Snooker Loopy

As snooker fans prepare to gather in York at the end of this month for one of the highlights of the snooker calendar, it only seems right to take a moment to look at one of the sport’s prestigious tournaments. The UK Championship was first held in a cold and blustery Blackpool, way back in my in my early youth in 1977. Then anon-ranking event, a young Patsy Fagan was presented the trophy by Joe Davis. This was the highlight of Fagan’s career and despite being tipped for the top of the game, never won on the main tour again. A sad outcome as Fagan was probably one of the most talented players at the time. Much has changed since those pioneers first played this event and like any new prospect, didn’t even have a trophy until the late, great Joe Davis donated one. Fast forward and the UK Championship has been played additionally in Preston before moving to its current home in York. York as anyone who knows it, is a special city and even more so in the run up to Christmas when the chills

Eyes were all this special final when two of the greats of the game met to lock horns for the Northern Ireland Open. This was a repeat of last year’s final when Judd Trump met his hero of the sport, Ronnie O’Sullivan. Last year Judd was victorious and spurred him on to a run of victories that included making him World Champion and current number one in the world. This was their ninth meeting and Judd had won five of the previous eight. Judd dominated the first session, making a century break and nailing Ronnie against the baulk cushion on multiple occasions with his precision use of the cue ball. However a glimmer of hope held out for Ronnie made a few mistakes towards the close of the first session with Ronnie trailing 5-3 to go into the crucial, evening session. There even a potential 147 clearance by Trump but it was denied by a sickening kick in frame seven on a break of 88. Ronnie opened the evening session with a killer opening frame, a tactic to try and rattle his opponent. No

Snooker was in full swing yesterday as play got underway for day four of the event. Judd Trump was definitely the man of the moment again as he produced a blistering performance against Yan Bingtao. His 4-0 win produced relentless runs of snooker and in the end rewarded him with another whitewash. This included an intended pot of the blue that bounced off multiple cushions before landing in the right-hand baulk pocket. Judd is is producing his best snooker this season and will be hard to stop in his tracks. His formulation of shots and natural flair around the table is a joy to watch and he has a flair for television interviews too. Mark Allen thought he might be on course for another final when he got to the third round for the first time in the Northern Ireland Open but standing in his way was the talented, Swiss player, Alexander Ursenbacker. The Swiss player is known for the odd upset and yesterday was another of those shock wins. Mark doesn’t seem to have luck on his side at the

I have always been a firm supporter of the junior game and when WPBSA coach, Kai Michael asked me to write a piece on the Brighton Castle Juniors team, I jumped at the chance. Kai first set up the snooker team last November and was told from the start that the association wouldn’t be successful. However like many entrepreneurs, Michael was undeterred and gathered together potential youth stars of the future to create a firm base in their Sussex location. Their first team match was in February against Frames Sports Bar. Spurred on by the success of this event, Kai then introduced a Saturday morning junior club in March which has been equally successful , a massive hit and an avenue for bringing new faces and raw talent into the sport. Alongside the great work of the youth team, Kai has reached out to social media and created a dedicated Facebook page for the Brighton Juniors. This has allowed followers and players off the sport to interact with the comings and goings of the club, trac

Snooker can be sublime, especially when a tournament begins to warm up. The Northern Ireland Open is one of those Christmas presents that you get to open before Christmas Day. With so many matches to choose to watch, it must quite frustrating when your preferred match is not televised and you have to hunt for the result. As fans gathered for the morning session, there was an a hint of revenge in the air as Barry Hawkins drew Michael Holt. Holt had of course beaten Barry in the recent  World Open in Yushan, China. Holt is a player who I deeply respect and am amazed with his obvious talent that he hasn’t won multiple titles in his career but as you know snooker can favour some and hinder others. Michael sadly has been in the receiving end of the defeat headache and his match with Barry turned out to move in Hawkins’ favour. Barry similarly hasn’t performed that well this season but as the year draws to a close, this was a chance to start finding his game and winning matches. The  match w

Few people knew what they were expecting when play started in Belfast yesterday. The best of seven format is always one that causes a few shock defeats and player inspiration. Stuart Bingham was always expected to win his match Lu Ning but on the day the match went to the wire. The highlight of the match was Stuart’s fabulous 147 break in the opening frame. A feat that I have managed to see in the thirty plus years I have been watching the sport. Most players may have been phased by this bolt from the blue but Chinese players seem to take the unexpected in their stride and Ning ploughed on, squeezing the best out of Stuart, taking the match to a deciding frame. Like any true professional, Bingham held on in this rollercoaster ride and produced the necessary game when it was needed and pulled through 4-3. Another great result was Jimmy White’s win against Peter Ebdon. White had had little success on the professional tour since he was handed another wildcard by Barry Hearn at the start

