Month: January 2019

The German Masters 2019 – Day 1 – Last 32

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The first ranking event of the year started yesterday in the Tempodrom, Berlin Germany. Mark Williams is the defending champion.  Eight matches were played.

Heres is the tournament preview

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Judd Trump eased into the last 16 of the D88.com German Masters with a 5-2 win over Li Hang as he boosted his hopes of winning back to back titles.

All pictures by O.Behrendt / contrast

World number five Trump won the Masters ten days ago, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final, and maintained his momentum by setting up a match with Yan Bingtao in Berlin.

Breaks of 55 and 94 helped give Trump a 4-1 lead tonight at the Tempodrom. Li pulled one back with a 105 and had several chances to win frame seven, but it came down to a respotted black and Trump converted an excellent long pot to a baulk corner to seal victory.

“With so many tournaments coming up it’s important to keep my confidence,” said 29-year-old Trump, chasing his tenth ranking title. “I can’t afford to be careless, I need to keep winning as many matches as possible. The Masters was massive but there are no small events any more, every one I play in I want to win.

“Looking back on the Masters, it’s by far the best I have consistently played against that level of opponent. I kind of breezed through, I was always in control in every match, which is a rare thing in snooker. The final was one of the easier ones I’ve won and it was nice to be able to enjoy it.”

Defending champion Mark Williams, the only player to win this title twice in Berlin, got the better of China’s Zhou Yuelong 5-3. Welshman Williams made top breaks of 127 and 76 as he booked a meeting with  Joe Perry.

“I was a bit ropy, a bit scrappy, there was a lot of snatching going on,” said world number two Williams. “But it’s a good win because he’s a really good player. This is a superb venue, it’s a close as you can get to the old Wembley Conference Centre.

“This is the time when I said I’m going to practise really hard and knuckle down. The only tournament I’m really looking forward to playing in is the World Championship. To be there with my kids, seeing me introduced as defending champion, I can’t wait for it. Hopefully over the tournaments coming up I can get some form going.”

Perry came from 4-1 down to edge out Sam Baird 5-4 with top runs of 52 and 57 while Yan Bingtao saw off Matthew Stevens 5-3 with a top break of 113. Stephen Maguire top scored with 118 in a 5-1 defeat of Michael Georgiou.

Veteran Peter Ebdon, age 48, scored an impressive 5-3 win over Shaun Murphy with runs of 69, 62 and 109. Kyren Wilson won the last three frames to beat Rory McLeod 5-3.

Robert Milkins recovered deficits of 3-1 and 4-3 to edge out Barry Hawkins 5-4. That result keeps alive Milkins’ hopes of qualifying for next week’s Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham. If he now beats Maguire he will go ahead of Gary Wilson into 32nd place on the one-year ranking list. Zhou, Baird, Li, McLeod and Georgiou are out of the running having lost today. For the latest on that race click here.

Now, I have to say, this report baffles me a bit when it comes to Judd Trump. How can he draw any confidence from yesterday’s “performance” is beyond my understanding because the truth is that he played badly all match, very badly. His only saving grace was that Li Hang somehow managed to play even worse. At MSI Trump had 84% pot success, Li Hang was in te low 70th. Frankly, had he played that way against Ronnie at Ally Pally, it would have been 10-4 the other way around, bad as Ronnie was on that day. Actually is was even hilarious at times, it was that bad. Judd Trump was very lucky not to get a hammering yesterday… maybe he’s been taking a leaf out of Willo’s book and been cemlebrating for the last ten days?

Mark Williams didn’t play well either; in particular he missed a lot of balls in the middle pockets.

As I didn’t see any of the other matches, I can’t really comment, but apparently, going by twitter comments, Shaun Murphy was playing badly as well, which he has done for most of the season actually.

World Grand Prix 2019 – draw watch

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The German Masters starting tomorrow is the last event before the World Grand Prix starting next Monday and it can still change both who is in it and who plays who.

