The Chalk - Issue 5 - September 2020

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04 MAX POTTER 09 CARTOON REVIEW: WORLD 10 CHAMPIONSHIP COACH 15 BARRY STARK RODNEY 16 REMEMBERS SNOOKER 19 BACKER NEWS FROM 20 THE BAIZE

WORLD SENIORS REVIEW

21 RONNIE BREAKS 23 ANOTHER RECORD WORLD SENIORS Q SCHOOL

WELCOME TO

H

ello and welcome to edition number five of The Chalk. We hope you are all keeping safe and enjoy the read.

As always thank you for taking the time to subscribe, download, open and flick through the digital pages of the sport’s newest, brightest, freshest publication. Every month we will aim to bring you insight into cue sports from around the globe.

We decided to delay this issue so we could feature the World Championship and The World Seniors Championship and I don’t think you will be disappointed with the reviews written by Monique Limbos.

Huge thanks to Andy Chubb for the use of his images from the World Seniors Championships.

Our thanks also go to Steve © who has supplied us with another cracking Max Potter page. Max went down really well in the last issue and we are delighted he is back to keep all you entertained.

Feel free to give Max a follow on Instagram (@maxpotter_official) he has some great jokes!

Rodney Goggins fresh from his appearence at the Seniors Championships pens his regular article - Rodney Remembers.

Tom Moorcroft writes about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s world record and Barry Stark returns with two new videos about your grip and aim.

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THE ROKIT WORLD SENIORS SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 – A REVIEW >> BY MONIQUE LIMBOS - RETIRED MATHEMATICIAN WHO LOVES SNOOKER AND PHOTOGRAPHY << BEFORE IT STARTED

T

hat the WSS ROKiT Phones.com 2020 World Snooker Championship was well and truly on was only announced on the 5th of August 2020, just two weeks before the event was due to start The COVID-19 crisis has put many sporting events on hold. Those that massively rely on an on-site audience for their financial viability have suffered the most. There were major uncertainties around this event until early August. You will find out about those issues, and how they were solved in this excellent interview with Jason Francis by Nigel Slater.

Because a number of qualifying events could not be staged, and because Tony Drago had to withdraw over health concerns, Jason had to “fill” the line-up by “invitations”. This wasn’t an easy task and he never was going to please everyone. Here you can read here how he proceeded.

The passing of Willie Thorne was a huge loss for everyone involved in this tour. He was due to commentate, something he really excelled at. The recently retired Mike Dunn was invited to the event as a commentator, and he acquitted himself with brio.

Being both a player and a coach, his analysis of the shots and his insights into the tactical aspects of the game were extremely informative and never boring.

All the scores and matches details can be found on snooker.org

THE LAST 16 Every match in the round brought its own little story … all of them illustrating how much it matters to those players and how competitive they remain.

In the opening match, Ken Doherty needed all seven frames to prevail against his fellow Irishman, Rodney Goggins. Rodney was making his debut at The Crucible. The standard of the tactical play was excellent in this match. It was a bit “old school”, hardfought and totally enthralling.

Aaron Canavan, the 2018 Seniors World Champion, saw his defence ended last year by Leo Fernandez, the man he was drawn against in the last 16 round this year. He took 4

revenge by beating Leo this time. Leo led three times, and three times, Aaron came back at him, before taking the deciding frame. The match started in the afternoon, but finished late at night. They delayed the evening session by half an hour and needed an unscheduled second session, finishing at 1:20 am on the second day.

The first evening match saw Jimmy White beat Joe Johnson by 4-1 and it was a real statement of intentions by the defending champion. Joe had beaten Jimmy en route to the Seniors Masters title last year, and he took the first frame of the match, but after that Jimmy scored breaks of 90, 73, 41 and 71 to secure the win with a 92% pot success. After winning the title, Jimmy credited his new coach, Chris Cookson for boosting his confidence and his desire to practice as hard as ever.

Last year finalist, Darren Morgan, secured a 4-2 win over Patrick Wallace, scoring breaks of 73, 70 and 75 en route. Amazingly, the 70 break came in a frame he lost! Patrick managed to snatch that frame on the black after needing penalty points.

On the second day, the afternoon started with the match between Gary Filtness and Wayne Cooper who

replaced Tony Drago in the draw. Both were Crucible debutants and Wayne is from Sheffield. There were mistakes aplenty, both of them clearly nervous but giving it their all. It seemed that the match was going to a decider, with Wayne leading by 3-2 but Gary at the table with only four balls remaining and a clear opportunity… but incredibly Gary somehow managed to snooker himself on the brown, as the white stopped behind the blue of all places on the table. It proved fatal. Gary wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s an emotional character. This was too much for him. He finished the match in tears.

Next came Michael Judge versus Dennis Taylor; Michael prevailed easily.

In the evening, Stephen Hendry faced Nigel Bond. Those two have history at The Crucible: they had met four times at the Theatre of Dreams during the 90s in four consecutive years: 1993 (QF), 1994 (QF), 1995 (SF) and 1996 (Final). Stephen Hendry had prevailed each time, and he prevailed again this time. Nigel had the better start though: he led 2-0. But then, something clicked for Stephen, who had struggled since his return to action on the Seniors tour.

Suddenly the old mannerisms were

IN THE OPENING MATCH, KEN DOHERTY NEEDED ALL SEVEN FRAMES TO PREVAIL AGAINST HIS FELLOW IRISHMAN, RODNEY GOGGINS. RODNEY WAS MAKING HIS DEBUT AT THE CRUCIBLE. THE STANDARD OF THE TACTICAL PLAY WAS EXCELLENT IN THIS MATCH. IT WAS A BIT “OLD SCHOOL”, HARD-FOUGHT AND TOTALLY ENTHRALLING.

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back, he played faster, the balls went in. It went 2-1. Nigel did get the another frame before Stephen won three on the trot to win.

The last match of the round saw Peter Lines, the inaugural WSS World Champion (2017) beat Tony Knowles by 4-0. It only took him over two hours.

THE QUARTER-FINALS The quarter-finals saw the four top seeds emerge the winners of relatively easy matches. Stephen Hendry showed that the good form he showed the day before was no flash in the pan. He lost the first frame – from 60-0 ahead – but after that scored breaks 75, 81 and 53 to claim four consecutive frames.

