My “round 1 random predictions didn’t go too well… 29 correct out of 64, 45% … and “winner” out … gah! That coin was bad!

So here goes for round 2 … “toss of the coin” predicted winners in bold … with a different coin.

1. Graeme Dott v Robert Milkins – Robert Milkins
2. Iulian Boiko v Florian Nüßle – Florian Nüßle
3. Bulcsù Révész v Fan Zhengyi – Fan Zhengyi
4. Artemijs Zizins v Ashley Carty – Ashley Carty
5. Zhang Anda v Bai Yulu – Zhang Anda
6. Antoni Kowalski v Riley Powell- Antoni Kowalski
7. Gong Chenzhi v Huang Jiahao – Huang Jiahao
8. Hossein Vafaei v Andrew Higginson – Andrew Higginson
9. Wu Yize v Matthew Stevens – Wu Yize
10. Ryan Day v Dylan Emery – Dylan Emery
11. David Lilley v Noppon Saengkham – Noppon Saengkham
12. Anthony Mc Gill v Duane Jones – Duane Jones
13. He Guoqiang v Liam Graham – Liam Graham
14. Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Jamie Jones – Jamie Jones
15. Neil Robertson v Jackson Page – Neil Robertson
16. Mark Allen v Si Jiahui – Si Jiahui
17. Shaun Murphy v David Gilbert – David Gilbert
18. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Aaron Hill – Aaron Hill
19. Liam Pullen v Zak Surety – Liam Pullen
20. Gary Wilson v Liam Davies – Liam Davies
21. Elliott Slessor v Mark Joyce – Elliot Slessor
22. Alfie Burden v Robbie Williams – Robbie Williams
23. Kreishh Gurbaxani v Xu Si – Kreishh Gurbaxani
24. Xiao Guodong v Martin O’Donnell – Martin O’Donnell
25. Joe O’Connor v Allan Taylor – Allan Taylor
26. Long Zehuang – Vladislav Gradinari – Vlagislav Gradinari
27. Haydon Pinhey v Gerard Greene – Haydon Pinhey
28. Tom Ford v Paul Deaville – Tom Ford
29. Ma Hailong v Lewis Ullah – Ma Hailong
30. Zhou Yuelong v Louis Heathcote – Zhou Yuelong
31. Ali Carter v Lyu Haotian – Ali Carter
32. Mark Selby v Jak Jones – Mark Selby

Winner “blindly” picked by hubby: Shaun Murphy – NOT!

Now some thoughts on round 1 …

The crowd so far has not been that great in number and was generally rather subdued. It only became a bit more animated yesterday evening. Of course these first two days were “week” days and a lot of people are working during the day and need to work on the next day as well. Therefore late night and heavy drinking may not be “wise” and that may explain the above observations.

There were initially 23 amateurs in the draw, only 9 remain and 5 of them have been pros before. Even in this format experience of main tour conditions matters.

Players seem to either hate this event or love it. Very few of the ones interviewed had a neutral opinion.

Among those who loved the experience was Bai Yulu who, again, impressed. WST reported some of what she had to say after the match:

…

“I just tried to stay as focused as possible when taking each shot,” said the reigning World Women’s Champion. “It’s tough with the atmosphere and the crowd, but I aimed to stay serious. I wasn’t fixated on winning, I just wanted to enjoy the experience. I noticed that Jamie was a bit shaky, just like me. In this atmosphere, nerves are inevitable. It’s all about who can handle the pressure better. 

“I was watching the matches yesterday, seeing the other Chinese players compete. It made me eager to play because the vibe here is so joyful – it’s irresistible. We talked about keeping a faster rhythm and treating the match as fun – don’t overthink it. Taking it too seriously can actually make you more nervous. “

…

I hope that Bai can inspire more girls and women to play with confidence, knowing that women CAN beat men at snooker. Mandy Fisher felt the need to build a women’s tour as a “safe” place for girls and women to play. The very fact that she felt a “safe place” was needed, and is still needed, is because, in many countries, including the UK, the “macho” mentally is still very present in sports clubs, and in society in general. You only need to read the comments section when matches involving women are streamed on Facebook to understand exactly what I mean.

I have decided to publish some predictions about the shoot-out. To make sure they are as random as the event, I tossed a coin for each match and highlighted the player on the right if heads came out, the player on the left otherwise. To chose the champion, I then asked the Hubby to chose a number between 1 and 64 and picked the “winner” of that first round match.

