We have reached the semi final stage in the UK Championship. Amidst a week of controversy, 4 players have fought adversity and amazingly considering who is left, whoever wins will claim their first UK Championship.
The first semi final sees Judd Trump take on Neil Robertson. A match good enough for the final. Trump has been at his spectacular best and his long potting has left his opponents with the impossible task of needing to almost snooker him on every safety shot otherwise he is just getting down and knocking them in. To be fair to Robertson, he hasn't been on the screens as much but he has beaten Graeme Dott and Ding Junhui to get this far. I feel a lot of pressure was placed on his shoulders after winning the World Championship but he looks to be finding a balance to his game now. Of the 4 semi finalists, Robertson will fancy his experience as making the difference in a tight match. I think Trump will have enough but I'm expecting a classic in this one.
The other semi final sees the outspoken Mark Allen play Ricky Walden. You might not know to much about Walden but when I tell you he has beaten Stephen Lee, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy to reach the semi finals and the fact that he has won a ranking title then he is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Mark Allen is the only player in the semi finals who hasn't won a ranking title yet and will be desperate to change that. He is not the most popular player in the snooker fraternity at the moment but I'll get to that. If Allen can get going quickly then Walden has a tendency of getting to hard on himself. I think Allen will probably win this one.
Why are we slightly anti-Allen at the moment. Well it certainly isn't for his use of language during a post match interview. Go back two years and snooker was in danger of disappearing. There was only 6 or 7 tournaments and the players beyond the top 32 had no chance of making a living from the game. In came Barry Hearne. Straight away using his expertise he had created tournaments in Australia, China, Brazil and PTC events in Europe. The prize money available practically doubled as new sponsors came rolling in. Viewing figures are back up for the big tournaments as admittedly the PTC's need tweaking as snooker moves forward. There are now enough tournaments for players right down the rankings to make a living again.
So this is why Mark Allen's outburst has left us a bit baffled. I can see his point of view that it is expensive if you play in every PTC event and travel for the long haul tournaments. Unfortunately that is where the markets are at the moment. With tournaments scheduled for India, the increased interest in China and Europe then soon only two or three tournaments will be in England. Mark Allen's claims that Barry Hearne was only interested in lining his own pockets are also wildly inaccurate. For these points and the way he highlighted his concerns then he has to show some remorse.
However there is one point that I agree whole heartedly with him on. Amidst everything this point has been swept under the carpet. Barry Hearne promised not to change the formats for the ranking tournaments. He has shortened the early stages of the UK Championship. I must admit I wouldn't of noticed had Mark Allen not highlighted the issue. We would like Barry Hearne to come out and promise not to change the format for The Masters or the World Championships. Power play and one frame shoot outs are one thing but he World Championships and The Masters are both exciting enough tournaments.
I think that is what Mark Allen was trying to get at. Yes he is obviously happier with the game now Hearne has shaken things up. Yes the PTC events can be worked out. Maybe dropping one or two and increasing prize money on the rest. OK you promised not to change the format for the ranking events and even though you did for the UK and it didn't notice, can you promise not to change the others.
Hearne is a wise man I think he knows where Mark Allen's comments are coming from. It is more how Allen voiced his concerns which has caused offence. Freedom of speech is one thing if it is used correctly. Move over it now and get back to the snooker.
I fitting final would be Judd Trump vs Mark Allen. That's who I'd prefer. That usually means Robertson and Walden will win.
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