Tag: World Championship qualifiers

Categories
News

A New First for Snooker…

Judd Trump

Fans will be able to watch the World Championship qualifiers on TV from next month – a first for snooker.

Coverage of one table will be streamed live and exclusive on Eurosport from July 21st – 28th as the World’s top professionals battle it out to reach the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

ROS
Ronnie will not be at the Tour Championship despite being the defending Champion but will be in the background as usual…

Since the coronavirus pandemic started in February and the government announced a major lockdown on March 23rd, live sport has been off the air for at least 78 days.

However, with snooker already having led the way by being the first sport to welcome back players to their jobs at the Championship League in Milton Keynes a week or so ago, there has been much talk and debate about whether snooker’s Blue Ribbon event the World Championships would go ahead at all.

LucaBrecel
Luca Brecel won the Championship League a week or so ago. But snooker led the way back for live sport to be back on TV again…

But the qualifiers, which have only ever been streamed online on Eurosport Player, will now be on both the Player and the TV.

Snooker boss Barry Hearn said; “The Betfred World Championship  is a massive event and the qualifying rounds are very much a part of it.”

He added: “There is a wonderful sense of drama and anticipation as players battle for a place at the Crucible. Matches can make or break a season.”

This confirms, for now, depending on outside forces with Covid-19, that the World Championship is on for the moment.

Tour Championship Returns…

The news comes as tomorrow, snooker sees the return of its ranking event coverage with eight players on the one year list battling it out for a 150K first prize.

Judd Trump leads the field…

Judd Trump
It will be back to proper business at the Tour Championship for Judd Trump…

Back in March, World number one Judd Trump won his record sixth ranking title in Gibraltar, and will be leading the field with the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and John Higgins in Milton Keynes at the Marshall Arena.

Ronnie O’Sullivan did not qualify for the Tour Championship.

Once the Tour Championship has ended, the 16 seedings for the Crucible will be announced with the 16 players being exempt from the qualifiers and those at the qualifiers will battle it out to become the remaining 16 to play the top 16 at the Crucible.

Coverage of the Tour Championship will be on ITV 4 with the same set-up as at the Championship League.

 

 

Categories
News

World Championship Qualifiers Reaching Finale

Embed from Getty Images

Judgement Day is fast approaching this week at the World Championship qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport as the event reaches its final couple of days before fans will know which 16 have qualified for this year’s Betfred World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield.

The drama is unfolding nicely as we know for sure that one lucky amateur is guaranteed to walk out at the iconic venue next Saturday for the first time.

That lucky amateur will be either Michael Judge or Stephen Hendry’s nephew James Cahill, as they will play each other in the final qualifying round for a place in the last 32, or what some call the ‘first-round proper’.

Irishman Judge, 44, according to research, actually holds the record for the number of times he’s failed to qualify by reaching the final qualifying round. Hopefully, the former professional, who’s appeared at the Crucible three times, can get a fourth walkout at the Crucible this time around. Cahill, 23, also a former pro, has had a season where in the UK Championship this season as an amateur, he beat former World number one Mark Selby in the first round!

No Ordinary Joe…

2018 English Amateur Champion Joe O’Connor, who’s in his first year as a pro, has made it through to the final qualifying round at the EIS but faces a tough test in the Shootout Champion Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. If O’Connor makes it onto the big stage at the Crucible, it will have been a good season for the 23-year-old debut pro potter from Leicester, who reached a semi-final of a ranking event earlier this season in the Welsh Open.

Women Ng On Yee and Reanne Evans didn’t make it past their first-round meetings, but Hong Kong’s On Yee put up a good fight against the former World Championship semi-finalist Alan McManus losing 10 – 6.

The event continues until Wednesday 17th April…The main event begins on Saturday the 20th April where the 16 qualifiers will have known their fate of which top 16 players they will be playing in the first round proper.

Follow the action on the Eurosport player or watch live scores here...

 

 

 

Categories
News

World Championship Qualifiers Update…

Embed from Getty Images

The 2019 World Championship qualifiers are well underway, and here’s a few quick updates going on so far…

  • Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham currently has a high break of 146, and that’s the 24th 146 in snooker history. Mark Allen and Ronnie O’Sullivan have made 3 146’s in their careers.
  • Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee are currently playing their matches with Reanne struggling against China’s Zhang Yong. She’s 7 – 1 down and looks like she won’t be progressing further this time.
  • Ng On Yee is nip and tuck with former World Championship semi-finalist Alan McManus…
  • Current English Amateur Champion Joe O’Connor breezed past his first-round opponent Joe Swail 10 – 1 awaiting his next round.
  • Teenager Jackson Page is three frames behind against the Irishman Fergal O’Brien, who, remember was involved in that longest frame in snooker history of just over two hours in the final round of the qualifiers last time around against now top 16 player David Gilbert.

All matches are best of 19 with first to ten with the 16 players who come through having won three best of 19s will qualify for the Crucible starting on the 20th April.
The current World Champion is Mark Williams (see pic).

Follow the action, here…