The Snookerbacker Blog

Enter The Captain

Today sees the conclusion of the German Masters from Berlin and another sell-out crowd is expected to witness a final which many would not have envisaged as The Captain Ali Carter attempts to win his third ranking title while his opponent from Hong Kong Marco Fu is looking for his second.

I continue to be amazed at the reception being given to the snooker here and the crowd seem genuinely enthralled by every ball struck, sometimes as I found out to my amazement yesterday to the point of breaking wind furiously with anticipation and excitement.

I can only describe the introduction of Ali and Neil Robertson yesterday as incredible, the roof was lifted as they entered the arena, but I have to say on entrance songs Robbo definitely stole the show and had the match been decided on this he’d probably have been a comfortable 6-0 winner, Ali really has to up his game in the song stakes I’d say.

But on the table it was a very cagey affair and despite failing to have a fifty break it was Ali that came through a comfortable winner over the tired looking Aussie who like Selby the day before looks to me to be in need of a rest before a final push at the end of the season at the Crucible.

I didn’t stay in the arena for Marco’s win over Barry Hawkins last night but it sounds like Marco played very well, with breaks of 110 and 142 helping him to a 6-4 win. Afterwards he said “I was very good in all departments – scoring, safety and long potting, I just missed four or five easy balls at crucial times through a lack of concentration and that cost me a few frames. I will have to cut that out tomorrow.”

Myself and Mrs SB are still thoroughly enjoying our trip to Berlin and we decided to get lost in another part of the city yesterday, taking in some top drawer sightseeing and planning where we’ll go when the snooker is over with. But the main story of yesterday has to be Mrs SB trying out the famed ‘Currywurst’ of which much has been written by proud Berliners and drooling foreign visitors alike, but what did she think of it? Well, clearly aware of her crucial role in Anglo-German relations she has decided in the spirit of such to issue the following statement:

“First of all I would like to say what a wonderful place Berlin is, the people are friendly and the streets are very clean and my husband and I like it so much here that one day we might even like to live here. I first became aware of the Currywurst when Mr SB told me about it just before our trip, mmmm that sounds nice I thought and since then I have been wanting to try one so yesterday I did”.

She continues “Firstly, I would like to thank the fat man behind the stall for serving it to me so quickly and efficiently, for offering me the correct condiments and for smiling when he passed it to me. Secondly, I would like to thank the manufacturers of the paper plate and plastic cutlery which came with my Currywurst for continuing to provide an excellent product”.

She then finally gets to her verdict “I actually misunderstood the concept of the Currywurst, I thought that it was a sausage spiced with curry, but what it really was is a normal sausage with curry sauce on it and I’m afraid at the risk of offending some of my German friends that I didn’t think it was really anything that special, but I ate it all and I would have one again if I ever felt like one”.

You have no idea how much she pondered over the wording of the above.

Anyway, yesterday I also got the chance to catch up with fellow blogger and Eurosport commentator Dave Hendon and we blew the froth off a couple of beers in a bar just across from the venue which could only really be described as a converted sitting room. We talked snooker mostly while my wife listened on no doubt wondering how she ended up sitting there watching us two babbling on about the baize and thinking through how she would word her sausage verdict without offending an entire nation.

I’d also earlier hooked up with the MO’D again which is always good value. He had to leave mid-afternoon for his return flight to Blighty but I am pleased to say that we brokered a deal which more or less secures his services to hand over the new SB Classic trophy to this season’s winner in Leeds later this month. We also chatted about the final heat in Gloucester on the 17th and it’s fair to say that he has some pretty outspoken views on the participation of a certain player which I am sure will become apparent on Twitter in the coming few days. Mrs SB also spoke to him about her sausage experience, clearly still troubled at how to deliver her assessment.

Anyway, our day finished quite early and although we’d planned to hook up with Team Carter, my wife had by then decided she was getting hungry again and that usually means that she is also getting tired, the poor thing, so we made our way back to our end of the city for a Chinese and an early night (she was still talking about the sausage wording). I haven’t yet broken the news to her that we could be in for a long night if the Captain wins today as we’ll be in celebration mode, indeed the equivalent of a free holiday here awaits if the result goes our way.

The outright preview of course recommended Ali at 25/1 and I very much hope he will do the business, I actually backed him each way so the place part of the bet has landed but it’s always nice when a decent blog bet comes up for followers that like to copy the outright book. Either way, it’s been a great event to be part of and if you get the chance to visit one tournament next season, I’d recommend you save up and come to this one. If they must move the World Championship, bring it here.

I’ll just list the head to heads for the final, Ali will have to improve his scoring to match Marco by the looks of it but I do think he may be the better scrapper these days of the two, it’s a hard one to call but if I was going to place a correct score bet, which I’m not I’d go for 9-5 to the Captain which pays 8/1 at Apollobet.

Two other pieces of snooker news to bring you are that apparently Ronnie O’Sullivan is now engaged, but for those who prefer their snooker with a careless twist, this short story is far more entertaining.

1pm & 7pm UK Times

Ali Carter v Marco Fu (1st Session 8 Frames, 2nd Session a maximum of 9 Frames)

Head to Head: 3-3

THANKS AS EVER TO MONIQUE LIMBOS FOR THE MAIN IMAGE