The 2023 Scottish Open – Day 4

Monique Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament

As we reach the QFs stage in Edinburgh, only one member of the top 16 remains in the draw, the local man, John Higgins. Here is WST report on what happened yesterday:

Higgins Battles To Stay In Hunt

John Higgins scored a hard fought 4-2 win over Lyu Haotian to remain in contention to win his home event, the BetVictor Scottish Open, for the first time at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh.

The four-time World Champion made Scottish Open finals in 2016 and 2021, but was defeated on both occasions by Marco Fu and Luca Brecel respectively. He now faces Tom Ford in the last eight after he booked his place with a 4-2 defeat of Martin O’Donnell.

Higgins is seeking a first piece of ranking silverware since the 2021 Players Championship. In the time since that tournament, the legendary Scot made finals at four ranking events and the Champion of Champions, but is yet to add to his 31 career ranking titles.

It was China’s Lyu who got up and running with a break of 89 to take the opener this evening. Higgins responded with two on the bounce to take the lead, but a run of 91 saw Lyu square things up at 2-2. Higgins crucially fluked the last red in the fifth, leaving himself a treacherous green across the nap with the white in the jaws. He potted it and cleared to move one from the win. A break of 51 in the sixth gave Higgins control and he got over the line to book his last eight berth.

“I’m delighted with winning tonight. I didn’t play my best and neither did Lyu. It is nice to get through and I will try to get ready for tomorrow now,” said 48-year-old Higgins.

“It’s not enjoyable when you aren’t playing great, but I’m playing in front of a lot of the fans that are supporting the Scottish boys to try and do well. I’m just trying to give that little bit extra out there. Luckily so far I’ve managed to do that this week.

“I’ve lost a couple of Scottish Open finals so it would mean a great deal to win. I’m not counting my chickens at all. I’ve got a really tough game in the next round, so I’ll just get ready for that.”

Defending champion Gary Wilson continued his campaign with a 4-1 win over Malaysia’s Rory Thor to make the quarter-finals. The Wallsend cueman crafted breaks of 87, 88, 80 and 89 on his way to victory, with two maximum opportunities among those frames. He now plays former Shoot Out champion Chris Wakelin, who defeated Kyren Wilson 4-2.

Noppon Saengkham defeated Matthew Selt 4-3 to make the quarters and will face Sanderson Lam, who beat Anthony McGill 4-1 to reach the last eight of a ranking event for the first time.

Stuart Bingham put on a sublime display to whitewash an in form Zhang Anda 4-0. Bingham crafted runs of 119, 68, 65 and 89 en route to victory. Next up the Basildon cueman plays Zhou Yuelong, who beat Dominic Dale 4-0. Bingham must win to make the top 32 in the one-year list and earn a place at the World Grand Prix.

This is certainly not a QF line-up many would have predicted.

Gary Wilson is making his defence of his first ever ranking title a good one. His hair cuts and waistcoats may not be as flamboyant as they used to be, but his snooker yesterday certainly was: he had two maximum attempts in his lat 16 match. In frame three, he ran out of position after the 11th red and and had to play the pink instead of the black. In frame five, he missed the 12th black. It’s all the more remarkable because Gary had already played a match in the afternoon, beating Joe O’Connor by 4-3 and Joe always makes it hard for his opponents.

The man Gary beat in the last 16, Rory Thor, deserves a mention. Rory has just regained his tour card this season and had beaten Graeme Dott, Daniel Wells and Ashley Carty to reach the fourth round. Not bad!

Kyren Wilson had battled from 3-0 down to beat David Gilbert in his last 32 match. Gilbert missed a match ball pink in frame five and never recovered mentally. Maybe that match took a bit too much out of Kyren who had to play his (last 16) second match in the evening. Kyren was beaten by the much improved Chris Wakelin. Last season Shoot Out win was truly a “transforming” moment for Chris.

Stuart Bingham, who is now playing with glasses, has not got the best of season so far, but impressed yesterday. I suppose that getting used to the glasses was always going to take a bit of time.

Sanderson Lam is probably one of the most improved players of the season so far. He played a very good match to beat Anthony McGill by 4-1. It was Anthony who scored the only 50+ break of the match, but Sanderson outplayed him tactically and didn’t falter on the important balls. Well done Sanderson! I suppose that not having “the gang” in the crowd, teasing, joking and generally playing havoc, helps the concentration big time!

