Scott Donaldson wins the 2020 Championship League Snooker

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020 Monique Snooker

Scott Donaldson won his first profressional title yesterday as he beat Graeme Dott by 3-0 in the final of the 2020 Championship League Snooker.

Congratulations Scott Donaldson!

Here is te report by WST:

Thursday 5 Mar 2020 09:19PM

Rising star Scott Donaldson won his first professional title by beating Graeme Dott 3-0 in the final of the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester.

Perth’s 25-year-old Donaldson took the opening frame against Dott with a break of 60, the second by clearing from yellow to pink, and the third with a 34 clearance to secure the trophy. He earns a place at the Champion of Champions event in November.

A pro since 2012, Donaldson has jumped rapidly up the rankings in recent seasons, climbing from 93rd to 24th since 2015. He has reached four ranking event semi-finals, and has now gone all the way to the title at this invitation tournament, coming through a tough Winners’ Group which included the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson.

In the semi-finals, Donaldson beat Trump 3-1 with top breaks of 84 and 73 while Dott edged out Anthony McGill 3-2.

Co-incidentally, Donaldson also beat Dott in the final of Group Four last October to earn a place in the Winners’ Group. During that match he suffered from breathing difficulties so severe he feared he “might die.”

This time there were no such complications as the Scottish ace eased to victory. “It is absolutely phenomenal to win my first professional title, I was wondering when it was going to come.” said Donaldson, whose £10,000 winner’s bonus took his group earnings to £14,200 to add to the £6,500 he had acquired in winning Group Four.

“I made a really good break in the first frame and nicked the second on the colours. I made two good pressure clearances to win the last couple of frames which was amazing.

“Now I know I can win tournaments. It is a mindset thing more than anything else – I know how well I can play, I just need to tighten up with my cue ball control.

“The turning point was when I beat Neil Robertson in my last group match because if I didn’t, I was out. It was good because I knew what I needed to do and how I had to play against Neil and then Judd. It set me up brilliantly for the final. I was full of confidence, hit the ball well and played some good stuff.

“The Champion of Champions is such a great event to be in, I don’t care how you get in it, so that is brilliant and I am really looking forward to it.”

SEMI-FINALS
Judd Trump 1-3 Scott Donaldson
56-41, 14-84 (84), 47-51, 0-80 (73)

Graeme Dott 3-2 Anthony McGill
49-74 (53), 107-0 (99), 38-99 (69), 57-45, 64-15

FINAL
Scott Donaldson 3–0 Graeme Dott
61-0 (60), 61-50, 70-58

Judd Trump had won all six of his league matches, scoring heavily, so it came a bit as a surprise that Scott beat him by 3-1 in the semi finals. But Scott is exactly the kind of player who can cause Judd problems: he plays hard match snooker and isn’t bothered if there is no rhythm in the match. Judd, on the contrary, needs fluency to produce his best.

Of course there was more at stakes for Scott than for Judd, as the latter has already secured his place in the 2020 Champion of Champions … multiple times in fact. So I thought that, maybe, he wasn’t that motivated and had gone for too much. It would have been out of character though, given Judd’s current hunger for titles and, indeed, it wasn’t the case.

Here is Scott’s semi final against Judd Trump.

I’m also happy to see Graeme Dott playing well again. I’m sure nobody would like to face either of these two in the first round at the Crucible, nor would the want to be drawn against Anthony McGill who also made it to the play-offs yesterday.

Scott is only 25, and I hope that this win helps him to really fulfill his potential and win more titles. He’s certainly capable.

Snooker news – March, 5, 2020

March 5, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament, Snooker Professional snooker, Snooker

The Championship League Snooker 2020 is closing to its end as today is the its last day. Graeme Dott was the seventh player to join the Winners Group on Tuesday night, and today we will know the winner. You can follow the tournament on snooker.org.

Yesterday Judd Trump made his 700th competitive century whilst playing in it. He’s only the fifth player to reach that mark, and the youngest so far. Of course he has many more opportunities to make them than players had some 10 years ago as there are a lot more tournaments. What is impressive though, and a lot more meaningful, is the 6.26 ratio “frames played”/”centuries made”. That said the Championship League snooker, invitational and without ranking pressure, tends to produce more centuries than other comps, understandably, and it accounts for 9 of the 85 centuries Judd has made this season so far, with a 5.5 ratio…

That competition was in doubt because of the “corona virus crisis”. I have already expressed my views about the media induced panic and I was very happy to get the news yesterday that the organisers have decided to go ahead with the event. If anyone involved were to feel unwell, there will be medical advice and help available on site. Big thanks to the Portuguese media friend and big snooker fan who kept me up-to-date.

