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Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Monique

Image

and to Michael Holt brilliant runner-up who put up a great defense

also to John Higgins High Break winner with 139

and to Shane Castle, best junior

and Daniel Kandi, from Denmark, best "foreigner" player...


full results here http://www.southwestsnookeracademy.com/ ... s_Pro.html

:-D

all pictures of the Final uploaded.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby GorgonaJS

Sonny wrote:
GorgonaJS wrote:Was two Sean O'Sullivans?


No only one. He practices with Martin Gould so was down there with him. There were 4 entries allowed for amateurs which is why several players who were beaten were playing again. All in aid of charity because the more entries, the more money. It was £25 per entry

thanks

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby weewelshwitch

snooky147 wrote:Graeme might have been in the draw but the first he knew of that was when I phoned him the other day to ask when he was going down. He did not enter it.



Graeme was invited by us when we were at the Crucible but subsequently was unable to attend.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Matt_2745

Time for my two cents worth.

Overall it was an excellent event for all sorts of reasons and I was only there for three days so imagine that it must have been great for those in there for the duration.

On the subject of the action on-table, as Sonny says I was pleased for Mark to win it, first caught my eye in 2009 when I saw him beat Judd Trump at the English Open in Leeds and I've had half an eye on him since. He had a tough start to the year after his UK Championship breakthrough but I see no reason why he can't push on and challenge for a top 32 place this season. We'll see. Gonna have a chat with him sometime this week so will hopefully have some of his thoughts on that up on the blog in due course.

Other on-table observations, good to see the juniors in action as well as gain a greater appreciation of the ladies game through listening to Sonny's interview with Mark Jones (keep an eye out for that one), which is otherwise hard to fully take in. I don't want to single out too many players but a word for Ben Harrison, a talented player who Sonny has already raved about. Very flamboyant and a great lad too, wish him well and with a bit more experience have no doubt that he will make it onto the tour.

Also impressing was new On Q signing Michael White, though I have seen him a few times before during the World Championship qualifiers in past seasons. In amongst the balls he looks as fluent as any of the young players out there, certainly good enough to get himself into the top 64 I think. I noticed that he let frustration get the better of him sometimes, one quickly played safety shot against Syd Wilson springs to mind, but generally speaking he looked good.

Elsewhere, John Higgins looked good during Saturday and what struck me about him was the fact that while this was a smaller tournament for him than some and he was playing amateurs, he was still playing on needing 2-3 snookers and giving both his opponents and the event the utmost respect. It was impressive to see and to give his prize money back for the charity was another nice touch.

A word also for former pro Nick Pearce, who missed a table-length double on the black for a 140, only to see his 133 being pipped by John Higgins for the high break prize later in the day.

Off-table, big thanks as ever to Paul, Sarah, Janie and the rest of the backroom gang not only for putting the tournament on, but making the likes of me, Sonny, Mon and Steve feel completely welcome and at home there. Like the players, we could not have wished for better hosts and I look forward to returning for the UK qualifiers, if not an earlier PTC.

Finally just to pick up on something Monique said to me yesterday, that the thing she will take away most from this tournament is that there is a real community of bloggers/web media growing now at the venues. As I replied, I think that I already felt that, but that it was confirmed by this weekend and I certainly enjoyed spending it with some real snooker fans who are doing good things for the game.

Next stop, PTC1.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

nice piece matt <ok>

not for a second i expected Paul and the gang to not make you welcomed as bloggers and internet media but how does the newspapers view you on their patch at the WC etc.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Witz78

Wild, which reminds me of something...

Monique said around March i think that she was barred from the Crucible and wouldnt be going, but perhaps i missed her explaining what happened but normal service was resumed when she was indeed there doing her great work.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

Witz78 wrote:Wild, which reminds me of something...

Monique said around March i think that she was barred from the Crucible and wouldnt be going, but perhaps i missed her explaining what happened but normal service was resumed when she was indeed there doing her great work.

yes something changed :?

but point is Snooker just dont get the copy in newspapers the likes of Football gets so having bloggers doing daily updates from the venue is the way forward and anyone that has any genuine interest in snooker should welcome them in to the press room with open arms.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Matt_2745

Yeah I know what you mean Steve, it was good from that point of view, like you say for you to be taking photos of Mark with the trophy etc must have been special. Not to mention sit down with John Higgins, I bet you felt like pinching yourself, as would I. Indeed it's still very surreal for someone like me from a fan point of view to be getting to know a few of the players etc and I'm grateful for everything that people like those at the SWSA have done to make things accessible.