1. Ross Muir v Mark Allen – Mark Allen
2. Hossein Vafaei v Julien Leclercq – Hossein Vafaei
3. Jiang Jun v Antoni Kowalski – Antoni Kowalsi
4. Lyu Haotian v Tian Pengfei – Lyu Haotian
5. Robert Milkins v Joe Shannon – Robert Milkins
6. Louis Heathcote v Ahmed Elsayed – Louis Heathcote
7. Jonas Luz v Paul Deaville – Paul Deaville
8. David Gilbert v David Grace – David Gilbert
9. Matthew Selt v Ryan Day – Ryan Day
10. Dean Young v Florian Nuessle – Florian Nuessle
11. Fan Zhengyi v Wang Yuchen – Fan Zhengyi
12. Daniel Boyes v Wu Yize – Wu Yize
13. Anthony McGill v Sophie Nix – Anthony McGill
14. Joel Connolly v Aaron Hill – Aaron Hill
15. Joe Perry v Gong Chenzhi – Gong Chanzhi
16. Reanne Evans v Gary Wilson – Gary Wilson
17. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Jimmy White – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
18. Zhou Yuelong v Andrew Pagett – Zhou Yuelong
19. Pang Junxu v Zak Surety – Zak Surety
20. Haris Tahir v David Lilley – David Lilley
21. Jordan Brown v Si Jiahui – Si Jiahui
22. Ka Wai Cheung v Andrew Higginson – Andrew Higginson
23. Huang Jiahao v Hammad Miah – Huang Jihao
24. Xiao Guodong v Anthony Hamilton – Xiao Guodong
25. Matthew Stevens v Yuan Sijun – Matthew Stevens
26. Daniel Womersley v Long Zehuang – Long Zehuang
27. Chris Totten v Duane Jones – Duane Jones
28. Ian Burns v Ma Hailong – Ma Hailon
29. Joe O’Connor v Sanderson Lam – Joe O’ Connor
30. Haydon Pinhey v Mitchell Mann – Haydon Pinhey
31. Noppon Saengkham v Liu Hongyu – Noppon Saengkham
32. Ashley Carty v Kayden Bierley – Ashley Carty
33. Mark Selby v Baipat Siripaporn – MarkS elby
34. Stan Moody v Riley Powell – Riley Powell
35. Lewis Ullah v Steven Wardropper – Lewis Ullah
36. Jackson Page v Manasawin Phetmalaikul – Jackson Page
37. Mink Nutcharut v Liam Graham – Liam Graham
38. Zhang Anda v Hatem Yassen– Zhang Anda
39. Sion Stuart v Martin O’Donnell – Martin O’Donnell
40. Alfie Burden v Ben Woollaston – Alfie Burden
41. Graeme Dott v Ben Mertens – Graeme Dott
42. Yulu Bai v Jamie Clarke – Bai Yulu
43. Vladislav Gradinari v Daniel Wells – Vladislav Gradinari
44. Tom Ford v Xing Zihao – Tom Fotd
45. Robbie Williams v Michael Holt – Robbie Williams
46. Bulcsu Revesz v Farakh Ajaib – Bulcsu Revesz
47. Jimmy Robertson v Liam Pullen – Liam Pullen
48. Sean O’Sullivan v Shaun Murphy – Shaun Murphy
49. Neil Robertson v Simon Blackwell – Neil Robertson
50. Oliver Lines v Allan Taylor – Allan Taylor
51. Stuart Carrington v Dylan Emery – Dylan Emery
52. Mark Davis v Liam Davies – Liam Davies
53. Iulian Boiko v Jack Lisowski – Iulian Boiko
54. Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Amir Sarkhosh – Ishpreet Singh Chadha
55. Mark Joyce v Joshua Thomond – Mark Joyce
56. Gerard Greene v Robbie McGuigan – Gerard Greene
57. He Guoqiang v Stuart Bingham – He Guoqiang
58. Jamie Jones v Rory Thor – Jamie Jones
59. Anton Kazakov v Artemijs Zizins – Artemijs Zizins
60. Kreishh Gurbaxani v Lei Peifan – Kreishh Gurbaxani
61. Mostafa Dorgham v Elliot Slessor – Elliot Slessor
62. Alexander Ursenbacher v Xu Si – Alexander Ursenbacher
63. Joshua Cooper v Jak Jones – Jak Jones
64. Ali Carter v Chris Wakelin – Ali Carter

The overall winner will be Josuah Cooper – NOT

Now lets see how smart the coin and hubby combo proves to be… 😉

The annual Shoot-out circus starts tomorrow with no more than some news to report on today.

Judd Trump has withdrawn from the 2024 Scottish Open (source WST)

Judd Trump has pulled out of this month’s BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.

Trump was due to face Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the last 64 on Monday December 9th – instead Singh Chadha receives a bye to the last 32.

The tournament at the Meadowbank Sports centre runs from December 9-15. 

No great surprise here. Judd has certainly earned that right. He’s played and won a lot already this season. That he would want some rest and time for himself and those dear to him is completely understandable.

The rankings have been updated after the 2024 UK Championship and the line-up for the 2024 Riyadh invitational event is now set as is the draw for the 2025 Masters.

