Well done to Peter Lines, who has qualified for the final stages of a ranking tournament for the first time in seven years following his 9-6 defeat of Nigel Bond in the Pukka Pies UK Championship.
His last appearance at a main tour final venue was at Telford for the 2002 British Open and he is heading back to the town's International Centre to face Marco Fu in a week's time.
Peter was recognised as a terrific talent when he turned professional in 1991.
This was when the game was open and there were over 600 professionals, so it was tough to make progress but Lines enjoyed early wins over the likes of Martin Clark, Mike Hallett and Willie Thorne.
On his only Crucible appearance in 1998, he lost to John Parrott but made a 141 total clearance.
Lines beat John Higgins in the 1999 China Open in Shanghai and reached his only ranking event quarter-final, where he was beaten 5-4 by Brian Morgan.
His highest ranking was 42nd in the 1999/00 season.
Lines declined in recent seasons but showed excellent form in the UK qualifiers, making two centuries in his first match and three in the last four frames of his second.
In recent times he received coaching and advice from Steve Prest, who sadly died earlier this year.
And Peter's son, Oliver, has also shown evidence of his potential during junior tournaments.
It's good to see a player regarded as a journeyman clawing his way out of the qualifiers to be part of a tournament, although he will likely have to raise another gear to go any further in the event.
30.11.09
EUROSPORT TO SHOW QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS
Eurosport will screen a two hour highlights programme from the qualifying competition for the Pukka Pies UK Championship on Thursday, from 12.45-2.45pm UK time.
This is the first time action from the qualifiers will have been shown on television.
Live coverage from Prestatyn continues today on 110sport.tv.
This is the first time action from the qualifiers will have been shown on television.
Live coverage from Prestatyn continues today on 110sport.tv.
29.11.09
SELBY: TIME FOR A CHANGE
Mark Selby has spoken out in support of Barry Hearn ahead of Wednesday's crunch WPBSA AGM.
Hearn has said he would accept the chairmanship of the governing body if Sir Rodney Walker is voted out by the players.
Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins are among the top stars supporting a vote against Walker while Steve Davis last week went on national radio to campaign for change.
Writing on his blog, Selby said: "The game certainly cannot get any worse than it is at the moment. If someone like Barry Hearn was to come in, that could be what turns around our sport.
"Hearn would not be seen as a risk as he has proven before what he is capable of. You only have to look at the darts to see what a difference he can make."
Selby, the world no.7, decribed the current set up of the professional circuit as a 'farce.'
He said: "Snooker is still a massive sport and the viewing figures for tournaments are always high. I know we’ve been hit by the credit crunch, but what I don’t understand is why snooker is in such a bad state.
"You look at a sport like darts and that is still surviving during these hard times, so why isn’t snooker? Why are we losing tournaments? Why are we down to just six this season?
"Maybe the people behind the scenes are just not working out, so maybe it is time for a change of key personnel, a breath of fresh air.
"The fact that we’ve got only six ranking tournaments this season is a farce. There is too much of a gap between each event – it’s been six weeks since the last tournament!
"We are classed as professionals but, really, we are hardly more than part-time. The gap is so big we could get another job in between tournaments.
"The money is still decent if you are a top-16 pro, you can expect to earn a healthy amount during the course of the season, even if you don’t perform particularly well.
"The ones I feel most sorry for are the players outside the top 64. They are classed as pros but they don’t get enough money to be able to survive. But for me it’s not about the money. All I want to do is play snooker, but it makes it hard to do that when there are only six tournaments."
Selby is hopeful that World Snooker's new tie-up with IMG will yield more tournaments, saying it "would undoubtedly be good for snooker and for the players."
You can read his blog entry in full here.
Hearn has said he would accept the chairmanship of the governing body if Sir Rodney Walker is voted out by the players.
Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins are among the top stars supporting a vote against Walker while Steve Davis last week went on national radio to campaign for change.
Writing on his blog, Selby said: "The game certainly cannot get any worse than it is at the moment. If someone like Barry Hearn was to come in, that could be what turns around our sport.
"Hearn would not be seen as a risk as he has proven before what he is capable of. You only have to look at the darts to see what a difference he can make."
Selby, the world no.7, decribed the current set up of the professional circuit as a 'farce.'
He said: "Snooker is still a massive sport and the viewing figures for tournaments are always high. I know we’ve been hit by the credit crunch, but what I don’t understand is why snooker is in such a bad state.
"You look at a sport like darts and that is still surviving during these hard times, so why isn’t snooker? Why are we losing tournaments? Why are we down to just six this season?
"Maybe the people behind the scenes are just not working out, so maybe it is time for a change of key personnel, a breath of fresh air.
