The Crucible Question

“I don’t like the Crucible. I don’t think you can get in and out of it. I think definitely it’s a wise decision to take the World Champs away from Sheffield. I know you get nice tea there, you might get lasagne if the guys are cooking. But that’s about it. You get no peace and quiet, you cannot even park there. Trying to get in and out of Sheffield, it’s a nightmare”.

“I think Saudi Arabia would be great. They’ve got the resources and would do it great. If you’re going to take it to China, you’d have to take it to Shanghai. Or another major city like Shenzhen or Guangzhou. It’d be done properly. Courtesy cars . Food will be there. Hotels will be great. Everything would be paid for. Prize money would be astronomical.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Introduction

The Crucible Theatre became the World Championship’s home in 1977. A snooker stage where plenty of drama has been played out over the years, causing both elation and heartbreak. A venue that amazingly only has 980 seats and a stone’s throw away from the players and the snooker. With a vinyl divide for the two table set up that often constricts a shot and allows someone on the end of the seating row to view both matches, the Crucible’s right to hold the World Championship divides the snooker family.

For those who make this 17 day snooker pilgrimage from far and wide with a deck of all sessions tickets and a seat that they rarely leave, it would be a sporting crime to end this association and move the tournament to a bigger venue in the UK, China or Saudi Arabia. Most of the players also agree on this but there are a growing few who feel the time is right to sever the connection with the Crucible. With Barrie Hearn now taking a back seat and his son Eddie holding a lot of cards and someone who doesn’t particularly like snooker, a hairline crack is starting to appear in this dogma. Even Barry himself wants a plan to emerge where the World Championship is moved to a new building in Sheffield that rivals Alexandra Palace, the Tempodrom and makes massive inroads into the seating capacity of the Hong Kong Masters. Yet to get this past the Crucible faithful will require a mammoth task and one you have to be extremely brave to even contemplate bursting this heritage bubble.

My Thoughts

The Crucible is a jewel in snooker’s crown and to remove it would be like cutting off your arm to spite your face. The very walls of this hallowed building hold so many snooker memories. It tops every snooker venue ever played in because it is unique and so special. It’s probably the only venue where you never see an empty seat and one when you leave there are numerous pubs on your doorstep. In order to get a ticket for the  World Championship here, you have run a keyboard marathon to be in with a chance. Tickets that sell out as fast these days as those for Glastonbury.

What those who want this tournament moved must realise is that the World Championship prior to coming to Sheffield had no permanent home. It was a nomad that roved around the country. This simmering debate that surfaces every time it is held just causes unnecessary jitters and friction. Sheffield itself is teeming with culture, shops and nightlife. So to use the excuse that you can’t get a decent meal at the Crucible, the place smells or you can’t swing a cat in there, is frankly pathetic.

This isn’t about creating a new snooker environment, it’s purely a money making exercise. Money talks in any industry and snooker is no exception. The recent Riyadh Masters proved that. No snooker player is going to turn down the chance to make a bumper return in prize money and if you only have to work a fraction of the 17 days to achieve it, it’s a no brainer. Yet by moving the World Championship away from the Crucible, you would just dilute this mystical ethos. It’s an idea that probably has Joe Davis turning in his grave and the backlash from the devoted is not worth it. You only have to look at the tournaments played on the snooker calendar in China to see the numerous seats that are left empty because the average person in China can’t afford a ticket. Yes snooker should continue its journey of becoming a global brand but a certain jewel has its rightful place and shouldn’t be assassinated with an eviction notice.

What people need to realise is that the Crucible is a theatre that doubles as a snooker venue for the World Championship and the Seniors once a year. If you actually been fortunate enough to experience one of these two tournaments, then you will know how special it is to just walk through the foyer doors and sit on one of golden coloured seats. This is a melting pot of snooker where you can almost touch the players and the lighting on the ceiling looks like a starlit sky.

Behind the scenes is a rabbit warren of corridors and rooms which the media use and the players drape their suits and cues in the dressing rooms that are normally inhabited by actors. You only have ask a player who drives here in the tournament or as a bystander what the feeling is like to come here. As your car approaches, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and you get butterflies in your stomach. These feelings never leave you. Just to walk out in front of that Crucible audience is a unique experience. It is petrifying and at the same time, heartwarming. The echo of applause and a cheer that spurns you on to want to win. It can be the most exhilarating place and also the most lonely when you on the precipice of defeat. The Crucible Curse lingers over the venue and the ghosts of the past talk to you in your head. A snooker madness that is a sublime insanity and only when you raise the trophy, do the Crucible shackles fall to the floor.

