The Snookerbacker Blog

They are Back!

The German Masters starts over in Berlin tomorrow and is covered live on Eurosport.

It signals the long awaited return of German girls to the blog for the duration of the tournament which always mysteriously results in a couple of hundred more visits to the site, I really can’t think why.

In my opinion this event was the best addition to the calendar last season by a long chalk and was played to sell out crowds who watched Mark Williams beat Mark Selby in the final. The set-up is unique in that they have a multi-table open format in a huge arena so that the audience can catch a glimpse of all the players on show in any one session. As ever, there will be those that enjoy this and those that don’t, which makes it even more interesting.

You can find the draw and format for the event at World Snooker here.

You can also view Apollobet’s prices on both the outrights and the matches here. Interestingly, if Neil Robertson continues his amazing run of form of late and you haven’t backed him, Apollo are going to refund all outright win bets up to a stake of £200, so bear that in mind if betting on the outrights as Robbo is your insurance policy and it may be worth taking a small hit on the price to bag this offer.

Anyway here goes with the preview.

Wild Card Round

1  Ken Doherty [32] v Patrick Einsle (a)

2  Adrian Gunnell [61] v Peter Bullen (a)

3  Yu Delu [72] v Chris Norbury (a)

4  Mike Dunn [41] v Craig Steadman (a)

5  Liu Song [62] v Soner Sari (a)

6  James Wattana [58] w/o Mario Wehrmann (a)

7  Paul S Davison [79] v Krzysztof Wrobel (a)

8  Tom Ford [31] v Philip Arnold (a)

OK, I will get the obvious out of the way in advance. Wildcard rounds are unfair and pointless.

That’s that done.

I haven’t an awful lot to say about these set of matches, other than all but one should see the seeded players progress fairly easily. The one exception I would make to this is the match between Mike Dunn and Craig Steadman. Craig has been doing very well in the PTC’s this year and may well find himself in the professional ranks as a result this time next season. Wins over names like Barry Hawkins, Fergal O’Brien and Ricky Walden proves that he is more than capable of mixing it with the big boys. I would still marginally favour Dunny who played exceptionally well to get here and is in something of a run of form, but this is the only match that I think you can give a good chance to the amateur player. Former pro’s Chris Norbury and homeboy Patrick Einsle will be looking to cause an upset but I would be surprised if they did against their respective opponents. I will not recommend a bet but will predict that all the seeded players will get through this round.

First Round

Quarter One:

1  Mark J Williams [1] v Doherty or Einsle

2  Stuart Bingham [11] v Peter Ebdon [19]

3  Stephen Lee [13] v Gunnell or Bullen

4  Ding Junhui [5] v Delu or Norbury

Holder Mark Williams heads up this quarter and will probably face Ken Doherty in the first round. Ken did well over in Australia a few months back and reached his first semi-final for some time before MJW beat him quite soundly. There is nothing to suggest that a similar result will not occur here. Two players struggling a bit for form are Stuart Bingham, who won over in Oz of course and Peter Ebdon. Ebbo has hardly won a match all season and is slipping down the rankings sharply, a win for either of them may be a turning point but you’d have to fancy Williams to beat the victor on current form. Stephen Lee will be confident of progressing against Adrian Gunnell and the possible all-Chinese match between Ding and Delu should go the way of the world number five, but don’t discount a possible shock there.

Predicted Quarter Winner: Mark Williams

It's a big week for Ronnie

Quarter Two:

