The Snooker World Seniors Championship - Day 1

05:57:00 Ramona Dragomir 2 Comments

Celebration is the key word these days and if we were to add snooker to the equation, then the result will be a total success!!! :-))
The Snooker World Seniors Championship kicked off yesterday in the beautiful town of Bradford being held in a very modern and cozy venue- The Cedar Court Hotel. There, is were the snooker stars are gathered to enjoy themselves but for playing some competitive snooker also. The likes of Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, Joe Johnson, John Parrott, Jimmy White and the lads Peter Ebdon, Nigel Bond and Ken Doherty are going to fight during 5-7 November to see who gets to lift the trophy but also who will cash the prize money (£20,000 for the lucky winner!).

The name is Bond...Nigel Bond
As I was telling you about the competition started the day before and the stars were Nigel Bond and Peter Ebdon. It was a very nice match to watch, I’m sure of it, although you can imagine that if Peter was playing this was a pretty long encounter. Thank God that at this stage the rule "best of three" applies :-)) Kidding! It’s always a pleasure to see Peter play, even if he has a more docile style.
So, what happened? Well, the 2002 world champion saw his but kicked by the 1995 runner-up, Nigel Bond by a 2-0 scoreline, that’s what happened! :-P This means that Nigel is through the next round - the quarter-finals, where he’ll be playing against another great snooker legend. But let’s see how the draw looks like, shall we?


We are going to start early in the morning...well, not too early, let’s say around 11:00 am. Is that ok four you guys? I hope so! :-)) The 1997 world champion, the Irish Ken Doherty will face Nigel Bond in a match that will definitely be interesting to see, for Ken has been doing really good lately. He reached the quarter finals in the last two EPTC events he played in so the guy means serious business. Nonetheless, he stated that he would very much like to add a new record to his collection; him winning the world title at a junior, amateur and professional level.

Easy now... I can pot this!!!
Not long after, the match between Steve Davis and Joe Johnson will take place. Steve is a six-time world champion (1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1989) with a wonderful career in snooker and still playing in the main tour. We’ve all seen the performance he achieved during this year’s World Championship and the fact that he is doing quite ok in the EPTC/PTC series so I’m sure he will try and win this. "The Nugget" said that he is looking forward to this competition where the element of fun will definitely combine with the element of competitiveness, for there is a prize money at stake. ;-)
On the other hand, Joe Johnson is very eager to this encounter too, and if I say that this event is on because of his efforts, then I’ve said enough. He is the one who beat Steve Davis, back in 1986 with a 18-12 score to win the world title at Crucible, so he’ll be trying to make that happen one more time, if possible.


From 3:00 pm (UK time) the 1985 world champion, Dennis Taylor and the 1991 world champion John Parrott will clash for a bit of fun, excitement but also for some real snooker. Dennis, or "the proud of Northern Ireland" as he was so beautifully introduced by Rob Walker when he did a rematch of the `85 final with Steve Davis at the Crucible, is a person with a sense of humor that reaches far out the boundaries. He is such a "one man show" that is pretty difficult to see him serious for more then two minutes. :-P Still, I’m sure that between a laughter and a good Irish joke he will play those marvelous snooker shots that made him to be remembered in the snooker world.


What are you doing there Parrott?
John Parrot, another important figure of the snooker business decided last season to retire form the professional circuit, as he dropped on 65th place. But this doesn’t mean that he doesn’t enjoy playing snooker, as he himself assured the fans so many times.
"It will be strange for me to be playing again, I will feel a bit like a duck out of water. I have been practicing a fair bit on my own on my table at home and I’ve been hitting the ball well, in fact I made a break of 137 the other day. But that doesn’t prepare you for playing a real match. The lads still playing on the pro tour, like Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty, are going to have a big advantage. But hopefully for me it will be like riding a bike and I’ll get back into it straight away."


The last match of the day will be the one between Jimmy White and Cliff Thorburn. "The Whirlwind" is probably the most unlucky snooker player in the world, for he reached the World Championship final six times...and he lost. But snooker is not just about the Crucible dream, so Jimmy has won some pretty important tournaments over the years and he still kicks those balls with a lot of talent and energy.
"It's going to be a great tournament and I'm really looking forward to it. It doesn't matter who I draw in the first match because there are no easy games. Joe Johnson has been practicing non stop for this - every time I ring him he's on the table. I'm sure all of the others who aren't on the pro tour any more have also been putting the hours in."

"The Whirlwind" v. "The Grinder"
The oversea candidate, Cliff Throuburn is one of the most admired snooker players, for he is one of the three who succeeded in winning the world title being an outsider (along with Ken Doherty and Neil Robertson). He is very well known for his methodical style of hitting the balls as well as a pretty good entertainer. We can say that he opened the "Golden Age" of snooker, for he won the World Championship in 1980 with a 18-16 victory over Alex " The Hurricane" Higgins.

"Made in Canada" but not strange from the country that has made him famous, Cliff is also looking forward to win the title.
"Of course the guys who are still on the tour like Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty have a huge advantage, not least because they are used to the tables used for pro events these days. If those guys can’t beat me, maybe I’ll feel as if I should never have retired! But I’d still like to think that I can clear the balls up if the reds are open, and if you can do that then you will always have a chance.", said " The Grinder".


So this is the draw for today! Fingers crossed for your favorites and may the best man win...well, the best four men, for on Sunday we shall have the semis and the final...so firstly we shall focus on cheering for four and then for two and...eventually for one. :-))
Unfortunately there won’t be any live streaming for this event (which isn’t cool at all), but during Christmas time Sky Sports promises to show us the highlights of this beautiful event. Until then, we still have live scoring, so ...that’s something. :-P

2 comments:

Fatima Zahrae said...

Have you ever tried to write articles on newspapers or sport magazines?!
seriously, you describe the events in a very good way! well done! ;)

6 November 2010 at 16:41

Thank you so much for your kind words. They really mean a lot to me and moreover since they come from an artist. :-)
I`m trying to get a job in my country in this field, but it seems like if I don`t have a journalistic backgound noone is interested in even looking at your work. :(
But I`ll try my best and maybe one day (not so far away) I will succeed in writing in a more "official" way :-))
Thanks again!Really appreciate it! xxx

6 November 2010 at 17:09

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