proposition for players of varying abilities.
Perhaps this should be remembered, though: snooker is only played using 15 reds through the arbitrary decision of a bunch of British army officers who messed around with other cue sports in inventing the game in the late 19th century.
They did so because they were bored while it was raining outside. Had it stayed sunny, snooker may never have been invented at all.
More than a century later the 15 red version isn't going anywhere, so I think we can all be relaxed about the six reds experiment.
Jimmy White today beat Barry Hawkins 8-6 to win the Sangsom Grand Prix in Bangkok.
For those who think the whole tournament was some kind of joke, consider this: White won £18,000 - over £5,000 more than he pocketed for the whole of last season.
Why does six reds snooker appeal?
Well, it should guarantee shorter frames in theory because the reds are quickly split. That said, there's no reason why a half an hour safety battle on the green can't ensue in this form of snooker just as it can in the 15 red version.
Perhaps it's more that it is regarded as 'new' and therefore some sort of answer to the game's problems.
Twenty/20 has been heralded as doing the same for cricket. But anyone who followed the conclusion of the first Ashes Test from Cardiff today knows that the traditional game is still capable of delivering great entertainment.
Even so, three of the WPBSA's new Pro Challenge Series events will be played using only six reds. It's been used in the World Series and is being used in various club competitions in the UK and beyond.
So does this spell the end of 'normal' snooker?
Of course not. The slow burning drama served up during the World Championship is what makes it such a highpoint of the sporting calendar.
Taking away reds or having a shot clock would wreck it as a spectacle.
But I predict more six reds events will crop up. The fact that they level the playing field goes against the survival of the fittest ethos of top level sport but it also makes them an attractive proposition for players of varying abilities.
Perhaps this should be remembered, though: snooker is only played using 15 reds through the arbitrary decision of a bunch of British army officers who messed around with other cue sports in inventing the game in the late 19th century.
They did so because they were bored while it was raining outside. Had it stayed sunny, snooker may never have been invented at all.
More than a century later the 15 red version isn't going anywhere, so I think we can all be relaxed about the six reds experiment.
LIANG WENBO TAKES BEIJING PRIZE
Liang Wenbo defeated Stephen Maguire 7-6 to win the Beijing International Challenge, his first professional title.
Here's a question: will he overtake Ding Junhui as China's no.1 player by the end of next season?
One thing Liang has never lacked is confidence. There's a fear in some that he is still too attacking but there's no doubt he's a great talent.
Here's a question: will he overtake Ding Junhui as China's no.1 player by the end of next season?
One thing Liang has never lacked is confidence. There's a fear in some that he is still too attacking but there's no doubt he's a great talent.
SNOOKER'S GREATEST MOMENTS
The Independent is celebrating the greatest moments in snooker.
You can read Nick Harris's account of the 1985 Taylor-Davis black ball finish here.
I wouldn't argue with their other choices, with the possible exception of the 1997 Charity Challenge final (which wasn't in Liverpool as the paper claims), in which Stephen Hendry beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 with a maximum in the decider. Context is everything. They played like it was an exhibition because it was basically an exhibition tournament.
However, this minor quibble aside you can't argue with a national newspaper taking time to mark some of the great moments of our game.
For the record, here's a reminder of my top ten moments.
You can read Nick Harris's account of the 1985 Taylor-Davis black ball finish here.
I wouldn't argue with their other choices, with the possible exception of the 1997 Charity Challenge final (which wasn't in Liverpool as the paper claims), in which Stephen Hendry beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 with a maximum in the decider. Context is everything. They played like it was an exhibition because it was basically an exhibition tournament.
However, this minor quibble aside you can't argue with a national newspaper taking time to mark some of the great moments of our game.
For the record, here's a reminder of my top ten moments.
11.7.09
ESPN'S SNOOKER FEST
If you have satellite television and are having withdrawal symptoms in these dog days of summer then you should be aware that there is snooker on the TV pretty regularly courtesy of ESPN Classic.
It’s on channel 442 in the UK.
Here are the programmes ESPN Classic will be showing over the next few weeks:
Sun July 12 02:20: World Snooker Championship, 1973
Sun July 12 10:40: World Snooker Championship, 1973
Fri July 24 23:50: World Snooker Championship, 1980
Sun July 26 01:30: World Snooker Championship, 1980
Fri July 31 23:50: World Snooker Championship, 1981
Sun August 02 01:25: World Snooker Championship, 1981
Mon August 03 10:30: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Fri August 07 11:00: World Snooker Final, 1992
Sat August 08 00:10: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 08 05:00: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 08 23:25: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 15 00:10: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Sat August 15 05:30: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Sat August 15 23:40: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Thu August 20 14:40: World Snooker Championship, 2004
Sat August 22 00:10: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sat August 22 06:00: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sun August 23 01:30: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sat August 29 00:10: World Snooker Final, 1990
Sat August 29 06:30: World Snooker Final, 1990
Sun August 30 00:55: World Snooker Final, 1990
Some great stuff from the archives there, featuring action from four decades, which will be a trip down memory lane for some and an education in snooker history for others.
