Still waiting for thar draw … with an interview with Ronnie.

July 8, 2020 Monique Interview, Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

At the time of writing the draw for the World Championship Qualifiers is yet to be announced. My guess is that there are quite a few “non-entries” and WST is still busy contacting amateur players to fill the draw, whilst making sure that they will actually be able to attend.

Meanwhile, some images of the practice tables being installed in the “Bubble Hotel” were shared on social media:

Other than that Phil Haigh has published another article about Ronnie and here is the link.

The content is nothing new really. Ronnie shares how, in the past, his own perfectionism and expectations have held him back and even driven to depression. It’s something he has spoken, and written, about before in other interviews and his his biographies.

here is the most relevant excerpt:

‘I just want to be the best that I can be,’ O’Sullivan told Stephen Hendry on Instagram.

‘I’ve played tournaments, played terrible, but won, then felt suicidal! ‘But I’ve lost matches, played really well and thought, “Yeah! I can’t wait for the next tournament!”

‘For me it was about how I played, and that’s the wrong way to be and that’s why I’ve changed.

‘It’s about getting through, getting the job done, live to fight another day.

‘Once the penny dropped, working with Steve Peters, it’s very hard to go back to how I was pre-Steve Peters.

‘I was all over the gaff really. Yeah I’d win tournaments if I was on it, but if I wasn’t I had no chance really.

‘Whereas now, I’ve won so many tournaments where I’ve gone into it feeling like I’m playing absolutely terrible. Because I’ve had the right mindset I’ve worked my way into it, got to the quarters, started to fly and then won other tournaments off the back of it.

‘That wouldn’t have happened pre-Steve Peters. I’m a much better winning machine than I was.’

Phil also quotes Steve Peters speaking on the BBC about his work with Ronnie back in 2013

‘When Ronnie approached me he expressed what he wanted to do with his emotions, his mind, his thinking and the frustrations of why he couldn’t do that,’ Peters said.

‘I see people, when I work with them, as students really. All I’m there to do is to give them the equipment to deal with their minds, to work with it the way they want to work with it. Ronnie’s been an amazing student.

‘I work with a model, which is called the Chimp Model. It’s a simple way of understanding how they mind works and what the rules are.

‘When you walk out there to play snooker, inevitably the chimp will kick off and say “I don’t want to be here at all, this is going to be threatening.” Who knows what it’ll say? It’s about learning what your particular emotions are going to do to you.

‘Then behind that there’s a back-up system that I call “The Computer” which is try to understand the belief systems you’re holding when you go in there and what are your values.

‘We all feel pressure under certain circumstances and Ronnie’s saying he’s learned how to deal with it now, rather than just succumb to it and react to it.

‘It’s a learning process. He’s much better this year than he was last year [2012], he’s making improvements so long may it continue.’

Ronnie was also in contact with Steve Peters, during the CLS aka the”Covid Classic”. Hopefully, Steve Peters will be able to help him coping with the unusual conditions during the coming World Championship.

While we wait for the draw… Eurosport asked Ronnie about some Crucible memories

July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 Monique Eurosport, Interview Eurosport, Interview

Ronnie O’Sullivan recalls his funniest Crucible memory – ‘Knowlsey was fuming’

Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to participate in his 27th straight World Championship as he chases a sixth title that would see him equal the Crucible hauls of Steve Davis and Ray Reardon.

It will be a serious business for O’Sullivan and the rest of snooker’s leading players with the game’s most coveted trophy and a £500,000 first prize on the line in Sheffield when the delayed tournament begins on Friday 31 July.

O’Sullivan has plenty of memories since first appearing at the Crucible as a teenager in 1993, but can also still enjoy the lighter side of the sport as a fan.

The five-times world champion – who is seeded sixth at this year’s event – recalls watching a match between then defending world champion John Parrott and Tony Knowles in 1992 when Parrott benefited from a blunder by legendary referee Len Ganley on his way to a 13-4 win in the last 16.

“One of my favourite moments was a match between John Parrott and Tony Knowles. I remember watching it on the box,” said O’Sullivan.