He finished the match with a near 95% pot success rate. He was quite pleased with his form and relished the prospect to possibly play Jimmy White in the next round. “There was some good stuff in there. I’m lacking match composure, but I’ve been working on some good stuff and my long game was great today. I am happy to still be in” he said to Rob Walker and added: “Magnificent. It would be amazing to play Jimmy out here again”.

It was a similar scenario for Jimmy, who also lost the first frame to Peter Lines, but won the next four with three breaks over 50. Interviewed by Rob Walker he declared: “When I got in the balls I felt really good. I’m getting more confidence in my cue action and I’m going for my shots. I’m back attacking.” He was thrilled and excited to play Stephen Hendry in the semifinals “I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to it. I understand three million people will be watching on primetime in China tomorrow, but I love all that.” The scene was set.

Practice partners Ken Doherty and Michael Judge were the other two winners.

THE SEMI-FINALS It’s fair to say that, even if it was only best of 7, the Hendry v White semifinal captured the fans imagination.

This is the Crucible, and just the one table. Jimmy White is a professional since 1980, that’s 40 years in the business. He’s still attacking the balls, he still loves the game, he’s still hugely popular. Stephen Hendry turned pro in 1985, and retired in 2012. He holds the record of the most World titles at the Crucible. He has seven, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Steve Davis have six.

This is stuff of legend. They first met at The Crucible in 1988 in the last 16: a (still only) 25 years old Jimmy beat a 19 years old Stephen by 13-12. They then

“I PLAYED REALLY WELL. IT’S GREAT TO SEE STEPHEN PRACTISING AND PLAYING WELL AGAIN; HE WILL BE A BIG PART OF THE SENIORS IN THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX YEARS. HE’LL BE BACK FOR REVENGE, NO DOUBT.” Jimmy White following his victory over Stephen Hendry.

met in the final four times, in 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Stephen won each time.

In 1995, they met in the semi-finals and Stephen won again. Their last Crucible meeting, (before this year semi-final) went back to 1998: on that occasion, Jimmy beat Stephen by 10-4 in the first round.

Last Saturday, Jimmy White managed to beat his nemesis on the one table setup at the Crucible for the first time. He only had to wait 30 years for it. He won by 4-2, and compiled a magnificent 130 break – the highest of the tournament – in the process.

Stephen Hendry went for a maximum break attempt in the second frame.

He broke down on 64 but still won the frame. After the match, Jimmy was very gracious. He always is, in victory as well as in defeat.

He said: “I played really well. It’s great to see Stephen practising and playing well again; he will be a big part of the seniors in the next five or six years. He’ll be back for revenge, no doubt.” Bring it on!

The other semi-final was always going to be a bit “in the shadow” after that piece of history. Ken played well and largely dominated it. He was excited to play Jimmy in the final later on the day: “I’m just so excited to be in the final; Jimmy is a hero of mine, he’s a great mate of mine, it will be a pleasure and an honour to play him in the final of a world seniors here at the Crucible. It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s a dream come true.”.

THE SEMI-FINALS After the heights of beating Stephen Hendry earlier in the day, I feared that Jimmy might suffer a bit of a hangover in the evening. When Ken lead 4-0 at the mid session interval it seemed that my fears were vindicated. But the MSI completely changed the course of the match. Ken started to miss a few, Jimmy grew in confidence and got better. He won the match by 5-4.

This is what they had to say after the match: Ken Doherty was very gracious despite the bitter defeat : “It completely changed after the interval. I missed a good few chances and Jimmy started to comeback, he played really well. It’s a bit heartbreaking because it would have been nice to get my hands on the trophy but that’s snooker – it can be a great sport; it can be very cruel at times.”Jimmy White said: “Once I got that frame [fifth] I settled a bit. I didn’t really get going but towards the end I felt really good because I’m playing well in practice so I know that my form’s there. Luckily enough for me Ken missed a couple of balls which would have wrapped the match up. It’s a fantastic win; I’m a bit gutted for Ken because I’ve been here miles in front and got beat. This is a great win for me being 4-0 down.”

So, in one single day...

Jimmy White managed to beat his

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arch-rival Stephen Hendry for the first time on the one table setup AND to defend his World Seniors Snooker Champion title at the Crucible AND to beat the “Crucible Curse”.

Take a bow Jimmy White!

AS A CONCLUSION First of all a big big shout to Jason, his team, the referees, the players, the commentators and everyone involved behind the scene and the cameras.

Thank you guys!

Securing the right for professional players aged over 40, and ranked below 64, to play on the Seniors Tour is an excellent development and not just for the reasons given by Jason in the

above-mentioned interview. Over the previous years, players like Peter Lines, Igor Figueiredo and Ken Doherty have missed events they had qualified for, or as defending champions, because they had managed to get back on the main tour. They were “punished” for doing well.

Having the BBC on board was massive. The coverage was excellent in general and Rob Walker, on site, did a fantastic job. He was everywhere: on the floor as an MC introducing the players before the matches, in the commentary box as they happened, and running post-match interviews when they concluded … all of it with infectious enthusiasm. One low point – and it’s really low – was that the “red

button” coverage was “cut” during the Final just as the deciding frame was about to start. It wasn’t even because they were contracted to show some other live sport, it was to show highlights of a past women golf event.

Regarding coverage, it was a bit disappointing – in my opinion – that the Matchroom.live coverage wasn’t free. I understand that running such platform comes at a cost and this wasn’t a Matchroom event, but, come on! Barry Hearn is involved in this snooker tour and it can do with all the promotion it can get, plus, the game has the ambition to be global. So, why not make a gesture for the fans outside UK and China?

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THE 2020 SNOOKER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - A REVIEW >> BY MONIQUE LIMBOS - RETIRED MATHEMATICIAN WHO LOVES SNOOKER AND PHOTOGRAPHY <<

W

e had a fantastic World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in the first half of August. Despite the circumstances, or maybe because of them, it was probably the most enjoyable tournament of the 2019/20 season.

That, after so many uncertainties, the biggest snooker event of the season was well and truly on, felt like a miracle, a miracle that was only made possible by determination, hard work and more hard work by the governing bodies.

Thank you WST and WPBSA. In this review, I will not be looking at every match, trying to analyse them. Instead, I will try to revisit the main highlights, surprises, shocks and quotes that kept us fans talking as the championship unfolded.