Bit cruel showing the '85 final on Steve Davis's birthday, though!
It’s on channel 442 in the UK.
Here are the programmes ESPN Classic will be showing over the next few weeks:
Sun July 12 02:20: World Snooker Championship, 1973
Sun July 12 10:40: World Snooker Championship, 1973
Fri July 24 23:50: World Snooker Championship, 1980
Sun July 26 01:30: World Snooker Championship, 1980
Fri July 31 23:50: World Snooker Championship, 1981
Sun August 02 01:25: World Snooker Championship, 1981
Mon August 03 10:30: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Fri August 07 11:00: World Snooker Final, 1992
Sat August 08 00:10: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 08 05:00: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 08 23:25: World Snooker Championship, 1982
Sat August 15 00:10: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Sat August 15 05:30: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Sat August 15 23:40: Steve Davis v Jimmy White, 1984
Thu August 20 14:40: World Snooker Championship, 2004
Sat August 22 00:10: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sat August 22 06:00: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sun August 23 01:30: World Snooker Final, 1985
Sat August 29 00:10: World Snooker Final, 1990
Sat August 29 06:30: World Snooker Final, 1990
Sun August 30 00:55: World Snooker Final, 1990
Some great stuff from the archives there, featuring action from four decades, which will be a trip down memory lane for some and an education in snooker history for others.
Bit cruel showing the '85 final on Steve Davis's birthday, though!
WHITE V HAWKINS, MAGUIRE V LIANG
Jimmy White will play Barry Hawkins in the final of the Sangsom 6 Reds Grand Prix in Bangkok.
White beat former world champion Mark Williams 7-4 in the semi-finals and Hawkins defeated Judd Trump 7-2.
Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire will face Liang Wenbo in the Beijing International Challenge final.
Maguire beat Stephen Hendry 5-3 while Liang enjoyed a 5-1 defeat of Mark Allen.
White beat former world champion Mark Williams 7-4 in the semi-finals and Hawkins defeated Judd Trump 7-2.
Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire will face Liang Wenbo in the Beijing International Challenge final.
Maguire beat Stephen Hendry 5-3 while Liang enjoyed a 5-1 defeat of Mark Allen.
10.7.09
WHITE DOWNS MURPHY
Jimmy White made a 6 red 'maximum' of 75 on the way to beating world no.3 Shaun Murphy 6-4 to reach the last 16 of the Sangsom Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand today.
The Whirlwind now faces the defending champion, Ricky Walden, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Judd Trump beat another former world champion, Peter Ebdon, 6-1 while Mark Williams and Ken Doherty won their matches to set up a repeat of their 2003 Crucible final.
The current world champion, John Higgins, defeated Supoj Saenla 6-4 and now plays another Thai, the reigning IBSF world amateur champion Thepchaiya Un Nooh.
Joe Perry lost out to James Wattana but there were wins for Michael Holt, Mark King, Ryan Day and Stuart Bingham.
More information is available here.
The Whirlwind now faces the defending champion, Ricky Walden, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Judd Trump beat another former world champion, Peter Ebdon, 6-1 while Mark Williams and Ken Doherty won their matches to set up a repeat of their 2003 Crucible final.
The current world champion, John Higgins, defeated Supoj Saenla 6-4 and now plays another Thai, the reigning IBSF world amateur champion Thepchaiya Un Nooh.
Joe Perry lost out to James Wattana but there were wins for Michael Holt, Mark King, Ryan Day and Stuart Bingham.
More information is available here.
NO ORDINARY JOE
As it's 31 years to the day since the great Joe Davis died, here he is making what is described as the first televised century break.
I actually think Mark Wildman made one before Joe but, even so, enjoy...
I actually think Mark Wildman made one before Joe but, even so, enjoy...
9.7.09
LOOKING FOR AN INVITE
If you're wondering why top players such as Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen would go to China in July to play in an invitation tournament, here's a clue:
The top prize in 110sport's Beijing Challenge is £50,000.
There used to be a large number of small invitation tournaments on the calendar and, having dwindled, it's good to see more cropping up.
Invitation events - not ranking tournaments - are the best way of promoting snooker. They cost far less to stage and feature mainly big names so audiences are guaranteed to recognise the players in action.
