Betfred World Championship 2020

[trains]

Gutted for Anthony , all that effort wasted .

difficult not to agree with barry best of 5 hearn's sentiment here , whats changed between now and when he played donaldson and craigie , he still gets ?15k prize money which emboldens him in the top 64 , hardly wasted , and at others expense .

[JimMalone]

Has this happened before, a spot at the main draw staying empty? I can't remember.

They should take a page of tennis' playbook and give the spot to a "Lucky Loser". A draw among all sixteen players who lost in the final qualifying round.

[Starsky]

I don’t get Hamilton deciding to withdraw now.
It was common knowledge that there was going to be spectators albeit reduced. . I understand the reasons with him having asthma but the timing is inconsiderate to his fellow pros whom he beat on his way to qualifying given he was already aware that this was going to be an issue.

[Nifty50]

Anthony probably just needed the money. 20k for competing in the qualifiers might have been difficult to turn down. He’s got bills to pay like anyone else.

[JimMalone]

I don’t get Hamilton deciding to withdraw now.
It was common knowledge that there was going to be spectators albeit reduced. . I understand the reasons with him having asthma but the timing is inconsiderate to his fellow pros whom he beat on his way to qualifying given he was already aware that this was going to be an issue.

I personally understand his decision.
With the qualifying he could earn 20.000 pounds and ranking points, which obviously is a lot to him (and most players), so wy should he abstain from this chance?
Also he might have thought that the decision, playing in front of spectators, would have taken back as well, as he wasn't the only player objecting against a crowd.

[Starsky]

I personally understand his decision.
With the qualifying he could earn 20.000 pounds and ranking points, which obviously is a lot to him (and most players), so wy should he abstain from this chance?
Also he might have thought that the decision, playing in front of spectators, would have taken back as well, as he wasn't the only player objecting against a crowd.

Jim,

Didn’t think of it from a financial point of view and personal ranking points.
Will he still keep both of those if he decides
to withdraw then ?

[trains]

according to the bbc article thats up now he keeps the 20k first round losing prize .

[Starsky]

according to the bbc article thats up now he keeps the 20k first round losing prize .

Is that normal procedure or has it changed due to Covid ?

[mikee]

Btw i’ve seen ronnie wood at the masters , may have been but i’ve never seen him at the crucible , wood probably thinks there’s no wi-fi beyond the m25 .

Ronnie Wood was there with Jimmy White at the World final when White was 14-8 up against Stephen Hendry ,they were drinking champagne in Whites dressing room in the interval when Hendry walked past and saw them , ( allegedly ) ,.well we all know what happened next .

[trains]

Is that normal procedure or has it changed due to Covid ?

faint memory tells me that its normal procedure , i don't follow rankings as much or like i used to , i think there's scenarios where players get one or the other prize money or ranking points but on this i'm pretty sure its nothing to do with covid , and not sounding cynical but hamilton probably would have 100 % new that too .

[trains]

Ronnie Wood was there with Jimmy White at the World final when White was 14-8 up against Stephen Hendry ,they were drinking champagne in Whites dressing room in the interval when Hendry walked past and saw them , ( allegedly ) ,.well we all know what happened next .

quite a while ago though , i remember robbie fowler and steve mcmanaman in the crowd the friday evening of o'sullivans 96 crucible semi with peter ebdon , was during or just after o'sullivan played really well to get back into it , really good buzz .

[tomwalker147]

Totally get why Anthony withdrew, he probably hadn't even thought about playing in front of a crowd until he'd won his qualfiers, and I understand he was expecting the crowd to at least have to wear masks.
To some who aren't that worried this will seem a nonsense but to others with health conditions like Anthony they'll be genuinely terrified of putting themselves at risk.

As for Barry Hearn, the guy has tried to hang one of his senior pros out to dry with his comments, he'd of come out of this much better having an understanding tone.

[thommo335]

So the spectators who had tix to the sessions for Hamilton v Wilson get short changed too as they can only watch the other game from the far side of the arena. I sympathise with Hamilton needing the prize money but if he had no intention of playing in front of an audience, he should have stated that before denying a fellow pro a place in the main draw. Too late now I guess to draw a lucky loser from the final qualifying round to even up the draw again.
I agree with Hearn actually. Hamilton's asthma hasn't appeared overnight and he's hardly a bums on seats type of player in any case. Bit of an embarrassment for World Snooker.

[Mark187187]

I think there's a big difference between a crowd with masks and a crowd without masks. Not sure anyone knew audience would be without masks until a day or so ago. I don't see why people can't just stick a mask on personally. Everyone else going out in the country is if they're inside, and they're not eating or drinking

[147Jim]

Yeah Front Row Brian is a big snooker fan but more generally he’s a big Sports fan and turns up at a lot of major sporting events, always in a great seat, and hence the nickname FRB. I met him at The Crucible a couple of times. Loves to see his face on the telly.
PS. Stephen Fry is another celebrity snooker fan although doesn’t attend many events.

Good luck to him, must have a few quid.