5  Allister Carter [7] v Joe Perry [27]

6  Ronnie O’Sullivan [14] v Andrew Higginson [20]

7  Matthew Stevens [15] v Dunn or Steadman

8  Neil Robertson [4] v Marcus Campbell [24]

Poor Ali Carter is not a happy bunny at the moment and turns up to play Joe Perry at a loss to explain his poor recent form. Joe beat the Captain at this stage in this last year and is in better form than Ali so you’d have to side with him to do the same again. Ronnie needs a run in this to make sure he doesn’t have to qualify for the Crucible, but shouldn’t expect things all his own way against Andrew Higginson. However, given what is at stake this week for him you would have to fancy the Rocket to progress and to go on to beat the winner of Ali and Joe. Matthew Stevens has a 5-0 head to head statistic over Mike Dunn and that would be enough for me to be confident that he will win again and set up a match with Neil Robertson, who is in such good form lately that it would be foolish to discount him on the grounds that he had a bit of a sniffle last week, Marcus Campbell is a fine player and may cause him problems but I can’t see the Aussie losing there to set up what could be an interesting encounter with Stevens, the winner of which could face Ronnie.

Predicted Quarter Winner: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Quarter Three:

9  Mark Selby [3] v Song or Sari

10  Graeme Dott [10] v  James Wattana [58]

11  Martin Gould [16] v Ricky Walden [22]

12  Shaun Murphy [6] v Barry Hawkins [23]

Mark Selby had a very poor Masters by his standards and to me is feeling the pressure of being the current world number one. If he is, his current form is going some way to easing this pressure as he won’t be there for much longer. That said, he would be very disappointed to lose in the first round here after a final appearance last year. Graeme Dott is a player that I think enjoys this set up and lost narrowly to Selby in the semi-finals last year, he’s in good form and I think he will beat Wattana and then go on to have another tussle with the Jester, he’s a possible dark horse in this. Ricky Walden holds a 6-1 head to head advantage over Martin Gould with Gould only beating him in a PTC and Ricky winning all the others in more prestigious events (if you count the recent match in a circus tent in Brazil) so that maybe tells us that something about Martin’s game plays into Ricky’s hands a bit too often. Newly crowned King of Speed Barry Hawkins plays Masters runner-up Shaun Murphy who I think is beginning to come into form at the right time of the season. I can see Smurf going to the business end of this event.

Predicted Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter Four:

13  Judd Trump [8] v Davison or Wrobel

14  Mark Allen [12] v Ford or Arnold

15  Stephen Maguire [9] v Ryan Day [30]

16  John Higgins [2] v Mark Davis [17]

Judd Trump was beaten in the first round in this last year by Stephen Hendry in a match that I can’t even remember. It’s fair to say that if you wind forward 12 months and the same result were to happen again it would cause quite a splash. He will win his first match to set up a possible repeat of the UK final with Mark Allen, and what a real treat for the German fans that would be. I have a slight fancy that Allen will have a decent week so would not discount him at all to gain revenge for York should this match up occur. Stephen Maguire has beaten Ryan Day in their last four meetings and is in good form recently so you would expect him to do so again and he may set up another all Scottish meeting with John Higgins who will face Dark Mavis first up. I am still prepared to take Higgins on as I don’t think he is quite at his brilliant best just yet, while he may make the Quarters I think Allen or Trump will beat him there.

Predicted Quarter Winner: Mark Allen

Recommended Bets:

2 points win Shaun Murphy to win German Masters at 14/1 with Apollobet (with Robertson insurance)

2 points win Mark Williams to win German Masters at 11/1 with Apollobet (with Robertson insurance)  

1 point each way Mark Allen to win German Masters at 20/1 with Sportingbet.

1 point special enhanced treble Williams, O’Sullivan and Murphy all to win their quarters at 26/1 with Apollobet (back here).

2 points Enhanced Acca on the first round matches: Maguire, Dott, Walden and Perry at 17/2 with Apollobet (back here).

The Best of Luck with your bets.

Click the banner below to take advantage of Apollo’s opening offer to new customers.

The M'O'D with his medal.

It probably didn’t escape your notice that it was the second leg of the Snookerbacker Classic yesterday and that we took ourselves down to the excellent South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester to glam up the thriving amateur snooker circuit.

After the first event in Leeds which consisted of 16 players myself and Mrs Snookerbacker were this time faced with 31 budding baize boys and 1 lovely lady baizer who were eager to compete on professional quality tables for the right to join Allan Taylor and Jamie Barrett on Finals Day, back at the SWSA on 24th February.