All the results are onsnooker.org as always.

The 2023 Scottish Open – Day 3

Monique Professional snooker

As the”last 32″ round is still underway in Edinburg with 8 more matches to be played today, we already know that there will be no member of the top 8 in the “last 16” . The carnage continues…

Here is the report by WST:

Minister Of Defence Downs Bullet

Martin O’Donnell ended World Champion Luca Brecel’s chances of qualifying for the World Grand Prix and enhanced his own, with a 4-2 win over the Belgian at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.

Both players came into the game knowing that the winner would push themselves into position to earn a place at the World Grand Prix, whilst the loser would be out of the race. Only the top 32 players of the season so far will qualify for the Leicester event and Crucible king Brecel is now destined to finish outside of that bracket.

O’Donnell scored an excellent win over Mark Selby on a run to the quarter-finals of the BetVictor English Open earlier this season and he’s earned an equally impressive result in the Scottish capital this week.

Brecel took the opener this evening, before breaks of 59, 75 and 70 from O’Donnell saw him establish a 3-1 lead. A 44-minute fifth went the way of Brecel to keep him in contention, but O’Donnell crafted a fine run of 85 to get over the line and seal an an important win.

“It feels great. Out there playing the World Champion on the main stage and to score like I did was great. It felt really nice,” said world number 80 O’Donnell.

“I had a really good win on the main table against Mark Selby at the English Open and that helped me out there today. That experience of beating someone of that stature, a multiple World Champion. I played well that day. It gives you the belief that you can do it again and thankfully I did today.”

Matthew Selt prevailed in a 76-minute deciding frame to conquer four-time World Champion Selby 4-3 and earn his place in the last 16.

It’s the first time that Selt has beaten Selby in a ranking event and earns him a clash with Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham in the next round. The marathon final frame this evening came all the way down to the colours, where Selby crucially spurned a brown. Selt potted from brown topink to earn a big victory.

Selt said: “It’s a fantastic result for me and a big scalp. I’ve never beaten Mark before in a ranking event and the pressure got the best of me in the decider. I thought I played really well up until that. I had a couple of chances and started to freeze a bit because of my record against him. I counted myself very lucky in the end, but I potted some good balls and I’d like to think I was the worthy winner.”

Kyren Wilson put on a sensational performance to defeat former Welsh Open winner Jordan Brown 4-0 in just 45 minutes.

Such was the dominance of Wilson, his opponent only accrued three minutes and 41 seconds of table time throughout the whole match. Wilson fired in breaks of 126, 74, 129 and 106 on his way to the win. He now plays David Gilbert.

Scotland’s John Higgins defeated Ricky Walden 4-3 with the clock just shy of midnight, while Tom Ford scored a late night 4-3 win against Ding Junhui.

As it stands, John Higgins is the only member of the top 16 who is currently guaranteed to play in the round of 16: Kyren Wilson and Zhang Anda both need to win their match this afternoon to get there and Kyren faces a tough opponent in David Gilbert.

Martin O’Donnell played well in beating Luca Brecel. He’s nicknamed “the Minister of Defence” but, to his credit, yesterday he played an open attacking game and it paid off. Yes, he’s rather slow, but his shot selection was positive.

Earlier in the day, Sam Craigie played well to beat Yuan Sijun who was unusually poor. Gary Wilson beat the young Xing Zihao by 4-3 from 3-1 down. Xing suffered a bad case of “clinching disease”. From 3-1 up, his game deteriorated and his whole facial expression and body language were crying “anxiety!”. I found it hard to watch and that’s nothing against Gary Wilson. I know that many fans find the view of a player unraveling badly “compelling” but I’m not like that.

The 2024 German Masters – Draw and Format

Monique Professional snooker tournament

WST has just published the draw and format for the 2024 German Masters

BetVictor German Masters Draw

Germany’s top player Lukas Kleckers will meet Judd Trump in the first round of the 2024 BetVictor German Masters at the Tempodrom in Berlin.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DRAW

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFYING FORMAT

The draw for the world ranking event has been made, and with a new format this season, matches involving the top eight seeds will be held over to the final stages in Berlin, to run from January 29 to February 4.

Kleckers will compete at the Tempodrom for the first time in his career, against Trump who won the title in 2020 and 2021. Ali Carter lifted the Brandon Parker Trophy last season after beating Tom Ford in the final, and the Captain will begin the defence of his title against two-time ranking event winner Michael White.

