Ben Mertens, the 15 years old from Belgium, made history yesterday by becoming the youngest ever player to win a match at the World Championship. It’s all the more remarkable because his opponent was James Cahill, who qualified for the Crucible last year, and went on to beat Ronnie in the last 32 at the CRucible, before pushing Stephen Maguire to a decider in the last 16. James Cahill was tipped by Phil Yates and Snookerbacker to qualify again, despite winning only four matches all season and never progressing past the the last 64. That said, James seems to be one of those players who find something against top opponents: one of his wins this season came against David Gilbert, and he pushed both Judd Trump and Mark Williams to a decider. I did not tip him but I still expected him to progress past Ben. Instead he was beaten by 6-2; the match wasn’t even close.

Here is the report by WST:

Wednesday 22 Jul 2020 11:14PM

Belgian 15-year-old Ben Mertens became the youngest ever winner of a match at the Betfred World Championship, beating James Cahill 6-2 in qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Mertens isn’t the only teenage Belgian to achieve a World Championship landmark, his compatriot Luca Brecel became the youngest player to qualify for the Crucible in 2012, at the age of 17.

Last year, it was Cahill who made history with a World Championship shock, when he became the first amateur to qualify for the Crucible and went on to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the opening round. Today the Blackpool cueman experienced the other side of an unexpected defeat.

Mertens, who won the world under-16 title in 2018, is one of continental Europe’s most promising prospects. He joins Polish 16-year-old Antoni Kowalski in round two, who defeated David Lilley 6-4 yesterday.

Despite only being 15 years of age, Mertens is already used to playing in front of the TV cameras, having represented Belgium in the World Cup alongside Brecel. He also beat Thai legend James Wattana to reach the last 64 of the Shoot Out in 2019.

Cahill did start brightly this evening with a fine break of 82. However, Mertens responded by crafting a run of 63 to help edge an exciting second frame on the pink.

The young Belgian then notched up four frames on the bounce to move a frame from victory at 5-1. Cahill kept in the tie by reducing his arrears with a contribution of 90, but Mertens wasn’t to be denied and he wrapped up the 6-2 win in the eighth frame.

“It is amazing, I am over the moon and I really can’t believe it,” said Mertens. “I was happy that I even got one frame on the board, but to win the match 6-2 is unbelievable.

“The World Cup was also on television so that helped me to handle the cameras and things. I was always watching Luca when I was young, the fact I can now do it on television by myself is amazing.”

Malaysia’s Thor Chuan Leong kept his hopes of tour survival alive with a 6-3 defeat of another exciting youngster in Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko.

Despite suffering defeat, 14-year-old Boiko still made history as the youngest player ever to compete in the World Championship.

This afternoon’s match did hang in the balance at 3-3, but Thor then took control of proceedings. Consecutive breaks of 68, 83 and 69 saw him surge to the 6-3 win. Next up for Thor is world number 81 Ian Burns.

Thor said: “I’d seen him play in Facebook videos, making 140, 147, and I was thinking, oh my God, I’ve drawn him! He can be a very good player. He just needs some experience.

Rory McLeod came out on top 6-5 in a marathon battle with Billy Castle, which lasted four hours and 30 minutes. The former Ruhr Open champion now faces Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown

Barry Pinches recorded the first whitewash win of the week so far, defeating Dean Young 6-0. Pinches top scored with a break of 111. Next up for the Canary is Craig Steadman.

Looking back at round 1 results, and at my predictions, I realise that I underestimated the European juniors and overestimated the UK/Irish ones. One reason for that is that I expected the UK/Irish to have more experience with the tournament conditions, and to have had more playing opportunities in general. The thing is that most European young players probably practice a lot with older sparring partners, hard match players, simply because there isn’t much of a junior circuit in their country. I also underestimated older, very experienced players, notably Patrick Fraser, Alex Borg and Ian Preece. They had done next to nothing all season, but this is the World Championship, and slightly longer matches. Extra motivation and loads of experience were telling factors I guess.

I didn’t expect Kaçper Filipiak to win, but I’m very happy he did. Kaçper was given a tour card in 2011, at the age of 15, at the time the youngest ever player to turn pro. He wasn’t ready. He could play, but everything else was way too much for him: living in a foreign country, the language barrier, the pressure of the professional circuit. It is NOT true that if you are “good” enough, you are “old” enough. There is much more to being professional than the technical ability. I remember Kaçper at the time, training at SWSA, and Janie Watkins telling me “He’s a lamb for the slaughter.” I remain convinced that this was a disastrous experience that left him with a lot of scars. And he’s not the only one. Lyu Haotian is another one who was thrown into the professional life way too soon, had a traumatic experience, and might never fulfill his true potential. I know that Shaun Murphy would disagree here, citing his own experience. What he forgets is that, contrary to Kaçper and Lyu, he wasn’t a 15 years old expat, he didn’t have to cope with additional hurdles – a different language, a different culture, loneliness – and he had his whole family around to support him.