The day did not disappoint and produced some great snooker including a final frame decider which saw former British Open Champion and UK Finalist David Gray beat local boy Michael Wasley 4-3, a full 11 hours since play started. An hour or so earlier the other qualifier, Martin O’Donnell had triumphed over ladies favourite Ben Harrison 4-0.

Myself and Mrs SB arrived at the venue early and a little the worse for wear after a night in the Bumble Bee pub over the road from the Academy the night before. Of course, as well as having a drink with Antony Parsons and his lovely partner Sarah, that bloke that follows me round wearing a Mustard Mankini also showed up. But he was happy running errands for myself and Mrs SB while we sat and chatted to Ant, Sarah and Matthew Lowson, who had arrived to referee the big event.

Despite feeling a little delicate we soldiered on and got everything set up that you need for a snooker tournament. Flowers, cakes, players packs with fun activity games in them, Mrs SB’s Pamper Hamper, oh and those silly old matchsheets that they take with them when they are playing.

As the players began to arrive, very much like Leeds, they looked at the camped up registration desk with a mixture of bemusement and intrigue but quickly settled into the spirit of things and started chatting away before they were due to go on the baize.

As the first session was split into two, it was all go in the morning and there was no time to nurse our aching heads which were also splitting in two. The live streaming was under way and we didn’t have any early hiccups in either sense of the word. Even the bloke in the Mankini was behaving himself and went off to play his match without a word. The ‘brains’ behind the website Snooker Bingo was the next comedian through the doors and he arrived resplendent in every colour of the rainbow to play his match on the livestream at 11am. Viewing figures peaked as people wondered if his hair was actually the real deal or not, well I can exclusively reveal that it isn’t and that he was wearing a wig for the entire day.

David also hit the Highest Break of the Day

The snooker continued and it was clear that it was another quality field. Callum Lloyd hit a 110 in Round One and was only beaten very late in the day by Gray who scooped the Amarya.co.uk £1 per point highest break prize along with his qualifiers medal. There was a great feel to the day with even the losers remaining upbeat and philosophical in defeat. The tables really are very difficult to get used to and a lot of the players had more experience of playing on them than others.

I also had the pleasure of catching up with Paul Mount who I am delighted to say is looking back to good health. He played in Round One and claimed he was ‘lucky to come second’. As it was my first time at the Academy we had a chat about the facilities and I opened the negotiations on a similar venture in the North West, which I kindly offered to market and run for the great man. Negotiations hit a bit of a stumbling block when he asked if I was going to pay for it aswell, but I know how business works and I’m sure that was just his little joke. He won’t bluff me that easily. I’m on it.

As the day wore on Mrs Snookerbacker decided to award her coveted Pamper Hamper to Ben Harrison. Ben was the bookies favourite given his devilishly handsome good looks, which put me in mind of myself at that age. He narrowly pipped Martin O’Donnell and a couple of others to the title of Best Groomed Baizer. Mr Snooker Bingo (who was never in the running) however was unhappy at the result and claimed that Ben should not have won as ‘all his clothes were the same colour’, this coming from a man that had taken great care not to go for this particular tactic. Anyway, Ben won it and that’s the end of that according to Mrs SB (I think she fancies him).

Mrs SB also found time to hit a few balls around the table for the first time since ‘her dad used to take her to that club that had the strippers’ many years ago. She displayed a remarkable ability to not pot the ball on but instead produce a shot which a lot of professionals would struggle to carry off. Not once, but three times. Then blog hardman Ian White decided to show off a bit, recreating a 5-cushion pot by Tony Meo first time of asking (he swore he hadn’t practiced it but we decided we didn’t believe him). Anyway, we left the table as we found it and no damage was done.

But in the end it was all about the competitive snooker and David Gray produced two deciding frame finishes to claim his spot in the Finals while Martin lost just four frames all day to take his. They are now each just two wins away from free Q-School entry and three away from being crowned the first ever Snookerbacker Classic Champion.

