The Chalk - Issue 8 - December 2020 by The Chalk

>> PAGE 9

>> DECEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 8 | Â£3 | FREE TO DOWNLOAD <<

>> WWW.THECHALK.CO.UK << Picture courtesy of Matchroom Pool / Taka Wu

EU-BEAUTY! EUROPE DEFEAT USA TO WIN THE MOSCONI CUP

FULL ROUND UP ON >> PAGE 13

INSIDE >> MAX POTTER >> RODNEY REMEMBERS >> SNOOKER BACKER >> BARRY STARK >> PLUS LOTS MORE! BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

Shop at www.lifeon.co.uk

I Beauty and Skin I Women’s Health I Men’s Health I Wellbeing I I Speciality Products I Weight Management I Pediatric Range I

Great People Need Great Care! 2

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE >> www.thechalk.co.uk <<

04 MAX POTTER 09 CARTOON SNOOKER 11 BACKER BLOG MOSCONI CUP 13 REVIEW COACH 15 BARRY STARK RODNEY 16 REMEMBERS CHAMPIONS 18 LEAGUE POOL NORTHERN 20 IRELAND OPEN CHRISTMAS 23 DINNER

UK CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW

DONATE TO THE CHALK

WELCOME TO

we also understand selling advertising is hard at the moment, so we have added an option to donate to The Chalk via the donate button below to help with our costs. We hope you understand that we love providing the content and magazine but we need to start covering costs. Thank you! The Chalk Team

DONATE HERE >> WWW.THECHALK.CO.UK

ello and welcome to edition number eight 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. In this issue, Monique Limbos writes a comprehensive review of the 2020 UK Championship, which saw Neil Robertson crowned as champion after a late night victory over Judd Trump. Monique also reviews the recent Northern Ireland Open. We are delighted to welcome Michael Day to our team of writers. Michael kicks off by reviewing the recent Mosconi Cup. He also looks ahead to the Champions League Pool. You can follow Michael on twitter - @viewcue. Our thanks once again go to Steve© who has supplied us with another cracking Max Potter page. Max is proving a great hit with readers both young and old 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 is back with his popular column Rodney Remembers. This month he writes about snooker books. How many have you read? Tom Moorcroft pens his monthly article and this month asks if snooker players were part if a Christmas dinner, what they be? You can support us online by liking us on Facebook (facebook.com/TheChalkMag) and by following us on Twitter @_TheChalk. Instagram more your thing? Give _TheChalk a follow. Our thanks as always go also to our advertisers and contributors, your support is really appreciated. If you would like to advertise please get in touch by emailing us at info@thechalk.co.uk. If you have any feedback, then please email us at the same address. Happy reading, stay safe and we hope you enjoy The Chalk.

The Chalk is designed by JRH Media. james@jrhmedia.co.uk www.jrhmedia.co.uk | 07881237868

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

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

he UK Championship was played in Milton Keynes, from the 23rd of November to the 6th of December 2020, under social distancing rules. The UK Championship is one of three “BBC tournament”. The BBC however only broadcasts the event from the last 64 round on. For the first time this year, the last 128 round, played over four days, was televised, Eurosport stepping in as the broadcaster for this round. There was no play on the 27th of November. Before the tournament started, three players were withdrawn after they tested positive for COVID-19: Anthony Hamilton, Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens. As a result Xu Si, Jak Jones and Jamie Jones got a bye to the second round. All the detailed results for this tournament can be found on snooker. org. The last 128 round For the first time since the tournament was played under a “flat draw” format, with “strict seeding”, all of the top 16 players won their first round match. That it never happened before is a bit surprising because the “strict seeding”, that has been in place since 2013, should ensure that the top 16 seeds face a very easy first round match. Indeed the players seeded 1-16 are set to play the players seeded 128-113 in that order. Over a best of 11 frames, you would expect all of them to win and win rather easily. This is of course what the BBC wants, as they are keen to have all the top 16 players still in the draw when they start broadcasting the event. But that actually was never the case until this year, and, maybe, the fact that the first round was televised for the first time favoured the top seeds. Amongst a lot of one sided matches on the main table, there was one hard fought tussle: Mark Selby versus Michael White. Mark won it by 6-4, but it was very close. Michael White is now an amateur, having dropped off the tour at the end of last season. How that happened is quite baffling, and even disturbing. The way he played in that match showed that Michael is far too good to be where he currently is. Hopefully he can regain his tour card soon. He belongs to the main tour. The first round didn’t bring any big “shock”, but it brought two maximum breaks: one by Kyren Wilson, against Ashley Hugill, and one by Stuart Bingham against Zak Surety. You can watch them (again) on the Eurosport Youtube 4

channel. If none of the top 16 elite failed to reach the last 64, there were still a number of surprising “casualties” amongst the 17-33 bracket: Gary Wilson (18), Scott Donaldson, (24), Ben Woollaston (33), Ali Carter (20) and Martin Gould (32) all fell at first hurdle. Scott Donaldson 6-3 defeat to the 22 years old Simon Lichtenberg from Germany was certainly the most unexpected of the lot, especially after he reached the Northern Ireland Open quarter-finals the week before. And then, there was the battle of the veterans, the battle of the Eurosport pundits: Jimmy White, in his 40th year as a professional, and playing his 100th match at the UK championship, managed to beat Alan McManus by 6-4. Hats off Sir! Talking point: There were talks about the possibility to have limited crowds back at the venue for the latter stages of the tournament. The defending champion, Ding wasn’t impressed and threatened to pull out if crowds were allowed into the venue. Speaking to Eurosport, he said: Sponsors want the crowds in, but I don’t think players want the crowd in. I don’t make the decisions but I make my decisions I am not sure, we will see what happens, but if it’s not safe I will pull out at any time. I think it’s not just the players. I think the crowd have to be safe with each other. They could be sitting five or six metres away and still catch the virus, unless you don’t care. A lot of people don’t care, but I do. People think in different ways. “I don’t trust playing with a crowd, it’s just personal, not for every player. I want to play like

this, with two players and one referee, that’s enough.” The last 64 round If the last 128 round didn’t bring any major upset, the last 64 round certainly “made up” for it as no less than seven members of the top 16 exited the tournament, including the defending Champion, Ding Junhui and the reigning World Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan. The other top 16 “victims” were Mark Allen, Yan Bingtao, Shaun Murphy, Thepchaiya Unnooh and David Gilbert. Ding lost by 6-5 to David Grace who, of course, had reached the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open only the previous Saturday. Ding couldn’t shake David off early in the match and looked increasingly nervous as it went on. Ding wasn’t interviewed after the match. David however spoke to WST after his win. He made an interesting point about the psychology of the match: “I came here with a lot of confidence having had a good run in the last tournament. It’s my best win in terms of the quality of the player I have beaten. Ding wasn’t at his best but you have to play well to even put a thought in his mind that you can beat him. I did that early in the match and then he took control in the middle, but he would still have had the feeling that I wasn’t going away, and I felt that if I could find a bit of form I could get over the line.“ Ronnie was beaten by Alexander Ursenbacher, who now leads him by 2-0 in their head-to-head. The match went to a decider, and I’m still not sure how

“I CAME HERE WITH A LOT OF CONFIDENCE HAVING HAD A GOOD RUN IN THE LAST TOURNAMENT. IT’S MY BEST WIN IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF THE PLAYER I HAVE BEATEN.”

David Grace after his win over Ding Junhui.