The eight held over matches are:
Ali Carter v Michael White
Shaun Murphy v Xu Si
Mark Allen v Manasawin Phetmalaikul
Judd Trump v Lukas Kleckers
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Julien Leclercq
Mark Selby v Marco Fu
Neil Robertson v Sanderson Lam
Luca Brecel v Ishpreet Singh Chadha

…

All other first round matches will take place in the qualifiers which run from December 18 to 22 at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Fans will be welcome for just £10 per day. Notable fixtures include:

Pang Junxu v Jimmy White
Hossein Vafaei v Mink Nutcharut
Mark Williams v David Grace
Stephen Maguire v Rebecca Kenna
John Higgins v Daniel Wells
Ryan Day v Stan Moody
Ding Junhui v Yuan Sijun
Kyren Wilson v Oliver Lines

Televised by Eurosport, discovery+ and a range of other broadcasters worldwide, the BetVictor German Masters is the penultimate event in the 2023/24 BetVictor Series.

So Ronnie has entered the event. He doesn’t need to qualify and, provided that his health improves, he should be there. It’s a great venue, in a great city and the crowd is always very enthusiast. Julien Leclercq is very capable and plays an open game. This should be good. Fingers crossed!

The 2023 Scottish Open and more about exhibitions and double standards

Monique opinion, Professional snooker tournament, Snooker exhibition , ,

Here is WST report about day 2 at the 2023 Scottish Open

Zhang Scores Stunning Win Over Trump

International Champion Zhang Anda registered a superb 4-2 win over player of the season so far Judd Trump and avenged a painful recent defeat to make the last 32 of the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.

Trump staged a stirring fightback win over Zhang in the final of this season’s BetVictor English Open. Having trailed 7-3 he notched up six frames on the bounce to emerge a 9-7 victor. This time Zhang prevailed after an imperious performance.

The aftermath of that defeat saw Zhang regroup and bounce back with a sensational maiden ranking crown at the International Championship in Tianjin. He beat the likes of Ding Junhui, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to the title match. There he scored a momentous 10-6 win over Tom Ford, which included a 147, to secure silverware.

Despite that, Zhang still faced a daunting task taking down Trump today, who he hadn’t beaten since the 2016 World Open. The Ace in the Pack came in to the encounter favourite, given his scintillating form which also saw him pick up silverware at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and the Wuhan Open.

Zhang put on a near faultless performance this afternoon, compiling breaks of 71, 114, 82 and 81 on his way to the win. Next up he faces either World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui or former Shoot Out runner-up Julien Lecrercq.

World Champion Luca Brecel came through a 4-3 victor after finding himself 3-2 down against Blackpool’s James Cahill.

Brecel has been living life dangerously so far this week, after his delayed flight nearly caused him to miss his opening round tie with Iulian Boiko. Staring down the barrel of defeat today, Brecel pulled off a brilliant clearance of 36 which culminated with a tough black along the top cushion to make it 3-3. The Crucible King then burst over the line in style with a sublime 133.

Victory puts Brecel in a strong position to qualify for the World Grand Prix, only the top 32 on this season’s money list will earn a place and Brecel would have missed out if he had lost today.

“I think yesterday I felt good and today I was much better. It was an improvement. I was one ball away from getting knocked out, I made a good clearance and then I had a good last frame,” said 28-year-old Brecel.

“It is going to happen all of the time. Nobody is going to win every game easily when they win a tournament. You saw it at the UK Championship when Ronnie O’Sullivan should have lost to Robert Milkins. I think Judd Trump does it all of the time, he wins a lot of deciders.

“The more you are up for it the more pressure you are going to feel. There are ups and downs to it. I’m enjoying it now and I’m up for the challenge. When I get a chance I feel good among the balls and I think my long game is pretty good as well. All things considered it has been quite a good start.”

Scotland’s Liam Graham secured his second match win as a professional, after defeating Ben Mertens 4-2 to make the last 32.  Graham was handed a bye through the first round, when Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the event. Today’s win sees Graham take full advantage and he now faces Sanderson Lam.

John Higgins earned his progression with a 4-1 win over He Guoqiang, while Jimmy White scored an impressive 4-3 win over Jimmy Robertson.

Zhang played extremely well in beating Trump indeed. That said Trump wasn’t at his best but the way Zhang was playing I’m not sure it was a factor.

