2019 Coral Cup - ITV4's Trilogy of Events

Frank O. Pinion · 21-01-2019 11:18am #1

I wanted to make a thread for the newest addition to the tour, the Coral Cup, and what it entails for those unaware.

The series starts in two weeks, with the World Grand Prix, then the Players Championship at the start of March, and ending with a brand new tournament, the Tour Championship at the end of March. All three events will air on ITV4.

Here's how each tournament works:

World Grand Prix (4th/Feb-10th/Feb)
Top 32 ranked players this season (July/2018-3rd/Feb/2019) compete. Best-of-7s the first two rounds, QF-best-of-9s, SF-best-of-11s, finale is a best-of-19. Winner gets £100,000, runner-up gets £40,000. Ronnie is the defending champion, defeating Ding Junhui 10-3, last year.

Players Championship (4th/Mar-10th/Mar)
Top 16 ranked players this season (July/2018-3rd/Mar/2019) compete. Just like The Masters this is best-of-11s until the finale, which is a best-of-19. This is a fantastic tournament with a similar format to The Masters, featuring the best 16 players in the world. Winner gets £125,000, runner-up gets £50,000. Ronnie is the defending champion, defeating Shaun Murphy 10-4, last year.

Tour Championship (19th/Mar-24th/Mar)
A new event for the elite players of the season. Only the Top 8 ranked players this season (July/2018-17th/Mar/2019) compete. This event starts with best-of-17s for the Quarter-Finals, Semis are best-of-19s, and the finale is a best-of-25. Winner gets £150,000, runner-up gets £60,000.

Now, how does a player actually win the Coral Cup? The player earning the most overall prize money across the three events will receive the inaugural Coral Cup. There's also a bonus for a player that is able to win all three events, they would have their total prize money boosted from £375,000 to £500,000.

Currently ranked for the season #29-Ding Junhui and #31-Shaun Murphy, both will have to do really well in the German Masters and the World Grand Prix to qualify for the Top 16 and Top 8 events.

Inviere · 21-01-2019 4:37pm

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

All three events will air on ITV4.

"Somebody's knockin' at your door....somebody's ringin' the bell..."

Looking forward to it. A top 8 tournament seems interesting, like the Masters on steroids!

Spudman_20000 · 21-01-2019 5:26pm

Love the snooker coverage on ITV4, none of this half-arsed BBC red button muck.

Ultimate Seduction · 21-01-2019 6:33pm

Love the tour championship. Nice format.

Arthur Daley · 21-01-2019 6:50pm

It is good to see the return of a best of 19 semi and a best of 25 final, outside of Sheffield.

Frank O. Pinion · 04-02-2019 12:05am

The German Masters finished today, with Kyren Wilson defeating David Gilbert, 9-7, to win his third ranking title. So, after that tournament, this is how the Top 32 are ranked, on the 1-year list:

1. Mark Allen - £353,000
2. Ronnie O'Sullivan - £220,000
3. Mark Selby - £218,000
4. Mark Williams - £201,000
5. Neil Robertson - £180,500
6. Judd Trump - £174,500
7. Kyren Wilson - £161,500
8. David Gilbert - £157,000
9. Jack Lisowski - £127,000
10. Stuart Bingham - £125,500
11. Joe Perry - £99,000
12. Jimmy Robertson - £98,225
13. Stephen Maguire - £98,000
14. John Higgins - £96,000
15. Barry Hawkins - £88,000
16. Martin O'Donnell - £76,500
17. Ali Carter - £72,500
18. Ryan Day - £70,500
19. Noppon Saengkham - £68,000
20. Mark King - £65,500
21. Mark Davis - £62,725
22. Tom Ford - £62,500
23. Zhao Xintong - £60,500
24. Ding Junhui - £60,000
25. Yan Bingtao - £60,000
26. Matthew Stevens - £58,000
27. Stuart Carrington - £57,500
28. Xiao Guodong - £56,600
29. Yuan Sijun - £55,000
30. Shaun Murphy - £53,500
31. Marco Fu - £53,500
32. Gary Wilson - £48,600

The World Grand Prix starts tomorrow evening, on ITV4 at 6:45pm. Top 32 tournament, #1 plays #32, #2 plays #31, etc.

