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Ssb - ebdon statement
World Snooker have released a very strange statement on behalf of Peter Ebdon, the 2002 world champion.
It reads: "I would like to make it known that I consider that I will not be in a position to play to the best of my ability in my Roewe Shanghai Masters qualifying match in Sheffield next week.
"This is down to personal circumstances, including the fact that I am getting re-married in Hungary this weekend. Since playing in a recent tournament in Thailand I have not been able to practise, and by the time the qualifiers come around I will not have played for ten days or more.
"I know just how bad I can be when I don't feel properly prepared as I am the type of player who needs to practise hard in order to play to a reasonable standard.
"As always, I will be doing my utmost to win what is a very important match for me but in truth, my levels of expectation will not be very high."
I've never - ever - known a snooker player issue a statement to tell everyone they aren't likely to win a match.
And I wouldn't encourage it either. It seems unfair on his eventual opponent, who is basically now under pressure to win the match as Ebdon apparently doesn't expect to.
What do odds compilers do now? Ebdon would ordinarily start favourite against any one of his four possible opponents: Michael White, Liu Chuang, Michael Judge or Dominic Dale.
My advice to the bookies is not to price the match up at all. It could create exactly the kind of stink the game doesn't need right now.
I'd have thought World Snooker would appreciate that more than anyone.
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It reads: "I would like to make it known that I consider that I will not be in a position to play to the best of my ability in my Roewe Shanghai Masters qualifying match in Sheffield next week.
"This is down to personal circumstances, including the fact that I am getting re-married in Hungary this weekend. Since playing in a recent tournament in Thailand I have not been able to practise, and by the time the qualifiers come around I will not have played for ten days or more.
"I know just how bad I can be when I don't feel properly prepared as I am the type of player who needs to practise hard in order to play to a reasonable standard.
"As always, I will be doing my utmost to win what is a very important match for me but in truth, my levels of expectation will not be very high."
I've never - ever - known a snooker player issue a statement to tell everyone they aren't likely to win a match.
And I wouldn't encourage it either. It seems unfair on his eventual opponent, who is basically now under pressure to win the match as Ebdon apparently doesn't expect to.
What do odds compilers do now? Ebdon would ordinarily start favourite against any one of his four possible opponents: Michael White, Liu Chuang, Michael Judge or Dominic Dale.
My advice to the bookies is not to price the match up at all. It could create exactly the kind of stink the game doesn't need right now.
I'd have thought World Snooker would appreciate that more than anyone.
More...
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