Latest news with #WorldOpen
Metro
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Stephen Hendry challenges snooker star to bounce back from disappointing season
Stephen Hendry feels Mark Allen needs a good season after a disappointing campaign last time round, challenging the Pistol to get back to his trophy-winning best. The Northern Irishman did not have a disastrous season by any means, winning the non-ranking Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in December, but it was not his best and he admitted being frustrated with his game in the second half of the campaign. It got to the stage in March that his confidence was so low that he said he didn't want to qualify for the upcoming Players Championship, which only features the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list. The fact he did qualify for that event shows that it was not a calamitous campaign, but a first round defeat and then a second round loss at the World Championship rounded off an underwhelming campaign. The 39-year-old has 11 ranking titles to his name, five of which came in the last three years but none last season, and Hendry has called on him to rediscover the form of the recent past. 'I'd be interested to see Mark Allen this year. He had a disappointing season last year, for him,' Hendry said on WST's Snooker Club podcast. 'After the couple of seasons before becoming a serial winner, picking up a lot of silverware. 'I'm not saying he's going to struggle or drop out of the top 16 or anything drastic like that, but I think he needs to get back and get a good season.' Steven Hallworth, professional player, commentator and pundit, feels that Allen is searching too much for the answer to his form problems and should get back to basics. 'He did a lot of tinkering with different coaches and I see him at a couple of events on the practice table doing things that didn't look like they really suited him and I think he just lost his way a little bit,' said Hallworth. 'If he can get rid of that and go back to just potting balls and playing the game that we all know he can then I think he'll be alright.' 2024 Players Championship 2023 Snooker Shoot Out 2023 World Grand Prix 2022 UK Championship 2022 Northern Ireland Open 2021 Northern Ireland Open 2018 Scottish Open 2018 International Championship 2016 Players Tour Championship Finals 2013 World Open 2012 World Open Allen actually went to Hendry for advice last season as he looked for a boost to his game and felt it had helped him after a good first round win at the Crucible over Fan Zhengyi. 'I spoke to Stephen Hendry after I lost in the Players Championship,' he explained after beating Fan in Sheffield. 'Just asked him if he had any advice. He said: 'Take yourself away for a few days and don't bog yourself down on the practice table.' 'I've never done that in my career ever. Never mid-season have I gone away, other than between Christmas and New Year. It's always been the way I've worked. 'I feel like if I'm missing a day of practice I deserve to not play well the next day. I feel guilty for taking days off. But he pushed me down the road of taking a few days off and literally overnight I booked a flight to Dubai just thought about nothing snooker-related at all for a few days. 'I came back a little bit fresher and hit the ground running on the practice table, which was good.' Allen is enjoying plenty of time off over the summer as he is yet to play a match and has pulled out of the upcoming Shanghai Masters for personal reasons. 'I would have loved to play in Shanghai but I'm not able to make it this year for family reasons,' he said. 'I'd like to apologise to the fans, our partners in Shanghai and my sponsors Liberwin and Omin as I have always enjoyed playing in this fantastic event. I'll be working hard to make sure I'm in it next season.' More Trending One player Hendry does expect to shine next season is someone who has been relentlessly consistent for years now, Judd Trump. Asked who he expects to win more tournaments than anyone else this season, the seven-time world champion quickly backed the world number one. 'I think Trump again,' he said. 'I think he's still at the peak of his career. He's a winning machine. It's very, very difficult to make a case for anyone else than Trump this year.' MORE: Ronnie O'Sullivan outlines ambitious plan for after he retires from snooker MORE: Jordan Brown hit 'extreme low' and considered quitting snooker before making vital decision MORE: Chris Wakelin: A massive part of me thought I'd win the World Championship
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
WA teen Hannah Slyth already world jnr squash champs veteran
At just 18, and still in school, Perth's Hannah Slyth is a veteran competitor at world junior squash championships. She's already experienced the best in international junior squash in Houston (2024) and Melbourne (2023), but this year's championships in Cairo, Egypt, will be her swansong in the event; after this year, the Blue Gum Squash Club product will be too old for the junior circuit. Slyth, who took up the sport aged nine, is the only West Aussie in the 12-strong Australian team for Cairo and told Squash Australia's website she'll be aiming for her best finish yet in the individual competition and to her help the team also improve on previous championship placings. Over the past decades, the honour roll for both boys' and girls' events at the junior championships includes many champions who progressed to reach the top in the professional game – such as Pakistan's Jansher Khan, who won the World Open a record eight times and didn't lose a pro match from 1990-1996; Malaysia's Nicol David, also an eight-time World Open winner and Australians Sarah Fitzgerald and Rachael Grinham, who both hit No.1 in the world. Grinham, at 48, is still playing regularly on the pro circuit. After graduating Year 12 (she's studying PE), Slyth's focus will shift to more tournament play, interstate and internationally, to work on her world ranking, currently 459. Meanwhile Squash WA is gearing up to host the Australian Masters Championships, with hundreds of competitors from around the country and region expected to play in individual and team events at Squashworld Mirrabooka from September 2-13. This is only the entrée to an even bigger coup for squash locally; next year the state will host the 2026 World Masters Championships from August 30 – September 6, with up to 1200 overseas players, coaches and fans expected to attend. It's the first time since 2001 Australia has hosted the championships. As well as matches on the Mirrabooka courts and the Belmont State Squash Centre, for the first time in WA an all-glass portable court will be used to bring finals action to spectators. The World Junior Squash Championships is in Cairo from July 21 to August 1.