JOHNSTONE’S PAINT WORLD RANKINGS UPDATE: LINE-UPS CONFIRMED FOR LONDON AND RIYADH

The line up is now confirmed for two massive upcoming invitation events: this month’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship and January’s Johnstone’s Paint Masters.

Following the conclusion of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship in York, the top ten in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings have earned a place in Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, to run from December 18-20. Barry Hawkins could have jumped into the top ten with victory in York, but defeat in the final meant that Zhang Anda held on to tenth spot. The ten players through to Boulevard City in Riyadh are:

Judd Trump
Kyren Wilson
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Mark Selby
Mark Allen 
Mark Williams
Luca Brecel
Shaun Murphy
Ding Junhui
Zhang Anda

The draw and format for that event will be announced soon.

On the same list, the top 16 have booked a place in the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, to run from January 12-19 at Alexandra Palace in London. They are (in seeding order): 

1 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2 Kyren Wilson
3 Judd Trump
4 Mark Selby
5 Mark Allen 
6 Mark Williams
7 Luca Brecel
8 Shaun Murphy
9 Ding Junhui
10 Zhang Anda
11 Gary Wilson
12 Ali Carter
13 Barry Hawkins
14 Si Jiahui
15 John Higgins
16 Chris Wakelin

China’s Si and England’s Wakelin will both make their debut in the historic event which will celebrate its 50th birthday having first been staged in 1975. The draw and schedule have been announced – for details click here. 

Judd Trump took the top prize of £250,000 in York, beating Barry Hawkins 10-8 in the final. That extends Trump’s lead at the top of the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings to a huge £658,200 over Kyren Wilson. Trump becomes the first player to earn over £1 million in prize money in a single season before Christmas. 

Hawkins banked £100,000 as runner-up and jumps from 20th to 13th, a timely burst into the elite top 16. Michael Holt won six matches to reach the quarter-finals and he’s up 17 places to 81st. Bai Yulu’s fine run in the qualifying rounds boosts her eight spots to 112th. 

The updated two-year list will be used to determine seedings for the German Masters and World Open. 

On the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year List, Trump extends his lead at the top having earned £940,200 this season from ranking events alone. Hawkins climbs from 22nd to ninth, while losing semi-finalist Mark Allen is up from 23rd to 12th. 

As usual, the top 32 will qualify for the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, then the top 16 will head to the Players Championship in Telford and the top 12 will progress to the Tour Championship in Manchester. There are just four counting events to go (9Club Shoot Out, BetVictor Scottish Open, German Masters and BetVictor Welsh Open) in the race to Hong Kong. Yuan Sijun is currently ‘on the bubble’ in 32nd with £58,000.

Trump made 11 centuries in York to raise his hopes of becoming the first player to reach 100 centuries this season and earn a £100,000 bonus. He heads the 2024/25 century breaks tally with 46, ahead of Kyren Wilson on 32.

…

This morning the news was shared by WST and various other sources that Terry Griffiths has left us. He died yesterday evening, surrounded by his family.

I had the privilege to meet Terry as well as his son Wayne on several occasions at SWSA. My thoughts go out to Wayne and the whole family. Terry was a remarkable person, a good person. We have known for some time that Terry was suffering from dementia, that terrible disease that deprives the sufferer of everything, trapping them in a scary world of confusion and solitude. Terry is free of that prison now and it’s the only solace those who loved him can get.

Here is Terry’s obituary by David Hendon

TERRY GRIFFITHS OBITUARY: THE HUMBLE SNOOKER CHAMPION WHO SHAPED A GENERATION

BY DAVE HENDON

Terry Griffiths, the 1979 world champion, was more than a snooker icon. Known for his kindness and wisdom, he mentored countless players, shaping the sport both on and off the table. From his historic Crucible triumph to his work as a coach, Griffiths leaves behind a legacy of greatness and humanity that will be cherished by the snooker world. Eurosport commentator Dave Hendon remembers a great.

After John Virgo became UK champion in 1979 he was engaged for an exhibition tour of Britain with the reigning world champion, Terry Griffiths, who invited him to stay at his Llanelli home for the Welsh leg.

Early one morning, Virgo opened the curtains to see his own car being washed by Griffiths. It was an act of simple decency typical of this gentle giant of snooker, who died yesterday at the age of 77.

Many others within the sport have similar stories. After Joe Johnson came from 12-9 down to beat him 13-12 in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Championship, Griffiths followed him into his dressing room and began giving advice about what to do should he win the title, how to handle the attention and media demands and to offer encouragement for the matches ahead.

Such chats went on with sundry players down the years. Win or lose, Griffiths liked to offer advice and there were few worth listening to more. His knowledge and support assisted many careers. His wisdom will be deeply missed.

