Maybe the prize money could be less top-heavy, but we must remember that some of these events with lower prize money are played in the best-of-seven frames format, whereas Sheffield is clearly a much greater test. Winning something like the Gibraltar Open is a big achievement but I think most people would agree that winning marquee events must be reflected in the rankings, for all there is a definite argument that things are weighted too heavily towards some events. The World Championship is the World Championship and the prize money reflects that it’s still the biggest tournament on the calendar. I know Trump didn’t feel it was right that Selby moved back to number one in the world on the back of winning two events last season – Trump won five, and six in the previous one – but that’s just the way the rankings work. Whatever happens this week, Trump will return to number one in the rankings having briefly lost that crown to Mark Selby after the latter won the World Championship for a fourth time in Sheffield back in the spring. Ultimately, only he’ll know the answer as to where his game is at, and he has been vulnerable in the early rounds in the past, but we’ll learn plenty about the top-16 players this week given they’ve had no snooker for so long and will need to have been putting the work in away from the limelight in order to show their best in Belfast. There’s no doubt it’s not ideal preparation for anyone, but Trump has decided to keep his competitive juices flowing instead of choosing to practice hard for six weeks straight, and I think he might have made the right call. Plenty has been made of his preparation that included his participation in the US Open Pool Championship, but I think he’s taken a pragmatic approach to the big gap in the calendar by playing another cue sport.
The people are so passionate about their sport and help create a fabulous atmosphere, something that I remember well from that night.Īll eyes will be on Trump as he tries to win this event for a fourth time in a row and if he could pull it off, it would be an impressive achievement.
The fans in Belfast are absolutely brilliant. We’ve enjoyed some terrific finals in Belfast already, with Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan contesting the last three in a remarkable sequence, and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that those two players meet in the final again on Sunday.Įven when the pandemic meant last year’s event had to be staged in Milton Keynes, we had a really strong week, though the 2016 final is still one of the best I’ve commentated on as Mark King beat Barry Hawkins in a dramatic finish. This tournament has quickly become a very good one since its inception in 2016, and I’d go as far as to say it’s always the best of the three new Home Nations events – the Welsh Open obviously being part of the snooker furniture for a number of years now. We’ve had to wait a little while, but the snooker season resumed on Saturday night with the Northern Ireland Open back in Belfast and promising us another fantastic week of snooker.