Here are the reports by WST on day 3 in Belfast:

Morning and afternoon sessions

Perry Equals Highest Career Break

Joe Perry made a tremendous 145 total clearance during a 4-3 victory over Michael White as he edged into the third round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.

…

Perry, a pro since 1991, equalled his best ever break and also set a new target for the £5,000 high break with his superb 145 total clearance in frame three. The Cambridgeshire cueman also made a 99 in the second frame and a 66 in the decider to beat Welshman White and set up a tie with Hossein Vafaei or Anton Kazakov.

World number 27 Perry, who won the BetVictor Welsh Open in 2022, has struggled for form so far this season but hopes today’s performance could be a turning point.

“It was a really good game and I’m happy with how I played,” Perry told Eurosport. “It was great to be out there in a big venue with a good crowd, you can sometimes falter under the lights but in general it brings the best out of me and makes me try harder. I have had two good runs to the semi-finals here in the past and hopefully I can go deep again this week.”

Ricky Walden also won 4-3, beating Dominic Dale in a marathon battle which lasted three hours and eight minutes. Breaks of 83, 68 and 93 helped Walden go 3-1 up before Dale recovered to 3-3. The decider came down to a long safety battle on the colours, and Walden had a slice of good fortune as he missed the blue to a baulk corner but fluked a snooker. He later converted a tricky pot on the blue to earn a meeting with Stuart Bingham.

“I really had to dig deep, Dominic is such a class player,” said Walden. “I rode my luck in the end. I was feeling a lot of pressure because I feel something is bubbling in my game, but you have to stay in tournaments to show that. I feel I am playing well and I’m prepared to play the big shots when I need to. I believe I can build some momentum and catapult back up the rankings.”

BetVictor European Masters champion Barry Hawkins saw off Jiang Jun 4-1 with a top break of 81, while Bingham top scored with 118 in a 4-1 defeat of Xu Si.

Evening sessions

Trump Stays On Target For Title Trio

Judd Trump, unquestionably the best player in the world on current form, took another step towards a third consecutive ranking title as he thrashed Julien Leclercq 4-0 to reach the last 32 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

…

Only four players in snooker history – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui – have previously won three ranking titles in a row, but Trump looks hard to stop as he aims to join that elite group. The 24-year-old has already lifted the BetVictor English Open and Wuhan Open this month and tonight took his streak to 15 consecutive matches. He needs five more to capture another trophy.

The Bristol cueman needed just 45 minutes to beat Belgium’s Leclercq, knocking in breaks of 108, 108 and 55. His next opponent will be Ian Burns. who beat Ken Doherty 4-2.

“I hadn’t seen a lot of Julien before so I didn’t know what to expect, but I got off to a good start and kicked on from there,” said world number three Trump. “I still don’t feel completely sharp, I’m not quite as confident as I was in the previous two tournaments, but every day in practice I’m getting a bit sharper and if I can reach the quarter-finals I could be back in form.

“When you’ve won a lot of matches you start looking over your shoulder because you know it can’t go on for ever. It’s important not to get negative, you have to keep trying to win win rather than trying not to lose. I’ve had those kind of spells before and it happened to Mark Allen last season when he was on a good run. You can get a bit negative and go into your shell. This time, even if I lose I will go out playing the way I want to play.”

Local favourite Robbie McGuigan suffered a cruel 4-3 defeat against Anthony McGill, who had needed three snookers at 3-1 down. Wild card McGuigan, age 19, top scored with 66 to lead 3-1, and he was on the verge of victory at 39 points ahead on the colours in frame five. But canny McGill laid a series of tough snookers on the yellow to get the penalty points he needed, and eventually snatched the frame on a respotted black. That proved the turning point as the Scot controlled the next two frames and earned a third round tie with Noppon Saengkham or Barry Pinches.