"The fact that we’ve got only six ranking tournaments this season is a farce. There is too much of a gap between each event – it’s been six weeks since the last tournament!
"We are classed as professionals but, really, we are hardly more than part-time. The gap is so big we could get another job in between tournaments.
"The money is still decent if you are a top-16 pro, you can expect to earn a healthy amount during the course of the season, even if you don’t perform particularly well.
"The ones I feel most sorry for are the players outside the top 64. They are classed as pros but they don’t get enough money to be able to survive. But for me it’s not about the money. All I want to do is play snooker, but it makes it hard to do that when there are only six tournaments."
Selby is hopeful that World Snooker's new tie-up with IMG will yield more tournaments, saying it "would undoubtedly be good for snooker and for the players."
You can read his blog entry in full here.
28.11.09
BARRY HEARN INTERVIEW
The Snooker Forum has conducted an interview with Barry Hearn to investigate what he would do if he became WPBSA chairman.
Wisely, Hearn does not make a string of pie-in-the-sky promises. He admits that he cannot have a business plan in place until he inspects the current state of the governing body from the inside.
But he states that he wants the World Championship to remain on the BBC and will 'absolutely not' be cutting the number of players on the tour.
Hearn adds that he wants to institute a Pro Tour of 25 small events building up to a Players Championship, as on his PDC darts tour, to provide more playing opportunities for professionals.
And he says his number one priority is to inject some fun back into the sport and foreground the players more.
You can listen to the interview here.
Wisely, Hearn does not make a string of pie-in-the-sky promises. He admits that he cannot have a business plan in place until he inspects the current state of the governing body from the inside.
But he states that he wants the World Championship to remain on the BBC and will 'absolutely not' be cutting the number of players on the tour.
Hearn adds that he wants to institute a Pro Tour of 25 small events building up to a Players Championship, as on his PDC darts tour, to provide more playing opportunities for professionals.
And he says his number one priority is to inject some fun back into the sport and foreground the players more.
You can listen to the interview here.
27.11.09
QUALIFIERS RETURN TO 110SPORT.TV
The last three days of the Pukka Pies UK Championship qualifiers will be screened free to registered users on 110sport.tv.
For more details, visit their website.
For more details, visit their website.
DAVIS: 'I'LL BE VOTING NO IN CONFIDENCE VOTE'
Steve Davis appeared on BBC radio this morning to express his support for a vote of no confidence in World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker.
Davis said proposals to expand the tour should be explored - but with Barry Hearn as chairman instead.
Rather than selectively quoting Davis, I run his quotes from this morning's interview verbatim below:
"This announcement is off the back of the fact that in six days there’s an AGM and a lot of the players are very frustrated that there are only six ranking events for them to play in during the year – only six – and all of a sudden the board are looking for a way to get votes because there’s a very real possibility there will be a no confidence vote.
"Interestingly, Barry Hearn has said that if enough players vote for no confidence in the board he will be happy, should the players want him to, to try and resurrect snooker like he’s effectively done to darts.
"So we’re in a situation with only a week to go where there’s a bit of political manoeuvring going on. However, it’s not the board’s idea, this tour, it’s an outside operation who have decided that perhaps it could work so it is worth exploring.
"So the bottom line for the players is who you want to do the negotiating for you: do you want the board who have got us down to six ranking events for the season or do you want Barry Hearn to negotiate on your behalf as somebody who has turned darts into a multi-million pound sport?
"There has been disquiet, it must be said, about the current set up of the board. Nothing personal, just whether they are competent enough.
"The actual (tour) idea is not of the board’s making so there is the possibility that there could be something on the horizon but the trouble is if the board are trying to make it sound like it’s their idea then they’re wrong.
"But it needs to be explored because if there was the possibility that there could be 15 or 20 events around the world of different standing then the players would obviously jump at it. Effectively it’s a case of in the end, if there was a proposal on the table, do you want the board who have not exactly been fantastically viewed by the players in the last few years or is there another avenue?
"Of course this also comes off the back of the financial report that’s just come out and it appears, going from what Clive Everton’s told us recently through his Snooker Scene magazine, that they’ve done a bit of a banking industry, that while the money for the players has gone down that the board have been paid more.
"For that reason alone when we come to the AGM next week I’ll be voting no.
"Morale amongst the players has been so low recently, so desperate, even players ranked in the 20s and 30s really thinking about getting jobs because they’re not getting any prize money out of only six events a year. They’ve really lost confidence and that’s what the AGM will really be about.
"The problem is, something comes on the table that sounds great, the players are in such a weak situation that they may jump at any chance, and it is a credible sort of idea that may come alive but you need somebody who actually has some nous in the business world to try and negotiate on your behalf and I’m not absolutely sure whether we’ve got the right people in.