As usual Matt Huart is on the ball and will keep us updated as the tournament unfolds.

This is the link to his “Berlin Blog”

Race to Cheltenham 2019: Berlin Blog

29th January 2019

The battle to qualify for this year’s Coral World Grand Prix reaches its climax this weekend as the final stages of the D88.com German Masters are completed in Berlin.

For full analysis of the current state of play, check out our previous article from earlier this month which explains who is still able to break into the all-important top 32 on the one-year ranking list.

It is also possible to forecast the provisional positions of players in the knockout draw for the World Grand Prix, which will be determined by the final positions of each player on the one-year ranking list following the German Masters.

Latest qualification standings (29/01/2019):

Note: Table includes prize money already earned at the German Masters qualifiers.

28th – Ding Junhui – £54,000*
29th – Yuan Sijun – £54,000*
30th – Shaun Murphy – £53,500*
31st – Marco Fu – £53,500
32nd – Gary Wilson – £48,600
——————————————————————————
33rd – Zhou Yuelong – £47,500* – (QF minimum)
34th – Robert Milkins – £45,100* (QF minimum)
37th – Peter Ebdon – £42,500* – (SF minimum)
46th– Ricky Walden – £35,000* (SF minimum)
52nd – Fergal O’Brien – £30,600* (final minimum)
55th – Ben Woollaston – £29,100* (final minimum)
56th – Sam Baird – £29,000* (final minimum)
64th – Kurt Maflin – £25,600* (final minimum)
65th – Li Hang – £25,000* (final minimum)
69th – Rory McLeod – £20,000* (final minimum)
75th – Michael Georgiou – £18,100* (final minimum)
110th – Duane Jones – £7,000* (needs the title)
*player has qualified for the German Masters

Provisional World Grand Prix draw (29/01/2019):

Please note that this is strictly provisional and subject to event entries:

Mark Allen (1) v Gary Wilson (32) – 7pm Monday 4 February

Ali Carter (17) v Martin O’Donnell (16)

Stuart Bingham (9) v Yan Bingtao (24)

Matthew Stevens (25) v David Gilbert (8)

—————————————-

Ding Junhui (28) v Neil Robertson (5)

Mark Davis (21) v John Higgins (12)

Barry Hawkins (13) v Mark King (20)

Mark Williams (4) v Yuan Sijun (29)

—————————————-

Mark Selby (3) v Shaun Murphy (30)

Kyren Wilson (14) v Noppon Saengkham (19)

Tom Ford (22) v Joe Perry (11)

Judd Trump (6) v Xiao Guodong (27)

—————————————-

Jack Lisowski (7) v Stuart Carrington (26)

Zhao Xintong (23) v Jimmy Robertson (10)

Ryan Day (18) v Stephen Maguire (15)

Marco Fu (31) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)

Daily blog during the German Masters to follow…

As things stand for now, you feel that not much is likely to change in terms of line-up – only Gary Wilson is really under threat – but a lot can still change in terms of who plays who in Cheltenham because most of the top 16 seeds as currently stands are playing in Berlin. Only Mark Allen is certain of his seeding.

The German Masters 2019 – a preview.

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The German Masters 2019 starts tomorrow and here is the last 32 round draw:

germanmastersl32draw

Mark Williams is the Defending Champion. This was the tournament that, last year, signaled the return to form of the Welsh Potting Machine. Yes, he had won the Northern Ireland Open earlier in the season, but without facing a single top 16 player en route. The German Masters was different: he had to beat Mark Allen and Judd Trump to get to the final, where he completely outplayed a former World Champion in Graeme Dott. Willo’s last  ranking title before the 2017/18 season was … the 2011 German Masters, the first to be staged at the Tempodrom. He had beaten Mark Selby by 9-7 in the final.

The Tempodrom itself is a remarkable venue

GermanMasters2012L32-7240

Spectators can have a view on all tables and the crowd is usually very knowledgeable and very enthusiast. From a fan’s point of view it’s probably the best venue currently used on the Main Tour. My own experience is that the view is much better than at the Crucible, especially if you’re not the tallest person.

