Haikou World Open

zack01

The World Open begins this day week in China and here it will stay for the next five years under a new sponsorship deal struck between World Snooker and the Chinese Snooker Association.

Eurosport will provide live coverage each morning and with only two more ranking events left after this expect to see the top players begin to show some form as their sights look towards the World Championships in April.

Here's the draw and order of play for the World Open

http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/28/9a/0,,13165~170536,00.pdf

*Ronnie O'Sullivan has withdrawn from the World Open here is the statement he released today.

“I am very sorry that I have to withdraw from Haikou; despite my illness I have been competing well in recent weeks and was greatly looking forward to taking part in the World Open and meeting my fans in China. However, I have to listen to my body sometimes and I have decided that I will be in better shape for the climax of the season and the World Championships if I listen to my doctor and spend the next few weeks resting. I hope I can make it to Ireland and China in March and look forward to seeing you all soon”.

califano

Is it true that the Chinese crowd can be unruly with mobile phones/talking during matches?. I heard that a Chinese guys mobile going off on Stephen Lee's shot made him miss a potential clearance break to knock Ding out early in the Welsh. And then i read in a discussion on it that this is standard enough with Chinese crowds especially in China. Is this as bad as some say or more a cultural misunderstanding?.

zack01

rounders123 wrote: »

Is it true that the Chinese crowd can be unruly with mobile phones/talking during matches?. I heard that a Chinese guys mobile going off on Stephen Lee's shot made him miss a potential clearance break to knock Ding out early in the Welsh. And then i read in a discussion on it that this is standard enough with Chinese crowds especially in China. Is this as bad as some say or more a cultural misunderstanding?.

I would'nt go as far as to call them unruly but lets just say the Chinese spectators have their own idea of what quiet is and what we would, there is no malice intended on their part, it's just that they love their snooker over there, they get very excited and obviously cannot hold it in. I've been to many tournaments over the years in both Thailand and China and to say snooker is huge is an understatment, more so in China now with the emergence of Ding and his compatriots on the world stage, indeed from next season there will be five ranking events in China.
The players are treated like movie stars over there, i remember last year i travelled to China for the Open with Ken Doherty, the opening ceremony was a really lavish affair, we were picked up from our hotel in a courtesy car, and driven to the venue, the door was opened and up the red carpet we walked, cameras flashing and fans holding out their pens for autographs etc, they obviously knew Ken but had'nt a clue who i was yet here they were asking for my autograph! i remember turning around and saying to Stephen Hendry that 'i could get used to this' he laughed and said the fascination with snooker in China just seems to get bigger at each tournament and that it never ceases to amaze him how popular he is there and yet he has'nt won an event in China in quite a while. Snooker is now on the school curriculum in China now so we can expect a conveyor belt of Chines talent for many years yet.

Regarding the mobile phones going off, yes it's dissappointing, some say the other night the phone was rung on purpose just as Lee was clearing up,an unfortunate situation yes but i honestly believe it was'nt intentional.
Everybody has a mobile these days and even with the announcements made beforehand people still seem to forget to turn their phones off, you can be sure it will happen a couple of times during the Worlds in Sheffield, it always does and the offenders won't be Chinese.

So yes a cultural misunderstanding, i've seen the Chinese fans in venues both in the UK and on their home patch and they are no different.They just love their snooker i guess!

Silvio.Dante

I'm watching a live match between Steve Davis and Rod Lawler in a qualifying round. Now Davis is known for his slow play but beside Lawler, Davis looks like the Whirlwind...:D

Lawler is sooooooo slow its almost entertainig watching him...

califano

Prediction/preview for the Doherty v Campbell game at 2.30?.

cherryghost

Only saw one match, Yu Delu. He looks great. I think his run in the Welsh open has done him good. Definitely one to watch. He's on at 2.30pm against Stephen Hendry and I see a surprise defeat on the cards if Delu keeps up his form.

oneillMan999

Jimmy White just qualified for the China Open beating Andrew Higginson 5-3

Streaming of all qualifiers can be found here.. http://www.sportlemon.tv/c-11.html

cherryghost

BTW the last few posts is for the China Open quali's, not the World Open which begins on Monday. Just to straighten things up. There really should be a seperate thread :P

zack01

World Snooker have this link up on their site for the Wold Open, it includes the order of play, Eurosport schedule and prize money........

http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~2324947,00.html#.T0oMf1Y3-p8.mailto

Caveman1

Check this out for a fluke shot

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/yahooeurosport-10104300/ukeurosportnew-10104448/amazing-fluked-black-at-haikou-world-open-28436260.html

califano

Caveman1 wrote: »

Check this out for a fluke shot

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/yahooeurosport-10104300/ukeurosportnew-10104448/amazing-fluked-black-at-haikou-world-open-28436260.html

It must have been to explicitly flukey as its no longer available.

cherryghost

rounders123 wrote: »

It must have been to explicitly flukey as its no longer available.

52-52 points between two lads in the quali's (can't remember whom). One lad down on the black to win. Bottom left corner pocket. Misses and the black hops on top of the bottom cushion, rolling along it before it neatly pops into the bottom right corner.