"We’ve been down this road before, getting rid of boards, getting in another board, hoping that the next board comes along but snooker, morale wise among the players, has never been worse."
Davis said proposals to expand the tour should be explored - but with Barry Hearn as chairman instead.
Rather than selectively quoting Davis, I run his quotes from this morning's interview verbatim below:
"This announcement is off the back of the fact that in six days there’s an AGM and a lot of the players are very frustrated that there are only six ranking events for them to play in during the year – only six – and all of a sudden the board are looking for a way to get votes because there’s a very real possibility there will be a no confidence vote.
"Interestingly, Barry Hearn has said that if enough players vote for no confidence in the board he will be happy, should the players want him to, to try and resurrect snooker like he’s effectively done to darts.
"So we’re in a situation with only a week to go where there’s a bit of political manoeuvring going on. However, it’s not the board’s idea, this tour, it’s an outside operation who have decided that perhaps it could work so it is worth exploring.
"So the bottom line for the players is who you want to do the negotiating for you: do you want the board who have got us down to six ranking events for the season or do you want Barry Hearn to negotiate on your behalf as somebody who has turned darts into a multi-million pound sport?
"There has been disquiet, it must be said, about the current set up of the board. Nothing personal, just whether they are competent enough.
"The actual (tour) idea is not of the board’s making so there is the possibility that there could be something on the horizon but the trouble is if the board are trying to make it sound like it’s their idea then they’re wrong.
"But it needs to be explored because if there was the possibility that there could be 15 or 20 events around the world of different standing then the players would obviously jump at it. Effectively it’s a case of in the end, if there was a proposal on the table, do you want the board who have not exactly been fantastically viewed by the players in the last few years or is there another avenue?
"Of course this also comes off the back of the financial report that’s just come out and it appears, going from what Clive Everton’s told us recently through his Snooker Scene magazine, that they’ve done a bit of a banking industry, that while the money for the players has gone down that the board have been paid more.
"For that reason alone when we come to the AGM next week I’ll be voting no.
"Morale amongst the players has been so low recently, so desperate, even players ranked in the 20s and 30s really thinking about getting jobs because they’re not getting any prize money out of only six events a year. They’ve really lost confidence and that’s what the AGM will really be about.
"The problem is, something comes on the table that sounds great, the players are in such a weak situation that they may jump at any chance, and it is a credible sort of idea that may come alive but you need somebody who actually has some nous in the business world to try and negotiate on your behalf and I’m not absolutely sure whether we’ve got the right people in.
"We’ve been down this road before, getting rid of boards, getting in another board, hoping that the next board comes along but snooker, morale wise among the players, has never been worse."
26.11.09
CRUCIAL VOTE LATEST
Votes are about to be counted in a crucial contest that everyone agrees is likely to be very close.
And it could spell major disappointment for one of the snooker world's most senior figures.
Yes, Jimmy White is up for eviction from I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.
Jimmy has hardly featured in the edit of the show so far, which is a shame because it means the public at home haven't had much chance to get to know him.
He's up against Sam Fox and Sabrina Washington, neither of whom he has met in professional competition before.
And it could spell major disappointment for one of the snooker world's most senior figures.
Yes, Jimmy White is up for eviction from I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.
Jimmy has hardly featured in the edit of the show so far, which is a shame because it means the public at home haven't had much chance to get to know him.
He's up against Sam Fox and Sabrina Washington, neither of whom he has met in professional competition before.
SIR RODNEY WALKER INTERVIEW
The Independent has an interview with Sir Rodney Walker in which he talks about the new tour plans.
You can read it here.
You can read it here.
WALKER PROMISES NINE NEW RANKING EVENTS
Sir Rodney Walker, who is battling to remain WPBSA chairman, has said there will be “a minimum of 15 professional ranking tournaments, plus invitation events” played in the first year of a new World Snooker Tour.
He says these events will be ‘phased in’ next season.
World Snooker Limited has entered into a new partnership with IMG, the leading sports, entertainment and media company.
They say they will “will work closely with independent promoters worldwide in the planning of the World Snooker Tour and replicate the success of established tournaments in the UK and China.”
Walker said: “We have brought forward today’s announcement of the proposed World Snooker Tour in response to misleading, inaccurate and downright untruthful comments about the sport which have been made in the past few months. In the last five years, the sport has progressed from an uncertain financial position with a history of turmoil, to a sport with financial stability, renewed long-term worldwide broadcast contracts and new sponsorship agreements.
“Together with IMG we believe the time is now right to build on these underlying strengths to put in place a World Snooker Tour. We hope the players and promoters will recognise the opportunities of being part of this ambitious plan and help in bringing it to fruition.”
