Snooker Archives - SportBlogg

‘You don’t need it in your life’ – Higgins reveals key regret in golden career

May 23, 2024

John Higgins has revealed the one major change he would make when he reflects upon his golden 32-year professional snooker career has nothing to do with picking up a cue.

The Scotsman is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats having lifted four world titles in 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011 amid an overall haul of 31 ranking title victories, but wonders if he could have improved that trophy haul with more dedication.

In particular, Higgins – who also lost in four finals at the Crucible in 2001, 2017, 2018 and 2019 – feels that avoiding alcohol would have benefited a more “single-minded” mindset during his rise to the summit of the sport since he turned professional in 1992.

“You win what you win. I’ve never sort of looked back, but if I could start my career again, I would love to do things differently,”

after turning 49 last weekend.

“I mean, I probably wouldn’t touch alcohol now because I’ve never had a drink in about five years. And you think, you just don’t need it now, you don’t need it in your life.

“I think when you’re growing up as a player, I would be honest about it, when I won my world titles, and at the start, I probably went out partying too much and just forgetting about it.

“I never had that single-mindedness to be like a [Steve] Davis or a [Stephen] Hendry to just keep on winning tournaments.

“I was too busy wanting to enjoy myself with my mates. So I was trying to have a balance, and then you are obviously getting married, having kids and that took up the main part of your life too.

“So I was never single-minded, but then you think to yourself, if you ever was that single-minded, all the other things could have fell apart.

“It’s happened with other sports stars that they become too focused on their career, and they let everything else fall by the wayside.

“So I think looking back, I’ve had a great life.”

He is only five centuries short of becoming the second player in history behind Ronnie O’Sullivan to pass the 1,000 mark in his career.

Higgins misses out on 167 in dramatic fashion!

“Over the years, I probably knew that you can’t handle your drinks some of the time, and you think you should have just knocked it on the head sooner,” said Higgins, who start next season as world No. 16.

“I thought to myself: ‘I’m getting to that stage, where you’re thinking the career could be over soon’. Got to knock it on the head, and then just try to give it a go for however long you have left in the career.

“And then that’s what you do when you knock it on the head. You think to yourself: ‘God, you’re not missing much, you’re not missing much at all’.

“And then you think to yourself: ‘If that would have happened earlier on in my career, what would have happened?’

Snooker’s Century Kings

1. Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) 1,264
2. John Higgins (Sco) 995
3. Judd Trump (Eng) 980
4. Neil Robertson (Aus) 939
5. Mark Selby (Eng) 821

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On Yee and Cahill suffer defeats at Q School, but Pinches and Joyce progress

May 23, 2024

Hong Kong’s three-time women’s world champion Ng On Yee suffered a 4-1 loss to Josh Mulholland in the second round of Q School in Leicester on Wednesday night.

Former Crucible qualifier James Cahill – the man who stunned Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-8 as a qualifier in the first round of the 2019 World Championship – also suffered a 4-2 loss to Simon Blackwell.

Cahill compiled fine knocks of 71 and 104 in restoring parity at 2-2, but lost the final two rounds to suffer an early exit.

But world No. 87 Allen Taylor enjoyed two 50-plus breaks and a sparkling 120 in a 4-0 win over Ronnie Sullivan, while there was also victories for Liam Highfield against Callum Beresford (4-0) and Mark Joyce against Ian Martin (4-1).

Meanwhile, evergreen Norwich cueman Barry Pinches made a strong start to his qualifying campaign with a 4-1 victory over Vladislav Gradinari with 18-year-old Ukraine talent Iulian Boiko running out a 4-1 winner over James Burrett.

The second round continues on Thursday at the Mattioli Arena, host venue for this year’s Q School with the best-of-seven frame encounters running between Tuesday May 21 until Sunday May 26 at qualifying event one.

Four tour cards will be handed out before qualifying event two begins on Monday May 27 and runs until Saturday June 1 in Leicester with the same process providing four more tour cards.

There is also two Asia and Oceania qualifying events in Bangkok (22-27 May and May 28 until June 2) which will see four more tour cards on the line.

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‘That was the title’ – Robertson on why O’Sullivan was so close to record Crucible triumph

May 22, 2024

Snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan was only one win away from claiming a record eighth title triumph at the World Championship earlier this month, according to Neil Robertson, the 2010 Crucible winner.