In recent years, snooker fans have been brainwashed into believing that if a tournament doesn't hold ranking status it's not worth staging.
Rubbish.
Does anyone remember the Irish Masters at Goffs? That was one of the best events on the circuit.
There was also the Scottish Masters in Motherwell and tournaments such as the World Matchplay and the Champions Cup, plus a number of others that helped create a more vibrant circuit than we have today.
Ideally, I'd like to see a Masters series for the top players, preferably played around Europe: short events featuring the top eight or twelve players in the world rewarded for being the elite, something that snooker seems to frown upon.
The WPBSA recently announced tournaments aimed at lower ranked players - how about some purely for those on whose shoulders the game's popularity is carried?
The top prize in 110sport's Beijing Challenge is £50,000.
There used to be a large number of small invitation tournaments on the calendar and, having dwindled, it's good to see more cropping up.
Invitation events - not ranking tournaments - are the best way of promoting snooker. They cost far less to stage and feature mainly big names so audiences are guaranteed to recognise the players in action.
In recent years, snooker fans have been brainwashed into believing that if a tournament doesn't hold ranking status it's not worth staging.
Rubbish.
Does anyone remember the Irish Masters at Goffs? That was one of the best events on the circuit.
There was also the Scottish Masters in Motherwell and tournaments such as the World Matchplay and the Champions Cup, plus a number of others that helped create a more vibrant circuit than we have today.
Ideally, I'd like to see a Masters series for the top players, preferably played around Europe: short events featuring the top eight or twelve players in the world rewarded for being the elite, something that snooker seems to frown upon.
The WPBSA recently announced tournaments aimed at lower ranked players - how about some purely for those on whose shoulders the game's popularity is carried?
8.7.09
PAST MASTERS#8
This week, one of the leading players of the early 1990s...
Gary Wilkinson was a great talent who rose to prominence as the Steve Davis era was ending and the Stephen Hendry years were beginning.
He had to win seven matches in the old Pro Ticket Series that was used to determine new professionals and beat Martin Clark in the last of them to earn his shot at the pro circuit in 1987.
Wilkinson’s first significant success came in one of the WPBSA’s non ranking events (much like the newly announced Pro Challenge Series) in 1988 when he beat Alex Higgins 5-4 in the final.
Later that season, he beat Ray Reardon and Tony Drago to qualify for the Crucible where it was his misfortune to draw a certain Mr. Hendry.
Having slipped 6-2 down, he gave the future champion a great game, levelling at 8-8 and 9-9 before Hendry comfortably won the decider.
Wilkinson was a fast, fluent player in those days and the 1989/90 season saw him start to realise his potential.
He reached the semi-finals of three of the campaign’s first five ranking events – the Hong Kong Open, Asian Open and UK Championship – and rose 20 places in the world rankings to 19th.
However, it could have been a lot better but for a mental aberration in his UK semi-final against Davis.
Wilkinson was full of confidence going into the match having beaten Jimmy White 9-0 in the quarter-finals. Leading Davis 8-7, he misread the scoreboard and, believing Davis did not need a snooker, failed to make contact on a thin safety attempt.
Davis put him in again, Wilkinson left the pink, lost the frame and then the decider.
In the 1990/91 season, Wilkinson reached what proved to be his only ranking event final, the British Open.
Again, he gave Hendry a terrific battle but, again, he lost in a decider, 10-9.
Although he reached the World Championship quarter-finals the following month, he had missed out on a huge cash bonus in the first round when he jawed the yellow on 120.
Wilkinson began the 1991/92 season as world no.5 – his highest position – and would capture the biggest title of his career at the World Matchplay Championship, an invitation event for the 12 highest ranked players in the provisional rankings.
He beat Dean Reynolds, John Parrot and Jimmy White to reach the final before completing an 18-11 defeat of Davis.
A year later, as world no.8, he lost 10-8 to Neal Foulds in the final of the Scottish Masters, but his early flamboyance began to disappear and he became slower and, at times, more negative.
He dropped out of the top 16 after only two seasons and reached only three more ranking event quarter-finals, including at the 1995 World Championship.
At the 1999 Welsh Open, he was involved in a frame against Dennis Taylor that was re-racked after 57 minutes.
In the following year’s World Championship, he beat Jason Ferguson 10-9 in the longest ever best of 19 frame encounter – clocked at 698 minutes, including an 83 minute decider – to qualify for the World Championship.
Wilkinson was relegated from the circuit in 2006. Like most players, snooker is in his blood and he is still involved today as a highly efficient member of the WPBSA’s tournament team.
Gary Wilkinson was a great talent who rose to prominence as the Steve Davis era was ending and the Stephen Hendry years were beginning.
