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Snooker

Half way through the event and just some thoughts.

The breaks are really low this year, very few centuries. There have been very few since the tables were recovered on Thursday, good to see,. Shows how easy the tables have been at some events this season. Odd that they all use the same template! Though the makers are not the same for every event so we can see that is not the case. Perhaps just the close proximity of the fans and the dividing wall has an effect. Certainly the dividing wall makes it harder to step back and see the shot. Maybe also there seems to be a lot more stress and pressure on players than usual. Milkins, Ford, Gary Wilson, O'Sullivan, Murphy and Maguire all shown reactions that I have seen.

Gilbert is looking good having got his attitude correct so far, overcame Milkins emotions well and didn't slack.
Maguire is amazing, he has not shown form like this for some time, 15 years he said to Rob Walker! He was clearly fired up for Murphy but a repeat against Gilbert should ensure a cracker. Murphy again underestimated his opponent, in his words. He was well below his best and again has missed an excellent opportunity. As I say though Maguire was very good.

So far Kyren Wilson has looked the best in the top half and O'Connor struggled to compete with him.
Higgins is looking like a player in decline, the first 4 frames this afternoon he was gifted many chances but struggled on. Then the enigma that is Mark Allen, came out after the break, played at his best pace and looked excellent. As we have mentioned before there is no understanding why Allen is so variable in form. Before the interval he was overthinking all his shots and played very poorly. Afterwards he was back to his best. Don't know why he messes around and lacks confidence so much.

Jak Jones kept his cool against Si. Perhaps the slow style of play put Si off but he hit the ball too hard most of the time, Jones is playing to his best but has a tough task now.
Trump upped a gear against Ford and is looking good, can't see Jones being able to compete with him.

Lisowski, ah he is so frustrating. He clearly doesn't have the level of concentration or thinking time for some shots. Bingham probably got into his head with his friendly chatting in the first session, obviously know each other well but Bingham is much more battle hardened and tougher than Lisowski. Still he is only 2 behind and if some one gets a word with him this could go to a final frame but you have to think Bingham is better set. Bingham is playing much better than he has the rest of the season as well.

Day is another enigma. Probably he and Brecel are the most variable in performance. He had some great chances to take a lead today but sometimes tries too force the ball too hard, he has plenty of power but missed some easy pots with his power shots. O'Sullivan looking good but a little fortunate to get a 5-3 lead.

Murphy says no one has spoken to him about a breakaway tour and mentioned the post I put up the other day, denying he has ever signed a non disclosure agreement. There are clearly big changes ahead in snooker, a last chance for big money for those at the end of their career.

Latest rankings of those left.

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World Snooker Championship told to ban Ronnie O'Sullivan and co after stars 'sign NDAs'.​

A dark cloud has been cast over this year's World Snooker Championship.​

The World Snooker Tour (WST) has been urged to ban Ronnie O’Sullivan or any star that signs up for a potential LIV-style breakaway tour. The Rocket has admitted being open to the idea, despite recently inking a three-year ambassadorial deal with Saudi Arabia tying him to WST events, as several big names are said to have been approached.
O’Sullivan sensationally claimed that he would be prepared to walk away from the WST “if I didn’t get what I want” as talks of a new tour have been gathering pace at this year’s World Championship.
Several established players have been coy and cryptic about their plans going forward, though one of snooker’s biggest stars Judd Trump has already pledged his future to the WST in a big show of faith.

Shaun Murphy, who saw his Crucible campaign come to an end on Sunday in a 13-9 defeat to Stephen Maguire, similarly has stuck with the current regime. And the Magician feels that those who want to join a LIV-style tour should be banned from Triple Crown events such as the World Championship.
“I think I’d like to see a situation where players have to declare their allegiance one way or the other,” Murphy said. “They can play on the World Snooker Tour with the majors, the Triple Crowns, the history and heritage that Judd talked about.
“Or they can go and play on a new tour with unknown backers, people we don’t know. How long does this pot of money last? It’s a case of be careful what you wish for. I wouldn’t like a situation where players can go off and then come back and play in the Triple Crown events. I don’t think that should happen. You stick your flag in the ground, declare your loyalty somewhere and see how we go. ;)
 
What a night of entertainment. Higgins bottle to snatch that, amazing. Should stay in Top 16 now and he and Maguire have clearly peaked their season together in practice. McGill, the other practice partner lost in his first Qualifying match.

Got to be doubtful if Higgins can recover from that to compete with Kyren Wilson though.