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

this happened given how out-of-sorts the World Champion was on the day. The score is quite simply testimony of how hard he tried despite struggling really badly. Both players were interviewed after the match, Ronnie made no excuses and admitted to feeling embarrassed about his performance: “Alex played well and deserved his victory,” said O’Sullivan. “I made so many mistakes and if I had won that match it would have been robbery. Good luck to him, I hope he can win a few more matches. I just couldn’t pot any balls, I felt embarrassed. Every time I came to the table I just felt like I wouldn’t pot more than two balls. At 5-4 I thought I might steal it, but I didn’t deserve to win. There are no excuses. I haven’t got time to be disappointed because I’ll be back here for the Scottish Open next week.”. Alex was delighted but not carried away: “I think it’s my best career win because Ronnie is the best player to ever pick up a cue, plus this is a very big event and live on television. I haven’t really achieved anything yet in snooker, in my opinion. I am nowhere near where I want to be. I hope this will get some attention in the Swiss media. In a way there will be more pressure on my next match because no one expected me to win today. In the next round the expectation will come back and that’s the most pressure you can have.” The last 32 round Three more of the top 16 seeds went out in this round: Mark Williams, Stuart Bingham and Stephen Maguire. Mark Williams lost by 6-5 to a resurgent Ricky Walden. Most fans have forgotten how good Ricky is at his best; he has won three ranking events between 2008 and 2014: the 2008 Shanghai Masters, the 2012 Wuxi Classic and the 2014 International Championship He also reached the final of the 2015 Indian Open, the 2016 Players Tour Championship Final and the 2016 China Open as well as the semi-finals of the World Championship (2013) and the UK Championship (twice: 2011 and 2013). He was ranked as high as 6th in the World in March 2015. However, a serious back injury threatened to put an end to his career, as he was unable to practice or indeed perform at the table. He has now recovered and seems to gradually getting back where he belongs to. Interviewed by WST after the match he said: “My practice game is probably as good as it ever has been, but to try and bring that on to the match table is another story and a difficult thing to do. I’m pretty optimistic that it’s going to happen and I’m going to get back to winning tournaments. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but results like tonight help, It has been a roller-coaster over the last few years. I went through mental torture, knowing that I had just plummeted

“I MADE SO MANY MISTAKES AND IF I HAD WON THAT MATCH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ROBBERY. GOOD LUCK TO HIM, I HOPE HE CAN WIN A FEW MORE MATCHES. I JUST COULDN’T POT ANY BALLS, I FELT EMBARRASSED.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan after his defeat to Alexander Ursenbache.

off the face of the Earth because of something that wasn’t my fault. It was so difficult to deal with. Now that I am back playing well again, I feel like it’s a second chance.” Stuart Bingham lost by 6-2 to Graeme Dott, the 2006 World Champion. “Dotty” immediately stamped his authority by scoring a 126 and a 137 to lead by 2-0. Graeme has an undeserved reputation of being slow and boring. This came after his victory over Peter Ebdon at the Crucible in 2006: the final finished well after midnight and both players were tense and exhausted. The truth though is that the “Pocket Dynamo” is a very positive and attacking player as well as a formidable fighter. Graeme suffered badly from depression after his fatherin-law, and mentor died in December 2006. It hit him very hard and his career suffered badly. It’s good to seem him play well again and the signs of a return to to form are there: he got tothree ranking finals over the last two and a half seasons: 2018 German Masters, 2018 Shoot-out and 2018 World Grand Prix. Stephen Maguire was very angry with himself after losing by 6-5 to the 20 years old rookie Pang Junxu. This is what he had to say after this defeat: “That’s one way to throw a match away. To be honest I shouldn’t have been in the match at the start, I was diabolical in the first few frames. He should have won more easily. I had false hope in the end. He is a great player, I have no complaints about him. I’m thinking about having a break now over Christmas and not playing again until the Masters.”. Pang, who had already beaten the likes of Barry Hawkins, Tom Ford and Noppon Saengkham this season, his first, wasn’t interviewed. All the other top 16 seeds had easy wins: Jack Lisowski 6-2 Xu Si, John Higgins 6-2 Jak Jones, Neil Robertson 6-2 Li Hang, JuddTrump 6-1 Liang Wenbo and Kyren Wilson 6-3 Kurt Maflin. Talking point: Judd Trump was very critical about the main table conditions

and reckoned that they might have been the reason why Ronnie struggled so much and lost. Here are excerpts of sports journalist Phil Haigh’s article who reported on the World number one interview with Eurosport: “… Judd Trump feels the conditions at the UK Championship have proved to be a struggle for the top players and cost Ronnie O’Sullivan in his shock exit from the tournament on Sunday. … Trump feels that conditions were against O’Sullivan, though, when asked if we were likely to see a 147 break over the rest of the tournament, the Bristolian said it will not be happening on the TV table. ‘Not on that table, I’d be surprised,’ Trump told Eurosport after beating Liang. ‘Maybe on one of the other tables or when the table gets re-clothed.‘I think it showed in the Ronnie game yesterday, he struggled with it and we both struggled today. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s a bit cold, a bit damp out there, the balls are going horrible and it’s tough.’ Trump himself wasn’t at the peak of his powers either, making three half-centuries but no tons against Liang.‘It was a struggle, I watched some of the snooker on the TV, the table’s very heavy and slow,’ he said.‘It kind of dictates how the frames go, the balls are going scrappy and it’s not until there’s a couple of reds left that you’re able to do anything.‘I managed to pot the odd ball here and there. It was scrappy, I was just managing to play the better safety and take my chances more.’... “ It’s not often you hear a player making excuses for a rival who didn’t make any. But, yes, Neil Robertson agreed with Judd adding that it was really cold in the arena and observed that many players were asking for hot water or tea just to keep their hands warm. He also reckoned that the outside tables played easier. The last 16 round From this round on, played over two days, all the matches were televised or streamed, with only two tables in

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

use. Both tables were recovered before the start of the round and it showed, particularly on table 1. All but one match in this round were won by the highest seeded player. There were wins for Jack Lisowski, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Joe Perry. The exception was Zhou Yuelong’s 6-2 win over John Higgins. Zhou and Yan Bingtao have famously beaten John Higgins and Stephen Maguire to win the 2015 World Cup. They were 17 and 15 years old at the time. Since that victory however, Zhou had played Higgins seven times and lost each time. So, this was a big win for him, and one that could really give him the belief that he can beat the best. Both players were interviewed after the match. John Higgins was full of praise for his young conqueror: “Zhou played well, his safety was very good. At 4-1 I played a horrendous safety on the pink, it was such an easy shot to get it safe. I love Zhou as a player and as a person as well. He deserves to go far. I rate him as the best since Ding coming through, he has got that good an all-round game. I hope he goes on and does himself justice.”. Zhou was obviously thrilled: “It’s a big win for me because I had never beaten John before and it’s the first time

I LOVE ZHOU AS A PLAYER AND AS A PERSON AS WELL. HE DESERVES TO GO FAR. I RATE HIM AS THE BEST SINCE DING COMING THROUGH, HE HAS GOT THAT GOOD AN ALL-ROUND GAME.

John Higgins after his defeat to Zhou Yuelong.

I have reached the quarter-finals of this tournament. I have been playing well in practice and I felt I was ready, I believed I could win. Every time I go to a tournament I want to win it, and I just do my best on every shot.” Lu Ning versus Pang Junxu was certainly a match that very few would have predicted at this stage. Pang, as already mentioned, is in his first year as a professional. Lu, who is 26 years old and from Jinlin, had first qualified for the main tour by winning the 2013 IBSF Under 21 World Champion; he had beaten Zhou Yuelong by 9-4 in the final. He was relegated after two rather unsuccessful years. But he came back to the main tour via the 2018 Q-school. Lu is an incredible fighter at the table. In the last 48 round of the 2019 World Championship, he was 7-2 down to Scott Donaldson and fought back to force a decider. Unfortunately for 6