He had to win seven matches in the old Pro Ticket Series that was used to determine new professionals and beat Martin Clark in the last of them to earn his shot at the pro circuit in 1987.
Wilkinson’s first significant success came in one of the WPBSA’s non ranking events (much like the newly announced Pro Challenge Series) in 1988 when he beat Alex Higgins 5-4 in the final.
Later that season, he beat Ray Reardon and Tony Drago to qualify for the Crucible where it was his misfortune to draw a certain Mr. Hendry.
Having slipped 6-2 down, he gave the future champion a great game, levelling at 8-8 and 9-9 before Hendry comfortably won the decider.
Wilkinson was a fast, fluent player in those days and the 1989/90 season saw him start to realise his potential.
He reached the semi-finals of three of the campaign’s first five ranking events – the Hong Kong Open, Asian Open and UK Championship – and rose 20 places in the world rankings to 19th.
However, it could have been a lot better but for a mental aberration in his UK semi-final against Davis.
Wilkinson was full of confidence going into the match having beaten Jimmy White 9-0 in the quarter-finals. Leading Davis 8-7, he misread the scoreboard and, believing Davis did not need a snooker, failed to make contact on a thin safety attempt.
Davis put him in again, Wilkinson left the pink, lost the frame and then the decider.
In the 1990/91 season, Wilkinson reached what proved to be his only ranking event final, the British Open.
Again, he gave Hendry a terrific battle but, again, he lost in a decider, 10-9.
Although he reached the World Championship quarter-finals the following month, he had missed out on a huge cash bonus in the first round when he jawed the yellow on 120.
Wilkinson began the 1991/92 season as world no.5 – his highest position – and would capture the biggest title of his career at the World Matchplay Championship, an invitation event for the 12 highest ranked players in the provisional rankings.
He beat Dean Reynolds, John Parrot and Jimmy White to reach the final before completing an 18-11 defeat of Davis.
A year later, as world no.8, he lost 10-8 to Neal Foulds in the final of the Scottish Masters, but his early flamboyance began to disappear and he became slower and, at times, more negative.
He dropped out of the top 16 after only two seasons and reached only three more ranking event quarter-finals, including at the 1995 World Championship.
At the 1999 Welsh Open, he was involved in a frame against Dennis Taylor that was re-racked after 57 minutes.
In the following year’s World Championship, he beat Jason Ferguson 10-9 in the longest ever best of 19 frame encounter – clocked at 698 minutes, including an 83 minute decider – to qualify for the World Championship.
Wilkinson was relegated from the circuit in 2006. Like most players, snooker is in his blood and he is still involved today as a highly efficient member of the WPBSA’s tournament team.
7.7.09
GLOBAL SNOOKER AWARDS
The Global Snooker Awards and Golf Day will be held on October 13 at Celtic Manor, Newport.
The awards are intended to honour those who have made a contribution to the sport as players, promoters, officials and broadcasters.
The golf day, which is hosted by Mark Williams, and awards night will raise money for the Tenovus cancer charity and the Paul Hunter Foundation.
Snooker previously enjoyed awards lunches and nights (and sometimes both) under the auspices of the WPBSA and, more recently, the Snooker Writers Association.
The Global Awards will hopefully get a good turn out from snooker's leading names. Fans can also attend by purchasing tickets.
To vote in the awards or take part in the golf day, go to global-snooker.com.
The awards are intended to honour those who have made a contribution to the sport as players, promoters, officials and broadcasters.
The golf day, which is hosted by Mark Williams, and awards night will raise money for the Tenovus cancer charity and the Paul Hunter Foundation.
Snooker previously enjoyed awards lunches and nights (and sometimes both) under the auspices of the WPBSA and, more recently, the Snooker Writers Association.
The Global Awards will hopefully get a good turn out from snooker's leading names. Fans can also attend by purchasing tickets.
To vote in the awards or take part in the golf day, go to global-snooker.com.
CUEING OFF IN ASIA
Two snooker events start today.
The Sangsom 6 Reds Grand Prix is being held in Bangkok and features, among others, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon, Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White.
Meanwhile in Beijing, the 110sport-promoted China International Challenge cues off with the likes of Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire, Mark Allen, Marco Fu and Ali Carter in action.
Both events provide the opportunity for players to make a few quid out of season and take the game to parts of the world where it is traditionally popular.
I will endeavour to keep across the scores but for the best coverage would point you to the ever reliable Global Snooker.
The Sangsom 6 Reds Grand Prix is being held in Bangkok and features, among others, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon, Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White.
Meanwhile in Beijing, the 110sport-promoted China International Challenge cues off with the likes of Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire, Mark Allen, Marco Fu and Ali Carter in action.
