The Snookerbacker Blog

Well, the new year is nearly upon us and I for one will be happy to see the back of December. It’s been colder here than I can ever remember and I’m ending the year with a dose of man flu which is keeping me indoors when the snow has finally melted. Roll on 2011, I say.

In my personal life I’ve never been one for making promises I know I can’t keep. I always say I’ll live a healthier lifestyle, not eat so much fatty food, exercise more than I do, drink less alcohol, do more creative things that kind of thing. But much like everyone, I have days when I feel like keeping my promises to myself and Mrs SB and others when I just can’t be bothered and eat the wrong stuff while getting slowly intoxicated on a cheeky red.

You’ve got to recognise your own limitations I say, or ‘faults’ as Mrs SB would prefer I call them.

However, when it comes to the blog I suppose I do stick to some rules, most of the time anyway. Bettingwise, I have my favourite players to bet on, I have players I will always take on if I feel it’s worthwhile and I have players that I continually ignore as a result of their unpredictability. I suppose I also have my own idea of the ‘pecking order’ of the top players, which is usually reflected in my recommended bets, you could say I have my own opinion of their individual limitations I suppose.

These tactics, like all resolutions and strategies can offer both advantages and pitfalls. If a player I would trust with my last £1 suddenly hits a poor run of form whilst a player I routinely take on starts beating all-comers then I am in trouble. It hasn’t happened to any great extent during the first year of the blog but it could at any time which is why I think it’s important to re-evaluate things every now and again and what better time than at New Year, during this midway point in the season? After all, stuck in bed with a snotty nose, sore throat and hot drinks with bugger all else to do at least it keeps me occupied.

So, my New Year’s resolution from a betting point of view is not be too stubborn and take my head out of the sand now and again, be prepared to change my mind if I feel it’s the right thing to do. I have one player in particular in mind when I say this and it might become a bit more apparent in my Masters preview (when I’ve written it) as to who I am referring to. But let’s just say I might be shifting my position on a couple of players as the season continues.

Then it comes to the blog itself. I have put in a lot of work in this first year to build it up and without wishing to boast, with some success. Lots of prizes for readers, nice recognition from others, Ali on board, 1 million page views before its out of nappies and blowing out its first candle, the great harmonious and community feel we have on here and general sense of respect for other readers, have all made this first year worthwhile.

I also hope that the blog has played a small part in increasing interest in the sport that I and I know a lot of readers hold in great affection, even if it has meant the odd player taking a bit of light hearted stick in the process. They’re all grown ups after all, well, most of them are.

My Nemesis: Barry Pinches

I have two resolutions this year with the blog, the first is to realise that sometimes ‘less is more’, to not get too stressed and to concentrate on the quality of content rather than an endless stream of stories and updates which I know can be retrieved from numerous other places.

The second is to try and make it pay aside from the betting. I don’t mean a vast fortune by any means as again it is important to know your limitations, but it would be nice to look back after the World Championship and say, well, that was worth it. That’s all.

On that note, Black Whippet’s communal Crucible bet pot idea got me thinking actually and with a couple of the things I have planned over the next few months, if they are successful and generate any cash I will put a percentage into the communal betting fund for blog followers to play with and manage how they wish.

That’s my final resolution for this year, well, you can’t be too ambitious can you?

But remember readers that there is still the hard and fast rule that should never change:

Until instructed otherwise try and avoid betting on matches with any of the following players involved in them: Barry Pinches, Alan McManus, Mark King, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Ryan Day.

Anyone else making any promises this year? Let us know if so.

Happy New Year to Everyone.

SB.

Monday sees the first snooker action of a packed 2011 as the Championship League starts over at Crondon Park, with nine of the world’s top ten players in action over the course of the first four days.

I gave a brief overview of the schedule of this event in the preview a few posts down and a more light hearted look at how I saw the workings of it last February can be viewed here. It isn’t that far from the truth to be honest.

All the action will be broadcast online via a number of betting websites and there is usually some decent coverage from several firms seeking to take advantage of the opportunities that online streaming offers, with some of them betting in-running, including last year, Betfair.

Newly crowned UK Champ John Higgins is among a host of the top boys  in the first group, which will be played on Monday and Tuesday. He joins blog favourite Ali Carter, Graeme Dott, Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Mark Williams in the opening group. The overall winner will qualify to the Winners Group, those finishing 2nd-5th will continue onto Group 2 and the two at the bottom of the table will play no further part in the championship.

