I’ll be one of the many writers and bloggers typing away the reviews of the past year in sport. At least, I should be doing more of it anyway.
2019 has been a phenomenal year for snooker. There were amazing successes from particular players. There are news that were announced recently of what’s to come. The BetVictor European Series and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters are the ones that spring to mind. Unfortunately, 2019 hasn’t trundled along without flaws. There are a number of things that the snooker people above could’ve handled better. No sport is perfect and if it is, I would not have much to write about.
I have chosen four pros and cons for this wonderful and sporadic year of 2019. Hopefully, we will all have amazing 2020 vision for next year. Yes, I am repeating the joke and it will not go away until I get a deserved laugh.
PROS
Judd Trump Winning the Triple Crown
A lot of people, myself included, were absolutely dying for Judd Trump to grab the sport by the neck and run with it. Everyone knew he has the talent but it’s to do it consistently. He was still winning multiple tournament in almost a yearly basis, but considering his pedigree, it’s nowhere near enough. In 2019, he became an absolute machine and you can argue that started when he won the 2018 Northern Ireland Open beforehand.
In 2019, he claimed five ranking titles, one non-ranking title and reached one other non-ranking final. It’s an incredible hoard. Among those trophies are now alongside his 2011 UK Championship crown though – the 2019 Masters and the 2019 World Championship.
It wasn’t just that he won those trophies, it was how he won them. He won the Masters via the hardest route possible, beating Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and demolishing Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4. Then in the World Championship, Judd Trump delivered a “controlled annihilation” of John Higgins as described by Steve Davis in one of the highest-quality finals every produced by the Crucible.
As a fan of his, I cannot wait to see what he and Jack Trump will produce next year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan Achieving 1000 Centuries
This feat is a testament to the kind of player Ronnie O’Sullivan is. O’Sullivan is a fantastic break-builder, amazing at pulling off the recovery shots when he needs to and turns the sport into an art form. If compiling 1000 centuries doesn’t show what a great player he is as well as the number of trophies and Triple Crown events he won in his career, than I cannot help you.
In what style too. In the match-winning frame of a ranking final. Typical of Ronnie O’Sullivan. In the 2019 final of the Players Championship, where he thumped Neil Robertson 10-4. Ronnie O’Sullivan is the first person to achieve this feat and I want to see where he will finish!
The Increased Progression of Women’s Snooker
Women’s Snooker is progressing all the time in many, many ways. Sometimes for the amazing achievements but also for emphasising that more needs to be done.
Reanne Evans reclaimed her No. 1 spot from Ng On-yee in wonderful style. Her biggest achievement of course is winning her 12th World Championship title in 2019. The facilities in the World Championship events seem to improved tenfold over the past decade or so, with players praising unanimously the facilities of the Hi-End Snooker Club in Thailand.
Reanne’s beaten finalist, Nutcharut Wongharuthai, also shone this year. Before her first World Championship final, she the only woman known to have made a maximum break of 147. I wrote earlier this year wondering who will break up the two-horse race between Evans and Ng. Well, the player known as ‘Mink’ broke that up beating Ng to win her first ranking title in 2019 Australian Women’s Open.
Then Rebecca Kenna came along! after consistently being prevented from playing snooker matches due to some clubs operating a ‘men’s only” policy, Rebecca left the Crosshills & District Snooker League. Her story appeared on national programmes such as The One Show and Good Morning Britain to protest against sexual discrimination in sport. I had an interview with Kenna and if you want to read more, please click here.
It’s been a fantastic year all round for Women’s Snooker.
Jimmy (finally) Winning at the Crucible
Every man and his dog knows of Jimmy White’s torment at the Crucible. For those who have been living in a cave, Jimmy reached six World Championship finals and lost all of them, most agonisingly against Stephen Hendry in 1994 in the decider. Jimmy missed a black off the spot, only for Hendry to clear up and win 18-17.
Of course this is not the same, but it is wonderful to see Jimmy White take some comfort that he won a World Championship at the Crucible.
Jimmy had to win three matches to reach the final. He defeated Rhydian Richards, Stuart Watson in the decider and former ranking winner and No. 3 James Wattana. He faced former pro Darren Morgan, who won the title in 2011 and is a 2014 finalist. Jimmy White ended up victorious, beating Morgan 5-3. It may not be worth as much, but it’s an amazing moment during the World Seniors Tour that only existed a couple of years ago. Jason Francis has done a terrific job.