Bearing in mind there are only six ranking events currently scheduled for this season, it will mean a 150% increase if 15 – a minimum figure, remember – take place next season.
However, I welcome World Snooker’s partnership with IMG. Many will wonder why they didn’t enter into such an arrangement five, ten or even 15 years ago.
IMG are, after all, world leaders in television production and distribution, although they are no longer World Snooker’s sponsorship agents.
If snooker does – at long last – become a global sport in the manner of golf and tennis as a result of this arrangement then it will be the most significant development in the professional game since the televised circuit as we know it was established in the early 1980s.
But, interestingly, the official press release does not make any mention of the deal being off if Walker is voted out as chairman.
And World Snooker hasn’t announced a new tour, they’ve announced ‘plans’ for a new tour. They say the ‘intention’ is to put on these events, that they ‘envisage’ 15 ranking tournaments and that it’s ‘anticipated’ the events will be phased in next season.
What this tells us is that this is a plan – potentially a very good one – but I remember Walker announcing ‘plans’ for an Asian Tour of China, Thailand and Macao and only the Chinese event went ahead.
I guess time, as ever, will tell as to whether this latest ‘plan’ leads to snooker becoming the professional sport we all want to see. If it does then Walker can remain chairman forever as far as I’m concerned.
But the more pertinent question right now is this: will today’s announcement be sufficient to keep him in his job by this time next week?
He says these events will be ‘phased in’ next season.
World Snooker Limited has entered into a new partnership with IMG, the leading sports, entertainment and media company.
They say they will “will work closely with independent promoters worldwide in the planning of the World Snooker Tour and replicate the success of established tournaments in the UK and China.”
Walker said: “We have brought forward today’s announcement of the proposed World Snooker Tour in response to misleading, inaccurate and downright untruthful comments about the sport which have been made in the past few months. In the last five years, the sport has progressed from an uncertain financial position with a history of turmoil, to a sport with financial stability, renewed long-term worldwide broadcast contracts and new sponsorship agreements.
“Together with IMG we believe the time is now right to build on these underlying strengths to put in place a World Snooker Tour. We hope the players and promoters will recognise the opportunities of being part of this ambitious plan and help in bringing it to fruition.”
Bearing in mind there are only six ranking events currently scheduled for this season, it will mean a 150% increase if 15 – a minimum figure, remember – take place next season.
However, I welcome World Snooker’s partnership with IMG. Many will wonder why they didn’t enter into such an arrangement five, ten or even 15 years ago.
IMG are, after all, world leaders in television production and distribution, although they are no longer World Snooker’s sponsorship agents.
If snooker does – at long last – become a global sport in the manner of golf and tennis as a result of this arrangement then it will be the most significant development in the professional game since the televised circuit as we know it was established in the early 1980s.
But, interestingly, the official press release does not make any mention of the deal being off if Walker is voted out as chairman.
And World Snooker hasn’t announced a new tour, they’ve announced ‘plans’ for a new tour. They say the ‘intention’ is to put on these events, that they ‘envisage’ 15 ranking tournaments and that it’s ‘anticipated’ the events will be phased in next season.
What this tells us is that this is a plan – potentially a very good one – but I remember Walker announcing ‘plans’ for an Asian Tour of China, Thailand and Macao and only the Chinese event went ahead.
I guess time, as ever, will tell as to whether this latest ‘plan’ leads to snooker becoming the professional sport we all want to see. If it does then Walker can remain chairman forever as far as I’m concerned.
But the more pertinent question right now is this: will today’s announcement be sufficient to keep him in his job by this time next week?
I'VE STARTED SO...
John Higgins (not pictured left) is to appear on the BBC's Celebrity Mastermind answering questions about the American soap opera Dallas.World champion Higgins, an old fan of the show, has been honing his knowledge by watching DVD box sets.
Dallas, an iconic programme of the late 70s/early 80s, famously featured a storyline in which oil baron J.R. Ewing was shot.
The episode in which his assailant was revealed set a new record viewing audience in the USA and was watched by 350m people around the world.
There was also an entire season which turned out to be one character's dream as Patrick Duffy, who had been killed off as Bobby Ewing, decided to return and duly pitched up in the shower, alive and well.
Good luck to John, who is playing for charity. The series will be aired around the festive period.
25.11.09
POTS IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?
Alfie Burden looks set to return to the professional circuit after beating Brazilian Igor Figueiredo 10-8 to win the IBSF world amateur title in Hyderabad, India today.
Burden, whose highest ranking was 38th from 2001 to 2003, led 3-0 but found his South American opponent very difficult to shake off.
Indeed, Figueiredo led 6-5 but Burden won three frames in succession, the last with a break of 103, to secure an 8-6 advantage.