On Wednesday Group 2 gets underway and World Champion Neil Robertson, Jamie Cope and the Rocket take on the four remaining boys from the opening group. Ronnie entered this last year too and in typical fashion managed to play very well to beat Mark Selby, as if to fire him a warning for the Masters which backfired somewhat. He lost to everyone else and finish bottom of his group, I wonder if he’ll do any better this time around?

The winner of each group will advance to the Winners’ Group at the end of March and the overall champion will secure his spot in the Premier League alongside the automatic invites in the Autumn of 2011. Barry has said recently that no player’s invitation is guaranteed regardless of who they are, a warning to the Rocket perhaps?

Marco Fu, who won the 2010 Championship League, comes in at Group Three, seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry will be playing in Group Four, while Ding Junhui comes in a group later.

Ronnie: Due to start on Wednesday

The full groups are as follows (groups six and seven still to be confirmed)

Group 1 (January 3 and 4) - Ali Carter, Graeme Dott, John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Mark Williams.

Group 2 (January 5 and 6) – Four players from Group 1 plus Jamie Cope, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Group 3 (January 24 and 25) – Four players from Group 2 plus Mark Allen, Peter Ebdon and Marco Fu.

Group 4 (January 26 and 27) – Four players from Group 3 plus Stephen Hendry, Mark King and Matthew Stevens.

Group 5 (February 28 and March 1) – Four players from Group 4 plus Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Ricky Walden.

Group 6 (March 2 and 3) – Four players from Group 5 plus three TBC.

Group 7 (March 21 and 22) – Four players from Group 6 plus three TBC.

Winners’ Group (March 23 and 24) – Winners of groups 1 to 7

I won’t be doing previews on these as the format makes matches a little unpredictable but I’ll post up if I have a bet as I usually have an interest on the outrights. Sportingbet offered odds on players finishing bottom of the group last year and that tends to be more exciting to bet on than the player to win it so I hope they do so again this year.

Like two peas in a pod.

Our friends in the bookmaking industry have again stepped in to provide further proof it this were needed that snooker and betting have been and always will be natural partners.

Ladbrokes Mobile are the latest bookie that have stumped up some cash for the baize and will be the official sponsors of the Masters in January.

Betfred, Totesport and 888.com have all been amongst those keen to get involved with snooker in recent times and it is now fairly clear that Bazza sees this as the way forward. He can’t keep on going cap in hand to these pie companies after all.

It may seem odd to some given recent betting scandals and frame and match fixing allegations that bookies want a slice of the cake but with the efforts that are being made by the Chairman to clean up the sport this has to be viewed as a positive development. Personally, I’d much rather the sport be backed by the betting industry than one which peddles cigarettes to third world countries now that the developed world has seen them for what they are and thrown them out of sponsorship.

For those that are sceptical but want the sport to develop I’d ask them, who else is going to step in and take a chance on a sport which is still on the fringes? The financial clout that companies such as Ladbrokes have can only increase the visibility of the sport and perhaps even, attract sponsorship for other events from other industries.

Even renowned churchgoer and god botherer Shaun Murphy was happy to sit shoulder to shoulder with Bazza and the Managing Director of Laddies yesterday at the Press Conference, such a wonderful sacrifice from our Smurf who will clearly make a pact with the devil if the price is right.

And the prize is most definitely right as the money at stake at Wembley is reminiscent of the boom years of the 1980′s, there is even a high break fund to keep Ronnie happy.

Winner: £150,000
Runner-up: £75,000
Semi-finals: £30,000
Quarter-finals: £20,000
Last 16: £15,000
High break: £15,000
Total: £500,000

It promises to be a cracking week’s snooker and blanket coverage on the BBC should ensure a great start to this new era of sponsorship with one of the truly big hitters in the industry. I’m hoping to get a comprehensive preview up on here soon with a staking plan to start the new year off with a bang, once I’ve shaken off a particularly nasty dose of flu that I have managed to acquire. Mrs SB is on hand with tablets, hot drinks etc. should anyone be overly worried, I think I’ll pull through. Sniff.

Discipline is the name of the game.

After a day of congratulations and hopes for the future for five players yesterday, as in life, you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth and today I thought I would don my headmaster’s hat and give a mid-season assessment of a few of our less promising pupils.