The feedback again was very positive from the players who I hope all enjoyed the experience whether they won or lost. I’d like to thank the officials, Clive, Matthew and Alan for all their help and John and Paul at the Academy who couldn’t do enough to help as well as Mr Mount himself who has built quite a place there. A special mention also to Ben Fortey, a great little player who Mrs SB thinks is ‘just lovely’. He took a frame off Ben Harrison with a 50-odd break and could be one to watch in the future.

Full details of the scores in the event are below.

Round One 

Kashif Khan 0-4 Andy Neck
Antony Parsons W/O Sydney Wilson
James Burrett 1-4 Martin O’Donnell
Marianne Williams 0-4 Gareth Allen
Sean Hopkin 4-0 Tom Doggett
Ryan Causton 4-0 Jack Morgan
Craig Scotford 3-4 Gary Weeks
Ben Fortey 1-4 Ben Harrison (84)
Nick Pearce 4-3 Ricky Norris
Kyren Wilson 4-2 Gavin Lewis
David Gray 4-1 Neal Jones
Marc Harman 4-1 Paul Mount
Jamie Clarke 4-0 Thomas Goldstein
Callum Lloyd (110) 4-0 Brandon Winstone
Steve Winstone 0-4 Michael Wasley
Matthew Day 4-1 Phil O’Kane

Round Two

Andy Neck 4-3 Ant Parsons
Martin O’Donnell 4-2 Gareth Allen (94)
Sean Hopkin 0-4 Ryan Causton
Gary Weeks 0-4 Ben Harrison (84)
Nick Pearce 0-4 Kyren Wilson (80)
David Gray (72) 4-0 Marc Harman
Jamie Clarke 4-2 Callum Lloyd
Michael Wasley (82) 4-0 Matthew Day

Round Three

Andy Neck 1-4 Martin O’Donnell (89)
Ryan Causton (77) 3-4 Ben Harrison
Kyren Wilson 3-4 David Gray (82)
Jamie Clarke 3-4 Michael Wasley

Final Qualifying Round

Martin O’Donnell 4-0 Ben Harrison
David Gray (86,118) 4-3 Michael Wasley

Qualifiers: Martin O’Donnell and David Gray

AND AS A FINAL TREAT FOR THE LADIES AND ALL THE GAYS…..

Ladies.....calm yourselves. Ben with his Pamper Hamper.

A hectic day awaits at Gloucester and I’ll try and keep the scores updated on this post. Also follow me on Twitter here if you want updates from the venue.

Remember, the match table is live streamed and you can watch that by clicking here.

Round One – All matches Best of 7 frames

Kashif Khan v Andy Neck
Sydney Wilson v Antony Parsons
James Burrett v Martin O’Donnell
Marianne Williams v Gareth Allen
Sean Hopkin v Tom Doggett
Ryan Causton v Jack Morgan
Craig Scotford v Gary Weeks
Ben Fortey v Ben Harrison
Nick Pearce v Ricky Norris
Kyren Wilson v Gavin Lewis
David Gray v Neal Jones
Marc Harman v Paul Mount
Jamie Clarke v Thomas Goldstein
Callum Lloyd v Brandon Winstone
Steve Winstone v Michael Wasley
Matthew Day v Phil O’Kane

It's another non-stop month on the baize.

It’s once again time to look ahead to what is happening on the baize in the coming weeks. It is fair to say that February sees no let up in the action in a key month when it comes to World Championship places.

The action starts next Wednesday when the German Masters gets under way from Berlin. The wildcard round and a few of the first round matches kick things off and I’ll be previewing the event on Tuesday.

This was a great spectacle last season and takes on an added significance this time as it is the penultimate ranking event to decide who will be in the top 16 and qualify automatically for the Crucible in April. It will also mean a welcome return to the blog for the German girls which is always popular.

When that’s finished the Championship League returns from Crondon Park with groups five and six and while all that is going on the lower ranked players will be thrashing it out at the Academy in Sheffield in the Welsh Open qualifiers between 8th-11th. Two days later it’s off to Newport for the event itself and no doubt the dulcet tones of John Evans in the commentary box and Dom Dale in his slippers in the studio to see us through the cold winter afternoons.

