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Ssb - do you remember the first time?
Thereare three debutants at the Crucible this year.
JamieJones has maintained his excellent recent form. Cao Yupeng is one of a group ofemerging Chinese players starting to make strides. And of course there’s youngLuca Brecel, just 17 and the youngest ever Crucible competitor.
Debutantsrarely do well. Consider the following list of great names for starters: SteveDavis, Stephen Hendry, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Ronnie O’Sullivan, JohnHiggins, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy. All of them lost in the first round on theirCrucible debuts.
However,32 Crucible debutants have won their first match, including Peter Ebdon, MarkAllen, John Parrott and Mark Williams. The last of them to do so was LiangWenbo in 2008.
It’snerve-wracking playing at the Crucible for everyone but particularly when it’syour first time there. You will have seen it on television and may have been towatch, but being out in the middle, getting used to the claustrophobicatmosphere generated by this Sheffield theatre-in-the-round, is something you only understand if you experience it first hand.
Dohertysays he was 4-0 down on his debut before he could concentrate properly. Hisfellow Irishman Fergal O’Brien, however, made a century in his very firstframe, still the only player to do so on debut.
TerryGriffiths of course won the title on his debut in 1979. It seems unlikely, veryunlikely, that Jones, Cao or Brecel will do that. They each have a tough matchin the first round.
It’seasy to say they should just enjoy it, but nobody enjoys losing, particularlyby a big margin.
Whateach of them want, aside from obviously winning, is to acquit themselves well,to give a performance consistent with that which got them through thequalifiers.
Theyknow there is suddenly more focus on them than there has ever been. It’s achance to shine: exciting but also forbidding.
Quitea few promising professionals have never played at the Crucible. This trio’squalification brings the total number to have played there since 1977 to 182,not that many really.
Younever know when you’ll be back. Many players have never been back.
So goodluck to our three newcomers in 2012.
More...
JamieJones has maintained his excellent recent form. Cao Yupeng is one of a group ofemerging Chinese players starting to make strides. And of course there’s youngLuca Brecel, just 17 and the youngest ever Crucible competitor.
Debutantsrarely do well. Consider the following list of great names for starters: SteveDavis, Stephen Hendry, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Ronnie O’Sullivan, JohnHiggins, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy. All of them lost in the first round on theirCrucible debuts.
However,32 Crucible debutants have won their first match, including Peter Ebdon, MarkAllen, John Parrott and Mark Williams. The last of them to do so was LiangWenbo in 2008.
It’snerve-wracking playing at the Crucible for everyone but particularly when it’syour first time there. You will have seen it on television and may have been towatch, but being out in the middle, getting used to the claustrophobicatmosphere generated by this Sheffield theatre-in-the-round, is something you only understand if you experience it first hand.
Dohertysays he was 4-0 down on his debut before he could concentrate properly. Hisfellow Irishman Fergal O’Brien, however, made a century in his very firstframe, still the only player to do so on debut.
TerryGriffiths of course won the title on his debut in 1979. It seems unlikely, veryunlikely, that Jones, Cao or Brecel will do that. They each have a tough matchin the first round.
It’seasy to say they should just enjoy it, but nobody enjoys losing, particularlyby a big margin.
Whateach of them want, aside from obviously winning, is to acquit themselves well,to give a performance consistent with that which got them through thequalifiers.
Theyknow there is suddenly more focus on them than there has ever been. It’s achance to shine: exciting but also forbidding.
Quitea few promising professionals have never played at the Crucible. This trio’squalification brings the total number to have played there since 1977 to 182,not that many really.
Younever know when you’ll be back. Many players have never been back.
So goodluck to our three newcomers in 2012.
More...