In this interviewRonnie explains why, in his opinion, Mark Allen can’t really get to the level of the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson
How Mark Allen faces the same dilemma as Tiger Woods, explains Ronnie O’Sullivan
Ronnie believes NI ace lacks power game to match big hitters
Tiger Woods and Mark Allen are struggling to crack the same sporting conundrum, reckons six-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Antrim’s Allen will kick off his pursuit of a second Masters title in three years on Wednesday as he takes on four-time world champion John Higgins in the first round.
World No.10 Allen soared to Champion of Champions glory this season but World No.1 Judd Trump, No.2 Neil Robertson and three-time Crucible king Mark Selby have dominated the start of the campaign.
O’Sullivan, one of the sport’s all-time greats, hailed the Northern Ireland player’s game but believes Trump and Robertson are doing to snooker what big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau is currently doing to golf.
The 45-year-old said: “Mark Allen’s a very good break-builder and very good scorer but if you look at Neil and Judd, they have a power game.
“They play power shots which no one else can play, and that gives them an advantage.
“When I say power game, I don’t mean hitting the ball hard – I mean to be able to get the white around effortlessly like Judd and Neil do.
“When the ball travels 18ft round the table, they’ve just done it because it’s easy to them whereas with Mark Allen, maybe he struggles with that and that’s the only thing that I think if you could put in his game, he would win like Judd is winning.
“It’s the equivalent of these new modern-day golfers. They hit the ball so far that they’re turning the golf course into a bit of a pitch and putt.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
“Whereas Tiger Woods, he realises that and thinks these guys are shrinking the golf course. Although he’s capable and has got the skill to do it, it’s hard as you’re on your limit quite a lot.
“Someone like Mark Allen, if he had the power game and was able to manoeuvre the white around like them (Trump and Robertson), he would be up there with them because he’s a break-builder, he’s got the bottle and he’s got a great mentality for the game.
“He’s a real dogged player that can play – but the one thing he could put into his game is that power game.”
Allen (34) tasted Masters nirvana in 2018 after toppling 2020 World Championship finalist Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the showpiece.
He won the Scottish Open later that year before also claiming the prestigious Champion of Champions trophy in Milton Keynes earlier this season.
This year’s Masters was due to be held at Alexandra Palace but a surge in coronavirus cases means that the event will now be held behind closed doors at the bio-secure Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Allen will bid to become just the 10th dual Masters winner and seven-time champion O’Sullivan, who has lost four times in 10 matches against the Antrim man, says the ball is firmly in the five-time ranking event winner’s court.
“Do you say to Mark Allen, ‘Look, let’s try and get that into your game’ or do you say, ‘Look, why bother? You’re going to win tournaments and you’re going to have a good career, are you happy with that?'” the current World No.3, who plays Ding Junhui in the first round of the tournament, added.
“He might go, ‘Yeah’ or he might go, ‘No, I want a power game and I want to be able to manoeuvre that white’.
“Then he might have to change something technically to enable him to do that.
“I’m not saying that he’s got to get to their level, but just improve by 20 or 30%, maybe.”
This is something that has been discussed by commentators and pundits many times. Mark has a very short compact cue action, and it’s a bit jabby too. That gives him a very good cue ball control, but little power. He’s extremely efficient and reliable at close range, but is rather limited when it comes to get the cue ball covering distances around the table. That said tampering with his technique could be a huge risk.
Meanwhile, the man who Mark Allen beat to lift the Masters trophy, Kyren Wilson has made a bold promise to his mother,as he explained to Eurosport.
SNOOKER NEWS – KYREN WILSON: I’VE PROMISED MY MOTHER THE MASTERS TROPHY – IT LOOKS AWESOME!
Kyren WIlson is determined to secure his maiden Triple Crown title at the upcoming Masters – partly because he has promised his mother the iconic trophy. The 29-year-old was encouraged by his performances in 2020, which saw him reach his second career major final at the World Championship, where he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Kyren Wilson will be doubly motivated to win the upcoming Masters, having promised his mum that he would one day bring home the “awesome” trophy.
Wilson has appeared in each of the last four editions of the prestigious event, his best result coming in 2018, when he was edged out 10-7 by Mark Allen in the final.
The 29-year-old believes that the tournament has overtaken the UK Championship as the second most prestigious in the snooker calendar, and is hoping to make his parents proud with victory.
