World Snooker Championships

[britbox]

Did anyone follow the World Snooker Championships?

The tournament was really good quality in general. I've got back to being interested enough to watch it by following Stephen Hendry's excellent Youtube channel.

Brecel played some incredible snooker throughout the tournament, and he really deserved to win it in the end - taking the scalps of Williams, O'Sullivan and Selby - all multiple winners. I'm not all that keen on O'Sullivan so didn't want him getting his 8th title.

 

[Federberg]

I actually forgot it was on until I heard who the finalists were. Hadn't ever heard of Brecel so I didn't bother following anything at all. Hendry will always remain my all. time favourite player, but I must confess that sometimes when. I'm in. the mood for watching. snooker clips I'll put on some Ronnie clearances. He's impossibly talented. I feel as a fellow Brit you'll understand when I say that Ronnie, in some ways, is like the Federer of snooker

 

[don_fabio]

I watched it. Still don't know all the rules in the finest details, but it's a pleasure to watch when players are on fire. Brecel played really great and deserved the win.

I'm also surprised by that chinese fella named Si, who is only 20. He is really good for his age.

Now that I watched this sport for a week or so, I realize how much it is mental, in some ways same as tennis. Also form of players does matter a lot too.

 

[Federberg]

I watched it. Still don't know all the rules in the finest details, but it's a pleasure to watch when players are on fire. Brecel played really great and deserved the win.

I'm also surprised by that chinese fella named Si, who is only 20. He is really good for his age.

Now that I watched this sport for a week or so, I realize how much it is mental, in some ways same as tennis. Also form of players does matter a lot too.

for the mental side.. it's a pity you didn't get to watch Stephen Hendry at his absolute peak. It was terrifying for the opposition

 

[britbox]

I watched it. Still don't know all the rules in the finest details, but it's a pleasure to watch when players are on fire. Brecel played really great and deserved the win.

I'm also surprised by that chinese fella named Si, who is only 20. He is really good for his age.

Now that I watched this sport for a week or so, I realize how much it is mental, in some ways same as tennis. Also form of players does matter a lot too.

Snooker is pretty big in China. It's only a matter of time before the sport is dominated by the far east. Purely on participation numbers. Barry Hearn who runs the sport is a pretty shrewd dealer and has made huge inroads into the Chinese market.

 

[britbox]

I actually forgot it was on until I heard who the finalists were. Hadn't ever heard of Brecel so I didn't bother following anything at all. Hendry will always remain my all. time favourite player, but I must confess that sometimes when. I'm in. the mood for watching. snooker clips I'll put on some Ronnie clearances. He's impossibly talented. I feel as a fellow Brit you'll understand when I say that Ronnie, in some ways, is like the Federer of snooker

Brecel was the young protégé who everybody was told to watch... about 10 years or more ago... and didn't seem to break through the barrier. Put it all together finally and won the biggest prize. Plays great attacking snooker.

I think talent-wise I can see the O'Sullivan/Federer connection but personalities are very different.

 

[britbox]

I actually forgot it was on until I heard who the finalists were. Hadn't ever heard of Brecel so I didn't bother following anything at all. Hendry will always remain my all. time favourite player, but I must confess that sometimes when. I'm in. the mood for watching. snooker clips I'll put on some Ronnie clearances. He's impossibly talented. I feel as a fellow Brit you'll understand when I say that Ronnie, in some ways, is like the Federer of snooker

Hendry's Youtube channel is really good. He's gone from zero to 120,000 subs in just a few months.

https://www.youtube.com/@stephenhendryscuetips

It's a mix of tips, interviews, behind the scenes tours, and insight into his career. He kept a wide berth from all the top players in his peak... never practising with them, and barely speaking to them. He said Mark Williams got into his head a bit by breaking down the barriers - they became best mates, but Hendry's career dropped off once the ice had been broken - and Williams went on to win three worlds.

Behind the scenes at the Crucible.

 

[britbox]

for the mental side.. it's a pity you didn't get to watch Stephen Hendry at his absolute peak. It was terrifying for the opposition

Did you ever play any snooker yourself mate? It's bloody hard - I was crap at it, although OK at Pool - I had a Steve Davis Riley cue which I got by collecting Embassy tokens from smoking cigarettes as a teenager - Embassy Number One and Regal both gave you tokens for every pack you smoked!

This guy did the same, but I didn't get the fish tank.

 

[Federberg]

Did you ever play any snooker yourself mate? It's bloody hard - I was crap at it, although OK at Pool - I had a Steve Davis Riley cue which I got by collecting Embassy tokens from smoking cigarettes as a teenager - Embassy Number One and Regal both gave you tokens for every pack you smoked!

View attachment 8102

This guy did the same, but I didn't get the fish tank.

yes I played a bit. Haven't since the 90s. I could make a break in the 40s, and not all blacks. I was much better at pool. Won many bets playing that back in the day. They love it in Thailand oddly enough

 

[britbox]

yes I played a bit. Haven't since the 90s. I could make a break in the 40s, and not all blacks. I was much better at pool. Won many bets playing that back in the day. They love it in Thailand oddly enough

40+ breaks are impressive. I never got over 30 on a full size table. There is a pretty good Thai fella who is dangerous at the smaller tourneys - Noppon Saengkham who is a good watch, he looks about 20, but I he's around 30. James Wattana was probably the pioneer player for Thailand - I always thought he would achieve more than he actually did.... but he opened up another market for the sport, at the very least.

 

[Federberg]

40+ breaks are impressive. I never got over 30 on a full size table. There is a pretty good Thai fella who is dangerous at the smaller tourneys - Noppon Saengkham who is a good watch, he looks about 20, but I he's around 30. James Wattana was probably the pioneer player for Thailand - I always thought he would achieve more than he actually did.... but he opened up another market for the sport, at the very least.

I was amazed at how common pool tables were in Thailand. They love it there. It's funny when I was younger, in university etc I used to play both. pool and darts often. I guess I just don't have the. time anymore. Still have my. pool cue somewhere. I've often thought about getting a billiards table. That's something I used to love to do. My dad had a billiards table when I was a kid

 

[britbox]

I was amazed at how common pool tables were in Thailand. They love it there. It's funny when I was younger, in university etc I used to play both. pool and darts often. I guess I just don't have the. time anymore. Still have my. pool cue somewhere. I've often thought about getting a billiards table. That's something I used to love to do. My dad had a billiards table when I was a kid

Billiards, that's always seemed like the true royal game to me. Never actually played it personally. But it seemed like a Gentleman's game PLUS 1.

Always fancied getting a decent slate table myself, just nowhere to put it right now. Darts... that's another matter. Still got old flights and tungsten shafts that go back over thirty years old. Just not played for years! Always found throwing a few darts a great relaxation technique back in the day. Now you've got me thinking about getting a decent darts board.