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Ssb - day three preview
The crowd attendance yesterday was the worst I can ever remember for a televised day of a ranking event in the UK.
Only 30 tickets were sold for the afternoon session. At the same time, Rangers were playing Celtic, which would have taken the attention of most of Glasgow.
However, the evening session did not attract that many more spectators - even though crowds at the SECC last year were generally good.
Let us hope yesterday was just an anomaly. The acid test comes today when Stephen Hendry plays.
If he can't pull in a crowd in Scotland then serious questions are going to be asked about how this tournament has been marketed.
Hendry could be vulnerable against Matt Selt, who is in the form of his life having qualified for Shanghai and now Glasgow from the first round.
But this is only his second match on TV and though Hendry's form is patchy, he has all the experience.
Liang Wenbo has played Peter Ebdon twice and beaten him 5-0 and 5-1. Full of confidence after his run to the Shanghai final he will be looking to complete the hat-trick.
Tonight, Shaun Murphy tackles Barry Pinches, who came from 4-1 down to beat Michael Holt in the final qualifying round.
Mark Allen faces Ian McCulloch, who was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Grand Prix five years ago.
TV times:
BBC2 1.30-4.30pm, 7-8pm, 0.50-3.40am
British Eurosport 2 1.30-5pm, British Eurosport 7.45-10pm
Eurosport times in other countries vary, check your local listings
The BBC website (in the UK) and the Eurosport Player has live coverage from both the tables.
More...
Only 30 tickets were sold for the afternoon session. At the same time, Rangers were playing Celtic, which would have taken the attention of most of Glasgow.
However, the evening session did not attract that many more spectators - even though crowds at the SECC last year were generally good.
Let us hope yesterday was just an anomaly. The acid test comes today when Stephen Hendry plays.
If he can't pull in a crowd in Scotland then serious questions are going to be asked about how this tournament has been marketed.
Hendry could be vulnerable against Matt Selt, who is in the form of his life having qualified for Shanghai and now Glasgow from the first round.
But this is only his second match on TV and though Hendry's form is patchy, he has all the experience.
Liang Wenbo has played Peter Ebdon twice and beaten him 5-0 and 5-1. Full of confidence after his run to the Shanghai final he will be looking to complete the hat-trick.
Tonight, Shaun Murphy tackles Barry Pinches, who came from 4-1 down to beat Michael Holt in the final qualifying round.
Mark Allen faces Ian McCulloch, who was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Grand Prix five years ago.
TV times:
BBC2 1.30-4.30pm, 7-8pm, 0.50-3.40am
British Eurosport 2 1.30-5pm, British Eurosport 7.45-10pm
Eurosport times in other countries vary, check your local listings
The BBC website (in the UK) and the Eurosport Player has live coverage from both the tables.
More...
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