From the player’s point of view though, it has its problems. The “outside” table’s lighting being the main issue. Indeed the tables lighting is not “centered” above the tables”, which results in “uneven” table lighting. One side is darker than the other, and there are unwanted shadows. Also, the tables are quite close to the first rows of spectators, which can be a distraction. In particular, with views on all tables, spectators are not always focused on the one closest to them, wich results in “out of turn” clapping and cheers whilst players are on the shot. Finally, the weather in Berlin can be extremely cold this time of the year. The night Ronnie won it, in 2012, the thermometer slumped to a mighty -20°C … Which means that the heating inside works at full power, resulting in a very dry atmosphere that affects both the table conditions – a lot of statics – and the spectator’s conditions with a lot of coughing!

Anyway … here is a short preview:

The tournament has often had a depleted field over the last years, mainly because the time slot allocated to the qualifiers in the calendar. Not so this time. We have 13 of the top 16 in the last 32 draw. Ronnie and Mark Allen didn’t enter. Luca Brecel failed to qualify.

First Quarter:

I expect Mark Williams to face Kyren Wilson in the quarter finals. I can’t see Zhou Yuelong, in the form he showed earlier in the season cause him problems. Joe Perry might do, but I think that Willow will prevail should they meet. Kyren should get the better over Rory Mc Leod, relatively easily, albeit not quickly and neither Peter Ebdon nor Shaun Murphy in current form should stop him. Shaun played very well to qualify, but was unconvincing at the Masters.

My prediction for the QF1: Mark Williams 3-5 Kyren Wilson

Second Quarter:

Judd Trump seems to have a rather easy path to the quarter finals. I can’t see any of Li Hang, Yan Bingtao or Matthew Stevens causing him problems in current form. Barry Hawkins and Stephen Maguire should win their first match easily. Should they meet, it’s hard to predict a winner … mainly because of Maguire’s unpredictability. I’ll go for Hawkins, but only just.

My prediction for QF2: Barry Hawkins 3-5 Judd Trump.

Third Quarter:

Out this quarter I expect John Higgins to meet Ding Junhui in the quarter finals. John Higgins isn’t on form, but he typically has the type of game to stop Jack Lisowski. I would love to see it the other way around, but it’s hard. Ding’s main threat is Ryan Day. Ding is the better player, the most complete player of the two, and that’s why I favour him. Ryan Day however can be devastating when on song. I’d say it will very much depend on Ding’s long potting and his ability to get in first.

My prediction for QF3: Ding Junhui 5-2 John Higgins

Fourth Quarter:

This one is the hardest to predict; there is plenty of quality in it! Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham should win their first match and clash in the last 16. Now that’s a hard one to predict, but I’ll side with Neil Robertson. I also expect Mark Selby and David Gilbert to come through their first matches – Gilbert was playing really well in CLS – and, should they indeed win, I think Mark Selby will be the one reaching the QF.

My prediction for QF4: Neil Robertson 5-3 Mark Selby

 

Week-end action report

Monique Snooker

The Challenge Tour ninth event in Sheffield was won by the local man, Adam Duffy.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Adam Duffy won the ninth event in the 2018-19 Challenge Tour series, beating Matthew Glasby 3-1 in the final at the Star Academy in his home city of Sheffield.

Duffy, who dropped off the pro tour at the end of last season, won six matches to take the £2,000 top prize.

But with just one tournament to go in the series, he is too far behind the top two in the Challenge Tour rankings to have a chance of promotion to the professional tour. Brandon Sargeant reached the semi-finals to extend his lead at the top of the list.

The tenth and final Challenge Tour event of the season is on March 6-7 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.