“I don’t think I have ever won a match like that, where I needed three snookers,” said two-time ranking event winner McGill. “Robbie still looked composed after that. It’s one of those painful defeats for him, but there’s no doubt he will get on the tour. I was very impressed by him. It will be one of those matches he looks back on – I have had loads of them. He will learn, he’s a fantastic player.

“He punched the air when he was 39 ahead on the yellow. I said to him at the end, I don’t mind the fist pump, but maybe do it after the handshake. It didn’t fire me up at all, I’m not like that. In fact I was thinking that he deserved the match.”

McGill is trying a graphite cue for the first time this week and added: “I haven’t made my mind up about it yet. It’s good enough to use but I am still trying to get used to it. I practised with it last week and decided to take a chance and use it at a tournament. I’m not in a good run of form anyway so if I’d had my wooden cue I probably would have lost by now.”

Stephen Maguire fired breaks of 132 and 85 as he came from 2-1 down to beat James Cahill 4-2, while Jak Jones wrapped up a 4-2 victory over Mark Davis with a career-best 143 total clearance.

All the detailed results are on snooker.org as always.

The Judd Trump v Julien Leclercq is the only match I watched in full. For the first two frame Judd looked unplayable. The other two frames were actually close. In frame three Julien missed a black off the spot, probably concentrating on position. That probably cost him the frame. In the last frame he was ahead, fouled the white whilst removing the extended rest from a difficult spot near the cushion, after playing a pink. It cost him six important points. Julien owned to the foul that neither the ref, nor Judd had seen. Judd acknowledged his sportsmanship, which was nice to see.

Ross Muir came on twitter later, asking if everyone had suffered from ocular migraine and found an efficient way to cure it or minimise its impact. So, apparently, the issue is back and it’s extremely painful. Unfortunately for Ross, I’m afraid that there isn’t really any cure and it’s extremely “disabling” when it kicks in.

WST has also published the “program” for the opening day at the 2023 Scottish Open

Snooker Superstars To Align On Day One In Edinburgh

A raft of the sport’s biggest names are set to compete on day one of the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh, with home hero John Higgins, World Champion Luca Brecel, world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan, defending champion Gary Wilson, Mark Allen, Judd Trump, Mark Selby and many more scheduled for Monday December 11th.

…

The match schedule on the opening day is:

10.00 am session
M1 Gary Wilson v Elliot Slessor
M14 Mark Selby v Sean O’Sullivan
M17 Ding Junhui v David Grace
M6 Jimmy Robertson v Amaan Iqbal

1.00 pm session
M10 Ronnie O’Sullivan v Liam Graham
M3 Mark Williams v Sam Craigie
M11 Barry Hawkins v Pang Junxu
M13 Ali Carter v Zehuang Long

Not before 2pm
M18 Luca Brecel v Iulian Boiko
M15 Shaun Murphy v Liu Hongyu
M2 Hossein Vafaei v Daniel Wells
M12 Jack Borwick v Ishpreet Singh Chadha

7.00 pm session
M9 Judd Trump v Sydney Wilson
M4 Kyren Wilson v Mostafa Dorgham
M7 Robert Milkins v Mark Davis
(Rd2 match)

Not before 8.00 pm
M16 John Higgins v Oliver Brown
M5 Mark Allen v Jamie Jones
M8 Jack Lisowski v Mohamed Ibrahim
(Rd2 match)

The full draw and format for Edinburgh will be announced after the completion of the qualifying round, which finishes on November 2nd.

The way things are going this season, I’m not holding my breath over Ronnie’s participation.

And this by Mark Allen on twitter

Note that Mark doesn’t say that his comments were untrue . ¹ I’m also 99% sure that Mark was hard pressured to come out with these tweets. It’s very unlike him to back off like this. I don’t like this at all. If WST disagrees with some players comments, they have a right to respond and they should use it. Gagging the players simply isn’t right.