Luca Brecel dodged a bullet again. Both him and James Cahill were far from their best for the best of the first six frames. It was overall an awful match. but then, all of sudden, with his back against the wall, Luca found something and finished brilliantly.

Liam Graham indeed won his second match as a professional, beating Ben Mertens whose recent lack of form worries me. Young Liam was all worked up about Ronnie’s “disrespectful” withdrawal, but maybe he should listen to what Shaun Murphy had to say and reflect on the fact that he’s now in the third round of a ranking event for the first time when he would probably be at home by now with empty pockets if a healthy Ronnie had showed up.

In that same piece, Shaun also hints at an unusual interest in the coming AGM and players wanting changes to the contract. Of course the recent “Macau” affair has something to do with it. I recently mentioned that WST isn’t consistent after they didn’t react to the recent exhibition in Finland … well I wasn’t the only one finding this “double standard” strange. Indeed Mark Selby spoke out … as reported by Phil Haigh.

Mark Selby says Finnish exhibition ‘blew my mind’ after Macau drama

Phil Haigh

MrQ UK Snooker Championship 2023 - Day Seven
Mark Selby played Neil Robertson in a huge exhibition in Finland on Saturday (Picture: Getty Images)

Mark Selby admits he is confused that he was allowed to play in an exhibition in Finland during the Shoot Out after he was among five players blocked from competing in an exhibition in Macau during the Northern Ireland Open earlier this season.

Selby was a late replacement for Luca Brecel in the exhibition in Tampere, Finland on Saturday, taking on Neil Robertson in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000.

It looked to be a superb event and showed that there is great interest in snooker in the region, but Selby couldn’t work out why it was allowed to go ahead when another event caused such a fuss.

WST said the five men would be in breach of the players’ contract if they played in Macau, which ended up being a decision they didn’t have to make as the event was postponed until December.

They did lose out, though, as they had already withdrawn from Northern Ireland and so spent that week neither playing in Belfast nor Macau.

However, Selby and Robertson were happily able to play in Tampere on Saturday and the Jester from Leicester admits he doesn’t see the difference as a ranking event was going on in Swansea at the same time.

Asked if there were any issues with being allowed to play in Finland, Selby said: ‘No. Which is strange. It absolutely blew my mind, you know, because it was still clashing with the Shoot Out, which was no different to what we were doing with Macau, but apparently it got passed.

‘I don’t know. I’m fed up of caring about it, to be honest.’

World Snooker Tour were approached for an explanation on the situation but declined to comment.

It was suggested by six-time world champion Steve Davis on the BBC during the coverage of the UK Championship that Macau was a non-starter because it was due to be televised, which would unquestionably be in breach of the players’ contract.

However, part-organiser of the Macau event Victoria Shi told Metro.co.uk that the exhibition was never intended to be televised or streamed.

There is certainly some confusion among players over what they can and cannot do outside of professional events and that is causing unrest.

…

In cheerier news for the sport, Selby said the Finnish exhibition was a great success and hopes that it can encourage more events and bigger tournaments to be staged in the country.

‘The venue was amazing with 2,000 people,’ he said. ‘There’s great appetite out there in Scandinavia.

‘I was speaking to Robin Hull, who put on the event, he was a former player himself and he was saying he was surprised it’s taken so long for snooker to go out there.

‘With Eurosport helping, it’s been very popular over there for years. Some of the boys are going out there in May for an eight-man event and hopefully we can get a tournament out there at some point.

‘They’ve got the crowds which is good. What we’re trying to do is hopefully the launchpad for getting a tournament out there. We’re trying to promote it out there and if WST see the crowds that we’re getting then they can get a tournament on there and it could be another Germany in the making.

‘We’ve been to Germany for the last four or five years and the crowds are always great there so hopefully Finland can be another one.’

As you can read it was by no means a “small” exhibition. Last year I went to Bulgaria for a couple of exhibitions with Ronnie and Jimmy and it was the same: massive crowds.

WST isn’t making enough efforts to bring more events in mainland Europe. Of course, Brexit – that Hearn supported – has made things even more complicated and difficult. Still it’s a crying shame.

A very interesting piece by David Caulfield – Murphy about Ronnie’s withdrawals and the coming AGM.

Monique Disciplinary matter, Interview, opinion , ,

Following the release of the latest episode of the OneFourSeven podcast, David Caulfield has published a very interesting piece on his blog.

