opinion

The 2025 Tour Championship Day 5 and some more thoughts about the Ronnie situation

Monique opinion, Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament, Talking point , ,

Yesterday, John Higgins beat Barry Hawkins to book his place in the 2025 Tour Championship final.

Here is the report by WST:

Higgins Into 58th Ranking Final

John Higgins remained on target for a second ranking title within five weeks as he enjoyed a superb 10-7 victory over Barry Hawkins in the semi-finals of the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship.

From 5-5, Higgins pulled away to win five of the last seven frames, making three centuries to come out on top of a high quality contest. The Wizard of Wishaw is into the 58th ranking event final of his career, just six short of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record of 64. He will aim for a 33rd ranking title when he meets Mark Selby or Ding Junhui on Sunday at Manchester Central, with first to ten frames to capture the trophy and a top prize of £150,000.

After winning the Players Championship in 2021, Higgins went four years without a ranking title, and feared his days at the top table were over, particularly as he struggled to get over the line at the business end of key matches. But landing silverware at the World Open in China last month has made all the difference for the Scot, who turns 50 in May. One of the all-time greats, Higgins is now playing outstanding snooker, mixing heavy break-building with his granite tactical game, and most importantly he is finishing matches strongly. In this form, he will be one of the leading contenders at the Crucible. 

Having shared the afternoon session 4-4, Higgins took the opening frame this evening with a break of 66 to lead 5-4, before Hawkins levelled with a 125. The Englishman had two scoring chances in frame 11 but managed only 12 points and Higgins punished him with 73. Early in frame 12, Hawkins went for a thin cut red to centre but completely missed the object ball and went in-off, handing Higgins an opening which he took advantage of with a sumptuous 144 total clearance, his best of the season and the new target for the £10,000 high break prize.

A safety exchange with two reds on the table in frame 13 was resolved when Higgins escaped from a snooker but left Hawkins the opportunity to clear and close the gap to 7-6. A superb 130 from Higgins restored his two frame cushion, then he dominated a fragmented 15th frame for 9-6.

A missed red to centre was costly for Higgins in the 16th as his opponent made 99 to claw one back. But Hawkins’ break-off in frame 17 left a red close to a centre pocket, Higgins swept over the line with a 107.

“I would love to win this one and be a multiple champion this season, before we go to Sheffield,” said four-time Crucible king Higgins. “In the first session, Barry was hitting the ball well and looking superb, if he had gone 4-2 up he then could have gone 5-3 or 6-2, he was freezing me out. I was delighted to be 4-4, then I knew had to play better tonight, and I thought I played great.

“It was an amazing atmosphere, it reminds me of Alexandra Palace on a smaller scale. It’s an incredible venue and Manchester is a great city. I’m sure Sunday will be even better and I can’t wait.“

Hawkins, who had knocked out Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump, said: “It was a good match, I just had a few loose shots and John punished me heavily, he looked at the top of his game. It has still been a good week but I am disappointed right now.“

It was a good match but I’m deeply unhappy about the outcome. Those who know me, or read this blog regularly, know why. And, no, that’s not going to change ever unless new elements come to light that radically change my perspective on what happened in 2010.

Regarding the second semi-final, due to be played today, I don’t have a “favourite”. I like both players. I would be delighted to see Ding lift the trophy tomorrow but I think that Mark Selby is better equipped to stop Higgins.

Some more personal thoughts on the Ronnie situation …

This is nothing new but for clarity, here is what Ronnie said about his plans, as reported by the BBC :

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t made my mind up, I’ll probably make a decision on maybe 17 or 18 April,” O’Sullivan said on TNT Sports.

“I don’t know when I’m due to play my first match, so I’m going to try and leave myself as much time as possible.

“I’d love to be able to go there and play. I’d love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker.

“I just need to give myself as much time as possible to see where I’m at with it, and see whether it’s something I’m going to be able to do.“

…

“It’s been a real struggle,” he added. “I’ve tried to play my way through. I’ve had moments and glimpses where I thought: ‘OK, this is OK.‘

“But on the whole, probably three-and-a-half years out of the last four have been pretty terrible for me and that’s kind of took its toll.

“I kind of got a bit tired. It kind of ground me down to the point where I kind of lost the love for the game.