Nothing tops this experience and to sever it would be like turning out the last light in the building. The Crucible experience burns bright like a  coal in a fireplace. The flames of snooker lick this very theatre and you can sense its history billowing from its foundations. It is alive and well and must never be snuffed out. An almost religion where the words are unwritten but known by heart and memories. It lives in your heart and soul and fills you with joyous emotion that is only second to the happiest days of your life. A tournament that brings fans together in an extended family, full of laughter, tears and the many tipples after a late night snooker session. A rubber stamp that has its own unique DNA and continues to morph over time. A chrysalis that keeps on bearing new fruits and a memory that stays with you for a lifetime.

 

The Lion

By Elliott West

“A sportsman that we lost too soon, but his memory will never be forgotten”. 

Alessio Brancaccio
Introduction

War is a terrible concept. An act that some say is a necessary evil to quash a tyrant or regime into submission. Yet the consequences of these actions are devastating, killing and maiming untold numbers of innocent victims who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Israel’s mission to rid the world of Hamas has according to reports killed in the region of 40,000 Palestinian civilians and one of these victims whom many of you probably have never heard of is the Palestinian football player Mohammed Barakat. Someone died at his Khan Younis family home in a Gaza airstrike on 11 March 2024 and was killed by a bomb during the holy month of Ramadan.

A Gifted Individual 

Mohammed Barakat was no ordinary man. Nicknamed ‘The Lion’, this 39-year-old was blessed with a natural talent for playing football to a jaw-dropping standard. Yet those who rule this world have chosen to let his name be forgotten in the dust of pugnacious debris. So for this piece, I want to celebrate his life and show how much he contributed to football and the sadly ignored brilliance that he enriched Palestinian sport with. Barakat had all the qualities needed to make it big in the world of football. He had already played for a number of clubs in Gaza, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He would go on to become a professional footballer in 2015, playing for Shabab Khan Younis where he became the first player in Gaza to score 100 goals with a single team.

https://youtu.be/dr__J_Phzno?si=O7LxYxxX9gJZyWWX
Mohammed‘s last message.

This young man was impressive. At the AFC Challenge Cup, part of the Palestinian team, he helped carve out a 1-0 victory against Bangladesh and this was followed by a 9-0 win against Northern Marina Islands two days later in the same tournament. His last march was in a friendly against Qatar where they lost 2-0 on 17 April 2013. Yet if you Google this football player, the search stretches to less than a page with a few articles on his death and a much-repeated video that he recorded shortly before his death. giving a stoic and brave speech with what he knew could get his last words to the echo of falling bombs in the background. Tragically his fate was sealed and his life was extinguished in an instant. A kind soul who was much loved by his family and friends but was denied the fullness of life.

Ruth

By Elliott West

“I’m Welsh to my core and I thank the Lord that I am Welsh. I don’t care if I was born in England, I’m a Welsh woman through and through”.

Ruth Madoc
Introduction

Ruth Maddoc was best known for playing Gladys Pugh in the BBC hit comedy Hi-di-Hi which ran for nine series between 1980 and 1988 on BBC1. A sultry femme who could be stern with the Maplins holiday camp staff but was prone to flirt with the camp entertainment manager. A role that quickly made her a household name and a national treasure. A brilliant comedy set in the 1950s that was written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry, the creators of Dad’s Army. Ruth was a natural who had a fantastic talent for being able to articulate her words through a mesmerising Welsh accent. Her jet-black hair and rock-pool eyes were enchanting and she was so good at making her character seem believable. A Welsh siren who turned many a man’s head and could make any outfit seem like her own.

Background 

Ruth Maddoc, the xylophone-wielding yellow coat was born to Welsh parents in Norwich in 1943. Ruth was a distant cousin of the Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George. She would later play a lover of the politician, Lizzie Davies in the 1981 TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George. A drama in which her first husband Philip played the former Prime Minister. A famous connection that only found out about in 2010 in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home. The daughter of George Baker and Iris who both worked in healthcare, Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker as she was known, was brought up largely by her grandparents Etta Wiliams and her English grandfather in Llansamlet in Swansea as her parents spent a lot of time travelling. 