Meanwhile Ding salvaged the last frame before the interval. I wouldn't mind but he's playing REASONABLY well, just very unlucky combined with some excellent safety play from Jim Long. 3-1.

cherryghost

Well 4-1 now. Ding missed a relatively easy red. He doesn't look too happy at the moment. Jin on the other hand, some very impressive pots. His positional play isn't up to scratch though but he's still managing to get around the table.

zack01

The sooner they do away with the wild card rounds the better.

zack01

Mark Allen beats Judd Trump 5-4, at least he's made a headline for the right reasons.
Looking forward to Robertson v Lee this morning, this could go close, i fancy Robertson not only for the match but to win the tournament outright.

cherryghost

Good stuff! I think he has a real chance of winning now. I wonder how he'll be greeted if he did :rolleyes:

Pighead

zack01 wrote: »

Mark Allen beats Judd Trump 5-4, at least he's made a headline for the right reasons.
Looking forward to Robertson v Lee this morning, this could go close, i fancy Robertson not only for the match but to win the tournament outright.

He'll have to improve. Was pretty average against Hendry and was a bit lucky to get through that one. Could happen though. Selby was woeful at the Welsh Open in the first couple of rounds but improved as the week went on and reached the final.

Seen a bit of Selbys match this morning and he still isn't playing his best stuff. He was wearing a glove this morning which looked a bit odd. Obviously not happy with his cueing. I'd probably have Higgins favourite to win it from here. Plays Cope next and then the winner of Jong/Milkins so it's a fairly handy route to the semis.

cherryghost

By the way does anyone see the slight tilt on the table as some of the snooker players and indeed the commentators have mentioned it a few times. The slow paces shots seems to be going astray according to some people.

cherryghost

Also, interesting fact: Jin Long's run into the last 16 means that he's earned more prizemoney in this tournament than he has in his entire career.

Pighead

cherryghost wrote: »

Also, interesting fact: Jin Long's run into the last 16 means that he's earned more prizemoney in this tournament than he has in his entire career.

That's a ridiculous stat considering he has been a pro for over ten years. According to his wiki he's earned a total of £6,400 so far!:eek:

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

Also, interesting fact: Jin Long's run into the last 16 means that he's earned more prizemoney in this tournament than he has in his entire career.

Unfortunately he won't see a penny or should i say yen of it. He's an amateur and is exempt from winning any prize money in this event.
Same thing happened to Ding years back when he won as an invited amateur.

cherryghost

zack01 wrote: »

Unfortunately he won't see a penny or should i say yen of it. He's an amateur and is exempt from winning any prize money in this event.
Same thing happened to Ding years back when he won as an invited amateur.

That's crazy and personally I think its unfair. He earned his way to the last 16 justly. So what happens to his share of the prizepot then?

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

That's crazy and personally I think its unfair. He earned his way to the last 16 justly. So what happens to his share of the prizepot then?

That's always been the way since wildcards were invited, basically it gives local amateurs a chance to play alongside the worlds best and to give them some exposure.
As i said it happened to Ding when he was invited to play in the China Oen in 2005, he went on to win it beating Hendry in the final but won nothing.

Jin Long has been on and off the tour four times now, he was actually once ranked in the 60's.

cherryghost

Well what's your opinion on the matter? I know you're not a fan of the wild card rounds but Jin Long is justifyingly in the last 16, outplaying some good reputed snooker players. Do you personally think he shouldn't be there? Or do you think he's earned his position there? And more to my point, do you think that wild card entrants should be entitled to prizemoney?

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

Well what's your opinion on the matter? I know you're not a fan of the wild card rounds but Jin Long is justifyingly in the last 16, outplaying some good reputed snooker players. Do you personally think he shouldn't be there? Or do you think he's earned his position there? And more to my point, do you think that wild card entrants should be entitled to prizemoney?

I'm totally against the wild card round, players who have qualified should be straight into the last 32 and play a top 16 seed.
They have qualified the hard way and the last thing you need is to be drawn against some local player who has nothing to lose, a prime example of this being Sam Baird who won three matches to reach China only to lose to a wildcard.
Some people will say you should'nt be there if you cant beat a wildcard but as i said all the pressure is on the qualifier and not the wildcard.

Regarding wheter if i think he should'nt be there, well personally i dont think wildcards should be there, not only do players have to go through the qualifying process in the Academy in Sheffield in those tiny booths but those that have qualified automatically by right by being in the top 16 i feel their ranking is slightly cheapened if they have to play a player who only has to win one match to meet them.
So no i dont think there should be there nor recieve prize money, i'm all for giving the local players some exposure and match practice this can be done in an invitational event and not a ranking tournament.

If the wildcards ambition is to turn pro then Q School is the way to go about joining the paid ranks.

zack01

zack01 wrote: »

Mark Allen beats Judd Trump 5-4, at least he's made a headline for the right reasons.
Looking forward to Robertson v Lee this morning, this could go close, i fancy Robertson not only for the match but to win the tournament outright.

Well at least I'm consitent, consistent at tipping the wrong player that is!!
Lee did play well though, and playing Dott next he must fancy his chances of winning, and no i'm not tipping him!!!!!