Figueiredo refused to give up but Harrow cueman Burden did enough to capture the trophy.
The world amateur champion is usually offered a place on the main tour.
Congratulations to Alfie, who follows in the footsteps of the likes of Doug Mountjoy, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and James Wattana.
But credit must also go to Figueiredo, who until April of this year had only played ten red snooker on a ten foot table.
If he keeps improving, he could become snooker's first South American professional.
Burden, whose highest ranking was 38th from 2001 to 2003, led 3-0 but found his South American opponent very difficult to shake off.
Indeed, Figueiredo led 6-5 but Burden won three frames in succession, the last with a break of 103, to secure an 8-6 advantage.
Figueiredo refused to give up but Harrow cueman Burden did enough to capture the trophy.
The world amateur champion is usually offered a place on the main tour.
Congratulations to Alfie, who follows in the footsteps of the likes of Doug Mountjoy, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and James Wattana.
But credit must also go to Figueiredo, who until April of this year had only played ten red snooker on a ten foot table.
If he keeps improving, he could become snooker's first South American professional.
TAKE A LUCA AT THIS
24.11.09
SIMPLE FOR SIMON
I wrote yesterday that 9-0 scorelines are relatively rare but we've now had another at the UK qualifiers with Simon Bedford whitewashing Joe Jogia.
Bedford's highest break was only 45 but he won five frames on the colours.
His reward is a second round meeting with Davey Morris.
Bedford's highest break was only 45 but he won five frames on the colours.
His reward is a second round meeting with Davey Morris.
THE BOY FROM BRAZIL
A remarkable story from India where Igor Figueiredo of Brazil has reached the final of the IBSF world amateur championship.
Until April of this year, he had only ever played snooker on a ten foot table as is common in Brazil.
But today he defeated Yu Delu of China 7-4 in the semi-finals and will face former professional Alfie Burden, a 7-3 winner over Phil Williams, in the final.
South America has never produced a snooker professional but should Figueiredo win tomorrow he will be eligible to join the main tour next season.
Until April of this year, he had only ever played snooker on a ten foot table as is common in Brazil.
But today he defeated Yu Delu of China 7-4 in the semi-finals and will face former professional Alfie Burden, a 7-3 winner over Phil Williams, in the final.
South America has never produced a snooker professional but should Figueiredo win tomorrow he will be eligible to join the main tour next season.
THE 2000s: MURPHY'S LAW
Shaun Murphy’s capture of the 2005 World Championship came out of the blue.Murphy had been earmarked as ‘one to watch’ for a number of years, which is usually a poisoned chalice because if results don’t come quickly it gives people the chance to say ‘he’s not as good as they say.’
Well, Murphy proved he was as good as had been suggested.
He had to qualify for the Crucible in 2005. Indeed, he nearly missed out, scraping past Joe Swail 10-8 to reach Sheffield for a third time.
On his first appearance three years earlier he had drawn Stephen Hendry. After losing, he came into the small press conference room to face the assembled media. This can be a forbidding experience for even hardened competitors let alone rookies.
But Murphy took it all in his stride. His self confidence has never been lacking and he spoke of how he wanted to be remembered in the same breath as Hendry and Steve Davis.
A year later, Ken Doherty beat him 10-9 on the black. In 2004, Murphy reached the British Open semi-finals but this hardly pointed to his extraordinary success at the Crucible a few months later.
In the first round he drew Chris Small, by then seriously afflicted by a disease of the spine. Murphy came through before knocking out John Higgins in the second round and thus proving he could handle the game’s big names on its biggest stage.
Davis fell in the quarter-finals and Peter Ebdon provided a stern test in the semis but Murphy won all five frames of the final session to beat him 17-12.
Matthew Stevens held the clear advantage after day one of the final but Murphy, whose rock solid technique is allied to a similarly fierce temperament, never gave up and won 12 of the final day’s 18 frames to win 18-16 and, at just 22, achieve a lifetime’s ambition.
Murphy became the first qualifier since Terry Griffiths in 1979 to win the world title.
His was the last victory under Embassy’s sponsorship and seemed to indicate the end of one era and the start of another.
It hasn’t quite turned out that way but Murphy, firmly ensconced in the world’s top four, is well placed at the age of 27 to achieve plenty more success in the years to come.
He added the UK Championship trophy to his haul of silverware last season and has also won two Malta Cups.
He was in the world final against last season and I would personally be surprised if he didn’t win it again.
23.11.09
BRAVEHEART WALLACE IN WHITEWASH WIN
Patrick Wallace was a man in a hurry at the Pukka Pies UK Championship qualifiers today.
The former Crucible quarter-finalist whitewashed Mark Boyle 9-0, rounding off with breaks of 96 and 97.