BEFORE IT STARTED After learning that about 300 persons would be allowed in the venue, Anthony Hamilton withdrew from the tournament, citing concerns over his health and safety. Anthony is 49 and asthmatic. He had been shielding during the lockdown. The Crucible theatre is a very intimate place. The ventilation, especially in hot weather, is mainly provided via the air conditioning system. Because fans would not be tested, and would be allowed to remove their masks once seated, Anthony’s decision was, in my opinion, perfectly understandable.

The risks were real. Yet, his decision triggered a very unsympathetic reaction from both Barry Hearn and the defending champion Judd Trump.

They suggested that if Anthony had no intention to play at the venue, he shouldn’t have entered the qualifiers and “rob” another player of the possibility to earn more money. David Hendon (journalist, Eurosport pundit and commentator) and Hector Nunns (sports journalist) were both present in the “bubble” since the qualifiers, and both, writing on social media, insisted that they had spoken to Anthony right after he had qualified. They confirmed that he had every intention to play at the venue and was looking forward to it. At 49, he knew that this might well be his last time the Crucible. He wasn’t aware that fans would be allowed in the venue untested when they spoke to him. The fact that, after just one 10

day, the UK government deemed the risks to be too high so that the event had to be played behind closed door for another two weeks, only vindicated Anthony’s decision. Anthony deserved an apology, he didn’t get any.

The matches results, with all the scores and details can be found on snooker.org and on cuetracker.

THE LAST 32 No one knew exactly what to expect from the seeds at the start of the tournament. The coronavirus crisis certainly disrupted most players preparation in one way or another. The qualifiers all had at least two recent competitive matches under their belt. Therefore a few “shocks” were to be expected. Of the fifteen matches played in this round, ten were won by the seeded player and five by the qualifier. The successful qualifiers were: Martin Gould, Noppon Saengkham, Jamie Clarke, Anthony McGill and Kurt Maflin.

Jamie Clarke, who was ranked 90th before the World Championship began, had, so far, only won six matches in ranking events (not counting the Shoot-out) during his two years as a professional. He beat Mark Allen by 10-8. Mark Allen made five centuries in that match - 136, 105, 122, 104, 105 – but struggled during

the second session. Those who have followed Jamie since his debuts as an amateur know how good he can be, but this is still a surprise. Mark Allen doesn’t have a good record at the Crucible and, this season, he reached the semi-finals stage in no less that seven occasions, but progressed to the final just once. Maybe there is a clue there? Maybe “endurance” is an issue?

Maybe working on his fitness would help? It’s a shame really because Mark is wonderful to watch when on form.

Noppon Saengkham beat Shaun Murphy by 10-4. Noppon is a very solid player, he can beat anyone on his day. He’s also a very humble person and a proud Thai. His reaction to this win was this: “The is the biggest win of my life, it is my dream,” and “I thought about the people in Thailand watching me, I hope they are happy and proud of me. I would like to play Mark Selby next, I will try my best.” The scoreline is brutal, but then Shaun wasn’t probably 100% himself, having lost his close friend and former Manager, Brandon Parker, very recently, but he refused to use this as an excuse: “I came here wanting to honour Brandon’s memory as well as I could,” he said in his postmatch, adding “You dream of winning the title and dedicating it to him. But I would never dishonour him by saying that has caused me a problem. This is just a snooker tournament. I tried my

“THE IS THE BIGGEST WIN OF MY LIFE, IT IS MY DREAM,” AND “I THOUGHT ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THAILAND WATCHING ME, I HOPE THEY ARE HAPPY AND PROUD OF ME. I WOULD LIKE TO PLAY MARK SELBY NEXT, I WILL TRY MY BEST.”

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Noppon Saengkham following his win over Shaun Murphy.

absolute best, and I lost.”

Martin Gould played very well to beat Stephen Maguire … by 10-3. We all know that Martin can be a very heavy scorer when on form, and he had four centuries and five other breaks over 50 in this match... but, 103? Against the man who won the 2020 Tour Championship in July? There is no explanation to it other than Martin being a bit of a bogey opponent for Stephen who has never beaten him in a ranking event in six attempts. More interesting than the one-sided match was this interview by Eurosport where Martin opens up about his struggles with depression.

Anthony McGill had gone missing for a while, but he was back with a bang.

He beat Jack Lisowski in a deciding frame, and went on to reach the semifinals. The key shot was a “do or die” final blue, you can watch it here. He didn’t get ahead of himself after the match simply saying: “I took about five steps back a couple of years ago, my standard was really poor, I’m getting a little bit better now, it takes time.

Wins like tonight give me a big boost because I know I can come through a tight match if it happens again. It’s good for the belief.”

Kurt Maflin is a bit of an enigma.

Now you see him … now you don’t.

When you see him he’s a devastating potter. He was in plain sight this year at the Crucible, scoring a break over 50 in all but the last frames he won in beating David Gilbert by 10-8. Four of those breaks were centuries and there was a 97 as well. Speaking after this match Kurt reflected that becoming a bit more of an “all-round” player had been key to his victory. He also praised the Norwegian fans for their support on social media.

The remaining ten matches were won by the seeded player and, in most cases, it was a rather routine win. There were three noticeable exceptions.

Many fans and experts were wondering about Ronnie’s frame of mind ahead of the tournament. After what happened in recent years, and last year in particular, some expected an early exit. Ahead of the tournament, Ronnie, speaking to Eurosport and the press had explained how the lockdown had helped him to refocus. He came to his opening match, clean-shaved, well-groomed and totally up for it. He won his match by 10-1. In many ways Thepchaiya Un-nooh was the ideal opponent for him, despite being the highest-ranked qualifier in the draw.

Ronnie likes him and both play a very open game.

Judd Trump had won six ranking events during the season but hadn’t shown much form neither in the 64 men Championship League nor in the

“I TOOK ABOUT FIVE STEPS BACK A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, MY STANDARD WAS REALLY POOR, I’M GETTING A LITTLE BIT BETTER NOW, IT TAKES TIME. WINS LIKE TONIGHT GIVE ME A BIG BOOST BECAUSE I KNOW I CAN COME THROUGH A TIGHT MATCH IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. IT’S GOOD FOR THE BELIEF.” Anthony McGill after his victory obver Jack Lisowski.

Tour Championship, played shortly before the World Championship.

Therefore I was a bit surprised that so many experts were fancying his chances to “break” the Crucible curse by defending his title. Some, like Desmond Kane (Eurosport) went fully “lyrical” about it. I’m not sure this helped Judd at all. There is more than enough pressure on the defending champion at the Crucible as it is, especially when it’s a first-time champion, no need to add some more. Judd beat Tom Ford by 10-8, but it was plain for all to see that he was far from his best.