Some of this lot are just down right naughty, some have for one reason or another fallen behind their classmates and some have just failed to live up to the billing.

As with all good headmaster’s I know the difference between drawing out talent with a warming arm around the shoulder and a bit of TLC against a damn good thrashing with my trustee cane. I wonder if you agree with my methods?

1. Ronnie O’Sullivan: Hard to believe that this character was a former Head Boy. For a couple of years now his behaviour has been unacceptable and despite a dip in the behaviour of young Master Higgins recently O’Sullivan remains the School ‘bad boy’ and with good reason. An irregular attendee in classes has meant he has been a regular attendee at detention and has more than once ended up on the wrong end of my cane. Despite his undoubted talent, O’Sullivan refuses to conform to school rules and is prone to bouts of extreme petulance. One such unfortunate incident a couple of years ago involved him asking his Chinese teacher if she would like to perform a lurid act upon him. Despite recently showing an increased liking for ‘games’ such as Power Snooker, I fear this may be at the expense of his academic application as he repeatedly fails to apply himself to the more serious academic tasks that are asked of him. We just can’t fathom him out, so when in doubt, get the cane out.

Punishment: A month of detentions, exclusion from ‘games’ until academic performance improves and ten lashes of my trustee cane.

2. Stephen Hendry: Another former Head Boy that has sadly fallen by the wayside recently. He seems to have become increasingly introverted and has taken to studying alone in recent years. It was most unlike Hendry to miss several classes at the start of the season and this resulted in him falling behind his peers somewhat. Young Stephen used to be the model pupil, applying himself to what was asked of him and more but lately he is being outwitted by classmates that are not anywhere near as gifted as him. Stephen, though not what I would describe as a naughty boy, is also becoming prone to sulking and recently accused School Governor Hearn of ‘not giving a monkey’s’ about him. This is most unlike the Stephen we used to know. One feels that he just needs to take stock of his current situation and behaviour and decide himself what the future has in store for him. If he chooses to apply himself once again he has to realise that these are changing times and that he isn’t Head Boy material anymore, he would do well to follow in the footsteps of former pupil Master Davis.

Punishment: A damn good talking to that might bring about a change in attitude and approach to his studies.

Some of these boys get easily distracted.

3. Judd Trump: We had heard great things about young Master Trump before he arrived here and for certain he has shown flashes of brilliance in his early years. But if he is to progress to head boy he needs to apply himself to all aspects of his academic studies, not just the fun bits. If this kid paid as much attention to this as he does to his hair and his female classmates then we would be far happier with his all round performance. But the good news is that there is still time, and unlike the two main offenders above he has that on his side. He won’t be seeing my cane just yet but if he isn’t careful it will only be a matter of time before the two are introduced.

Punishment: Extra tuition on key areas to allow steady progression.

4. Ryan Day: A boy that showed us some potential in earlier years and even made the level of first year prefect at one point. But Ryan is another that has failed to fulfil this potential recently and has taken steps in the wrong direction. I sense that as with many boys of his age this is a confidence issue and that he is trying too hard to emulate his early achievements rather than apply himself to his individual studies. Ryan is a well behaved if rather quiet boy and is never a problem to his teachers, we are a little concerned that he has taken to gnawing on bamboo shoots at the back of the classroom but we assume this is just a fad, maybe a comfort blanket, that he will soon grow out of.

Punishment: One to one sessions with his personal tutor to get to the shoot, I mean, root of the problem.

5. Michael Holt: A mischievous little imp this one. Since Master Holt arrived at school he has been nothing but trouble, though he remains popular with his fellow pupils (especially the girls), I fear that the undoubted ‘twinkle in his eyes’ will one day fade and land him in big trouble. It is very frustrating to all the teachers at the school as we have spotted hints of brilliance when he applies himself 100% to his studies. But we all feel that he, very much like O’Sullivan, has the attention span of a conker. Popularity isn’t everything and the sooner he knows that the better, now where’s that trustee cane of mine?

Punishment: 1000 lines of ‘I must apply myself better to academic studies’ and 6 more whacks with the old faithful.

That concludes the mid-term report, let’s hope we see a marked improvement in this sorry lot in the New Year, or my cane will be coming out of the cupboard again.

Who will you be keeping an eye on for the rest of this season?