Such a scoreline is relatively rare these days due to the highly competitive standard of play seen in Prestatyn.
Wallace's reward is a second round meeting with John Parrott, the 1991 UK champion.
Meanwhile, Wallace's fellow Northern Irishman Jordan Brown, also a Snooker Scene columnist, narrowly missed out on a new world record.
He won a frame 97-87 against Lee Spick. The aggregate score of 184 is just one fewer than the 185 set between Sean Storey and Graham Cripsey in the qualifiers for the 1992 Asian Open.
You're right, I should get out more.
The former Crucible quarter-finalist whitewashed Mark Boyle 9-0, rounding off with breaks of 96 and 97.
Such a scoreline is relatively rare these days due to the highly competitive standard of play seen in Prestatyn.
Wallace's reward is a second round meeting with John Parrott, the 1991 UK champion.
Meanwhile, Wallace's fellow Northern Irishman Jordan Brown, also a Snooker Scene columnist, narrowly missed out on a new world record.
He won a frame 97-87 against Lee Spick. The aggregate score of 184 is just one fewer than the 185 set between Sean Storey and Graham Cripsey in the qualifiers for the 1992 Asian Open.
You're right, I should get out more.
THE 2000s: CHINA IN THEIR HANDS
The first world ranking staged in China was in 1990. The second was in 1999.But in the 2000s, China’s place as a central powerbase for snooker was cemented, largely due to the exploits of one of its own sons.
Ding Junhui was invited to the 2002 China Open in Shanghai as a 14 year-old wildcard. He had been identified as a promising up-and-comer in the Chinese junior ranks and took two frames off Mark Selby.
Peter Ebdon described him as “the finest 15 year-old I have ever seen” and a huge amount of hype began to swirl around him.
It increased when, in 2002, he won the Asian under 21 title, the Asian amateur title and then the IBSF world amateur title.
In 2003, he was given a wildcard to compete on the main tour. Talk about a culture shock, from China he came to play full time in the UK where, like so many, he found the qualifiers tough.
Inevitably the knives were almost immediately out for him but Ding put up a good showing when, at 16, he became the youngest player ever to compete in the Wembley Masters, beating Joe Perry before losing in a decider to Stephen Lee.
Due to financial problems afflicting the sport, the China Open was not staged for three years until returning in 2005 on a one year deal.
Ding was excused having to qualify and selected instead as a wildcard so that his home fans could see him up close.
His performance in the event was sensational. He turned 18 that week but played like an experienced old hand, not a relative rookie.
Ding defeated Marco Fu, Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty to reach the final and then, in front of an estimated viewing audience of 110 million in China, beat Stephen Hendry 9-5 to win the title.
Because he was a wildcard he did not, officially at least, bank any prize money and actually went down in the rankings.
But Ding’s victory was worth plenty to snooker. It lit the blue touch paper for a bona fide boom that has seen millions of Chinese take to the green baize.
When people ask me what the best event I’ve ever attended is, I would name this 2005 China Open.
It was wonderful to see the reaction of the home crowd to Ding’s success and there was a feeling, justified as it has transpired, that it would be very important to the future of snooker.
There are now two ranking tournaments in China, both financially underwritten by the Chinese.
Players are treated like Hollywood film stars, walking the red carpet on tournament launch days and pursued relentlessly by autograph and photograph hunters.
More tournaments will surely follow, particularly as Chinese players improve.
Liu Song reached the 2007 Grand Prix quarter-finals, Liu Chuang qualified for the Crucible in 2008 and, at that same event, Liang Wenbo reached the quarter-finals.
Liang was also runner-up this year in the Shanghai Masters and it is very likely China will have two players in the elite top 16 alongside Hong Kong’s Marco Fu next season.
Ding remains the standard bearer for a nation, even though his form went off the boil after he added the 2005 UK Championship and 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy to his ranking tournament tally.
Efforts to take the World Championship to the Far East were repelled in this decade.
But if China continues to make inroads into snooker, it may be harder to avoid in the next one.
22.11.09
WHO RULES UK?
The Pukka Pies UK Championship is second in importance only to the Betfred.com World Championship and it will take eight days of qualifying, starting tomorrow, to produce the 16 players who will join the elite top 16 in Telford next month.
Matches are best of 17 frames as opposed to the standard best of nine and competition will be fierce at the qualifying school in Prestatyn.
Judd Trump is a player bang under pressure having failed to win a match in the season’s first two events, the Shanghai Masters and Grand Prix.
However, the talented 20 year-old has performed very well on his debut in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League and takes his place alongside three former world champions – Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy – in the play-offs next weekend.
It’s a long drive from Hopton in Norfolk to Prestatyn but if Trump beats O’Sullivan to reach the final next Sunday night he will have to get to North Wales by 10am the following day.