Ding Junhui was hard pushed by Mark King. Their match went to a decider. It was a real clash of styles: Ding had eight breaks over 50 in the match, including three centuries, Mark only scored two breaks over 50, one century, but still won nine frames!

THE LAST 16 The last 16 round produced two main stories.

Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Ding Junhui by 13-10, equalling Stephen Hendry’s record of 19 Crucible quarter-finals. It was an important victory for Ronnie, as Ding had beaten him at the Crucible in the quarter-finals in 2017, and also in their last meeting at the 2019 UK Championship. The “story” came with the post-match interview by the BBC. Asked about his and Mark Williams’ longevity at the top of the sport Ronnie said “People like me, John Higgins and Mark Williams, if you look at the younger players coming through, they are not that good really. Most of them would do well as half-decent amateurs, not even amateurs. They are so bad. A lot of them you see now, you look at them

and think, ‘I would have to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50’. That is why we are still hovering around, because of how poor it is down that end .” That didn’t go down well with the younger players and it’s probably not helpful either. However, as so often the case with Ronnie, beyond the “insult” there is truth. Name a player under 25, from outside China, who do you see as a potential future World Champion?

There isn’t one. They can pot good balls and many of them can beat a top player on their day, but none of them seem to be able to sustain the required level consistently. Multiple factors contributed to create that situation: a shrinking amateurs scene, many clubs closing, societal changes … to name only a few. Quite simply, when they turn pro nowadays the young players aren’t quite ready. The gap between amateurs and pros has widened.

WPBSA and WSF are trying their best to promote snooker with young persons, but it’s not easy and it’s a long term process. Also the brutal flat draw/ best of 7 system, isn’t helping. More often than not, in tournaments, those young professionals face a top player in the first round, get beat and are out after just one short match, left to worry about how they can make ends meet financially. It’s soul destroying.

The tiered system had its flaws, but it offered a progressive development path with more winnable matches in the early rounds. This is why I welcome the new Championship League Snooker this season. Every player involved will at least be guaranteed to play several matches.

John Higgins made his 10th professional 147 in the 12th frame of his last 16 match. This was the first maximum break made at the Crucible

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Theatre since Stephen Hendry’s in 2012. You can watch it here. John though went on to lose that match as Kurt Maflin prevailed by 13-11, and the maximum break was no consolation to him. This is what he had to say after the match:“ Kurt played amazing, to finish it the way he did. He bulldozed his way over the line. I’m disappointed because I had a chance at 11-10. When I come away from the tournament I will reflect on the 147, but at the moment I’d swap that for a place in the quarterfinals .” Kurt’s win over John Higgins is definite proof that there is more to his game nowadays than just deadly potting.

The other qualifiers showed their quality again in this round. Anthony McGill and Jamie Clarke played each other and the match went the distance. Noppon Saengkham pushed Mark Selby very hard, their match too went to a deciding frame.

Judd Trump had to battle hard to overcome Yan Bingtao. Yan is only just 20 years old, already a top 16 player and by far the best (really) young prospect in the sport. He should be praised but instead regularly seems to get stick from the commentators. One of their issues seems to be that they can’t put him in a ‘box”. In the words of Stephen Hendry they “don’t know what he is”. So what?

THE QUARTER-FINALS Of course the main “story” of the quarter-finals round was the exit of the defending champion. After beating Yan in the previous round, Judd insisted that he felt confident.

These are short excerpts of his postmatch interview: “No one plays well for the whole 17 days in this event. You are bound to have tough points, and it’s all about how you deal with them” and “I feel I can step my game up if I need to. I am confident that I have put the work in to prepare for this event and I am thinking positively.” But Kyren Wilson proved too strong for him. I find it a bit disappointing that Judd felt the need to mention “bad luck” in his post-match interview: “Even in the last frame, the bits of luck you need to win the tournament just weren’t going my way.” and “Even in the last frame, the bits of luck you need to win the tournament just weren’t going my way .” There was no need for that. Over such a long match players are bound to have some good and bad luck.

Judd fought hard, he gave it his all but he was beaten by the better player over the course of the match. It’s that simple really.

Mark Selby beat Neil Robertson by 13-7 and that scoreline certainly wasn’t

“EVEN IN THE LAST FRAME, THE BITS OF LUCK YOU NEED TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT JUST WEREN’T GOING MY WAY.”

Judd Trump after his defeat to Kyren Wilson.

expected by many. The title of WST report on the last session is telling: “Selby grinds Robertson down”. Neil had an AST of 30.5 seconds in that match and managed just one break over 50 in the last two sessions. After the match Neil said this: “Mark’s defensive safety was absolutely unbelievable.

He didn’t let up and didn’t open up any of the frames. He got his gameplan absolutely spot on and kept it super tight. I just couldn’t get any free flowing scoring going at all. The balls were very scrappy. That was one of the best safety performances I’ve ever put in, but playing Mark I probably should have spotted the danger signs a little bit earlier and maybe opened things up more. You have to try and work out how not to be broken down.” Those

comments summarise perfectly why Mark Selby is so hard to beat and it’s important to keep them in mind when forming an opinion on what happened in Mark’s semi-final versus Ronnie.

Ronnie beat Mark Williams by 13-10, having trailed by 6-2 and 8-3. Mark has never beaten Ronnie at the Crucible.

They have met five times. Anthony McGill beat Kurt Maflin by 13-10. Kurt lost the match in the first session: he trailed by 7-1.

THE SEMI-FINALS For the first time since the World Championship is played at the Crucible, both semi-finals went to a deciding frame.

“MARK’S DEFENSIVE SAFETY WAS ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE. HE DIDN’T LET UP AND DIDN’T OPEN UP ANY OF THE FRAMES. HE GOT HIS GAME-PLAN ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON AND KEPT IT SUPER TIGHT.” Neil Robertson following his defeat to Mark Selby

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The first semi-final was contested between Anthony McGill, a qualifier, and Kyren Wilson, both born in 1991, both trying to reach their first World Championship final. The deciding frame of their high quality match produced incredible drama. It lasted just over an hour and finished on a 103-83 score, a new record for the most combined points in a single frame at the Crucible. Towards the end both players were making all sorts of mistakes. Kyren lead by 55-52 with just one red on the table. He put Anthony in a though snooker. Anthony missed that red eight consecutive times, and found himself needing a snooker. Anthony got the snooker he needed and managed to pot the last red, with a black. The table, and the match were at his mercy ... until he snookered himself on the last green.