Iulian Boiko from Ukraine will play on the professional tour next year; he’s only 14. He might look older, but he is’nt. I really hope that he will have the right people around him, and will not be another victim of the – in my opinion – disastrous decision by WST (Worldsnooker back then) to remove the age restriction that prevented under-16 players to turn pro.

The quest for the World Title has started yesterday in Sheffield.

Two players so far had to withdraw: Hamza Akbar because of visa issues, Syd Wilson because of ill health, despite testing negative for the coronavirus. It’s very unfortunate for both.

This is WST reporting about those withdrawals:

Tuesday 21 Jul 2020 12:50PM

Pakistan’s top player Hamza Akbar has been forced to pull out of the Betfred World Championship qualifying rounds due to visa issues.

He was due to play Amine Amiri in the first round on Wednesday and had intended to travel to the UK, but despite all efforts has been unable to obtain a visa.

Both WST and the WPBSA had been working with contacts at the Visa Office to exhaust every avenue but unfortunately these efforts were unsuccessful.

Morocco’s Amiri receives a bye into the second round, where he will face Martin Gould.

England’s Sydney Wilson has also pulled out, due to ill health.  He suffered from fever symptoms and notified us as required, and we appreciate his honesty in informing us. He tested negative for Covid-19 but our rules outline that anyone symptomatic within 14 days of their scheduled arrival must declare this and must not attend the event.

Wilson was due to face Lukas Kleckers on Wednesday, so Germany’s Kleckers receives a bye to the second round, where he will play Sunny Akani.

Hamza Akbar withdrawal seriously boosts the chances for Martin Gould to keep his tour card.

And this is WST report on yesterday’s action:

Tuesday 21 Jul 2020 11:40PM

Jimmy White defeated Russia’s Ivan Kakovskii 6-3 on the first day of Betfred World Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

White’s last appearance at the Crucible came back in 2006. However, the legendary six-time World Championship runner-up has appeared in the final round of qualifying twice since then.

In a tense encounter this evening, White was unable to shake off his 21-year-old opponent in the early parts of the match. With the score at 4-3, the Whirlwind summoned breaks of 54 and 58 to get over the line with two frames to spare. Next up White faces Cypriot Michael Georgiou, who must win the match to stand any chance of tour survival.

White said: “Because I am so revved up, I have been practising hard and playing good players. I’ve been producing good stuff on a daily basis. When you come to a tournament where you want to win so bad and you make so many unforced errors, it is mindblowing.

“If I beat Michael Georgiou I’ve got to beat Rob Milkins and then probably Jimmy Robertson. I might have got ahead of myself today and it could have cost me, he potted some good balls. I’ve got to stay focussed throughout the whole game against Michael Georgiou.”

Andy Hicks overcame 12-time women’s World Champion Reanne Evans 6-3 to reach the second round.

Hicks regained his place as a professional on the circuit at the start of this season, after successfully negotiating Q School.

The Devon cueman has appeared at Crucible on eight occasions, including a trip to the semi-finals on his debut in 1995. He will face Sam Craigie in the next round this week, as he continues his bid for a first trip to the Theatre of Dreams since 2007.

Hicks said: “It’s the only thing that motivates me. That’s probably why I struggled a bit today, the World Championship means everything. I’ve been to the semi-finals, albeit many years ago. Of course I’d like to do well and that’s why I put added pressure on myself because this is the biggest event of the year.

“Sam’s a good player, but they are all good players. I just have to play my own game, play better than I have done today obviously. If I play like I know I can then I can beat anybody.”

Allan Taylor booked his progression with an impressive 6-1 defeat of Iran’s Soheil Vahedi. He now faces Welshman Lee Walker in round two.

It’s already been a highly successful week for Taylor, after yesterday evening’s 4-0 defeat of Adam Duffy in the final of the Challenge Tour Playoff, which sealed his professional status for next season.

Welshman Kishan Hirani staged a dramatic fightback to beat Finland’s Robin Hull 6-5. Hirani had trailed 5-1 before claiming five frames on the bounce, including breaks of 58 and 70, to book a second round meeting with Louis Heathcote.

English 19-year-old amateur Hayden Staniland secured his progression with a fine 6-1 win over Riley Parsons, while Chinese 16-year-old Wu Yize beat WSF Open winner Ashley Hugill 6-4.

Those results mean that Adam Stefanow is now relegated from the main Tour.

I’m very pleased to see Wu Yize go through, and I hope that they will show 16 years old Antoni Kowalski, from Poland on television in round 2. Antoni defeated David Lilley, a vastly experienced player. The match had only one break over 50, so it’s not that the youngster out-potted his opponent. He must have shown tactical skills and a patience rarely associated with young age.