“That’s why in January, I snapped my cue just in temper, in frustration. I don’t really want to feel like that, so I’ve taken time out. I am just gonna try and fix what I think is the problem before I come back to play serious snooker again.”

So? Ronnie won five titles last season and still feels like he’s been awful for the best part of the last four seasons? That may sound crazy but that’s what depression does to those who suffer from it and it rarely really goes away completely. Mark Selby has been open about that as well. Also, in my opinion, the collapse of his 13 years long relationship with Laila Rouass hasn’t helped. People close to them have reported that, despite the difficulties, there was still a lot of love between them. I’m not sure that, if true, this is making things easier. When a relationship ends in acrimony and bitter resentment, it’s ugly, but it makes it easier to walk away and start anew.

For me, the situation is this: Ronnie is struggling with depression, badly, and feels unable, psychologically, to cope with the demands of his sport. Also the huge expectations that always weigh on him whenever he plays aren’t helping. If that’s the case, not playing is the sensible decision, and definitely far better than walking out mid match like he did at the 2006 UK Championship against Hendry. Nobody wants to see that again.

Many fans are complaining and brandishing the “what if there is an empty session?”. I understand their concerns but as seed number 5, Ronnie is likely to be scheduled to play his first session on the third or fourth day of the tournament, or even earlier but that has happened only once recently. That leaves a bit time for WST to deal with the situation IF necessary. Usually, during the first week, most sessions feature a match that is in its first session and one that is in its second session. When one table “finishes”, the curtain is lifted and the whole Crucible can watch the other table. The only possible “disaster” scenario would be that the match due to finish during Ronnie’s scheduled “first session” is so one sided that only a couple of frames remain to be played. It could happen, of course, but it doesn’t happen that often and given the quality of the qualifiers this year, I would be surprised if we had many one-sided matches in the first round this time.

David Hendon speaks about what he saw from Ronnie at the CLS, and his withdrawal from the Masters

Monique opinion, Professional snooker tournament, Snooker, Talking point , ,

David Hendon was, still is probably, in Leicester where he comments on the action.

Following Ronnie’s withdrawal from the Masters, and reading peoples’ reactions to it, David decided to explain what he witnessed during Group 3 at the 2025 invitational CLS: you can listen to it here.

Thank you David for sharing this and your balanced views on what happened.

And, yes, it’s a concern.

Snooker News – 8 January 2025 … and more rant

Monique opinion, Professional snooker tournament, Snooker ,

The 2025 Championship League Snooker Invitational continued on Monday and yesterday with Group 2.

The group was won by Si Jiahui, and Jak Jones, the runner-up made his first professional 147.

Here is the report shared by WST:

JONES JOINS 147 CLUB, BUT SI WINS GROUP

Jak Jones made the first official maximum break of his career at the BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational on Tuesday, however he finished runner-up in Group Two to Si Jiahui.

…

Jones’ perfect break came in the third frame of a 3-0 victory over Chris Wakelin during the group phase, in which he also made breaks of 81 and 119. Wakelin failed to score a single point in the fixture as Crucible runner-up Jones showed his break-building calibre. It’s the 209th maximum in snooker history and seventh of the 2024/25 season so far.

China’s Si finished top of the group table with five wins out of six, followed by Ali Carter, Jones and Wakelin who all notched three wins. In the semi-finals, Si came from 2-1 down to beat Wakelin 3-2, making breaks of 94 and 77 in the last two frames. Jones saw off Carter 3-1.

Welshman Jones took a 2-0 lead in the final, but Si stormed back to 2-2 with runs of 101 and 94, then got the better of the decider to book his place in February’s Winners’ Group. Before that, the 22-year-old can look forward to a debut in next week’s Johnstone’s Paint Masters, and Si will head to Alexandra Palace full of confidence with a series of wins under his belt.

Group Three gets underway on Wednesday with World Champion Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan joining the action.

Broadcast Information
Fans can watch the action unfold globally, with comprehensive live coverage available on two tables throughout the tournament. Table One will be streamed live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel and available to UK viewers as well as on Rigour in China and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and Iceland. Table Two will be streamed live on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel, accessible to fans worldwide.

All results are available on snooker.org.

