2016 Northern Ireland Open

[DeanH]

I can barely remember being more pleased for the winner of a ranking event.

Same here
I think it was Gould when he said his dad probably wasn't watch as he doesn't have Sky

[Alba_]

I'm not crying. My eyes are just a little sweaty today.

Bravo Mark King. It's always a treat seeing somebody get a break in life (no pun intended) Maybe Barry Hearn will be shamed into organising a better system for the lower ranked players. Take some of the high prize money away for example. Then distribute it to the first round losers at least. A grand for losing in the first round would be a great start. Instead of sweet bugger all.

[jonny66]

I think they should at least cover the travel and accommodation costs, I wouldn't work away unless these were covered. And it is work for pros.

[the lone wolf]

money - I have said many times that the prize money should be more spread out, the percentage between rounds should not be so disperate, give the lower players a chance to earn more than a caretaker at an NHS hospital!
No offence to the caretaker but travelling around the world has expenses...
Also NHS doesn't take a cut of their participant's earnings before they get it -weeks later! Sort it out World Snooker!

I've always thought this of all cue sports.
The model used in premier league football works better because all teams including teams that get relegated receive a proper cur of the money. Compared to la liga where Real Madrid and Barcelona are allowed to negotiate their own TV rights.

At Wimbledon a player that wins their first round match pretty much covers their expenses for the year.

I know the above sports have much more revenue, but they also seem to manage the money they have a whole lot better.

Have gone a bit off topic but agree that the split across the board should be a whole lot better.

[alabadi]

i'm chuffed for mark King, had a lump in my throat at the end there. Glad for him . one for the underdog.

finally he has something to show for all those years of sticking to it through thick and thin , maybe he can kick on and get to the business part of few more tournament now.

[Odrl]

Well, I can honestly say this was the most entertaining evening of snooker this season for me. :smile:

I wasn't really expecting any fireworks, and it looked like it wouldn't be much of a match at 5-1 to Hawkins, but King fought brilliantly to take control of the match and get over the line in the end. To be honest, Hawkins was a little sloppy today, missing four blacks off the spot early on in frames. He only lost 9-8 in the end, so every one of those blacks could have been the ball that buried him. His tactics were also a little suspect tonight. That penultimate frame will surely be remembered for a long time for what happened on pink and black, but Hawkins had a 50-point lead earlier in the frame with all the reds and the yellow safe. He played quite poorly from then on, and was lucky that King missed the black when clearing up for frame and match. King then needed two snookers with just pink and black left, and he must have tried for 10 minutes or so to get that miracle shot, without Hawkins playing a single useful shot in all that time. Still, credit to King for believing in that miracle and making it happen. :smile:

The decider was a little nervy, as expected. King lost position on a very easy chance and later missed a simple yellow, while Hawkins miscued when he had a chance himself. It still made for great entertainment though. :smile: Usually we get a final between players who have won titles before, or perhaps players who are young enough to win them eventually, but tonight we had a player who probably won't find himself in this position again, so it felt like there was a little more at stake for him. I didn't really have a preference before the match started, but after listening to King speak I am happy he won it in the end. It was probably the best post-match interview in all the time I've been watching snooker, and I've seen quite a few now. Very well played to him. While this event doesn't quite fit my personal definition of a major ranking event, it's still a great title for King to win, and a very satisfying highlight of his long career. :smile:

I remember him getting a lot of hate on this forum six years ago when he was due to play Jimmy White at the Masters, through no fault of his own really. Some people were really outraged by that wildcard decision, myself included, and a couple of people saw the need to have a go at King in response to that. We had a thread about whether King would even be able to qualify for the Main Tour through the PIOS series if he was forced to play in it, at a time when King was in the top16 on merit! Someone even started a thread simply to say he would "shut the curtains" if King was playing in his garden. I have a feeling you didn't watch him today either, and that's your loss. :smile: On the other hand, some of the older members here will surely remember The Boss, a great fan of Mark King who unfortunately hasn't posted much in recent years. I bet he watched it tonight and loved every minute. :smile:

Anyway, we have the UK Championship starting on Tuesday. I have a busy day tomorrow, so probably won't be able to write anything before it starts. I may do a quick preview after the first couple of rounds are completed though. :smile:

[Ramon]

Congratulations Mark king. Great final. Well played. enjoyed watching it.