I saw very, very little of the action.

From that little I saw, Reanne Evans, the only female player in the competition, didn’t play anywhere near her best. To be fair however she hasn’t been at her best with any consistency for the last couple of years.

Kishan Hirani certainly can play, but at 5-1 down I didn’t give him a chance against someone as experienced as Robin Hull. I did not see anything of the match, so it’s impossible for me to form an opinion on what happened. However, only a few days ago, this was put on twitter by someone reliable:

When I saw this, I never thought about covid-19; indeed, Robin suffered a very severe, potentially fatal, viral infection that prevented him to play for most of 2003/04 and has been plagued with health issues since.

Ronnie spoke to the BBC and although he;s willing to play at the Crucible, he feels that having a crowd is an unnecessary risk.

Ronnie O’Sullivan says it would be an “unnecessary risk” to have fans attend the World Snooker Championship when the tournament begins on 31 July.

World Snooker has said it is “working hard” on plans for spectators to attend the Crucible “if it is possible”.

No sporting event in the UK has had spectators since March and O’Sullivan sees little point in even a reduced number of attendees in Sheffield.

“You aren’t really achieving anything,” the five-time champion told 5 Live.

“Having people there but not enough people doesn’t look good. Either pack it out and say we don’t actually care or just go we aren’t having anyone.”

World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn says “detailed discussions” are taking place over the potential for a live crowd.

But O’Sullivan says he has “no problem” with sporting events being behind closed doors until 2021, given the risk of coronavirus infection.

“Just sport being on television is enough at the moment,” said the 44-year-old.

“I just don’t think you want to be putting people’s lives at risk. You look at the NHS and you think this is like a war at the moment and it’s those people who have been flat out, and you watch what they go through, and anything to take the stress off them is paramount.”

He says playing is a “risk I’m prepared to take” but that he will assess how he feels at the venue and that if he is “very, very uncomfortable” he would withdraw.

“If I get to that point then obviously there is no point in playing,” he said. “And hopefully I don’t, hopefully I feel like I’m there and I’m enjoying.”

It’s a bit strange that the BBC is writing about the possibility of Crucible crowds, despite the fact that WST has already announced that there WILL be a crowd.

That set apart, it just confirms that Ronnie is very uncomfortable with having a crowd at the Crucible – and rightly so – yet prepared to take the risk, unless it gets to a point where he feels  that the risks are too high.

Here is the interview with Colin Murray

Congratulations Allan Taylor!

Here is the report by WST:

Monday 20 Jul 2020 09:31PM

Allan Taylor beat Adam Duffy 4-0 in the final of the Challenge Tour Playoff to seal a return to the World Snooker Tour, earning a two-year tour card.

Liverpool’s Taylor had dropped off the circuit at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, he subsequently missed out on immediately bouncing back at Q School.

However, Taylor remained involved in the circuit, taking up the opportunity to become WST’s Home Nations Master of Ceremonies for this season. Today’s victory at the English Institute of Sport ensured him a return to a more familiar profession.

The event involved the top eight players on the Challenge Tour Order of merit, who have yet to secure professional status for next season.

Taylor came from 3-1 down to beat Oliver Brown 4-3 in his first round tie, making a break of 130 in the process. He then beat Jake Nicholson 4-1, before whitewashing Adam Duffy to once again become a professional snooker player.

Taylor said: “I’m over the moon. I’ve come here after lockdown, everyone has struggled. Something has clicked the last couple of days, which was perfect timing for me. It has been a fantastic job that everyone has done in the hotel and here to get us to this stage. I can’t thank them enough.

“There is no crowd, just pure focus. It was just me, Adam and Brendan Moore the referee. You’d think it would be a bit of a relaxed environment, but it was certainly still intense.

“It was bittersweet being the MC at the Home Nations. I snapped up the opportunity, you can’t miss out on something like that. I made a tough decision to miss some of the Challenge Tour events for that. Thankfully I still made the Playoffs. I possibly wouldn’t have managed this without the experience on the carpet as the MC. In my mind there were three players at the end of the week and I was one of them, albeit with a tuxedo and a microphone. I haven’t been deep in the Home Nations as a player, so for me to be MC and work the crowd and get that response, it was a massive boost in confidence.”

I’m absolutely delighted for Allan who is a great lad, very funny and positive. He won’t have much time to savour his victory, being back playing this evening in the first round of the 2020 World Championship Qualifiers. His win yesterday will give him confidence and three competitive matches at the EIS will certainly put him at an advantage.

Regarding the 2020 World Championship, we were told that there would be a “small number” of spectators at the Crucible. No actual number was given by the guverning body. Which is weird because in this article about boxing I found this:

Matchroom will stage a test event for the government with the World Snooker Championships staged in front of 350 fans at the Crucible in Sheffield from July 31.