Results

Round 1
1) Joel Walker 3 (5) 2 Joshua Cooper
2) Sydney Wilson 0 (5) 3 Farakh Ajaib
3) Sergey Isaenko 3 (5) 2 Andreas Ploner
4) Rodion Judin 1 (5) 3 Lee Shanker
5) Jake Nicholson 2 (5) 3 David Lilley
6) Peter Devlin 3 (5) 0 Saqib Nasir
7) Sean Maddocks 0 (5) 3 Leo Fernandez
8) On Yee Ng 3 (5) 0 Zsolt Fenyvesi
9) Kevin Van Hove-Speltincx 2 (5) 3 Mark Vincent
10) Jack Bradford 1 (5) 3 Matthew Glasby
11) Jamie O’Neill 3 (5) 0 Patrick Whelan
12) David Grace 2 (5) 3 Steven Hallworth
13) Barry Pinches 0 (5) 3 Mitchell Mann
14) Callum Lloyd 3 (5) 0 Iulian Boiko
15) Ryan Davies 1 (5) 3 Brandon Sargeant
16) Jackson Page 3 (5) 2 Ben Hancorn
17) William Lemons 3 (5) 1 Dylan Emery
18) Andy Marriott 3 (5) 2 Luke Pinches
19) Simon Bedford 1 (5) 3 Adam Duffy
20) Jamie McArdle 3 (5) 0 Reanne Evans
21) Felix Frede 2 (5) 3 Joshua Thomond
22) Oliver Brown 3 (5) 0 James Trump
23) Andy Milliard 2 (5) 3 Christopher Keogan
24) Danny Brindle 3 (5) 0 Heather Clare

Round 2
25) Ka Wai Cheung 3 (5) 1 Joel Walker
26) Joshua Saywell 0 (5) 3 Farakh Ajaib
27) Sergey Isaenko 0 (5) 3 Lee Shanker
28) Ryan Thomerson 0 (5) 3 David Lilley
29) Peter Devlin 2 (5) 3 Leo Fernandez
30) On Yee Ng 0 (5) 3 Mark Vincent
31) Matthew Glasby 3 (5) 2 Jamie O’Neill
32) Labeeb Ahmed 2 (5) 3 Steven Hallworth
33) Mitchell Mann 3 (5) 0 Callum Lloyd
34) Louis Heathcote 2 (5) 3 Brandon Sargeant
35) Simon Blackwell 0 (5) 3 Jackson Page
36) William Lemons 3 (5) 1 Andy Marriott
37) George Pragnell 0 (5) 3 Adam Duffy
38) John Foster 0 (5) 3 Jamie McArdle
39) Joshua Thomond 2 (5) 3 Oliver Brown
40) Christopher Keogan 3 (5) 2 Danny Brindle

Round 3
41) Ka Wai Cheung 3 (5) 0 Farakh Ajaib
42) Lee Shanker 0 (5) 3 David Lilley
43) Leo Fernandez 0 (5) 3 Mark Vincent
44) Matthew Glasby 3 (5) 0 Steven Hallworth
45) Mitchell Mann 1 (5) 3 Brandon Sargeant
46) Jackson Page 3 (5) 2 William Lemons
47) Adam Duffy 3 (5) 1 Jamie McArdle
48) Oliver Brown 3 (5) 0 Christopher Keogan

Quarter Final
49) Ka Wai Cheung 3 (5) 2 David Lilley
50) Mark Vincent 2 (5) 3 Matthew Glasby
51) Brandon Sargeant 3 (5) 2 Jackson Page
52) Adam Duffy 3 (5) 2 Oliver Brown

Semi Final
53) Ka Wai Cheung 2 (5) 3 Matthew Glasby
54) Brandon Sargeant 1 (5) 3 Adam Duffy

Final
55) Matthew Glasby 1 (5) 3 Adam Duffy

 

And the excellent analysis by Michael Day.

adamduffychallenge2019-9

CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT 9 | DUFFY’S HOME COMFORTS

Adam Duffy became the eighth different winner on this season’s Challenge Tour, as he won Event 9 this weekend at the Star Snooker Academy in his home city of Sheffield.

