Judd Can’t Be Stopped! World Open Final 2019 – Shorts Thoughts

As opposed to the normal approach I take with these finals breakdowns, I’ll do a brief rundown of how the match transpired but I mainly want to look at the results of this contest going forward for each of the players involved. The Yushan World Open final saw two players, very closely matched in style; World Champion and No. 1: Judd Trump, and the fastest player on the tour and Haining Open winner: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

But first, the brief breakdown. The match was Trump-all-the-way; Un-Nooh found himself playing catch-up the whole final. Trump developed a 7-2 lead after the first session, where the 7th frame included a 3-miss rule that resulted in a forfeited frame for Un-Nooh. Despite Un-Nooh doing well to bring it back to 8-5, Trump showed his new championship resolve to finish the final 10-5.

Un-Nooh put up a respectable performance against the current best player in the world and should have a lot of confidence in his attempt to claw back into the game, rather than retreat and only claim a small handful of frames. Experience is something that can help Un-Nooh at this stage and with his recent exposure at the Haining Open and now this final, it’s a step in the right direction. And Un-Nooh shouldn’t forget how close he ran Trump in the first round of the World Championship. Another big final such as this one will put him at arm’s length of the Top 16.

And then there’s Trump. He continued what he’s been doing for the past 12 months. Absolutely paving the way forward and running away with his No. 1 position in the one and two-year rankings. This win puts Trump’s ranking tally at 13, matching him with Ding and within reaching distance of Selby and Robertson at 16. The way things have been going, it’s only a matter of time and don’t be surprised if that is equalled this season. But Trump is taking the right approach and mentality towards it by aiming for 20 first, then seeing what happens from there.

Trump is starting to develop the aura that Selby has in which he doesn’t need to play his best to beat anyone. He can afford to make mistakes but he now has that fear-factor which can carry him in a game where he doesn’t need to be at his top form. Another way in which Trump is starting to remind me of Selby is that it seems the best time to deal with him in a tournament is in the early rounds. Similarly to Selby, the further Trump makes it in an event, the stronger he will be. Trump was taken to a deciding frame 3 times in the World Open (which included a Close Encounters of the Third Kind this season against Joe Perry), but what once may have shaken him has now turned into a resolve of steel.

There is a tweet from Phil Mudd which shows all of Trump’s wins in the last 12 months and how much he has earned from these events. In those prize winnings alone, he has earned almost £1.2m. And we are almost back to where the barrage began: the Northern Ireland Open.

The thing that impresses me most about Judd Trump nowadays is the way he presents and carries himself on top of his tremendous talent. He is really starting to turn into ‘the guy’ to take snooker forward and bring in new generations of viewers and fans. If he continues like this, he will be the main name associated with the sport!

What a Performance! Bingham vs. Selby World Open 2019 – Shorts Thoughts

This would be really easy to write – all I would need to say is that Stuart Bingham dominated with breaks of x,y and z to comfortably win over Mark Selby. But the match didn’t seem as if it was going to go that way, considering Bingham was 2-0 down to the English Open champion. Let’s observe Bingham’s cruise to victory against Selby in the Last-16 of the World Open.

Probably the longest and closest frame of match, Frame 1 saw Selby pot a strong opening red from distance which resulted in a 42 break ceasing after an unsuccessful split. After a careful safety exchange, Bingham slotted a wonderful 3-ball plant into the left centre, leading to a break of 41. Selby had Bingham in a lot of trouble with snookers but Bingham got one of his own which offered a chance to clear the colours. Bingham fell short at the blue as it was tight to the baulk cushion resulting in Selby securing the frame.

Frame 2 seemed as if Selby was picking up right where he left off after the English Open and his earlier round matches. A break of 86 helped him take the second frame. Smooth sailings for Selby, right? Unfortunately for him in Frame 3, a powerful and impressive long pot went in-off after which Bingham placed his cue ball and made a 108.

A loose safety from Selby in Frame 4 allowed Bingham to make a 40 with a delicate opening red into left centre. He would have made the century if he got a better position on the blue to split the pack but he had another shot at the table from another short safety by Selby. In came a break of 97. Bingham wasn’t missing. This was followed by a 114 in Frame 5. A missed long pot from Selby turned into a successful long pot from Bingham.

Unlikely from Selby, he played the break far too short which led to another century of 104 from Bingham, leaving him needing one more frame for the win. Similar to the loose safety Selby played in Frame 4, Bingham did something similar in Frame 7 – Selby made a break of 11 but grazed off the side of the pack when playing the blue, leaving him on nothing. Selby’s final shot came at a hesitant long pot attempt. Bingham followed to win the match with a 117, which included a couple of nice doubles on the final 2 reds.

Despite a smooth start for Selby, his safety faulted throughout the rest of the match and those loose safeties are what Bingham capitalised on. This was very similar to what Selby did to Gilbert in the English Open final. Selby probably would have guessed that Bingham wouldn’t clear up the way he did. Selby won’t lose any confidence from this match. He still has the English Open win under his belt and he knew that he was up against someone in top form. If Selby’s safety was as it were in the English Open final, then he would’ve given Bingham a little more trouble.

Bingham brought out the kind of snooker that players wish they could always bring out. He was a century and break-building machine; but he was also matching Selby’s safeties and escaping his snookers comfortably. Much like the usual, just when everyone somewhat forgets about Bingham and thinks he’s fading out of the game, he comes and wins an Open. And whether he goes on to win this tournament or not, I wouldn’t be surprised if he won a ranking event this season.