I’m coming out once again regarding WST “broadcast” information… and It’s not just about this event. I live now in Greece. Table 1 is geo-blocked in Greece despite the fact that there is no other way to watch it without a vpn. Next week the Masters will be played. Again I will have no means to watch it without a vpn. We have a television, with 40+ different channels available but only BBC news is part of the available packages. 1HBOmax is now the replacement platform for the ES player … but again, I need a vpn to use it because it’s not available in Greece. Vpns don’t come for free and you must know how to set them up. Over the last years WST policies, and broadcasters policies have made it increasingly difficult and costly for me to watch the snooker. IF the people in charge at WST really want the sport to be truly “global” and grow in new regions, these policies have to change. They won’t develop a growing interest in the sport if more and more people are prevented to watch it unless they have some IT stuff knowledge and are willing to pay. Quite the opposite, they will lose viewers in places were it used to be easily accessible.

  1. Some more channels are available via satellite TV. However, on top of the associated costs, there are restrictions on that too. In most traditional villages, satellite plates are not allowed. ↩︎

Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry assess Ronnie’s form and motivation ahead of the UK Championship

Monique opinion, Professional snooker ,

Steve Davis

‘So be it’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan claim made as snooker legend gears up for UK Championship

Ronnie O’Sullivan is bidding to win a record-extending ninth UK Championship, with snooker legend Steve Davis admitting that different rules apply to the Rocket.

By Nick Murphy

Steve Davis has dismissed any doubts over Ronnie O’Sullivan’s drive and determination as he aims for a ninth UK Championship crown.

The Rocket has skipped several tournaments this season, including the Wuhan Open, the British Open and the Northern Ireland Open, all due to medical reasons. He’s since returned to the baize at the International Open and the Champion of Champions, ahead of his latest appearance at the Barbican.

Davis isn’t the slightest bit worried about O’Sullivan’s hunger as he looks to add another UK Championship trophy to his collection, two decades on from his first. And he’s suggested the Essex potter, who takes on Barry Hawkins in the first round in York, is in a league of his own when it comes to managing his tournament schedule.

“I think it’s worked well for Ronnie the last couple of years he’s been doing it,” Davis revealed in our UK Championship snooker preview, out now. “He doesn’t have anything to prove, so he doesn’t need to play in every event. There is a problem with getting enough ranking points so that he stays at the top end of the game.“

“I don’t think Ronnie would want to be in a situation where he has to qualify for the Crucible. He has to play in events to stay in the top 16 if that’s still a motivating force. But different rules apply to Ronnie, he’s absolutely paid his dues within the game,” reports the Express.

“It’s not that he doesn’t love the game. He’s been playing for so long and it’s incredible what he’s done, but if he doesn’t want to play in events because he’s got other things to do or that makes him stronger in the main events then so be it.“

Davis continued: “I think that’s great. The worst thing is if you’re playing events because you feel like you have to and you’re just going through the motions. That’s not the right mental state to be turning up in a tournament for, you’re unlikely to get the best out of yourself.“

Although the World Championship isn’t until well into 2025, the conversation inevitably shifts to O’Sullivan’s pursuit of an eighth snooker title. Davis doesn’t think that surpassing Stephen Hendry’s record is O’Sullivan’s primary driving force, despite how much he’d love to achieve the milestone.

“I do feel that he’d love to get an eighth, that would be something that would give him a buzz,” Davis concedes. “But in order to do that you’ve got to remain relevant and competitive. If it is the case that it’s the only thing on his mind, it would be difficult to play for the rest of the season.“

“It’s proof that he’s still entering tournaments that he still loves the game.”

Stephen Hendry

Stephen Hendry issues blunt Ronnie O’Sullivan verdict ahead of UK Championship defence

Stephen Hendry has given his verdict on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s chances of enjoying more Triple Crown glory as The Rocket prepares to begin his defence of the UK Championship

By Mark Whiley

Stephen Hendry insists it would be “stupid” to write off Ronnie O’Sullivan at the UK Championship.

By his own admission, The Rocket’s powers are on the wane and he has skipped several tournaments already this season, citing medical issues. However, it’s still less than year since O’Sullivan won eighth titles at the both the UK Championship and Masters, taking his overall Triple Crown tally to an incredible 23.

An eighth world title, which would see him go out on his own ahead of Hendry, continues to elude him and looks less likely as each year passes. However, Hendry argues that more major tournament success for O’Sullivan cannot be ruled out if he can get somewhere close to his brilliant best.

“On his day, when he plays his best, he’s still the best player in the world,” Hendry told Mirror Sport ahead of tournament, where he will be on punditry duty for BBC.