The penultimate leg of this second-tier campaign drew in 56 entries from 11 different countries, but it was a native of the ‘Steel City’ who emerged victorious. Duffy began his bid with a 3-1 win over fellow ex-professional Simon Bedford, the player who claimed the previous event in Budapest, Hungary during November. He then eliminated George Pragnall (3-0) and Jamie McArdle (3-1) in the last 32 and 16 respectively.

​Returning Sunday, Duffy defeated Oliver Brown (3-2), order of merit leader Brandon Sargeant (3-1) and then Matthew Glasby (3-1) in the final to take the trophy, title and £2,000. 

Whilst the result rockets Duffy up into ninth on the Challenge Tour ranking list, he is out of contention in regards the top two promotion picture. This was however only his fourth stop on the circuit this season.

THE PROMOTION PICTURE

Despite his loss to Duffy in the semi-finals, it was a very satisfying weekend for Sargeant who now has one hand and several fingers on one of the two professional tour cards on offer.

The £700 he banked strengthened his position at the top of the order of merit. Sargeant’s running total is currently £6,625; he has a healthy advantage over second placed David Grace (£5,775) and third-placed Mitchell Mann (£5,725) – the only two players who could dislodge him.

​It is an attractive lead, but not mathematically unassailable. At March’s tenth and final event, Sargeant would miss out if he lost in the last 64 (or if there is a prelim) and both Grace and Mann reached the final. However, this is the only way he could be denied, and with no seeding involved his closest rivals may be drawn in the same half, therefore he would be safe regardless of the outcome.

​The draw of Event 10 will be pivotal. It would seem that if Grace could equal, or better, Mann’s result he would qualify back onto the top tier. Although fourth-placed David Lilley (£4,200), who reached the quarters in Sheffield, can gatecrash and swipe the second ticket if he were to win Event 10 and both Grace and Mann lost before the quarter-finals there.​

For the full results from Challenge Tour Event 9 please visit the snooker.org tournament page here.

To see the latest provisional Challenge Tour ranking list, please visit snooker.org here.

The picture above is courtesy of the Star Snooker Academy, Sheffield.

​Article written and published by Michael Day on the 27th January 2019​​​

If you are interested in grassroot snooker, and the amateur scene you should definitely follow Michael. He’s on twitter and on Facebook

Michael also supports and follows the WDBS, disability snooker tour. 

Meanwhile, in Houston, Texas … Igor Figueiredo booked his spot in the WSS World Championship 2019. 

Igor Figueiredo from Brazil wins the WSS World Championship 2019 – Q6 in Houston, Texas.

seniorsnookerUncategorized

The Seniors Tour is in Houston Texas for the sixth 2019 World Championship qualifying event of this season. It’s happening this week-end!

Here is the draw:

houston 2019 draw

And the format:

houston 2019 format

And here is the Last 32 draw in a slightly easier-to-read presentation

Match 1: Lee Richardson (Eng) (1) 3-0 Christiano Galeses (Bra)
Match 2: Robert Bell  (Ire) 1-3 Laslo Kovacs (USA)
Match 3: Steven Bremar (Ber) 3-0 Januario De Souza (Bra)
Match 4: Paul Fedden (Ber) 2-3 Majid Randhawa (USA)
Match 5: Levi Meiller (Can) (5) 3-0 Adel Guindi (USA)
Match 6: Jesus De Olivera (Bra) 3-0 Ricardo e Silva (Bra)
Match 7: William Hoenig (USA) 0-3 Daren Taylor (USA)
Match 8: Osni Xavier Kuss (Bra) 0-3 John White (Can) (4)
———————————————————
Match 9: Richard Emery (Eng) (2) 3-0 Khan Laheeq (Pak)
Match 10: John Hoenig  (USA) 0-3 Pedro Luiz Poli (Bra)
Match 11: Pravin Patel (USA) 0-3 Mark White (USA)
Match 12: Firmiano De Souza Neto (Bra) 2-3 Mihai Visovan (USA)
Match 13: Hans Blanckaert (Bel) (6) 1-3 Aleya Prabhakar (USA)
Match 14: Anita Chan (Can) 0-3 Charlie Brown (Can)
Match 15: Ernst Bezemer (USA) 3-2 Dayron Azevedo (Bra)
Match 16: Bernard Frerotte 0-3 (101, 71, 50) Igor Figueiredo (Bra) (3)