The frame lived for nearly twenty more minutes until, eventually, Kyren fluked the match ball green. Stephen Hendry in commentary couldn’t believe what he was witnessing saying that this was right up there with the 1985 Final finish in terms of drama. “I didn’t want it to end that way.” said Kyren after the match... but he was in the Final all the same.

The second semi-final was played between Ronnie O’Sullivan, 44 years old, five times a World Champion and Mark Selby, 37 years old, three times a World Champion. They had met twice before at the Crucible and Mark had won both times. It was a hard fought affair. Mark led by 13-9 and 16-14, only for Ronnie to produce a salvo of three brilliant frames to prevail 17-16. During that match, Ronnie often opted for hitand-hope shots when finding himself snookered. Some fans suggested that he was losing the plot. I wasn’t one of them as this was exactly what I expected. Ahead of the tournament,

Ronnie had been interviewed by Eurosport and asked which match he would like to play again if he had the opportunity. His answer was: “the 2014 Final”. On that occasion he had lead 8-3 and 10-5 but ended up losing by 18-14. On the second day in particular, he had allowed Mark to dictate the pace and the style of the match. This time he was determined not to let this happen again. He wasn’t going to get caught in lengthy safety exchanges, nor was he going to chase balls parked on cushions frame after frame.

Mark Selby, in his post-match interview declared: “I just think it is disrespectful to the game and disrespectful to me in that particular match.” This wasn’t the opinion of experts like David Hendon, Neal Foulds and Michael McMullan doing their post-championship analysis in their Eurosport and Snooker Scene podcasts. Simply, contrary to Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, Ronnie refused to get sucked in Mark’s game. Instead, he found a way to take him out of his comfort zone, and beat him, something Mark himself had done so many times to his opponents over the years.

THE FINAL The Final was refereed by Marcel Eckardt, at 30, the youngest ever person to referee a Crucible final and the first from Germany.

As often at the Crucible, the final was a bit disappointing. On the first day of the match, both players were visibly mentally exhausted. The standard was vey poor as both struggled. How Ronnie managed to finish the day 10-7 ahead is still a mystery to me. It was probably sheer will to win, supported by experience that helped him. For Kyren, of course, it was a first World Final and

that can be quite intimidating. Also, the conditions were clearly different from what they had been in previous rounds, probably because the return of an audience. To be honest, the table played terrible.

On the second day, Ronnie showed up at the Crucible at 9 am for a good long practice session. He had struggled with his technique for most of the tournament, even joking about “buying a cue action”. He must have found something because, after losing the first frame of the afternoon session, Ronnie just won the next eight to secure a sixth World Title at the Crucible – equalling Steve Davis – and a record breaking 37th ranking title, superseding Stephen Hendry.

After the match, Ronnie spoke very highly of Kyren, and rightly so. Kyren’s dedication, work ethic and battling qualities are of the highest standard.

His day will come.

AS A CONCLUSION It was a great championship played under unusual and very difficult circumstances. A big well done and thank you again to all who made it possible: WST, WPBSA, the fitters, the broadcasters and their team, the referees and of course, the players.

It attracted record viewing figures on the BBC. It also revived the debate as to whether Ronnie could possibly win a 7th, or even a 8th World title. Ray Reardon believes he can. Before this championship, I would have said “No way!”. But the win over Mark Selby in the semi-finals, and the manner of it, have changed my opinion. Now, the scars from the 2014 Final may finally heal and … maybe? Yes, maybe. >> Written by Monique LImbos.

MARK SELBY, IN HIS POST-MATCH INTERVIEW DECLARED: “I JUST THINK IT IS DISRESPECTFUL TO THE GAME AND DISRESPECTFUL TO ME IN THAT PARTICULAR MATCH.” THIS WASN’T THE OPINION OF EXPERTS LIKE DAVID HENDON, NEAL FOULDS AND MICHAEL MCMULLAN DOING THEIR POST-CHAMPIONSHIP ANALYSIS IN THEIR EUROSPORT AND SNOOKER SCENE PODCASTS. 14

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COACH BARRY STARK >> www.patreon.com/barrystarksnookercoach <<

RESIDENT COACH BARRY STARK GIVES HIS MONTHLY ADVICE TO THE CHALK READERS Here at The Chalk we are delighted to have Barry Stark as our resident coach. Every month we will feature two videos from Barryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s YouTube page to help you improve your snooker game. To watch the videos just click the images below.

In this video Barry talks about the grip which will help you to cue in a straight line.

He also teaches you how to hold the cue. This will help you strike the cue ball correctly.

After considering your stance, how and where you should hold the cue, the next thing to consider is your aim. This short tutorial talks about where you should look when you strike the cue ball, and asks should you be looking at the cue ball or object ball?

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RODNEY REMEMBERS >> www.thechalk.co.uk <<

RODNEY GOGGINS LOOKS BACK AT A MATCH THAT PULLED HIM INTO SNOOKER

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ou would think that individual professional sports don’t lend themselves well to team competitions, with the majority of their competitions being singles event format. But when you think back on great sporting events live on television during the years, i.e. the Ryder Cup in golf, Davis Cup in tennis, and then of course the Olympics on the track, doing it for your country is high on sport stars’ agendas.

With snooker, in your local club, you would play for your club in a league or area championship, and that would get you off started with other players.

As anyone will tell you, playing team snooker is pressure, letting people down with losses is terrible, whereas when you win, there is no greater buzz you can share with your teammates and friends.

There has been many great teams in professional snooker since the introduction of a World Team Cup back in 1979. There was the great Welsh Team, from the early days of Reardon, Griffiths, and Mountjoy, the mighty English Team of the late 80’s Davis, White and Foulds, and the Scottish Team, of Hendry, Higgins and McManus in 1996 and early 2000’s that played the World Cup in Thailand and Nations Cups respectively.

Of all these teams there has only being one team that won three straight World Cups (or any pro team tournament) in a row, the Irish team of 1985, 1986, 1987. When you look at it, the team that consisted of Dennis Taylor, Alex Higgins and Eugene Hughes were a little bit like chalk and cheese. But as they say, opposites attract, and these these 3 had a strong team spirit. Don’t forget Dennis Taylor, the man from Coalisland, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland was playing his best snooker in these years, as his Rothmans Grand Prix In 1984, Embassy World Championships in 1985, and Benson and Hedges Masters in 1987, and a couple of invitation titles in Canada and Irish Professional Championships would prove.