O'Sullivan battled through against Day, who missed too many chances to make it competitve, in his interview after clearly doesn't think he can beat Ronnie. I think that all though he is well ahead of Bingham on my ratings it will be a much closer match. He looks desperate to get to the record number of titles with so much uncertainty on his and others future in the event.

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The Hare said:
What a night of entertainment. Higgins bottle to snatch that, amazing. Should stay in Top 16 now and he and Maguire have clearly peaked their season together in practice. McGill, the other practice partner lost in his first Qualifying match.

Got to be doubtful if Higgins can recover from that to compete with Kyren Wilson though.

O'Sullivan battled through against Day, who missed too many chances to make it competitve, in his interview after clearly doesn't think he can beat Ronnie. I think that all though he is well ahead of Bingham on my ratings it will be a much closer match. He looks desperate to get to the record number of titles with so much uncertainty on his and others future in the event.

View attachment 145420
Click to expand...
...... another excellent table there my friend and makes interesting reading. I was heavily engaged with the two games last night, had one game on TV and the other on my laptop. What a night it turned out to be as both games at one time were 11-11. I kept looking at one game and then the other as both lots of players gave there all. Alas there can be only one winner in each. I really though that Higgins played out of his skin to be a stubborn Mark Allen who gave everything only to be on the wrong end of the match verdict. I felt Higgins was really on top form and if he manages to produce form like this he will be hard to beat. Jack Lisowski I feel needs to tighten up and stop going for everything as a potential pot. He has tremendous capabilities but definitely needs to tighten up on that showing. ;)
 

Jak Jones Digs In And Rattles Judd Trump In Crucible Quarter-Final.​

Jak Jones looks determined to keep flying the flag for Wales deep into the second week at the World Snooker Championship.


The Welsh star ensured it was a tense session for Judd Trump in their quarter-final at The Crucible in Sheffield after they finished level at 8-8 overnight.
Locked at 4-4 going into the evening, Trump fell two behind as Cwmbran hero Jones won a 55-minute 10th frame, but the five-time world semi-finalist recovered to make it 6-6 at the mid-session interval.


Trump had produced a break of 110 to take the day’s opening frame, yet Jones served early notice of his doggedness by reeling off three successive frames.


It took a brilliant double on the black to move Trump level after the morning’s action, and he just could not shake world number 44 Jones off.
Jones went back in front at 7-6 before a 68 break from Trump – his highest since frame two – levelled it up again, then Jones saved his best until last – a 117 break – after falling 8-7 behind.


Trump, a 2019 world champion, was the huge favourite ahead of the tie but scrapped to 4-4 in the first session and couldn’t pull away from the determined Jones on Tuesday evening.


Play will continue on Wednesday morning at 10:00, with the winner set to face Ronnie O’Sullivan or Stuart Bingham in the last four. ;)
 
Big day of shocks. I think there are so many tournaments for the Top 16 players they are all shattered compared to those rested in the Qualifiers, plus Wilson hasn't really played in the one season top ranking events so is fresh as well.

Trump's form went down as the game progressed but to be fair to Jones he played like the rating he has on my rankings and his speed judgement was first class. Now he has quickened up he looks so much better.
Bingham is amazing, blind early season and now looking like the World number 1 - what a display from him - in his mention said he discarded the glasses and now Chris Henry, super coach is back looking after him and making him stay down longer on the shots, similar to Shaun Murphy.
Kyren Wilson played well but Gilbert has lived up to his qualifying games and these will be close.

Wilson should really win as generally better than Gilbert, the other is a close call. Best of 33.

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Outlander said:
Mark Allen is the new world number 1
Make it make sense.
How many tournaments do Trump and O’Sullivan have to win
Click to expand...
The problem is that the ratings are based over 2 seasons. Trump had a terrible season last one. Allen was amazing in that and decent this. Trump and O'Sullivan hardly ant points last season.

Here's a split - ages are just at 1st January 2024.

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My ratings as they are with the last 4 being 8,9,17 and 21 in the ranks.

