• Hi Guest Just in case you were not aware I wanted to highlight that you can now get a 20% discount on Inform Racing.
    Simply enter the coupon code ukbettingform when subscribing here.
    We have a lot of members who are existing users of Inform Racing so help is always available if needed.
    Best Wishes
    AR
  • Hi Guest Just in case you were not aware I wanted to highlight that you can now get a free 7 day trial of Horseracebase here.
    We have a lot of members who are existing users of Horseracebase so help is always available if needed, as well as dedicated section of the fourm here.
    Best Wishes
    AR

Snooker

China's world number 11 Ding Junhui will compete at the rearranged World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

The 33-year-old, who reached the final in 2016, withdrew from this month's Tour Championship over travel concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The world's top 16 players are now all set to appear at the Crucible when the tournament begins on 31 July.

Chinese trio Zhou Yuelong, Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong have withdrawn from qualifying because of the pandemic.

Yan Bingtao, who is the only other Chinese player inside the world's top 16, is based in the UK.

Qualifying is set to start on 21 July. ;)
 
Mark Allen says suggestions that this year's World Championship should be cancelled because of Covid-related withdrawals are "laughable".

Hong Kong's Marco Fu, who stated that was unsafe to travel to the UK, is among the players to pull out of the Crucible tournament this summer.
"I appreciate how unfortunate it is for the 11/12 players who have withdrawn," NI player Allen said on Twitter.

"Would it be fair to cancel an event for the 130 who have chosen to play?"

The event was scheduled for its usual date but will now be played from 31 July to 16 August.

"To suggest that that the World Championship should be cancelled is laughable," added the world number four from Antrim.

"World Snooker has to continue with the sport! I'm assuming contracts must be upheld with broadcasters and sponsors, as well as continuing to create opportunities for as many players as possible to earn a living.

"I know if I was one of those who couldn't play for whatever reason I'd be annoyed but surely people have to see the bigger picture here." ;)
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan says it would be an "unnecessary risk" to have fans attend the World Snooker Championship when the tournament begins on 31 July.

World Snooker has said it is "working hard" on plans for spectators to attend the Crucible "if it is possible".
No sporting event in the UK has had spectators since March and O'Sullivan sees little point in even a reduced number of attendees in Sheffield.

"You aren't really achieving anything," the five-time champion told 5 Live.

"Having people there but not enough people doesn't look good. Either pack it out and say we don't actually care or just go we aren't having anyone."

World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn says "detailed discussions" are taking place over the potential for a live crowd.

But O'Sullivan says he has "no problem" with sporting events being behind closed doors until 2021, given the risk of coronavirus infection. ;)
 
Belgian 15-year-old Ben Mertens has become the youngest player to win a qualifying match at the World Snooker Championship.

The teenager beat James Cahill 6-2 on Wednesday in Sheffield.
Cahill had caused a shock in last year's first round when he beat five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Mertens will face world number 77 Sam Baird in the second of four qualifying rounds on Friday as he chases a place at the Crucible.

He started playing aged eight on a tiny table won at a fairground and won the world under-16 title at the age of 13 in 2018.

Mertens beat Adam Stefanow in the first round of the Paul Hunter Classic in his professional tournament debut in August 2018 and lined up alongside 25-year-old Luca Brecel, who is the only player from continental Europe to win a ranking title, at this year's World Team Cup. ;)
 
England's Reanne Evans lost 6-3 to compatriot Andy Hicks in a televised World Championship first-round qualifying match in Sheffield.

Evans, 34, was bidding to become the first woman to win a televised match at a ranking event.
The rescheduled championship event starts on 31 July at the Crucible.

"I'm disappointed because I felt good - but with maybe a couple more weeks' practice I would have been more match sharp," Evans said.

"I expected Andy to be more aggressive so I was a little shocked."

The qualifiers, at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, began on Tuesday and run until 28 July.

In November 2019, Evans came within a frame of becoming the first woman to beat a man in snooker's top 16 ;)
 
'Whoopee cushion device' stops play at Masters
  • 19 Jan 202019 Jan 2020
  • From the section Snooker
Somebody brings play in the Masters final between Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter to a halt - amusing the crowd more than the players and commentators. The small device placed under an advertising board was being activated remotely.
I wonder what pranksters will get up to next? ;)
 
Covid-19 makes John Higgins more "apprehensive" than usual as he heads to the Crucible this week seeking his fifth world snooker title.

