by elliott west
As snooker fans prepare to gather in York at the end of this month for one of the highlights of the snooker calendar, it only seems right to take a moment to look at one of the sport’s prestigious tournaments.
The UK Championship was first held in a cold and blustery Blackpool, way back in my in my early youth in 1977. Then anon-ranking event, a young Patsy Fagan was presented the trophy by Joe Davis. This was the highlight of Fagan’s career and despite being tipped for the top of the game, never won on the main tour again. A sad outcome as Fagan was probably one of the most talented players at the time. Much has changed since those pioneers first played this event and like any new prospect, didn’t even have a trophy until the late, great Joe Davis donated one.
Fast forward and the UK Championship has been played additionally in Preston before moving to its current home in York. York as anyone who knows it is a special city and even more so in the run up to Christmas when the chills of Winter are put to one side and people flock to experience the Christmas markets that York provides.
To add to this Christmas cheer York is also entertained by the annual holding of the UK Championship in the Barbarian Centre. Won last year by Ronnie O’Sullivan who beat Mark Allen, 10-6 in the final, this is a crown that every player wants and few attain. With a prize fund this year of £1,009,000 and a cheque for £200,000 to the winner, this will be a snooker marathon that only best at the time will pull away in. In fact if you base the potential winner on their runs in previous tournaments, there are probably less than ten players who could win in York.
Judd Trump will of course start favourite and Ronnie will always be backed by the bookmakers as a crowd pleaser. However O’Sullivan is not guaranteed the trophy this year, based on his recent appearances. I thought Ronnie might win in Northern Ireland but the force that is Judd Trump is too dominant at the moment. O’Sullivan had the chance to come back in the final of the Northern Ireland Open but couldn’t quite bridge the gap of his deficit. Maybe his 9-7 defeat in Belfast will cause him to take a second look at his game and find a way to overcome the excellent safety play that Trump inflicted on him but there is no doubt in my mind that Ronnie is hungry for this title and won’t want to relinquish his current crown easily.
Aside from these two at the top, Mark Selby is still embroiled on social media with his choice to spend six minutes on a shot and with Barry Hearn not happy with the media attention, World Snooker will be watching all players very carefully if they choose to go down a similar avenue. Selby is undoubtably a fine player, his snooker record proves this and his recent title shows that he can come back from his lengthy stay in the losing wilderness.
Mark Allen and Neil Robertson are also potential winners and recent form has propelled them to the forefront of the game. Robertson will be relieved there is only one York in this country and so his satellite navigation won’t malfunction on this occasion and he will end up at the Barbican Centre for his first match. Perhaps too, Barry Hawkins and Kyren Wilson can start to play well again in time for this snooker treat as recent form has definitely been below par.
The UK Championship draw looks interesting this year with Martin Gould playing Alfie Burden, John Higgins against Peter Lines and Mark Allen against Jimmy White. With 128 players taking part in this tournament, there could be a few surprises on the way to the final. Some players have complained that the event is too cramped and small for the number of players taking part but World Snooker has made changes and hopefully this year the cries of disquiet will die down.
This is one of the best tournaments of the season, weathered the lean years of snooker and remained at the heart of the Triple Crown. This event is part of a three-piece puzzle and if won can be the start of achieving a World Champion status as Terry Griffiths did when he won the Masters, UK Championship and the World Championship in one season in 1979. Whoever wins the UK Championship this year will having a very fruitful, early Christmas present.
