As you would expect, about everyone has been reflecting on the 2020 quite unusual but very interesting World Championship.

WST tells the story of the Championship:

Sunday 16 Aug 2020 09:40PM

The 2020 Betfred World Championship will go down in history as one of the most gripping editions of snooker’s showpiece event, producing moments of magic, despair and ecstasy to a backdrop of both socially distant fans and an empty Crucible Theatre.

Millions of viewers around the world were transfixed by events over the last 17 days, as the Theatre of Dreams opened its doors for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Round One

Defending champion Judd Trump was welcomed by a limited Crucible crowd to kick proceedings off on day one. There was a stern early test for the Ace in the Pack, who edged through against Tom Ford 10-8.

The big story of the day came away from the baize. The tournament had been selected as a trial for the safe return of spectators at UK sporting events. However, after a successful first morning of the pilot, a midday announcement from UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, paused all trials and forced the event behind closed doors from day two onwards.

Qualifier Jamie Clarke recorded a stunning 10-8 upset win over 2018 Masters champion Mark Allen. The Llanelli cueman was staring down the barrel of tour relegation heading into the qualifying stages, but saved his place on the circuit by reaching the Crucible.

“Never in a million years could I have dreamed of this,” said the 25-year-old. “I went into the qualifiers without a lot of confidence, just hoping to win one match. After that I got on a roll. I am in shock at the moment. I went out there today to enjoy every minute and I was loving the experience.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan surged to the fastest win in Crucible history. He took just 108 minutes to demolish Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-1 with an average shot time of 14 seconds.

Round Two

Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins fired in the first 147 break to be made at the Crucible, since his compatriot Stephen Hendry crafted a perfect run against Stuart Bingham in 2012.

It was the tenth 147 break of Higgins’ career and landed him a £55,000 payout. However, having reached the last three World Championship finals, Higgins was dumped out of the event after a 13-11 defeat to Norwegian qualifier Kurt Maflin.

Maflin said: “It feels brilliant. My wife and kids will be proud of the fact that I’m in the quarter-finals. It makes it worth all the sacrifices.”

Anthony McGill battled from 8-2 down to beat Jamie Clarke 13-12 in a thrilling, yet ill-tempered encounter. A flash point came in the tenth frame, when McGill confronted Clarke, claiming he was standing in his eyeline.

In the mid-session interval, Clarke took to social media, tweeting: “You want to dance, let’s dance”. That Tweet came in the middle of a run of six consecutive frames from McGill, as he levelled at 8-8 en route to the dramatic victory.

Quarter-finals

Kyren Wilson inflicted the Crucible Curse on defending champion Judd Trump, sealing a momentous 13-9 victory over the world number one.

Trump became the 18th victim to fall foul of the curse, after failing to successfully defend the crown he won for the first time last year. Wilson enhanced his already strong record over rival Trump, extending his head-to-head lead to 8-5.

Wilson said: “I take a lot of motivation from the greats like Hendry, Davis, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams. I can imagine they’d be thinking, ‘I want to beat this guy, I want to be better than this guy’. There is no point trying to dodge them. We’d never played each other at the Crucible, it was the one place I wanted to play Judd.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan conquered Mark Williams 13-10 in an enthralling match between two of snooker’s Class of 92. The Rocket fired in five centuries on his way to victory, but he had doubted that he had it in him to turn around a four-frame deficit.

“I felt as if I was fighting, it was tough,” said 44-year-old O’Sullivan. “At 8-4 Mark was cueing well, he was ripping through the ball. I didn’t think I had it in me to turn it around.”

Semi-Finals

The last four produced gripping and scintillating drama, after both semi-finals came down to deciding frames for the first time ever.

With the scores locked at 16-16, Kyren Wilson and Anthony McGill contested a nerve shredding decider. In commentary, seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry said: “This has been the most incredible frame ever seen at the Crucible.”

The players engaged in 61 minutes of gruelling snooker while amassing a combined total of 186 points, the highest ever for a single frame at the Crucible.