Both events provide the opportunity for players to make a few quid out of season and take the game to parts of the world where it is traditionally popular.
I will endeavour to keep across the scores but for the best coverage would point you to the ever reliable Global Snooker.
6.7.09
THE OLD BOYS' NETWORK
Former world champion Joe Johnson is planning a seniors tournament in his native Bradford next year, featuring legends such as Jimmy White, John Parrott and Alex Higgins.
I understand there will also be a new event featuring some of the game’s most established players later this year.
Quite a few sports have events for seniors. In both golf and tennis there are thriving circuits and there are also a number of Masters football competitions.
Snooker is an obvious choice for such a circuit. After all, it isn’t a sport that depends on physical fitness, although years and years of playing can take their toll on players’ backs and, of course, things such as eyesight decline as a player gets older.
There have been seniors tournaments in the past. In 1991, Matchroom promoted a televised World Seniors Championship, in the final of which Cliff Wilson beat Eddie Chalrton.
In 1997, the BBC screened Seniors Pot Black, featuring many well known faces from the original series. Johnson was the eventual winner.
And in 2000, a Seniors Masters was streamed live on the internet from the RAC Club in London, won by Willie Thorne.
So would seniors snooker be a winner?
Consider the following: Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Parrott, White, Nigel Bond, Dave Harold, David Roe, Tony Drago.
All players on the main tour, all 40 or over.
Ken Doherty turns 40 later this year; Peter Ebdon does so next year.
So there are plenty of players still competing and still capable of playing to a high standard who could make a seniors tour a spectacle worth watching.
If you go back further, it becomes a little more questionable as to what sort of standard could be produced. The likes of Cliff Thorburn, Tony Knowles and Dennis Taylor are all popular stars of yesteryear, but they don’t play snooker regularly and therefore the enthusiasm for seeing them in action may wane pretty quickly.
I saw Higgins play in the Irish Professional Championship a couple of years ago. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
However, what the veterans do have is the ability to interact with the crowd. They learned their trade doing exhibitions in the days before a living could be made on the professional circuit.
They can do trick shots and tell jokes and generally entertain.
This is lacking from normal tournaments – as it should be (you don’t get Roger Federer or Tiger Woods cracking jokes when they’re playing) – but in a less serious environment it may appeal to audiences.
That said, the image of the old guard as being wisecracking ‘characters’ who didn’t take the game seriously is entirely false. The likes of Taylor, Thorburn and Ray Reardon were among the hardest matchplayers ever to take to the green baize. They despised losing and never gave an inch on the table.
My own view on seniors snooker is that it would be a novelty that would create huge interest at first and then the novelty would probably start to wear off.
As ever, it all depends on how it’s marketed and where it’s played.
I certainly think there is a market for it but, of course, someone has to pay for it, through sponsorship and/or a broadcast partner.
I think in some ways snooker’s past is a millstone around the sport’s neck. Constant comparisons with the ‘good old days’ don’t do the modern game any favours, not least because it doesn’t take into account changes in society and the complete transformation of television.
But the current professional circuit exists largely because of the efforts of those who have gone before.
I don’t think anyone would begrudge them another turn in the spotlight.
I understand there will also be a new event featuring some of the game’s most established players later this year.
Quite a few sports have events for seniors. In both golf and tennis there are thriving circuits and there are also a number of Masters football competitions.
Snooker is an obvious choice for such a circuit. After all, it isn’t a sport that depends on physical fitness, although years and years of playing can take their toll on players’ backs and, of course, things such as eyesight decline as a player gets older.
There have been seniors tournaments in the past. In 1991, Matchroom promoted a televised World Seniors Championship, in the final of which Cliff Wilson beat Eddie Chalrton.
In 1997, the BBC screened Seniors Pot Black, featuring many well known faces from the original series. Johnson was the eventual winner.
And in 2000, a Seniors Masters was streamed live on the internet from the RAC Club in London, won by Willie Thorne.
So would seniors snooker be a winner?
Consider the following: Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Parrott, White, Nigel Bond, Dave Harold, David Roe, Tony Drago.
All players on the main tour, all 40 or over.
Ken Doherty turns 40 later this year; Peter Ebdon does so next year.
So there are plenty of players still competing and still capable of playing to a high standard who could make a seniors tour a spectacle worth watching.
If you go back further, it becomes a little more questionable as to what sort of standard could be produced. The likes of Cliff Thorburn, Tony Knowles and Dennis Taylor are all popular stars of yesteryear, but they don’t play snooker regularly and therefore the enthusiasm for seeing them in action may wane pretty quickly.
I saw Higgins play in the Irish Professional Championship a couple of years ago. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
However, what the veterans do have is the ability to interact with the crowd. They learned their trade doing exhibitions in the days before a living could be made on the professional circuit.