Coventry now seems a distant memory as players assemble in Belfast for the annual meeting of the Northern Ireland Open. As the nights get colder, who could not think of a better way to spend your time watching the best battle it out for this esteemed title. Won last year by Judd Trump, a kickstart to his run of victories including the World Championship, Judd now plays tomorrow but must be battered and bruised from his defeat at the hands of Neil Robertson in the Champion of Champions. Nevertheless he still remains a favourite in this feast of snooker. Mark Selby will also be trying to pick up another title in this Open series after capturing the first, the English Open. Barry Hearn’s promise to pay a million pounds to the person who takes all four events seems plausible but in this climate of snooker where any top could win, far fetched. A fact that Selby readily admits. The first big shock of yesterday’s play was another early bath for Ding Junhui who came up against a player who m

Sunday is always known for a snooker final and the history of the sport has produced some spectaculars. This time we were here to watch Neil Robertson and Judd Trump meet to attempt to capture the prolific Champion of Champions title. When it came to it, the match was relentless with each player playing cat and mouse to take frame after frame between the two. This was probably one of the best finals I have seen with both sportsmen playing out of their skins. Neither player were phased when their opponent managed to get a lead and were quickly at their heels once more by stealing the following frame. High break building was apparent with centuries flying in. This was a match that had adrenaline flowing and sweat beads forming as each player waited for the other to make a crucial mistake. The man of the moment, Judd Trump looked so good in this final but as the match drew to a close, those snooker demons that once looked over him, came back to haunt him. 9-8 up, Judd had a chance to ge

So as this year’s Champion of Champions draws to a close, yesterday’s play was all about seeing who would be the first player to reach this year’s final. After a near exit in his match against Jimmy White, Ronnie O’Sullivan was in no mood for another fall and so his opponent, Neil Robertson had his work cut out to beat him. With an unblemished track record, Ronnie had up until this point reached every single final of this event and Robertson knew that yesterday could be the day when this record was put to an end. In the match itself, Ronnie got out of the blocks first and took the first frame with a break of 66. With Ronnie in again in the next, led to a potted black causing the pink to drift across the table and land in the left middle pocket at the same time. A frustrated O’Sullivan had to sit down and endure Robertson’s good fortune as he captured the frame. Now 1-1, both players were feeling the pressure as they knew how high the stakes were in this match. However Neil was not ph

As day four dawned in Coventry, snooker fans were waiting in anticipation for the match that was billed as one of the highlights of this year’s Champion of Champions tournament. Having not met for sometime outside the exhibition circuit, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White were set to clash horns on the green baize once again. This could be one of their last meetings on the professional circuit and in r end it was a match that lived up to its expectations. Best friends off the table, both players went into professional mode and zoned in to winning this tussle with White getting off to a flying starting, producing some of his flair of old and taking a two frame advantage. Leaving the black over the pocket, Ronnie made a clinical error in the third frame and opened the door again for Jimmy to make a sizeable break and capture frame three. Now 3-0 in the red, Ronnie was in dire trouble and would have to adopt a Selby style strategy of getting back into this match. So O’Sullivan started to p

Play began yesterday with a match in Coventry that was billed to be a cracker. Stephen Maguire was playing Judd Trump and this had the potential to go all the way. Stephen, reminiscent of Alex when he broke his foot in 1989 and won the Irish Masters in  1989, sported a boot that allowed him to play but looked frustrated as Judd dominated the first part of the match. Thankfully on this occasion he didn’t see and rap his knuckles on the table in disgust otherwise he would have added ti his list of injuries. Maguire was literally on the back foot and this was shown when Stephen just whacked the pack and spread all the reds. The Sot had much to think about when Judd took the first two frames in succession and the hit and hope shot would come back to haunt him throughout the remainder of the match. After producing his first century of the match in the second frame, Trump played on another level and sailed into a three frames advantage, leaving Maguire thinking he should have stayed at home