Round 1:

Mark Allen v Gary Wilson
Martin O'Donnell v Ali Carter
Jack Lisowski v Ding Junhui
David Gilbert v Yan Bingtao
Neil Robertson v Xiao Guodong
Jimmy Robertson v Mark Davis
Stephen Maguire v Mark King
Mark Williams v Yuan Sijun
Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy
John Higgins v Noppon Saengkham
Joe Perry v Tom Ford
Judd Trump v Stuart Carrington
Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens
Stuart Bingham v Zhao Xintong
Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
Ronnie O'Sullivan (defending champion) v Marco Fu

Inviere · 05-02-2019 9:33am

Ronnie out in Round 1, didn't play terrible, Fu was just the better man on the night. The Allen Wilson match was almost painful to watch after the first two frames....dire stuff.

Frank O. Pinion · 05-02-2019 10:52am

I don't think Ronnie has ever lost in the first round of a title he was defending before. Crazy. He also hadn't lost a first round match (for events without qualifying rounds) in three years, since the 2016 World Grand Prix.

Today's matches:

1pm
Mark Williams v Yuan Sijun
Martin O’Donnell v Ali Carter
Neil Robertson v Xiao Guodong
Jimmy Robertson v Mark Davis

7pm
Judd Trump v Stuart Carrington
Stephen Maguire v Mark King
Jack Lisowski v Ding Junhui
Joe Perry v Tom Ford

Inviere · 05-02-2019 10:56am

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

I don't think Ronnie has ever lost in the first round of a title he was defending before. Crazy. He also hadn't lost a first round match (for events without qualifying rounds) in three years, since the 2016 World Grand Prix.

Also, what he did in the final frame (taking on a ridiculous red) with a smile on his face wasn't a good sign. Reminded me of the old days where he just wanted to get off the table as quickly as possible when things weren't going his way. I wouldn't be surprised to hear whinging/retirement talk from him before long (again).

Joe_ Public · 05-02-2019 3:42pm

Really good quality match this between Williams and Yuan Sijun. This kid has caught the eye a few times, reluctant to big him up but he’s playing very well this afternoon.

waynescales1 · 05-02-2019 9:19pm

Neil Robertson suffering from a virus but still played, didn't look well at all today. I think he actually turned green at one point.

AllForIt · 05-02-2019 10:17pm

Trump doesn't look like the ultra composed measured player he was not very long ago in The Masters.

Trump 3, Carrington 3. Final frame decider.

Edit: Trump clinches it. Played some terrible shots and some great shots in the final frame. I just don't think Trump has a level of professional class that all the other dominant players have/had. When things aren't going for him he keeps doing this flashy shot thing. Sometimes it works and more times it doesn't. With his supreme ability I sometimes wonder if he's not getting the right coaching including psychological coaching. Although he won this match I have never seen anyone look so disgusted with their performance after a win in my life.

Joe_ Public · 05-02-2019 11:43pm

Does Judd even have a coach? Open to correction but I don’t believe he has or hasn’t for years. I’ve often thought what a Terry Griffiths style figure could do for him but Judd seems like a very stubborn, independent minded individual so is happy to do it all his own way. His career, his choices I guess.

For a sport played so much in the mind it’s always struck me as strange how few pros follow ronnies example and employ a mind coach. Maybe a cost factor for some of them but long term I think it would repay the investment and then some.

AllForIt · 06-02-2019 12:21am

Joe, I've no idea. I was a bit confused about this when Judd won the UK masters and his brother was showcased for giving him some support. I've no idea what kind of support though. I would have thought every top player has a coach but now you ask the question I've a mind to think none of them do.

I do think that this is something that is missing in professional snooker. If you compare snooker to any other individual sport like Tennis it does seem to me that the players have very little if any at all professional sports support. When Wilson won the German Masters just last week in the after match interview he talked about his family being his rock. But as a professional sportsperson you can't depend on your family for this.

Davis had Barry Hearn who pushed him, Hendry had Ian Doyle who pushed him, and although they weren't coaches, they were still ppl who influenced and motivated them in a professional capacity.

I have formed the opinion that if Robertson and Murphy(and others) had decent coaching, even just psychological coaching, they might have done a lot better for themselves, rather that being left to do it all by themselves. At the very top level of sport it's never a one man show.

Joe_ Public · 06-02-2019 12:43am

Yes, spot on with all of that. Davis, of course, did hsve the great Frank Callan in his corner, as did hendry and they were obsessive about practice. But there just doesn’t appear to be a rigid culture of it in the game and it’s hard to understand why.

Look how Ronnie reignited his career when he started working with Ray Reardon and then added the “monkey” man to the ticket. And how Mark Allen credits Griffiths with turning him into a regular winner over past couple of seasons. Just seems like a no brainer really to surround yourself with such know how and experience.