him, it was to no avail. Lu had too much for young Pang, he beat him by 6-2. It’s worth noting that, on his way to reached the quarter-finals, Lu had scored seven centuries and eight more breaks over 50, more than anyone else involved in the tournament at that point. The Quarter-finals Four of the top 8 players were still in the draw at this stage and they were playing each other. Neil Robertson outplayed Mark Selby, beating him by 6-2, with breaks of 75, 122, 63, 56, 91 and 130. Neil reached the 750 career centuries landmark during that match. Incredibly, Judd Trump faced Kyren Wilson for the seventh time this year: the “2020 head-to-head” was 3-3 before this match. Neither played at their best, and Judd prevailed by 6-4. Kyren’s long potting deserted him, but not his fighting spirit. Capitilising on Kyren’s misses from distance, Judd had started like a runaway train, with breaks of 73, 102 and 106 to take the first three frames, but a massive fluke in the fourth frame allowed Kyren to start a fight-back. At 4-4, it seemed that Kyren had the momentum. A missed blue from Kyren in the ninth frame proved to be another turning point, and, from there Judd won by 6-4. Interviewed after the match, Judd admitted that it had been anything but easy: “It was tough. At 4-4 he had a good chance to go 5-4 up, I was delighted when he missed the blue and left me a chance. If I had missed then I probably would have lost the match because my confidence had been knocked. I had to dig in to make that break and I’m sure it would have hurt him. To get through in the end is a nice feeling.” Zhou Yuelong and Lu Ning completed the semi-finals line-up. Zhou beat Jack Lisowski by 6-4, and Lu beat the very experience Joe Perry by the same score. Zhou was interviewed after the match: “I am very pleased. This is a new level. Today I didn’t play well. I missed an easy chance to win the match at 5-2 up. I always felt pressure. It’s not good for me to play Neil – both times we have played before I have lost. But everyone has their first time and hopefully this will be mine. I am confident, I believe I can win. To get to the final might mean more snooker fans in China will watch. It would be good for my family, my mum, my coach, my teacher. It is a big prize for me.” Talking point: After his last 16 win, Jack Lisowski was unhappy about the pundits’ assessment of his performances. The pundits and commentators are indeed quite often both baffled and upset at Jack’s shot selection, and at the fact that he hasn’t won anything despite his huge talent. Commentators and pundits may not always be aware of the impact their words have on the players and how it affects them emotionally. In answer to

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

their comments, Jack said this: “My family when they are watching me on TV they mute it and put music on. And when I have listened to it as well I do get a hard time. The style I play is risky, but that has got me to where I am. I am given a hard time when I play certain shots. I have accepted that is part of my game at the moment but I am trying to improve on that. I don’t proclaim to be some great player, but they seem to rate me maybe because I play fast and then judge me accordingly. If I make it look easy, it doesn’t feel it to me. But I definitely get given a hard time and maybe I do feel it out there, thinking too much about what they are saying and I shouldn’t. It probably does add pressure. I know when I hit certain shots the guys in the comms box are saying ‘What was that’, I’m thinking the same thing. But that is my style, I am erratic and the sooner I can win something and get rid of that tag of ‘good player who won’t win a tournament’ the better. Maybe everything will get easier if I can do that. You can’t shut these people up until you have won. I want to win a title mainly for me, but also to show other people. And that is why I am trying so hard to win any tournament I can and get that first ‘W’. It is a long time coming but I hope it will be worth it.” I really like Jack, and I would love see him lift a trophy, but I find him very frustrating to watch. I truly believe that it’s frustration as well, more than anything else, that drives the pundits to deliver their assessment. Jack is extremely talented, he’s probably one of the most talented players on the tour, and his game is fantastic to watch when it works. But it doesn’t always work. Nobody, however talented they are, can produce their best all the time. Jack has no B game, nevermind a C or D game. Every player needs to find ways to compete on lesser days and he doesn’t have that. Maybe he should listen, take this as advice rather than criticism, and find someone who could help him? Actually, his defeat to Zhou at the QF stage, and the way of it, only vindicated the pundits’s opinion. The Semi-finals Both semi-finals were one-sided: Neil Robertson beat Zhou Yuelong by 6-4, and Judd Trump beat Lu Ning by the same score. Experience clearly prevailed here. After his match Neil Robertson said: “My game is the best it has ever been. Last season I reached three finals in a row a nd I have carried that on. My club WTs in Cambridge as well as the Grove Academy have been brilliant in terms of allowing me to practise and keep my consistency. Plus there has been less travelling and jet lag this season so physically I feel fantastic. When I played Zhou in the final of the European Masters last season (Robertson won that match

9-0) I didn’t let him settle, and it was important for me to do the same today. Even when he fluked the blue to go 2-1 it jolted me into wanting to get back on top. I probably played better today than I did against Mark Selby yesterday. Everyone on the tour really rates Zhou and I’m sure he’ll be back in big finals before long. He has determination and he’s also a very friendly guy.” About the possibility of playing Judd Trump in the final, he added: “What Judd has done in the last couple of years is incredible, I have learned a lot from him, in terms of how hard he practises. He very rarely takes days off and works a lot harder than he did four or five years ago. Having lost two finals this season and I have plenty of motivation to get the job done this time.” Speaking after his semi-final win, Judd admitted feeling fatigued: “Lu should have won the first frame tonight, after winning it I felt in control. I made mistakes tonight and I’ll need to cut those out in the final. Every time I play Neil it is special. The Champion of Champions and English Open finals are two of the best ever. The table is playing beautifully and I’m sure there will be a lot of high scoring. Neil’s all round game looks very good so I’ll have to be at my best. The way we are both playing spurs the other players on so they don’t fall behind. The past few games have been draining, It is taking its toll. There is one last hurdle. It’s no good getting to a final and then losing, especially as I have waited for six years to get to the final of this event. To win it would top off an amazing few weeks. Since the start of the tournament the trophy has been by the table and that has made me feel to win it is what I’m here for.” Talking point: Ronnie, in the Eurosport studio, was full of praise for Neil Robertson. He believes that Neil has the best cue action in the game, and that, possibly, the only time when he struggles a bit is when he faces a very scrappy situation simply because he plays that type of frame so seldom that he lacks “practice” on the rare occasions he does. But he made another point. He observed that, walking though the hotel corridors he was seeing Nando’s bags and empty packs of chips in front of so many doors. Neil opted

for a vegan diet a few years back, and takes very good care of his health. Ronnie praised him for making those changes and insisted that this too was key for any player who wants to be the best version of themselves. “You have to invest into yourself” he said, insisting the a healthy lifestyle and a proper diet are essential to success and longevity. The subject came into the conversation because Neil had been drinking some dark green concoction during the match. The guys in the commentary box were wondering what it could be. Neil’s answer was: “just a smoothie” and added, laughing, that Graeme Dott had declared that it looked like bile… The Final Olivier Marteel from Belgium, was honoured for his work as a Covid-19 frontline worker in his home country. Olivier who is a nurse, usually works in radiology, by volunteered for the front-line when the first Covid-19 hit his country. He missed the 2020 World Championship, giving priority to his duties as a nurse at this particularly difficult and dangerous times. WST and WPBSA wanted to recognise his courage and thank him for his dedication to the ill and vulnerable by choosing him as the man in the middle for the Final. Olivier was interviewed, and presented with some “truffles”, by Rob Walker. Follow the link to listen to this remarkable conversation. Neil Robertson won his third UK Championship beating Judd Trump by 10-9 in one of the most tense and dramatic finals you’ll ever see. Only three players have won more than three UK championships in their career: Ronnie O’Sullivan (7), Steve Davis (6) and Stephen Hendry (5). This win also brings Neil’s tally of ranking events to 19, on par with Judd Trump. There was never more than one frame between the players. The first session had finished all square at 4-4 and the trend continued in the evening session. The match lasted nearly seven hours and it had everything: great pots, great safeties, unexpected misses and flukes. The 66 minutes long deciding frame was pure and proper drama. Both players spoke well after the match. Here are some quotes as reported by WST.

Neil Robertson: “I would have been devastated to lose, I don’t know how I would have slept for the next few nights. Judd will be gutted but he was very gracious in defeat. Both of us must have had ten times in the last frame where we thought we were going to win. It was a titanic struggle, we both refused to lose. It wasn’t the greatest quality, but sometimes finals are so bad they are good …. In the last few frames I was just trying to stay positive. The brown I potted at 9-8 was the bravest shot I have ever played because if I’d missed it I would have lost. That was the best clearance of my career. … When I got the chance at the pink I could have played safe but if I had then lost it would have haunted me for years. So I had to go all-out to pot it. After that I couldn’t have played another shot, I was empty. To beat Judd, who is the best player in the world and has been so consistent in finals over the last few years, it’s up there with anything I have achieved before.” Judd Trump: “It was an epic battle, it’s tough to take. I bottled it at the end, simple as that. I had an easy brown to screw back, I tried to stun it as I was under pressure, but I messed it up. The pressure got to me. Neil is an amazing player and thoroughly deserved the win. Hopefully I can learn from that.”. All credit to Judd for this brave and honest admission, right after such painful defeat. Neil is a great champion and a great person. He hadn’t it easy as a 16 years old expat from Australia and he is keen to inspire and help more young players from outside the UK. Both finalists are a great credit to the sport we love. Neil Robertson had 13 centuries during the championship. That’s a new record. The previous record was 12 centuries in the course of the UK championship and it was joint held by Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. The tournament sub-plot. The race to the Masters This tournament was the last counting towards the seeding in the 2021 Masters. Thepchaiya Un-nooh and Jack Lisowski, in particular, weren’t “safe” in the top 16 at the start of the week. The Masters lineup was only definitely confirmed when Lu Ning lost at the semi-finals stage. The draw was made during the first MSI on the UK Championship Final’s afternoon.