With McGill leading 52-47, Wilson laid a tricky snooker on the last red. Scotland’s McGill missed it ten times, leaving himself requiring snookers. Astonishingly, Wilson then went in-off twice to leave the frame back in the balance. Eventually Wilson fluked the green to once again leave McGill requiring snookers. Holding back the tears, the Warrior got himself over the line by the margin of 103-83.

In an emotional post-match interview, Wilson said: “I have dreamed of this moment for years but this isn’t the way I wanted it to happen with the green. It is mad what can happen on a snooker table.”

A disconsolate, but respectful McGill said: “I felt like it was stolen from me – not by Kyren, but by the snooker gods. I didn’t do much wrong there, but there has to be a loser.”

Meanwhile Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby locked horns at the Crucible for the first time since the 2014 world final, which Selby won 18-14.

Selby found himself on the verge of victory when he led 16-14. However, O’Sullivan, who adopted an all-out-attack approach, blitzed back into contention with a run of 276 unanswered points. That left him 64 ahead in the deciding frame. Selby had an opportunity to clear, but he broke down and O’Sullivan booked his spot in the final.

Awaiting both players was the return of a socially distanced Crucible audience, after a UK Government announcement restarted the pilot scheme for the safe return of audiences at sporting events.

The Final

Ronnie O’Sullivan, competing in his seventh World Championship final, went toe to toe with Kyren Wilson, who was competing in snooker’s biggest match for the first time.

After a tense opening day the outcome remained in the balance, with O’Sullivan emerging 10-7 ahead. However, the Rocket blitzed to victory on day two, claiming eight of the next nine frames to seal a historic sixth Crucible crown. That puts him level with his hero Steve Davis and former coach Ray Reardon.

The victory makes him the most prolific winner of ranking titles in history, moving him to 37 in total, one ahead of Stephen Hendry. At 44 years old, O’Sullivan becomes the oldest World Champion since Reardon lifted the famous trophy at the age of 45 in 1978. He now needs just one more world title to equal Hendry’s record of seven.

“If there was a box of achievements, there could be five or six in there, this has definitely got to be up there,” said the triumphant O’Sullivan.”To be alongside Ray Reardon and Steve Davis is amazing. There is still one fella sitting above us in Hendry. There is always someone to chase.”

The Numbers…

Tournament Centuries: 79

Most Centuries: 12 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

Highest break: 147 – John Higgins

140+ Breaks: 3

Most Centuries by one player in a match: 5 – Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen

Longest Frame: 61 minutes 39 seconds – Kyren Wilson vs Anthony McGill

Deciding frames: 6 – Anthony McGill 10-9 Jack Lisowski, Ding Junhui 10-9 Mark King, Anthony McGill 13-12 Jamie Clarke, Mark Selby 13-12 Noppon Saengkham, Kyren Wilson 17-16 Anthony McGill, Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-16 Mark Selby

Crucible Debutants: 5 – Elliot Slessor, Jamie Clarke, Ashley Carty, Jordan Brown, Alexander Ursenbacher

Rachel Casey, Neal Foulds and David Hendon reflect on the Championship right after the Final

This is the David Hendon and Michael McMullan podcast

davehendon · Snooker Scene Podcast episode 120 – King Ronnie

And my two cents

David Hendon’s take on the alleged Ronnie disrespect for Selby is exactly in line with what I expressed a few days ago. Selby had completely shut Neil Robertson out of their quarter-finals match, particularly in the second session, employing the same tactics  he had used to beat Ronnie in the 2014 final: killing every sort of rhythm and fluency by messing up the table and slowing down the game. He had done this to Graeme Dott as well in their 2013 Maters semi-finals and you can still read about Graeme’s reaction here. Those tactics are legit, and it’s simply a case of a player playing to their own strengths, as they should. Selby is mightily efficient at it. Neil finished the match with a AST over 30 seconds. Ronnie was determined not to be dragged into this scenario again, and he found a way to counter Mark Selby’s tactics. He got under Mark’s skin as well. David clearly stated that there was no disrespect there. Mark was praised in 2014 for finding a way to beat Ronnie, Ronnie should be praised this time for finding a way to beat Selby, and, as David said, other players should take note.  Psychologically, it’s a very important result for Ronnie. The 2014 finals’s scars may finally heal.