Jak Jones the biggest difference to his World Ranking so my price value selection

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...... Ronnie's gone and deservedly so! He absolutely played like a plank. His choice of shots left a lot to be desired, he always seemed to choose to play for pots that really looked dangerous and very often lead to letting Bingham in every time and he nearly always cleaned up from these schoolboy errors. I thought that Bingham played really well, the best he has shown for a long, long time. But really on paper Ronnie should have eaten him and had him out of sight had he played the way we know he can play when on song. He kept looking at the scoreboard when at the table and making faces that was beyond me. If he continues to play like that, then I cannot see many trophies coming his way in future years. RIP Ronnie! ;)
 
Delboy99 said:
...... Ronnie's gone and deservedly so! He absolutely played like a plank. His choice of shots left a lot to be desired, he always seemed to choose to play for pots that really looked dangerous and very often lead to letting Bingham in every time and he nearly always cleaned up from these schoolboy errors. I thought that Bingham played really well, the best he has shown for a long, long time. But really on paper Ronnie should have eaten him and had him out of sight had he played the way we know he can play when on song. He kept looking at the scoreboard when at the table and making faces that was beyond me. If he continues to play like that, then I cannot see many trophies coming his way in future years. RIP Ronnie! ;)
Click to expand...
After his win in the First Round he looked very on edge in the other two games. His search of perfection with the referee spotting the black, very honourable of him not too go for the pot though. His worry over people coming in on the next table whilst on his shot.

I wonder if he plays much next season, for someone who says he plays too much was happy to mention he is off to China to play Ding for loadsa money. Then mentioned lots of other things he has a contract for. Can see him just at the UK, Masters and World plus whatever select events he is qualified for.
 

Gilbert and Wilson level in thrilling semi-final​

David Gilbert and Kyren Wilson
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
David Gilbert (left) and Kyren Wilson have compiled 13 centuries between them at the Crucible
    • Published
      4 hours ago
David Gilbert and Kyren Wilson are level at 8-8 after a thrilling second session in their World Championship semi-final.
Having resumed at 4-4 overnight the contest continued in the same vein as Thursday, with both players producing free-flowing attacking snooker.
Wilson took the opening frame with a break of 70 and enjoyed runs of 54 and 79 but he was unable to pull clear in a superb contest.
Gilbert, the 2019 semi-finalist, compiled a sublime 129 and also knocked in breaks of 92 and 106 in a match that has lived up to expectations between arguably the two form players of the tournament.
Their best-of-33 encounter resumes this evening at 19:00 BST.
With the pot success of both players currently at 91% or better it was another nip-and-tuck session.
But neither player shied away from going for their shots, with an outrageous plant from world number 12 Wilson, that saw him pot two reds, setting the tone.
Gilbert, who has dropped down the world rankings in recent times and now sits 31st, was just as exciting to watch and his two century breaks saw him receive richly deserved ovations from fans inside the Crucible.
It is also a measure of just how well Gilbert is performing that his nine breaks of over 100 account for almost 25% of the century breaks made at this year's tournament overall.
Stuart Bingham and Jak Jones are locked at 4-4 in the other semi-final, which gets back under way at 14:30 BST. ;)
 
Wilson broke Gilbert a little last night, missing a great chance to win a frame, Gilbert missed a faitly easy yellow and took a while to recover from it. Great finish to keep gap at 4 but Wilson starting to look hard to stop from winning the event now.

The other match I don't think are playing as well by quite a way. Have to admire Jones for his battling spirit and has come back well from disappointments. Bingham started to look jaded last night and again this morning his concentration has wavered a little. Been a long few weeks for both of them and maybe the qualifying is starting to have an affect on them now, which makes Wilson a solid favourite as he is fresher.
 

Ex-world snooker champion calls for immediate rule change after Crucible incident.​

There were two similar moments during Friday's World Snooker Championship action, prompting questions over the current rules in place at the showpiece tournament.
Former world champion Neil Robertson suggested rules need to be "looked at" after two incidents at the World Snooker Championships involving players making multiple attempts at safety shots.


Both Jak Jones and Kyren Wilson gave up points after failing to get the cue ball safe. Wilson took three attempts at one shot against David Gilbert and Jones had eight attempts in his meeting with Stuart Bingham.
The draw has opened up for all four semi-finalists, with none of the top 10 seeds still involved at The Crucible after a number of shocks. The unusual scenario may have ramped up the pressure, with all four remaining stars able to make the case that the tournament is theirs to win.
Even so, it was a frustrating watch for Robertson and for some viewers. The Australian, who won the world title in 2010, was covering the action for the BBC and urged a potential change.
“I saw it earlier in the session with Stuart and Jak and Jak missed it eight times before he hit it,” Robertson said, as reported by The Express. “At any point he could have hit a red if he wanted to.


"When you are trying to play a two-cushion escape, the commentator or any player will say: ‘I am trying to hit it’. But realistically you’re not. You’re having a practice go to miss it by a few inches and then you’re slowly moving up the cushion to get closer and closer to the red.




