2022 Northern Ireland Open

[PatBlock]

Got to see last night's match, scrappy in places and Neil was missing by miles - so uncharacteristically - Mark stuck to the job and had some luck (like the full length double ).

Looking forward to the final today

Yes, it was similar to his match with MJW. Does Mark want this win on his home turf a little too much I wonder?
Has Zhou got over his 9 - 0 defeat to Robertson in the 2020 European Masters final? Or will that scar come back to haunt him? Hopefully not and if he brings his A game today, should be a great match.

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[PatBlock]

Weird acoustics in this venue, every power shot sounds like the gunfight at the ok corral.

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[PatBlock]

Superb 135 from Zhou, come on Mark, RSVP.

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[fkhan]

I guess Allen will successfully defend his title tonight.

[PatBlock]

I guess Allen will successfully defend his title tonight.

I think it's fair to say that Mark has had the luck of the Irish tonight.

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[PatBlock]

Very pleased for Mark, 8 on the bounce, can't argue with that. he'll be gunning for his hat trick next year.
A disappointing conclusion for Zhou, but I'm sure he'll take the many positives from this tournament an push on. I've really enjoyed this week, great venue, crowd, atmosphere. Thanks N.I.

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[Cue crafty]

This statement doesn't mention Ronnie, I thought he was playing in Macau too.....

https://wst.tv/world-snooker-tour-wst-statement/

[fkhan]

Did such things even happen when Barry Hearn was the boss? Trying to understand if the new leadership is the reason behind this.

[fkhan]

https://ibb.co/gzBkg4B

Barry Hearn is not happy either.

[Cue crafty]

This made me giggle, the cheeky smile as he rolls in. You can just tell he gets treated like royalty there, no wonder other players want some of the cake.

[Nifty50]

https://ibb.co/gzBkg4B
Barry Hearn is not happy either.

This is only going to hurt snooker long term. Could end up with 2 different snooker tours. Bit like what happened in darts. Hope it doesn’t end up in court.
I don’t know any of the details of the players contracts with WST but Barry Hearn always said that the players could pick and choose what tournaments they played in. Surely the contracts can’t be so detailed as to dictate what a player does with his or hers spare time?

[Cue crafty]

At the bottom of the WST statement, team Ronnie give Thier opinion on the situation and I think it's quite a good one.

https://ronnieo147.com/2023/10/11/11...t-in-a-crisis/

[trains]

This is only going to hurt snooker long term. Could end up with 2 different snooker tours. Bit like what happened in darts. Hope it doesn’t end up in court.
I don’t know any of the details of the players contracts with WST but Barry Hearn always said that the players could pick and choose what tournaments they played in. Surely the contracts can’t be so detailed as to dictate what a player does with his or hers spare time?

Where is snooker going anyway though ?
I know you're interested in the Muir's and Donaldson's etc but on the bigger scale who really cares ?
And I say that with no gratuitousness whatsoever, just as someone who likes the game.

[fkhan]

This is only going to hurt snooker long term. Could end up with 2 different snooker tours. Bit like what happened in darts. Hope it doesn’t end up in court.
I don’t know any of the details of the players contracts with WST but Barry Hearn always said that the players could pick and choose what tournaments they played in. Surely the contracts can’t be so detailed as to dictate what a player does with his or hers spare time?

I just hope they are warned and no further action is taken. From what I read, players are not allowed to play in any non sanctioned events that clash with WST events. They can play those events during the off days as per the WST calendar.

[Cue crafty]

This is more than just about playing for higher stakes/money. If you listen to the John Higgins interview I posted he is clearly unhappy with the way things are being run and I think Selby feels the same, so to me (for these two at least) it's about making a stand because they feel their concerns aired meet deaf ears at WST.