That’s a much more sensible approach that to feed the hysteria.

The full draw for the 2020 Gibraltar Open is on snooker.org, here. There are a lot of amateur players in the draw of whom the snooker.org team doesn’t know the nationality: they have an “empty” flag next to their name. If you happen to know the nationality of any of them, please leave a comment on this blog. Your help is truly appreciated.

The draw for the 2019/20 Challenge Tour play-offs is available on snooker.org. There is a tour card for the winner.

And finally, some Ronnie news. He’s playing exhibitions in Derry (Northern Ireland) today and tomorrow. Also, not snooker related this one, he’s going to have a bit of fun with Colin Murray in Sheffield on March 16. The event is free to attend.

Sheffield Wednesday legend Chris Waddle and snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan to star at free event – here’s how you can go

Presenter Colin Murray will be hosting the festivities happening in Sheffield

Sheffield Wednesday legend Chris Waddle and snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan will sit down with Colin Murray for a free event happening in Sheffield.

The presenter will challenge former England player Waddle and five times World Champion O’Sullivan to play 52 for a new 12 episode podcast series where every question is left to chance.

Each guest will have to answer five questions from a special 52 card deck

The event, happening in front of a live audience which you can be part of, will take place at Grosvenor Casino Sheffield from 6.30pm on Monday, March 16. The event will start at 6.30pm.

The presenter said: “I’ve always enjoyed taking the interview format and changing its dynamic, and 52 is a step further on that road. It’s going to be unpredictable, different and exciting. But remember folks, it’s important that we all listen to podcasts responsibly.”

Each episode will be recorded in front of a live audience in cities across the UK.

The first episode of Colin Murray’s 52 will be available to download across all podcast platforms from Monday, March 23.

2020 Gibraltar Open Draw and Format

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament, Snooker Professional snooker, Snooker

WST has released the draw and format for the coming 2020 Gibraltar Open

Tuesday 3 Mar 2020 07:35PM

The draw and format for the 2020 BetVictor Gibraltar Open is now available.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, John Higgins, Mark Selby, Mark Williams and defending champion Stuart Bingham are among the top stars in the line up for the world ranking event which runs from March 13-15 (preceded by the amateur rounds on March 11-12).

It’s the fourth and final event in the BetVictor European Series, with a £150,000 bonus to go to the player winning the most money across the series. Robertson heads the race but can still be caught by Trump in the concluding showdown.

World Champion Trump will face Gibraltar’s top player Lee Prickman in the opening round.

…

The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Sports, HM Government of Gibraltar.

Unsurprisingly no Ronnie in there. What does surprise me though is the high number of amateurs who entered this. There are “local” players from Spain and North Africa of course: for them it’s a rare occasion to play against pros and former pros. I’m still impressed by the number of them. For me there is a case there in favour of reviving the PTCs and maybe give a chance to the Paul Hunter Classic to be properly revived as the major pro-am and festival of snooker it used to be.

There are amateurs who have competed in the Challenge Tour, including most of those who will compete for a tour card in the Challenge Tour playoffs. That also is understandable.

There are a significant number of WSS (Seniors) players and this confirms that the WSS Tour is definitely needed: most players still crave opportunuties to play after their “professional years” are over.

Also nice to see Nucharut Whongaruthai and Kwaan Poomjaeng in there.

I have to say, I’m not one bit “excited” about the “Bonus race”. For me, this money would be better used in growing the prize money for the events themselves, especially in the early rounds, rather than further inflating the wallet of those already loaded (*). This tournament is very important for many players in terms of their ranking ahead of the Crucible. For all but eight on the tour it’s their last chance to improve their ranking.

(*) Of course boasting about how much some at the very top earn in a year is part of Barry Hearn PR strategy, but it’s misleading about what life and earnings really still are for the vast majority of snooker professionals: a misery and a struggle.

