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Ssb - cream rises to the top
It would be a certain irony if the 12bet.com World Open rescued the fortunes of Stephen Hendry and Peter Ebdon.
Hendry, like a number of players, was of the view that, while the new shorter format should be welcomed, it should not carry so many ranking points.
However, he is already in the last 16 and a good run in this tournament will ease his worries of top 16 relegation later this season.
Hendry has not been in world beating form by any means but the World Open could well prove to be the ideal tournament for him.
Why? Because one of his main problems in recent years has been consistency, linked to the fact that his concentration has gone walkabout at crucial times and that legendary focus has been dented.
In such short matches this is far less likely to happen. Hendry will need to up his game to win the title but you have to be in it to win it and he's still going strong.
There was no bigger opponent of the Barry Hearn's blueprint than Ebdon earlier this year. Had he got his way the ranking system would be as it was and he would not have the chance, as he does now, to return immediately to the top 16 and be at the Masters next January.
His match with Fergal O'Brien last night was not of the highest standard. Ebdon in particular seemed unable to control the cue ball, whether because he found the table playing differently to his first match or for other reasons unknown.
But a win is a win and it was yet another match in which the favourite came through.
Wasn't this tournament supposed to be a 'complete lottery?'
I never did believe that. And what the event has proved is that the rankings don't lie.
The top players are where they are because they are the best: not only more skillful but also more able to hold their nerve at crucial moments.
A number of lower ranked players in this tournament have had clear chances to win frames and matches but haven't taken them.
The one table set-up has meant that there is no hiding place and frailities have been exposed. This - not the format - has been key in producing the results we've seen.
Davy Morris, 21, makes his TV debut today. Talk about a baptism of fire, he takes on world champion Neil Robertson.
Similarly, James McBain will take his first bow in front of the cameras against former Shanghai Masters winner Ricky Walden.
Good luck to them both but it will be tough. Even experienced campaigners have wilted in the heat of the SECC as the cream has risen to the top.
TV Times:
BBC2: 1.30-4.25pm, 7-8pm, 11.50pm-2.40am (BST)
Eurosport International: 1.30-6pm, 9-11pm (CET)
British Eurosport: 12.30-5pm, 7-10pm
More...
Hendry, like a number of players, was of the view that, while the new shorter format should be welcomed, it should not carry so many ranking points.
However, he is already in the last 16 and a good run in this tournament will ease his worries of top 16 relegation later this season.
Hendry has not been in world beating form by any means but the World Open could well prove to be the ideal tournament for him.
Why? Because one of his main problems in recent years has been consistency, linked to the fact that his concentration has gone walkabout at crucial times and that legendary focus has been dented.
In such short matches this is far less likely to happen. Hendry will need to up his game to win the title but you have to be in it to win it and he's still going strong.
There was no bigger opponent of the Barry Hearn's blueprint than Ebdon earlier this year. Had he got his way the ranking system would be as it was and he would not have the chance, as he does now, to return immediately to the top 16 and be at the Masters next January.
His match with Fergal O'Brien last night was not of the highest standard. Ebdon in particular seemed unable to control the cue ball, whether because he found the table playing differently to his first match or for other reasons unknown.
But a win is a win and it was yet another match in which the favourite came through.
Wasn't this tournament supposed to be a 'complete lottery?'
I never did believe that. And what the event has proved is that the rankings don't lie.
The top players are where they are because they are the best: not only more skillful but also more able to hold their nerve at crucial moments.
A number of lower ranked players in this tournament have had clear chances to win frames and matches but haven't taken them.
The one table set-up has meant that there is no hiding place and frailities have been exposed. This - not the format - has been key in producing the results we've seen.
Davy Morris, 21, makes his TV debut today. Talk about a baptism of fire, he takes on world champion Neil Robertson.
Similarly, James McBain will take his first bow in front of the cameras against former Shanghai Masters winner Ricky Walden.
Good luck to them both but it will be tough. Even experienced campaigners have wilted in the heat of the SECC as the cream has risen to the top.
TV Times:
BBC2: 1.30-4.25pm, 7-8pm, 11.50pm-2.40am (BST)
Eurosport International: 1.30-6pm, 9-11pm (CET)
British Eurosport: 12.30-5pm, 7-10pm
More...