“BOTH OF US MUST HAVE HAD TEN TIMES IN THE LAST FRAME WHERE WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO WIN. IT WAS A TITANIC STRUGGLE, WE BOTH REFUSED TO LOSE.” Neil Robertson after his late night final win over Judd Trump.

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

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

POPULAR SNOOKER BLOGGER @SNOOKERBACKER PENS HIS REGULAR COLUMN

t’s my final column of the year for The Chalk and that can mean only one thing, it’s nearly Christmas. The official one that is, not the snooker one which starts in early April. I love Christmas, I’m the youngest in my family so it reminds me of being spoilt rotten. The updated me is married to someone who is also the youngest in her family so the pair of us are quite happy to act like kids for the festive season, spoiling ourselves rotten and eating and drinking too much. I remember my 11th Christmas on this cursed planet like it was yesterday, I awoke as excited as ever and bounced onto my Mum and Dad’s bed with my sack from Santa, blissfully unaware

WOWZERS! There stood a fully set up 6x3 snooker table on which I was to spend several thousand hours over the next 3 or 4 years...my dream had come true and I now had my very own table. The magic of Christmas. The reason I’m telling you this is that Christmas always feels special to me, very much like watching a 147 being compiled in the 80’s did. They hardly ever made them on telly, Davis did his in the Lada Classic when I was at school just a month after I got my table, Cliff made his at The Crucible on a highlights show and I seem to recall Kirk Stevens against Jimmy was also shown after the event, though I did watch this on the night as the match was one that I’d been looking forward

I REMEMBER MY 11TH CHRISTMAS ON THIS CURSED PLANET LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY, I AWOKE AS EXCITED AS EVER AND BOUNCED ONTO MY MUM AND DAD’S BED WITH MY SACK FROM SANTA, BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE DOWNSTAIRS THE PREVIOUS EVENING. of the transformation that had taken place downstairs the previous evening. As I finished telling my Mum and Dad what Santa (spoiler alert: AKA they) had brought me, it dawned on me that I still had my ‘big present’ waiting for me downstairs. I made my way in blissful ignorance down the stairs and into the kitchen...

to all day. Nowadays, like a lot of things that seem magical as a youngster they don’t feel that special anymore. Judd made one last week and it barely even registered on his emotional scale, then Kyren knocked one in for fun in the UK, securing 10k for a charity, then Ballrun decided to get in on the act the next

day and God knows how many more will have been made by the time you are reading this. It’s clear that the more tournaments there are the more frequent the maximums will be, but the nostalgic part of me yearns for simpler, less methodical times when the audience (remember them?) would clap a fifty break, marvel at a century and break into the equivalent of a snooker orgasm at the magical max. All this leads me to question what the next big achievement will be, two maximums in the same match? Back to back maximums? A player to hit three maximums in the same tournament? It’s a bit like imagining someone trimming yet more hundredths of a second off the 100 metre world record and asking, is that it now? Is that the quickest it is humanly possible to run? I’ve no doubt that at least one of the three next big things in snooker I mention above will be achieved at some point, possibly even this season if they keep playing behind closed doors, but will it feel as magical as opening your kitchen door to find a fully set up snooker table waiting for you with the family dog lying underneath snoozing? I think not. Merry Christmas.

ADVERTISE IN THE CHALK If you would like to advertise in forthcoming editions of The Chalk please get in touch. info@thechalk.co.uk BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

EU-BEAUTY! EUROPE CLAIM THE MOSCONI CUP >> Michael Day - Cuesports Reporter | www.twitter.com/ViewCue <<

eam Europe crushed their American counterparts 11-3 to regain the Mosconi Cup in what was the 27th edition of this annual transatlantic 9-Ball Pool tussle. Played behind closed doors at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry instead of the Alexandra Palace in London due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the onesided score line was a big surprise given that Team USA had lifted the trophy at the Ally Pally in 2018 and defended it in Las Vegas the following year. Both sides were under new management with former winners taking control; Dutchman Alex Lely was returning to lead the team in blue, while Jeremy Jones made the step up from being vice-captain for the Stars and Stripes. In a year where there have been precious few international tournaments, both teams fielded Mosconi Cup debutants with current world champion Fedor Gorst from Russia and America’s Chris Robinson making their bows. USA’s plans took a hit on the eve of the event when Justin Bergman – a winner from last year – tested positive for coronavirus and was replaced by the experienced Corey Deuel. Jones’ men claimed the opening point in the traditional curtain raising team match, but the hosts soon established control with doubles wins from Joshua Filler (Germany) / Gorst, Jayson Shaw (Scotland) / Albin Ouschan (Austria) and a singles success from Eklent Kaci (Albania) putting them 3-1 up. USA would finish

Team Europe celebrate their 11-3 win over their American counterparts - picture courtesy of Matchroom Pool / Taka Wu.

the first day on a high, though, as they bookended the session through fivetime US Open champion Shane van Boening who ousted Ouschan in a deciding rack. However, the Europeans would produce a sparking performance on Day Two that would effectively take the three-peat away from the Americans. In the ‘Fans Choice’ fixture, Shaw pipped van Boening 5-4 first up before the Scotsman paired with Ouschan to defeat Skyler Woodward and Robinson in doubles by the same result. Gorst, Kaci/Ouschan (doubles) and then Shaw again also triumphed later in the evening to inflict a 5-0 clean sweep of the Americans – the first time the competition has seen a five-match session whitewash since 2013.

At 8-2 up, Europe needed just three more points when they returned for the third day. Ouschan and Filler combined in doubles to extend their advantage, and Filler stayed on to defeat Woodward – last year’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) - 5-0 in singles action to put them on the hill. It was the only 5-0 of this year’s duel. Billy Thorpe and Robinson stopped the rot and restored some pride for USA with a doubles victory in match 13, but it just prolonged the seemingly inevitable as this year’s MVP Shaw completed the finishing touches with a 5-3 victory over van Boening. The contest was over with a day to spare – the last time this happened was also seven years ago.

www.ultimate-snooker.com BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

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 Barry’s YouTube page to help you improve your snooker game. To watch the videos just click the images below.

In this tutorial, Barry demonstrates what the swerve looks like, and explains when and how to play the shot. A lot of practice is needed!

