Snooker is most definitely back, and the new season is about to embark on a particularly busy period, starting with a tournament steeped in history and synonymous with ITV, the British Open.
I think we were all ready for a good break over the summer after Luca Brecel was crowned world champion at the Crucible back in May, the World Championship always coming on the back of a breakneck and crammed build-up that can leave even the most loyal snooker fan feeling a little jaded.
Judging by the shiny new Ferrari he’s now driving, I would suggest Brecel has enjoyed his summer more than most, and it doesn’t appear to have done his game any harm. He lost nothing in defeat when beaten in the final of the Shanghai Masters last week, but just as was the case last season, Ronnie O’Sullivan proved too strong, scooping the big, valuable, early-season prize.
Last year it was the Hong Kong Masters and this time around the Shanghai Masters, O’Sullivan winning the event for the fourth time in a row and fifth overall. This event has almost become the Ronnie O’Sullivan show and you couldn’t fault what he produced out in the Far East, battling hard to beat John Higgins and Mark Selby before exacting revenge on Brecel for his defeat to the same opponent at the World Championship.
It was hard to know what to expect from O’Sullivan, given we hadn’t seen him since he lost seven frames in a row to Brecel in Sheffield, surrendering a 10-6 overnight lead in their quarter-final to end a title bid that, in truth, had never really got going as he laboured through the early rounds in a manner untypical of his usual graceful style.
But we know just how much O’Sullivan loves the one table set-up in front of a big crowd and he really produced when he needed it. He had been outplayed by Higgins to the point that he found himself trailing 5-2, before producing an inspired comeback once he sensed weakness in his opponent.
And his subsequent defeat of Selby was even more impressive. Selby has at times been something of a nemesis for O’Sullivan, someone he hasn’t always enjoyed playing, but he dug deep and again finished strongly once getting a sniff of victory.
The final was a great spectacle, everything you could have wished for, played between two of the great attacking forces in the game. You wondered whether O'Sullivan would still be able to live with Brecel, with his 48th birthday coming in December, but he most certainly did and was a worthy winner at the conclusion. It was about the midway point in that match that you realised O’Sullivan was back and for anyone asking if he’s in decline, the answer is an emphatic no.
It’s a great shame that he has since withdrawn from the British Open – it’s a shame for ITV who have supported snooker so well in recent years, and a shame for the fans who have bought tickets – but it’s no great surprise. He’s not getting any younger and you sense he doesn’t want to be playing every week. Perhaps he didn’t feel as if he could do himself justice after working so hard for his victory in China.
There are so many tournaments that thrive even without O’Sullivan, and his relatively modest record in the Home Nations events has hardly detracted from that series and the fabulous snooker played across the UK. This week will be no different and there is a big prize on offer to the winner.
I have real affection with the British Open and am looking forward to getting back to Cheltenham to cover the event for ITV.
I was runner-up in this tournament in 1987, losing to my good friend Jimmy White in the final. The final was played over three sessions in those days and at a time when the ‘Triple Crown’ concept wasn’t really a thing, this was a massive event. I led overnight in that match, but he came back and beat me the following day. I would dearly have loved to win but it just wasn’t to be.
Back in the here and now, and we have so much to look forward to at the beginning of a what feels like a full throttle return to snooker. The Home Nations series starts with the English Open immediately after the British Open, before we head back to China for the Wuhan Open. It’s fantastic to have snooker back in China and it’s great for the players who can look forward to many more opportunities than were available to them during and after the pandemic.
Looking further ahead takes us towards a real favourite of the mine, the Champion of Champions, which has grown into a prestigious and coveted tournament that means so much to the players, just to qualify never mind win it. And then attention will turn to York for the UK Championship which needs no introduction.
These are exciting times for snooker and it’s all very welcome after the problems that plagued the sport during the last year or so. Snooker needed a boost and the return of Chinese events to the calendar, along with having a Belgian world champion who is a born entertainer on the table, has done just that.
I think Brecel will make a fine world champion, someone who can carry the sport forward and inspire the next generation from Europe and beyond. Snooker is a global sport again and with a healthy mix of exciting, young talent – Brecel being one of many – and ageing legends like O'Sullivan who continue to do the game proud, it feels like a good place to be.
Snooker is most definitely back.
