Neal Foulds snooker column: Eurosport and ITV pundit with European Masters fallout and his Welsh Open thoughts

By Neal Foulds

Snooker

Tue March 01, 2022 · 3y ago

ITV and Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds is back with his latest column as he reflects on Fan Zhengyi's defeat of Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the European Masters.

It seems China has another snooker star on its hands after Fan Zhengyi pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport to win the European Masters, beating none other than Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.

It was a marvellous moment and really quite inspiring to see a player way down the rankings, and with so little form to his name, be able to come into a major event and defy the odds to win. He was 800/1 in a place at the start of the tournament.

Beating O’Sullivan in the final was one thing, and that was clearly a big shock in itself, but his run through the tournament was quite remarkable, given he barely won a match last season or before Christmas.

Fan didn’t make a century break throughout the whole of the 2020/2021 campaign, though I must qualify that by adding that at that time, he was of the belief that making a century that wasn’t a 147 maximum break would jinx him.

He’s clearly put that idea to bed and has started to score more heavily this term, while he made back-to-back centuries for the first time on Sunday night. He actually made more centuries last week than he had previously managed in the whole of his career.

Fan enjoys remarkable turnaround

Having been staring down the barrel of Q School, Fan has now qualified for next season’s Champion of Champions and isn’t yet out of the running for the upcoming Tour Championship.

Fan Zhengyi winning the European Masters

It really is an astonishing turnaround, not least because his overall career earnings doubled in the space of a week, and if there’s a been a bigger shock in snooker, I’m not sure I’ve seen it.

People talk about Jordan Brown winning this week’s Welsh Open last year, but don’t forget that he had some pedigree and had played at the Crucible before.

I think Fan’s victory was just another illustration of the depth on the tour right now, with the likes of Zhao Xintong and Luca Brecel winning titles and enjoying plenty of success this season, following on from Yan Bingtao’s win at the Masters last year.

We’ve been waiting for these young players to make their mark for a while, and those in their mid-twenties, too, so to see someone like Brecel coming back and doing so has been just as pleasing as watching these brilliant Chinese players coming through.

It’s very exciting for the sport, but with Neil Robertson also going great guns of late, we haven’t seen too much winning from the English and Irish contingent and, long-term, I’m not sure that’s ideal either. Strong competition from all around the world is what we ultimately want to see.

A final thing to add about Fan is that as much as watching him was inspiring for everyone, including those on the tour that might be currently struggling for results, I think he has drawn inspiration from the likes of Yan and Zhao winning trophies and big events. These lads work incredibly hard and one senses they will keep driving each other on for years to come.

Changing times but O'Sullivan stays strong

Perhaps what we are seeing now is a slight change in the sport, one in which anyone can not only win any given match on their day, but also a major tournament.

The one constant is O’Sullivan, who was competing in 60th ranking final on Sunday against a young man who was only a few months old when Ronnie won his first world title.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Fan Zhengyi before the European Masters final

It’s extraordinary when you think about what he’s achieved in the game and is still producing at the age of 46. Whether he agrees or not, I thought he had a good week, for all he's sure to have been disappointed at losing a final he started hot favourite for.

It was similar to the Welsh Open final last year when the aforementioned Brown somehow weathered the O’Sullivan storm to get over the line. It was the same on Sunday when O’Sullivan looked like he might rally to win as the match drew on, but had to watch on as Fan won the deciding frame in one visit. It’s hard to argue with that.

That said, losing any final hurts and I think we saw on a couple of occasions when O’Sullivan had issues with the crowd and then the cameraman that he was feeling the heat just a little. He is human, after all, and there’s a different kind of pressure on your shoulders when nobody thinks you can lose.

As ever, he handled himself with credit afterwards – O’Sullivan has always been a gracious loser. He spoke really well about Fan and the younger generation coming through and for him to still be putting it up to them most weeks is testament to his skill and appetite for competition.

O’Sullivan has been where all these breakthrough players have been – he won the UK Championship himself aged 17 – and he remains a fine example to them all.

Welsh winner at the Manor?

Looking ahead to this week and the Welsh Open that is already up and running, I’m really looking forward to what is always a good week and a big tournament. It might come in the middle of a packed calendar, but this is a long-standing event and winning the Ray Reardon Trophy holds real significance with the players.

Mark Williams was too strong for Yan Bingtao

Mark Williams will once again be the big home hope

Eurosport will of course be showing the action live, and it’s nice to be back in Wales again catching up with old friends in a part of the world that has great history with the sport.

Having been starved of snooker in these parts throughout the pandemic, this will be the second of three major tournaments Wales will host this season and the fans always come out to show their support here.

Perhaps that’s why the home contingent, Mark Williams apart, have tended to struggle in the event over the years. It’s never easy performing in front of a home crowd, but Mark Allen left behind a moderate record in Belfast when winning the Northern Ireland Open not so long back.

Who knows, maybe the Welsh lads can draw some inspiration from that and put it up to the likes of Fan, Zhao and Robertson in the coming days. However that plays out, I’m sure we’re in for a treat once again.