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For those of you – and there are far more than the media would have you believe – with little or no interest in the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Betfred.com World Championship offers a respite.
There’s not much pomp and ceremony at the Crucible but there is a chance to be part of snooker history.
For Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, there is a chance to become world champion for the first time.
I was wondering yesterday if it would finally dawn on Trump just what he is involved in, or rather whether he would be overawed by it.
Well, he wasn’t. He knocked in some terrific balls and at times seemed to be channelling the great Alex Higgins in some of his shot-making.
Trump leads 5-3. Ding was unhappy with his own performance and needed the session to end but, of course, these are long matches and he is quite capable of turning it on.
Ding could do with a good start this morning, though. You feel he needs to win the session to clip Trump’s wings.
Mark Williams proved that snooker isn’t all about big breaks as he took a 5-3 lead over John Higgins last night.
Williams, at his best, has a big match temperament, responding to the importance of the occasion. Like all the greats of the game he relishes the pressure and doesn't fear the winning line.
But then the same can be said of Higgins and this match has the potential to be very close indeed.
Long before I was working in snooker I thought the semi-finals were too long but I do also agree with Shaun Murphy, who in an interview for Eurosport said that the format of the World Championship shouldn’t change because every champion in the modern age has had to pass the same test (give or take the odd frame here and there).
The attention of much of the world may be diverted elsewhere this morning but that test is what sorts out the greats from the also-rans and it remains as fascinating as ever.
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There’s not much pomp and ceremony at the Crucible but there is a chance to be part of snooker history.
For Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, there is a chance to become world champion for the first time.
I was wondering yesterday if it would finally dawn on Trump just what he is involved in, or rather whether he would be overawed by it.
Well, he wasn’t. He knocked in some terrific balls and at times seemed to be channelling the great Alex Higgins in some of his shot-making.
Trump leads 5-3. Ding was unhappy with his own performance and needed the session to end but, of course, these are long matches and he is quite capable of turning it on.
Ding could do with a good start this morning, though. You feel he needs to win the session to clip Trump’s wings.
Mark Williams proved that snooker isn’t all about big breaks as he took a 5-3 lead over John Higgins last night.
Williams, at his best, has a big match temperament, responding to the importance of the occasion. Like all the greats of the game he relishes the pressure and doesn't fear the winning line.
But then the same can be said of Higgins and this match has the potential to be very close indeed.
Long before I was working in snooker I thought the semi-finals were too long but I do also agree with Shaun Murphy, who in an interview for Eurosport said that the format of the World Championship shouldn’t change because every champion in the modern age has had to pass the same test (give or take the odd frame here and there).
The attention of much of the world may be diverted elsewhere this morning but that test is what sorts out the greats from the also-rans and it remains as fascinating as ever.
More...