Barry describes the gentle swerve shot and the massé shot. With the gentle swerve shot Barry demonstrates how the nap of the cloth can affect the swerve. Previously, in the Part 1 video, Barry described how to play a swerve shot and where to strike the cue ball. BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

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

RODNEY GOGGINS LOOKS BACK AT WHAT PULLED HIM INTO SNOOKER

couple of months ago, Ronnie O’Sullivan, claimed his sixth World title at the Crucible and for the second time in his career, (the first being his autobiography Running) he alluded to and gave kudos to the Joe Davis book, `How I Play Snooker’. O’Sullivan wouldn’t have been the only one to nod in the direction of the great man’s book, Steve Davis, fellow 6 times World Champion, use to call it `The Bible of Snooker’. Steve spent hours with his father Bill mulling over Joe’s advice, whilst honing his game on the practice table at the same time.

we only saw our heroes from television tournament to television tournament when I was growing up, any added information you could get, you lapped it up. Who’s who in Snooker in 1988 by Ian Morrison, Pocket Money by Gordon Burns in 1986, The Cruel Game by Jean Raffetty in 1982 and the Matchroom Annual in 1990 dealt with that. One of the earliest coaching books that I can remember buying (or more to the point my mother buying) was `Improve Your Snooker` by Clive Everton. What I remember of this lovely hardcover edition, was that it had beautiful 1980’s

With Christmas only around the corner, and myself only discovering eBay a couple of months ago, I went back and tried to purchase all the old snooker and a couple of billiard books I never could get hold of in the day. In this article I’m only going to talk about books that I have read and that have impressed me throughout my life. In the late 1980’s, there was a wealth of snooker books on the market. With snooker being so popular, you had autobiographies and coaching books coming out regularly. Who knows, some readers might get some ideas for presents for your snooker mad friends and family. What’s sadly missing from professional snooker tournaments these days on their stalls, is that they don’t really sell old snooker books. Back in the day at the old Benson and Hedges Irish Masters, they had a small library of snooker books. Society has moved on. All coaching and snooker related stories are on the internet daily. All you need is a touch of a button to look up information and techniques. Where

pictures, and a well detailed instructional basis to work on at the practice table. It had a shot to shot informative analysis on Alex Higgins’ 69 break in the 1982 World Semi Final Championships against Jimmy White. What also impressed me, as most coaching books would say ‘This is the way I do it’ but wouldn’t entertain other methods, where this one gave your options, e.g. the difference between John Spencer’s back arm to Ray Reardon’s. With most chapters, the yardstick was Steve Davis – with the recurring theme being - do it like Steve and you won’t go too far wrong. That point still holds up to this day some 30 years on. The first snooker autobiography I ever read was an Alex Higgins one - `Alex Through the Looking Glass by Tony Francis (1986). I brought it on my first adventure to the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters in 1996 at Goffs. I think I ate the book, reading it, wanted to know Higgins opinion on a number of things. This was the first of many Higgins books I brought, I went back and got `Hurricane Higgins Scrapbook’ by Angela Patmore, then

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

later I purchased `Eye of the Hurricane’ by John Hennessy; `The Hurricane’ by Bill Burrows’; `From the Eye of the Hurricane’, by himself. And lastly `Who was Hurricane Higgins?’ by Tony Francis. My opinion changes on year to year what’s my favourite Higgins book, at the moment it is `Who was Hurricane Higgins?’ by Tony Francis, I think it was an excellent idea from Francis to get 22 different people, from family, friends, and competitors to give their take on Alex. It provided new insight into his life story and this very complex individual. The story in writing is well versed, probably only equalled in sporting book terms by the George Best and Muhammad Ali life stories. The one thing that fascinated me about the sport was the historical part. `Snooker’ by Terry Smith covered this angle for me and a few years later, `The Embassy Book of Snooker’ by Clive Everton. Both books are rich in detail and have many beautiful, mystical photographs of bygone years. More recently, I purchased the Walter Lindrum book `Billiards Phenomenon’ by Andrew Ricketts. It is an in dept look of the Australian Billiard player. We started off this article about Joe Davis’ coaching book. He had an autobiography out as well called `The Breaks Came My Way’ which is well worth a read. Talking about books from yesteryear and changing from billiards and snooker and going to American pool, in 2002, I went across to the Crucible, and I picked up Willie Mosconi’s book, Willie’s Game. One book that really was before its time, maybe not in a coaching sense, but for the practice routines it gave you was

Jimmy Whites `Snooker Masterclass’. At the time, practice was a straight line up, long straight blues or a case of scattering the balls around the table. However, this was one of the first books I saw that gave different constructive routines for you to practice. I got my hands on this book in the local library in 1996, but I only purchased a second edition of the book at the South East Academy in Gloucester as late as 2017. Jimmy’s two autobiographies are rock’n’roll reading. On reading `Behind the White Ball’ and `Second Wind’, you definitely come away from the two books wondering how he kept it together for so long on the table. Jimmy’s arch rival, Steve Davis probably gave me the best autobiography. The unsurprisingly named `Interesting’ takes

you back to an era where you see all the great games, and provides vivid descriptions by dressing matches up like boxing bouts, which for us, the viewers, they were. Davis’s heart and soul goes into this game, attributes vital even for the very gifted. Steve’s other offerings that I read were ‘Snooker Champion’ (autobiography) and `Successful Snooker’ (coaching book) both published in 1981. Of course he was also heavily involved in the `Matchroom Annual’ in 1990 and a coaching book `Matchroom Snooker’ at a time when there were seven members in Barry Hearn’s stable. Another coaching book that I found very useful was `Frank Callan’s Snooker Clinic’ by Frank Callan and John Dee. This would be seen as the modern bible in my eyes for coaching. The famous drill was discussed in lengthly terms. Another lovely book written that gave inside information about what the stars were at, was `Play to Win: Snooker’ by Jim Meadowcroft and John Hennessy. Ronnie O’Sullivan books are always met with mostly praise for a very open account of his life, starting with his 2003

autobiography `Ronnie’, followed by a decade later, by the 2013 autobiography, `Running’. Both books written by Simon Haddenstone. Clive Everton has added to the O’Sullivan books with his own book a couple of year ago, `Simply the Best’. Graeme Dott’s autobiography `Frame of Mind’ written by Derek Clements, is a good old read. It proves that the blue collar worker can get to the top of the tree, albeit with alot of emotional bumps

along the way for the Scotsman. If you can get your hands on `Playing for Keeps’ and `Griff’, by Cliff Thorburn, and Terry Griffiths respectively, then they really are special books by two snooker players that tell their story with no punches pulled. Cliff’s story, written by Clive Everton in 1987, is probably the nearest thing to the Walter Tevis’ fictional character in the Hustler, Fast Eddie Felson. He lived that life early on in Canada hustling pool and snooker. He took the gamble to come to England in 1973 and the rest is history. `Griff’ written by Julian Worthington in 1989 is such an honest book. The reader gets a sense of the glory decade so to speak, but what shines through is the Welshman’s love for snooker going right back to the amateur days right through to the professional. Another thing it deals with, and Terry might have been the first player to talk about it, was having meltdowns with himself and being away from home so much on the snooker circuit. That wouldn’t have been the done thing in 1989 for a man to talk so openly on such subjects. Both subjects still hold true for a lot of professionals to this day. It is a really honest account of his life story, with praise for those he feels are deserving of it, but a fair amount of criticism for those who he saw as acting above their station. It’s this openness which I really liked in this particular book. He had another book in 1980 as well,

`Championship Snooker’ written by Clive Everton that told the Griffiths story by following him around the professional circuit for two seasons, going into each and every match in fine detail. Stephen Hendry was a very raw 21 year old when his first autobiography came out in 1990. `Remember My Name’ is a great read. You see the early roots and stages of a champion in the making. Ian Doyle has a lot of important input throughout the book. As a reader you hear a different opinion, and you can see the plan of attack from a manager’s point of view. In 2018, Hendry brought out `Me and the Table’ which covers his whole career. It’s a great read as well, especially for the likes of me, a Hendry fan. One criticism I have for it though, is that when I read it, is that unlike the aformentioned Davis autobiography `Interesting’ it doesn’t bring me back to the matches in my mind. In Davis’s book you feel the heavy blows there as he leads you through the matches.

Hendry’s book rather glosses over this, but maybe that says a lot about him, as he said himself many a time, “Once I won on Sunday night, I was back on the practice table on Monday morning practicing for the next tournament”. Two very similar mindsets of players, to dominate and to conquer, but they described two completely different pictures to me, Davis described the wars, where Hendry glossed over them, a comment from another sports book “some soldier’s don’t like talking about the wars that they fought” seems apt. I think I have bored you enough with snooker books now, not everyone’s cup of tea, but some great offerings over the years for the snooker book lover.