"You don’t care if you give away 50 or 60 points in fouls as long as you get it safe. I agree with [commentator Shaun Murphy] that the rule should be looked at because at any point Kyren could have hit any red on the table that he wanted to.”
After Friday's action, Wilson opened up a 14-10 lead over Gilbert in his best-of-33 tie. The battle between Jones and Bingham is far closer, though, with the scores locked at 8-8 ahead of a resumption on Saturday.. ;)














​

 
Well ratings wise you can't get much clsoer than this! I would very strongly favour Wilson though, as mentioned earlier the qualifying tournament looks to be taking their toll on the semi final losers and Jones to a lesser extent.

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World Snooker Champs referee apologises over costly 'lesson learnt' in final frame drama.​

Marcel Eckardt has addressed the incident in the final frame of the Jak Jones vs Stuart Bingham semi-final which saw the snooker official have words with spectators.
Snooker referee Marcel Eckardt issued an apology after reprimanding spectators for “misbehaviour” at the World Championship.


Eckardt oversaw the second semi-final between Jak Jones and Stuart Bingham, with the former booking a showdown with Kyren Wilson with a 17-12 victory. The match was interrupted by a couple of disturbances in the audience.
At one point, Bingham angrily wagged his cue at fans after missing an easy blue. Then, in the final frame with the match slipping away from him, there were audible noises from at least one member of the audience as Bingham attempted – and missed – a long red. ;)
 

Steve Davis gives BBC pundit death stare live on TV after incredibly awkward comment at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.​

  • Steve Davis has given a BBC pundit a death stare on live television
  • This came after an incredibly awkward comment was made about his career .
Former snooker star Steve Davis has given a BBC pundit a death stare on live television after an incredibly awkward comment during the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

Davis took to the screens as Jak Jokes took on Kyren Wilson in the final, with Jones shocking the nation as he reached the event at the Crucible.

Hoever, things did not go as Jones would have hoped as Wilson took a huge 7-1 lead.
Speaking ahead of the play, Davis discussed the match up before a cheeky remark was made by fellow ex-Snooker pro John Parrot.

This did not go down well with Davis, who gave him a death stare as Parrot looked at the camera.
We know full well in long-session matches, you can get frame after frame, blocks of frames won by players,' said Davis.

'So, nowhere near over yet, but it's an uphill struggle and obviously I think Jak Jones would love to win this session, at the very least 5-4.'
This left presenter Parrott to cheekily reply: 'It has happened before, of course, in 1985.'

The comment was in reference to Davis being beaten by Dennis Taylor in the 1985 Crucible final, when his missed black at the end of the deciding frame was watched by a record TV audience of 18.5million viewers.

Taylor potted the black to win snooker's most famous match.

However, Davis wasn't affected by this as he previously told a press conference: 'I think the best moment of my career was missing the black against Dennis Taylor.

'At one stage I was the strongest player in the game so I was expected to win, so those moments when everybody is excited are when you don't.

'With Dennis, that was the best and worst moment of my career because I think it just showed how greatly snooker had been appreciated by the public.'

However, the comment didn't appear to go down well on the night as BBC host Hazel Irvine said: 'That went down like a lead balloon, didn't it?' ;)
 

Snooker rankings: update after the World Championship.​

The latest rankings update comes after the conclusion of the 2024 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.





Kyren Wilson emerged with a maiden Crucible crown after orchestrating an 18-14 success over Jak Jones in Sunday and Monday’s final.
The 32 year-old pockets a whopping cheque worth £500,000 for capturing his sixth career ranking title.


As the last event of the 2023/24 snooker season, there was a significant impact felt up and down the official two-year rankings list.


There were changes at the world number one spot, inside the top 16, and implications further down in the race for tour survival.


Let’s take a look at some of the key movements.

Mark Allen becomes world number one​


As already reported last week, Mark Allen has become the 12th world number one in snooker since the world rankings began in the mid-1970s.
The Northern Irishman only reached the second round in Sheffield this year, but his overall consistency across the last two terms has seem him claim top spot for the first time in his career.
Allen has won five ranking titles during that spell, including last season’s UK Championship and this campaign’s Players Championship.

The Pistol was also a winner in November’s Champion of Champions, although as an invitational that didn’t count towards the rankings.
“One of my lifetime goals achieved,” Mark Allen wrote on social media platform X last week.
“Not quite the way I’d hoped to get there, but I’ll take it. Six wins, a runner-up, and countless semis in the last two seasons and this is my reward.”
“(I) need to continue the consistency to try and stay there now.”