He exclusively told Eurosport: “It’s definitely number two behind the World Championship. It’s overtaken the UK Championship now… it’s probably our showpiece event.
“Last year it looked amazing, with all the sofas, the bar, the arena, all the fancy light work. IT’s really sort of come into its own. I’m grateful to be part of it and got a good few appearances under my belt.
“I love it when it comes around. I always enjoy my new year, knowing I’ve got that round the corner.
FOR ME, IT’S PROBABLY THE BEST LOOKING TROPHY – IT LOOKS AWESOME. I PROMISED IT TO MY MUM ONE DAY, SO I’M GOING TO TRY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Wilson reached his second career Triple Crown final in 2020, losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the World Championship last summer, but starts the new year knowing he can win the sport’s biggest tournaments.
“I worked so, so hard for last year’s World Championships. I was doing six to eight hours a day for six weeks before it and I was just so driven and I believed with every ounce of me that I was going to win that title.
“So I came up one short but I know that if I put the work in and dedicated myself to the game, I can achieve great things.
“I’ve been really consistent. I’ve been around where my ranking would suggest I’d need to perform at. But it’s not always as easy as that because the standards are so high these days.
“I’d have liked to have kicked on a little bit more as I got to the latter stages of events, but it’s tough to win these titles these days.”
And Wilson is hoping to use his two defeats in Triple Crown finals as learning experiences, and not get frustrated by losing.
“I was actually tuned into Eurosport the other day and they were showing the re-run of my final with Mark Allen… seeing my family in the crowd and how nervous they were.
“I think I handled it really well for my first time in a big Triple Crown event final. You’re playing top class players on these occasions and sometimes you’ve got to hold up your hands and say, ‘you know what? He deserved it today.’
“But you’ve got to learn from where you may have gone slightly wrong and just hope it can hold you in good stead. It’s better to look on those occasions as learning experiences, rather than kicks in the teeth.”
With England back in a full-scale national lockdown, the Masters has eschewed its traditional home of Alexandra Palace to take place in Milton Keynes, with players subject to strict Covid-19 protocols.
“It’s tough being locked in the hotel but it’s obviously really good that we’ve got snooker going on in this second lockdown. We’re lucky to have events to play in.”
Well such promise will certainly motivate Kyren, but will bring additional presure as well…
Judd Trump has given Ronnie O’Sullivan some of his toughest games in the last two years (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan rates Judd Trump as one of the three toughest opponents he has ever faced on the snooker table, alongside Stephen Hendry and John Higgins.
Trump has established himself as the most potent force in the game, riding high as world number one since winning the 2019 World Championship and continuing to rack up ranking titles since then.
He may no longer be the world champion, or hold any of the Triple Crown titles in fact, but the 31-year-old’s continued excellence leaves little question that he is the finest player on the planet.
O’Sullivan has been beaten by Trump on each of their last three encounters and the Rocket now classes him alongside two of the all-time greats of the baize.
‘He’s at that level where Hendry and Higgins were,’ O’Sullivan told Metro.co.uk.
‘Judd’s definitely in that bracket. I’ve played them all and I’ve always said Hendry and Higgins are the two hardest opponents I’ve had.
‘In terms of snooker ability, their ability to just out-play you and if you don’t play to that level, they don’t drop to your level. They just keep their level very, very high.
‘Higgins and Hendry were the only two players I put in that bracket but now definitely Judd is in there. He’s playing to a very, very high standard a lot of the time.’
While most consider O’Sullivan the finest player the sport has ever seen, with Hendry his closest competitor, there has also been plenty of talk of Trump taking snooker to a new level.
Hendry himself has claimed that Trump can produce shots that the rest of the players in the game simply cannot, thanks largely to his immense cue power and unique technique.
‘Some of the shots, they are shots that only Judd Trump can play, he’s got such an advantage over the rest of the tour,’ Hendry said as Trump powered to his World Championship win.
Given his status in the game and genius on the table, it may seem strange to O’Sullivan that it is suggested Trump can do things with a cue that he cannot.
The reigning world champion does dispute the suggestion that he couldn’t pull off certain shots, but hails Trump’s consistency with them and confidence to take them on when most wouldn’t.
‘It’s not that you can’t play them,’ said Ronnie. ‘You could probably play them, but it’s like a golfer who can drive the ball 380 yards, but he only drives it 320 to keep the accuracy.