Irish Independent
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Four Wexford dancers crowned World Champions in Irish dancing competition
Emily Slevin, a member of the Wexford Academy of Irish dancing in Bree, was awarded the world title in her Ladies U18 category. The fifth year student at FCJ Secondary School in Bunclody has been dancing since she was young and has won numerous awards and titles over the years. Speaking on her accomplishment, teacher Justin Kelly said that she was well known in the school for her dancing skills and had spent time dancing for residents in local day care centres as part of the school troupe. "Emily is well known for her huge talent in dancing, whether it's a slip jig, reel or even the brush dance, Emily is in a class of her own. Well done and we wish you continued success in the future!' Joining Emily from the academy was Aaron O Shea who took his very first World title winning the Gents Under 13 Championship. Cian Fortune followed suit winning the Gents Championship Under 17 making it his fifth World title and Ciara Byrne took her eighth World Open title winning the Ladies Championship Under 19. The school also took home seven more globes with a second place win for Erin Fortune and third place wins going to Hazel Breen, Emma Farioli, Jack Fortune, Casey Cullen, Katie Murphy and Lisa Murphy. Several other dancers from the school claimed individual bests and high placings in the Gents and Ladies championships from under 9 to Over 23. The school also took an amazing six team World titles winning the Ceilí Mixed Competitions Under 19 and Over 19. The also took home three very coveted invention team titles winning the Under 10, Under 13 and Under 16 Foirne Championships. Dance teacher Kay Keeley said the atmosphere was fantastic on the day. "They ended off an amazing Worlds when they brought the house down with their outstanding Freestyle piece 'Puttin on The Ritz.' This performance had received rave reviews at the Irish Open Championships in May, and it was to a packed auditorium that the sixteen senior dancers were announced World Champions,' she said. 'There will be no rest for the school as twenty-two Ceili and Set dancing teams now prepare for the Leinster Fleadh which will be held in Drogheda on July 11, 12, and 13. They will also be preparing for their many performances throughout the All-Ireland Fleadh week in Wexford representing Enniscorthy CCE and Celtic Roots,' she added.
Metro
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Zak Surety on wild Crucible debut: They can't ever move from there - it's mad
Zak Surety had a very eventful debut at the World Snooker Championship this year and although he both loved and hated the experience, he was convinced that the 'mad' Crucible is the perfect home for the event. The 33-year-old enjoyed his best ever season by a long stretch, reaching a first semi-final at the World Open and finishing the campaign with a Crucible debut after brilliant performances in qualifying. At the iconic Sheffield theatre he faced Chinese superstar Ding Junhui and the pair produced an amazing opening round contest. Ding went 4-0 up as Surety struggled with the occasion and things looked very sticky for the Englishman at the first interval. 'At the start I walked out and sat in my seat and that was the strangest I've ever felt,' Surety told Metro. 'I've never felt that uncomfortable. My arms didn't feel part of my body. It felt like my tip didn't belong to me. Everything felt wrong. 'I've got myself in a bit of a state and I'm 4-0 down. I'm in the dressing room thinking I really don't want to go out there. It's your dream, but I just didn't want to go back out there because I was making myself look like an absolute idiot.' Surety has spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety before, so it is to his immense credit that he overcame those feelings in some style, starting with only losing that first session 6-3. 'I made a century the last frame of the first session,' he remembers. 'When the screen came up it was probably the best buzz I've ever had because it was the whole Crucible to myself. The noise in there! I was welling up as I got to 90 and thought, is this really me? 'Obviously then the second day I flew.' He certainly did, becoming the first player in Crucible history to make four centuries on debut and although he ultimately lost 10-7, he did anything but make himself look like an absolute idiot. 'I actually watched the second session back last week and I don't feel like it's me,' he said. 'It's just some random bald bloke on the tele. I'm watching it back and thinking, did that really happen? 'I felt weird after because I left, I've set a record, I've played well, I can go home and the pressure of it is all over. They're all talking about me on the tele, great position going into next season, everything's good. 'Then you're home and you think about it and that was such a good chance. I was playing so well, I could have done something there and it quickly goes from feeling quite content about the whole experience to being quite annoyed.' Mixed feelings sums up the Crucible experience as Surety's first game there epitomised the cliché that the venue is both the best and worst place to play snooker. 'I sat down and tried to convince myself it was going to be the best place on Earth, but you get it drummed into your head how you're meant to feel in there,' he said. 'Mark Allen asked me how I was feeling and told me that he was there for the 19th time and still struggles every time he walks out there. It's like it's normal. 'I watched the opening morning before travelling up and Steve Davis said on camera: 'I can't wait to watch the top players in the world squirm under the pressure of the Crucible.' I looked at my girlfriend and said: 'Bloody hell, that's me this year!'' 'Although I hated those first four frames, that's how I'm meant to feel. You sit there, look left and that's where Steve Davis picked up all them trophies. I was looking up at the lights on the roof and tearing up. How the hell am I here? You find yourself losing yourself in the history of the place. 