The Snookerbacker Blog

The Willies 2010

It is around this time of year that we must take stock of the snooker season as a whole. I myself like to have a good sit down in a dark room with old DVD’s of Jim Meadowcroft commentaries and come up with my own version of Snooker’s red carpet Oscar Night.

The blog has only been alive and well for just on a paltry five months but given that in this short time literally tens of thousands of you have tuned in from around the globe to read my mindless drivel, I feel it is high time to unveil a new annual initiative. Namely; ‘The Willies’.

The Willies will be awarded to those that have given us the highlights and lowlights of the snooker season and the first set of these prestigious awards are listed below.

The Players all want to get their hands on a Willie.

Player of the Season: While Ding Junhui tops the one year ranking list, it is only the World Champion who can claim to have won more than one ranking event as well as hitting the only 147 in a ranking event, therefore Neil Robertson is emphatically my player of the season and grabs the prestigious Willie that they all want.

Ali - Made up with his Willie.

Most Improved Player: The Willie goes to Liang Wenbo, who breaks into the top sixteen by virtue of some excellent performances early in the season. Can now mix it with the big boys having tightened up his game a bit.

Most Underrated Player: Ali Carter, the model of consistency all season, deservedly now world number four, a hard worker and a fine match player, a well deserved Willie.

Best Match: It has to be the Mark Selby Masters Final against O’Sullivan, Willies for both participants. A mention must also go to the high quality Masters and World Championship encounters between O’Sullivan and Mark Williams.

Best Single Match Performance: Ronnie O’Sullivan grabs his second Willie for being at his brilliant best against Mark Allen in the Welsh Open.

Best Session of Snooker by a single player: Martin Gould’s first six frames of the first session against Neil Robertson at the Crucible was snooker from the gods and had the champion to-be reaching for his apartment keys to check out. He just didn’t miss. The Willie goes the way of the aptly named Pinner Potter.

The Nick Clegg Award for Rising from Obscurity: Most would argue that Anda Zhang deserves this award for his performance at the Crucible and I’m not going to disagree in a season which was more or less dominated by the top players. He becomes the second Chinese recipient of a Willie.

Most Disappointing Season Award: Plenty of candidates for this from top 16 players like Shaun Murphy, Ryan Day and Marco Fu, just outside we have the likes of Ricky Walden and Michael Holt but given the hype and furore surrounding this young man, the Willie has to go to the serial underachiever Judd Trump.

Comeback King: Many will point to Graeme Dott’s heroics in Sheffield. Some may contest that Mark Williams’ return to the winners enclosure is worthy of such an award, but over the course of the season there is only one winner of this award and I say step forward for your Willie to Tony Drago, his first season back on the tour and 37th on the one-year list, that’s quite an achievement.

Most Improved Journeyman: The man who has climbed the most places in the rankings just ahead of Robert Milkins takes this accolade, step forward Mark Davis. A Willie in recognition of good old fashioned hard graft.

The Snookerbacker ‘One to Watch’ Willie: Newcomer Jack Lisowski is worth keeping an eye on next season in the qualifiers. He becomes the youngest ever recipient of a Willie.

The Pies the Limit. Pukka grab a Willie.

Best Championship Willie: The Masters

Worst Championship Willie: The Premier League.

Strangest Championship Willie: The Championship League.

The Dead Duck Award: The Pro-Challenge Series & The World Series of Snooker share the Willie.

Most Unlikely Sponsor Willie: Pukka Pies

Best Sponsor Willie: Betfred

Best Coverage: Eurosport coverage of the China Open brought a fresh approach to snooker coverage that the BBC seems to have lost somewhere along the line. A well deserved Willie to Dave, Joe, Mike and the team (even though we all know that you weren’t really there).

The Clive Everton Award for Second Best Commentator: Neal Foulds

The John Evans Award for Worst Commentator: John Evans

The John Evans Award for Second Worst Commentator: Mike Smith (Eurosport), who grabs a second Willie for the wrong reasons this time.

Worst Individual Performance: Rory McLeod again let himself down a couple of times in front of the cameras but even these performances could not match snooker at its very worst played by Joe Perry at the Masters when losing 6-0 to Ryan Day and yes, it was worse than Pettman at the Crucible, miles worse.

The Jamie Burnett Award for worst missed black: Ronnie O’Sullivan gets Willie number three for losing to Tian Pengfei in China.

Best Comedy Shot: After a miserable time in front of the cameras against Mark Williams in the Masters, Rory McLeod compounded the misery by dropping the butt end of his cue while playing a rest shot in what was to prove the last frame of the match. Let’s hope he doesn’t drop his Willie.

Dunce of the Year: John Higgins, in what many think may be his last trip to the Willies.

Pettman - Consistently Bad Hair.

Worst Hair: Pettman, Pettman, Pettman. Never has one head of hair been so deserving of three Willies.

Best Pantomime Villain: Barry Hearn, who can proudly place his Willie with all his other awards.

Best Real Villain: Pat Mooney.

The ‘Taking it on the Chin’ Award for Getting the most stick on here: Jamie Burnett grabs a Willie.

Daftest Idea: ‘The BBC Pulse’ was narrowly beaten to this by the ‘147’ Cards given to the Crucible audience for a couple of sessions.

Best Website: The consistently excellent Global Snooker

Worst Website: This Willie has to go to World Snooker, woeful performance from the scoreboard yet again and the poems on there are enough to turn anyone to Class A drugs.

Best Blogger: Modesty forbids me from revealing this result but let’s just say that Mrs Snookerbacker has a new Willie to tickle with her feather duster.

The Rab C Nesbitt Award for Scruffiest Televised Player: Marcus Campbell, came to the Crucible looking like he’d slept rough, a shoddy performance in the dressing room more than deserves a Willie.

The Willie Thorne Lifetime Achievement Award and Entrance into the Top Drawer Billiard Hall of Fame: The One. The Only. The Original. The Nugget.

Campbell - Scruff.

Willies are also awarded in conjunction with the first lady of the baize, Mrs Snookerbacker who has decided to award Willies to the following:

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for Nicest Dressed Player: AMENDED RESULT: Ali Carter

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for Crispiest White Shirt: Joe Perry

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for Worst Dressed Player: Marcus Campbell, shirt hanging out and everything and have a shave.

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for Best Haircut: Mark Selby

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for Worst Haircut: Mark Allen (she has never seen Pettman)

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for the Nicest Player: Ali Carter

Pettman - Shocked.

The Mrs Snookerbacker Award for the Rudest Player: Ronnie O’Sullivan

So all in all a fantastic night of awards and a marvellous time has been had by all. A big night for fans of the Rocket who once again steals the show with a multitude of Willies.

A good night for Ali Carter but Stuart Pettman is left distraught after being overlooked for Mrs Snookerbackers award for worst haircut after controversially being beaten to the Willie by shocked winner Mark Allen. He left wondering what he had to do to complete the Bad Hair Grand Slam. Plenty of Betfair 1.01 backers will be wondering exactly the same thing as they saw their huge stakes well and truly gubbed on this occasion.

The Willie might also make Martin Gould feel better after he was beaten by Robertson. And Barry Hearn now has a big Willie to match his big ego.

I’m sure you’ll agree some well deserved awards there and a Top Drawer addition to the blog.

Roll on next year’s Willies!