Yes, it is the Seniors Championship, but you can tell how much it means to him.
CONS
Water Stops Play at The Challenge Tour
This is the second edition of The Challenge Tour. Unfortunately for the Castle Snooker and Sports Bar in Brighton, it ran into a bit of bad luck. There was heavy rain which lead to a leak. World Snooker postponed the event.
The owners apologised and it was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. A month later, the results of the postponed event still stand and the draw itself is rescheduled to a later date. But it still doesn’t put The Challenge Tour in a good light. The participating players are second-tier, hoping to become a professional, some for the first time. It is not good for any aspiring rookie or veteran to look forward to. Especially if there is something at the back of your mind that it might happen again.
The Demotion of the Paul Hunter Classic
The identity of the Paul Hunter Classic has been debated for a long time.
Originally a PTC event, it was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic after the 3-times Masters champion Paul Hunter, who won in Fürth in 2004. Since then. it became a prestigious event and something that everyone wants to protect. In 2016, it became a full-ranking event, something a lot of people disagreed with. Many players felt robbed of the chance of winning a full-ranking title when they won the title back in the PHC days and others worried over its status due to low prize money. The top players didn’t participate in favour of preparation for more lucrative events.
In 2019, it was demoted to an invitational event. There were just 16 places including a wildcard. There is very little explanation as to why this has happened.
The community by Stadthalle still enjoyed the Paul Hunter Classic. The 2019 champion Barry Hawkins even went as far to say that “the fans here are some of the best in the world.” There was even a Speed Snooker Cup, which gave an extra dimension to the tournament. Just reading about it all made me feel that it has the potential to be a snooker festival. German fans absolutely love snooker. Considering there is a wildcard for the main event, there is slightly more incentive.
But it’s status is still up in the air. Even during its PTC days, over 200 professional and amateur snooker players turned up. Lots of amateurs were playing against professionals. Why has it just changed to just 16 players and who chose 15? It would be a crying shame if the event folded now especially in Paul’s memory, but where will the funding come from?
Defending Champion Mark Williams Left Off the Promotion Materials
Let’s look back at the 2018 World Championship. Mark Williams became the new “People’s Champion.” His dry sense of humour, eating Minstrels and turning up at a press conference wearing just a towel was enjoyed by many mainstream snooker fans. Not to mention it was one of the most exciting World Championship finals in Crucible history! Enjoying his time as a World Champion again, Mark Williams won a ranking title and took a leisurely approach by, as many people said, going on ‘the lash.’
At the 2019 World Championship, Mark Williams was barely featured on the promotional materials. Starting off with the new video game Snooker19.
Regarding the Snooker19 video game, I could slightly understand. It is highly unlikely that there will be a snooker game every year, so you would put in four incredible players that are more likely to succeed in the future. But the passing of blame between the publisher and World Snooker to who is responsible for not putting Williams is incredibly bad.
But there is no excuse for not putting the defending World Champion centre stage in the World Championship marketing materials. It is disrespectful of World Snooker to not show much support to their own World Champion and poor form from their marketing department!
Mark Williams claimed more alleged bad treatment. This is shown in another tweet below. These are all very easily avoidable mistakes. Think about what will happen next year. Judd Trump will be plastered on every poster in Sheffield! I hope this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.
The Number of Empty Seats at the Scottish Open
This is a small thing that is slightly worrying for me. In the latter stages of the Home Nations events, they are always packed. However, while I was watching some matches of the 2019 Scottish Open, there were many empty seats. When eventual champion Mark Selby beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 in the quarter-finals, he said that it was under the least electric atmosphere while playing Ronnie O’Sullivan. Why? Is it the poor scheduling? Is the the lack of promotion of the event? Are Scotland losing interest in snooker altogether? There’s a full full of suggestions from people who know slightly more than I do.
It is just a shame that this event sticks out like a sore thumb. It does make me wonder whether Scottish is still interested in snooker at all. After John Higgins, Graeme Dott, Alan McManus and Stephen Maguire retire, only the youngsters Scott Donaldson and Anthony McGill will be waving the flag. The other thing to think about is the fact that it immediately follows the UK Championship. A lot of mainstream fans would feel exhausted after watching one of the most famous events of the calendar and will simply move onto other things. There is a lot that needs pondering.