Last 16

Lee Richardson (84) 3-0 Laslo Kovacs
Steven Bremar 2-3 Majid Randhawa
Levi Meiller 3-0 Jesus De Olivera
Daren Taylor 3-0 John White
———————————————————
Richard Emery 3-0 Pedro Luis Poli
Mark White 3-0 Mihai Visovan
Aleya Prabhakar 2-3 Charlie Brown
Ernst Bezemer 0-3 (146) Igor Figueiredo

QF

Lee Richardson 3-0 Majid Randhawa
Levi Meiller 2-3 Daren Taylor
———————————————————
Richard Emery 3-0 Mark White
Charlie Brown 1-3 Igor Figueiredo

SF

Lee Richarson 2-3 Daren Taylor
———————————————————
Richard Emery 0-3 Igor Figueiredo

The Final

houstonwssq6trophies
finalhandshake

Daren Taylor 0-3 (58,60,63) Igor Figueiredo

houston2019igorfigueiredowin
houston2019darentaylorrup

The trophies were presented by the President of the U. S. Snooker Association, Ajeya Prabhakar.

Well done to all involved! 

igor146
…..
houstontexas

Congratulations Igor!

Igor had a 146 during the event, and it is believed to be the highest break ever made in tournament snooker in the USA

 

Snooker news and week-end action

Monique Snooker

Yesterday evening saw Martin Gould win the Championship League Snooker Group 6. He joins Neil Robertson, Jack Lisowski, Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby in the Winners Group.

Detailed results are available on snooker.org and Worlsnooker report is here.

This week-end, the Challenge Tour Event 9 will be played at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

Star Snooker Academy

Yesterday Worldsnooker has published the draw and format.

The ninth event in the Challenge Tour series will run on January 26-27 at the Star Academy in Sheffield. You will be able to follow results on our Twitter feed here

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The top two players on the Challenge Tour rankings after ten events will be promoted to the World Snooker Tour.

This is how the rankings stand at the moment (snooker.org)

And this is the detailed schedule (snooker.org)

It’s also the page where you will be able to find the matches results as the event unfolds.

With £2000 to the winner, £1000 to the runner-up and only one event to be played after this one, you feel that it will be between David Grace, Brandon Sargeant and Mitchell Mann although, strictly speaking, players up to n°12 are not mathematically out of it. In the context the first round match between Barry Pinches and Mitchell Mann is massive.

The World Seniors Tour is in Houston, Texas, for the 2019 World Championship Qualifying Event 6. You can follow that one on my WSS blog.

Finally Worldsnooker has published the draw and format for the Indian Open 2018 … now Indian Open 2019.

Here’s the draw and format for the final stages of the 2019 Indian Open.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The world ranking event takes place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, in Kochi, Kerala, from February 27 to March 3.

Mark Allen has withdrawn. No big surprise there. Fair to say that this event has a particularly depleted field, with John Higgins (defending champion), Stuart Bingham and Jack Lisowski the only members of the top 16 in the field.

 

Oh, and, yes, if you really want to know, the draw and format for the Shootout are also available. 

The draw and format for the 2019 BetVictor Shoot Out is now available.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

….

With over 20 amateurs in the field, including a 12 years old boy (Liam Davies), a 14 years old boy (Ben Mertens), two ladies players (Reanne Evans and Emma Parker) and a few seniors … would it not be funny if this “world ranking event” was won by an amateur? Only 4 of the top 16 are in it: Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham, Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy.