ArmaniJeanss

Whilst there are definitely negatives about 'wildcards' getting placed into such a late stage of the tournament, its probably worth pointing out that its fairly standard procedure in other major sports.

examples.
Darts. The Grand Prix at City West will have 4 Irish players parachuted into the opening round who won't have qualified the normal path, but will have come through an Irish only qualifier or be the highest ranked Irish players. Ditto for the competitions held in continental Europe and the now defunct Las Vegas Classic always had a miniumum of 4 Yanks.

Golf. Any standard European Tour event theres always a few sponsors invites so if its the Portuguese Open there'll be an extra few local pros teeing up who would struggle to qualify for most tour events.

Tennis. The AllEngland Club retain about half a dozen Wimbledon wildcards which will be usually be given to UK players, players who rarely come close to playing in any other major.

These are the sort of sports which snooker is competing against for sponsorship, so if its what the sponsor Haikou want and it helps bring money on board so that there can be more ranking events then I don't think snooker should be embarassed at all at these wildcard entrants.

Pighead

What's the story with the crowds this week. They've been awful. Mark Allen playing King now in the quarter finals and the place looks empty. Same with Selby against Murphy. Thought the Chinese loved their snooker?

giant_midget

Pighead wrote: »

What's the story with the crowds this week. They've been awful. Mark Allen playing King now in the quarter finals and the place looks empty. Same with Selby against Murphy. Thought the Chinese loved their snooker?

Was actually thinking this myself, we always hear about how much the Chinese love snooker...Maybe from the quarters onwards numbers will pick up.

On a side note, Is anyone watching this on Eurosport HD? The quality is unreal, like cider and guinness to compare SD to HD snooker. I got the HD pack in as i am a F1 freak also, So looking forward to the F1 HD channel launch too

zack01

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Whilst there are definitely negatives about 'wildcards' getting placed into such a late stage of the tournament, its probably worth pointing out that its fairly standard procedure in other major sports.

examples.
Darts. The Grand Prix at City West will have 4 Irish players parachuted into the opening round who won't have qualified the normal path, but will have come through an Irish only qualifier or be the highest ranked Irish players. Ditto for the competitions held in continental Europe and the now defunct Las Vegas Classic always had a miniumum of 4 Yanks.

Golf. Any standard European Tour event theres always a few sponsors invites so if its the Portuguese Open there'll be an extra few local pros teeing up who would struggle to qualify for most tour events.

Tennis. The AllEngland Club retain about half a dozen Wimbledon wildcards which will be usually be given to UK players, players who rarely come close to playing in any other major.

These are the sort of sports which snooker is competing against for sponsorship, so if its what the sponsor Haikou want and it helps bring money on board so that there can be more ranking events then I don't think snooker should be embarassed at all at these wildcard entrants.

I see your point, my only argument is that in the darts, golf and tennis events there are more than 32 players from the start of play. I think Haikou should maybe have ran an event prior to the World Open with the winner recieving a wild card place in the main event.
Benson and Hedges used to do the same thing and hold the annual B&H Championship in Scotland each year with the winner recieving a wild card to their main event the Masters in Wembley, Ken Doherty won it one year and earned his first of many appearances at the Masters.
As i said it is in my opinion unfair on the players who have gone through qualifying only to have to play a wildcard round to make the first round proper.
Losing Ding to a wildcard has'nt really helped the cause either as having only just won the Welsh he was the man of the moment and all eyes were on him.

Silvio.Dante

Again, very poor crowd for the Lee game...:(

Silvio.Dante

Greart start for Mark Allen. 5 - 0 up already!!!

Silvio.Dante

Very creaky floorboards..!

zack01

Wow just up turned on the laptop and it's 7-1 to Allen. Has anyone been watching it?
Looks very like his first ranking title is a few frames away now.
Maybe by winning this he may just grow up a bit now and enjoy his snooker and the countries he's lucky enough to visit.

zack01

So Mark Allen wins the Haikou World Open and with it his first ranking title by beating Steve Lee 10-1 in todays final.
It moves him up to seventh in the provisional rankings and on the form he showed this week most notably when beating Mark Selby he will go into this years world championships as one of the favourites.
I didnt watch todays final but i'll be very interested to hear what Allen has to say in his post match interviews, and i wonder will he have a problem accepting the first prize of £75K off the ignorant Chinese!!!!

As i have said before i'm a great admirer of Allen on the table but his behaviour off it leaves a lot to be desired, maybe though this win may just help him realise how lucky he is to have a great talent and to be currently among the best in the world at his chosen profession.

cherryghost

I'm very confused by the projected rankings. I see Mark in 9th and Lee in 8th, no? Doherty drops out of the top 32 also.

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

I'm very confused by the projected rankings. I see Mark in 9th and Lee in 8th, no? Doherty drops out of the top 32 also.

Those are the current provisional rankings if the season was to end now, they are updated after each event, however the last ranking cut off point just after the Welsh still remains intact with Doherty in 32 place.

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

I'm very confused by the projected rankings. I see Mark in 9th and Lee in 8th, no? Doherty drops out of the top 32 also.

The offical provisional world ranking list is here!


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