After a dramatic first day that saw Neil Robertson come through as the victor, day two was always going to have a lot to live up to. In the first match of the afternoon, Mark Allen was up against Matthew Selt.Allen has played well in recent tournaments and has been knocking on the door for some silverware. However this first match hurdle was again going to be a test of his ability as Selt always poses a threat to anyone he plays. The game itself could have gone in Selt’s direction with Matthew managing to level peg 60 points all in frame two after losing the first frame. However the “Pistol” wasn’t going to be deterred and kept his composure to take the frame on a re-spotted black. With a two frame advantage, both players ended up in a scrappy frame in the next but Mark managed to pull himself together first and take the frame Now 3-0 up, it looked that could be be a whitewash for Selt. However a sickening fluke by Matthew on the final black in the next frame was the start of a fight

As the nights draw in and Christmas rapidly approaches, the start of the Champion of Champions is always a welcome tonic. Play began in earnest with the first match being Martin Gould against Neil Robertson. This was a match that that frankly left Gould in the shadows of his opponent with Robertson in blistering form. Martin had very little opportunities in this match and when he did get to the table, he was frankly poor. Neil cranked up the match to a level that left Gould drowning in the Australian’s expertise. Frame after frame, Neil produced effortless snooker that put closer and closer to his car in the car park. This was a game to forget for Martin and didn’t reflect what a great player he really is. He had to win a tournament to be here in the first place yet on the day for whatever reasons, he didn’t perform well and suffered a 4-0 whitewash at the hands of Robertson. The second afternoon match was a groundbreaker in snooker with Reanne Evans taking on Shaun Murphy. Evans, a

As I am writing this blog, play has just started in Coventry with the first match being Martin Gould against Neil Robertson. The players have had to make a rapid dash from Yushan to Coventry to take part in this UK event and what a tournament it has become. A rehash of an event of yesteryear, first held in 1978 and 1980 and revived in 2013 by Matchroom Sport, the Champion of Champions is reserved for the all the winners of the previous season plus we get to see Jimmy White play Ronnie O’Sullivan thanks to Jimmy’s great win in World Seniors in Sheffield against Darren Morgan and the twelve times ladies’ champion, Reanne Evans makes an appearance against Stuart Bingham thanks to her remarkable career on the female circuit. Reanne has just won the Ron Gross memorial event and is a player that has impressed me for sometime. Her tenacity despite the barriers put up against her and other female players in the sport is commendable. Last year this tournament was won by Ronnie O’Sullivan when

They say fortune favours the brave and today was a moment when Judd proved he is the man of the moment. Trump was up against the Thai sensation, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who has helped bring the spirit of the game back to his homeland, a vibe that has sadly been missing since the glory days of when James Wattana graced the snooker stage. In a possible nineteen frame contest, Judd stole the first frame of nine in this session but it wasn’t long before the Thai had matched his opponent, making it 1-1 with a 66 clearance. However with an interval looming, a lot ride on the next with whoever won it, taking the lead. Judd was the player to nail it, taking it comprehensively with a 96 break. This was followed by a further break of 78 to make it 3-1 at the first interval for Judd. After the interval, Trump began to fly, firing an opening shot with a break of 90 to make it 4-1 and so Trump’s game just became clinical with divine shots, converted into divine pots as the cue was delivered. With ever

After what has been a thrilling week of snooker in Yushan, today was all about who would compete for tomorrow’s final. The first clash was between Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Kyren Wilson. Both players have different styles but United in their quest to wins titles. Wilson, the current German Ooen champion and Thepchaiya, the current Shootout victor laid battle and it was Wilson who motored first. Perhaps playing the Thai caused some of his game to rub off onto Kyren because he was deeply attacking in the match, opening up a 3-0 lead at the start of the match. With this lead, Thepchaiya had a lot to think about and had to act fast to chip away away at his opponent’s dominant lead. The Thai managed to get his first frame on the board and so the battle began with Un-Nooh gradually building up momentum that led to nip and tuck with the score line altering to 4-2, Wilson. However with the match at Wilson’s mercy, Thepchaiya broke loose and won A missed final black by the Thai in frame eight, too

After all the shocks and thrills of day four, it would be madness to try to predict what could have happened in play today. With only a few players left in this year’s tournament, today was all about weeding out the weakest and putting the best through to the semi-final stage. Judd Trump was out on the baize again. This time playing Michael Holt who yesterday demolished Ding Junhui. Like in so many matches, sometimes the victory crown falls off too early. A win against Judd was a big ask for Michael but I know he has the ability and game to do it but for some reason he hasn’t achieved what he should have done in his career. Judd turned in his winning taps in this match and gave Holt little opportunities. Before Michael could blink, he was already 4-0 down and a break of 74 spared him whitewash humiliation. However in the end, the mountain was too high for Michael to climb at this stage. Only needing one frame to win, Judd did what he needed to do but thankfully this time the match didn