Following on from the preview of the rest of this packed season yesterday I thought the next step should continue the theme of looking to the future with a list of players that I think may be worth keeping an eye on both from a betting and a progression perspective for the rest of the season.

It would be very easy to pick out a chunk of players from the top boys and claim by the end of the season that I had flagged up all the ranking event winners very early on.

But any list like this should be relative to expectations in my opinion. A inclusion in this elite band of brothers (sorry Reanne), will not bring overnight riches and untold levels of fame and wealth, but these are players that I think might just grab some attention in one of more events as the season continues.

Sure, there are one or two players at the top that I think will feature prominently at the business end of most events we have left on the calendar, the two that spring to mind the most are Mark Selby, who after a fantastic start to the season in the lesser events seemed to have gone off the boil a bit and who I think will have benefited from a bit of time off and John Higgins, who has many a score to settle which I don’t think will be satisfied by just the one major tournament win, but I’m looking a bit further down the rankings for my little team.

So here goes:

1. Stephen Lee

Yes, you did read that right. While you can hardly class the human Rolls Royce himself as an up and coming player I am not the only person that has detected that Stevie is beginning to look like the player of old recently. Obviously you can point to his defeat against Higgins in Telford, when he probably would have beaten anyone else playing the way he did. But before this the signs were there, his EPTC win in Gloucester just over a month prior to his Telford appearance showed all live stream viewers just how well he was cueing. He is provisionally now ranked 17 and is just one win away from a return to the top 16 and with qualification to Berlin in the bag and the Welsh Open qualifiers beckoning he has a real chance to secure his Beijing and Crucible slots without the need for qualification. I’m going to back him to do just that and I think we’ll be seeing him in a seeded slot once again for Sheffield, quite an achievement for someone that has been out of the limelight now for some time.

2. Andrew Higginson

The Widnes Warrior is another player that I think may be destined for the top 16 before the season is out and possibly like Lee, even a guaranteed seeding slot at the Crucible. Higgy has been busy plying his trade throughout the summer and early season and is clearly a player relishing the chance to play more events. He made a couple of semi final slots in the PTC’s and was consistent enough. The one thing that I have always had a few doubts about with him is his ability to close out matches, he seems to look all over the winner on a few occasions only to decombustulate as it gets to the wire. But recent wins over the bang in form Dominic Dale and the tough nut to crack Peter Ebdon in the UK look to be an indication that he may have been concentrating on that side of his game. He is another that has Berlin qualification  in the bag and has been moving in the right direction up the list all season. I would not be surprised to see him reach a semi-final slot somewhere along the line before the season is out.

3. Anthony McGill

I’m not the only one that has noticed the potential of the young Scot. John Higgins himself has frequently commented on how big a future this guy may have in the game as have the rest of the clan north of the border. I don’t expect him to get anywhere near the winner’s enclosure for a couple of seasons yet but he is definitely heading in the right direction and to be up to 52 in the rankings in your first professional season is no mean feat. Regulars to the blog will know that Ant is a player that I am happy to take chances on when he is a bigger price than I think he should be and this recently justified itself when he comfortably beat Tom Ford to qualify for Berlin. He has already beaten top 16 and top 32 players and is still learning his trade and at just 19 years of age, just taking all this experience on board can only see him improve further. I’ll stick my neck out and say that he will be top 32 by the start of the 2012/13 season.

Jack ain't scared of Giants.

4. Jack Lisowski

No surprise to regulars that I have also plumped for Jack. He is another that is widely tipped to be a big name in a few years time and has time on his side. He was first flagged on here in last season’s Willie Awards with a ‘One to Watch Willie’ which clearly is the reason he has been in inspired form ever since. A runner up in an early PTC event after a final frame semi-final win over the King of the Decider, Mark Selby has to go down as one of the best achievements by any player all season. A first season professional who has overcome a life-threatening illness to get to where he is now, Jack to me is a potential star of the future, he just seems to tick all the boxes. As has been pointed out before and very like Judd Trump before him, he is not the finished article, but at 19, who is? He is another that is in the fifties in the ranking list and has points for Berlin up for grabs after impressive results to qualify. I can see himself and the player above having a few decent battles in a few years time if they both continue in this vein.

5. Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon

OK, the name is long but with practice is actually one that rolls off the tongue, a good job for commentators as this Thai guy looks to be one that is heading for our TV screens sooner rather than later. At 16, he made his first professional, competitive 147 in a PTC event earlier in the year, easily the youngest player to ever achieve this feat. Now, at the more mature age of 17, he has qualified for a venue for the first time. Hammering Barry Hawkins to do so in what looked like a series of one visit frames. Before this he had accounted for Alfie Burden and the in-form Paddy Wallace and only lost 3 frames in his three winning matches. His results can be erratic and whilst he can beat players of a higher calibre in the blink of an eyelid he can also throw in a 9-2 defeat to Ben Wollaston, which I would say is to be expected. But his record in his first season as a professional, remember at just turned 17 years of age is played 24, won 12 and lost 12. That’s one hell of an achievement for one so young at this standard. As with any player of this age the proof will be in how he applies himself to life as a snooker player, in his case with the handicap of being far away from home. But with the resurgence of the Thai contingent, led by the veteran James Wattana, he shouldn’t go short of advice and guidance from his fellow countrymen.

So that’s my merry band of men and boys. Feel free to comment or to give your ‘ones to watch’ in the comments section.

Crondon Park: A Bit Tacky.

At this time of year a lot of my fellow bloggers like to look back at the year that has been. Matt over at Prosnooker Blog has been doing this far better than I could so for anyone that wants to relive the best matches, the best players and the best moments of what has been a year of change in the sport I’d advise you to take a look.

Instead of me doing the same I thought that I’d take a look at what we have to look forward to in the months ahead. We are only half way through the season after all, despite the fact that there has already been more snooker than the entire previous season. There is still lots more to come.

You will barely have time to recover from your New Year hangover before the baize kicks off again with the Championship League on 3rd January, featuring some of the world’s top players. The Championship League is an old favourite of mine, despite the fact that I don’t much care for the Premier League which it leads on to.

Players descend on Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex to sit in large leather armchairs and do battle in what looks like a mock-up of a log cabin. We get to watch the whole lot of it online through the live stream and sometimes can even evesdrop on conversations between matches. I heard a particularly interesting one last year when one of the referees divulged live on air that the previous evening he had consumed one of the nicest meat pies he had ever eaten, presumably from the clubhouse itself. No wonder Ballrun Bingham likes it there if the pies are that good. Though to be fair, the referee in question didn’t look like he missed many meals and I’d be surprised if he ever troubled the salad bowl.

After four days of action from there the elite make their way to Wembley for the Masters which begins on 9th January and sees Mark Selby defending the title he won so brilliantly last year. I am hoping that this year provides further thrills and spills as I will be there for the finals weekend with press access. I’ll be staying only a few minutes walk away from the venue so if things go on late I won’t have far to fall into bed.

As fate would have it when I am travelling back up north on the 17th January, the day after the final, I am hoping to be warmly greeted by Mrs Snookerbacker with a nice cake and a single candle, for it is this day that the blog is officially one year old.

Blackpool: A Bit Classy.

It’s then back to Crondon Park for the second set of groups before January winds up with the eagerly awaited ‘Sky Shootout’. Bazza’s latest assault on our senses from the English Capital of Style and Sophistication, Blackpool. We are promised all sorts of surprises here and as if to hammer home just what a high class, cultural event this will be I notice that World Snooker are looking for ‘Blackpool Beauties’ (good luck with that…) and ‘Bouncers with Character’ (better luck still with that..) to escort the players into the bear pit and then out on the ‘Walk of Shame’.

If you believe yourself to fit the Beauty or Bouncer job description then you can apply here. Obviously, if any of the beauties would like a second opinion before applying I am happy to receive photographs to give a totally unbiased critique, no, no, there’s no need to thank me, really, I don’t mind.

We then move into a packed February where seeding positions for Sheffield will be make or break with no fewer than three ranking events taking place. We start with the new Masters tournament in Berlin between 2nd-6th, which promises to bring something new to the season and will also see the return of the German girls to the blog.

On the 8th the Welsh Open Qualifiers will begin, followed by the main event itself from the 14th-20th on BBC Wales. This is our annual chance to marvel at the commentaries of John ‘Does pink pass to middle bag?’ Evans. The man is truly an institution, or should that be the man belongs in an institution? Whatever, we will get to hear his insights in all their glory and wonder why he won’t just bite the bullet and go to Specsavers.