Snooker news – March, 3, 2020

March 3, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament, Snooker Professional snooker, Snooker

At the time of writing, the Championship League Snooker 2020 Group 7 is underway, with the play-offs to be contested between John Higgins, Graeme Dott, David Gilbert and Mark Williams.

Earlier this week, the last two events of the Challenge Tour 2019/20 were played. Ashley Hugill topped the rannking list, but, as he already got his tour card back by winning the WSF event in Malta, it’s the runner-up, Lukas Kleckers who gets the first tour card avzailable through the Challenge Tour.

Here is the WST report:

Tuesday 3 Mar 2020 09:03AM

Germany’s Lukas Kleckers has earned a place on the World Snooker Tour for the next two seasons thanks to his performances on the 2019/20 Challenge Tour.

Kleckers, age 23 from Essen, finished second in the Challenge Tour rankings after ten events, behind only Ashley Hugill. Englishman Hugill had already secured a tour card by winning the World Snooker Federation Open in January. So Kleckers was next in line to earn the automatic tour place available from the Challenge Tour.

Players ranked third to tenth in the Challenge Tour rankings will qualify for the Play Off tournament on March 29^th in Clacton. The winner of that event will also earn a World Snooker Tour card for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

Kleckers won Challenge Tour event eight in Tamworth in January. He also reached the semi-finals of three other events and has now been rewarded for his consistency.

At the age of just 17, Kleckers won the German national Championship. He turned pro in 2017 after coming through Q School and competed on the pro tour for two seasons. He has reached the last 32 of five ranking events, including the Riga Masters three times, and scored wins over the likes of Neil Robertson and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “On behalf of WPBSA and WST I’d like to congratulate Lukas for his superb performances on the Challenge Tour this season. He fully deserves his place back on the World Snooker Tour and we look forward to seeing him compete at the top level over the next two seasons.

“Snooker has grown dramatically in Germany over the past decade and we are delighted to see young talent like Lukas coming through and enjoying success. I hope his achievements will be an inspiration for young players across Germany and further afield.

“The standard of play on the new Challenge Tour this season has been outstanding and it provides a platform for developing talent to thrive and chase their dreams. The Play Off event later this month will feature eight fantastic players with a huge prize at stake. Let the best man win!”

Lukas’ first experience as a pro was quite disappointing and it will be interesting to see if competing in the Challenge Tour has helped him to make the improvements he needs.

Good luck Lukas!

A second tour card will be given to the winner of the play-offs event. The eight players competing in this one are Andrew Pagett, Dean Young, Rory McLeod, Oliver Brown, Ka Wai Cheung, Alan Taylor, Jake Nicholson and Patrich Whelan, in order of Challenge Tour rankings.

Meanwhile, Desmond Kane (Eurosport) has published his thoughts abot Ronnie’s chances at the Crucible

Why O’Sullivan remains a serious contender to win sixth world title

By Desmond Kane

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s latest world title bid will not be burdened by great expectations which may just work in his favour, writes Desmond Kane.

It was a year ago that Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed he did not participate at the impending Gibraltar Open because he “would rather sleep in a pig sty”. His critics might suggest he has already made a pig’s ear of this season with only the World Championship next month offering any form of redemption in what is left of a fairly underwhelming campaign for snooker’s Rocket Man.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

✔@ronnieo147

I’d rather sleep in a pig sty then have to go and play in the Gibraltar open

7,073

10:15 PM – Mar 16, 2019

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O’Sullivan’s inability to win a ranking tournament, his commitment to avoid any events he does not fancy and a few indifferent results has left him snookered in the death throes of this season. He even participated in the lottery of the Snooker Shoot Out last month in his quest to boost his season, but defeat to world number 110 Billy Joe Castle in the second round has left the five-times world champion on the outside looking in.

Outside of the top 16 in the one-year ranking list, he did not qualify to defend his Players Championship won by Judd Trump on Sunday and the knock-on effect sees him miss the defence of the Tour Championship (March 17-22), involving the top eight in the world after the Gibraltar Open (March 11-15), an event O’Sullivan views about as dimly as prize money for a 147.

With the China Open cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, O’Sullivan has time to play a few exhibitions, he is in Derry this week, and ready himself for his latest trip to the World Championship (April 18-May 4). When he washes up in Sheffield this year, he will have last played a competitive match against Castle on February 22.