“John Parrott was in a snooker on the brown. He missed it, and the referee said: ‘foul four, and a miss’. Tony Knowles has said to the referee: ‘Yeah, put the white back’.

“Parrott suddenly gets down to pot the brown, blue, pink and black to clear up. Knowlsey is going mad. He is saying to the referee: ‘He couldn’t see that brown.’

“Poor Knowlsey. He was getting out of his chair, and was fuming. But it was funny to watch.”

It might be perceived as a bit mean to find that incident funny, but, myself, I have witnessed Tony Kowles getting quite worked up about something related to snooker and he got so passionate about it, despite the fact that nobody was disagreeing with him in that particular case, that indeed, it became actually funny.

Regarding the above incident, what puzzles me most is the fact that John Parrott must have known that the white had not been correctly replaced, and said nothing. Unless, of course, Tony’s perception of the situation was wrong from the start. That’s possible because, a player sat in his chair at the Crucible, certainly does not have the best view on the table.

Ronnie O’Sullivan on ‘boxing’ snooker bout with Stephen Hendry – ‘It was a big mistake’

Ronnie O’Sullivan admits he will always regret engaging with boxing trash talk before his World Championship semi-final with Stephen Hendry in 2002.

Ahead of his Crucible clash with seven-times world champion Hendry 18 years ago, O’Sullivan infamously said he would like to send his opponent “back to his sad little life in Scotland”.

It is a moment the Essex player always regrets – he later apologised to Hendry – but believes his close friendship with former world featherweight champion boxer Prince Naseem Hamed did not help before getting inside the ropes with his fellow 36-times ranking winner.

“I wonder – rightly – whether he’s been listening to a certain Sheffield boxer with a penchant for shooting his mouth off,” said Hendry in his autobiography Me and the Table.

“In the last couple of seasons, my pal Prince Naseem has visibly switched his loyalties from me to Ronnie, and the latter has been spotted hanging out with Naz’s entourage. So it’s not surprising there’s a bit of fighting talk.”

The pre-match barbs backfired on O’Sullivan as he lost 17-13 to a fired up Hendry in the semi-finals, who also admitted it is the only grudge match he ever played at the iconic Sheffield venue.

Hendry rolled in breaks of 125, 124, 122, 113, 100, 81, 73, 65, 63, 59, 58, 55 and 53 as he won five of the last six frames to progress to the final, punching the air in completing victory.

“That was terrible. I blamed myself for that,” said O’Sullivan.

“It should never have happened. But I’m also blaming Naz for getting me so revved up. He said to me the day before the match: ‘You should be more like this, or more like that.’

“It was okay for Naz because he was a boxer, but I’m a snooker player. You have to respect your opponent. In boxing, they like that sort of trash talk to sell tickets. It wasn’t really me. I was easily led. When I said it, and when it came out, I was gutted.

It is something I will always regret for the rest of my life. Stephen was my hero, and still is. I never a meant a word of it. I’ve told Stephen that, and apologised to him. I have a lot of time for Stephen, and he accepted my apology. We’re good mates now – we have a solid friendship.

“It was a big mistake on my part.”

It was indeed a very bad idea and it backfired big time. It also led to quite heated – and colourful – discussions between fans of both players on forums and message boards, notably on BBC 606, long after the players themselves had patched things up!

Starting the day with good news: Snooker Clubs in England can reopen after all …

July 7, 2020 Monique Snooker Snooker

This was published this morning

WPBSA / EPSB Statement on the Re-Opening of UK Snooker Clubs

7th July 2020

Following our previous statements with regards to the re-opening of UK snooker clubs we can now provide a further update following developments today (Monday 6^th July).

In recent weeks, working with the independent All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Snooker we have sought urgent clarity from the UK government through its Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on behalf of snooker clubs as to when they would be able to re-open. This followed the announcements made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 23 June concerning the ease of lockdown restrictions coming into effect from the 4^th July.

It has been confirmed by Nigel Huddleston MP (Mid Worcestershire), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Heritage at the Department for the DMCS that:

“Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. Snooker clubs have been allowed to open since 4 July, as long as they can follow the COVID-secure guidelines.”