Now seeing the World Championship as a “test event” is quite shocking, and 350 persons in a venue with a total capacity below 1000, is hardly a “small number”, it’s over one seat in three.

I don’t care about those who brand me negative. This is indenfendible. It’s a gamble, and one that could have deadly consequences. And I’m not the only one seeing it this way: Snookerbacker, well known for his snooker blog and his life-long passion for our sport, thinks exactly the same. Both of us have been and worked there.

Under the current circumstances, the Crucible is one on the least suitable venues to stage an event with a crowd.  It’s small, cramped and poorly ventilated. The Barbican in York for instance, would have been much better. There could be plenty of room between the two tables, the crowd is a bit further away too.

I honestly hope that all will be well, but I’m certainly not confident that it will, and even if it eventually does, I still find taking such a risk is unacceptable.

There will be spectators at the Crucible for the 2020 World Championship, and all those who had kept their ticket and expressed their willingness to be there, have been granted access.

This is the WST announcement:

Monday 20 Jul 2020 01:40PM

Snooker’s Betfred World Championship will pilot the safe return of spectators to sporting events, with a reduced crowd to be allowed at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield throughout the event.

The tournament runs from July 31 to August 16 and spectators will be safely welcomed for every session.

This follows the announcement from the UK Government that a small number of sporting events have been carefully selected, providing the opportunity to stress-test the Government’s ‘stage five’ guidance, on the return of fans to elite sports events.

Extensive health and safety guidelines for the pilot sporting events have been provided by the Government and these will be followed carefully by WST. Spectators will be expected to follow a code of conduct, with further details to be announced shortly.

Earlier this month, WST asked all fans with tickets for the original dates of the Betfred World Championship to register their interest in keeping a place among a reduced crowd. Every fan who decided to keep their tickets will now be awarded a place among the crowd.

Where there are seats available for certain sessions, these will go on general sale within the coming days.

WST Chairman Barry Hearn said: “Following extensive discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Nigel Huddleston MP in recent weeks, we are delighted that the Betfred World Championship has been picked among the very small number of sports events for this pilot project. We will be the only indoor sporting event with a crowd.

“This highlights the Government’s confidence in snooker and our ability to safely welcome back fans at one of the biggest sporting events on the planet.

“This is marvellous news for the small number of spectators lucky enough to have kept their tickets for what will be a unique occasion at the Crucible. Every single one who chose the option to keep their seat for this year will be given a place. And the limited number of tickets on general sale will be snapped up quickly by fans who now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this world-famous event live.

“This really will be a golden ticket. We hope this event will never again be staged under these circumstances. But on this occasion, it will make the experience even more unique and special. And fans can rest assured that every health and safety guideline provided by the Government will be followed.

“From the beginning of this crisis we have remained positive, worked towards opportunities and maintained a constant dialogue with Government. We have been the pacesetters for the return of live sport, staging two successful tournaments already and now we will be the first to host fans at an indoor event. Everyone involved in getting to this point has worked extremely hard and my gratitude goes to them.

“Several players have commented that the tournament would not be the same without fans, and so now they will be thrilled by the fact that we are among the first sports to welcome spectators back. The players’ duty is now to behave in a responsible manner, use common sense and follow all relevant guidelines. The eyes of the planet will be on them to help deliver a ground-breaking event.”

With a history dating back to 1927, the Betfred World Championship features the world’s top 16 players plus 16 qualifiers, battling for the famous trophy.

Defending champion Judd Trump gets the tournament underway on July 31^st, while other top stars in action over the 17 days will include Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Ding Junhui.

The event is televised across the planet on broadcasters including BBC, Eurosport and Matchroom Live, with a global audience of 500 million.

The Betfred World Championship is supported by Sheffield City Council.

As usual, the bold highlights have been added by me.

I still believe that this is a very risky move. Spectators will be “expected” to follow the code of conduct, but we all know that if some of them have a few too many, or some believe that the whole thing is a hoax – this will go out of the window. I really, really hope that the small number is really very small. Anything over 180 – about 1 in 5 seats occupied – would be very risky in such a small confined place. And I also hope that there will be a strict zero tolerance policy – and the staff to enforce it – regarding drunken fans (even mildy drunk).

Hopefully all will be well, but I am not at all reassured about this.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s an extraordinary effort by WST, and, with the CLS in Milton Keynes, they have proven that they can run a safe event. But this is different. They have little control over the spectators. They will have to trust them to follow the guidelines, and to act sensibly at all times. In particular they will need to rely on them not to come and attend if they have any symptom, and, for instance, I’m not sure that everyone who holds a “golden” (expemsive) ticket for the Final will act sensibly and give it a miss, should they feel mildly unwell…