Ruth would go on to train at RADA and in 1971 got the part of Fruma Sarah in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. She would go on to appear in the 1972 film version of the Dylan Thomas novel Under Milk Wood as Mrs Dai Bread and also regularly appeared in the BBC programme Poems and Pints, providing voices for the iconic Cadbury’s Smash adverts in the 1970s and had a small part in the film The Prince and the Pauper.

On stage, Ruth would appear in Under Milk Wood, Steel Magnolias, Annie, the Agatha Christie thriller And Then There Were None, Pickwick and Calendar Girls The Musical and was a regular in pantomimes. A regular on television and radio, she would also appear in the BBC Radio 2 programme Buy Me Up TV and on television on the second series of the comedy Little Britain, Benidorm, Stella, Casualty, Doctors and The Tuckers.

Gladys

Ruth Madoc is best known for playing Gladys Pugh in Hi-de-Hi. A part that took on her stride and played so well. Wearing a yellow coat and adopting a 50s look, Madoc added a touch of sexiness to the part. Her voice was husky and when she flustered her eyelashes, a man was putty in her hands. She ruled the Maplins’ radio and could bring the campers and staff together via the tannoy for the latest camp entertainment. The cold chalets and basic bar were lit up with her presence and the camp entertainment manager was often in her arms having a cheeky canoodle during working hours. This leggy Welsh woman customised her outfit and had sex appeal running through her veins. She mastered the phrase “Hello Campers” and her basic tunes on a xylophone were hysterical.

The Welsh Legend

Ruth was married twice, first to Philip Madoc in 1961 and secondly to John Jackson in 1982. Spending her final years in Torquay, Devon, the BAFTA nominee was due to appear in the pantomime Alladin at the Princess Theatre, Torquay in December 2022 but suffered a fall earlier in the week and had to undergo surgery. Surgery that she sadly didn’t recover from and died on 9 December 2022 at the age of 79.

The Hillsborough 97

By Elliott West

“I went to a football match 35 years ago today. I came home and 97 didn’t. Never forgotten. Always in my thoughts”.

Simon Rimmer
Introduction

It’s 35 years since one of the worst football tragedies occurred on UK soil. The Hillsborough disaster is etched on every Liverpool fans’ memories and a tragedy caused by negligence and panic by those in charge. An avoidable situation that led to the death of 97 loyal fans on 15 April 1989 at a semi-final FA Cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The command given by police match commander David Duckenfield to open exit gate C at Leppings Lane to ease overcrowding signalled a recipe for disaster with a mass influx of fans entering the pens. 2,000 fans streamed in, in a five minute period. A crush ensued and despite the match being suspended at 1506, resulted in 97 deaths and 766 injuries.

The Cover Up

Those who lost their loved ones in this horrific incident have never received full justice. The families live in limbo on a day to day basis, knowing full well that the establishment who let this happen will never be held to account and punished for their actions. The Thatcher government of the time and the South Yorkshire Police knew exactly what happened but they chose to bury it in the mists of time. Choosing instead to use a trumped up blame game of hooliganism and drunkenness by Liverpool fans as the cause. A vile campaign that led to The Sun Newspaper printing a despicable story that the fans had urinated on the dead and robbed from them.

What should have been a joyous family day out on a sunny day with two club sides vying for a final place at Wembley Stadium ended with not only tragedy but a unification of grief and a burning desire for justice. A match that had only begun at 1459. At the time, there was a barbaric policy to cage fans into cramped stands, standing in confined spaces behind oppressive fences and only a limited amount of exits. It was only a matter of time before something would go wrong especially if the safety plan wasn’t followed precisely. The Hillsborough disaster is an example of what happens when panic sets in and spirals out of control. No one should have died and there shouldn’t have been a single injury. The fact that 41 of the 96 could have survived is heartbreaking. Yet you just have to look at the pictures and grainy CCTV footage from the day to see how badly wrong it went.

The Hillsborough pitch became a makeshift triage area with players and fans scrambling to save the victims. It took far too long for the emergency services to reach the scene with the first ambulance not reaching pitch-side until 1516 and so primitive first aid was administered. With fans literally hanging from the stands to try and escape, they were pulled up by arms in the upper stand. Injured fans and those with fatal injuries, trampled on in the chaos were helpless. There were not enough stretchers and fans had to rip off the advertising boards to create makeshift stretchers. The kiss of life was given to many to no avail and the gymnasium became a makeshift morgue. As the sun went down, their belongings were scooped up in clear bin bags and all that remained was the scarves, flags and rosettes strewn around the stands.