They also discuss Ronnie’s comments about the lower-ranked players, and state that, although it might be exagerated, there IS truth in it. There is nobody in their teens or early twenties coming through other than from Asia. They are not good enough. For me, the main factor is the shrinking of the amateur scene. Clubs have been closing, the number of amateurs’ tournaments has been plummeting, and, with the plethora of sports channels availabe on televion and the Internet, snooker’s appeal to the young has diminished. The gap between the young amateurs earning tour cards and the top guns is getting wider. In short, they aren’t ready and the brutal flat draw/money based system isn’t helping. WPBSA is putting up trememdous efforts into countering the trend via various initiatives, and they should be praised for it, but maybe something more radical is needed. Maybe this would be a good time to set up a proper 64 persons professional secondary tour, with decent earning opportunities and television/streaming exposure, whilst reducing the main tour to 96 players? (*)  This would provide a smoother development path. The problem, as always, is … finding the money. Would there be enough interest in this to attract broadcasters, sponsors, the audience? Not sure.

(*) there is also the “swiss” system of course … but I don’t think that the snooker world is ready for it.

Ronnie won his 6th World Championship tonight, beating Kyren Wilson by 18-8, equaling Steve Davis and Ray Reardon. This is his 37th ranking title, now superseeding Stephen Hendry, and his 20th “Triple Crown”. 

Congratulations Ronnie!

These are the numbers

And the reports by WST on yesterday’s action

Afternoon session

Sunday 16 Aug 2020 04:15PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan is just one frame away from a sixth Crucible triumph as he leads Kyren Wilson 17-8 in the final of the Betfred World Championship.

From 10-8, O’Sullivan reeled off seven frames in a row to leave his opponent down and virtually out. They resume at 7.30pm and if O’Sullivan makes it to 18 frames first he will add to the titles he won in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013.

Six Crucible crowns would bring him level with Steve Davis and just one behind Stephen Hendry, and at the age of 44 he would become the oldest World Champion since Ray Reardon in 1978. O’Sullivan would also move to 37 career ranking titles, putting him one ahead of Hendry.

Wilson took the first frame of the third session with a break of 73 to trail 10-8 overall. He then had a chance to clear from 64-0 down in the next but crucially missed a tricky pink to a centre pocket on 15 when the remaining balls were in the open. That proved a turning point as O’Sullivan took the frame for 11-8, giving him the momentum to pull away.

In frame 20, Wilson trailed 33-48 when he missed a mid-range red to a top corner, letting his opponent in for a break of 61. O’Sullivan added the next with a top run of 57 to make it 13-8 at the interval.

Another error from Wilson early in frame 22, a missed red to a centre pocket, allowed O’Sullivan to make 60 and extend his lead, and the Rocket compiled a run of 71 in the next for 15-8.

A missed yellow with the rest, when he led 15-0, proved costly for Wilson in frame 24 as O’Sullivan made 72. In the last frame of the session, O’Sullivan led 61-0 when he missed the black off its spot. But Wilson’s chance to counter-attack ended on just 7 when he failed to roll the black along the cushion into a top corner. And with that, his hopes of a fight-back may have disappeared.

Evening session

Sunday 16 Aug 2020 07:50PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan conquered the Crucible for the first time in seven years by beating Kyren Wilson 18-8 in the final of the Betfred World Championship, landing the title for the sixth time.

In a one-sided conclusion to the final in Sheffield, O’Sullivan pulled away from 10-8 to take the last eight frames as Wilson ran out of steam. Having struggled to find consistency in his technique throughout the tournament, something clicked for O’Sullivan on the last day as he reeled off a series of frame-winning breaks. A crowd of 300 watched him lift the trophy at the end of a tournament played under unique circumstances,

Six Crucible triumphs brings Chigwell’s O’Sullivan within one of the record of seven held by Stephen Hendry. He also moves to a record 37 ranking titles, one ahead of the legendary Scot. Only the most loyal Hendry fan could now dispute the opinion that O’Sullivan is snooker’s greatest ever player.