Not the best preparation for such a crunch match, particularly one that will be played over two sessions.
But at least Trump isn’t in denial about the way his season is turning out.
“This match is really big for me because I can’t afford to lose. There will be a lot of pressure but hopefully it will turn out well on the day. I want to keep moving up the rankings but this season hasn’t been great for me so far,” he told worldsnooker.com last week.
Longer matches tend to mean fewer shocks so it would be a surprise if Ricky Walden and Liang Wenbo, both of whom are provisionally ranked inside the top 16, missed out on a place in the TV stages.
Jamie Cope may have ordinarily been heavily backed but could have to play ex-world champion Ken Doherty, who has enjoyed a major resurgence this season after two desperately frustrating years.
Those of a sentimental nature will support Steve Davis, who won the first of his six UK titles 29 years ago.
If the 52 year-old wins his qualifying match he will play his fellow legend Stephen Hendry in the opening round in Telford.
Obviously, players who only have to win one match have it easier than those who enter the qualifiers in the earlier rounds.
But Matt Selt qualified for Shanghai and the Grand Prix having started in the very first round, winning four matches in each.
Can he complete a hat-trick this week? Well, his confidence will be sky high right now but he faces a tough draw, starting out against David Gray, UK runner-up five years ago, with a match against Rory McLeod, who recently won the Masters qualifying event, looming in the third round.
Matches are best of 17 frames as opposed to the standard best of nine and competition will be fierce at the qualifying school in Prestatyn.
Judd Trump is a player bang under pressure having failed to win a match in the season’s first two events, the Shanghai Masters and Grand Prix.
However, the talented 20 year-old has performed very well on his debut in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League and takes his place alongside three former world champions – Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy – in the play-offs next weekend.
It’s a long drive from Hopton in Norfolk to Prestatyn but if Trump beats O’Sullivan to reach the final next Sunday night he will have to get to North Wales by 10am the following day.
Not the best preparation for such a crunch match, particularly one that will be played over two sessions.
But at least Trump isn’t in denial about the way his season is turning out.
“This match is really big for me because I can’t afford to lose. There will be a lot of pressure but hopefully it will turn out well on the day. I want to keep moving up the rankings but this season hasn’t been great for me so far,” he told worldsnooker.com last week.
Longer matches tend to mean fewer shocks so it would be a surprise if Ricky Walden and Liang Wenbo, both of whom are provisionally ranked inside the top 16, missed out on a place in the TV stages.
Jamie Cope may have ordinarily been heavily backed but could have to play ex-world champion Ken Doherty, who has enjoyed a major resurgence this season after two desperately frustrating years.
Those of a sentimental nature will support Steve Davis, who won the first of his six UK titles 29 years ago.
If the 52 year-old wins his qualifying match he will play his fellow legend Stephen Hendry in the opening round in Telford.
Obviously, players who only have to win one match have it easier than those who enter the qualifiers in the earlier rounds.
But Matt Selt qualified for Shanghai and the Grand Prix having started in the very first round, winning four matches in each.
Can he complete a hat-trick this week? Well, his confidence will be sky high right now but he faces a tough draw, starting out against David Gray, UK runner-up five years ago, with a match against Rory McLeod, who recently won the Masters qualifying event, looming in the third round.
21.11.09
THE 2000s: THE GOLDEN BOY
Paul Hunter’s death in October 2006 was the saddest day of the decade for the snooker world.He arrived at the Irish Masters 18 months earlier complaining of stomach pains. Everyone assumed this was some passing bug and that we’d hear no more about it, but by the time of the China Open the following month he had already been told he had cancer.
It was a rare form of the disease, at first kept at bay by treatment but which would become terminal.
Bravely, Hunter played on. To see him at tournaments ravaged by chemotherapy, unable to properly feel his hands and obviously not fit to perform at his best was heartbreaking.
Yet he never complained. He never asked ‘why me?’ He didn’t change despite his terrible ordeal.
At the turn of the decade, he was at something of a career crossroads, despite being in his early 20s.
His victory in the 1998 Welsh Open and the financial rewards that went with his early career success led him into spending more time partying than practising.
By his own admission he needed to concentrate more on snooker and, in 2000, he joined forces with Brandon Parker, his manager for the rest of his career.
In 2000, Hunter watched his friend, Matthew Stevens, win the Masters. The following year, he completed the first of three remarkable victories in the game’s leading invitation event.
He trailed Fergal O’Brien 6-2 at the mid session interval and went back to his hotel with Lyndsey, who would become his wife, where they did what couples do.
Two frames into the final session, O’Brien led 7-3 but Hunter then found his range and stormed back to win 10-9.