Justice 

This disaster has left a horrific stain on football. The Liverpool fans blamed for a pitch invasion. Despite previous tragedies at Ibrox, Estadio Nacional and Heysel, lessons clearly were not learned. You only have to look at Grenfell to see how things still go badly wrong. False police statements and continuous governments have prevented justice being achieved. It is appalling that it wasn’t until 2009 when Andy Burnham, the then Culture Secretary was heckled at Anfield that the wheels of motion were nodded through by an acknowledged “ok” by the now Manchester mayor. A second Hillsborough enquiry ensued after the first in 1989. It took until 2012 to publish a report. A new inquest in 2012 and concluded in 2016, found after 267 days of evidence resulted in David Duckenfield being found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter at Preston Crown Court in 2019. The fight for justice continues.

Keep Calm and Carry On

By Elliott West

“Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”

Kenneth Williams
Introduction

It is a British comedy film franchise that stood the test of time. Anarchic, satirical and packed with innuendos, the Carry On films had an impressive run, spanning from black and white to colour and with 31 films from 1958 to 1992. Made on a shoestring and filmed in less than glamorous locations, this was a family affair with cast members reunited for six weeks of the year in rain, snow and sometimes sunshine, huddled together in caravans with flasks of steaming tea in between takes. These films, the brainchild of Peter Rogers, directed by Gerald Thomas with scripts written by Norman Hudis and later Talbot Rothwell and well-known poster artists such as Renato Fratini, Terrence ‘Larry’ Parkes, Tom Chantrell, Eric Pulford ,Arnaldo Putzu and music by Eric Rogers, summed up saucy, seaside postcard humour and what the butler saw. A laugh from start to finish, the cast members of Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw , Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey rarely changed with a few additions squeezed in every so often.

The Winning Formula 

The Carry On films gave a humorous escape from everyday life. Second only to the longevity of the James Bond franchise, the crew was handpicked and were very loyal, returning film after film with Peter Lamont, Alan Hume and Antony Waye regulars on the James Bond set. Filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, the film locations rarely strayed far from the studios. Exceptions to the rule came with Snowdonia National Park posing as the Kyber Pass in Carry On Up The Kyber and Camber Sands replacing the Sahara sand dunes in Carry On Follow That Camel. They even borrowed the props and costumes from the 1963  film Cleopatra for Carry On Cleo in 1964.

The cast were poorly paid with key cast members getting a flat fee of £5000. Peter Rogers had an ethos of no one being a star and no one being bigger than the film itself. Yet despite this penny pinching and Thomas becoming a millionaire from the films, products and spin-offs, allowing him to live a lavish lifestyle and to drive around in a Rolls Royce, the cast only grumbled in private and Kenneth Williams venting his anger in his diaries. The fondness and the love for these films is deeply rooted in the depiction and the joy that they have brought generations of viewers. With so many memorable lines and scenes, Carry On has become a film brand in its own right, unique, inspirational and has nurtured future shoots of comedy.


There were of course a few duff films like Carry On Emmanuel and Carry On Columbus but overall the majority of the franchise had plenty of great moments. The secret was to keep the same brand of humour and repackage it with another title and a change of scene and costumes. Although some of the humour may be considered dated, sexist and bawdy, it is far more innocent than much of the comedy that followed it. Some might say they overstayed their welcome and should have ended on a high but Gerald Thomas was determined to keep his Carry On legacy going as long as possible. Some of the films never made it past the script stage. These included Carry On Spaceman, Carry On Flying, Carry On Robin, Carry On Nursing, Carry On Escaping, Carry On Dallas and Carry On Down Under and Carry On London.

The Legacy 

Very few of the cast are alive now but so many interviews in the can of their time in the films, it is clear that these weeks of the year film were a blast. A group of people  who should have been chalk and cheese but  were united in a Carry On experience that created lifelong friendships. Kenneth Williams with his infectious laugh, baring his bum and farting on set, an affair between Sid James and Barbara Windsor and the many card games played on set for a few quid. Sid James left after the making of Carry on Dick in 1974 and Charles Hawtrey was sacked after being drunk on the set of Carry On Abroad in 1972. Kenneth Williams appeared in 26 of the films, Sid James (19), Charles Hawtrey (23), Joan Sims (24), Hattie Jacques (14) and Barbara Windsor (10). A brand of comedy that will keep an audience laughing for many years to come.

The Unknown Entity

By Elliott West

“He was a very tormented soul”.