We can also confirm that the government guidance titled: ‘Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do after 4 July’ has today been updated and at section 1.3 it is clearly specified that ‘snooker halls’ are now permitted to reopen and are expected to follow COVID-19 Secure guidelines.

There has understandably been confusion among snooker clubs during the past few days following conflicting advice received from both national and local authorities. We understand that in some cases enforcement action has been taken by local authorities to close some clubs over the past weekend and that some clubs have been advised that they could open, but not use their snooker facilities.

The WPBSA and EPSB are both therefore delighted to receive this clarity from Mr Huddleston and that our clubs will now be able to reopen ahead of other sports.

We would remind all clubs, however, that they can only do so if they are able to strictly follow the COVID-19 Secure guidelines issued. Clubs must also be aware that their local Health and Safety Executive (HSE) may exercise their powers to close clubs if they cannot demonstrate that these guidelines are being strictly followed.

If any 147 Club wishes to discuss their COVID-19 strategy, we recommend that they contact WPBSA Club and Facilities Manager Bob Hill who can provide further support.

Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “I would like to thank all those clubs who have worked so hard on their processes and procedures. In particular we recognise those who have contributed to the EPSB 147 Club policies which have been instrumental in seeing snooker clubs re-open ahead of many other indoor sports.”

Please note that as stated within the latest guidance:

This is national guidance that applies to England only – if you live in an area that is experiencing a local COVID-19 outbreak and where local lockdown measures have been imposed, different guidance and legislation will apply. Please consult the local lockdown restrictions page to see if any restrictions are in place in your area.

People in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should follow the specific rules in those parts of the UK.

So that’s great news. TBH, it made no sense to allow pubs to reopen, knowing plain well that drunk people will never abide to social distancing, and not allowing a game of snooker.

Could we have an audience at the Crucible after all?

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

WST has published this only a couple of hours ago

Monday 6 July 2020 01:23PM

The Betfred World Championship starts on July 31st and fans with tickets are being given the option to register interest in attending the Crucible if government regulations allow an audience.

Snooker’s biggest tournament will run from July 31st to August 16th at the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. WST remains in discussion with the UK government around the possibility of safely welcoming spectators. Otherwise, the event will be played behind closed doors.

All fans with tickets have been contacted today giving them the chance to state whether they want to be considered for a seat in the reduced capacity audience. This is an unparalleled opportunity to be among the few fans present in the arena for one of the great events in sport.

Under these circumstances, any fans attending will be strictly required to follow regulations on social distancing and sanitisation, which will be detailed by WST prior to arrival.

Ticket holders also have the option of a full refund, or a transfer of their order to the 2021 Betfred World Championship at the Crucible.

WST Chairman Barry Hearn said: “Detailed discussions with the relevant organisations are ongoing and we are determined to explore every avenue. We realise that to attend the Betfred World Championship is a once in a lifetime experience for many fans, and for everyone in the arena it is a magical occasion.

“The highest priority of course is the health and safety of fans and everyone connected with the event, so spectators will only be allowed if we are confident that this priority can be met. But we are working hard towards making this happen if it is possible.

“If there are fans in the arena they will be witnessing a unique sporting occasion. This would be a golden ticket, for the very lucky few. We urge fans to let us know their preferred option as soon as possible.

“We have already staged two successful snooker events in recent weeks and led the way in terms of the return of live sport.”

Ticket holders are urged to check their inboxes from 1:30pm today and respond with their desired option by Monday 13 July, 12:00pm.

I had seen an article in the press a few days ago, stating that Barry Hearn was “toying” (sic) with the idea. I didn’t take it too seriously. Apparently I was wrong.

Even now, I find it hard to see how that can actually happen given that Yourkshire, and the Sheffield area, were rather badly hit by the pandemics. Allowing spectators, even in small numbers, means that there is a need for theatre staff at the box office and to check the tickets, to clean and, probably, even disinfect the arena and its surrounding facilities between sessions. Bathrooms need to be available, and kept clean. Security and paramedic staff must be on site. And that’s a bare minimum.

