Glasgow Glory
Snooker moves at a fast these days and no sooner has the UK Championship ended, the boys from the baize are quickly hot footing it to Glasgow for the start of the of the next instalment of the Home Nations series, the Scottish Open. Held just before Christmas, this the last chance for all 128 players to prove themselves in this historic city, especially those who are still licking their wounds from their defeats in York. The likes of Higgins, Selby, Trump and O'Sullivan are all on show and Mark Allen who won this title last year has the difficult task of retaining his title against a barrage of contenders who want to snatch the prized glassware from his fingers. This tournament is fraught with perils, especially as it uses a best of seven frames' format. Any player could lose on the day and especially to a lower ranked player who is experiencing a boost in form.
Play began quick and fast today with some of the top names in the sport playing. Mark Allen kicked off his run with an opening match against the very talented veteran of the game, Andy Hicks. Hicks who was a dominant force in snooker in the 1990s and who had to claw his way back onto the tour after failing to enter two tournaments, losing necessary ranking points. Andy began well in this match and it looked like there may be an early upset when he went 2-0 up on Allen. However in the end experience won the day and Andy was unable to muster up some of his early magic to win the day. A barrage of winning breaks by his opponent lead to a final, 4-2 score line to Allen with Hicks having to be content at having played a top seeded player and hoping to play once again to a more favourable outcome.
John Higgins was also in action today against Jamie O'Neill. It was clear from the outset that John was not in the best of form and struggled on the match table. Higgins has had a lot of great form in the past in this event since it was founded in 2016 but has yet to win the coveted trophy. Perhaps today was a day for reflection as the Scot was unable to build a break beyond fifty. However he was able gain the advantage over his less experienced opponent. Taking the game 2-1 up in his favour he was to scrap out a victory to win 4-1. Perhaps John's snooker formula doesn't always work but he has several gears of game and each can be utilised as a back up when one of the others fail. Perhaps by bringing his son to the tournament, this will inspire some of the old Wishaw magic but perhaps adopting a new cue at this vital end of the season was not such a good idea. There were also wins for Mark Selby who beat Mark Joyce, 4-2 and Neil Robertson ended my good friend's run in Glasgow, Ken Doherty by winning 4-1 with breaks of 66, 55 and 77 with the concluding match of the day.
Play began quick and fast today with some of the top names in the sport playing. Mark Allen kicked off his run with an opening match against the very talented veteran of the game, Andy Hicks. Hicks who was a dominant force in snooker in the 1990s and who had to claw his way back onto the tour after failing to enter two tournaments, losing necessary ranking points. Andy began well in this match and it looked like there may be an early upset when he went 2-0 up on Allen. However in the end experience won the day and Andy was unable to muster up some of his early magic to win the day. A barrage of winning breaks by his opponent lead to a final, 4-2 score line to Allen with Hicks having to be content at having played a top seeded player and hoping to play once again to a more favourable outcome.
John Higgins was also in action today against Jamie O'Neill. It was clear from the outset that John was not in the best of form and struggled on the match table. Higgins has had a lot of great form in the past in this event since it was founded in 2016 but has yet to win the coveted trophy. Perhaps today was a day for reflection as the Scot was unable to build a break beyond fifty. However he was able gain the advantage over his less experienced opponent. Taking the game 2-1 up in his favour he was to scrap out a victory to win 4-1. Perhaps John's snooker formula doesn't always work but he has several gears of game and each can be utilised as a back up when one of the others fail. Perhaps by bringing his son to the tournament, this will inspire some of the old Wishaw magic but perhaps adopting a new cue at this vital end of the season was not such a good idea. There were also wins for Mark Selby who beat Mark Joyce, 4-2 and Neil Robertson ended my good friend's run in Glasgow, Ken Doherty by winning 4-1 with breaks of 66, 55 and 77 with the concluding match of the day.
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