The Welsh Open will decide who will and won’t be guaranteed a place at the Crucible so it is crunch time for players hovering around 16th spot, including Ronnie of course.

The seedings will be revised on the 20th before a day later the qualifiers get underway for the China Open. As if that wasn’t enough it’s then off to Haikou Island which is known locally as Coconut City in China to play the Haikou World Open, the qualifiers for which have already been held.

It’s an absolutely hectic month as it will also see the first ever Snookerbacker Classic winner crowned. We have the Dublin qualifier on Saturday 4th, Essex on Friday 10th and the Finals Day over in Gloucester on the 24th.

That’s February in a nutshell.

I think I may need a lie down at the end of the month.

FEBRUARY

1-5
German Masters
Tempodrom, Berlin

4
Snookerbacker Classic Qualifier
Crossguns, Dublin 

6-9
Championship League Groups 5 and 6
Crondon Park

10
Snookerbacker Classic Qualifier
Essex 

8-11
Welsh Open Qualifiers
Academy 

13-19
Welsh Open
Newport Centre 

SEEDING CUT OFF FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 

21-24
China Open Qualifiers
Academy

24
Snookerbacker Classic Grand Finals
SWSA, Gloucester  

27 Feb to March 4
Haikou World Open
Haikou, China

Great news that the Snookerbacker Classic will have a live stream from the match table in Gloucester on Monday. It will be streamed directly on the blog.

A big thank you to the South West Snooker Academy for setting this up.

You can view the live stream feed here when the action begins. Or if you so desire today you can just sit there and stare at the table in the main arena after watching an advert for condoms.

Monday sees Leg 2 of the Snookerbacker Classic where we will discover who joins Jamie Barrett and Allan Taylor at Finals Day on 24th February.  

Seeing as I am rapidly discovering that some snooker players are possibly the most disorganised people on the planet I thought I would post an ‘Idiots Guide’ to how things will work on Monday at the South West Snooker Academy. I will start with the draw followed by the most frequently asked questions about the event.

 Event 2 – Monday 30th January 2012, Gloucester – South West Snooker Academy

Please arrive 15 minutes before your match start time.

Kashif Khan v Andy Neck (9.30am)
Sydney Wilson v Antony Parsons (9.30am)
James Burrett v Martin O’Donnell (not before 11am)
Marianne Williams v Gareth Allen (not before 11am)
Sean Hopkin v Tom Doggett (not before 11am)
Ryan Causton v Jack Morgan (9.30am)
Craig Scotford v Gary Weeks (9.30am)
Ben Fortey v Ben Harrison (not before 11am)
Nick Pearce v Ricky Norris (9.30am)
Kyren Wilson v Gavin Lewis (9.30am)
David Gray v Neal Jones (not before 11am)
Marc Harman v Paul Mount (not before 11am)
Jamie Clarke v Thomas Goldstein (9.30am)
Callum Lloyd v Brandon Winstone (9.30am)
Steve Winstone v Michael Wasley (not before 11am)
Matthew Day v Phil O’Kane (not before 11am)

What is the Dress Code?

It isn’t a strict dress code for the qualifiers and the general rule is not to turn up looking like John Virgo did in the commentary box last week. Polo shirt is fine.

Are matches refereed?

There will be a ‘roaming referee’ system in place up to the final two matches. Should a dispute arise the referee will make a judgement. Both final qualifying matches will be refereed.

Can I practice?

If you are going to Gloucester the day before the event and want to practice at the Academy you MUST book this today with Paul Williams on 01452 223214, the rate will be £8 per hour.

Anyone that is still competing in the event will be able to practice in between matches free of charge (subject to availability of tables). Anyone that has been knocked out of the tournament can still use a table at the £8 per hour rate.

If I lose, can I enter the Essex event?