 

More infos about the World Grand Prix 2019.

Monique Professional snooker tournament

Worldsnooker has now published more information about who will be playing in Cheltenham, and when

Further to last week’s announcement detailing the opening matches of the top eight snooker stars competing in the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham, four more players have had their first round ties scheduled.

The world ranking event runs from February 4 to 10 at the Centaur arena, and it’s the first ever professional snooker event to be held at Cheltenham Racecourse.

First round matches have now been scheduled for the players currently ranked 9 to 12 on the one-year list: Stuart Bingham, Jimmy Robertson, Joe Perry and John Higgins.

The first round matches already in place are:

Monday February 4

7pm

Five-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan v opponent
2018 Masters champion Mark Allen v opponent
Former World Champion Stuart Bingham v opponent

Tuesday February 5

1pm

Current World Champion Mark Williams v opponent
Triple Crown winner Neil Robertson v opponent
European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson v opponent

7pm

New Masters champion Judd Trump v opponent
Cheltenham’s rising star Jack Lisowski v opponent
Former Players Championship winner Joe Perry v opponent

Wednesday February 6

1pm

World number one Mark Selby v opponent
World Open finalist David Gilbert v opponent
Four-time World Champion John Higgins v opponent

The leading 32 players on snooker’s one-year ranking list qualify for the event. The field is not yet confirmed as there is still one more counting event, the German Masters which finishes on February 3.

Other top stars currently in line to qualify include Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins and Ding Junhui. The full draw and format will be announced as soon as it is available.

A spokesman for World Snooker said: “Last week we witnessed an incredible Masters tournament in London which showcased the golden generation of snooker stars. Now is the time to come and watch them live.

“And there is a growing sense of excitement about coming to Cheltenham for the first time as it will be a fabulous venue for live snooker. The opening night is a tremendous line up with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham among the eight players in action. But tickets must be booked in advance as certain sessions will sell out.”

Televised by ITV, the Coral World Grand Prix is the first in the Coral series, to be followed by the Coral Players Championship in Preston and new Coral Tour Championship in Llandudno.

 

They also talked to Jack Lisowski, the local man 

Jack Lisowski is aiming to take his consistency levels up another notch as he steps up preparations for his home event, the Coral World Grand Prix, at the Cheltenham Racecourse.

The Gloucestershire cueman is already enjoying his most consistent season on the World Snooker Tour. Lisowski reached his maiden ranking final at the season opening Riga Masters back in July, where he fell just short against Neil Robertson. Further strong showings earned him a place at Alexandra Palace last week, where he made his Masters debut, losing out in the first round.

Lisowski’s close friend Judd Trump lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy on Sunday night at the Masters and received plaudits from analysts and experts for his safety play throughout the week. Now Lisowski, ranked as the second fastest player on the tour, believes he must emulate Trump’s improvements in the tactical department.

World number 16 Lisowski said: “Judd’s safety play was so strong last week. If you combine that with his scoring, it makes him very tough to beat. My scoring is normally there, but my safety play lets me down. You always need to score, but to become a more consistent player I need to get my safety sorted. I’m definitely working on my concentration at these big events. It is coming and I’m only 27, so hopefully it can all click soon. It is all about repetition when practising. I’ve been hitting lots of safety shots, which I have never really done before. I’m putting it into my routines every day. I think I’m getting better, but I guess we will see in the coming months.”

There are just under two weeks to go until the World Snooker Tour heads to Cheltenham and local star Lisowski is getting to grips with prospects of the additional pressures which come with playing in front of a home crowd.

“There have been more people than ever asking for tickets. That is understandable. It is my home town. There is going to be a lot of local support and I hope that can spur me on to try my best. I really hope I can have a good run,” said the 27-year-old. “I’ve seen the racecourse and it is such a classy venue. I’m really excited now.”

Lisowski is just coming off the back of a disappointing first trip to the Masters, where his first round defeat was a heavy one, losing out 6-1 against Ding Junhui. However, he is keen to take the positives and learn from the experience.

