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Ssb - germany's booming great
Mark Williams was the champion at the German Masters and fair play to him for emerging victorious from a fascinating tactical duel with Mark Selby, 9-7 in Berlin this evening.
But the real winner was snooker. To see the capacity crowd at the Tempodrom standing as one to applaud the players was a wonderful sight.
Even Williams, generally an irreverent character with a deadpan sense of humour, was visibily moved by the ovation.
The German supporters were the real stars of this tournament. They turned out in huge numbers and were respectful throughout.
Yes, they have their favourite players but they are primarily fans of the game and Williams was entirely right to commend them after his victory.
What an exciting evening's snooker it was, full of twists and turns, drama and intrigue.
And it brought the curtain down on an excellent week for the sport. 2011 has started with the first all-Asian final at a major tournament, the fun of the Shootout and now this superb German event.
Clearly Germany's snooker boom was no myth. Without wishing to look backwards, it is astonishing this interest was not harnessed sooner.
Germany can sustain a couple of major events per season in the future and the interest extends across much of rhe rest of the continent, all of which bodes well for the game in the coming years.
The fact is this: snooker should be played where people want to watch it. Interest has declined in the UK since the boom years but there is a big world out there and continental Europe is a market yet to be properly tapped.
So thank you to the Berlin crowd for the way they proved that there is plenty of life left in this great sport.
It was dramatic, it was memorable and, in the end, it was surprisingly emotional.
After years of going nowhere the game is on the up again.
More...
But the real winner was snooker. To see the capacity crowd at the Tempodrom standing as one to applaud the players was a wonderful sight.
Even Williams, generally an irreverent character with a deadpan sense of humour, was visibily moved by the ovation.
The German supporters were the real stars of this tournament. They turned out in huge numbers and were respectful throughout.
Yes, they have their favourite players but they are primarily fans of the game and Williams was entirely right to commend them after his victory.
What an exciting evening's snooker it was, full of twists and turns, drama and intrigue.
And it brought the curtain down on an excellent week for the sport. 2011 has started with the first all-Asian final at a major tournament, the fun of the Shootout and now this superb German event.
Clearly Germany's snooker boom was no myth. Without wishing to look backwards, it is astonishing this interest was not harnessed sooner.
Germany can sustain a couple of major events per season in the future and the interest extends across much of rhe rest of the continent, all of which bodes well for the game in the coming years.
The fact is this: snooker should be played where people want to watch it. Interest has declined in the UK since the boom years but there is a big world out there and continental Europe is a market yet to be properly tapped.
So thank you to the Berlin crowd for the way they proved that there is plenty of life left in this great sport.
It was dramatic, it was memorable and, in the end, it was surprisingly emotional.
After years of going nowhere the game is on the up again.
More...
It was nice to see such a big crowd in every session and the atmosphere seemed to be great.
That would be "curtains" for Ronnie!!! 
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