Britt Ekland
Introduction

Peter Sellers was one of the funniest comedians that this country has ever produced. Yet beyond the manic comedy, multiple characters and comedic genius was a man who spent his life trying to find the meaning of happiness. Apart from his film and television catalogue, very little remains of Sellers apart from some faded photographs and a mountain of cine home movies of family and private moments. An only child who was a replacement for his mother’s grief of losing an earlier stillborn child. A dominant force throughout his life who didn’t want Peter to be a failure like his father. It was the start of an obsessive streak in this future comedian who believed Sophia Loren was in love with him and had three failed marriages to Anne Howe, Britt Ekland and Miranda Quarry. A man who was never happy inside and had a highly complicated character. No one actually knew the real Peter Sellers. He was an enigma who lived his life in his characters. Few directors could harness his brilliance, an actor who couldn’t perform the same way in each take.

A Troubled Soul

Peter described his time in The Goons as his happiest times but the irony of this manic humour that was funny because it made no sense, was that it revealed Sellers’ own mental fragility. Sellers couldn’t live comfortably as himself. As a result, he was impossible to live with. A man who relied on poppers, cocaine and alcohol to get him through the day. Yet he was a big studio property. His name sold films and made money for the movie moguls. As a result, his health suffered, leading to one near-fatal heart attack and his ultimate death in 1980 after a second.

The Britt Years

The true turmoil of Peter Sellers can be seen in his relationship and marriage to Britt. Ekland was staying at the Dorchester, paid for by Twentieth Century Fox, promoted by the company as a new starlet. Whilst in the bath, there was a knock at the door. It was Peter’s valet Bert. He asked her to come to Sellers’ room so he could meet her. Peter had seen that she was staying at the same hotel after reading a newspaper article. Two days after this 21-year-old Swedish actress came to the door clad in nothing but a towel, Peter had contacted the press telling them the two were getting married. They had only had one date. Ekland didn’t even know and was informed in a frenzied transatlantic phone call from Peter. The couple were married three weeks later and then went on honeymoon.

On returning Sellers bought Ekland a fur coat and made her wear it during a photoshoot of the two. He also got her fired from the 1964 film Guns at Batasai when he demanded she take a day off from filming. She was flown to California and picked up in a car. She had no clothes with her but was only supposed to spend the weekend there and fly back. When she arrived at the house, a doctor was waiting. He examined her and concluded that was suffering from strain and stress and couldn’t possibly go back to the film set.

Sellers led her to the bedroom and showed her a wardrobe. Inside was a whole rail of clothes he had bought her including a bikini made from mink. Brit must have had blind love in those early years because she had a daughter Victoria with Peter. Brit hasn’t revealed all the details of their time together but she did reveal that she thought Peter had bipolar disorder. A conclusion that she made after spending four years with him. However, they did fight and Sellers was known to throw things in a fit of rage. An example is in Rome when he threw a clock at her. It was the last straw and Britt knew she couldn’t go back to him.

The Dark Side

“I could never be myself you see. There is no “Me”. I do not exist. There used to be me but I had it surgically removed”.

Peter Sellers

The star of the Pink Panther films was obsessed with his mother Peg. When she died, he started to visit a psychic as he wanted to stay in touch with her. He loved the paranormal and was very superstitious. He wouldn’t walk under a ladder and became reliant on horoscopes, fortune telling and psychic readings. From early as 1958, Peter would visit a clairvoyant, Maurice Woodruff. He predicted that Sellers would be offered a film role and he rapidly signed up for the 1959 film The Mouse That Roared. Although a risk as it was the first attempt by an independent producer, Walter Shenson, it turned out to be a cinema hit. An actor who claimed he was being haunted by malevolent spirits.

The Last Years

Sellers looked tired and ill in his final years. Noticeably thinner, his last two films Being There in 1979 and The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu completed a few months before his death didn’t get the notoriety of his earlier films. On July 22 1980, whilst staying in the Dorchester Hotel, Sellers had a massive heart attack and fell into a coma. He later died in a London hospital just after midnight on July 24, 1980. He was only 54 years old. His fourth wife Lynne Frederick inherited his £4.5 million estate as their divorce hadn’t been finalised before his death.

I Don’t Want A Lover

By Elliott West

“Music has always been there for me and is what’s helped me through everything. It’s like my solace”.