O’Sullivan refused to pot a red after asking for the black to be re-spotted by referee Desislava Bozhilova – an act of sportsmanship that cost him a 7-5 lead and possibly the match – while he was later embroiled in more words with the match official when he was disturbed by fans entering the arena during a crucial shot with matters finely poised at 10-10.

As it was, 2015 champion Bingham claimed the final three frames, but could not maintain his form against Jak Jones in the semi-finals as he struggled badly among the balls before being defeated 17-12 by the Welshman, who also accounted for Judd Trump 13-9 in the last eight.

“The difference between being able to pot it comfortably and having to play safe was literally a millimetre. I think Desislava did a perfect job in that scenario. Then Ronnie played safe, which was great. Then there was what happened at 10-10 with the door and the crowd. I think that was the title.

“Judd [Trump] went out earlier that day, and I think he felt that realistically if he got through Stuart, then he would have comfortably won it. Maybe it was just that, the eighth title on the line in that mini-session.”

Kyren Wilson progressed to lift his first world title with an 18-14 win over Jones in the final, but Robertson could understand O’Sullivan frustration as he praised Eurosport for getting immediate reaction during his ill-fated encounter with Bingham.

‘Some referees have got it in for me’ – O’Sullivan on black spot incident

“Eurosport stuffed a mic in front of him straight out of the session, and he just went off on one didn’t he?” said Robertson.

“I don’t know why he’s done it. I understand Eurosport, it’s good journalism from them, but I don’t know why he got involved.

“I wasn’t a fan of those post-session interviews either, I wouldn’t have done them, not a chance.

“It was all up for grabs and Kyren was the one that passed the test and lasted the longest, so hats off to him.”

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Knowles suffers defeat on first day of Q School in Leicester as On Yee advances

May 21, 2024

Former world No. 2 Tony Knowles suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to Scotland’s Jack Borwick on the opening day of snooker’s Q School in Leicester.

But there was better news for three-time women’s world champion Ng On Yee, who completed a 4-2 win over Latvian hopeful Rodion Judin to reach the second round.

Hong Kong player On Yee was boosted by a 60 break in the second frame before claiming the final three frames to secure a meeting with Josh Mulholland on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Borwick made a 51 in the second frame to lead 2-0 before Bolton favourite Knowles reeled off the next three to lead 3-2 only to lose a nervy decider on the final pink.

He needed to win six matches at the city’s Mattioli Arena with the best-of-seven frame encounters running between Tuesday May 21 until Sunday May 26 at qualifying event one, but will get a second crack at qualifying when event two begins on Monday.

Knowles reached the last 32 of Q School in 2021 before losing 4-2 to Mark Lloyd.

A number of other players will bid to regain their tour cards at Q School this week, including 1995 world semi-finalist Andy Hicks, former Crucible qualifiers James Cahill and Mark Joyce, and two-time ranking event quarter-finalist Liam Highfield.

Four tour cards will be handed out before qualifying event two begins on Monday May 27 and runs until Saturday June 1 in Leicester with the same process providing four more tour cards.

There is also two Asia and Oceania qualifying events in Bangkok (22-27 May and May 28 until June 2) which will see four more tour cards on the line.

Stream top snooker action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Higgins celebrates birthday with O’Sullivan win as Wilson enjoys Chelsea trophy parade

May 20, 2024

John Higgins enjoyed a 5-3 win over fellow ‘Class of ’92’ icon Ronnie O’Sullivan in a lucrative exhibition match in the Chinese city of Chengdu over the weekend.

The four-time world champion also completed a 5-4 win over Judd Trump, entertaining the crowd with a series of century breaks at the Sichuan Provincial Stadium to show he has lost none of his class after turning 49 on Saturday.

Former Masters and UK champion Ding Junhui and International champion Zhang Anda were also competing on home soil with Ding completing a 5-1 win over O’Sullivan.

It came a few days after O’Sullivan produced a 134 break in a 5-2 win over Ding in a rare outdoor match on Wednesday at the Longmen Grottos in Luoyang before easing to a 5-1 win on the second night of their exhibition.

O’Sullivan is due to continue his pre-season tour of China with further challenge matches involving Zhang, Jack Lisowski, Si Jiahui and Marco Fu in Kunshan this week (May 21-22) and Shanghai next weekend (May 25-26).

Wilson pays emotional tribute to family after World Championship glory

He is also due to travel to Tampere in Finland (June 3-5) and Bulgaria (June 7-8) where he will again face Higgins firstly in Plovdiv, and then in Sofia.

The seven-time world champion will return to Shanghai in July where he will chase a fifth-straight title victory and sixth overall at the Shanghai Masters (July 15-21).