Amongst other things he shares Shaun Murphy’s views on Ronnie’s withdrawal

“I’ve seen lots of things written about this,” Shaun Murphy said on the latest episode of the OneFourSeven Snooker Podcast.

“I’m curious. I want to understand and gauge the temperature and opinion of the snooker fraternity.”

“I think there’s quite a bit of misunderstanding here. No one is obliged to play in anything. 

“Obviously he and I don’t see eye to eye on many things – everyone knows that – but he’s not obliged to play in anything.

“He’s well within the rules to withdraw from any event that he wants to. The reasons he gives? That’s a different subject.

“But he actually hasn’t done anything wrong by the letter of the law from WST’s point of view, so I’m confused where the narrative comes from.

“I think there is a nuanced difference between someone like Stephen Hendry, who has a tour card and chooses not to enter tournaments, versus someone who enters tournaments and withdraws last minute.

“Those two things are slightly different, and if you look at it from the point of view of the first reserve in this case, who is Anthony Davies’ son Alfie, he got the call to go to Edinburgh four or five hours before – it was completely undoable.

“Now, if O’Sullivan knew he had no intention of going and withdrew last minute, that’s not very good, because that obviously spoils the opportunity for young Mr. Davies. 

“But you have no option in these cases but to take the player at their word.

“O’Sullivan has again cited health concerns, and I go back to what I said in the podcast a few episodes ago, he has had it really bad in recent times.

“He has been really poorly. He has been really ill, and to be that ill and to pull out of that many events on medical grounds, and then still turn up and win the UK Championship is incredible really.

That coming from Shaun, who admittedly often disagrees with Ronnie, does put things in a different light. Most of us only see the players on television, or from afar in the arena. But players like Ronnie and Shaun, who have been on tour for over 25 years and regularly meet at events, it’s different. They see each other close-up and away from the cameras. If Shaun says that Ronnie has been in ill health in recent months, then surely that’s true. They are not close friends, why would he lie about this? Of course, it’s worrying and it makes Ronnie’s UK victory even more extraordinary. So, yes, get well soon, Ronnie, or at least better, fingers crossed!

Shaun also speaks about what is at stake as the new board elections are about to take place

Murphy was also asked about his opinions on the ongoing saga between the World Snooker Tour and its players concerning contracts, players’ rights, and the possibility of a breakaway tour.

“This thing isn’t going to go away – the serious battle between the players, and the WPBSA players’ body that represents them, and WST with their players contract.”

“This isn’t going anywhere. It’s only going to increase in velocity and in seriousness, because these two parties are going to clash over this.

“I’m not sure which way it’s going to go. It’s a big week this week in snooker politically. We’ve got the AGM of the WPBSA and the elections to the WPBSA Players Board. 

“Such is the interest in this – normally you have to crowbar players into these meetings and nominations – there are three spots available and there are seven candidates.

“That’s the first time in history that there are more candidates than spaces.

“Depending on who gets through the candidacy and the nomination process, if certain members find their way onto that board, that could cause WST a headache going forward.

“I know a few of the players who have put themselves forward have this as one of their key mandates to try to get a fairer and better deal out of WST.

“You know, we want a review of the contract. We want it looked at, we want to sit down and talk. It’s going to be interesting.”

So … it’s not just “some spoiled celebrities” … it’s the WPBSA representing the players vs the commercial body, WST. Note that Shaun, who is by no means an anarchist, uses the words “fairer” and “better deal”. That suggests that even him, known to be respectful of the authorities, finds the contract too onerous and too restrictive.

Interesting times ahead for sure …

David Caulfield on his blog always tries to be fair and expresses balanced opinions. I can only recommend any snooker fan to follow it, especially if they are Irish.

I’m grateful to David and a few others who regularly write about the most interesting topics discussed in the numerous snooker podcasts that are now available to the snooker fans… provided they aren’t partially deaf 😉 THANK YOU!

The 2023 Scottish Open – Day 1

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The 2023 Scottish Open started yesterday in Edinburgh and it wasn’t the best day for many of the top seeds who had their match held-over. All the results are on snooker.org.

Here is the report by WST:

Bullet Brecel Delayed But Not Derailed

World Champion Luca Brecel faced a race against the clock, after a delayed flight nearly caused him to miss his opening round clash with Iulian Boiko at the BetVictor Scottish Open, but the Belgian arrived just in time to score a 4-0 win and reach round two in Edinburgh.