Will it hamper his bid to claim a sixth world title seven years after winning a fifth title at the bow-tied torture chamber? Unlikely. He has previous with this narrative.

He infamously took a season off after lifting the world title in 2012, he worked in a pig sty believe it or not, before successfully defending the old pot a year later. He has not been back to the final since losing 18-14 to Mark Selby in 2014, but still has the potency to go deep into the tournament this time despite his apparent travails.

Overcoming firebrands like the outstanding world champion and world number one Judd Trump, who has already claimed five ranking titles in a fabulous coming-of-age campaign, and Neil Robertson would be his greatest achievement in the sport. Yet even at 44, it would be dangerous to describe O’Sullivan as an also-ran at a venue where curious happenings can develop over an elongated 17 days.

In his favour, he should be a fresh beast and perhaps a dangerous animal in Sheffield. He will not head there burdened by high levels of expectancy.

A year ago, he travelled to Sheffield in prime form having lifted three ranking events including the UK title, and was promptly bounced out 10-8 by then amateur James Cahill in arguably the greatest shock in the event’s history. Amid getting a buzz cut during the contest, he cut a fatigued figure at the end, left frazzled by a touch of the cold and a miserable level of green baize malpractice.

Trump plays the game on a different planet these days, but O’Sullivan on his day remains firmly in his orbit.

He lifted the elite invitational Shanghai Masters with a 11-9 win over Shaun Murphy in September, and narrowly lost the Northern Ireland Open final 9-7 to Trump.

It would be a typical denouement to such a season if O’Sullivan emerges victorious clasping the old pot. Whatever else is made of O’Sullivan’s season, it is not a fanciful nor a romantic notion from a 28-year career based on high levels of unpredictability.

There is one thing in this article I fully agree with: coming to Sheffield with no expectations on his shoulders could help Ronnie massively. The last two World titles came when nobody expected him to win. In 2012 he only just had avoided the qualifiers and his whole season had been marked by ilnesses (hence withdrawals) and a number of early defeats in the major events. In 2013 he had only played one match all season, in a PTC, and had lost it. The last two seasons have been the complete opposite: they were outstanding, with record breaking performances … until the Crucible. That said, I’m not overly optimistic.

Regarding the other contenders, and Trump in particular, it could play the other way around. All the media attention will be on Judd Trump, all the hype and pressure. If this season UK Championship and Masters are anything to go about it might be his undoing. The early rounds will be telling.

Judd Trump wins the 2020 Players Championship

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

Judd Trump beat Yan Bingtao by 10-4 in Southport yesterday, to win his fifth ranking title of the season, equalling Hendry, Selby, Ding and Ronnie.

Congratulations Judd Trump!

Here are the reports by WST

Afternoon session

Sunday 1 Mar 2020 04:28PM

Judd Trump seized command of his Coral Players Championship final with Yan Bingtao, leading 6-2 after the first session.

The Ace in the Pack is searching for a record equalling fifth ranking title this season. He’s already notched up victories at the International Championship, World Open, Northern Ireland Open and the German Masters.

Yan won his maiden ranking silverware at the season opening Riga Masters. However, he will have to win eight of the remaining 11 frames this evening if he is to pick up this week’s £125,000 top prize.

Trump dramatically stole this afternoon’s first frame. He required a snooker to tie, but when Yan left him a free ball on the final red he was able to craft a break of 37 and steal on the black.

Yan restored parity, before World Champion Trump charged clear of his counterpart. Breaks of 75, 122, 50 and 75 helped him to five frames on the bounce to lead 6-1. China’s Yan kept himself in with a chance by claiming the last frame of the session with a fine 95 break.

They will return this evening at 7pm, with the first to 10 frames taking home the title.

Evening session

Sunday 1 Mar 2020 09:28PM

World Champion Judd Trump beat Yan Bingtao 10-4 to win the Coral Players Championship in Southport.

Victory sees world number one Trump equal the record for most ranking victories in a single campaign. He now shares the record with Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Trump has three events left to claim the honour for himself, with the Gibraltar Open, Coral Tour Championship and World Championship to come.

It’s the second Players Championship title of Trump’s career, he beat Marco Fu 10-8 in the 2017 final. Today’s win sees Trump pocket the £125,000 top prize and extends his lead at the top of the one-year list. He’s amassed an impressive £656,500 in ranking competitions this season.