They can do trick shots and tell jokes and generally entertain.
This is lacking from normal tournaments – as it should be (you don’t get Roger Federer or Tiger Woods cracking jokes when they’re playing) – but in a less serious environment it may appeal to audiences.
That said, the image of the old guard as being wisecracking ‘characters’ who didn’t take the game seriously is entirely false. The likes of Taylor, Thorburn and Ray Reardon were among the hardest matchplayers ever to take to the green baize. They despised losing and never gave an inch on the table.
My own view on seniors snooker is that it would be a novelty that would create huge interest at first and then the novelty would probably start to wear off.
As ever, it all depends on how it’s marketed and where it’s played.
I certainly think there is a market for it but, of course, someone has to pay for it, through sponsorship and/or a broadcast partner.
I think in some ways snooker’s past is a millstone around the sport’s neck. Constant comparisons with the ‘good old days’ don’t do the modern game any favours, not least because it doesn’t take into account changes in society and the complete transformation of television.
But the current professional circuit exists largely because of the efforts of those who have gone before.
I don’t think anyone would begrudge them another turn in the spotlight.
2.7.09
TO THE POINT
The WPBSA has changed the ranking points tariff for next season.
The two Chinese events are now worth 7,000 points apiece to the winners, as opposed to 5,000 last season.
The World Championship is once again worth 10,000 points and the UK Championship 8,000.
Winning the Grand Prix will net 7,000 points - up 750 on last season.
The Welsh Open is now well and truly the poor relation on the circuit, worth 5,000 to the eventual champion.
As two ranking tournaments have been axed, it seems sensible to up the tariffs bearing in mind the rankings are worked out over two seasons.
The two Chinese events are now worth 7,000 points apiece to the winners, as opposed to 5,000 last season.
The World Championship is once again worth 10,000 points and the UK Championship 8,000.
Winning the Grand Prix will net 7,000 points - up 750 on last season.
The Welsh Open is now well and truly the poor relation on the circuit, worth 5,000 to the eventual champion.
As two ranking tournaments have been axed, it seems sensible to up the tariffs bearing in mind the rankings are worked out over two seasons.
POTTING ALL OVER THE WORLD
The first ranking event held outside the UK was the 1988 Canadian Masters.
(Actually, the 1975 World Championship in Australia was given ranking status in retrospect, but let’s not enter that world of hurt).
Snooker had long been popular in Canada and of course produced such fine players as Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk.
Jimmy White beat Steve Davis to win the title but such are the costs involved in staging ranking tournaments that it was never held again.
Later the same season, the European Open was inaugurated and staged in Deauville, a town in France best known for its casino.
It certainly wasn’t known for snooker. Crowds were sparse and confusion reigned as to what precisely was going on, as evidenced when one player, Eugene Hughes, was mistaken for a waiter during an interval.
Hotel prices were so steep that one player ordered a beer and a sandwich and was charged the equivalent of £42.
One day, the MC did his introductions in French to the few spectators who had rolled in only to be asked to repeat them in English as they had come over from Portsmouth.
It was a disaster. And so, inevitably, the tournament returned to France the next year.
This time it was held in Lyon, which again failed to embrace snooker. This was in the days before blanket coverage on Eurosport.
In 1989, the Australian Open was announced. There was, however, one snag: it would be played in Hong Kong.
Certain assurances were made by the local promoter in Melbourne. However, the address he gave for his ‘business’ turned out to be a local bus shelter.
Mike Hallett would win what was, surprisingly, his only ranking title in Hong Kong before the first really significant step for the WPBSA outside British shores was made: the Asian Open in Bangkok.
Thailand had a young player called James Wattana who everyone recognised as being a great prospect.
But he exceeded all expectations by going all the way to the final before losing 9-6 to Stephen Hendry. His run sparked a snooker boom in his native land that lasted for the next decade.
Thailand became a regular stopping off point for the circuit and for a couple of years staged two ranking events in the same season.
Booms don’t last forever (China beware) and as Wattana’s form dipped, so did the interest. But when he won his home title in 1994 and 1995, the excitement and enthusiasm was a match for anything snooker has ever seen.
Dubai, like Thailand, had been a territory where Barry Hearn’s Matchroom organisation had staged invitation events in the 1980s, building up the interest.
The WPBSA took over the tournament in 1989 and Hearn was so angry that he instructed his players not to compete.
From these difficult beginnings, the event became established as one of the most popular destinations for snooker, played in luxurious, sun drenched surroundings.
There were ranking events too in the 1990s in Belgium, Holland and Germany. Malta staged eight in total between 1996 and 2007, thanks to the commitment of local promoters Richard Balani and Joe Zammit.
