Neal Foulds snooker column: The Eurosport and ITV pundit reflects on the English Open final and previews the Champion of Champions
Just a matter of hours after Neil Robertson beat John Higgins in another deciding frame to another English Open final – having finished on the wrong side of the same scoreline against Judd Trump last year – I think snooker fans can reflect on a really good week. The final was special but the week in general was another terrific one for the game.
In the absence of the Chinese events this season, I do think the Home Nations series has taken on even more significance and it felt like something close to a World Championship final on Sunday, not the English Open final. That’s not meaning to downplay the importance of the event, nor the £70,000 first prize, but I do think more attention has been placed on the tournaments we have had so far this season, given the lack of them, and Higgins’ disappointment at the end of the match highlights that point.
All credit to Robertson, who came back from adversity a number of times throughout the draw, not just in the final, and the scary thing is, I’m not sure he’s playing at his absolute best yet. He just kept finding a way and with some big events coming up, it wouldn't surprise me if he goes on one of his hot streaks now.
Robertson rampage incoming
Given the nature of the calendar when the season is in full flow, it’s very hard for players to be at their peak all the time, and Robertson has been a great example of that in the last couple of years. He’s been the form man for a period – like when finishing runner-up in the English Open and Champion of Champions and then winning the UK Championship, all before Christmas last year.
He’s coming nicely to the boil again and will be big threat in the Champion of Champions next week, an event he once described as the 'fourth major'. Robertson won the event in 2015 and 2019 and finished runner-up 12 months ago. You’d have to think he’d take some stopping again, but an opening match against Mark Williams will be no penalty kick, before he could meet Kyren Wilson for the second time in the space of just a few days in the third match in Group 4.
Wilson was only a couple of pots away from beating Robertson last week and he, too, was visibly disappointed to have lost that match. He missed an easy red in the final frame, which he rarely does, but he’s knocking on the door and played really when losing in a great final to Ronnie O’Sullivan in this tournament 2018. I like that Wilson cares so much and that he takes defeats to heart; it shows his will to succeed, and his deep hunger to do well will ensure he keeps enjoying plenty of success.
Wilson can rule the world
I think whoever comes through Group 4 will have a big chance of going all the way, and while on the subject of Wilson, I have to say that I thought the furore around his comments about deserving to be on the TV table more were blown out of proportion somewhat. It was a slow news day and I don’t for one minute think he was suggesting he should get preference over O’Sullivan or Trump. In fact, it was a morning match and I think he felt he should have been preferred to Ding Junhui, who has been struggling for form and hasn’t produced the results of late that Wilson has.
Wilson is a player and person I really admire. His father has suffered ill-health for a number of years, meaning his family have had it tougher than most, and he didn’t have the opportunities that many young players coming through were afforded. I remember him playing as a junior and not being able to stay overnight for tournaments because his family wouldn’t have been able to afford to keep staying in hotels. Everything he has got from the game, he has worked for and earned.
He came from humble beginnings and he has stayed humble despite the success he’s had. He’s a got an edge on the table, but off the table you won’t meet a nicer lad. He gets a lot out of himself through hard work and he’s just the type of professional we want in the sport. His game really is built for the Crucible and with such a strong desire, I do think he can become world champion one day.
I’ve said similar things about Mark Allen in the past, and it’s sad news that he won’t be in Bolton to defend the title he won in brilliant style last year. I don’t know the details, other than it’s clear he has some personal issues away from the game, and we all wish him well.
Champion of Champions growing in stature
Since the return of the Champion of Champions in 2013, Allen is the only player to lift the title without being a past world champion. That fact tells you what a big event this has become and while it’s not easy to manufacture history and prestige, this tournament has already created a legacy through great snooker and big matches. It’s been part of ITV’s growing commitment to snooker and I’m really excited to be back working on the channel next week.
I’m not saying the Champion of Champions is as big as the UK Championship, and Robertson’s claim about it being the next biggest tournament after the Triple Crowns might be right, but the UK has lost a little bit of lustre more recently. I know things are a little bit different this year due to the pandemic, but ordinarily, you wouldn’t be in the Champion of Champions if you hadn’t won an event in the previous season and I think that’s special. Ryan Day will be there having won the Shoot Out and it will be a great experience for David Lilley following his victory in the World Seniors Championship.
I don’t think you’ll have to stray too far away from the top of betting for the winner though, and I’ve already made the case for Robertson and Wilson, with O’Sullivan the potential joker in the pack this time around. He’s owned this event at times, winning it in 2013, 2014 and 2018, but he comes into this particular renewal without actually holding a title, instead reaching five finals last term but losing them all.
Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham are others who haven’t done much winning of late, Ding another, but O’Sullivan is playing well and he loves the set-up of this event.
Higgins wounded but still a major force
I know I’ve gone full circle here, having started with the English Open final, but I’m going to give the final word to Higgins, another who is more than capable of winning next week in spite of what was clearly a bruising defeat on Sunday.
Professional sport is hard, and losing in big matches hurts, and I think it was Higgins’ instinct to say at the post-match presentation that he wasn’t good enough at the top level anymore, having let sip 8-6 leads against Robertson and also in the Northern Ireland Open final three weeks ago. I think I remember him saying something similar after Mark Davis beat him in the last-32 of the World Championship back in 2013, but look at what Higgins has achieved since.
The match in Belfast is one he should have won, and when Robertson started to come back at him on Sunday it would have been hard to shake the feeling that the same thing was happening again. It will have cut deep, just as losing in the Masters final in January will have, but he bounced back from that to win the Players Championship in a canter and he could easily follow suit in the coming weeks and months.
We all have battle scars from playing at the top level in big matches – even the great O’Sullivan will have a few – and it can be hard to erase them from your mind when you’re under pressure. So much about snooker is in the mind, and I think Higgins was desperate to win on Sunday with his family there watching and cheering him on, just as they were in Belfast.
It's a tough sport, but they don’t come much tougher than John Higgins, and I have no doubt that when the dust settles on another dramatic final, he’ll be back competing for major titles. He’s sitting pretty with so many ranking points in the bank and is playing some fantastic snooker again. What a player he’s been, and still is. Write him off at your peril.