It’s the top players who bring the money, not the lowest ranked ones. They all started at the bottom. Ronnie won 76 of the 78 matches he played in Blackpool in his first year as a pro. Nobody did him a favour, he earned it. Now that many “big names” are nearing the end of their career, they should be allowed to cash on their image, status, reputation and success. They earned it. They will get no “retirement” money, they are self-employed. There should be NO restrictions whatsoever regarding what they are allowed play in and when. It’s up to WST to make their own events attractive enough to keep them on board. That’s my opinion and I stand by it.

1. I’m not entirely convinced that there was anything untrue either in what Hector Nunns published that got him in trouble BTW. ↩︎

WST has today announced the main sponsor for the 2023 UK Championship

MrQ To Bring The Fun To Snooker’s UK Championship

The World Snooker Tour is delighted to announce MrQ as the Lead Partner of the UK Championship. As one of the biggest and most historic events on snooker’s global calendar, The MrQ UK Championship will ensure we mark the start of this season’s Triple Crown Series in style.

The popular UK-based online casino launched in 2018 and established a modern, easy to use platform to provide a fun and transparent customer experience.

Having already put their own spin on the PDC’s UK Open earlier this year, MrQ will bring the UK Championship to life in their own unique way and provide a best-in-class fan experience through a range of innovative and exciting new fan activations.

With 12,000 people expected to descend on the York Barbican from November 25th to December 3rd, fans can expect to see MrQ ever present across the tournament.

Fans will first experience MrQ during the qualifying rounds that will run from November 18th to 23rd in Leicester, culminating in ‘Judgement Day’ when 16 winners will go through to join the top 16 seeded players in York. Fans from all over the world will be able to follow the Judgement Day production, on Facebook and YouTube, as well as WST’s streaming partners including discovery+.

The UK Championship has been ever present on the WST calendar since 1977. Mark Allen won the title for the first-time last year, beating China’s Ding Junhui in the final. In recent years the trophy has also been lifted by the likes of Ding, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy.

WST’s Chief Commercial Officer Peter Wright said: “It’s crucial that the World Snooker Tour works with likeminded and ambitious brands who have the same desire as we do to develop the sport and create the best possible fan experiences. That’s why we are delighted to align one of our most prestigious tournaments with MrQ, a UK based organisation that shares its name with part of our sport.

“York is a fabulous venue and the atmosphere inside the arena is electric when the best players on the planet compete for the famous trophy. We’re looking forward to working with James Booth and the wider team at MrQ to deliver a fun and engaging partnership.”

MrQ’s Head of Acquisition James Booth added: “We’re delighted to bring MrQ to the table of such a prestigious event and build a relationship with WST’s global snooker audience. There is a clear and obvious synergy between snooker and the MrQ brand, so we’re super excited to see the partnership come to life”.

As ever, The MrQ UK Championship will be televised by BBC, Eurosport, discovery+, CCTV5, Matchroom Live and many other broadcasters across the globe.

It’s not a bookie … it’s an online casino. That makes no difference in my eyes. Both type of “businesses” essentially exploit people’s naïvety, appetite for easy money and often addictions, to make huge profits … and ruin many lives.

And in this particular instance it’s even worse as this particular business has recently be fined for money laundering and failing to fulfill their social responsibilities . Here is my source: https://www.moneylaunderingbulletin.com/industries/casinos/mr-q-operator-fined-690947-by-uk-gambling-commission-for-aml-and-social-responsibility-breaches–1.htm#:~:text=Curator%20–%20June

Recently in comments, Grump was about golf and LIV, and players responsibilities. This is not any better. And let’s not forget the plans to bring snooker to Saudi Arabia as well, a country known for its sports-washing practices and total contempt for basic human rights. WST has no moral compass whatsoever. As such, I find it pretty hypocrite that they expect the players to be 100% devoted to the main tour and turn away good earning opportunities. Who here is “selling their souls” for money, big time? Seriously.

Yesterday at Ponds Forge

Here is the report by WST on what happened at the 2023 International Championship yesterday

Higgins Hammers Phetmalaikul

John Higgins rattled in two centuries and three more breaks over 50 as he beat Manasawin Phetmalaikul 6-1 in the qualifying round for the International Championship.