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

PREVIEW – VINNY.CO.UK CHAMPIONS LEAGUE POOL >> Michael Day - Cuesports Reporter | www.twitter.com/ViewCue <<

he first major English Eightball Pool action in several months will hit our television screens this December with the inaugural Vinny.co.uk Champions League Pool starting its 11-week Monday night live coverage on FreeSports. The exciting new event – that carries an impressive £10,000 winner’s purse - is the opening competition to be staged by fledgling group Ultimate Pool, an organisation that brings together several of the sport’s top promoters who hope to spark a prosperous new era for the smaller table. Held in its arena at the Players Pool and Snooker Lounge in Newcastle-under-Lyme, the 32-player invitational features a plethora of Eightball Pool’s biggest

names. Six-time and reigning WEPF World Champion Mick Hill, former world champion Phil Harrison and two-time Mosconi Cup winner Chris Melling are all scheduled to take part. The field is divided into eight round robin groups of four, with all players experiencing the limelight starting with Group One on Monday 7th December. Played to the popular ‘Shootout Pool’ timed format, the winner of each group will advance to additional groups in phase two of the tournament in February. The third phase will be ‘Finals Night’ on March 1st, which will be knockout. For further information and updates throughout, please visit the Ultimate Pool Facebook and Twitter pages.

Facebook - The Cue View Twitter - @ViewCue Instagram - thecueview

james@jrhmedia.co.uk | 07881 237868

www.jrhmedia.co.uk 18

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

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

Some of snooker’s greatest ever players will return to Hull in 2021 as the UK Seniors Championship will again take place at the Bonus Arena. Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and reigning tournament champion Michael Judge will take part in the 16-person event. The four-day tournament will take place between 12 and 15 August 2021 and tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, 11 December.

The ROKiT World Seniors Qualifying School event will now be held at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading instead of Jersey. The dates remain the same, 4th-10th January 2021, and the event will reopen for new entries for anyone over 40 on or before the first day’s play. All current entrants have been emailed this morning the full information and details of how players not already in the event can now enter will be published in due course. The tournament will be the first open-entry event staged by the WPBSA Group since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and will be run strictly in accordance with guidelines from the DCMS and EPSB. Full COVID-19 testing protocols will be in place and the club will be used as a closed venue secure bubble, with no public or admittance to anyone else during play. We hope that this use of an existing facility to stage an event as safely and securely as possible will assist in the way that the WPBSA Group may be able to operate going forwards. The club in Reading was opened by Ronnie O’Sullivan in January 2020 and is the practice base for current professionals Stephen Hendry and Billy Castle. The registration form can be found online by following this link www.snookerlegends.co.uk/RWSS_registration.html

DONATE TO THE CHALK

We hope you’ve been enjoying The Chalk, the first ever digital magazine in snooker. As you can imagine it takes a lot of time and effort from everyone here to produce the magazine and we could not do it without the great team of writers who contribute to the columns each month. We never want to set a price for the magazine, or charge, but we also understand selling advertising is hard at the moment, so we have added an option to donate to The Chalk via the donate button below to help with our costs. We hope you understand that we love providing the content and magazine but we need to start covering costs. The Chalk Team

CLICK HERE TO DONATE OR VISIT WWW.THECHALK.CO.UK

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

THE 2020 NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN – REVIEW >> BY MONIQUE LIMBOS - RETIRED MATHEMATICIAN WHO LOVES SNOOKER AND PHOTOGRAPHY <<

udd Trump, the World number one and defending Champion, won the 2020 Northern Ireland Open, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan, the World number two and reigning World Champion, by 9-7 in the Final. This brought Judd’s tally of ranking titles to 19, one better than Mark Selby and Neil Robertson. Two years ago, in November 2018, Judd had won this same tournament, beating the same man, by the same score, and it really kicked-started his career. He has since made it into 12 more ranking finals, winning 11 of them, including the World Championship (2019). He has also won the Masters (2019). He has truly become the dominant force in the sport. The above stats are quite extraordinary, but there is even more. This was the third year in a row that Judd won this tournament, beating the same opponent, Ronnie O’Sullivan, by the same score, 9-7. The last time before this one that a player had won a specific event three times in a row was when Stephen Hendry won the 1996 UK Championship. It was also the first time that the same two players competed in the final of a specific ranking event since the 1994 World Championship, when Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White contested their third straight final. I’m not sure if it ever happened by the same score as well … probably not because none of the usual “anoraks” came up with such occurrence. I will now look at how the tournament unfolded, with the focus on our two finalists parcour. It can be found on snooker.org. The last 128 round Judd Trump 4-1 Gerard Greene Gerard Greene playing for Northern Ireland is now 47 years old. He’s been a pro since 1993. He’s a useful player, but not a top player. His best ever ranking was 26th in the World and that dates back to the 2004/05 season. His best ever result came in 2014, when he reached the final of the Players Championship, a ranking tournament played over best of seven frames from start to finish. Gerard had beaten Judd just once before, in 2006. He was unlikely to cause Judd any problem and he didn’t. He won the first frame with a good 75, taking advantage of a mistake from his opponent, but was then restricted to a mere 51 points in the remainder of the match whilst Judd won the next four with breaks of 105, 55 and 88. After the match Judd seemed pretty happy with his form. 20

Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-1 Jamie O’Neill The 34 years old Jamie O’Neill has been on and off the tour since his debut in 2007/08. His highest ranking ever is a modest 80th in the World. However, in the 2019 English Open he had only narrowly lost by 4-3 to Ronnie having lead by 2-0 and 3-2. That was the only time they had played each other before. So Ronnie knew that he shouldn’t take any liberties. Ronnie played OK, but no where near his best. Speaking to WST after the match he said: “For me, that is as good as any win. Any players outside of the world’s top 64 are harder than beating top players these days. They go out there, no pressure, come out swinging and invariably they get the rub of the green. You have to fight for everything out there as you are on a hiding to nothing. I can’t even win tonight, I just had to avoid getting cake sploshed in my face.” Talking points Before the start of the first round, Declan Lavery, Tian Pengfei and Riley Parsons were withdrawn from the tournament. Parsons had tested positive for Covid-19 before arriving at the venue, Tian had tested positive the previous week at the German Masters Qualifiers, Lavery tested positive at the venue. As a result, Anthony Mc Gill (again!), Noppon Saengkham and Neil Robertson got a bye to the second round. Jack Lisowski, David Gilbert and Shaun Murphy were the top 16 members who crashed out in the first round. Gary Wilson was another surprise loser. It was particularly bad for Jack who needs results to make sure of his spot in the

Masters. The last 64 round Judd Trump 4-0 Gao Yang Gao Yang is only 16 years old, and is in his first season as a professional. He’s a fluent break-builder and had beaten the much more experienced Mitchell Mann in the first round. Facing Judd Trump, the World number one on the main table was always going to be difficult, especially when Judd is in very high scoring mode. Gao scored just 41 points, Judd had three centuries: 127, 147 and 109. This was Judd’s fifth 147 in professional competition. As he revealed in his post-match interview, it doesn’t matter if it’s the first or the fifth, a 147 is always exciting: “It is always special to make a 147, even with no crowd. I was very nervous and it is exciting to make one. You know that everyone at home is willing you on. When other players are going for one against me I’m always wanting them to get it and it is nice to watch on TV. For me it was the same as making any of my 147s, it was just as special and the nerves were exactly the same. It didn’t make any difference not having a crowd, it is just you against the table when you are on a 147. It was nice because I made a couple of good pots to keep the break going. It was a good 147 in the end.” Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-1 Elliot Slessor Elliott Slessor, 26 years old and a professional since 2013, had been a bit of a bogey man for Ronnie. Indeed he had beaten the reigning World Champion quite heavily both times they had met before this match: 4-1 in the last 32 round at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open and 6-2 in the last 64 round of the 2018

“IT DIDN’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE NOT HAVING A CROWD, IT IS JUST YOU AGAINST THE TABLE WHEN YOU ARE ON A 147. IT WAS NICE BECAUSE I MADE A COUPLE OF GOOD POTS TO KEEP THE BREAK GOING. IT WAS A GOOD 147 IN THE END.”

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

Judd Trump after making his 147 against Gao Yang.