Judd Trump (Picture:Getty Images)
‘You might be able to play a shot Judd plays, but you’ll be on your limit every time, whereas I think Judd isn’t on his limit.
‘So he’s playing these shots and you just think “wow” because if you were to do it, nine times out of 10 you’d get it wrong and the odd time you’d get it right.
‘Whereas Judd is getting it right eight times out of 10 and the odd time it will go wrong. He has this ability to create spin and power that nobody else can.’
The Rocket feels Trump is uniquely dangerous in almost any situaion thanks to his immense potting ability and willingness to take on aggressive shots.
His incredible talent means that you never feel safe, even when balls appear to be safe, or you have a big lead in a match.
‘You get to the point where you’re sitting in your chair and there might be nothing on but you have to accept that he’s probably the only player that could have cleared up the table in five minutes’ time,’ explained the 45-year-old. ‘That makes him very, very dangerous.
‘If you do create a lead, like Neil Robertson did at the English Open, 7-4 up playing fantastic snooker, he just found another gear, four frames from nowhere because he can just out-play you, without you doing anything wrong.’
Trump would go on to win that English Open final 9-8 against the man who O’Sullivan considers the only one capable of competing with Trump at the moment.
‘Hendry and Higgins are the only other players that had that ability to out-play you like that,’ said Ronnie. ‘But Judd’s put his own spin, his own brand on doing it.
Trump and Neil Robertson (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Whereas Hendry would out-score and out-pot you which was phenomenal, Higgins would out-play you with all his safety, shut you out for hours and hours, but Judd is somewhere in between.
‘He’ll score well, pot well, you’ll still get your chances against him, but if you don’t take them you don’t get another chance.
‘That’s what Hendry was like, you got chances, but if you didn’t take them you didn’t see another ball and you knew he was going to clear up. So when someone brings that to the table, you know you have to perform, be very clinical and play a good all round game.
‘Neil Robertson is capable of it, he’s the only other one at the moment who can play flawless snooker and if he does then he’s got a chance against Judd because he’s not making any mistakes.’
Trump and O’Sullivan are in action at the Masters in the coming week, with Trump taking on Dave Gilbert on Sunday and O’Sullivan facing Ding Junhui on Wednesday
Regarding Judd’s ability to create spin, I remember Ronnie speaking about it on Eurosport some time earlier this season. Basically what he said was that Judd’s cue action is unorthodox. He seems to be cueing across on most shots. But obviously he still gets the balls where he wants them to be. His gesture is such that he “whips” the ball whilst hitting it, abit like one does to get a spin top going. The result is that he’s able to create a lot of spin and still be acurate. No coach would recommend such cue action, but it works wonder for Judd.
Judd is not the only top player with an unorthodox cue action. Jimmy White is another one. Of course, Jimmy is no more at the top, but his cue action hasn’t really changed. He seems to aim very low in the white and across as well. Then, when he delivers the shot, he actually strikes higher and closer to the center. And when playing with power, he also “whips” the ball.
Betfred will be title sponsor of the Masters for the first time when snooker’s biggest invitation event takes place next week.
The Betfred Masters will run from January 10th to 17th at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, featuring a tremendous field of the world’s top 16 players.
As an elite sport, the World Snooker Tour continues to stage events, providing entertainment and inspiration for hundreds of millions of fans around the globe.
Betfred has had an association with the World Championship since 2009 and has now signed up for the Masters on a one-year deal.
With a history dating back to 1975, the Masters is recognised as one of snooker’s most prestigious events and it is part of the Triple Crown, alongside the World Championship and the UK Championship.
It receives extensive live coverage on broadcasters across the world including BBC, Eurosport, CCTV and Matchroom.Live.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn OBE said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Betfred for the Masters, one of the greatest events in sport. The tournament brings together the absolute cream of the crop, and I believe that the field this year is the strongest it has ever been.
“We have worked with Fred Done and his fantastic team on the World Championship for many years so we know how much they love snooker and their dedication to our events.
“We are determined to keeping our tour going as the importance of live sport cannot be underestimated in these troubled times. The Betfred Masters will be eight days of thrilling entertainment.”
Stuart Bingham will be defending the title against the world’s top stars. The first round match schedule is:
Sunday January 10th 1pm Judd Trump v David Gilbert 7pm Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski
Monday January 11th 1pm Stuart Bingham v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 7pm Shaun Murphy v Mark Williams
Tuesday January 12th 1pm Neil Robertson v Yan Bingtao 7pm Mark Selby v Stephen Maguire
Wednesday January 13th 1pm Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui 7pm John Higgins v Mark Allen
China’s Yan Bingtao will step out for his Masters debut next week, having broken into the world’s top 16 for the first time last year.