Meanwhile, new world champion Kyren Wilson will travel to Finland next weekend for his first competitive action since his 18-14 win over Jak Jones in the 48th Crucible final earlier this month.

The Kettering player faces Ryan Day at the Helsinki International Snooker Cup on Saturday with Trump, Lisowski, Luca Brecel, Stuart Bingham, Robert Milkins and Jimmy White also set to compete in the Finnish capital.

Chelsea fan Wilson was a guest of the London club on Sunday as he paraded the World Championship trophy at Stamford Bridge before watching Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeat Bournemouth 2-1 on the final day of the Premier League season.

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Snooker prodigy hailed by O’Sullivan as future star bids to return to professional circuit

May 17, 2024

Thai snooker player Sunny Akani will bid to end his two-year absence from the World Snooker Tour circuit when he competes in Q School in Bangkok next week.

Akani famously pushed snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan all the way when he was edged out 6-5 in the last 16 of the 2017 UK Championship in York with O’Sullivan progressing to claim the sixth of his eight UK title victories.

O’Sullivan but recovered from trailing 4-2 and 5-4 to scramble over the line before heaping praise on his opponent, who impressed the seven-time world champion with his long potting.

“If I could pot long balls like you, I’d take them on as well,” said O’Sullivan, who felt the world No. 84 did enough to progress.

“I felt sorry for him. He deserved to win, and I felt like I robbed him of victory.”

The 28-year-old Akani was as high as 44 in the world rankings in 2021 amid a seven-year spell on the main tour that saw him reach quarter-finals at the Shoot Out and Indian Open.

But he lost his tour card in 2022 and could not regain his spot on the circuit at Q School two years ago, but has the chance to bounce back.

The Asia and Oceania Q School begins at Rajamangala National Stadium on Wednesday, May 22 and runs until Sunday, June 2 with two tournaments producing four places on the circuit for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.

Stream top snooker action, including the World Snooker Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

‘Well capable of being the first’ – Wilson vows to end snooker’s ‘Crucible Curse’

May 16, 2024

Kyren Wilson is aiming to become the first snooker player in Crucible history to successfully defend the World Snooker Championship title after their maiden title triumph at the sport’s flagship tournament – ending the infamous 48-year-old ‘Crucible Curse’.

Luca Brecel became the latest figure to attempt and fail to land the historic double last month as he lost 10-9 to David Gilbert in the first round a year after winning his first world title with an 18-15 victory over Mark Selby in the final.

Steve Davis (1982), Stephen Hendry (1991), John Higgins (1999), Mark Williams (2001), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2002), Mark Selby (2015) and Judd Trump (2020) are just a few of the celebrated names to fail in their bid to win back-to-back titles a year after lifting the trophy for the first tiime.

In fact, the closest any player came to pulling off the feat since the Crucible first staged the competition in 1977 is Eurosport pundit Joe Johnson, the popular Bradford player who claimed the title as a 150-1 outsider in 1986, and Dublin’s evergreen Ken Doherty, the 1997 winner.

Johnson completed a stunning 18-12 upset win over Steve Davis and returned to the showpiece match a year later, but this time was denied by Davis 18-14, while Doherty defeated Hendry 18-12 for his maiden victory, but then lost 18-12 to John Higgins in 1998.

‘I’ll never forget this moment’ – Wilson reflects on glory at Crucible

“We said we feel we’re in a good position and well capable of being the first one to stop that Crucible Curse.

“I feel I’m quite well-equipped to handle it. I don’t feel like I’m a flash in the pan.

“I’m quite level-headed. I feel I have all the assets to handle any situation. I feel I can give it a good shot.”

Wilson is due to play his first competitive match as world champion when he faces Ryan Day at the Helsinki International Snooker Cup on Saturday, May 25, with Brecel, Stuart Bingham, Trump, Robert Milkins, Jimmy White and Jack Lisowski also competing in the Finnish capital.

The Crucible and Sheffield, the home of snooker

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Huge venue in Sheffield touted to replace Crucible as World Championship host – reports

May 15, 2024

Sheffield Arena has been touted as a possible replacement for the Crucible Theatre as Sheffield bids to keep the World Snooker Championship in the city beyond 2027.

According to a report in local newspaper The Star, the 12,500-all seater venue could meet the requirements of the sport’s organisers when the contract with the 980-seat Crucible expires in 2027, after the tournament’s 50th anniversary at the venue which began in 1977.

