The report that WST shared about day 3 at the EIS is essentially focused on Ken Doherty. As much as I like Ken and I do – this is further evidence how much snooker stays stuck in nostalgia, and fails to promote its future as well as it really should.

New Cue Powers Doherty To Qualifying Win

Ken Doherty has switched away from the cue which he used to become Crucible king in 1997, but admits he’s fallen in love with his new one after he thrashed Haydon Pinhey 10-3 at Halo World Championship Qualifying. 

Click here for full scores

Click here for day three as it happened

The 55-year-old is bidding for a first Crucible appearance since 2014 this week, having lost three times in the final round of qualifying since then. Victory today moves him within three games of a return, next up he faces David Lilley. 

The afternoon session saw Doherty blitz clear with breaks of 63 and 98 on his way to moving 9-0 ahead. The evening session saw Pinhey pull three back, but it was to no avail as Doherty made 59 to get over the line in the 13th. 

“I’ve been thinking about changing cue for a while. I just thought, what have I got to lose? I just felt I was losing the power in my old one. I got this one made, there is a lot more power and I’m happy with it. I’ve only had it three or four weeks, but you get a bit excited, it is like a new toy. I’ll see how it progresses,” said six-time ranking event winner Doherty.

“It is like a new romance, after you’ve been with someone for a long time and all of a sudden you find a new romance. I’m not sure how long it will last and there might be a break up! We will see how it goes. At the moment the cue and I are still in love.

“To qualify would be amazing. I think if I did it that would be the final farewell. The Crucible and I have had a long romance together, I love going there and I love the World Championship. I love playing in the World Seniors there and it is a wonderful venue.”

Recently crowned European Amateur Champion and Q Tour Playoff winner Liam Highfield stormed to a 10-3 win over Women’s World Champion Bai Yulu to secure his progression. 

Highfield will return to the World Snooker Tour next season after his exploits on the amateur circuit. He will be a formidable force going from his performance today, which saw him knock in breaks of 88, 68, 79, 83, 61, 53, 51 and 61. He will now face He Guoqiang in the second round. 

Liam Pullen was relegated from the circuit after a 10-5 loss to WSF Champion Gao Yang, while Ian Burns defeated former Women’s World Champion Mink Nutcharut 10-4. 

Liam Highfield played really well indeed. Bai Yulu managed to stay with him in the first session but was outplayed in the second one. The match between Ian Burns and Mink was closer than the scores suggests.

My feeling was that Mink doesn’t really have the self-belief and confidence she would need to win on the main tour. She was just 5-4 down after the first session but appeared to struggle under pressure in the second session. She was not able to “close” the frames out when she was ahead. Also, obviously, her petite stature means that she has to use various implements much more often than most of her male opponents. The match between Duane Jones and Florian Nüessle was one of those that make you think “shame there has to be a looser”. Both played well, and scored well under the circumstances and it went to a decider.

In other news … this piece – shared by Kalacs in commentary – featuring Jimmy and Ronnie is nice to watch.

But then again the 85 final was “celebrated”. I’m sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of the nostalgia cult. It wasn’t even a good match overall. It had a dramatic finish, yes, but we have had much better Crucible finals, and indeed semi-finals, at the Crucible in recent years. That said, I was glad to see Ronnie looking well in that footage. That doesn’t mean that he will play at the Crucible, of course, nor does it mean that he is stable mentally. In the past, he has been going through brutal mood swings, which are always difficult to cope with. I have seen that happening, close up, and it’s not pretty.

In this piece, Jason Francis gave the last update on the topic:

When asked directly if O’Sullivan would play at the Crucible, Francis said: “He seems to have a cue that he’s happy with. He is hitting balls. But he’s said nothing different to me than he’s said to everyone else.”

The manager emphasised that O’Sullivan “will decide, last minute, whether he wants to go.”

Francis added: “The only thing I’ve said is that, if you’re going to go, then you have to go and give it everything.

“If you don’t feel right, and if it’s mental health or anxiety, bear in mind I’ve been party to see this.”

O’Sullivan hasn’t competed since a dramatic incident during the Championship League in January.

During that event, he snapped his cue and stormed off, raising concerns among fans about his future in the sport.

The snooker star has subsequently withdrawn from multiple tournaments, including a highly anticipated Masters clash with John Higgins.

These absences have left supporters worried about whether the Rocket would return to competitive action.

Francis’s update provides the first positive indication that O’Sullivan is at least practising again.

Finding a cue he’s comfortable with represents a significant step forward after the January incident.

Francis highlighted that mental health issues affect many players in the sport, not just O’Sullivan.

“I read that Jamie Jones walked up to a venue and the anxiety got so bad he walked away,” he revealed.

“For Ronnie O’Sullivan, the money he can earn at the World Championship, you can argue, won’t change his life.“

O’Sullivan himself, meanwhile, has addressed his recent absences from competition in a statement to fans.

“I realise plenty of people who bought tickets to some recent snooker events will have been frustrated when I withdrew,” he said.

“I just wanted to say sorry to those of you who’ve been disappointed with me having to pull out of those tournaments.”

O’Sullivan then explained his withdrawals were health-related.

“I’ve been trying to prioritise my health and wellbeing, which sometimes means making last-minute decisions not to play,” he added.

“It’s never an easy decision and I hate letting people down.“

O’Sullivan concluded with a positive message: “I’m doing what I can to get back to my best.”