“I remember the first time I played at the Crucible in Sheffield and Barry Hawkins completely bashed me up. I felt like a fish out of water. That was a bit like how I felt the other day,” admitted Lisowski.

“The second time I played at the Crucible I was much more confident. I found everything a lot easier. I’m going to put that one down to being my first time at the Masters. The crowd were crazy and so passionate about snooker. It was the most people I’ve ever played in front. If I can get back there next year, I think I’d be a lot calmer.

“To just have qualified Masters was such a buzz for me. Now I need to work harder than ever to make sure I stay in that position. I want to continue to ride the rankings and become a top player. It is one step at a time. I’ve got in the top 16, I want to stay there now and keep going in the right direction.”

The World Grand Prix marks the first stage of the brand new Coral Series, which also encompasses the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. The 32-man field will be cut in half for each with the following events hosting 16 and eight players respectively. This is all based from this season’s one-year money list with each player starting the campaign with the same chance of qualification. Lisowski is relishing the opportunity to try and progress in the series.

“I’m currently in seventh place, so I have a realistic shot of getting into the Players Championship. Hopefully, if I can do well, then I can hold on for the top eight and reach the Tour Championship. As a player it gives you an incentive because the rewards are there. It just makes me want to work even harder. This is a great time to be a snooker player.

“I’m finding the tour so much more enjoyable now. Two years ago I was struggling. I was trying to qualify for the tournaments, but I wouldn’t even get in. As a result I often missed out on going to China and all of these cool places. You just don’t feel involved in the tour. However, I haven’t lost a qualifier for a long time. I’ve been in every tournament and I’m enjoying it so much more.”

I quite like Jack and hope he does well.

This is how things stand ahead of the German Masters 2019 (source snooker.org)

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The reason why the draw can’t be made is because the line-up can still change. Gary Wilson in particular is vulnerable, with Zhou Yuelong and Robert Milkins capable of overtaking him if they reach the QF stage in Berlin. Shaun Murphy isn’t safe either and can’t afford an early exit at the Tempodrom.

Ronnie, Eurosport, a poll and a message

Monique Other sports, Snooker ,

During the Masters, Eurosport UK ran a poll, asking the fans which 147, in their opinion, is the greatest in snooker history.

Unsurprisingly, the iconic 5’20” 147 that Ronnie made at the Crucible in 1997 came out the winner and by a huge margin as well.

Ronnie has often said that it wasn’t actually a good break, because he didn’t have the white under control and that he only played that fast because he felt that if he stopped to think he would miss. But, hey, it was and remains nevertheless quite an extraordinary feat.

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We asked … you voted … we have a winner 😬 ‘s sensational maximum at the 1997 World Championship is the greatest 147 in snooker history 🙌👏🚀

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Eurosport: Ronnie’s record 147

Ronnie retweeted this, adding

Hard to believe this was the first of my 15 competitive maximums and over 20 years ago 🙄

And, currently, although there is still snooker being played in Coventry, with nobody watching, most sports fans attention is on the tennis, and particularly on one young Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas who ousted Roger Federer in the L16 at the Australian Open in Melbourne. He will face Rafa Nadal in the SF in about an hour.
It transpired that Stefanos is a snooker fan too, and his snooker hero is Ronnie. And Ronnie in turn sent the young man this message ahead of today’s match:

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. has called his ‘snooker idol’ And the 🚀 will be cheering on Tsitsipas when he takes on Rafa Nadal at the !

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Ronnie O’Sullivan’s good luck message for Stefanos Tsitsipas
Watch the Australian Open live on Eurosport and the Eurosport Player

Of course, Ronnie retweeted this one too, adding

Good luck 😎

Those who know me, know that my husband id Greek, so I’ll be routing for Stefanos this morning. And, should he win, I may have a bit of a case of split loyalties if he faces Novak Djokovic in the final.