Alex Higgins ranked slightly lower than Taylor at this stage, and maybe just gone beyond his peak, but still in the top 10 and always competitive.

He had just won the 1984 Hoffmeister World Doubles Championship with his partner Jimmy White earlier that season, and a singles event, the 1983 Coral UK Championships. The Belfast 16

man was dangerous and up for the Doug Mountjoy 2-0 to give the Irish Cliff and Alex Higgins feature on Rodney’s videos. victory. fight, you would have him onThorburn any team They faced a much fancied English when he was on form.

Then there was Eugene Hughes, team in the final that consisted of originally from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Steve Davis, Tony Knowles and Tony resident pro in the famous Kings Cross Meo. In the best of 17 frames final, Club in London, and in later years, the England went 4-1 and 5-3 up at the end famous Ilford Snooker Club in Essex of the afternoon session. they shared who was playing steady snooker. His the opening four frames at night, with ranking would show him being in the Taylor levelling 1 all with Davis, and World’s top 20 during these three Hughes 1 all with Knowles, 7-5 down. years, with the Dubliner making two Higgins who was on fire all week in the World ranking tournament semi-finals short frame format, played and beat - the 1984 Jameson International and Tony Meo 2 nil. 7 frames apiece. The Irish the 1985 Goya Matchroom Trophy. captain, gave the shortest two second These three players playing together speech with a nod to his fellow team had good chemistry, were successful mates. He stayed in the arena, with the nod of approval from them. who and remain unbeaten throughout.

Over the years, I have asked Eugene, came out to the table to face him? the about this team tournament a number English captain. Steve Davis, the man of times. When I was lucky enough to be he desperately wanted and buoyed by in company and even more so to play the fact that he beat two months earlier with him on amateur teams, he said in the Benson and Hedges Masters in

Jimmy White featured for the English team.

the three of them were deadly serious about the tournament, preparing and talking about the World Team Cup while at the previous tournament on the snooker calender, the Dulux British Open at the Assembly Rooms in Derby.

The first of the three wins starts in 1985, at the International Centre, Bournemouth when an unfancied all Ireland team, started their campaign with a 5-2 win over Canada in the first round. They then beating Wales 5-3 with a great win from 3-1 down with Alex Higgins, putting in a stellar performances when he defeated Ray Reardon 2-0 and stayed out on the table in the fourth match, defeating

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a famous first round win. Eugene later mentioned to me that Higgins wanted Davis all day and all night long “I want Davis, I know how to beat him”. In the match itself, the Belfast man won 2 nil with breaks of 92 (the first potted red of that 92 is a brilliant shot, with screw and side, with a touch of safety in mind, very remiscent of the blue in the famous 69 break in 1982, please see YouTube). In the second, Higgins made 29 before Davis responded with 30.

A safety battle ensured, with Higgins trapping Davis, with Davis having to go for an uncomfortable red. It left a half chance for the Hurricane, but he potted a brilliant but dangerous side

cushion pot to get in. He could have given Davis an easy starter had he missed but Higgins made 33 which inched Ireland towards the winning line. Then when Davis missed an easy pink in the middle, Higgins potted the last few balls to give them a 9-7 victory and their first World Team Cup win and a £40,000 cheque.

Taylor and Hughes would go out to the arena and meet Higgins with beaming smiles from ear to ear with genuine hugs all round. At the presentation, with the trophy in shape of the Guinness symbol, the two boys would leave Alex centre stage to lap up the applause, while they were content to sit down. You could almost hear them almost saying this was his moment, but Alex beckoned them over to join him and lift the trophy and accept the crowd’s adulation. In a jovial interview afterwards with BBC presenter, David Icke, the team would sit, Dennis Taylor would make reference to Alex Higgins, as some man to play under pressure and “what can you say about this little fellow? He’s absolutely magic”. Higgins was undoubtley the man of the match winning five of his six frames in the final and eleven frames of his thirteen played in the event. In singles events, the man might have under achieved but as a team player, if the head was on, boy did he try, a great player in regards of team and doubles events, I always thought with him being a great money player, he could handle the uneven pattern of fragmentary frames, that can easily upset a player’s rhythm and the hustle and bustle of the matches better than most professionals, hence his great record in team and doubles events.

It was the same result in 1986, but a different skipper this time. Dennis Taylor, now reigning World Champion, captained the Hurricane and Eugene.

They started off with wins over Ireland B 5-0 and Wales 5-2. Again they were expected to play England in the final, as the English (who were joint favourites for the week with the Irish) had a dream team of Steve Davis, Jimmy White and Tony Knowles.

However, they were surprisingly beaten

by Canada in the semi-finals 5-3. The Canadian team hadn’t changed since the introduction of the event since 1979. They went the whole way by winning the event in 1982. The team that consisted of Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werberniuk. There was great camaraderie between them, and more importantly they were well used to playing with each other.

In the final, the Canadians took a 3-1 lead, with Taylor and Thorburn drawing 1-1, and Stevens beating Hughes 2 nil. Higgins played four frames in the afternoon, beating Werberniuk 2 nil

and winning a vital first first frame on the black against Stevens after been 48 down with three reds remaining.

Stevens hit back in the eighth frame, to leave the afternoon session tied at 4-4.

A big match opened the evening session, when Thorburn, met Higgins.

The Grinder, along with Davis, was player of the season so far, by winning the Goya Matchroom Trophy and the Benson Hedges Masters. He also narrowly lost out on the black ball in the deciding frame against Jimmy White in the Mercantile final. He led the match against Higgins 1-0 but the Canadian

Cliff Thorburn opened the evening session.

made a very conservative shot choice when he just potted a brown on its spot but played no position for the blue, leaving the Irishman needing a snooker in the second frame of their match. This would later haunt Thorburn, as Higgins got the snooker on the blue behind the black, followed by pots on the blue and pink. This was followed by a safety battle on the very last black. Thorburn went in off the last black, when playing a top spin shot on a frozen black on the cushion, the cue ball swerved into the yellow pocket.

That was a massive frame. 5 frames apiece.