Brecel was set to be the second game on this afternoon, following Mark Williams’ clash with Sam Craigie. With Williams leading 3-0, Brecel was still at Edinburgh airport. However, Craigie mounted an incredible comeback charge to win 4-3 and bought Brecel the time he needed to arrive at the venue just before his match got underway.

It was just as well that Brecel got himself to the Meadowbank Sports Centre in time, as his place in the World Grand Prix is on the line this week. Only the top 32 players of the season so far will qualify for the event and Brecel sits in 38th. He must at least win his next match against James Cahill to stand a chance of earning a place.

When he eventually arrived and the match got underway, the Bullet flew to victory, taking just over an hour and making breaks of 56 and 75 along the way.

“It is a miracle I got here. When Mark Williams was 3-0 up, I was still on the plane. I was checking the scores and knew Sam needed to win at least one frame to give me a chance. That’s what he did. I’m thankful to Sam and just happy to be here. I want to play well and enjoy it,” said 2021 Scottish Open winner Brecel. “I said to my taxi driver I was in a hurry and he did really well. He ignored the red lights and stuff like that, so it was handy!

“I felt quite good. I enjoyed it. I’m just trying to have a bit more fun on the table. I was really just happy to be here because of the travel. I was really up for this one. I’m trying to enjoy it. I haven’t done that enough this season and I’ve been thinking too much. Probably because I’m World Champion and there is more attention. That is never a good thing in snooker, so I just tried to go back to my World Championship frame of mind.”

Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins got his quest for a home title underway with a convincing 4-0 whitewash win over Oliver Brown.

Higgins is a two time finalist in the event, but was beaten by Marco Fu in 2016 and Brecel in 2021. The 31-time ranking event winner is hunting his first ranking silverware in any event since the 2021 Players Championship, having lost four finals.

The first frame saw Higgins steal from requiring snookers and he went on to coast home from there. Breaks of 69, 74 and 82 saw Higgins over the line and earned him a second round clash with China’s He Guoqiang.

Higgins said: “I’m delighted to win. Playing in front of a home crowd, you only get to do that once a year up here for the Scottish boys. I was really happy to get through my first game. I hope I can have a good run. The crowd were tremendous tonight.”

Judd Trump scored a 4-0 whitewash win over Sydney Wilson to set up a mouth watering second round meeting with International Champion Zhang Anda.

Player of the Season so far Trump is seeking his fourth ranking crown of the campaign. He required just 47 minutes to wrap up victory this evening.

Jamie Jones scored an impressive 4-2 win over Mark Allen, while Shaun Murphy bowed out 4-1 at the hands of Liu Hongyu and defending champion Gary Wilson beat Elliot Slessor 4-2.

So, that’s 7 of the 16 top seeds out of the competition already! Ding played really well, as did Luca Brecel indeed. Sam Craigie was impressive in coming from 3-0 down to beat Willo. Judd Trump had no real opposition. I have known Sydney Wilson for nearly 15 years. As a young amateur he was brilliant, yesterday he was really poor. It was sad to watch.

Ronnie withdrew from the event.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Scottish Open due to medical reasons.

The world number one was set to face Liam Graham in the opening round, but Graham will now receive a bye.

Liam Graham wasn’t happy. He had relatives who had come to watch him play and I can understand why he was disappointed. What I do NOT understand is why WST had not taken action to make sure someone, preferably a Scottish youngster, was available in case this happened because it was to be expected. Indeed, Ronnie had said, right after his win in York that he might skip this event. Ronnie had already withdrawn from the 2023 Champion of Champions, a tournament he loves and where he was defending champion, to look after his mental health, saying he felt drained and stressed. In this article, shared by Eurosport, he explained that he’s taking a “prevention” approach, not allowing the situation to become really bad, which is sensible.

I read on social media that Alfie Davies was contacted shortly after 9 am to replace Ronnie. That was never going to work: how was he supposed to be able to travel and be at the venue in time for the match, coming from Wales in the winter weather? I know he was the one “first in the list” of replacements by the rules in place, but there are circumstances where common sense has to take precedence. I also wonder when Ronnie told them. Was it that morning? Or was it earlier but not acknowledged for some reason? After all, the previous day was a Sunday, and the day after the madness of the Shoot Out and it’s late night finish.

We have a say in French: « gouverner, c’est prévoir », which means “to govern is to plan“. Ronnie may have failed the fans, but the snooker governing body failed them too.