“But those unbelievable performances are becoming fewer and farther between. It would be stupid to write him off because if he plays at his best, he will do it [win the big tournaments]. But there’s no doubt it’s going to get harder the older he gets.

“You’ve got Judd Trump, who’s turning into a winning machine and Kyren Wilson is having an incredible season as world champion. There’s so many great players out there. If Ronnie plays his best, he probably still is the best player. But he doesn’t do it that often.”

With other interests in the game, Hendry, who retired for a second and final time earlier this year, feels O’Sullivan’s competitive juices have faded. The five-time UK champion added: “He’s always looked at other things beyond [competitive] snooker.”

“He’s got an academy in Saudi Arabia, he does a lot of exhibitions in China which makes him a lot of money. So maybe the competitive side is not as high up in his priorities as it used to be.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if he apples himself to tournaments likes the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship.”

Personally, I have no great expectations. I expected Xiao Guodong to cause Ronnie problems in the CoC and was proved right. That said Ronnie played better than I expected and Xiao went on to reach the final. So, maybe, that defeat isn’t as significant as I thought it was right after that match.

Barry Hawkins is a very, very solid match player but hasn’t a great record against Ronnie. We can only wait and… hope.

The 2024 British Open – Poor conditions, poor crowds

Monique opinion, Professional snooker tournament, Snooker ,

I would like some feedback on this one, by people who attended the event, and people who play the game and are able to express a meaningful opinion about the way the tables play in this event, and played in recent events.

Mark Allen has been very critical about the conditions

‘The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing’ – Mark Allen

Antrim snooker player blasts tables at the British Open championship.

THE FOLLY OF LEAVING doors open to drafts was exposed at the British Open snooker championships, when Mark Allen lost his cool with the state of the tables after his 4-3 win over Gary Wilson.

Speaking to ITV after his match at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse, the Co Antrim man got a few things off his chest.

“The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing,” Allen told ITV.

“It’s some of the worst weather outside and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid, out there.”

He got on a roll then, proclaiming, “The table needs to be burned.

“The cushions are unplayable, uncontrollable. It was heavy. The speed was decent.

“There are new guys doing the tables this year and they’re clearly not up to it.”

World Snooker then issued a response, saying in a statement, “Our table-fitting team has been consistent for some time and works to the highest standards.

“The weather in the area has seen unprecedented rainfall over the last couple of days which can negatively influence the conditions.

“We have raised the issue of an open door with the venue.”

Allen has since clarified his remarks on X, formerly Twitter, this morning, writing about his interaction with interviewer Rob Walker, ‘After having some time to calm down I’d like to apologise to @robwalkertv for that interview. My anger wasn’t directed at him and he definitely deserved a better interview. My frustrations were 100% at the conditions which frankly haven’t been anywhere good enough this season.’

Indeed it seems to me that the conditions in general this season have been suboptimal. I have seen a lot of players this season staring at the table in incredulity after shots went astray.

And it seems to me that the fans haven’t exactly been “crowding” the venue. Most matches I watched were not on the main table and the “crowd” watching was very small, only a few people really. Also it’s been like that in early rounds in previous events as well. It’s only at the final week-ends1 that things get better.

  1. And for some player(s) when they elect to play… ↩︎

About Exposure …

Monique Eurosport, Media, opinion, Snooker , ,

No, this isn’t about photography… 😉 … I wish it was though. This is about the exposure snooker is getting and why the latest developments got me very concerned.

True, we now have more good statistical sites, podcasts and youtube channels dealing with snooker than ever before but … BUT the next professional event, the Xi’an Grand Prix, is starting on Monday next week and, apparently, for us fans in Europe, the only way to watch it will be via matchroom.live. This means that we will get at most two tables but that’s not the worst of it. Unless Matchroom improves their streaming platform for the occasion, it also means that, if for any reason we can’t watch the action when it’s happening, we won’t see it at all1. This is a tournament held in China. Some matches, in the early rounds, will be played at ungodly hours – very early in the morning – and MOST matches will be played during what is for us, Europeans, working hours.

Eurosport branded themselves “the home of snooker”. The Eurosport player was fantastic.

Discovery+ , Eurosport alleged replacement, doesn’t seem to be too keen to offer the same service.