China Open. It looked like the trend might continue when Elliot won the first frame with a good 71. Ronnie however came back to the table. He didn’t try to get snookers, he just cleared up with a nice 57 break, getting a feel of the conditions in the process. It paid off: he went on to win the next four frames with breaks of 97, 78, 76 and 57. Speaking to WST after the match, Ronnie was quite pleased with the win: “That is one of my best victories for a long, long time. He beat me twice before, convincingly. He just always plays well against me and I felt like I was getting outplayed again. For me that is as good a victory than anyone I’ve played in my career, so I’m over the moon. It is the cake in the face scenario. Everyone expects me to win. If I don’t win, then I look like I’m not the player I was. I’ve got nothing to gain by winning. Nobody is going to be writing about what a great win by Ronnie O’Sullivan, into the last 32 by beating Elliot Slessor. They are going to expect that. Everybody on the circuit knows what a fantastic player he is. It wasn’t a foregone conclusion.” Talking points Some really big names went out at this stage: Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham. Mark Selby was whitewashed by Lukas Kleckers from Germany. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that. The last 32 round Judd Trump 4-3 Luca Brecel Luca Brecel from Belgium gave Judd what proved to be his sterner test until the final. Luca turned professional in 2011, yet he’s only 25 years old. He has been ranked as high as 11th although he’s now as low as 34th , and he’s a ranking event winner (2017 China Championship). He also won the Championship League last June. He won’t be intimidated by Judd as they share the same management for years and, likely, know each others game inside-out. Luca is a fluent, attacking player and very proficient at breakbuilding. There was never more than a frame between the players and match went to a deciding frame. Both players had two breaks over 50. Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens had beaten Ronnie at this same stage at the 2020 English Open earlier this season. This was a quite hard-fought match. Matthew lead by 2-1, but Ronnie managed to win the last three frames to seal victory. Ronnie made the only century of the match, a 103; it came in the second frame. Ronnie was far from his best in this match but applied himself and gave it 100%. He respects Matthew, and goes along well with him. They are of the same generation, and Matthew is a brilliant player, who never really achieved what he could have given his talent. His only ranking title came in 2003,

when he beat Stephen Hendry by 10-8 to win the UK championship. His career was affected by private issues, notably the death of his beloved father-in-law and manager, Morell, in 2001 and the loss of his close friend Paul Hunter in 2006. Talking points Several players, most notably Judd Trump, complained about the tables conditions. The tables played “heavy” whilst the cushions were “pingy”. The strange thing is that it happened overnight. The previous day they were playing ok and suddenly they were playing terrible. The was no clear explanation for it. There was nothing that could be done of course. The tables were recovered at the end of the day, ahead of the QFs. The last 16 round Judd Trump 4-1 Martin Gould Judd Trump had lost to Martin Gould in the semi-finals of the 2020 European Masters earlier this season. That was certainly in the back of his mind as he raced to a 4-1 victory over Martin this time. After his win he explained why this was a difficult match for him: “It was a tough game. Martin is playing well and he is fearless as well. If you leave him anywhere on the table there is always a chance that he could clear up. It is always difficult and you are always under pressure against him. After losing to him earlier in the season, it was nice to get my own back.” Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-nooh This was a very entertaining match. Thepchaiya, the 35 years old “Speed Kimg” rom Thailand, is ranked 15th in the World. He is someone Ronnie likes and likes to play. They played six frames and scored seven breaks over 50 between them: 85, 98 and 66 for Thepchaiya, 106, 60, 70 and 52 for Ronnie. The 70 break that Ronnie made to go 3-2 up was gem and it was the pivotal moment in the match. Speaking to Eurosport after the match he said: “I got some luck today. The first three matches I felt I was getting no run of the ball at all, and having to fight all the elements, but tonight I got the run of the ball. Not the balls he missed, that’s his own fault, but I missed a few balls and got safe and if I hadn’t he’d have

“EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T FEEL GREAT OUT THERE, I AM ENJOYING IT AND IT IS NICE TO BE OUT THERE HITTING BALLS.” Ronnie O’Sullivan talking to Eurosport

probably cleared up. Even though I didn’t feel great out there, I am enjoying it and it is nice to be out there hitting balls. I just take what is going, have fun and will not take it serious, but take it serious if that makes sense. I play this as a hobby. I do other stuff for my work and my business side of things. I practiced last week. I did about 20 hours, I’ve never done that since I was 17/18. I don’t really want to be playing snooker all day. I like hitting a few balls, and at my age you want to chill out and enjoy yourself.” Talking points At the end of the “moving day”, four top players remained on course: Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao. The other quarter finalists were Ali Carter, Kurt Maflin, David Grace and Scott Donaldson. David Grace is the only one that wasn’t in the top 32. The quarter-finals Judd Trump 5-1 Scott Donaldson Scott Donaldson, 26 years old from Perth in Scotland, turned professional in 2012 and is currently 25th in the World rankings. He’s solid player who has steadily progressed with ever season since his debut. Over the last three years he has been very consistent. reached a number of semi-finals, and he won last season “regular” Championship League snooker. He rarely plays on the television table though and he couldn’t really compete with Judd Trump in this match. Judd also praised the conditions after the tables had been recovered: “It was probably the best conditions we have played on all season. There are going to be a lot of high breaks from this point on. The table is playing beautifully.” Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-2 Ding Junhui Ronnie found himself 2-0 down to Ding who had been playing incredible snooker during the first two frames. Ronnie then went on to win five on the trot to seal victory with a 5-2 score, without playing particularly well. How this happened is still hard to comprehend for me. This was a match that was lost and won in the heads of the players rather than on the table. Speaking to Eurosport, Ronnie assessed where he feels he currently stands in his game and career: “My potting’s not that good. I’m just not as good as I was,” O’Sullivan said, when asked why he had refused a long pot in the fourth frame. My long game used to be much better. I miss too many balls. Higgins is the same, Williams is the same. It’s just a natural progression as you get a bit older. So there’s no point going for it if you’re going to let him in amongst the balls. I might as well just smash into them and say, ‘here you are, clear up. I used to be ‘the potter’. Now I wouldn’t even make the top 50 of potters on the tour.” And in his post-match interview with WST, he reckoned that he dragged Ding

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

to his level: “At one point in this evening’s match I’d have been happy just to get a frame. He went off the boil and that allowed me to get back in the game. I just picked up bits and pieces, tried to stay solid and capitalise on any chances I got. You just have to win as many frames as you can and try not to lose frames. You have to keep your head down and not look for the winning line. I make it hard for myself. I missed a few balls early on and left him in. I don’t pot as well as I used to. I missed a few balls, but that is a natural thing as you get older.” The semi-finals Judd Trump 6-2 David Grace David Grace, is 35 years old, from Leeds, and currently 65th on the World ranking list. David only regained his professional status in 2019 via the Challenge tour. David is an endearing character. He loves his snooker through and through. He cares a lot for grassroots snooker and has actively promoted it by organising events for players of all ages and abilities. He’s a wonderful person and a talented artist. This was only his second semi-final in a ranking event; the first one had come at the 2015 UK Championship. David won the first frame of the match but Judd had too much for him, and the television table conditions probably also favoured the World number one as he’s used to them and David isn’t. Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 Ali Carter The last time those two had played each other was at the Crucible in 2018, and it had been quite tense to say the least. Yes, that’s when the “barge” incident happened, and Ali had prevailed. Ronnie trailed 3-1 at the MSI, despite scoring a century in the second frame, but when they resumed he found some form and raced victory with break of 78, 66, 93, 102 and 59. Speaking to WST after the match, Ronnie said: “I didn’t really do a lot wrong in the first four frames, but I didn’t make anything happen either. Ali kept it tight and was making it hard for me. I always think if I can find a bit of form against that type of play, it is easy to get back in the game. It was a bit like when I played Selby at the World Championship, you are on the back foot for so long, that you are just looking for that moment and spark. When it comes, you get excited and you start flowing.”. He also admitted that he hadn’t been practicing much, and, therefore wasn’t disappointed with his season so far despite a number of early exits. The Final Judd Trump 9-7 Ronnie O’Sullivan Judd Trump reached the final without playing a top 16 player in any of the previous rounds. It was a great match again. Judd took an early lead: he went 3-1 up, and 5-2 up before Ronnie crucially scored a marvellous 130 to stay in touch. It was 5-3 at the MSI, Judd leading, just like the year before. Ronnie had struggled badly 22