World number 11 Yan won his maiden ranking title at the 2019 Riga Masters and has since shown remarkable consistency levels to seal his place the top 16 of the rankings, which saw him qualify automatically for last year’s Betfred World Championship.
The 20-year-old faces a baptism of fire at snooker’s most prestigious invitational event, going head to head with current UK Champion Neil Robertson.
We caught up with Yan to find out how he is feeling ahead of next week…
Yan, how excited are you to be competing at the Masters for the first time in your career?
“I’m extremely excited. I’ve grown up watching the best players compete at the Masters and I never thought I would be one of them. To be in the event is a great achievement in itself and I’m looking forward to playing.”
You face world number three Neil Robertson in the opening round. How much are you looking forward to facing such an illustrious opponent?
“I’m quite relaxed about the match. I’ve been playing for many years as a professional now and have played against most of the top 16 before. As a result it isn’t going to be a shock facing these top players, I’m used to it. If I play with a good attitude and produce my best form, then I know I can beat anyone.”
How difficult has it been over the last year not being able to go back to China and having to stay in the UK due to the coronavirus situation?
“This is the longest time I have ever been in the UK for. Life isn’t normal for anybody at the moment and I am no different. However, I feel like Sheffield and the UK is my second home now and I’ve really settled into living here.”
Having now qualified for the Masters is the next goal to become a permanent fixture in the top 16 and make sure you are regularly in these events for years to come?
“Absolutely, I am working very hard to make sure I am in the top 16 going forward. I’m not disappointed that the Masters isn’t at Alexandra Palace this year, I think we are just lucky to be playing snooker. I’m going to try and make sure I am playing in the Masters for years to come and hopefully I can play at Alexandra Palace next time.”
It’s good that WST now regularly interview the Chinese players and Yan is showing great maturity. He definitely has the right attitude and I hope that the pundits will eventually warm to him.
Ronnie O’Sullivan backs John Higgins ahead of Masters
John Higgins still has a shot at a title claims Ronnie O’Sullivan
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN is backing John Higgins to burst the Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby bubble and end his three years of ranking event hurt.
The Wizard of Wishaw last scooped silverware at the 2018 Welsh Open and has endured a turbulent couple of seasons on the hectic snooker circuit.
The four-time world champion is a 30-time ranking event winner but O’Sullivan, a six-time Crucible king, holds the record with a thrilling 37 tournament titles since 1993.
O’Sullivan admits it won’t be easy for the Scot but reckons he, Higgins and three-time world champion Mark Williams – all 45 – still have the talent to win trophies once again.
“I think definitely, [Mark] and John Higgins can still win titles,” said O’Sullivan ahead of Higgins’ Masters clash against Mark Allen on Wednesday.
“But it is going to be really hard. The top three are there and are probably going to win 60 or 70 per cent of the tournaments they play in, that we all play in.
“So it only leaves those other opportunities. And you’ve got Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham, a lot of players, and they’re going to win tournaments as well.
“If you’re an exceptional player you can probably do what [John] Higgins and [Mark] Williams have done, which is compete, but it’s still downhill for them.
“They’re still not the players that they were, yet they were so good that even their B or C game is allowing them to compete and allowing them to have the odd good tournament.
“But to do it week in, week out, they just don’t have the physical powers of recovery – and myself included – to be able to be able to do it week in, week out and mentally be strong enough to hold it together match after match.”
Higgins will face Champion of Champions Allen in the first round of the Masters and is bidding for a third tournament title – and a first in 15 years.
The Scot reigned supreme at Wembley in 1999 and 2006 but is yet to complete a treble despite reaching three semi-finals since 2009.
This year’s event was due to be held in front of fans at Alexandra Palace but a surge in coronavirus cases means the tournament will now be held behind closed doors in Milton Keynes.
The Covid-secure Marshall Arena has been the venue for all of this season’s tournaments as Higgins, also a three-time UK champion, has only progressed past the fourth round on a single occasion.
He reached the semi-finals of the English Open in October but slumped to premature second round defeats at the recent Scottish Open and World Grand Prix.