Hughes went 1-0 down versus Stevens, when the ice cream kid nicked a close frame, but the Dubliner showed great resilience to win the next to make it 6-6. Dennis Taylor, played like the World Champion he was, stayed on the table for the next two matches. First of all he whitewashed Bill Werberniuk 81-0, 93-0 in his two frames. Then he levelled his match against Thorburn after losing a 15th frame that took 62 minutes. But he showed great steel to come through in the 16th frame by making a 47 break to give the Irishmen victory once again by the same score line as the previous year’s final, 9-7, to win the Car Care Plan World Team Cup

and £33,000 first prize.

This time an emotional Higgins and a relieved Hughes came out in the arena, with the Hurricane planting a kiss on Taylor’s cheek and then on Hughes’s.

In the interview afterwards you could see the team’s spirit on display, when David Icke threw questions at them with a bottle of champagne being shared out. Alex commented that John Pulman nicknamed Eugene, Eugenius.

Eugene was asked how would he feel if it was him who had to play the seventeenth frame if it went 8 all? “I felt perfectly calm” with a tongue in cheek said the Dun Laoghaire man, whilst howling in laughter. A great camaderie between the three of them, when you think there had been fierce rivalry between Taylor and Higgins, especially for the Irish Professional Championships. This fact was proved a couple of weeks before the 1987 World team event, when they fought it out a late night classic in the final of the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley, with Taylor recovering from 8-5 down and winning 9-8 against his fellow Ulsterman.

The event went much the same way in 1987, with the Irish even more dominant. They defeated Ireland B 5-1, Wales 5-2, and thrashed the same Canadian team from the previous year but with way more to spare, 9-2, to clinch the title and a cheque of £32,000 first prize. This time Alex Higgins did not lose a frame in the whole of the event, playing seven frames and Eugene Hughes remaining unbeaten in the event, winning six frames out of eight. That was the third title in a row, with the event now called the Tuborg World Team Cup (new sponsor’s once again).

It was an amazing achievement, expecially in a team event. The stats with the team over the three years, are amazing, Dennis Taylor played 16 matches, won 20 frames, lost 9 frames, but only was beaten in one match. Alex Higgins played 16 matches and lost none, won 26 frames, and only losing 4 along the way, Eugene Hughes played a total of 12 matches, only getting beat four times , winning 11 frames, lost 13.

In 1988 the WPBSA, snooker’s world governing body, made the controversial decision to break the team up, reverting back as they did in the 1983 World Team Cup. They announced a Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland teams would be included in the 8 team event. The three men on the All-Ireland team never got a chance for four in a row.

Nevertheless, they always have the satisfaction of saying they played together three times, and were never beaten in nine matches and won three World Cups.

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SNOOKER BACKER >> www.twitter.com/snookerbacker <<

POPULAR SNOOKER BLOGGER @SNOOKERBACKER PENS HIS REGULAR COLUMN

S

o we got there in the end. A World Championship played in the strangest of circumstances was won by the strangest player of them all who, though adored by the vast majority of the watching public, turned out to quite like playing in an empty arena.

It was memorable in more ways than just being mostly crowdless. It opened up in pretty poor taste, with Anthony Hamilton’s perfectly rational reasons for not wanting to exacerbate his underlying health condition by playing in front of a load of coughing anoraks being lambasted by Barry Hearn, who showed his trademark lack of empathy with anyone more concerned with their health than their bank balance, going unchallenged on the BBC by some bloke off Blue Peter as to why he was right and Hamilton was wrong.

On the table however there were some really memorable matches, after the uneasy atmosphere of Day 1, the knowledgeable Crucible crowd were thrown out and we were left to get used to life without anyone looking on and I for one was pleasantly surprised at the result. Snooker definitely is one of the TV sports that can survive largely unscathed from the lack of a watching crowd, unlike football which is like watching paint dry at the moment.

Ronnie produced a dazzling firstround display against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and looking back set down a marker very early in the tournament that he was there to win it. His interviews after his matches were almost as entertaining as the matches themselves, from his comedic derision of anyone outside of ‘the top 50’ as being ‘useless’, saying he’d need to lose an arm and a leg to fall outside of this elite bracket to his elusive search for a cue action on Amazon, he really

was on superb form on and off the table.

Other highlights included the infamous clash, at one point backstage quite literally, between Anthony McGill and Jamie Clarke; the Snooker Gods doing what they do to stop Judd from breaking the unshakeable Curse of The Crucible and of course the marathon conclusions of both semi-finals on Friday; the first of which between Kyren and McGill saw the strangest frame of snooker ever seen to inch Wilson the win. Quite amazing JV. The lowlight was the final itself, we’d

SNOOKER DEFINITELY IS ONE OF THE TV SPORTS THAT CAN SURVIVE LARGELY UNSCATHED FROM THE LACK OF A WATCHING CROWD, UNLIKE FOOTBALL WHICH IS LIKE WATCHING PAINT DRY AT THE MOMENT. had such a ride on the Friday that I suppose it was inevitable that the climax would be well, an anti-climax and as a viewing spectacle it was just that.

But overall I thought on the table it was one of the more memorable World Championships of recent years, it’s funny but in a way without the distractions brought by the crowd it actually focused my mind more on why I feel like I do about the sport, it can generate its own tension and

doesn’t need the ooo’s and aaaahh’s, the ton-up banners, the claps when someone knocks an unmissable plant in to capture the viewer and reel them in.

That said, I do hope everything is back to normal in 8 months time so we can all meet up again at the home of snooker. It would be nice to keep the Friday start/Sunday finish too, breaking news but the Bank Holiday Monday is kind of a UK thing, aren’t we supposed to be global?

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NEWS FROM THE BAIZE >> www.thechalk.co.uk <<

ROKIT WORLD SENIORS QUALIFYING SCHOOL

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he ROKiT Phones World Seniors Snooker Tour has announced the launch of World Seniors Qualification School from which eight places at major Seniors tournaments in 2021 will be won.

To be held in Jersey from 2-8 November 2020, the event will be open to a maximum of 96 players, including both amateurs aged over 40 and for the first-time current World Snooker Tour professionals ranked 65-128 at the start of the 2020/2021 season.

Places in the following competitions will be contested over the course of the event: - 2021 UK Seniors Championship (4 places)

- 2021 World Seniors Championship – (2 places) - 2021 Masters – (1 Place in the 2021 Masters) - 2021 Super Seniors over 55s – (1 place in the 2021 Masters) Each of the eight qualifying players will be guaranteed to win a minimum of £1,000 at the final stages of the event.

All players will undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival (at no cost to them) and will be responsible for booking and paying for their own travel and accommodation.