Trump also leads the 2020 Coral Cup. The player who accumulates the most prize money over the three-event series will win a £100,000 bonus. This evening’s victory moves him £32,500 ahead of Neil Robertson with just the Coral Tour Championship to go.

The Ace in the Pack has now won 16 ranking titles in his career, leaving him in 8^th position on the all-time winner’s list, just one behind Mark Selby. Remarkably 30-year-old Trump has been victorious in his last nine ranking finals and has not lost the title match at a ranking event since the 2017 Shanghai Masters, where he was runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Yan leaves Southport with the consolation of the £50,000 runner-up prize. His performances throughout the season will be rewarded with a place at the elite eight-player Coral Tour Championship in Llandudno. This was the 20-year-old Chinese star’s second final of the campaign, having claimed his maiden ranking title at the Riga Masters.

Trump had already taken command of today’s encounter after an impressive showing in the afternoon session moved him 6-2 ahead.

When they came out this evening Yan summoned a strong start, as he attempted to turn up the heat on Trump. He fired in a break of 77 in the opener, before taking the second frame of the night to pull within two at 6-4.

However, Trump remained unaffected by Yan’s early fightback and quickly re-asserted his dominance as he sprinted for the line. Breaks of 108, 68 and 60 helped him to four frames in a row, which secured the 10-4 victory.

Bristolian Trump said: “I have three opportunities to get the record. I’ve put myself in a good position. I’ve already got five and already equalled it. If I could go one further and hold it on my own that would be nice. I just have to take it one step at a time. There are some major events left to come and if I can have a few runs I will be pleased.

“Yan is a bit more tactical than me. A lot of the frames were going a bit slow. I just tried to speed him up and go for a few shots. It was hard to get momentum. There were spells where I played ok. I missed a few too many easy balls for my liking. In the future he is going to be a tough player to beat, so it is nice to get the wins against him while he is still young.

“Mark Selby was world number one for a long time and that is what I want to be. I want to be winning these events for four or five years and not letting anyone get close to me. I’m in a good position to hold the world number one spot for a little longer after winning today and hopefully I can really kick on and put in a good run at the Crucible.”

Yan said: “I beat three of the best players in the world this week. I am quite proud of myself. I just tried to enjoy myself against Judd today.

“I am looking forward to the Tour Championship. To qualify means I have done well this season and it is a reward for my good performances.”

Like him or not, Judd Trump is the best player in the world at the moment and he played very well yesterday again. The scoreline is harsh, but Yan can be proud of his achievements as well. He showed great battling qualities, as he had all week, and forced Trump’s respect. What I mean by the latter is that he showed Trump in this match that if he didn’t play the right shots, he, Yan, would take the opportunities and punish him. And we shouldn’t forget this: at the same age, 20, Judd Trump had won nothing in terms of ranking events, he even hadn’t reached a final. So, well done Yan! His time will come.

Will Judd Trump beat many records? Yes, probably. He doesn’t have anyone in his age group to challenge him, except maybe Ding, IF he gets back to his best, and they have about three times more tournaments to play in than the “Class of 92” had when they were the same age. So, if he is as good as they are/were he should beat all records. But we shall see…

Meanwhile … let’s have a look at some stats:

Mark Williams at 30: 15 ranking titles including 2 World titles, 2 UK titles … and 2 Masters. First ranking win at 21.

John Higgins at 30: 17 ranking titles including 1 World title, 2 UK titles … and 1 Masters. First ranking win at 19.

Ronnie O’Sullivan at 30: 18 ranking titles including 2 World titles, 3 UK titles … and 2 Masters. First ranking win, the UK a major, at 17.

Those three were constantly in competition with each others, they were all born in 1975 and they didn’t have 20 tournaments per season to play in.

Judd Trump at 30: 16 ranking titles, including 1 World title, 1 UK title … and 1 Masters. First ranking win at 21.

So? Is he the best ever as some claim? As Ronnie said recently, let’s have this conversation in 10 years time.

2020 Players Championship – Day 6

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

The penultimate day of the 2020 Players Championship saw the 20 years old Yan Bingtao beat former World Champion and Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy bt 6-1.

Yan Bingtao will face Judd Trump in the Final today, over a best of 19 frames.