The World Snooker Championship will be the first UK sporting event played in front of spectators since the pandemic.
But their number will be limited and the players will be separated by plastic screens.

"It will be a little bit surreal but I'll give it my best shot," four-time winner Higgins told BBC Radio Scotland.

The 45-year-old Scot, who has also been runner-up for the last three seasons in a row in Sheffield, points out that players will be tested for the virus the day before their first match and then again before the quarter-finals.

 
Former Masters champion and BBC pundit Alan McManus has come through qualifying to seal his place at the World Championship in Sheffield.

Veteran Scot McManus, 49 - who reached the semi-finals in 2016 - progressed after beating Louis Heathcote 10-5.
The draw for the first round takes place on Wednesday (11:00 BST) with the event starting on Friday.

World number 86 Alexander Ursenbacher of Switzerland and number 82 Ashley Carty from Rotherham both progressed.

Both players will be making their debuts at the Crucible Theatre, with Ursenbacher becoming the first Swiss player to appear at the venue.

Norway's Kurt Maflin was the first player through with a 10-1 demolition of Englishman Matthew Selt, while there were wins for compatriots Elliot Slessor and Anthony Hamilton, as well as Thailand's Noppon Saengkham and China's Liang Wenbo. ;)
 
Defending champion Judd Trump will face Tom Ford in the first round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

World number one Trump won his maiden Crucible crown last year with victory in the final over Scot John Higgins, who faces Welshman Matthew Stevens.
Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan plays Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, UK champion Ding Junhui plays Mark King and Mark Selby faces Jordan Brown.

The event begins on Friday (10:00 BST), live across BBC TV, radio and online.

Tournament favourite Trump has been in fine form this season, winning a record six ranking titles, and will be confident of progressing against world number 26 Ford, who has never been past the first round.

The battle between O'Sullivan and Un-Nooh will be an intriguing encounter featuring the two fastest players on tour, averaging less than 17 seconds a shot. ;)
 
Anthony Hamilton has withdrawn from the World Championship because of coronavirus health concerns, World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn says.

The tournament begins on Friday and will be the first indoor sporting event with crowds since lockdown, with around 300 people attending each session.
The 49-year-old Hamilton, who suffers from severe asthma, had been due to face Kyren Wilson in the first round.

"He is worried about his own health," Hearn told Talksport.

"The question I pose is why did he not withdraw before the qualifying competition, because by getting through the qualifiers he has effectively stopped someone else from going and earning a living.

"He entered a competition knowing while he was in that competition, he knew there was going to be fans present. ;)
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan should withdraw from this year's World Snooker Championship if he has genuine coronavirus concerns, defending champion Judd Trump says.

Anthony Hamilton, who has severe asthma, withdrew on Thursday while Ronnie O'Sullivan has said players are being treated like "lab rats" over the decision to allow a limited of number of spectators into the Crucible.
Trump, who kicks off the rescheduled World Championship on Friday morning, said players should "simply not enter" if they are worried about their safety.

He called the duo "selfish" for not pulling out earlier and giving other players a chance.

Trump said: "I have been around the game long enough to know that if there is a World Championship coming up, he [O'Sullivan] is going to try to get the headlines.

"Of all people, Ronnie is probably the only one who doesn't need the money, so I find it quite hard that he can enter it and have a go at what is going on. Just pull out and let someone else have a go." ;)
 
'Absolutely fabulous!' Ford stuns Trump with 140 break
  • 31 Jul 202031 Jul 2020
  • From the section Snooker
Tom Ford makes a sensational 140 break against reigning World Champion Judd Trump at the Crucible in Sheffield. ;)
 
Defending world champion Judd Trump survived a first-round scare to edge past Tom Ford on day one of the rearranged 2020 World Championship.

Qualifier Ford raced into a 3-0 lead and was 5-4 ahead going into the evening session at The Crucible.
However, Trump raised his game and claimed six of the next nine frames to seal a 10-8 win in Sheffield.

Trump will now face China's Yan Bingtao or fellow Englishman Elliot Slessor in the second round.

In Friday's other first-round matches, 2015 champion Stuart Bingham edged to a 5-4 lead over Ashley Carty in their best-of-19 encounter.