Outside the Crucible itself, spectators will need to find accomodations and transport as well, and I guess that, so close to the event, and things not being certain yet, there won’t be many able or willing to travel from abroad.

But it would probably be nice for the players to have some sort of audience there, although they probably won’t be allowed in the seats really close to the players.

If mesures are relaxed enough for an audience to be allowed, I hope that some sort of “relaxation” will also apply to the players inside the bubble. It would be good if they had access to a gym, a recreation room and a “café”, allowed some sort of interaction with the other people in the bubble – considering that all of them woould have tested negative, as well as having one, or even two, person(s) of their choice with them. The World Championship is very taxing mentally as it is, and it goes on for 17 days. Mental health matters and this surely would help.

David Hendon’s latest podcast: previewing the 2020 World Championship

July 4, 2020July 4, 2020 Monique Interview, Professional snooker tournament Interview, Professional snooker

Two days ago David Hendon published this podcast on his soundcloud channel:

davehendon · Snooker Scene Podcast episode 114 – World Championship Predictions

David Hendon and Michael McMullan first reflect on Stephen Maguire’s Tour Championship win, as well as on his career so far.

They then turn their attention to the 2020 World Championship seeds and discuss who they fancy to reach the one table setup. Looking at each quarter, they each give their opinion on the chances each player has to get the the semi finals, why, and, in case they pick a different player to go through, they push the debate further until they find an agreement.

Judd Trump (1) / Qualifier
Yan Bingtao (16) / Qualifier
Stephen Maguire (9) / Qualifier
Kyren Wilson (8) / Qualifier

————————————

John Higgins (5) / Qualifier
David Gilbert (12) / Qualifier
Jack Lisowski (13) / Qualifier
Mark Allen (4) / Qualifier

————————————

Mark Williams (3) / Qualifier
Stuart Bingham (14) / Qualifier
Ding Junhui (11) / Qualifier
Ronnie O’Sullivan (6) / Qualifier

————————————

Mark Selby (7) / Qualifier
Shaun Murphy (10) / Qualifier
Barry Hawkins (15) / Qualifier
Neil Robertson (2) / Qualifier

In the first quarter, they both picked Judd Trump. Looking at his season as a whole, it’s a logical choice. However, he didn’t play well neither in the Championship League, nor in the Tour Championship. In the latter, his postmatch interview very much reminded me of the Judd Trump of the past. At the Crucible, a huge weight of expectations and the attention of the media will be on him. There are reasons why a first time champion has never defended successfully. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost on the first day. If we look back at the last decade, we had three first time World Champions: 2010, Neil Robertson, 2014, Mark Selby and 2015, Stuart Bingham. As defending Champions, Neil and Stuart lost in the first round, Mark Selby, who went on to win three times in four consecutive years, lost in the last 16. That’s how hard it is. My pick in that quarter would be Stephen Maguire. I don’t think pressure will be an issue in the early rounds, and he certainly is the man on form.

In the second quarter, they picked Mark Allen, and I agree. Michael McMullan makes him the favourite to win the tournament. I’m not sure about that. Mark often seems to run out of steam in the latter stages. The reason for that, in my opinion at least, is that Mark isn’t physically fit enough. The World Championship is am endurance test, mentally and physically. I’m certain that Mark has the game to be a World Champion but I’m not sure that he currently has the required stamina.

In the third quarter, Michael went for Stuart Bingham and David for Ronnie. Eventually they settled on Ronnie, but are not expecting him to go much further. Stuart and Ding are in that quarter and they had a similar season in that both won a “major” – Ding won the UK Championship, Stuart won the Masters – but didn’t do much else. Ronnie had a poor season as compared to the previous ones, but he still won the Shanghai Masters and made the final of the Northern Ireland Open. He won 77.78% of his matches so far this season. As a comparison Ding has won 67.44%, Stuart has won 57.58%, Selby despite winning two ranking tournaments is at 66.28%, Mark Allen at 69.49%, Neil Robertson at 72.86%, Shaun Murphy at 75.76% … Judd Trump, winning six ranking events, is at 82.61%. So clearly Ronnie isn’t playing badly, but he hasn’t played enough which has put him under huge pressure and, at times, it showed. To me, IF Ronnie was to reach the one table setup, he would a good chance to win the event. But he will be under pressure in the early rounds. Also, I’m not sure that he will cope with the “Bubble” conditions. He struggled in Milton Keynes and it was a much shorter event. During one of his instagram chats with Hendry, he admitted being several time on the phone with Steve Peters whilst there.