Here is the report by WST:

Saturday 29 Feb 2020 10:58PM

Yan Bingtao produced a superb display to beat Shaun Murphy 6-1 and clinch his place in the final of the Coral Players Championship in Southport.

China’s Yan has enjoyed a fine 2019/20 campaign thus far. The talented 20-year-old won his maiden ranking title at the season opening Riga Masters. Since then he has reached further semi-finals at the UK Championship, Welsh Open and Shoot Out. He will face Judd Trump tomorrow in what will be the third ranking final of his career.

The win acts as revenge for Yan, who lost out to Murphy in their most recent meeting at the Welsh Open. On that occasion he came up short 6-5, in a marathon battle which finished after midnight.

Yan is now in line to clinch an automatic qualifying place at the World Championship. Tonight’s victory edges Joe Perry out to move Yan into 16th position in the world rankings as things stand, with only the Gibraltar Open and Coral Tour Championship left before the cut-off point.

Both Yan and Murphy are assured of their places at the Tour Championship in Llandudno. Only the eight best placed players in this season’s one-year list will qualify for the finale of the Coral Series. Murphy sits in 2nd position having won titles at the China Championship and Welsh Open, while Yan occupies 6th place.

After winning a 35-minute first frame, Yan claimed the second with a fine century run of 104, before adding a third. Murphy took a scrappy frame before the mid-session to make it 3-1.

When they returned Yan re-asserted his authority and stormed to the line. Contributions of 51 and 106 put him a frame from victory. He then stole the next on the black to secure a momentous win.

Yan said: “I kept telling myself not to think about the scoreline at 5-1. I tried to play like the match had just started. I did it shot by shot and avoided being too conservative.

“I just tried to keep calm no matter what happened or however much I was feeling the pressure. I kept my rhythm and although I felt excited during the match, it was solid.

“It is scary playing Judd Trump, similar to how players might fear Ronnie O’Sullivan. I never play well against him, but I’m happy with being part of the final so just want to enjoy it.”

Murphy said: “I just had a bad night. I thought he played quite well. He had a bit of a wobble in the fourth frame, but other than that I thought he was very solid. I can only pay him credit and pay tribute to him.

“Not a lot of people are aware that after he lost to me in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, he practised all day during the final. He practised all day after I beat him at the World Championship a couple of years ago as well. You have a lad there who is completely dedicated to the game and hungry for success.”

This win from Yan is very significant on many levels. He got “revenge” on Murphy although I’m sure there is no violent thoughts in his mind, just sporting revenge. He also climbed to the 16th place in the rankings and Crucible seedings. He is now certain to be at the Tour Championship later this month, with an good opportunity to get higher in the various ranking lists as there are only eight players in Llandudno.

Aftter Yan’s victory yesterday, Victoria, who runs the Vic Snooker Academy where Yan practises, tweeted that there are several other players in her academy who beat Yan in practice conditions, but doing it in a big match is something diffrent entirely and she’s very right. Yan’s temperament and work ethic are probably amongst the very best on the tour.

It also transpired on twitter, that in Watfort last week, Yan had been the victim of an aggression: he was mugged and his coat was stolen. He was with other Chinese lads and they were attacked by a group of white youngsters. That’s absolute awful.

He is playing Judd Trump today and will obviously be second favourite but I will be routing for him. I just hope that he doean’t get beat heavily. People underestimate how much harder it is for the young Chinese than it is for the young Brits to get through and succeed. They are far away from their families, there is the language and culture barrier, and now, with the corona virus outbreak, there is the uncertainty and the worries about when and how they will see their families again. A win from Yan today would be fantastic, and not just for him, but for all the Chinese lads.

Regarding the corona virus outbreak, I remain convinced that the reaction to this is over the top and panic is fuelled by the media. It’s obvious that this virus is extremely contagious, and it can be deadly, mainly for “fragile” subjects. But fundamentally, it’s similar to the flu, an ilness that kills dizens of thousands every year in Europe only, the diffrence being though that over the years most of us have developped a natural “resistance” to the flu, even if the flu virus mutates continually, AND that “flu” isn’t feared anymore, it’s there and we just live with it. There are now rumors that the Gibraltar Open could be cancelled too. What’s next? Playing the World Championship behind closed doors, with the players, referees and cameramen in bio suits?

Reading what World Health Organisation has to say about the corona virus might be a good antidote to all the media catastrophist hype