Four time Crucible king Higgins can look forward to a trip to Tianjin in China in November for the £825,000 world ranking event. Runs of 50, 51, 115, 137 and 57 helped the Scot to an emphatic win over Thailand’s Phetmalaikul.

Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui edged out Julien Leclercq 6-5 in a dramatic finish. Shoot Out runner-up Leclercq made a 122 to level at 5-5 then led 56-0 in the decider, only for China’s Si to snatch it with a 68 clearance.

Shaun Murphy top scored with 88 in a 6-1 win over Andres Petrov while Joe O’Connor compiled runs of 131, 81 and 90 in a 6-1 defeat of Baipat Siripaporn.

Marco Fu enjoyed a 6-4 success against Robert Milkins, making breaks of 87 and 68 in the last two frames. John Astley potted blue and pink in the deciding frame to beat Jamie Clarke 6-5.

The Si Jiahui v Julien Leclercq match was a very good one on all accounts. Basically, experience made the difference here. Julien needs to learn when to rein his huge attacking instinct a bit – only just a bit – at critical moments.

Joe O’Connor easily dominated Baipat who really, really struggles with power shots and needs implements more often than not. She’s petite and frail. Joe however showed great sporting spirit. He applauded his opponent’s good shots and there were many. Some might see this as condescending, but it never felt that way to me. It was genuine. Joe maybe understands Baipat’s difficulties better than most as he isn’t particularly tall himself. Baipat in turn also showed her appreciation for her opponent’s performance. It was nice to see.

I didn’t see that match but it’s a good win for Marco Fu, and very a very encouraging one considering the eyes issues he’s been facing in recent years.

As usual there are many omissions in the above report. All detailed results are on snooker.org

Chris Wakelin, who beat Dean Young by 6-0 is truly a “changed man” since winning the Shoot-out. He finished the match with breaks of 130, 96, 141 and 86. Not too shabby!

Dominic Dale beat Oliver Brown by 6-3 and Ali Carter beat Allan Taylor by 6-2.

The last match to finish was Neil Robertson 6-4 win over his fellow country man Ryan Thomerson. The late finish is likely the reason why it’s not reported on. That match was surprisingly close. In the final frame, Neil missed the 14th red in a maximum attempt.

WST baffling decision process …

Yesterday, Iulian Boiko shared this on facebook

I can only agree with Iulian here.

Once again WORLD Snooker showing that they are so, so UK centric and even mainly England centric actually.

To say that yesterday at the Crucible was eventful is the mother of all understatements!

Three matches concluded yesterday.

Hossein Vafaei beat Ding Junhui by 10-6. Ding had won the first session by 5-4, but Hossein totally dominated the second session, scoring very heavily. He scored breaks of 87, 117, 122, 68, 57 and 89 in a marvellous display of attacking snooker. Ding, as so often in recent years, appeared to lack fighting spirit once he got behind. His body language wasn’t great.

Hossein’s fireworks on the table were followed by an fiery post-match interview…

Here is the report by WST:

Vafaei Stirs Up O’Sullivan Clash

Hossein Vafaei, the flag-bearer for Iranian snooker, won a match at the Crucible for the first time with a 10-6 victory over Ding Junhui in the opening round of the Cazoo World Championship.

Vafaei will face Ronnie O’Sullivan in the second round, over three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and added spice to the fixture by stoking up rivalry between the pair. “Ronnie O’Sullivan is such a legend, such a good player when he’s on the table,” said Vafaei. “He’s just such a nice person…when he’s asleep.”

World number 23 Vafaei, by far the best ever player from Iran, became the first player from his country to compete at the Crucible last year, losing to Judd Trump. The 28-year-old has now gone one step further thanks to a tremendous display against three-time UK Champion Ding, making two centuries and six more breaks over 50.