The BBC will only show the UK, the Masters and the World. The ITV tournaments will be on ITV … but those platforms are not supposed to be available to the fans in mainland Europe, or in general outside the UK/Ireland2.

If WST/WPBSA want their sport to be successful this is an issue that needs to be addressed properly and urgently. As we say in French “Loin des yeux … loin du coeur.”3 For any sport to grow and succeed, exposure is vital, and not just exposure, “quality” exposure. Quality is not just about content, it’s also about availability to all fans, no matter their location, their occupation and their time constraints. Eurosport player was offering that, at a price, but it didn’t cost a fortune. Now that option is gone … without actual alternative.

  1. Actually this is not entirely true, you might get some highlights later, but there is no guarantee whatsoever. ↩︎
  2. Yes, I know, VPNs exist BUT… that’s a workaround and not available to all. ↩︎
  3. “away from the eyes… away from the heart” ↩︎

Food for thoughts … 10 June 2024

Monique opinion

The first ranking event of the season starts in a few hours. The summer hiatus comes to an end and I want to share a few thoughts about some of the things that happened during the “break”.

A lot of exhibitions were organised during the late spring, both in Asia and in mainland Europe. More than I can remember ever before certainly. They were very well attended and some additional dates had to be added for the European “leg” such was the demand. They “sold out” in no time. WST seems to have relaxed the restrictions on those events quite a bit, which is good. . This is probably the result of the renegotiation of the players contract, under pressure of the players representatives. Giving more visibility to those exhibitions has certainly not caused the sport any damage, quite the opposite.

A number of snooker players were/are in China, playing in a Heyball event with a prize money worth over 200000 pounds for the winner. Amongst them, two former World Champions Stuart Bingham and Graeme Dott.

In recent days I have been watching a lot of the 2024 nine ball pool World Championship and I think snooker could learn from them. I did like the setup in Jeddah a lot. I also like the double elimination system, as it gives every player a guaranteed two matches. One of the players who lost his first match, made the most of his second chance and reached the SFs. The field is much younger than in snooker, and much, much more international. Events are organised all around the globe – no UK centrism here – with events coming in Hanoi, the USA and Germany in the summer. I which snooker was much more like that. Of course, pool is easier to learn at a basic level than snooker, the tables are smaller too. It’s cheaper and probably economically more profitable for clubs to invest in pool equipment rather than in snooker equipment. Even so, I think it would be worth to analyse the reasons behind their success … especially are they are not even shown on television, at least not in our part of the world.

Then the was this post on facebook by Tim Dunkley, one of the most respected coaches in the UK:

I WAS reminded this morning of what I said a year ago when eight past or present members of the Saturday morning junior leagues at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club were called up by England for the 2023 Home Internationals.

“We will never be able to repeat this achievement,” I declared.

How wrong can you be. This week eight past or present members of the Saturday morning junior leagues received invites for the 2024 Home Internationals.

All eight started their competitive careers in our Under-13 League. So for those players struggling to make a bridge hand or trying to hit the cue-ball in a straight line or even yet to pick up a cue for the first time, commitment and hard work could lead to you donning a waistcoat with a gold three-lions badge. It happened with these eight.

The Chandlers Ford SC Under-13 League runs from 9-11am every Saturday. The Under-19 League runs from 11am-1pm every Saturday. We also run junior competitions from 11am-3pm on every weekday during every school holiday.

Time now to prove that these eight were once beginners. Pictured are: Asten Sahota, Ellise Scott, Harry Wyatt, Oliver Sykes, O’Shay Scott, Riley Ellis, Ryan Spratt and William Thomson.

First of all, well done to Tim and his team: they do a great job to bring kids of both genders to snooker and have done that for many years. One name in that list caught my attention, I put it in bold. Ellise is a 13 years old girl. I checked the HIBSF site and there doesn’t seem to be a women event on the menu. So I can only suppose that Ellise has been deemed good enough to compete in the open event, on par with the boys belonging to the same age group. And it appears that another young girl will compete for Scotland: Sophie Nix. I’m not sure it’s happened before and it shows that, although there is still a lot of work to do to bring more girls to snooker and nurture their talent, the WWS tour has a real purpose and there are clubs and coaches ready to invest themselves to the task.

There are currently 125 players on tour. One more qualifying event is to be played in Australia in July. Invitational tour cards, if any, are yet to be announced.