Despite soaring to Crucible glory last summer, O’Sullivan is also yet to claim silverware this season as Trump, Robertson and Selby have scooped a total of six ranking event titles between them.
The Rocket reckons Higgins’ power of recovery aren’t what they used to be and admits once a player hits their mid-40s, they enter terminal decline.
“At 37, I felt as good as I’d ever done and at 38, even at 40, I felt great. [Also at] 41 or 42, but I’ve got to be honest, the last 18 months I just can’t recover physically from one tournament to the next,” added seven-time Masters champion O’Sullivan, who will face three-time UK champion Ding Junhui on Wednesday.
“I just don’t and I just get mentally tired – and I’m quite strong mentally. You can say you can still do it, but the body doesn’t allow you to.
“It used to be 33 or 34 for a snooker player but I think now it’s maybe early 40s [the end of your peak].
“After that, you’re definitely on a decline. I don’t care who you are, once you hit 42 or 43 there’s only one way for you, and that’s down.”
Those last sentences by Ronnie are definitely not very encouraging, but unfortunately, what he says is probably true. The Masters may actually be the best opportunity for the class of 92: a 16 men elite tournament, only four matches, and coming shortly after a break.
Matthew Selt and John Higgins sit top of Group Two at BetVictor Championship League Snooker with three wins apiece at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes.
Higgins, who lost the deciding frame of the Group One final to Zhou Yuelong on Tuesday evening, won all three of his matches on the first day of Group Two, beating Kyren Wilson 3-2 in the closing match of the day.
Selt also picked up three wins, beating Kyren Wilson, Graeme Dott and Gary Wilson, but has also suffered a 3-1 defeat to Scott Donaldson.
At the other end of the table Stuart Bingham faces a fight to remain in the competition having lost all three of his matches so far in the group. However, with Dott and Donaldson on two points and both Kyren and Gary Wilson on one, it’s all to play for when the group concludes on Thursday.
Graeme Dott beat Scott Donaldson 3-1 in the Group Two final to join Zhou Yuelong in Winners’ Group of BetVictor Championship League Snooker.
Dott came from 2-0 down to beat John Higgins 3-2 in the group semi-final at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, before winning the final having lost the opening frame to another of his fellow countrymen.
Donaldson has previously won both groups he’d played in at the invitational form of BetVictor Championship League Snooker. In both Group Four and the Winners’ Group last year he beat Graeme Dott in the final, but he wasn’t able to make it a hat-trick this time.
The younger of the two Scots drew first blood in the final thanks to a 55 break. A run of 103 saw Dott level, before the former World Champion made an 86 in the third to lead the best-of-five 2-1. He then fired in a break of 75 in the fourth to confirm his spot in March’s big-money Winners’ Group.
“He has beaten me a few times, he’s had my number in the Championship League,” said Dott, who collected a total of £6,200 from the group. “I played quite well tonight so I’m glad to get it done.
“I played well against John. I thought I played quite well on the first day of this group, but only two out of four games. Today I really struggled, the games against Gary Wilson and Scott in the group stage I was terrible. I had an hour’s rest, came back and practiced, and that helped tonight.”
Kyren Wilson will join Higgins, Donaldson and Matthew Selt in Group Three, where they will be joined by newcomers Mark Selby, Tom Ford and Zhao Xintong on Friday. Gary Wilson and Stuart Bingham have been eliminated from the event having finished sixth and seventh respectively in the group.
…
FINAL GROUP TWO TABLE
PLD
W
L
FW
FL
PTS
MONEY
John Higgins
6
5
1
15
11
5
£3,100
Matthew Selt
6
4
2
14
9
4
£2,400
Scott Donaldson
6
4
2
14
10
4
£4,600
Graeme Dott
6
3
3
14
12
3
£6,200
Kyren Wilson
6
2
4
11
15
2
£1,100
Gary Wilson
6
2
4
9
15
2
£1,400
Stuart Bingham
6
1
5
11
16
1
£1,100
Semi-Finals: John Higgins 2-3 Graeme Dott 70-8, 66-56 (56), 0-135 (135), 30-75, 9-83 (79)
Scott Donaldson 3-0 Matthew Selt
106-7 (79), 69-52, 58-0
Final
Graeme Dott3–1 Scott Donaldson
8-81 (55), 126-2 (103), 94-21 (86), 90-13 (75)
There was a rather shocking incident on the second day, during the John Higgins v Gary Wison match:
There were many questions on social media regarding the correctness of the referee’s call. The referee was absolutely correct.
