Stuart Bingham with the sought after Pink Ribbon trophy with Paul Mount. (Screenshot from the SWSA facebook page)
STUART BINGHAM has bagged his second Pink Ribbon title since the popular and much-loved charity snooker event was launched in 2010.
The 43-year-old 2015 World Champion first won it back in 2012 – defeating seasoned campaigner Peter Lines.
This time, Bingham defeated 2018 Masters Champion Mark Allen in the final.
The Pink Ribbon is a pro-am event that raises much-needed funds for the cause of breast cancer and this year was celebrating its 10th year with a record turnout of players.
A record of over £100,000 has been raised in its 10 years and has seen the likes of professionals Bingham, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Joe Perry win the title.
Last year, amateur Andrew Norman was the first amateur to win the title – after he had been in the English Amateur Championship final months before but lost to Joe O’Connor.
Last year’s worthy winner: Andrew Norman, who runs the Academy in Gloucester
On the South West Snooker Academy Facebook page, it read:
“What an amazing year for Pink Ribbon Snooker….. We had a record entry of 397 with an increase of 60 players competing meaning World Snooker Services helped us install 2 lovely STAR tables in our function room to accommodate the high entry, thank you to Eugene and the table fitter lads!
Congratulations to the SWSA owner Paul Mount … The tournament raised £7500 for Breast Cancer Now…. & also £1000 for local Cancer support group ‘Charlies’
ALSO – after the final, Stuart Bingham & Mark Allen BOTH donated £1000 each from their winnings back to the tournament charity pot.
This gives a grand total for 2019 of around £10,500 with donations & raffles still to be counted.
This now means Paul has raised over £103,000 in 10 years!”
Winner winner chicken dinner.
Happy to win the 10th Anniversary Pink Ribbon event at the Capital Venue in Gloucester.
Well done to all involved in the event and especially to Paul Mount who has now raised over… https://t.co/wtTLEbZxMh
For shaping a tip you use a tip shaper…Basically, it’s a piece of sandpaper which is inserted into a file style product…Peradon are the best ones to use. They include FREE spare strips of sandpaper too!
You file the tip in a downward motion (always downwards) and you rotate the cue while you’re doing this so it shapes it evenly.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be filed hard.
Keep checking to see the shape and use the QCARD MULTI-TOOL TIP PROFILER to check the type of shape you want on your tip.
You might need to do this after each game or session, depending on how often you play.
Warning:
A too rounded tip might cause problems with miscueing. So don’t go overboard with sanding. Remember, you’re not sanding wood down. You’re just shaping a tip! Tread carefully!
If you have, I bet you’ve experienced these issues, right?
When you try to stick on a tip, you apply too much (by accident)…
You can never seem to “center” the tip, right…(this will happen first times you try)
The glue always seeps over the ferrule…(don’t forget your Duct tape)
The glue gets hard on the next apply
All these are avoidable issues…
So here’s a few pointers in relation to using glue to stick on a Cue tip…
YOU ONLY NEED TO APPLY A SMALL AMOUNT
When using glue, the secret is to apply just the right amount so that you haven’t got the issue of having to wipe glue off the ferrule when it seeps down! That’s why SnookerZone recommends using a precision nozzle on glue so that you can apply just enough onto the surface wood to stick tip down.
NEVER PUSH DOWN HARD WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE TIP WHEN STICKING
When trying to get the tip on, don’t use too much force. Just gently set the tip on and don’t worry if the tip is not totally dead centre. With some glues, you have just enough time to move the tip to centre it more than you think. However, if it’s not totally centred, no fear as you can trim it down later.
ALWAYS USE DUCT TAPE AROUND THE FERRULE TO PREVENT MESS
When putting a tip on, it’s important you have some kind of tape around the ferrule so that glue does not seep down the ferrule and make it a mess. This also, as it happens, helps to position the tip centre but the main reason is to prevent mess!
THE GLUE REVIEW
Bison Super Glue Gel
As SnookerZone has said earlier, we’ve tested three (well, four actually) but the best so far we’ve tried is the Gorilla Super Glue Gel (Green tube)
For us, it creates less mess when applying and is just hassle free of any issues when removing a tip.
You want to use a glue that isn’t going to make your hands too sticky if you come in contact with it when applying the process to sticking on a tip.
Gorilla glue isn’t messy and provides enough time for you to center the tip exactly where you want it.
When comparing to Loctite, we found that with Gorilla, we had much more time to move the tip around before the glue set! Loctite was pretty much instant in sticking and you had no time to make sure the tip was right.
However, Gorilla glue is slightly more expensive than Bison, which is SnookerZone’s second recommendation!
Bison is very similar to Gorilla in that it’s not messy, but it does provide adequate time for you to set the tip to where you want it! The advantage of Bison is it’s slightly cheaper than Gorilla!
Snooker Cue Tip Compressors: Want to dabble in pressing tips? It’s all about experimentation…
As snooker players, we pride ourselves on the equipment we use.
The snooker cue is an extension of our cue arm and our “best buddy” we carry around in a nice protective case with all the other stuff that goes with it.
But, also, a snooker tip is a pride and joy to a snooker player.
Most snooker players will go through a phase of trying out as many tips on the market as they can physically get their hands on.
Others will immediately know a tip they like and just stick to it.
But for snooker tips, it’s not just about soft, hard, or medium. It’s about the shape and the way it looks and feels to an individual snooker player that will give him/her that satisfaction on the table.
Shaping a snooker tip is personal preference. There is no right or wrong.
Some players like a well-domed tip. Others like a slightly less rounded tip. Some like to see a slight overhang when fitting. Others like the tip to be exact on the ferrule and trim the excess off.
We’ve already explained in the SnookerZone tip reviews we’ve reviewed so far, that there is no perfect tip out there, only one that’s perfect for you. Once you get a feel for different tips, you’ll discover the “one” that’s right for you.
Think of exploring snooker tips like going on dates. You have to get through a few before you find the “one”. Seldom do you find “the one” straight away!
You may even want to try a second or third time before you’re totally head over heels!
PRESSING SNOOKER TIPS
Now we come to a product on the market that we’d like to introduce you to!
It’s an old-fashioned product, but it’s one that beginners to the game should know about.
At SnookerZone we’re here to educate, inform and advise, based on our experiences.
There are many of these on the market. For the more tech-savvy among you, you may want to explore the more expensive ones but if you’re just wanting to dabble in tip pressing to see what it’s all about, then the one in the pic here is fine.
We’re not going to go into great detail about how it works. It’s simple enough.
You center your tip into the dome shape part (see pic above) and wind the other part of the press until you can feel the tip squeezed. Be careful not to squeeze really tight. And remember to center it as it may end up uneven!
For best results, leave the tip in the press for a while before unwinding. Grab a coffee or go and do the shopping!!
You should start to see the tip taking on a different shape and more rounded. It’ll look more played in due to compression.
This is not the end of the process, though…
Once it has a bit of a shape to it, you’ll need to maybe finely sand the tip and use the TIP PIK TOOL to ensure chalk grips the tip better.
THE VERDICT ON A CUE TIP PRESS…
The pros…
Easy to use
Can be inexpensive
Will help you discover your ideal shape of tip you want for future reference…
The Cons…
In the modern era of snooker tips, most are already shaped to some degree. Some do not need pressing for shaping. Some just need pressing for playing in such as Elks or Blue Diamonds. The more modern tips do not need playing in.
Only useful if there is a very flat tip that needs compressing/shaping.
You need to experiment with it to get the pressing right!