Sharlene Spiteri
Introduction

Texas is a band that encapsulates the very soul of Glasgow in their music. Gritty, raw and soulful tunes with deep meaningful lyrics that make you want to dance and sing at the top of your voice. A Scottish rock band that was formed in 1986, a year when West Tip won the Grand National and Halley’s Comet became visible for the first time since 1910. Consisting of band members Johnny McElhone, Ally McElhone and Sharlene Spiteri, they took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas and made their debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. Spiteri was a hairdresser at the time, working in the Irvine Rusk salon in Glasgow.

The Voice

Sharlene Spiteri is the voice at the centre of all that Texas has achieved. Her mop of black hair and a face that is chiselled with Maltese, Italian, Irish and German descent. Born in 1967 in Bellshill, Scotland, Sharlene came from a musical family. Her father Eddie was a guitar-playing merchant seaman and her mother was a singing window-dresser. Spiteri was interested in music from a very early age and saw music as a form of escape. She would go to the local record shop on a Saturday and buy a single and a plastic sleeve. She would then go back to her bedroom and play it. A bedroom that had Siouxsie Sioux painted on the wall. A singer who took her musical influences from The Clash, Blondie, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Diana Ross and Siouxsie Sioux.

The Big Break

Texas’s big break came in 1988 when they were signed up to Mercury Records. You only have to look at Spiteri’s lyrics to see the frenzy of thought and emotion in her songwriting, spelling mistakes, crossings outs, and an almost schizophrenic composition of words. Sharlene describes herself as “a lunatic” but they say genius comes from madness. An irrationality that produced their debut single “ I Don’t Want A Lover’ in January 1989. A single that achieved International success, reaching No.8 on the UK charts and No.77 on the Billboard charts in the USA. Their debut album, Southside was released in March 1989, and certified gold by the BPI. However their further releases from the album, ‘Thrill Has Gone’, Everyday Now’ and ‘Prayer For You’ failed to be smash hits.

Yet despite this setback, Texas would go on to achieve rock success. A band that has produced ten studio albums and a string of Scottish hit bangers that have rocked concert and festival venues. Songs like ‘Say What You Want’, ‘Black Eyed Boy”, ‘Summer Sun’, ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’, ‘In Our Lifetime’, ‘Halo’, ‘Inner Smile’, ‘Getaway’ and ‘In Demand’. With over thirty years of success, Texas is still going strong despite the youngest band member Ally McElhone having a near-fatal brain aneurysm, a grade-5 aneurysm where his wife found him unconscious and one where 97% of people die before getting to the hospital. Thankfully he survived and has lived to live the tale. The sting in the tale is that he lost his beloved guitar, one that created his sound for twenty years after a drunken night. After a barnstorming performance at Glastonbury, Texas will hit the tour road this September with dates across the UK including the OVO, Hydro, Glasgow and the O2 in London. They will be supported by KT Tunstall.

The Paternal Influence

By Elliott West

“I first got into snooker as a child because my father took me to play Chinese Eight Ball pool every weekend. He would take me downstairs because it was just next to our flat. We started when I was eight years old, and after a couple of months of Eight Ball we moved on to snooker and I loved it”.

Ding Junhui
Introduction

Behind every sporting great is a person who helps the dream happen. In snooker, the Chinese player Ding Junhui has risen from obscurity to stardom in China and across the globe. His natural talent and brilliance have shone through on the snooker table, resulting in Ding becoming the holder of 14 ranking titles. Yet where did this wave of genius stem from and who put Ding on this glittering career path? It doesn’t take very long to find out the answers to these burning questions with some further research. The answers lie in his influential father Ding Wenjun.

Back to Basics

When Ding was potting his way to victory as an 18-year-old at the 2005 UK Championship, his parents were busy packing up the contents of their apartment in Dongguan, Guangdong. It would take four truckloads to move furniture, belongings and of course their son’s cues. The motorcade would set off the next morning to begin a new family chapter in Shanghai. Ding’s father was unaware of what was unfolding at the Barbican in York. Yet he knew his son had the potential after having already won the China Open earlier in the year after defeating Stephen Hendry 9-5 in the final at the Haidian Stadium in Beijing.