Yes, I am holding provisional places for a few players who have expressed a wish to enter Essex should they not make Finals Day. Please let me know if you want a place reserving as I will soon be closing the Essex event to new entries.

What about prize money?

All winners prize money will be awarded after the Finals have been completed on 24th February. The two qualifiers will however receive a winners medal on the day.

Is there a highest break prize?

Yes, all qualifying events have a highest break prize of £1 per point courtesy of Amarya.co.uk. There is also a prize for a 147 of £300, should there be more than one, this prize will be split.

I am not playing but I would like to come and watch, can I?

Yes, please feel free to come along and watch the action.

For all terms and conditions please click here.

If you have any further questions, whether serious or humourous, please use the comments section below.

Betting big on this can make a monkey out of you.

Friday night sees the start of the Sky Shootout which last year provided many thrills, spills and other things that rhyme with those words and saw an unlikely winner in the medium paced unassuming Nigel Bond.

Whilst I am probably what Bazza would term as one of those evil traditionalists (a tag of which I am very proud) who don’t want our great sport tampered with I enjoy a bit of fun as much as the next man and thoroughly enjoyed watching this load of old nonsense last year.

It may have a shotclock, it may have rowdy crowds, dolly birds and that strange voiceover man barking instructions, it may be held in a town that I would best describe as the cesspit of humankind but at least it hasn’t got a power zone, a power play and all that kind of stuff. It’s still snooker, albeit a little bit more frenetic than we are used to.

That renowned barrell of laughs Ronnie hasn’t entered which has allowed young Michael White the chance to show off his skills. Joe ‘Goldfinger’ Jogia has also withdrawn of course and has been replaced by Rod Lawler.

The microwave oven was on full throttle when the draw was made as the finalists from last year Bond and Mill Hopkins meet again first up, we also have a repeat of the World Final between Judd and John Higgins. The Nugget is up against MJW which will no doubt heighten the current ‘botox v chins’ discussion/slanging match between the pair on Twitter and there are several other stand out ties including Neil Robertson who aims to keep his winning streak going against Jamie Cope.

Having a serious bet on this is about as advisable as booking Gary Glitter for the kids birthday party entertainment. It’s a random draw after every round so the only way you will win anything on it is if you are extremely lucky. Even if you end up with the winner, you would look pretty stupid saying I told you so at the end.

I’ll go for five against the field and see how I get on, I’ll have a fiver on each of them. I’ll go for Neil Robertson at 20/1, Ricky Walden at 40/1, Marco Fu at 50/1, Jack Lisowski at 80/1 and Tom Ford at 100/1. (If any of them win expect an ‘I told you so’ headline on Monday).

It’s a lottery, but hopefully it will again be fun.

Who are your five for the weekend?        

Friday, 27 January – 18:00

Robert Milkins v Nigel Bond
Mark Williams v Steve Davis
Ali Carter v Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire v Anthony McGill
Graeme Dott v Alan McManus
Stuart Bingham v Liu Song
John Higgins v Judd Trump
Gerard Greene v Jamie Burnett
Ken Doherty v Michael Holt
Tom Ford v Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby v Joe Perry
Mark Allen v Rory McLeod
Martin Gould v Peter Ebdon
Anthony Hamilton v Jimmy White
Mark Davis v Mark Joyce
Stephen Lee v Peter Lines

Saturday, 28 January – 12:00

Tony Drago v Andy Hicks
Ding Junhui v Barry Hawkins
Ben Woollaston v Alfie Burden
Neil Robertson v Jamie Cope
Ricky Walden v Liu Chuang
Andrew Higginson v Liang Wenbo
Shaun Murphy v Fergal O’Brien
Marcus Campbell v Xiao Guodong
Mark King v Dominic Dale
Marco Fu v Barry Pinches
Dave Harold v James Wattana
Matthew Selt v Rod Lawler
Mike Dunn v Michael White
Stephen Hendry v Jack Lisowski
Jamie Jones v Adrian Gunnell
Ryan Day v Joe Swail

Joe has broken his silence

Joe Jogia has finally broken his silence over the alleged betting scandal surrounding his match against Matt Selt in the Shootout, which is now of course not going ahead.