I asked a group of referees their opinion about the incident.
Here is the comprehensive answer I got from Clive Brown:
Thank you Clive!
It is rather obvious that neither John Higgins, nor Gary Wilson were aware that John had the option to get the balls replaced, and that the commentators didn’t know that either.
Gary posted this on facebook shortly after the match:
It’s obvious that many are struggling mentally with the current covid-19 situation. I just hope that Gary can get the help and support he needs, and, of course, that we can get out of this horrible situation in a not too distant future. To Gary’s credit he did give it his best in his last match, despite knowing that he was already eliminated. He not only beat Kyren Wilson, by 3-2 he also made a 143, the highest break of the group.
MASTERS 2021 EXCLUSIVE: WHO DOES RONNIE O’SULLIVAN THINK WILL DOMINATE SNOOKER IN 2021?
Ronnie O’Sullivan has told Eurosport he expects Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby to dominate snooker in 2021. The world champion feels there is a “massive gap” between the three leading table lights and the rest of the chasing pack due to consistency of technique, scoring power and desire to lift trophies.
Snooker is entering the era of the big three with Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby set to dominate the sport in 2021, according to world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Ahead of the 47th staging of the Masters involving the game’s top 16 players in Milton Keynes between January 10-17 – the first triple crown event of the year – O’Sullivan feels the green baize triple g-force are well clear of the chasing pack and perfectly placed to continue their trophy-winning exploits.
While O’Sullivan lifted a sixth world title at the Crucible last August, the rest of the potting pie in 2020 was snaffled up by a triumvirate with a real appetite for silver service.
Trump carried off a record six ranking events finishing his year with the World Grand Prix before Christmas, Robertson claimed three including a third UK Championship and Selby has started the 2020-21 season by picking up the European Masters and defending the Scottish Open.
Looking into the crystal snooker balls does not appear to bring a sense of overriding opportunity for the rest of the field.
“This is my prediction. I think the top three are playing to such a high standard, it will be one of those three that win the majority of the events,” said O’Sullivan, who begins his quest for an eighth Masters title against Ding Junhui on Wednesday 16 January.
“If there are 25 tournaments, I reckon 20 of them will go to them. Judd will win six, Neil will win five and Selby will win four. I just think it is that sort of level.
“Mark Allen might win one, Ding (Junhui) might win one, I might win one, someone will win the Shoot Out.
“I just think they are playing to such a high level and the players from 17 downwards in the rankings are all a bit hit and miss in comparison.”
Stuart Bingham was Masters champion last year, Stephen Maguire carried off the Tour Championship, Mark Allen won the Champion of Champions while Kyren Wilson, Luca Brecel and Scott Donaldson were Championship League winners in 2020, but O’Sullivan feels trophy-winning chances are becoming thinner on the ground than the thinnest of snicks on the table.
The record 37-times ranking event winner edged Selby 17-16 in the World Championship semi-finals, but lost to his fierce rival 9-3 in the Scottish Open final.
He also suffered a 9-7 defeat to Trump in the Northern Ireland final before being flattened by the world number one 6-1 in the World Grand Prix last four last month.
Trump has remarkably lifted 20 ranking events in only nine years, leaving him only two behind Mark Williams in the all-time list with the Welshman’s 22 coming over a 24-year period.
Robertson and Selby are both on 19 titles with Robertson winning a trophy in the sport every year since 2006.
“There’s a massive gap between those three and maybe the number 18 in the world,” explained the world number three.
“I’ve played those three now and you don’t get a lot off of them, but you seem to get away with quite a bit against the lower-ranked players.
THERE IS A MASSIVE GAP NOW BETWEEN THEM AND EVERYBODY ELSE.
“Allen slipped in and won one, Kyren Wilson won one. There will always be that chance for a player to maybe catch one of them on their off day in a final or a semi-final, but it is difficult.”
Desmond Kane
I like the non-commital “someone will win the Shoot Out” … 😎
Stephen Hendry says he will “probably” make his sensational return to professional snooker next month.
The seven-times world champion revealed he was looking at February’s Welsh Open as a possible tournament for which to mark his dramatic comeback into the sport.
The news was revealed when Hendry joined Eurosport snooker presenter Andy Goldstein in a live Instagram chat on Wednesday afternoon from his home.
The Welsh Open – one of snooker’s most established ranking events – is due to start on February 15 at a venue to be confirmed.