The last quarter, with Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy is loaded. They settled on Mark Selby, and Mark is also David’s pick to win the event. I’m not sure I understand why, other than the fact that, mentally, Mark is probably the best equipped for the very long formats. His form however has not really been there recently.

Clarifications about the 2020 World Qualifiers line-up

July 3, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

Yesterday, WST published an article about their efforts to have all players in Sheffield for the World Championship. It contains the same information basically as the one provided by Phil Haigh’s interview with Jason Ferguson, that was reported here.

But there is a very important new bit in it as well, explaining how the gaps left by players’ withdrawals will be filled:

Several players have indicated that they have decided not to travel to the UK and the draw for the qualifying rounds will be made after the entry deadline which falls on July 6th. If professional players from the main tour decide not to enter, they will be replaced as follows:

The eight players competing in the Challenge Tour Play-Off event, to be staged on July 20.

The top eight players from the 2019 Q School ranking list.

(If required) players invited by the WPBSA.

Involving the eight Challenge Tour players who made the play-off is definitely the right thing to do. It rewards amateurs who have shown, throughout the season, their desire and commitment to become pros. Also, with the play-off event being played on the eve of the World Championship qualifiers, those players will already be there, tested and in “the bubble”. As it stands, those players are: Dean Young, Adam Duffy, Oliver Brown, Alan Taylor, Patrich Whelan, Rory McLeod, Jake Nicholson and Tyler Rees.

Challenge Tour Play-offs News

July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 Monique Snooker Snooker

This was posted by WST yesterday

Wednesday 1 Jul 2020 03:39PM

The eight-man Challenge Tour Play-Off event, with one place on the World Snooker Tour available for the winner, will take place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on July 20th.

The event was originally scheduled for March 29th in Clacton-on-Sea but was then postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will now take place in Sheffield, the day before the start of the Betfred World Championship qualifiers.

The Play-Off features the eight highest ranked players on this season’s Challenge Tour rankings, to have not yet earned professional status for next season. The winner will receive a two-year card for the World Snooker Tour.

The draw will be announced shortly.

Regulations on Covid-19 testing, sanitisation and social distancing at the Play-Off will follow the government guidelines at the time. There will be no access for spectators.

With Ka Wai Cheung not entering, the eight players in the draw should be: Dean Young, Adam Duffy, Oliver Brown, Alan Taylor, Patrick Whelan, Rory McLeod, Jake Nicholson and Tyler Rees.

When I pointed out that snooker clubs not being able to open for what should be their main business, snooker, means that many players will find it difficult to prepare properly, Matt Huart pointed out that WST players are still able to practice, provided that those guidelines are followed.

The guidance is aimed at “elite athletes” and elite atheletes are defined as:

For the purposes of this guidance the definition of an ‘elite athlete’ means a person who is:

• an individual who derives a living from competing in a sport

• a senior representative nominated by a relevant sporting body

• a member of the senior training squad for a relevant sporting body, or

• aged 16 or above and on an elite development pathway

I’m the one who put the last part in bold-italic

The 8 guys above are not pros. They are amateurs. Therefore they clearly don’t fit in any of first three categories. But could they be seen as being on an elite development pathway, because they are playing on the Challenge Tour, and because that tour is one of the path to actual professional status?

I think it’s an important question to answer, because, otherwise, those who don’t have a table at home, definitely won’t be able to prepare properly.

Then, of course, the same question applies to those amateurs inivited to the World Championship and those entering the Q-school? The Q-school is the main “road” to professional status.

And there is also that restriction about age in those guidelines. That restriction doesn’t exist anymore in snooker (*) , it is possible to turn professional before being 16, and there will probably under-16 amateurs at the Q-school. Then what?