Haikou World Open

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!

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

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 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 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 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.