When asked by a fan when ‘Crucible King’ Hendry was planning to make a comeback, the snooker legend said: “Probably the Welsh Open.”
Hendry also said he was looking at playing the new Pro Series event in March, which World Snooker Tour announced at the end of 2020.
Last year Hendry took the snooker world by storm when he announced he would be coming out of retirement following an impressive semi-final run in the World Seniors Championship in August.
Stephen Hendry. Picture by Monique Limbos
Since then Hendry has been working closely with SightRight coach Stephen Feeney – a man who has coached recent world champions Stuart Bingham, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan – to get his game back to a top standard.
However despite the headline announcement, Hendry has not yet featured in the 2020/21 snooker season.
He was planning a return for the UK Championship but announced a delay to his comeback in November because he wanted to play in front of a crowd and not behind closed doors and stated at the time his game was not yet ready.
But the likelihood of fans returning to live snooker events by the time the Welsh Open starts is almost impossible with both England and Wales in lockdown until mid-February at least.
Returning in a slightly lower profile event is probably the best option for Stephen Hendry who, despite a rather poor record on the WSS tour so far, will face huge exprectations from his faithful fanbase. I’m very surprised that he is considering the Pro Series, but, on second thoughts, it’s actually a good idea. Lots of snooker in a short time span, against seven different opponents. Why not?
As much as he had enough of Milton Keynes before Christmas, Ronnie will play in the 2021 Masters, and, speaking to Phil Haigh, he explained why. He didn’t miss it last year, but he feels that a too long post-Christmas break may have impacted his game negatively last season.
Regarding the crowd, he’s a bit in two minds. He appreciates to be able to concentrate solely on his snooker, without all the demands, and sometimes hassle, coming from the fans and the media, but, on the other hand, he reckons that he may need the pressure generated by the fans’ expectations to be able to perform at his best.
Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to the Masters next week (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan is back at the Masters this year after skipping the 2020 event, feeling that decision cost him his form and rhythm at the start of last year.
The Rocket disappointed his fans by sitting out last year’s Masters and choosing to work as a pundit for Eurosport during the event instead.
Pulling out allowed Ali Carter to step in and the Captain made it all the way to the final, where he was beaten by Stuart Bingham at Alexandra Palace.
However, he is back and will take on Ding Junhui on 13 January at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, when he will look to win his first tournament since lifting the World Championship title in August.
The 45-year-old feels that missing the Masters, along with the Christmas break and not travelling to Europe at the start of 2020 really cost him in terms of form, and he is eager not to make the same mistake again.
‘I don’t know because I didn’t miss it last year,’ O’Sullivan told Metro.co.uk of his decision to return to the Masters.
‘I just think, I was playing well towards the end of last year and I probably would have done okay at the Masters if I’d have played.
‘Then I missed that and I was looking forward to playing but I missed the German [Masters], I missed the Austrian Open [European Masters] so I ended up not playing for six or seven weeks.
‘Then when I did come back I was still playing well but I was so off the pace that it took me two tournaments to feel like a player again and get back where I was in December.
‘So I thought, rather than that happen again, let’s just try and carry some momentum forward and now I’ve got four or five tournaments to play before the World Championships so that’s enough for me.’
O’Sullivan made no secret of the fact that he preferred the World Championship in 2020 with no crowd at the Crucible for the majority of the tournament, due to the added stress of dealing with fans at events.
He also claims this has been a big problem for him at the Masters in the past.
‘For this year’s [2020] World Championships, there was no visitors, no guests, no one at the stage door, I could get in and out of Sheffield and I’ve never felt so relaxed there in my life,’ O’Sullivan told Pete Cohen’s Mi365 Podcast. ‘It wasn’t snooker, it was the stuff that surrounds certain tournaments. That was the reason I didn’t play in the Masters, because it’s a huge circus there.
‘London, the Masters is a no-no for me, if I never played in that again I wouldn’t be disappointed.’
O’Sullivan is bidding for an eighth Masters title this year (Picture: VCG via Getty Images)
O’Sullivan still appreciates the simplicity of a tournament at which he only needs to play snooker and do little else, but the months without fans at events appears to have changed his tune.
The world champion has played in more than enough behind closed doors events and is looking forward to the return of crowds as soon as possible.