At the age of 44 he becomes the oldest World Champion since Ray Reardon in 1978, while six titles draws him level with Reardon and Steve Davis. O’Sullivan has now won 20 Triple Crown events with an extraordinary 27 years between the first and last.

The £500,000 top prize doubles his previous biggest winner’s cheque and boosts him from sixth to second in the world rankings, behind only runaway leader Judd Trump.

O’Sullivan’s World Finals
2001 beat John Higgins 18-14
2004 beat Graeme Dott 18-8
2008 beat Ali Carter 18-8
2012 beat Ali Carter  18-11
2013 beat Barry Hawkins 18-12
2014 lost to Mark Selby 18-14
2020 beat Kyren Wilson 18-8

There were times during the event when O’Sullivan looked a frustrated, fading force, notably at 7-2 down against Mark Williams and 13-9 down against Mark Selby. He enjoyed slices of fortune, particularly in the deciding frame of a 17-16 win over Selby. Above all, this was a triumph for O’Sullivan’s fighting spirit over the temptation to throw in the towel which often bubbles below the surface. He has finally proved to himself that, well into his 40s, he can still complete this marathon of the mind.

Wilson may reflect on a missed chance when he trailed 10-8, after which he never threatened. The 28-year-old from Kettering gave everything to beat Judd Trump in the quarter-finals and Anthony McGill 17-16 in an epic semi-final. He faltered on the home stretch and and he has now lost six of his nine ranking finals, though he can learn from the experience of his best Crucible run. The £200,000 pay-day is by far his biggest and he is up to a career-high of sixth in the world.

Leading 17-8 after the third session, O’Sullivan needed just ten minutes to wrap up the match in the concluding session with a rapid run of 96. Over the last eight frames he made seven breaks over 50.

“I was happy to get one world title at one stage,” said O’Sullivan. “Once I got to four I knew I could call myself one of the greats, because that’s how many times John Higgins had won it. Anything above that and you are in fantastic company.

“One thing I have got is longevity. I go in and out of form and my mind can wander sometimes. Then I get a bit of a taste for it again and want to see if I’ve still got it, so I try to have a go at it as I have done in this tournament. When you practise for five or six hours a day it’s because you want to know whether you are hitting it straight enough to stand up under pressure.

“Kyren is a top player and is improving all the time. He has got desire, the hunger and the belief in his ability. His fire is burning bright enough and he will get there in the end. He will win this tournament one day – not to put too much pressure on him. He is a country mile above everyone else his age and he always wants to raise his own bar.”

Wilson said: “I’m not going to beat myself up to much. It was a dream come true to play Ronnie in the final. I really struggled in the first session yesterday. We both had a bit of a hangover from the semi-finals. I’m a fighter. I tried to just relax, let the shackles off and go for it.

“The night belongs to Ronnie, he was amazing in the final. He has shown his class when he wasn’t quite at his best. He was awesome in the third session.

“I’m very lucky to have what I have, to be 28 and playing the sport that I love. It has given me an amazing life. To perform in an arena like this is an honour and I’m glad that a crowd was allowed in for the final.”

And you can enjoy the end of the final frame and the trophy ceremony here

Kyren Wilson is a credit to himself and to snooker. His time will come.

Wilson beat Anthony McGill by 17-16 yesterday afternoon to book his place in the World Championship final for the first time.

Here is the report by WST:

Friday 14 Aug 2020 07:03PM

Kyren Wilson reached the final of the Betfred World Championship for the first time by beating Anthony McGill 17-16, winning one of the most dramatic deciding frames seen at the Crucible.

Perhaps not since the 1985 final has a deciding frame included so many jaw-dropping moments, as the two players tried frantically to reach the finish line. It lasted 61 minutes, had a combined total of 186 points, and was only settled when Wilson, holding back tears, rolled the pink into a baulk corner.