China is not, as some seem to believe, a recent convert to the game. It staged its first ranking event in 1990.
From 1999 to 2002 it hosted four more before financial problems led to the China Open disappearing from the calendar.
The then commercial team of the WPBSA took a chance in 2005 by putting it back on in Beijing. It proved to be an inspired decision. Ding Junhui won the title and the new boom sparked.
There are now two fully funded ranking tournaments in China, with possibilities of more to come.
Of course, travelling so far from home has, at times, caused problems for the players, never more so than for Graeme Dott in 2002 when he missed a series of connecting flights, slept through his alarm call, was taken the wrong way in a taxi to the venue, got there late, was docked two frames and lost.
Mark Selby also famously tried to get to the venue in the middle of the night, disorientated to the extent that he thought it was the afternoon, despite it being pitch black outside.
China is the biggest country in the world and the progress made there represents a step forward for snooker.
But Europe, too, is a huge market and Eurosport has brought the game to legions of new fans.
More than ever, the future of snooker belongs outside the UK.
The sport’s had a chequered history when it’s travelled away from British shores but there are many lands still to conquer.
Let’s hope they are conquered in the years to come.
(Actually, the 1975 World Championship in Australia was given ranking status in retrospect, but let’s not enter that world of hurt).
Snooker had long been popular in Canada and of course produced such fine players as Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk.
Jimmy White beat Steve Davis to win the title but such are the costs involved in staging ranking tournaments that it was never held again.
Later the same season, the European Open was inaugurated and staged in Deauville, a town in France best known for its casino.
It certainly wasn’t known for snooker. Crowds were sparse and confusion reigned as to what precisely was going on, as evidenced when one player, Eugene Hughes, was mistaken for a waiter during an interval.
Hotel prices were so steep that one player ordered a beer and a sandwich and was charged the equivalent of £42.
One day, the MC did his introductions in French to the few spectators who had rolled in only to be asked to repeat them in English as they had come over from Portsmouth.
It was a disaster. And so, inevitably, the tournament returned to France the next year.
This time it was held in Lyon, which again failed to embrace snooker. This was in the days before blanket coverage on Eurosport.
In 1989, the Australian Open was announced. There was, however, one snag: it would be played in Hong Kong.
Certain assurances were made by the local promoter in Melbourne. However, the address he gave for his ‘business’ turned out to be a local bus shelter.
Mike Hallett would win what was, surprisingly, his only ranking title in Hong Kong before the first really significant step for the WPBSA outside British shores was made: the Asian Open in Bangkok.
Thailand had a young player called James Wattana who everyone recognised as being a great prospect.
But he exceeded all expectations by going all the way to the final before losing 9-6 to Stephen Hendry. His run sparked a snooker boom in his native land that lasted for the next decade.
Thailand became a regular stopping off point for the circuit and for a couple of years staged two ranking events in the same season.
Booms don’t last forever (China beware) and as Wattana’s form dipped, so did the interest. But when he won his home title in 1994 and 1995, the excitement and enthusiasm was a match for anything snooker has ever seen.
Dubai, like Thailand, had been a territory where Barry Hearn’s Matchroom organisation had staged invitation events in the 1980s, building up the interest.
The WPBSA took over the tournament in 1989 and Hearn was so angry that he instructed his players not to compete.
From these difficult beginnings, the event became established as one of the most popular destinations for snooker, played in luxurious, sun drenched surroundings.
There were ranking events too in the 1990s in Belgium, Holland and Germany. Malta staged eight in total between 1996 and 2007, thanks to the commitment of local promoters Richard Balani and Joe Zammit.
China is not, as some seem to believe, a recent convert to the game. It staged its first ranking event in 1990.
From 1999 to 2002 it hosted four more before financial problems led to the China Open disappearing from the calendar.
The then commercial team of the WPBSA took a chance in 2005 by putting it back on in Beijing. It proved to be an inspired decision. Ding Junhui won the title and the new boom sparked.
There are now two fully funded ranking tournaments in China, with possibilities of more to come.
Of course, travelling so far from home has, at times, caused problems for the players, never more so than for Graeme Dott in 2002 when he missed a series of connecting flights, slept through his alarm call, was taken the wrong way in a taxi to the venue, got there late, was docked two frames and lost.
Mark Selby also famously tried to get to the venue in the middle of the night, disorientated to the extent that he thought it was the afternoon, despite it being pitch black outside.
China is the biggest country in the world and the progress made there represents a step forward for snooker.
But Europe, too, is a huge market and Eurosport has brought the game to legions of new fans.
More than ever, the future of snooker belongs outside the UK.