The final wasn’t broadcast on Chinese domestic networks so Ding Senior asked a friend to watch the match on the Internet and keep him updated via text messages. When he found out his son had won, beating Steve Davis 10-6 and winning £70,000, he was happy but his primary focus was on establishing his new family home. Their Shanghai plan he believed was more important to Ding and the family as well. It was a hard decision to leave Dongguan. Ding had been brought up in a strict Chinese household where the focus was spilling blood, sweat and tears to make this prodigal son a future snooker champion. His parents were willing to sacrifice everything to make this dream come true. A dream that led to his father applying for an undergraduate programme at Shanghai’s Fudan University and opening a snooker club in which his father had invested. Ding Senior believed that although his son wouldn’t be able to attend full-time education because of his snooker commitments, he could attend on a part-time basis because in his words “he’s way too shy”.

The Road to Victory

Ding first picked up a cue when he was eight years old and soon grabbed the attention of his local community in Yixing, a city in the eastern Jiangsu province renowned for its handmade pottery tea wear rather than snooker. Ding Senior was a former tobacco dealer and saw that his son had what it takes to become a snooker champion. He spoke to prominent Chinese players and coaches about his son and they all agreed he was born out of championship stock. However, Ding didn’t have a billiard culture and that’s why his father decided to up sticks and move to Dongguan, the epicentre of Chinese snooker. He sold his tobacco business and asked his son to leave school and by the end of 1998, they had sold their family home in Yixing.

The family travelled south and settled in Dongguan. His father found a job as a waiter in a billiard hall. The astute father made sure that his contract allowed his son to practice for free in the club. It was a plan that paid off quickly. Dongguan was a stronghold for the mainland billiard sport but had fallen out of favour with the sports authorities in Beijing due to its non-Olympic status. Yet with the help of an influx of cueists from Hong Kong and Macau and plenty of practice, Ding began to learn that killer instinct is required to become a great player.

Ding would explode onto the snooker scene in 2002. He took the national crown in the spring and dominated the Asian Championship halfway through the year. This was followed by a victorious World Youth Championship campaign and ending the season in glory by lifting the Asian Games trophy in Korea. So impressed were the WPBSA by his performances that they awarded him a tour card on the UK snooker circuit. Within six months, he was second to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the highest number of century breaks. He would go on to win the 2005 China Open and the UK Championship.

Afterthoughts

Ding’s father has been highly influential in his son’s career. He was prepared to sacrifice everything to make it work. However, he remains to this day humble and grounded. He doesn’t want any of the red-carpet treatment that his son has in China and across the globe and prefers to not travel to tournaments and remain in China. The reason he gives is that it is boring there and he misses his friends. Ding spends most of his time at his family home in Sheffield with his wife Apple but always makes time to visit his father in China. His mother Chen sadly died from cancer at the age of 55 in 2017 and her passing had a profound effect on her son, describing it as a painful experience. Yet he was determined to soldier on in her mum’s memory. His father proudly watches his son on the internet in China. The two were recently filmed sharing noodles.

The Snooker Disneyland

By Elliott West

“China want to make Yushan a home for snooker”.

Jason Ferguson
Introduction

Situated in the Jiangxi province of China, a five-hour drive south-west of Shanghai lies the grandiose Yushan Sports Center. A purpose-built venue designed specifically for snooker and billiards events. A building that has a Disney vibe to it with a construction area of 35,500 metres and is 25.7 metres high, the equivalent of an eight-floor building. It has 3,000 fixed seats with a capacity to have another 1,000. The Sports Centre is part of an ambitious project to form the Yushan International Culture City project which is estimated to cost £200 million. It has a high-quality maple floor, imported from Canada to avoid vibrations so the snooker tables remain stable at all times and has advanced sound-proofing materials to minimise distractions for the players.

State of the Art

The centre has LED screens installed at all the entrances so that fans can keep up to date with the scores between frames and there are 45 bespoke function rooms for snooker and other indoor sports. There are also other rooms for staff, commentators and drug testers. The building houses a heated swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s playground and fitness training area. The centre also recently opened a billiards museum and Hall of Fame. A perfect site and was chosen specifically because the Yushan has quarries from where the slate in snooker tables is mined.

A Snooker Palace

After a Covid hiatus, the World Open was staged here this year with £170,000 in prize money on offer to the winner and a total prize fund of £815,000. In the tournament, Zak Surety achieved a 147 break and in the final between Ding Junghui and Judd Trump, Judd claimed a 10-4 victory. This win, his 28th career ranking title, equals Steve Davis and was his fifth ranking win of the season. It remains to be seen what happens with this venue but some say it could be touted as a possible successor to The Crucible if the World Championship were ever to leave Sheffield. A remote possibility at this present time.