'At the start it felt like the walls sucked in on me and you just notice every set of eyes in the whole arena. I thought they were on me, which they were, but you notice it. The next day I was flying and it was like no one else was in there.' Surety was a huge fan of the place before playing there, but is now convinced that the unique nature of the Crucible is why it should remain the home of the World Championship, beyond the current contract which ends in 2027. 'They can't ever move from there,' he said. 'It's just…it's mad. 'It's so small in there, I think you're only allowed two back stage passes, but it works because you walk into the Champions Lounge upstairs and there's Stephen Hendry. As I walked in he said: 'Great run in the World Open, well done for qualifying, I'm glad to see you doing well.' I'd never spoken to Stephen Hendry before! Things like that make it mad.' The challenge for Surety now is to build on the very encouraging end to last season and make it back to the Crucible next year, something he is working hard on. 'I lost to Ding on the Tuesday and I was back here in the club on the Wednesday,' he said. 'I quite like that time of year because you're not practising for anything, just playing and having a laugh.' More Trending The popular Essex star also had a summer of cue questions which has seen him chop, change and return to old faithful which arrived from eBay a decade ago. 'My cue's not the greatest. I love it, but it's an old Chinese cue that my dad picked up off eBay about 10 years ago for 130 quid,' he explained. 'There are a lot better cues, but it's obviously my own. 'John Parris has made me a new one and I used it for three or four days. I like using other cues as a bit of a challenge. I think I've made a century with near enough every bit of wood in the club. But when it's handed to you and this could be something you're going into the season with, I couldn't do it. 'I had to call John and say you can have your you're very expensive, beautiful cue back. I want me little piece of poo off eBay back and I I'm cracking on.' MORE: Wuhan Open and British Open draws made as Ronnie O'Sullivan enters both MORE: Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty disagree on most underrated snooker player ever MORE: Anthony Hamilton reflects on epic career as Sheriff of Pottingham hands in his badge
Wales Online
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
World Snooker Championship star opens up about ‘horrendous' experience before Crucible
World Snooker Championship star opens up about 'horrendous' experience before Crucible Former World Snooker Champions Neil Robertson and Stephen Hendry have both had to go through the Judgement Day qualifying round in their careers Neil Robertson detailed his "horrific" experience on Judgement Day (Image: Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images ) Neil Robertson revealed his "horrendous" experience at attempting to qualify for the World Snooker Championship with fellow snooker icon Stephen Hendry. The Australian provided a behind-the-scenes look into the gruelling final qualifying round, known as Judgement Day, where 32 players compete for a coveted spot in the main draw against one of the 16 seeded players. To reach this stage, snooker stars must endure three initial rounds, culminating in the high-stakes Judgement Day, just days before the main tournament commences. After slipping out of the top 16 in the world rankings in 2024 following a semi-final loss at the World Open, Robertson faced the daunting task of navigating the qualifying rounds for the first time since 2006. His Judgement Day encounter ended in heartbreak, as he suffered a 10-9 defeat to Jamie Jones, marking his first absence from the major tournament draw in 20 years. During an appearance on Hendry's Cue Tips YouTube channel, Robertson reflected on the growing popularity of Judgement Day, which Hendry noted had "become quite a big thing". Article continues below The 43-year-old said: "It was horrendous to be a part of last year, as much as I was trying to talk it down and just be like, 'Oh yeah it's [fine].' Robertson discussed the concept of Judgement Day with Stephen Hendry (Image: @stephenhendryscuetips/YOUTUBE ) "It's just absolutely horrific because the players there, you can just sense their desperation, of everyone around you, and when I was there last year, all the players were just looking at me like, 'Oh my god, what are you even doing here.'" Hendry shared his own experience of Judgement Day from when he first retired in 2012, noting that the final qualifying round "wasn't built up like it is now". The Scotsman triumphed over Yu Delu 10-6 in the fourth round that year, but declared his first retirement from snooker after a loss to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. Robertson did commend the organisation of Judgement Day for its professionalism, suggesting that it provides a good warm-up for the main event. Neil Robertson opened up about his experience on Judgement Day (Image:) He added: "In fairness, they've actually done a great job, they've set it up like basically almost like a venue. I don't know if you've seen it? "It's set up open, like a main venue now so tables one and two at the qualifiers for the World Championships, you actually feel as though you are playing at a venue – obviously just without the live TV cameras." Article continues below By the time of the 2025 World Championship, Robertson had climbed back into the top 16 of the overall rankings, allowing him to bypass Judgement Day. However, the former world No. 1 was knocked out early by Chris Wakelin, who beat him 10-8 in the first round. Zhao Xintong triumphed over Mark Williams in the final, making him the first World Champion from China, while Robertson didn't make it past the second round of the major tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