Sheffield Arena hosts local ice hockey team the Sheffield Steelers, but has staged boxing, basketball, gymnastics, professional wrestling and Premier League darts, as well as huge pop concerts – including performances by Take That and One Direction – since it opened in 1991.

“We have a huge and dedicated fan base, not only across the UK but also Europe, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Middle East,” said Simon Brownell, CEO of World Snooker Tour.

“As a sport we have grown fantastically in recent years, for example the Masters in London has become a complete sell out from start to finish with an incredible atmosphere.

O’Sullivan and Fu get huge reception from record-breaking crowd at Hong Kong Masters

“We have also seen that in Germany at the Tempodrom and in China we recently staged an event in Yushan with over 2,000 in the audience. In 2022 in Hong Kong we had just shy of 10,000 in the audience.

“So we want to make sure that where we are growing all of our events worldwide, the World Championship keeps pace with that.”

Hearn on Crucible future – ‘You can’t eat history’

The options on the table include remaining at the Crucible, building a bigger venue to host the venue in Sheffield, or moving the event to a larger venue overseas, but former World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn insists the preference is to remain in Sheffield, the sport’s “spiritual home” amid ongoing talks with Sheffield City Council.

“The priority is to stay in the Steel City of Sheffield because it’s been our home for a long, long time,” said Hearn on the BBC.

“Great moments. But we have a duty to everybody to listen. We listen to the fans, listen to the local people, we also listen to the players.

“The effect on prize money. We look at the conditions, and say the game has moved on, and deserves better than the current conditions.”

Stream top snooker action, including the World Snooker Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

New Zealand’s greatest snooker player Dene O’Kane dies aged 61

May 15, 2024

New Zealand snooker icon Dene O’Kane has died at the age of 61.

The two-time World Snooker Championship quarter-finalist and former world No. 18 was a familiar face in the UK during snooker’s 1980s boom period and reached the last eight at the Crucible Theatre in 1987 and 1992.

He had been working in real estate since 2007, but recently played a number of matches on the seniors circuit alongside former world champions Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Cliff Thorburn and Dennis Taylor.

The 10-time New Zealand national champion also won two Australian Opens and three World Masters Championships as an amateur.

He came close to lifting a major professional event in 1989 when he led Mike Hallett 8-6 in the Hong Kong Open final before losing 9-8.

Former world No. 3 and Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds wrote on X: “I’m waking up to the awfully sad news of the passing of Dene O’Kane. One of the good guys.

“When he came over from NZ in 1980 for Junior Pot Black he was immediately different from the rest of us in a good way. Always had a touch of class about him. Rest in peace Deno.”

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson said: “Dene was a massive character. He was interesting, full of life and full of stories.

“When I joined the tour, he was a player up in the rankings that I had a great amount of respect for. I was fortunate to know him for a long time and kept in touch with him in his latter years. We have always shared a joke and a chat and I’m deeply saddened.

“The sport has lost a huge personality. I want to thank him for the time he spent with us and the contribution he made. Never underestimate how hard it must have been to move from New Zealand and make it in the professional ranks. That is a testament to the character of the man.”

Stream top snooker action, including the World Snooker Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Former world No. 2 Knowles set to chase return to professional circuit

May 14, 2024

Former world No. 2 Tony Knowles has not given up hope of returning to the main professional World Snooker Tour at the age of 68.

The popular Bolton player is registered to compete at Q School in Leicester next week where he has been drawn against Jack Borwick of Scotland in the first round.

Knowles – who reached his career-high ranking after reaching the 1985 World Championship semi-finals – would need to win six matches at the city’s Mattioli Arena with the best-of-seven frame encounters running between Tuesday May 21 until Sunday May 26 at qualifying event one.

He won two ranking events – the International Open in 1982 and the Professional Players Tournament a year later – but has not competed on the main circuit since 2001.

Knowles reached the last 32 of Q School in 2021 before losing 4-2 to Mark Lloyd.

A number of other players will bid to regain their tour cards at Q School, including 1995 world semi-finalist Andy Hicks, former Crucible qualifiers James Cahill and Mark Joyce, and two-time ranking event quarter-finalist Liam Highfield.

Four tour cards will be handed out before qualifying event two begins on Monday May 27 and runs until Saturday June 1 in Leicester with the same process providing four more tour cards.

There is also two Asia and Oceania qualifying events in Bangkok (22-27 May and May 28 until June 2) which will see four more tour cards on the line.

Stream top snooker action, including the World Snooker Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com