for most of the first session. When they resumed, Judd was again first off the blocks and took a 7-3 advantage, but Ronnie fought back and the score was 7-5 to Judd at the interval. Judd then won the next frame to go 8-5 up, just one short of victory. Ronnie came back fighting with everything he had, won the next two, but then missed a rather tricky red in the middle pocket in frame 16. It proved to be his last shot. Both players were really happy after the match … which isn’t that common. They were interviewed by Andy Goldstein and here is what they said (source WST): Ronnie: “I’m not disappointed. I’ve had a great week and a fantastic time. I played some good snooker and enjoyed it. I’d have taken quarter-finals all day long. This is a bonus.I just play for a hobby now. I don’t have to play for a living. If I had to play this game for a living, I would be miserable as hell. I just play for fun and do my business off the table. I obviously would like to win. It is a tough school. I think I can play until I’m 60 now, with the way things are going. If I am fit and healthy, then I might not be on the tour, but I would be doing the exhibitions. I’m going to be like Jimmy White. I love playing, I just didn’t enjoy playing on the circuit as it was like hard graft. Now that is taken care of and it has become a hobby. It is like I am ten years old again. I wish I could have felt like this when I was in my prime.” Judd: “I’m delighted. It was a tough game. I felt confident at 8-5. I felt like I was going to get chances and that didn’t happen. I played a couple of bad safeties, he forced me into a couple of errors and before I knew it the score was 8-7 and looking like 8-8. I was wondering if I was even going to get a chance to win the match. I made a brilliant clearance, it was up there with one of the best clearances I’ve made. I can’t remember anyone else in the history of the game even getting close to my record in finals against Ronnie. To have a winning record of 7-3 now is absolutely incredible. He is probably the best player that’s ever lived and I’ve got a record like that against him. The World Championship is the biggest tournament in our sport and an amazing achievement, but it is one tournament over a whole season. I won six events last year, none of them the World Championship, every tournament for me is the same. Although the World Championship is a little bit more difficult. I still put myself up there as the one to beat. It just shows in my level of consistency and how far in front I am in the rankings, to keep doing it again and again. It is nice to have that matchup, that he is the World Champion and I’m the world number one.” Talking points During this event, and during the final

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

in particular, Ronnie played on when the frames were already dead. He didn’t try for snookers, he was just trying to get some table time as he was struggling. It paid off eventually as he started to play much better towards the end of the match. But playing on when the frame was clearly beyond rescue didn’t go down well with some fans, who saw this as disrespectful and suggested that the rules shouldn’t allow that. This opinion wasn’t shared by Jimmy White and Alan McManus, both professional players and Eurosport pundits. You can read more about this here. This is a short excerpt of the article: “O’Sullivan’s antics were debated during the mid-session interval in the final, with both Alan McManus and Jimmy White making a case in favour of the Englishman .“Ronnie invents new ways of trying to keep himself in matches and trying to do different,” said McManus. “Even if it’s only 1%, if that helps him get the job done in the end then he’ll do it. He’s entitled to do it, that’s alright. White added: “It’s legal. When it was 7-3 it looked a bit bizarre,

“I’M DELIGHTED. IT WAS A TOUGH GAME. I FELT CONFIDENT AT 8-5. I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO GET CHANCES AND THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN.” Judd Trump after his final win over Ronnie O’Sullivan.

but it ended up 7-5 so maybe he’s found something somewhere.” Conclusion It was another great final, concluding an enjoyable event. Judd Trump has now won the first two “Home Nations” tournaments of the season. There is no bonus this season in case he manages to win all four. Given the circumstances, that money is better invested in keeping the main tour going.

IF SNOOKER PLAYERS WERE PARTS OF A CHRISTMAS DINNER, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? >> BY TOM MOORCROFT <<

’ve got to admit I love Christmas. Being with your friends and family, sitting around a nice warm fire with some of your closest companions. It really is a lovely time of year, and something which I think we all need now more than ever. However, the true staple of a class Christmas relies on one thing: Christmas dinner. You’ve got those potatoes roasting, the turkey’s in the oven, and you’re ready to start tucking in. However, you notice something rather peculiar. As you sit there staring at your meal you start to notice that some of the items are slowly turning into snooker players. Well, if you had to associate snooker players with parts of a Christmas dinner, who would it be and why?

Brussels Sprouts: Stephen Hendry: he’s always been around This might seem like a negative one, but I know with good authority that there are quite a few people that like brussels sprouts. You may have to wait an entire year to scrape them out the cupboard, but these miniature green snooker balls are deserving of their place on that plate, just like this man deserves his role within the snooker universe. The man who dominated the 90s, has the most World Championship titles to date and has a guaranteed seat on every snooker punditry table on the planet (seriously, if there’s a tournament on he’s doing some press for it), really is Mr Snooker. Whether you like it or not Hendry is a namesake of the sport, and just like those veggie delights we’ll never get rid of him. Christmas Cracker: Mark Williams: they’re a bit of a joker For a gentleman’s sport which many people would deem boring, most fans know

that there are some funny characters every now and then. There are a couple people which spring to mind when I think about this one, but in recent years I’ve always relied on Mark Williams to cheer me up. Whether it’s going stark naked for a posttournament interview after winning the World Championship in 2018, joking around with Barry Hawkins after Ronnie’s infamous spat with Ali Carter, or sneaking the cue ball into his pocket so the referee couldn’t respot it. The man who’s always got a joke in him, Mark Williams is truly the Christmas cracker. Pigs in blankets: Jimmy White: one of the sport’s most unsung heroes Truly the silent assassin on the dinner table, those lovely little blankets of sausage and bacon are a guaranteed game changer. Just how these delightful delicacies hide on your plate waiting to be spotted, The Whirlwind Jimmy White is perhaps one of the most underrated snooker players of all time. A man unfortunate enough to share four of his six World Championship finals alongside Stephen Hendry, he just couldn’t catch a break, with one of the most naturally talented ball potters falling short on numerous occasions. Don’t worry Jimmy, you don’t need to win a World Championship in my eyes. Gravy: John Virgo: the thing that holds it all together You know you can have a lot of great items on that plate, but we all admit that without a nice bit of gravy smothered on top, it just wouldn’t be the same. We need someone to accompany our viewing experience, to provide some top notch commentary and help keep the tournament all together. For me, that man would be John Virgo. The M/C

and commentary wiz, as well as a former world No.10, Virgo has provided commentary for some of the greatest snooker moments of all time. With him in your ear, it helps you take in the snooker just a little bit easier. Roast Potatoes: Ronnie O’Sullivan: they can make or break a tournament I know what many people will be thinking: roast potatoes are the best part of a Christmas dinner, so why wouldn’t Ronnie claim that title? Well, not quite. Whilst many will admit they’re a god tier part of that classic dish, I think they make or break a nice roast dinner. If the potatoes are a bit off you can’t help but push them to the side, but if they’re nice, crispy and fluffy inside you’ll see a queue of people waiting for seconds. Ronnie, when he decides to show up, is simply unplayable, but every now and then he’ll make some mistakes and you can’t help but think: is this the same six-time World Champion I remember? Blink and you’ll miss him, the Roasty, Ronnie O’Sullivan. Christmas pudding: Peter Ebdon: a strong late-game which sends people off to sleep You’ve just had a corker of a meal, you’re sitting there slowly drifting into a food coma and, what do you know, you’ve got room for a dessert. A lovely Christmas pudding comes flying onto the table, and as people start to dig in you can’t help but think of one of those slow, powerful late-game snooker players. Peter Ebdon, who many will know for his rather dull and cautious style of play, was capable of putting some of the best players in the world to shame, on occasion even leaving Ronnie O’Sullivan tired, fed up and ready to give in. Just like Ebdon, a nice Christmas pud will send you to sleep in no time.

GOT A STORY? HOLDING AN EVENT?

Get in touch with The Chalk at info@thechalk.co.uk BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk

Dennis Taylor 1985 World Champion

Snooker Legends

BECAUSE EVERY CUE SPORTS PLAYER NEEDS IT // www.thechalk.co.uk