Mark Allen is the 2023 Shoot Out Champion

Monique Professional snooker tournament

Yesterday night, Mark Allen became the first player ranked into the top 16 to win the Shoot Out.

Congratulations Mark Allen!

This is WST report:

Allen Wins Tenth Ranking Title With Shoot Out Success

Mark Allen became the first top-16 ranked player to win the BetVictor Shoot Out, beating Cao Yupeng in the final in Swansea.

It’s a tenth career ranking title for Northern Ireland’s Allen, moving him level with Jimmy White, and he becomes the 12th player in snooker history to reach double figures. Player of the season in 2022/23, Allen had experienced a slow start to the current campaign, but has proved his class again in recent weeks, landing the Champion of Champions crown and now his first Shoot Out success.

Renowned for his capacity to stay calm under pressure, and more than capable of seeing shots quickly, Allen’s game is well suited to this format, with all matches lasting a maximum of ten minutes. He was runner-up to Martin Gould in 2013 and now can add this title to his list of career victories. The world number four was the highest-ranked player in the field this week and becomes the first player in the 12-year history of the event to lift the trophy while positioned among the top 16.

He came into this week in Swansea in 30th place on the one-year list, far from certain of a place in January’s World Grand Prix, but the £50,000 top prize will boost him well inside the top 16. It also moves him into contention for the £150,000 BetVictor Series Bonus, albeit well behind leader Judd Trump with three of the eight counting events remaining.

A slice of good fortune is always needed to win this tournament, and Allen had his during his last 16 tie against Oliver Lines, who was just two balls away from victory but ran millimetres out of position in the closing seconds which cost him the match. Allen went to to beat Si Jiahui in the quarter-finals then in the semis he got the better of Steven Hallworth, who missed the chance to become the first amateur to reach a ranking final.

Allen had first chance in the final and made 16 before missing a tricky red to a top corner. China’s Cao replied with 4 then failed to pot a long blue, and that proved his only real opportunity. Allen got back in with an excellent long red, then added 15 and laid a tough snooker, and from that point was able to nurse his lead to the winning line.

“It was crazy tonight, the last session is chaotic,” said 37-year-old Allen, who lost 10-6 to Cao in the first round of the 2012 World Championship. “But you feel you can get on a roll when things start happening quickly. Every time I come to a tournament I want to win it.

“I was very aware of my position on the one-year list coming into this week, I was keeping an eye on the rankings, so I’m glad to have that World Grand Prix place secured now.

“Today the crowd was so good, it reminded me of when we first played this event in Blackpool – in my view that was the best Shoot Out venue but this is right up there. There were a few words thrown at me which was great fun, I was mentally prepared for what they were going to shout out. It was good see the event right back to its best.”

World number 49 Cao missed out on a first ranking title and has now lost three finals, but was delighted with his run and £20,000 runner-up prize. “I feel perfect event though I lost the final,” he said. “I am not the fastest player but I did very well this week. I like the Shoot Out and this arena is amazing. I had one good chance in the final but didn’t get position on the blue.”

The first two days felt quite flat. The arena is very big and these being working days it looked a bit empty. Of course there was Shaun Murphy’s 147 but still… That said it was interesting to watch quite a number of young amateur players in action. Friday was a bit better and yesterday the crowd was massive and totally embracing the spirit of the event.

Jimmy, Reanne and Rachel did a great job for Eurosport, they worked very long hours and managed to keep the enthusiasm throughout.

Kyren Wilson tried his best to entertain, opting to play with a differenr glove in each match. When I say glove … there was a red mitten, a referee glove, a rubber glove … you name it.

Phil Seymour did a good “crowd warming” job as well.

And, of course Dominic Dale sang and did a bit of cue juggling … (no! I didn’t record his performances!)

Maybe this event should be the last before the Christmas break? Of course there is a risk that more players give it a miss, but maybe, on the contrary, it could be seen a an opportunity to unwind, let go and embrace the madness and the Holiday spirit?

I still don’t agree with it being ranking. It’s not an easy event o win, that’s obvious. You need to win 7 matches, under time pressure, knowing that each mistake could be fatal right from the off. It asks for solid nerves, quick thinking and a cool head even in the middle of the chaos. But it’s just one frame. Any bit of misfortune can be fatal too. There are a lot of amateurs in it, with nothing to lose, whilst for some of the pros involved every ranking point available is important and they are under pressure. I’m not sure that’s fair.