‘It allows me to just go there and play snooker, enjoy it, it simplifies it I guess,’ he explained. ‘The Masters, the UK Championships, the World Championships, a lot of people want to come watch, you end up having to deal with stuff you don’t want to deal with. So this makes it all easier.
‘But I think it would have been nice to have a crowd, I think we need a crowd.
‘Some players have really adapted to it well, but I think it’s nice to play in front of an audience, it’s been a while now so looking forward to at some point getting a crowd back in.’
O’Sullivan not only wants a crowd for the return of an atmosphere at events and the excitement that brings, but he feels it will help his performances.
The Rocket won his sixth world title last summer in impressive fashion, but he is yet to get his hands on another trophy since then.
O’Sullivan picked up his sixth world title in August (Picture: PA)
He has impressed at times, reaching two finals, but also turned in some below-par performances at the Marshall Arena, where tournaments have been held this season.
With that motivation disappearing, and without the intensity of a crowd, he feels his game has suffered.
‘I obviously have a lot less to prove, I don’t have anything to prove,’ Ronnie explained. ‘But I think with that loss of fear, I’ve always said that fear drove me on to want to play well and to put the extra hours in, to devote myself to snooker.
‘When you do that you get such tunnel vision and for the last five years I haven’t had that approach.
‘It’s worked for me, in a way, I’ve been much more relaxed, but I think you get to the point where maybe that intensity isn’t there enough of the time.
‘I don’t know if it’s lack of crowds but I just feel like I’m missing the odd ball I wasn’t missing before. Against 95% of the tour I might get away with it, but the three guys: Neil Robertson, Judd Trump and Mark Selby, I’m just not going to get away with it against them.
‘Against all the other guys I will and have got away with it but If I’m to compete with them three then I’ve got to erase them errors.
‘Maybe crowds coming back might change that I don’t know. It is harder for certain players to play in front of no crowd, sometimes you need that bit of pressure to kick you into gear.’
The 2021 Championship League Snooker Group 1 was the first Main Tour event of the new year. It was played in Milton Keynes, under strict social distancing rules.
The group was won by Zhou Yuelong, who beat John Higgins in the group final.
John Higgins ensured himself a place in the Group One play-offs at BetVictor Championship League Snooker by winning all four of his group matches on Monday at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes.
The Scot made a strong start on the opening day of the invitational event, which is broadcast on Freesports in the UK, Zhibo.tv in China and on Matchroom.Live, among other international broadcasters.
Stuart Bingham made his eighth career 147in beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3-0. The former Championship League winner sits second table in the table having played three matches.
Graeme Dott occupies third having also won two of three matches played, with Gary Wilson also on two wins but having played four times.
Zhou Yuelong beat John Higgins 3-2 in the Group One final at BetVictor Championship League Snooker to become the first player through to March’s big-money Winners’ Group.
Higgins took a 1-0 lead over Zhou in the best-of-five final at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, before the young Chinese talent took the next two frames to move within one of victory. Higgins levelled, but a 131 break in the decider means it will be Zhou who returns for Winners’ Group on March 31.
BetVictor Championship League Snooker is an invitational event which is broadcast on Freesports in the UK, Zhibo.tv in China and on Matchroom.Live, among other international broadcasters.
“It is a nice to start the New Year as the first group winner,” said Zhou, who accumulated prize money of £6,400 during the group. “I played great over the two days. Three years ago I first played the Championship League and I won the first group then too.
“The last frame was perfect. John Higgins is an idol, so I enjoyed playing him. I played him twice today and for me I can learn many things from him.”
Earlier, Higgins had beaten Graeme Dott in his play-off semi-final match, having topped the round-robin group table with five wins. Zhou had defeated Stuart Bingham 3-0 in his play-off semi-final.
Gary Wilson will join Dott, Bingham and Higgins in Group 2 having finished fifth in Group One, where they will be joined by newcomers Kyren Wilson, Scott Donaldson and Matthew Selt on Wednesday. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Michael Holt have been eliminated from the event having finished sixth and seventh respectively in the group.
Here his Stuart Bingham’s 147
Thepchaiya Un-nooh had made a century, a 107, in the very first professional frame of 2021. He couldn’t really follow that up though, as he finished 6th of the group.
China’s Yan Bingtao will step out for his Masters debut next week, having broken into the world’s top 16 for the first time last year.
Zhou Yuelong beat John Higgins 3-2 in the Group One final at BetVictor Championship League Snooker to become the first player through to March’s big-money Winners’ Group.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 