With his boyish charm in full evidence he later told the press he and Lyndsey had “put plan B into operation.” This was an entirely innocent, off the cuff remark but it would end up as a front page tabloid story and follow him round for the rest of his life. It seemed to mould Paul as ‘one of the boys,’ which indeed he was.
The following year, he fell 5-0 adrift to Mark Williams at Wembley but came back again to win 10-9.
In 2004, he completed the hat-trick, recovering from 7-2 down to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9.
Hunter’s popularity increased with each of these victories. Television viewers warmed to his natural charm just as they had to that of Jimmy White two decades earlier.
Like White, Hunter was easy to relate to and easy to support.
He could have been world champion but for his illness. He came close in 2003 but let slip a 15-9 lead over Ken Doherty in the semi-finals, the Irishman winning 17-16.
The three Masters victories will, rightly, be what he is remembered for on the table, but he also won two ranking titles during the decade: the 2002 Welsh and British Opens.
Hunter was always good value for the press, be it because of his haircut or his wife or something other than the slog of who beat who in whatever tournament was on that week.
Much of his appeal was that he was always himself: a lad from Leeds who loved snooker and loved life.
The media loved Paul, so too did his fellow players and the public.
He was the golden boy cruelly denied his golden future.
20.11.09
ROW LEADS TO QUALIFYING BLACKOUT
110sport.tv is not showing the UK Championship qualifiers next week and may not cover any more of the main tour qualifiers following a disagreement with World Snooker just a few months into a three year deal signed earlier this year.
110sport are unhappy that secondary rights have been sold to bookmakers to be streamed free on betting websites.
It would obviously discourage viewers from paying for 110’s coverage if they could get it free elsewhere.
There was apparently a clause in the original contract but I understand 110sport believed this applied only to betting shops.
For the same stream to be available both on a pay per view basis and free would be a little like the All England Club selling the Wimbledon rights to Sky Sports and then a week later selling the same rights to the BBC.
Of course, without 110sport’s pictures the bookies are unable to show any of the action either, so it looks as if the online coverage of qualifiers has come to an end after only three events.
110sport is now likely to concentrate on its own events, such as the Legends series it launched in Glenrothes last month.
I asked World Snooker for a comment two days ago but have not received one so am unable to put their side of the story.
Streaming the qualifiers was a great opportunity to showcase the game and, in particular, some of the lesser known players further down the rankings.
When the deal was announced, World Snooker said: “The standard of play at the qualifiers is unbelievably high, and now fans across the world have the chance to watch some of the legends of the sport and up-and-coming stars in action.”
Not any more they don’t.
UPDATE: 110sport tell me there may be an eleventh hour deal in place in time to show at least some of the coverage from next week.
ANOTHER UPDATE: World Snooker has now, finally, put a statement on its website in which it denies any disagreement, although doesn't deny there is one between 110sport and World Snooker's broadcast agents, IMG.
I gave them two days to put their side of the story and supply a comment yet they chose not to. It would have cleared up any confusion about the precise nature of the dispute, although the material facts remain true: there is today no coverage of the UK Championship qualifiers for the reasons I stated above.
110sport are unhappy that secondary rights have been sold to bookmakers to be streamed free on betting websites.
It would obviously discourage viewers from paying for 110’s coverage if they could get it free elsewhere.
There was apparently a clause in the original contract but I understand 110sport believed this applied only to betting shops.
For the same stream to be available both on a pay per view basis and free would be a little like the All England Club selling the Wimbledon rights to Sky Sports and then a week later selling the same rights to the BBC.
Of course, without 110sport’s pictures the bookies are unable to show any of the action either, so it looks as if the online coverage of qualifiers has come to an end after only three events.
110sport is now likely to concentrate on its own events, such as the Legends series it launched in Glenrothes last month.
I asked World Snooker for a comment two days ago but have not received one so am unable to put their side of the story.
Streaming the qualifiers was a great opportunity to showcase the game and, in particular, some of the lesser known players further down the rankings.
When the deal was announced, World Snooker said: “The standard of play at the qualifiers is unbelievably high, and now fans across the world have the chance to watch some of the legends of the sport and up-and-coming stars in action.”
Not any more they don’t.
UPDATE: 110sport tell me there may be an eleventh hour deal in place in time to show at least some of the coverage from next week.
ANOTHER UPDATE: World Snooker has now, finally, put a statement on its website in which it denies any disagreement, although doesn't deny there is one between 110sport and World Snooker's broadcast agents, IMG.
I gave them two days to put their side of the story and supply a comment yet they chose not to. It would have cleared up any confusion about the precise nature of the dispute, although the material facts remain true: there is today no coverage of the UK Championship qualifiers for the reasons I stated above.
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