Of course I’m not entirely aware of Judds setup but a few things he said in interviews did strike me as odd. Like, he spoke of how great it was to have his brother full time during the uk and spotting balls for him on the practice table. Which had me wondering if he’d been practicing all that time while spotting balls himself which you’d think is just such a basic thing. Seems happy enough with it himself anyway, so who knows really?

Inviere · 06-02-2019 9:49am

AllForIt wrote: »

Trump clinches it. Played some terrible shots and some great shots in the final frame. I just don't think Trump has a level of professional class that all the other dominant players have/had.

You say that, but the general standard of late has been fairly poor generally speaking. Mark Allen was woeful the other day, Ronnie out in the first round despite having chances, Selby hasn't been dominant in a while, Kyren was very hot/cold in his recent tournament win, Mark Williams (current world champ!) out in the first round, to name but a few.

I actually couldn't help but think last night, there's still no real 'killers' on the table, like prime Ronnie, Hendry, John Higgins, etc.

Frank O. Pinion · 06-02-2019 9:58am

Trump brings his brother along so he has someone to go to Burger King with, "go get food with", and not feel as isolated stuck in a hotel room alone.

Today's matches:

1pm, (end of Round 1)
Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy
John Higgins v Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens
David Gilbert v Yan Bingtao

7pm, (Round 2)
Tom Ford v Judd Trump
Xiao Guodong v Mark Davis
Barry Hawkins v Marco Fu
Stephen Maguire v Yuan Sijun

Inviere · 06-02-2019 2:34pm

Rooting for Sean here, love watching him play.

Inviere · 06-02-2019 2:57pm

Inviere wrote: »

Rooting for Sean here, love watching him play.

^^ not off to the best start is Sean. Had a chance to rob that 3rd frame there after two outstanding pots, but then blew it with a black on its spot.

Inviere · 06-02-2019 3:46pm

Sean's eight first round exit from a tournament this season, quite alarming statistic.

AllForIt · 06-02-2019 7:15pm

Wilson beats Stevens after being 3 - 0 down. Came down to the final black where Stevens missed it and left it over the pocket which was unmissable leaving Wilson to go ahead for the first time in the match and take it.

Joe_ Public · 06-02-2019 8:17pm

Sounded harsh at the time but hendry had basically written Matt’s chances off at 3-2 ahead. He wasn’t wrong but how many winning chances did Stephens butcher in the course of the match? Pretty much the story of his career sadly.

AllForIt · 06-02-2019 9:45pm

Wilsom is quite good at comebacks too rather like Selby. He seems to get fired up in those situations. In the Germam Masters final he had lost something like 6 frames in a row but recovered from 4- 7 down to win it 9 - 7.

Inviere · 06-02-2019 9:46pm

The standard in the Trump match there was shockingly bad, for televised Snooker.

waynescales1 · 06-02-2019 9:56pm

The standard in the Stevens v Wilson match was awful.

AllForIt · 06-02-2019 10:21pm

waynescales1 wrote: »

The standard in the Stevens v Wilson match was awful.

Yes it was dire. It was pissing rain outside today and if it wasn't for that on my day off I would have ditched it. Wilson one could forgive as he just won a ranking event on Sunday but Stevens was awful.

Frank O. Pinion · 07-02-2019 10:47am

Today's matches:

1pm, (end of Round 2)
Mark Allen v Ali Carter
Ding Junhui v David Gilbert
Mark Selby v Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson v Stuart Bingham

7pm, (start of Quarter-Finals, best-of-9s)
Xiao Guodong v Yuan Sijun
Allen/Carter v Ding/Gilbert

David Gilbert has had an incredible season, ranked in the Top 8 all season, he'll be a "wildcard" of sorts, if he manages to stay in the Top 8 for the Tour Championship. Rooting for him to go all the way in this tournament. Also been really impressed with Yuan Sijun, looking forward to his match with Xiao Guodong.

Other thing to note, in the bottom half of the draw, we could get another Trump/Wilson match in their "rivalry", in the semis.

Mysterypunter · 07-02-2019 3:38pm

Mark Allen made some show of himself

Joe_ Public · 07-02-2019 3:45pm

Another good win for gilbert, whitewashing ding. Definitely had a decent season but was leading MJW 9-5 in the world open final before losing 5 frames in succession and also jettisoned a winning position against wilson in germany last week. Not too many in great form here it seems so may get a chance to go one better this week.

Joe_ Public · 07-02-2019 3:47pm

Big fine coming for Allen you’d think, not sure what his problem is today.

zuutroy · 07-02-2019 4:13pm

Strange stuff. Thought that kind of stuff was behind him now.

2019 Coral Cup - ITV4's Trilogy of Events

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