As for a comparison with the Crucible, I enjoyed both in very different ways, though I would say that I felt a lot more comfortable at this event than I did in Sheffield.

Don't get me wrong though, I loved my six days behind the scenes in Sheffield and some of the experiences such as being able to watch from the commentary box, sit in the media seats, be on the floor for the presentation of the trophy etc are things that I never thought that I would be in a position to do and will stay with me for a long time (see here.) The way I look at it, even if I can never do those things again, I've done them once at least and have a pretty good perspective of how the tournament is run both from a fan viewpoint and a media viewpoint which can't be a bad thing.

Back to this event though, I say this over and over again but the one thing that strikes you about the SWSA is that it's a purpose built snooker Academy, run by snooker people and that is very much reflected in the Pink Ribbon, from top to bottom.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Roland

Totally agree with that last paragraph about purpose built academy. I'm working on my write up and that's already been mentioned. It's as purpose built for snooker as is possible to be. None of this National Lottery funding sports halls bullocks to cater for everyone else. Snooker people only allowed!

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

Great interview steve you just dont get many interviews with the likes of these players which makes it good interviews with some players gets repetative because theres not much different to add TBH.

and also well done on posting it so quickly after the event sonny take note :john: <laugh>

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Steve K

Yeah Matt! I think for the big wall before you enter the players lounge they should put photos of the top 64 up and arrange them in order when the rankings change every 4 months, a real wall of a fame!

Thanks Wild. Sonny interviewed a lot more people than I did though so he's got a lot to sort through! The PTC event in August will be big though, only 3 days and most of the top 100 players will be there so will need to have a plan of action this time round!

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Monique

the reason why I could eventually go to the Crucible is that I now work for "snookered" (e-zine) so I'm officially media.
In addition to what Steve, Matt and Sonny already posted, the highlights for me were
- there is a lot of quality players among the youngsters, and contrary to what some might think, their games is not uni-dimensional. They are positive, they go for their shots but they can play safe and the do it when needed.
- the bloggers community is becoming a solid, recognised reality. Jason Ferguson popped in on the Sunday evening and Janie took the opportunity to introduce "the bloggers" to him and to stress that there is a change in the way the "media" works, that the social networks are at least as important as the traditional press. And I got the feeling that the message hit home very well. Thanks Janie for that!

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

HOW BRILLIANT WAS THAT

The WPBSA Chairman payed a visit.

yes the media is changing and far faster than even the law can keep up with see "football afair story for details"

i think Jason Ferguson is a shrewd man and does take things on board not a burry his head in the sand sort of person thats very possitive for snooker.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Matt_2745

It was good to meet Jason yeah, didn't chat at length particularly but I mentioned the last time that I saw him which was at the World Championship qualifiers when Patrick Wallace and Rod Lawler were going for his longest match record.

All in all good fun, the media side is still a learning curve for me, at the end of the day I'm still a fan at heart but with each tournament I can get to, I can get to know a few more people, get more used to doing it and get into some sort of routine when it comes to juggling Twitter/blogging/taking photos/chatting to Dominic Dale about chilli sauce.

Don't ask.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

Matt_2745 wrote:juggling Twitter/blogging/taking photos/chatting to Dominic Dale about chilli sauce.


matt ur a man don't try multitasking <laugh>

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Matt_2745

To be honest there weren't many spectators there who weren't media or players but I can't imagine that the experience would have been any different. The venue is so open and accessible that you can basically just wander between matches.

Hopefully World Snooker market the PTCs properly and early enough to get a few more people in.

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Witz78

SnookerFan wrote:People who went seem to have had a good time. What's it like for spectators, who aren't entering?

We really should have got a Snooker Island summer trip going, to cheer our boys playing on. Maybe next year.


yeh could have incorporated a tour of Gloucesters finest nightclubs into the bargain too :happy:

Re: Pink Ribbon Tournament Draw and Discussions !!!!

Postby Wildey

I did watch Reanne Evans for a few frames having never seen her play before and the over riding impression is one of grace and elegance around the table. I will definitely try and catch some of her games in the future if I get the opportunity because she is very easy on the eye when she plays snooker and is good to watch.


<laugh>

did being female have something to do with that lol

na i watched her from EPTC Gloucester last season and i understand what you mean cant believe she did not win a match all season :-(