Vafaei trailed 5-4 overnight but reeled off the first four frames today in just 43 minutes with runs of 117, 122, 68 and 57 to go 8-5 up. China’s Ding, the 16th seed, pulled one back with a break of 77, but Vafaei bounced back with an 89 for 9-6. Ding had two scoring chances in frame 16 but could muster only ten points, and Vafaei’s run of 45 ended the tie.

His performance was good enough to inspire a standing ovation from the Crucible crowd. However, it was Vafaei’s comments about O’Sullivan which are sure to generate headlines. He referred to a match at last season’s German Masters qualifiers when he scored a 5-0 victory over O’Sullivan, who smashed the pack of reds from the break-off in the last frame.

“Ronnie was my hero,” said the 2022 Shoot Out champion. “I could never see myself beating him. When I beat him 5-0 I was a little bit sad, but on another side happy because I showed I can play. He will remember that, 100 per cent. Play like a man. Don’t play mind games or smash the balls and disrespect me, when 70 million or 80 million people are watching me in Iran. Now he’s my opponent. This is life. I have to stand up in front of him if I want to be World Champion.

“If we want this sport to improve, we need to respect each other, and teach others to respect us. When we don’t respect each other, even the people don’t respect us. We have to teach the children to respect their father and family, and everything will be good.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason, you can’t run away. If you do something bad to the people and break someone else’s heart, then God will give you an opportunity to get revenge.

“He has already proved everything, he has done everything in this sport. Hopefully I will play the way I played today. If he beats me 13-0 I will still love being involved in the match. Get your popcorn everyone!”

As for today’s match, Vafaei added: “It was such a great game, I enjoyed it a lot. I’m a big fan of Ding because he has opened up a massive market for snooker so every one of us should respect what he has done for our sport., I told him before the match that I am his fan, but this is a game and someone has to lose. Hopefully I can show this type of performance more.

“I don’t want to be boring! I love the fans, they pay to come and watch us. Nothing scares me and I enjoy playing in front of them. Sometimes I say something to make them laugh. I know that’s not our job, but it suits some people. If you want to be a champion, you must have the people’s heart.”

Ding said: “The first two frames, he took control. I tried to get it back but he was very good today.  He could go far and win more matches.

“Overall this season has been very good. The past two seasons I was not there. Sometimes I have good season, then I disappear for a few seasons and come back again so I will try to be more consistent.”

There were also quotes, not reported above, about Ronnie’s illness just being “excuses”. Frankly that makes no sense at all given that Ronnie had won the match, not even mentioning that he looked absolutely exhausted during the post-match interview.

Now about the incident that apparently upset Hossein so much… Ronnie smashed the pack open at the German Masters qualifiers when he was already 4-0 down. That’s obviously not a great attitude to have BUT was it directed at his opponent? Was it deliberate disrespect? I don’t think so. I’m 100% certain that it had nothing to do with Hossein at all and everything to do with Ronnie hating those qualifiers, hating the venue, feeling unable to get the motivation to apply himself, and as he already was on the cusp of defeat, wanting to get out of there asap. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making excuses for Ronnie here, but I’m 100% convinced that, if Hossein believes it was directed at him, he’s completely misreading the situation and Ronnie’s behaviour under the circumstances.

That said, Ronnie is not an innocent lamb and the day before yesterday, had properly taunted Hossein during his own post-match as reported by Hector Nunns:

“Don’t rattle my cage” – Ronnie O’Sullivan hits out at potential next Crucible opponent

Ronnie O’Sullivan eased into the second round of this year’s Snooker World Championship, where he may face Hossein Vafaei, who called for The Rocket to retire last year

Ronnie O’Sullivan has reignited his feud with Hossein Vafaei as the Iranian faces Ding Junhui for the chance to take on ‘ The Rocket ‘ the Crucible. 

O’Sullivan defeated Pang Junxu 10-7 in his opening match of this year’s World Championships in Sheffield. Vafaei will be The Rocket’s opponent in the second round if he defeats World No 16 Ding, with their game beginning on Sunday. 