The 28-year-old from Kettering becomes the 30th player to reach the final at the Crucible and will face Ronnie O’Sullivan or Mark Selby over 35 frames on Saturday and Sunday.

Having knocked out defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, he was heavy favourite to beat McGill, but had to come from 6-2 behind and then survive a furious battle in the home stretch.

The world number eight has won three ranking events but to contest snooker’s biggest title will be the biggest match of his life by far.

Glasgow’s 29-year-old McGill set a new record for the most frames played before the final, as he won deciders against Jack Lisowski and Jamie Clarke before beating Kurt Maflin 13-10. After coming through the qualifying rounds then playing 100 frames at the Crucible his bid for glory finishes in despair, though a career-high pay-day of £100,000 will ease the pain.

Wilson took the first frame of the concluding session with a break of 94 to lead 14-11, then McGill pulled one back with a run of 84. In frame 27, Wilson was on 25 when he missed a tricky black to a top corner, and his opponent replied with 87. A superb 122 from world number 39 McGill in the next, his second century of the tournament, made it 14-14 at the interval.

McGill had first chance in frame 29 but was unfortunate to knock a red in when smashing the pack off the blue, and his opponent made 82 to regain the lead. In the 30th, McGill made 43 before running out of position, then he laid a tough snooker and from the chance that followed added 42 for 15-15. A brilliant run of 98 put McGill within a frame of the winning line at 16-15.

In frame 32, Wilson led 48-7 when he missed the pink to a top corner. McGill made 22 before running out of position. The Scot was later trapped in a tough snooker on the last red, and though he escaped he left it over a corner pocket, allowing Wilson to make it 16-16.

McGill had first chance in the decider and made 39 then was unlucky not to land on a red when he split the pack. Wilson replied with 47, and later trapped his opponent in a tough snooker on the last red. McGill missed it ten times, which left him needing a snooker, but Wilson then twice accidentally went in-off.

McGill had a clear winning chance when he potted the last red, but after taking black and yellow he snookered himself on the green. That led to another tactical exchange which finished when Wilson enjoyed an outrageous fluke as he attempted safety on the green, sending it off three cushions, across the table and dead-weight into a top corner. McGill fought on for the snooker he needed but to no avail. The frame score of 103-83 set a new record for the most combined points in a single frame at the Crucible, beating the previous mark of 173.

“It was just the maddest match,” said Wilson after reaching his third ranking final of the season and ninth in all. “It was a great standard right up until the last frame, and then the decider got very nervy. I felt at one point I had thrown it away, then I fluked the green out of nowhere. I didn’t want it to end that way, I have dreamed of this situation and I didn’t want to win the match on a fluke. You have to accept those things can happen in snooker.

“I have known Anthony since we were kids, and in the last frame we were just two young lads out there feeling the pressure. We fought so hard for three days, toe to toe, we both gave it everything.

“It’s amazing to be in the final. I have played in a Masters final, but this is a cut above. I’ll try to use my experience of big occasions. Both Mark and Ronnie are phenomenal players and multiple world champions. To win would mean everything, it’s what I have dreamed of achieving.”

McGill said: “I have to congratulate Kyren because he played a great match. I thought I played great today. I was really unlucky in the last frame because I was in first, and if I had landed on a red when I went into the them, the game was done. I hit the black like an absolute dream to get the split. I don’t feel I did that much wrong,

“I feel as if the match was stolen from me – not by Kyren but by the snooker Gods. Even at the end when I got the chance, I didn’t think I could snooker myself on the green. I really enjoyed the fight, it was played in the right spirit.”

It was the craziest end to an excellent match. For me it outclasses the 1985 Final easily. A lot is made of the final black ball and it was dramatic, but the match itself was poor quality, and the decider was as well. Kyren and Anthony produced a high quality match, and the decider was completely mad.

Judge by yourself:

Stephen Hendry on BBC commentary could barely bear to watch  and I’m not sure he remembered his own name towards the end … he was totally engrossed.

Today the table is being “re-cushioned”

And this awaits us …