The sport’s had a chequered history when it’s travelled away from British shores but there are many lands still to conquer.
Let’s hope they are conquered in the years to come.
1.7.09
PAST MASTERS#7
This week, one of the icons of boom time snooker...
Kirk Stevens was snooker’s man in the white suit: a stylish, entertaining Canadian who will forever be associated with the 147 he made at the 1984 Masters and then a sad, drug addicted, fall from grace.
Good looking and sporting a white suit, he resembled John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever during the game’s rock ‘n’ roll years of the 1980s.
He reached as high as fourth in the world rankings and was a Crucible semi-finalist in 1980 and 1984.
Indeed, he came close both times to reaching the final, losing 16-13 to Alex Higgins and then 16-14 to Jimmy White.
Stevens was among a varied cast of characters who flourished in snooker’s boom period and made up a kind of holy trinity of Canadian players alongside Cliff Thorburn and Bill Werbeniuk who together won the World Team Cup in 1982.
Stevens’s 147 at Wembley in 1984 rates as one of the most exciting maximum breaks ever seen, given the time – there had only previously been two on TV – and the atmosphere, his opponent being London’s favourite, White.
The actor Donald Sutherland was in town and this was the first frame of live snooker he had ever seen.
He must have wondered if the crowd got up and cheered to the rafters after every frame.
It was an iconic moment of the 1980s boom, but life would take a darker turn for the popular Stevens.
In 1985, he played South African Silvino Francisco in the British Open final. During a break in play, Francisco accused Stevens in the toilet of being ‘high as a kite’ on drugs.
He made off the record allegations to a journalist which were tape recorded and then reported.
Eventually, Stevens confessed to a newspaper that he was ‘hopelessly addicted’ to cocaine. The paper paid for his treatment in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Toronto.
This was a private problem played out on the front pages of the national press.
It was an addiction that almost cost him his life and eventually cost him his professional career.
Stevens drifted down the rankings and eventually dropped off the tour in 1993.
He headed back to Canada and undertook a number of jobs, as varied as a car salesman and lumberjack.
Stevens re-qualified in 1998 through winning the North American play-off and spent one more season on the circuit but could not recapture former glories.
Now 50, he still plays and last year won the Canadian Championship, which enabled him to play in the IBSF World Amateur Championship.
If a seniors tour ever got off the ground, Stevens would be a popular draw.
For all his problems, he contributed to a large degree in the excitement of that golden time when snooker ruled the TV airwaves.
Kirk Stevens was snooker’s man in the white suit: a stylish, entertaining Canadian who will forever be associated with the 147 he made at the 1984 Masters and then a sad, drug addicted, fall from grace.
Good looking and sporting a white suit, he resembled John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever during the game’s rock ‘n’ roll years of the 1980s.
He reached as high as fourth in the world rankings and was a Crucible semi-finalist in 1980 and 1984.
Indeed, he came close both times to reaching the final, losing 16-13 to Alex Higgins and then 16-14 to Jimmy White.
Stevens was among a varied cast of characters who flourished in snooker’s boom period and made up a kind of holy trinity of Canadian players alongside Cliff Thorburn and Bill Werbeniuk who together won the World Team Cup in 1982.
Stevens’s 147 at Wembley in 1984 rates as one of the most exciting maximum breaks ever seen, given the time – there had only previously been two on TV – and the atmosphere, his opponent being London’s favourite, White.
The actor Donald Sutherland was in town and this was the first frame of live snooker he had ever seen.
He must have wondered if the crowd got up and cheered to the rafters after every frame.
It was an iconic moment of the 1980s boom, but life would take a darker turn for the popular Stevens.
In 1985, he played South African Silvino Francisco in the British Open final. During a break in play, Francisco accused Stevens in the toilet of being ‘high as a kite’ on drugs.
He made off the record allegations to a journalist which were tape recorded and then reported.
Eventually, Stevens confessed to a newspaper that he was ‘hopelessly addicted’ to cocaine. The paper paid for his treatment in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Toronto.
This was a private problem played out on the front pages of the national press.
It was an addiction that almost cost him his life and eventually cost him his professional career.
Stevens drifted down the rankings and eventually dropped off the tour in 1993.
He headed back to Canada and undertook a number of jobs, as varied as a car salesman and lumberjack.
Stevens re-qualified in 1998 through winning the North American play-off and spent one more season on the circuit but could not recapture former glories.
Now 50, he still plays and last year won the Canadian Championship, which enabled him to play in the IBSF World Amateur Championship.
If a seniors tour ever got off the ground, Stevens would be a popular draw.
For all his problems, he contributed to a large degree in the excitement of that golden time when snooker ruled the TV airwaves.
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