Ding is the favourite, though O’Sullivan appears to be relishing the chance to take on the Prince of Persia more. The duo clashed during last year’s World Championships when Vafaei called for O’Sullivan to retire for being ‘disrespectful. 

Though he rowed back on those comments, it appears The Rocket has not forgotten Vafaei’s blast. After easing his way past Pang, O’Sullivan, the reigning world champion, hit out at Vafaei and warned him not to spark another feud.

O’Sullivan told Eurosport: “Hossein Vafaei, the man who said…what did he say about me, I can’t remember?” Pundit Alan McManus gave him an answer of: “I think he said you should retire.”

The Rocket then responded: “Has he been saying much this year?. I think he’s learned to be quiet. Don’t rattle my cage! I’m just having fun. I love it when they call me out, I love it when they give me stick.

“I love it, it turns me on, I get off on it. I need it to fire me up so I’m hoping someone says something, so I can have a reason to perform. But they’re not going to say it now, they probably realise it’s not a good tactic.”

…

Mark Williams beat Jimmy Robertson by 10-5. Jimmy Robertson was leading by 5-4 at the start of the session but didn’t win a frame yesterday. Here is Mark Williams assessment of his performance and the state of his game as reported by Worldsnooker:

“I played really solid today and put the pressure on Jimmy,” said Williams. “He missed a few that he wasn’t missing yesterday. My form has been good this season. I nearly won the Masters. I am still here and still doing it, I am moulding into a solid player all round. My potting is not as good as it used to be but my all-round game now is probably better than it was years ago.

“Sometimes there are long pots which I would have gone for in the past and got them nine times out of ten. These days my eyes are not as good so I turn them down. It will be a tough game against Luca but I’m not worried about anyone else, I’ll just try my best. And if I win the tournament again, this time all my clothes are staying on!”

Mark Allen beat Fan Zhengui by 10-5. That match was interrupted by an unprecedented incident and, credits to both players for refocusing after that and playing a good match. Fan certainly didn’t disgrace himself on his Crucible debut. Here is Mark’s assessment of the match as reported by WST:

“The frame before the interval was really big. If it went 7-6, I think Fan would have been in the ascendancy. His long potting was really good and he was playing some clever safety. To see that pink go over the pocket was huge,” said nine-time ranking event winner Allen.

“I felt like mentally I was ready for anything out there. The work that I’ve done with Paul Gaffney (sport psychologist) over the last 12 months has stood me in good stead. I’ve even practised differently in the build uip. I’ve actually taken my foot off the gas in the last week. Normally, I try to do seven or eight hours a day. I feel like I’ve conserved a lot of energy.

“The bottom line is I haven’t played well enough here. I feel that I’ve always prepared really well. I’ve tried the same thing year on year. It hasn’t worked and I was expecting different results. I’ve tried something different this time and I’ve even done a bit of commentary. Some people have criticised me for that, but I feel I need to try something different to break the monotony of not going well here.”

Now about the incident …

What happened there ??? Here is the report by Phil Haigh

Protester jumps on table during World Snooker Championship match at the Crucible

Phil Haigh Monday 17 Apr 2023 7:23 pm

A protester jumped on the table during a match at the World Snooker Championship on Monday evening, blasting orange powder over the baize.

The first round match between Rob Milkins and Joe Perry on Table One was interrupted as a protester wearing a ‘Just Stop Oil’ t-shirt leapt on the table.

He opened a small bag which sent orange powder all over the table before he was hauled off.

Another protester attempted to jump on the other table, where Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi were playing, but they were stopped beforehand and removed.

Play was stopped on both tables as a clear-up operation began, with venue staff, World Snooker Tour employees and even MC and commentator Rob Walker joining in to hoover up the powder.

A statement from South Yorkshire Police read: ‘Two people were detained after protesters gained entry to The Crucible earlier this evening (Monday 17 April).

‘A 30-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Both are in police custody.’

Stephen Hendry, the seven-time world champion, said: ‘I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.