As if that wasn’t enough the month is topped off by qualifying for the China Open, which is always entertaining if only for the totally unfair way the draw is conducted to offer Chinese players the optimum chance of winning. Expect wildcards for players that aren’t good enough to make the main tour and for Tian Pengfei, who is, but is somehow still not yet a professional.

March begins with another trip to the armchairs of Crondon and Bingham’s Pie Bar before a big week and a half in Sheffield with the qualifiers for the World Championship which begin on 4th and go right up to the 15th. A couple of days after this finishes the final event of the Players Tour Championship takes place over in Dublin, more information on that event can be viewed here.

Si-Ting; A Bit Weird.

We then have a visit back to Bingham’s gaff for the final event before heading off to China for the main event over there which begins on the 28th and is fully covered on Eurosport. This will also be an opportunity to welcome back a familiar face to the blog in the form of our roving and slightly unpredictable Chinese ‘reporter’ Si-Ting Chi-Lee who has assured me that he is off the booze for good after an unfortunate incident over Christmas involving a snooker cue, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a turkey, but we’ll say no more about that.

Then we have two weeks to catch our breath before the best 17 days of the year when I’ll be packing Mrs SB off on a short holiday after a trip to the Crucible for the opening weekend and then be spending the next two weeks wearing an arse-shaped divet in the sofa and living on Pot Noodles.

When we know who the next World Champion is we can catch our breath for a week and a bit before hopefully cheering on new friend of the blog Allan Taylor in the Q School. More details of that event where every man and his dog can try and mix it with the big boys is here.

It’s then time for the players and yours truly to take a well earned rest, but not for long as on June 10th it all starts all over again with the first PTC, which with any luck I’ll be skipping in favour of rustic Italian food and wine with Mrs Snookerbacker courtesy of a profitable few months. Perhaps Black Whippet’s Blog Bet might also still be going, unless a thirsty bunch of Crucible attendees have drunk the profits.

So, that’s the rest of the season. I told you there was too much bloody snooker these days.

Merry Christmas Hurricane.

For the full calendar click here

If you have enjoyed the Snokvent Calendar which I hope you have you can download a slideshow with some familiar music to accompany it by clicking below.

Snokvent Calendar Slideshow

(You need to ‘save’ and ‘play slideshow’)

Why not post me a picture of a homely Christmas scene where you are watching the Snokvent Boys

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The Hat of Destiny

Good day everyone, just thought as a final post before Christmas Day I’d flag up those that were chosen from the totally random draw last night.

There was lots of tension at Snookerbacker Mansions as Reardon approached with the green baize hat full of snooker balls with names written on them. The whippet was very excited as we told him that Black Whippet was involved and he had a vested interest from then on.

The balls were drawn by the freshly manicured hands of the lovely Mrs Snookerbacker, so how can you possibly doubt the integrity and transparency of this annual exercise.

So here are the winners:

Legends T-Shirt: Dani ‘La Machine’ Martinez

Heritage DVD: Ian ‘Hardman’ White

Masters Tickets: Jay ‘Never Been to London’ Kay

Riley’s Vouchers: The Wizard, GER147 and Spongy.

Mrs SB Cookbooks: Black Whippet, Big Clive and Steve K

All of you should contact me at snookerbacker@hotmail.co.uk with your postal address and your prizes will be with you in the New Year.

For anyone that was unfortunate enough to miss out on a gift from the Festive Sack, you will have a consolation prize in the form of a free musical download of the Snokvent Calendar tomorrow. A truly essential accompaniment to your Christmas dinner preparations. I urge you to download and give it a whirl.

We’ll also get a downloadable version of the Cookbook on here for the New Year so that everyone can share in delights such as ‘Marcus Campbell’s Meat Balls’, ‘Ebdon Mess’ and Mark ‘The Royal King Prawn’ Curry.

I’ll be badgering the bookies and others for more prizes for the blog in the New Year, hopefully I’ll have a nice one to celebrate the blog’s first birthday on January 17th!

Once again can I wish everyone a very very Merry Christmas and let’s hope for a great new year! Thanks for sticking with the blog, we have a great community forming here and hopefully growing, I hope we can continue to climb up the rankings!

....from Snookerbacker Mansions

For the full calendar click here

Want to know what one of the world’s top snooker players gets up to at Christmas?

Well, look no further than the Captain’s Yuletide Log as Ali lets us all in on a Captain’s Christmas here