China's Ding Junhui took a 5-4 lead over England's Mark King, while Scotland's Alan McManus came from behind to lead Welsh three-time champion Mark Williams 5-4 on his first appearance at The Crucible since 2016.

McManus, 49, is also the oldest player to feature in the main draw since Steve Davis reached the quarter-finals on his final appearance at the age of 52 in 2010. ;)
 
Friday 31st July 2020

Round of 32
  • Judd Trump 10 Tom Ford 8
  • Stuart Bingham 10 Ashley Carty 7
  • Kyren Wilson 0 Anthony Hamilton 0 Walk Over as Hamilton withdrew for health reasons.
  • Junhui Ding 10 Mark King 9 ;)
 
Stuart Bingham says he "felt lost" with the condition of the table and balls during his first-round win over Ashley Carty at the World Championship.

Bingham, Ding Junhui and Mark Williams all went through to the second round in Sheffield on Saturday.
"I felt lost with the table and the balls. I don't know whether they had been sanitised," said Bingham.

The World Snooker Tour said there had been no changes to protocols around cleaning balls.

However, Bingham, who claimed a 10-7 win over Crucible debutant Carty, added: "I played a red near the green pocket, and screwed back past the blue pocket - I've never done that in my life.

"But it is what it is, and if it's sanitised, you've just got to get on with it."

The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant changes to this year's championship, postponed from April and now taking place behind closed doors after Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an announcement on Friday halting plans to allow a limited number of fans into certain sporting events. ;)
 
..... late result from the Crucible last night when Mark Williams completed his match with Alan McManus.

Mark Williams 10 Alan McManus 5

Williams also revealed that the coronavirus had saved his career as he had been thinking of retiring, but kept on playing to keep occupied. ;)
 
arkle55 arkle55 ... Thank you young fella for your very kind support, you are a true inspiration and have yourself an impressive level of support, which proves in itself that you are very popular in this forum. Best Wishes. Del. ;)
 
Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan completed his first-round demolition of Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-1 in a World Championship record 108 minutes.

O'Sullivan was at his destructive best in Sunday's first session with two centuries and five further breaks of 60 or more to open an 8-1 lead.
And the Englishman took less than half an hour on Monday morning to win the two frames needed to end the match.

O'Sullivan will face China's Ding Junhui in the second round.

The victory, in which O'Sullivan averaged 14 seconds per shot, smashed the previous record for the quickest match by 41 minutes, set last year by Shaun Murphy in his 10-0 whitewash of Luo Honghao. ;)
 
U K Championship Results to Date :-

First round (best of 19 frames)
Jack Lisowski (Eng) 9-10 Anthony McGill (Sco)

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) 10-1 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tha)

Yan Bingtao (Chn) 10-7 Elliot Slessor (Eng)

Neil Robertson (Aus) 10-5 Liang Wenbo (Chn)

David Gilbert (Eng) 8-10 Kurt Maflin (Nor)

John Higgins (Sco) 10-5 Matthew Stevens (Wal)

Mark Williams (Wal) 10-5 Alan McManus (Sco)

Ding Junhui (Chn) 10-9 Mark King (Eng)

Stuart Bingham (Eng) 10-7 Ashley Carty (Eng)

Judd Trump (Eng) 10-8 Tom Ford (Eng) ;)
 
Four-time champion John Higgins made a maximum 147 break but could not avoid a shock 13-11 defeat by Kurt Maflin in the World Championship second round.

Scot Higgins, 45, has been runner-up the last three years and led 11-10, having trailed 7-4 and 10-8.
But Norway's Maflin, 36, responded in stunning fashion, taking three in a row to progress to the quarter-finals.

Higgins' brilliant 147 came in the 12th frame and was the first maximum made at the Crucible Theatre since 2012.

In a tremendous tussle, Higgins had already made a century and added six further breaks of 50 or more, but Maflin held himself together in fine manner with runs of 80, 75 and 63 for the biggest win of his career.

Maflin will face the winner of the second-round tie between Anthony McGill and Jamie Clarke next, guaranteeing a qualifier in the semi-finals.

Higgins said: "He was amazing, he never shied away from any shots and every credit to him, he went for it and deserved it in the end. I had my chance at 11-10 in front but take nothing away from him. ;)
 
Back
Top