Top 16 movers​

Kyren Wilson had endured a disappointing 2023/24 snooker season prior to Sheffield, a run of indifferent form that saw his position in the rankings plummet to number 12.
However, the Kettering cueist has launched himself into a career-high slot of number three in the world following his triumph at the Crucible Theatre.
Judd Trump stays in second place having missed the opportunity to return to the summit with an unexpected quarter-final reverse.

Last year’s world champion Luca Brecel is in fourth, while Ronnie O’Sullivan drops to fifth.
The Rocket had enjoyed a two-year stranglehold in first place but was unable to defend the ranking points from his success at the 2022 World Snooker Championship.
Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, Mark Williams, and Ali Carter complete the top ten.
Consolation for Jak Jones after his defeat in the world final is his newly acquired membership inside the world’s top 16.
The Welshman, who was featuring in his first ranking event final, jumps 30 places to number 14 behind Gary Wilson, Zhang Anda, and Tom Ford.
Barry Hawkins and John Higgins round off the top 16 – the latter just about extending his unbroken three-decade stretch among the world’s elite bracket.
Official 2-Year World RankingsMay 7, 2024
1Mark Allen£965,000
2Judd Trump£911,000
3Kyren Wilson£851,500
4Luca Brecel£690,500
5Ronnie O’Sullivan£659,000
6Mark Selby£648,500
7Shaun Murphy£498,000
8Ding Junhui£466,500
9Mark Williams£457,500
10Ali Carter£428,000
11Gary Wilson£421,500
12Zhang Anda£406,000
13Tom Ford£340,500
14Jak Jones£317,500
15Barry Hawkins£312,500
16John Higgins£303,500
———
17Robert Milkins£298,500
18Ryan Day£285,500
19Jack Lisowski£257,000
20Si Jiahui£249,000
21Hossein Vafaei£244,500
22David Gilbert£235,500
23Zhou Yuelong£232,000
24Chris Wakelin£230,500
25Stuart Bingham£220,000
Click here for the full two-year list (WST)

Who got relegated?​

While they may not have qualified for the 2024 World Snooker Championship, important victories for several players in the preliminary competition helped to ensure their tour survival.

Mark Davis reached Judgement Day at the English Institute of Sport, results that proved to be vital in seeing the former English Open runner-up returning to the top 64.
Triumphs in the world qualifiers for Michael White, Aaron Hill, Sanderson Lam, and David Lilley were also pivotal in seeing them extending their professional statuses on the main tour.
Although they ended the season outside the crucial top 64 cut-off line, Zak Surety, Julien Leclercq, Oliver Lines, and Ben Mertens all secured fresh two-year cards.
That’s because they were the four highest earners from this season who didn’t otherwise safeguard their tour survival, thus gaining a reprieve.
Several other competitors – including He Guoqiang, Daniel Wells, Marco Fu, and Louis Heathcote – have only completed one year of their two-year cards so will be back again for the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.
The likes of Ashley Hugill, Andy Hicks, Mark Joyce, James Cahill, Liam Highfield, and Lukas Kleckers have all been relegated, meanwhile, and will likely be seen at Q School.
Irish veteran Fergal O’Brien also finished far down the rankings but will not be returning after announcing his retirement from professional snooker.

Martin Gould, meanwhile, ended the term in 83rd place but will receive a one-year extension through medical grounds.
Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty’s latest two-year invitational tour cards have concluded, and it hasn’t been announced yet whether they will be returning for the next campaign.
Elsewhere, Mink Nutcharut’s stint is additionally over, but the Thai is set to bounce back immediately through her status as the world number one in the women’s snooker rankings.
Relegated players
(final ranking in brackets)

Ashley Hugill (67)
Andy Hicks (72)
Mark Joyce (73)
James Cahill (74)
Dylan Emery (75)
Lukas Kleckers (76)
John Astley (77)
Ken Doherty (79)
Liam Highfield (82)
Oliver Brown (84)
Allan Taylor (87)
Rod Lawler (89)
Jenson Kendrick (90)
Adam Duffy (94)
Peng Yison (97)
Sean O’Sullivan (98)
Andy Lee (105)
Andres Petrov (106)
Muhammad Asif (107)
Mark King (109)
Fergal O’Brien (111)
Mohamed Ibrahim (113)
Asjad Iqbal (114)
Ryan Thomerson (116)
Anton Kazakov (117)
Mink Nutcharut (121)
Himanshu Jain (122)
Victor Sarkis (125)
Rebecca Kenna (126)
Stephen Hendry (129) ;)

​

 
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