As some of you readers might have guessed, I am a snooker fan. What gave it away I wonder? One of the criteria of a snooker fan is to go to venues to watch professional or amateur snooker. I do enjoy this. I love travelling to new places and everyone who I met at every event I’ve been to has always been friendly and extremely open to talk about their love for the game.
The first time I saw live snooker was in 2015 when my father and I went to the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff to watch the first session of the Welsh Open final. John Higgins lead Ben Woollaston 6-3 that afternoon. My father mentioned that the reason why he didn’t get the second session was in case it was dealt with quickly. It was. Higgins won the next four frames.
Since then, I’ve been to a few venues since. They include the Crucible, the English Institute of Sport, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s favourite K2 in Crawley, Alexandra Palace twice, The Centaur and most recently, the Watford Colosseum. It’s turning into a list trust me. I’m sure there are many people who have been to more venues than I.
But which ones do I want to go to most? Well, I decided to make a countdown on it! Not only will I talk about the venue and its reputation but about the country as well. Things to look forward to after this coronavirus blows over I hope. I’m alone in a flat, I got to keep myself occupied!
5. Preston Guild Hall, Preston
According to Cuetracker, 38 professional and amateur snooker events were hosted in the Preston Guild Hall. Since the 2005 Grand Prix, only eight events were at this particular venue. Which is amazing, considering it hosted the UK Championships, one of the great snooker events as we all know, between 1978-1997. In Stephen Hendry’s book Me and The Table, Preston Guild Hall ranks among his Top 5 venues he’s played in. It does make me wonder why it isn’t used more often? I wonder why?
Thankfully, it is host of a broad range of professional, amateur and senior tournaments. This includes the World Seniors Championship, Challenge Tour events, Q School and current ranking events. Its most famous moment in recent times was in the 2019 Players Championship. Ronnie O’Sullivan won the title 10-4 but also scored the 1000th century in his century in the final frame of the final against Neil Robertson.
A lot of players other than Hendry think highly of the place, which you can see via this link. But it feels like one of the old giants of snooker venues and it seems to be waking up!
4. Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Venue Cymru is a recent addition in the snooker calendar, as its first snooker event was in 2015. It set a very big bar as it hosted the inaugural World Grand Prix that was won by Judd Trump, at the time when it was a non-ranking event. Since then, Venue Cymru hosted every season after that.
Maybe Llandudno is a coastal town but my holidays in Bournemouth make me want to go there even more. Run around, breathe the sea air and play in the game arcade with some chips on one hand. Or maybe visit the countryside surrounding Llandudno. I do love a bit of greenery.
World Snooker clearly hold this venue at high regard. It has gone from hosting the World Grand Prix to the Players Championship to the Tour Championship. It is trust to host more lucrative and prestigious tourneys with the best players in the world. With the introduction of the Coral Cup, the venue will become more of a staple if it isn’t already!
3. Barbican Centre, York
I feel like as a snooker fan it is almost the right of passage to attend the Triple Crown events. The UK Championship is the last one on my list.
York has hosted the UK Championship since 2011. It even hosted between 2001-2006. There were so many memorable memories. Stephen Maguire, Ding Junhui and Judd Trump won their first Triple Crown event here. Remarkably, Ding won the title at just 18 years of age. The most climatic match held in York was John Higgins doubling the brown the entire length of the table to win the decider against Mark Williams in 2010.
Since 2010, there were a number of changes to its draw format. It was only in 2013 when the Last 128 draw format was in place and has been ever since. Whether it makes any difference to the viewing sitting in the live seats, I don’t know. But I’d like to complete the set!
2. Goffs, Kildare
My only experience of Ireland was a family holiday in Dublin. So I am aware that I have barely scratched the surface regarding what the country that gave us Patsy Fagan, Ken Doherty and Fergal O’Brien is all about. It is the former home of the Irish Masters between 1987-2000. I barely know much of the venue, so it’s lucky that Jason Francis, the creator of Snooker Legends and The World Seniors Tour, is using this arena!
It’s amazing how many players rate it so highly. Goffs is also in Hendry’s Top 5 venues he’s played in. In a recent podcast, Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted to Colin Murray that it’s his favourite. O’Sullivan said:
It also have a legendary feel as this is where the O’Sullivan’s, the Hendry’s, the Davis’s, the White’s etc. seem to do battle. I would love to go there just to experience the atmosphere. Not sure what the capacity of the place is, but imagine if it hosted the European Masters next year? It would be brilliant!
1. Tempodrom, Berlin
There is a slight bias in that I have never been to Germany before.
Aside from that, Germany are completely snooker barmy. So many people have said that the German audiences are among the most passionate and knowledgeable in the world. Not only has this been shown at the Stadthalle in Fürth with the Paul Hunter Classic but the Tempodrom in Berlin.
The setup at the Tempodrom is pretty unique. A capacity of 2,500 guests, it is huge. At the first few rounds of the German Masters, five tables are laid out in the arena, with four surrounding the main table in the centre. The stadium is what makes the German Masters so popular ever since it started in Berlin in 2011. This is with players and fans alike.
Without the fans and the enthusiasm, there probably wouldn’t be any German professionals at all. We’ve seen the likes of Patrick Einsle, Lukas Kleckers and Simon Lichtenberg made their professionals bow and we are guaranteed to see Kleckers back after his qualified onto the tour to play next season.
My German followers have recommended me and anyone to go to Berlin. This is one of those events where I’ve been meaning to go to but keep passing. Maybe there will finally be a time to me to go over there…
A lot depends on what your preferences are: I only go to multi-table setups, and watch the later rounds on TV.
Yes, the Tempodrom is an interesting venue, and its location is very good. You are close to the centre of Berlin to do some sightseeing in the mornings, and then return for 2pm snooker. If you stay in the Crowne Plaza you’ll get to know the players pretty well. However, the table views are not good. I wouldn’t go there for semi-finals or final, but the atmosphere is very positive. I really hope the organisers make it an invitational tournament, to reward the local fans with all the top players and some German players.
Barbican York is split between the main arena where you can see all 4 tables at once, and the sports hall where you are very close to the tables, with just 3 rows of seats. I’ve seen some very tense and exciting matches in the sports hall, but the table conditions aren’t the best and there is usually some overhead noise.
Preston and Cardiff are also good locations, being in the centre of town.
Unfortunately many of the others are out-of-town, with terrible facilities (like food). Dornbirn was a disappointment: I ended up in Burger King with Mark Williams and Jackson Page. But inside, the table set-ups are generally very similar.
That’s seriously interesting, cheers for sharing! Do you have a favourite yourself?
I don’t really have a favourite venue. But as I said, I’m a very unusual fan. I prefer to watch the progress of young players on remote tables, leaving the main table for later rounds on TV. So my ideal ‘atmosphere’ is to sit 2 rows from the players with a handful of spectators watching a tense struggle between two players fighting to progress their career! Probably the Masters has the best single-table atmosphere, but I rarely go there, despite living in London!