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker said: “We are delighted to be able to launch our new World Seniors Qualification School which I am

sure will prove to be a fantastic week of snooker with big prizes on offer.

“Only this week we have seen the likes of Gary Filtness and Wayne Cooper overwhelmed by the chance to play at the iconic Crucible Theatre for the first time and through Qualification School even more opportunities will be created for players of all levels of experience to achieve their dreams.

“We also hope that by holding these qualification tournaments together, rather than over the course of several individual qualifying events, this will help to reduce travel and accommodation costs for our loyal players over the course of the season.”

ENTRY PACK

Dates - Monday 2nd to Sunday 8th November 2020. Play will begin Tuesday 3rd November. Players reception 7pm Monday 2nd November.

Venues - Jersey Mechanics Club, & First Tower Snooker Club, Jersey Competitions - 2021 Uk Seniors Qualification – 4 places available to qualify 2021 World Seniors Championship – 2 places available to qualify 2021 Masters Championship – 1 Place in the 2021 Masters – 1 place Format - All matches best of 5 to semi-finals, Final matches in each event best of 7.g All 8 winners will be guaranteed £1000, payable at the final stage event. Additional prize money may be added if third party sponsorship is secured.

Criteria - Event Open to any current amateur player over 40 on or before 2nd November 2020. Super Seniors Event open to any amateur player over 55 on or before 2nd November 2020.

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Dress Code - Full match attire, longsleeved shirt with a collar, waistcoat with bow tie, suit style trousers and shoes.

Entry Fee - £400, payable with £100 non-refundable deposit and £300 on or before 1st October 2020.

The event will initially be capped at 96 entries.

Entry Options - Entries open at 12 noon midday GMT on Tuesday 1st September. Via this link https://bit. ly/3jkwp1n Players are responsible for finding their own travel and accommodation, our recommended hotels is The Mayfair Hotel, St Hellier. Reservations: 01534 735511 Quote “Seniors Snooker” www.themayfairjersey.com.

Agreed Rates - £55 twin/double / £40 single, per room per night Events will be played across two venues, timings of matches can and may be altered at the tournament director’s discretion.

The Top 32 are seeded from the Official End of Season Ranking List for the Uk and World Seniors Qualifying Events only.

The Masters event, as non-ranking, will have a totally random draw made on Monday 2nd November at the Launch Event and players reception in Jersey.

The first 32 players over 55 years of age on or before 2nd Nov 2020 who enter will be placed automatically into the Super Seniors Event. The top 16 on the official Super Seniors Ranking List will be placed into a seeded position. The Promoter may increase this field at their discretion.

All players who enter will need to agree to the WPBSA code of conduct and terms and conditions of the event which will be available within the entry system. They will also need to understand our COVID procedures.

Logos - Players will be able to wear one logo of their choice, embargo on mobile phones, vitamins and cars.

All players will be given a covid test on arrival into Jersey at no cost to them. Should any player test positive they understand they will be removed from the event and placed into isolation.

All players understand that Jersey’s COVID Policy is constantly changing and citizens from certain countries may be refused entry should their territory be on the restricted list at their time of travel for the event. In that case entry fees would be refunded and players opponents would receive a bye.

The current list of countries whose citizens will be refused entry to Jersey can be found here under the Amber and Red Status but this is changing on a regular basis. https://www.gov.je/Health/Coronavirus/Travel/Pages/DeclaringTravelHistory.aspx All players will need to complete the Pre-departure registration and declaration This is an online registration form within 48 hours before departure, stating their personal details including but not limited to: contact information, type of transport, travel dates, address(es) they will be staying at throughout their stay in Jersey, details of travel within the 14 days before arrival in Jersey declaration of health including disclosure of symptoms, previous positive test results and close contact with known infected individuals. https://www.gov.je/Health/Coronavirus/Travel/Pages/CoronavirusTravelAdvice.aspx#anchor-3 Should more than 25% of the field be affected by the covid travel restrictions the promoter reserves the right to cancel and reschedule the event. A full refund would be given, all hotel and travel costs are booked at the players risk and WSS accepts no liability for any losses caused by cancellation of the event.

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RONNIE BREAKS ANOTHER WORLD RECORD >> BY TOM MOORCROFT <<

F

ollowing on from last month’s article on ‘Classic Crucible Moments’, I see myself wandering towards that same character.

The one who’s graced our TV screens and our snooker tables for the last 20-30 years, and has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Yes, Ronnie has broken another record.

Heavily regarded as the greatest natural talent in the snooker world, The Rocket has never shied away from putting on a show.

This was the case when on August 3rd Ronnie rocked up against Thepchaiya UnNooh, and managed to rack up a 10-1 win in no shorter than 108 minutes - an all time Crucible record.

It seems like we’ve been a bit lucky so far this year. John Higgins has just potted a 147 (the first Crucible maximum in 8 years), Neil Robertson won the award for dirtiest arrival, after spilling coffee all over himself before his match against Hawkins, and the competition is just starting to fire up. It may have changed a bit by the time this article goes to print, but as it stands it really is anyone’s game.

But anyways, let’s take a deeper look at the game which made snooker fans amazed, as Ronnie nabbed big breaks and tricky pots in rapid succession.

Throughout the game, Ronnie averaged a shot time of 14 seconds, racking up a total score of 989 and, as mentioned earlier, finished the game 10-1 in frames. Ronnie had only faced Un-Nooh one time prior in his career, losing 5-4 in the 2014 German Masters.

“I’M NOT REALLY BOTHERED BY RECORDS – I STOPPED BOTHERING ABOUT RECORDS WHEN I REACHED THEM AND THEY DIDN’T REALLY GIVE YOU THAT BUZZ FOR VERY LONG.” So, as if seeking vengeance for his defeat, Ronnie acted in rocket-like fashion, to turn over frame after frame.

The exact match time was 108 minutes, comfortably trumping the previous record of 149 minutes, made by Shaun Murphy at the same venue one year ago.

Speaking on his triumph, Ronnie had this to say…

“I’m not really bothered by records – I stopped bothering about records when I reached them and they didn’t really give you that buzz for very long. They’re nice when you’re chasing them but once you get them they’re overrated in many ways.

So I think you just take each game as it comes and it’s just nice to be out there playing some snooker”.

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Jimmy White MBE

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Picture by Andy Chubb

ROKIT WORLD SENIORS SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 WINNER

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