The Pint-Sized Potter from Leicester has denied any wrongdoing and claims that the bets placed on his opponent were simply down to the fact that the entire population of the UK saw him hobbling around after falling over in the rain last Friday night.

Sadly, you don’t know who you can trust these days as this must also include his friends, who, rather than sympathising with poor old Joe, must have sensed an opportunity to make some cash out of it and launched on Selt to beat him.

He has told The Sun that he twisted his knee very badly following his midnight rain dance and that he has barely been able to walk since. That’s a shame as diddyman Joe has a very distinctive walk, it kind of resembles what you might look like if you were trying to chew a toffee with your arse cheeks.

But quite rightly Jogs is absolutely livid at all this talk, I mean, it was obviously the match of the round and was bound to attract interest. The match had traded a mere £3015 on Betfair before it was taken down, with £2580 of that riding on Selt, some at very short odds indeed. The fact that only £9 had been traded on matches involving Ali Carter, Ding Junhui and Tony Drago is a trifling matter and entirely irrelevant.

No, Joe has come out fighting and has reminded us all about his unblemished reputation claiming that ‘My name is like gold in snooker’, by that I am sure he doesn’t mean that he can put it in a brown envelope and receive some cash in return.

So, it’s clearly all been one big mistake. We can all move on, Joe is crocked up in his bed in Leicester and all his mates will get a refund.

It’s clear that there is no pointing the goldfinger at JJ.

Following this story yesterday about unusual betting patterns on the Sky Shootout match between Joe Jogia and Matt Selt, specifically, bets on Jogia to lose, Joe has withdrawn from the event on medical grounds. 

He has been replaced by my fellow scouser and childhood sparring partner Rod Lawler, who now faces Selt in the first round on Saturday. 

Neil Robertson continued his winning streak last night by qualifying to the Winners Group of the Championship League. He is clearly in the form of his life at the moment. Group 4 commences today from Crondon Park before they all head to Blackpool for the Shootout which begins on Friday night.

Anyone that is keeping track of this event will know how to access their stream, whether it be at the bookies or through World Snooker’s coverage. The official Championship/Premier League website is here. 

Group Four (Wednesday, January 25 and Thursday, January 26)
Mark Selby (1), Martin Gould (12), Matthew Stevens (13), Jamie Cope (21), Mark Allen (10), Stephen Lee (15) and Peter Ebdon (29).

DAY ONE FIXTURES – WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25 (all times are approximate)
TABLE ONE
11am – Mark Selby v Matthew Stevens
12.15pm – Mark Allen v Stephen Lee
Not before 2pm – Matthew Stevens v Mark Davis
3.15pm – Stephen Lee v Peter Ebdon
Not before 6pm – Matthew Stevens v Jamie Cope
7.15pm – Mark Davis v Peter Ebdon

TABLE TWO
11am – Mark Davis v Jamie Cope
12.15pm – Peter Ebdon v Mark Selby
Not before 2pm – Jamie Cope v Mark Allen
3.15pm – Mark Selby v Mark Davis
6pm – Mark Allen v Peter Ebdon
7.15pm – Stephen Lee v Jamie Cope

DAY TWO FIXTURES – THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 (all times are approximate)
TABLE ONE
11am – Mark Selby v Stephen Lee
12.15pm – Jamie Cope v Peter Ebdon
Not before 2pm – Matthew Stevens v Peter Ebdon
3.15pm – Mark Davis v Mark Allen
Not before 6pm – Play-off – First v fourth
7.15pm – Final

TABLE TWO
11am – Matthew Stevens v Mark Allen
12.15pm – Mark Davis v Stephen Lee
Not before 2pm – Mark Selby v Mark Allen
3.15pm – Matthew Stevens v Stephen Lee
4.30pm – Mark Selby v Jamie Cope
Not before 6pm – Play-off – Second v third