‘It is scary. Wow! You just hope the cloth can be recovered from that. It caught us all by surprise and then this happens.

‘For me, straightaway as a snooker player I am thinking: “Is the table recoverable?” We don’t know what that is on the table.’

The protest occurred at around 7.15pm and just before 8pm Allen and Fan returned to Table Two, but Table One is to be recovered overnight.

Milkins and Perry will play their first session tomorrow night at 7pm, when they were due to play their first. The second session time is set to be played at 9.30am on Thursday.

Remarkably, Allen was on a break of 24 before the interruption and returned to complete a brilliant century, scoring an immense 126.

I’m a bit surprised. and aggrieved, that Olivier Marteel’s prompt reaction isn’t mentioned. Indeed he immediately wrestled the woman who was trying to climb on “his” table and, aided by WST security got her out of the arena. Without his swift intervention it’s unlikely that play would have resumed at all yesterday evening. Of course, Olivier is a nurse, working at emergency services, he’s used to pressure situations asking for immediate action. As it is, Allen and Fan were able to continue their match, the “Crucible curtain” was opened and the fans were eventually able to enjoy some great snooker

Here are some more images shared on social media

The table was hoovered and protected by a slipcover before play resumed. And yes, Rob Walker is a man of many talents…

So that general meeting happened on Wednesday … and the first thing we heard about it was this by Hector Nunns

So the people in charge of the sport wanted to prevent players to voice their feelings or opinions about its future anywhere other than in the secrecy of their internal meetings? Surely that can’t be good, can it?

I can see only one reason for such move and it’s to hide the truth about the real state of the sport and its future. The same happened in 2010. Ronnie was interviewed during the 2010 Masters and basically said that a lot of players were desperate and the the mood on tour was very low. He was criticised by the authorities for saying that and crucified by the fans for putting the game in a bad light. He was only telling the truth as it became plain in the following months, those months that lead to Barry Hearn taking over a sport that was in a terrible state indeed.

Of course, some players did talk as those two pieces show

Jack Lisowski wants to cut the tour to 64 to make it sustainable

‘It’s a shame, it’s sad, but I think it has to get cut’ – Jack Lisowski calls for World Snooker Tour to be halved

Phil Haigh Thursday 16 Mar 2023 10:30 pm

Jack Lisowski reckons the number of players on tour should be cut in half as professional snooker is not financially viable for the bottom half of the rankings.

There are currently 131 professionals on the World Snooker Tour, although usually the number is 128 and Lisowski has backed this to be chopped down to 64.

There have been calls from other players for the tour to be cut, with the likes of Mark Williams and Stephen Maguire voicing that opinion, and Jackpot has joined in.

So far this season every player ranked below 50 in the world has earned less than £30,000 in ranking events and Lisowski says it is unsustainable for the lower-ranked players financially.

‘When you look at the tour, there’s been quite a bit of chat about cutting it to 64 because it’s too big. These people are making no money whatsoever outside the top 32. You call yourself a professional snooker player but you’re not making a living off it. I’m starting to think that needs to happen,’ Lisowski said after winning his opening round match at the WST Classic.

‘There’s no way they can support themselves. They’ve got to do other things, get sponsors. I think I now agree with people that we need to cut the tour because it’s just not economically viable for everyone.’

Lisowski feels a strong amateur tour which leads onto a higher-quality, smaller pro tour means everyone could benefit from the change.

‘Even though some players won’t be able to call themselves professionals, they can go back to amateurs and it might actually do them a favour,’ he said. ‘We can get a good amateur tour going, then when they do turn professional they’d be a lot more ready and they’d be making a better living.

‘I think we have to accept with what’s going on in the world at the moment that we can’t support 128 players, it’s too many for the tour. Let’s make it more quality.

‘We could have a more compact tour with better events, marketed better, better set-ups. Just have more quality over quantity. People aren’t making a living. The game’s gone a bit stagnant recently. We’re losing tournaments abroad, the circuit is getting narrower and narrower, it’s just not working.