Types of Snooker Cues: A Guide for Buying Cues

You might be looking to buy a snooker cue but upon researching you realise there are a few things to be looking out for. If you haven’t thought about these things already, you’ll definitely come across these factors when looking to purchase a new cue for your game.

• Material – Maple or Ash?

The main types of wood you’ll come across when researching cues are maple and ash – which surprisingly, have more of an impact than you would initially think. Maple is a harder, denser material which can have the effect of deflecting the cue ball particularly when playing with side. It also has a plainer look, so it doesn’t have the darker lines along the cue that ash would have. The darker gradients can also help with aiming. Most professionals use ash-carved cues.

However, if you’ve used a maple cue for quite some time, you may prefer sticking to a cue of that weight which you are comfortable with. Also, some do prefer maple cues as the smoother finish doesn’t catch on their chin as they feather and play the shot. The main choice between maple and ash will come to your preference when it comes to weight and feel which you’ll get from experimenting with both.

• One piece vs. Two Piece vs. ¾ Jointed Cue?

Most would recommend a One-Piece cue where there are no joints but this may not be practical for all players. One must consider travel as well as the extra cost of purchasing a One-Piece cue. A Two-Piece cue jointed halfway is a reasonable starter cue which I am sure most fans started with, but eventually you may want to change up as a common issue lies where you can catch the joint on your bridge as you strike.

Lastly, a ¾ piece cue is a practical compromise between the formers as the joint is positioned further down the cue and is not as expensive as handcrafted One-Piece cues. Most pros use One-Piece cues but you do see many that use ¾ jointed cues as well.

The main difference between a One-Piece and a jointed cue is that jointed cues will feel a little heavier. Due to the lack of joints in a One-Piece, you can get extra feel from the stroke which may make certain shots like the soft screw easier to play.

• Tip*

Tip sizes in snooker generally fall between 9.5-10mm in diameter. This isn’t something you will think about too much particularly if you are a newcomer, but certain players as they increase their skill may prefer smaller tips. Shaun Murphy once mentioned his usage of an 8.75mm tip. My main advice is to stay away from screw tips if you can as they offer a noticeable difference in your strike which you likely won’t be happy with. What some tend to do is if they buy a cue online, they immediately get their tip changed as the default can often be too hard to play with.

*There will be a follow-up Short post looking at the impact of cue tips.

• Accessories

Whether you purchased online or in person, you are going to want to make sure you get a carry case with the expensive cue you just bought. A lot of cues purchased online can have set packages which come with cases but also the necessary extensions and butt-ends. This can come in handy if you’re not a fan of the extra-long cue and extension at your local club.

These are the main factors to take into consideration when buying a snooker cue. The most important thing a cue will come down to is personal preference. That’s why I didn’t mention things like height or weight of a cue because those will differ among individuals. I would recommend to go to a shop if possible to try out various cues to find what is suitable for you but a lot won’t have that luxury so are limited to what they can find online.

You will have a snooker cue for quite a long period of time so it’s important to ensure you get the right one. The best approach is to assess your cue right now. Or if you use a cue provided by the club then what things do you think you would benefit from? Is the cue you are currently using a little too light? Is the tip too hard? Is there any irritation against your skin when gliding the cue? Or maybe you would benefit from a One-Piece? Having a few of these things in mind will aid in what to look for when purchasing a new cue.

Why David Gilbert Shouldn’t Be Disappointed After The English Open

Even though he was on the receiving end of a one-sided, near whitewash David Gilbert shouldn’t be too upset with how the final of the English Open went. Of course, he would have at least wanted to provide a little more of a competition to his opponent but his career is in an upward trajectory right now where he should continue to ride and maintain this wave.

As mentioned in the last Short post, Gilbert didn’t actually do much wrong in the final. Most top players would have struggled against Selby in that form; similar to how Wilson struggled against O’Sullivan 2 years ago. It actually doesn’t happen too often when a player brings out the kind of rare unbeatable form that Selby did on that occasion; just look at his previous round matches in the Open. This just makes it clear to Gilbert that each shot counts, but he knows that he would normally get a few more opportunities in every match.

It’s easy to look at the final alone and forget about everything else, but Gilbert had a tremendous week in Crawley at the Open; including victories over Ricky Walden, Tom Ford as well as strong early round victories. Clearly, he’s getting the grip of the flat 128 draw formats and considering most tournaments adopt a similar approach should be useful going forward.

Prior to last season, Gilbert had only been in one ranking final which was back in 2015. Last season, he made two finals, a semi-final and 3 quarters-finals. So far in this season, he has made a final and 2 quarter finals (not including 6-reds). His career is now going in the right, steady direction that he would want it. If he keeps making significant ground in tournaments which will give him more chances at finals, that first ranking title won’t be too far away. Obviously, the first ranking title will be the most difficult obstacle, but once he gets his maiden title, I don’t imagine it will stop there.

With players like Stuart Bingham and Barry Hawkins who seemed to have found their stride relatively later in their careers; and players like the Class of ’92 seeming to get better with age, Gilbert should take some positivity from the fact that these guys are still winning titles and are not going anywhere. Gilbert’s recent induction into the Top 16 shows his game is good enough and that he is a strong contender going forward into any tournament he enters.

Gilbert just needs to focus on getting used to the pressure situations – which comes with more experience which he is now getting. The more he gets used to the pressure, the more relaxed he will be which will make his potting and safety improve. One of the big flaws in his game on Sunday was that he wasn’t coming close to matching Selby’s safety – his safety was constantly under or over-hit.

It’s obviously all easier said than done, but if Gilbert can take his mentality in practice and translate it to the main table, much like Selby has been doing, then Gilbert may find himself having a slightly easier time and perhaps not overthinking too much on certain shots.