The Stage is Set
With the World Championship qualifiers out the way and the draw for the tournament held yesterday, snooker fans are in line for a special treat at the Crucible. Beginning tomorrow, the draw has revealed some sizzling matches and the qualifiers have allowed a player from Cyprus, Michael Georgiou and an amateur, James Cahill to compete here for the first time.Such players may br overwhelmed and underachieve or they they may surprise us and shine in this very special environment.
With so many great players in the World Championship this year, this is really snooker’s answer to the Grand National. Any player could potentially win the Worlds and there maybe a Terry Griffiths or Joe Johnson in the mix that is able to become the victor. Mouth watering match prospects such as Trump v Un-Nooh, Robertson/ Georgiou, Brecel v Wilson and O’Sullivan against the rookie, James Cahill.
Since snooker was first brought by Mike Watterson to the Crucible in 1977, this venue has been a snooker player’s dream and nightmare. Davis and Hendry triumphed multiple times and White failed to achieve his snooker ambition of raising the famous trophy. His woes still echo around this special theatre and regret still lingers in his heart. This is probably why he continues to compete at a professional level because he feels he still can win this title and he is probably right but unlike his time at the top, too many great players stand in his way and even if he was to beat them all, he would still have to defeat his great friend, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
17 days lie ahead of top class snooker and this tournament never fails to satisfy. Avid fans use this tournament as their Summer holiday and spend the whole time moving between their hotel room and the brown theatre seats of the Crucible. Even my dedication to the sport can’t beat that even though the seats are very comfortable. So don’t expect to see me sitting there in a Liverpool top anytime soon.
So tomorrow the snooker curtain will be raised and the partition lowered and “lights, camera, action”, will be voiced by the BBC and Eurosport television crews. The stage is set and all we now have to do is wait or the players to break off to make this the Christmas Day for all snooker fans. I will reveal my potential winner in a later blog but hopefully my betting slip will ring true and I will be able to woo the smile of the bookmakers’ face after my recent Grand National disaster. An update on that, my horse is still running and had stopped at many watering holes as he carries on the race.
With so many great players in the World Championship this year, this is really snooker’s answer to the Grand National. Any player could potentially win the Worlds and there maybe a Terry Griffiths or Joe Johnson in the mix that is able to become the victor. Mouth watering match prospects such as Trump v Un-Nooh, Robertson/ Georgiou, Brecel v Wilson and O’Sullivan against the rookie, James Cahill.
Since snooker was first brought by Mike Watterson to the Crucible in 1977, this venue has been a snooker player’s dream and nightmare. Davis and Hendry triumphed multiple times and White failed to achieve his snooker ambition of raising the famous trophy. His woes still echo around this special theatre and regret still lingers in his heart. This is probably why he continues to compete at a professional level because he feels he still can win this title and he is probably right but unlike his time at the top, too many great players stand in his way and even if he was to beat them all, he would still have to defeat his great friend, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
17 days lie ahead of top class snooker and this tournament never fails to satisfy. Avid fans use this tournament as their Summer holiday and spend the whole time moving between their hotel room and the brown theatre seats of the Crucible. Even my dedication to the sport can’t beat that even though the seats are very comfortable. So don’t expect to see me sitting there in a Liverpool top anytime soon.
So tomorrow the snooker curtain will be raised and the partition lowered and “lights, camera, action”, will be voiced by the BBC and Eurosport television crews. The stage is set and all we now have to do is wait or the players to break off to make this the Christmas Day for all snooker fans. I will reveal my potential winner in a later blog but hopefully my betting slip will ring true and I will be able to woo the smile of the bookmakers’ face after my recent Grand National disaster. An update on that, my horse is still running and had stopped at many watering holes as he carries on the race.
Comments
Post a Comment