Born in 1947, Griffiths was the youngest of three children. His father was employed at the local tin plate works. Griffiths, a bright boy, was accepted into grammar school but his friends all went to the nearby comprehensive and, missing them, he played truant to such a degree that he was expelled.

At 14, he became a regular at Hatcher’s, the local snooker club, and began to improve without any real thoughts of the game becoming a career.

He married Annette and settled into family life with their two sons, Wayne and Darren, taking various jobs including as a miner, bus conductor and postman. A postal strike in 1971 suddenly gave him proper time to practise his snooker and he made his first century and reached the final of the Welsh Championship.

Griffiths then became an insurance salesman and won three Welsh titles and the English amateur championship before taking the plunge by turning professional in 1978.

It did not start well. In the UK Championship, he led Rex Williams 8-2 but was beaten 9-8. It was hard to make a living. There were scarcely any other events until the World Championship in the spring of 1979, being staged for only the third time at the Crucible in Sheffield with more television hours than ever before.

Griffiths qualified and beat Perrie Mans before winning a thrilling battle with Alex Higgins, 13-12. On his debut appearance he was into the semi-finals, where another closely fought encounter ended with him beating Eddie Charlton 19-17 at 1:40am.

Faced with David Vine’s BBC microphone, Griffiths exclaimed: “I’m in the final now, you know,” a mix of innocent joy, humility and disbelief. The TV audience warmed to his down-to-earth relatability and viewing figures grew.

In the final, he defeated Dennis Taylor 24-16. After a decade in which Ray Reardon or John Spencer had won all but one of the World Championships staged, snooker had a new king and his overnight emergence from obscurity to glory inspired a young generation of players who believed if Griffiths could break down the old order, they could also share in the spoils.

Among them was Steve Davis, a great friend of Griffiths who also became a major thorn in his side. In the 1981/82 season they contested five finals. At the Crucible over the years they met seven times, Davis winning on each occasion, including a second world final in 1988.

It did not start well. In the UK Championship, he led Rex Williams 8-2 but was beaten 9-8. It was hard to make a living. There were scarcely any other events until the World Championship in the spring of 1979, being staged for only the third time at the Crucible in Sheffield with more television hours than ever before.

Griffiths qualified and beat Perrie Mans before winning a thrilling battle with Alex Higgins, 13-12. On his debut appearance he was into the semi-finals, where another closely fought encounter ended with him beating Eddie Charlton 19-17 at 1:40am.

Faced with David Vine’s BBC microphone, Griffiths exclaimed: “I’m in the final now, you know,” a mix of innocent joy, humility and disbelief. The TV audience warmed to his down-to-earth relatability and viewing figures grew.

In the final, he defeated Dennis Taylor 24-16. After a decade in which Ray Reardon or John Spencer had won all but one of the World Championships staged, snooker had a new king and his overnight emergence from obscurity to glory inspired a young generation of players who believed if Griffiths could break down the old order, they could also share in the spoils.

By then Griffiths had become one of snooker’s most famous names, a mainstay of the television boom years of the 1980s. He won the Masters in 1980 and UK Championship in 1982, but time and again Davis prevented him – and many others – from adding further major titles to his CV.

However, Griffiths still captured 20 professional titles during his career and spent 17 years as a member of the elite top 16. 

A family man, he found the long periods away from home difficult to deal with. Celebrity didn’t come easily to him. That wasn’t his world.

Even so, he became a chart star when Snooker Loopy reached No. 6 in 1986, joining Davis, Taylor, Willie Thorne and Tony Meo on the Chas & Dave track.

In 1987, Griffiths opened his own snooker club in Llanelli, where many junior talents passed through. A whole generation of Welsh players will have fond memories of their time playing there, learning from the master.

In 1992, he reached the World Championship semi-finals at the age of 44 but after being relegated from the top 16 in 1996 chose to retire, entering the game’s blue riband event one last time a year later. He qualified and was beaten 10-9 on the last black by Mark Williams, a symbolic passing of the baton from one established Welsh great to a future one.

After retiring from playing, Griffiths soon became highly regarded as a coach, working with a string of top players who benefited from his wise counsel and personal experience of so many major occasions.

Stephen Hendry, Williams and Mark Allen were just three players he helped, but there were many others to whom he gave advice on an ad hoc basis, just trying to be of assistance.

Griffiths, who received an OBE in 2007, was also a television commentator and popular figure backstage at tournaments, always keen to chat about snooker and help those at any level with advice and insight.

In recent times, he was suffering from dementia. He died surrounded by his loving family.

So many people in the snooker world, including longstanding fans, will be sad today. ‘The Griff’ was a gentleman, a smart and funny man of integrity who always gave others his time and whose passion for the sport and those involved with it was unfailing.

For all the titles he won, that was what made Terry Griffiths special. He was a warm, humble and decent man who loved snooker and whose passing will be mourned by all those who shared his fascination with the game.