For me , the player of the tournament was Anthony Hamilton. I watched his interview last night. Unbelievable. someone who treats everyone with the same respect, not to mention a great Ambassador to this game, as well as a great player with high qualities.

UK Championship coming up (as already mentioned above ) . Get ready.
gonna put my money on these two legends (ROS & JH) again. they already have cost me 50 mark with this tournament.

Just in case, they not gonna make it to the final this time, I'm gonna take the bazooka and get the plane and take a few shots at both of them.
honstly, Enough is Enough.

[Ronnington]

Alex Higgins' daughter is a right sort. Hubba

[The Boss]

King wins Northern Ireland open

:biggrin-new:

Odrl, yes i did watch the match and i'm over the moon for Mark. My best ever evening as a snooker fan

[shmeeko69]

i'm chuffed for mark King, had a lump in my throat at the end there. Glad for him . one for the underdog.

finally he has something to show for all those years of sticking to it through thick and thin , maybe he can kick on and get to the business part of few more tournament now.

He's nearly chucked it a few times, as he's struggled to make any form of living over the past 25 years. Well done for his persistence and a good payday for him and his family.

[JimMalone]

So indeed we got our surprise winner here. And after this wonderful emotional moments when Mark King celebrated with his family and all of them were close or already in tears, I've got to say it was a very pleasant surprise. 25 years of work were finally rewarded with one big night. At the beginning of the final I was hoping for a Hawkins-win, but in the last two frames I found myself rooting for King. It was just such a great story. Sure, it would have been nice for Barry as well to have another title, but he's got a couple already and for King this was probably the last chance he ever had.

With this win King is back up to #20 in the world ranking, his best for a while. Barry Hawkins is now #10.

[Lievro]

What a final! It contained quite everything! I was quite impressed by the quality on there in the first couple of frames.

And that respotted black, W-H-A-T ? Awesome stuff!

[Erwan_BZH]

Never been a fan of Mark King's game to be honest. Don't really like his cue action and to prone for bonehead plays but you have to show respect for a ranking event winner. I missed the final unfortunately, due to other commitments, but I saw the speech he gave after the match and man, so emotional he was. Goose bumps! You have to feel for him, 25 years a pro, first ever win, and having gone through what he described during the speech (the gambling, etc.) is madness...Having to borrow a bit of money to his old man to enter the comp....Unbelievable! He owes him a bloody pint now, at least!
Down the road it's a brilliant example of perseveration and how you have to keep trying until you succeed. So, all in all, well done Kingy!! A happy man and a happy familly yesterday night!

[vmax4steve]

When you're having trouble making a living from the game the very least you have to do is keep your finances in order and live frugally, not chuck it all down the bookies.
There seems to be a lot of this in pro snooker, and I really feel for the families who have gone through it, my sister was married to a fruit machine addict so I know what it's like.

King has a nice payday of 70 grand, an invitation to the Champion Of Champions next year and the realisation that he can actually do it. Time to move on and get your kicks from life: if you need an adrenaline rush buy a motorbike, don't let your immediate future ride on the outcome of a bet.

[Neil Taperell]

I hope Mr Hearn was watching .Great advert for the game .

I do hope that he listens to these players' and their financial plight .

Really like the idea that was mentioned earlier , whereby 1st round losers earn £500 . It will at least go some way to ease the financial burden of
the lesser lights in the game . And these players can play , the Iranian guy [ sorry forgot his name ] and the world 76 Hamilton have showed it this week .