‘It’s sad for players if they got cut, it would feel like a step back for a lot of players, but I think they’d reap the rewards if they could get back onto a 64-player tour. 

‘They call themselves professionals at the minute, but there’s not enough money in it. I think it would be doing them a favour, go back to amateurs, get back on and guarantee themselves a good living. It’s a shame, it’s sad, but I think it has to get cut.’

There is truth in what Jack says but is it the right answer? I don’t think so. The benefits would last only for a short while. Supposing that cutting the tour to 64 would mean keeping only the top 64 on board would probably render the whole tour even more UK centric, older and would make it harder for young players to get/stay on it. It might help for a little while, but you have to wonder what will happen when the current top players, who are putting bums on seat and money in WST’s bank account – the Ronnie, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Ding … – will leave. NO, what the game needs is a steady injection AND promotion of young and international talents and to make it interesting and financially sustainable. The 20000 pounds guaranteed allowance is a step in the right direction to help the players but it isn’t enough. Ultimately they want to PLAY, and quality in events organisation will ultimately promote quality in the game through higher motivation of the players.

Where Jack is right is that the tour needs better quality events and that probably means events with a reduced field. But reduced field should not necessarily mean “the top 8, 16, 32” or any other number that would suit the particular venue or format. It could be events for a specific population: the rookies on tour at the start of the season, a youth festival for the under 25, a “Champions event” for the former World Champions, an “European Show” with the mainland Europe players, in European cities. One of the main reasons that makes this nearly impossible for now is the rigid money list ranking system. There are alternatives to the money list that would make this possible as Lewis explained in this piece. A rating system would allow for simultaneous events as well. Of course WST should still make sure that all players get fair opportunities to earn money, but there would be far more flexibility to do so without having a 128 field in every “ranking” event.

Neil Robertson also voiced his opinion

Neil Robertson says ‘absolutely insane’ levy on snooker players ‘just has to go’

Phil HaighThursday 16 Mar 2023 7:01 pm

Neil Robertson wants to see changes off the table in snooker, including scrapping the ‘absolutely insane’ 2.5 per cent WPBSA levy on prize money.

As the WPBSA tour induction states: ‘There will be a levy of 2.5 per cent deducted from all prize money paid which is paid to the WPBSA and help funds the activities of the association.’

It is not a very popular situation among players on the professional tour, especially with the reduction in tournaments on the calendar since the pandemic restricting earning opportunities.

Ahead of the WST Classic this week, every player outside of the world’s top 50 had earned less than £30,000 this season so far in ranking events, meaning money is tight for lower-ranked players.

Robertson is not short of prize money himself, but thinks that players having to give away 2.5 per cent of their winnings to help fund the WPBSA is crazy and should be stopped, or alternatively the money would be put aside for players’ retirement funds.

‘I believe the sport desperately needs a Players’ Association, a proper, one. So if they see something happening in the game, they will bang their fist on the desk and really fight for the players,’ Robertson said after winning his first round match at the WST Classic on Thursday.

‘There’s a few things still lingering in the game that shouldn’t be there. The 2.5 per cent levy for one is absolutely insane, in my opinion. For me it just has to go. It just doesn’t seem right.

‘If there is a 2.5 per cent levy it should be in a players’ superannuation fund or something when they retire, so the 2.5 per cent they’ve been paying they get that at the end of their career.

‘It doesn’t make any sense for it to go back to the WPBSA when the sport’s so well run and making a ton of money.’

WPBSA of course needs money to function, but does it need to come from the players pocket? And if it stays should the levy be as high as it is? I don’t have a definite answer BUT it seems that there has been a “transfer” of money from the players’ pockets to the shareholders’ pockets in recent years and THAT is NOT right in my opinion. Yes, shareholders deserve a reward for taking risks and investing in the sport, but do they “deserve” it more than the players who actually MAKE the sport? I don’t think so and maybe, with a fairer distribution of the money, the levy could be reduced, or even scrapped.