The Importance of Temperament in Snooker (Barry Hawkins Tour Championship)

Barry Hawkins has just come off his third semi-final of the season where he fell victim to a Ronnie O’Sullivan comeback from 9-6 ahead to fall short in the deciding frame. While it’s obviously not the result Hawkins was looking for, he should aim to look at the positives from his performance this week and take that into the World Championship and following season.

Hawkins’ performance this week showed the viewers as well as his opponents just how well he can really play. If you watch his match against O’Sullivan, this was particularly evident where he was firing on all cylinders. His break-building was fluent, his potting sharp, and safety play was at its finest. I think there are four key facets that should be possessed by any snooker player if they wish to do well and these are three of them.

The fourth element, which you’ve probably guessed, is the temperament. The first three aspects of the game don’t hold much significance if the temperament isn’t there to push away the negatives moments of a match and get to the finishing line. This is where Hawkins has to work on removing emotion from the equation and treat each frame loss in a way that doesn’t impact the following frames.

Of course, this is far easier said than done. And Hawkins isn’t the only player to suffer from this. This can affect every single player, even those at the very top. Common favourites like Hawkins, Gilbert and Lisowski all fall victim from time to time particularly as they get to latter stages of tournaments. And when they get closer to the winning line of a match, nerves can creep in which can lead to a domino effect of misses which their higher ranked opponents will capitalise on.

It seemed as if Hawkins had started to hold his nerve a little better with his match against Trump, who was staging a comeback similar to the one in their previous encounter where Hawkins was 5-1 up yet still lost the match. Hawkins was able to fend off the World No. 1, suggesting a turn in the tide. It could be argued that the red missed at 9-6 up was an unfortunate kick but that would still leave Hawkins with three frames to close the match. And in scenarios like that is why temperament is so crucial.

Nevertheless, Hawkins, having reached his third semi-final, is already having one of his best seasons in years. And the fact that he was able to qualify for the Tour Championship in the first place shows just how well he has been playing this year. Hawkins has always been a performer in the longer format matches as shown by his recent Crucible record and this longer format experience will only benefit him going into the Worlds.

Hawkins has always been praised for his consistency but this season he has taken this consistency to the next level by venturing deeper into tournaments. And the tournaments he has gone far in are no small feats. Hawkins has reached the semi-finals of the German Masters, Players and now the Tour Championship. His ranking will also notice an improvement having already moved up a couple of places following his performance this week. And he will also be within striking distance of a couple of those above him in the rankings if he can keep the consistency going.

I’m always rooting for Hawkins to get that big win he deserves and hopefully the wait won’t be too long before we get to see it.

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Snooker's Class of 1992 (2010s) – Throwback

Finally, to wrap up this mini-series of Throwback posts, we’ll have a look at the most recent decade involving the three established champions from the coveted Class of ’92 era. After twenty years, you’d think there was a decline or a noticeable performance drop however, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams still prove that age is but a number as they continued expanding their already extensive trophy cabinets.

From 2010-19, the Class of ’92 amassed an incredible 30 ranking titles between them as well as 17 non-ranking titles. Their Triple Crown endeavours included 4 World Championships, 4 Masters and 4 UK Championships, some of which were accomplished in extraordinary manners. Showing that they were still forces to be reckoned with, these three individuals continued to be the torch bearers for the game as they halted the tracks for any newcomers aiming to dominate the sport.

Williams won 6 ranking titles plus the Seniors during the 2010s although, most of his success came in the 2017/18 season where he was able to end his six year trophy drought by claiming three titles in the season – the most impressive being his third World Championship in 2018. Closing out a terrific season against his fellow compatriot Higgins, Williams went from a serious retirement consideration to one of his best seasons, all while winning the sport’s biggest prize fifteen years after his last.

On the other side of the coin, Higgins did well to capture 10 ranking titles during the decade, topped with a further 6 non-ranking victories. Higgins won the UK Championship at the turn of the decade in the deciding frame against Williams, and followed this in 2011 with his fourth World Championship against a young riser in Judd Trump. Higgins did well to add to his trophy cabinet during this period, but his competitiveness really shone through towards the end of the decade as he reached three successive WSC finals in 2017-19. Despite coming out on the wrong end of each of these finals, Higgins displayed a fierce resolve and match-play that still holds back all top contenders.

Lastly, O’Sullivan managed to accumulate a remarkable 14 ranking and 10 non-ranking titles during this period which included two World Championships, three Masters and three UKs. The most impressive of his feats had to be his WSC triumph in 2013 (click here to see why) considering he took an entire year out from competition just to return and ‘steal’ the world title. Imagine how many more trophies he would’ve won that season had he competed? Showing moments of brilliance throughout the decade, including his five ranking titles in 2017/18, as well as his historic UK Championship/18th Triple Crown in 2018, O’Sullivan continued to cement his legacy as possibly the greatest of all time.

The most inspiring thing about the Class of ’92 is that many expected them to get phased out by the likes of Ding, Robertson, Selby and Trump who were coming through as the next top contenders. And while these players did find success during the 2010s, the Class of ’92 had their hands on a fair share of silverware. Not only that, but there hasn’t been drastic dip in their match-play; if anything, they’ve found themselves doing quite well in the most recent of times as they comfortably hang around the Top 16.

So my question to you is how long do you think it will take before the rest of the field can push aside the Class of ’92? Because as it stands, it’s only really the top handful of elite players that can consistently beat these veterans. A rising age is normally associated with a decline in performance with sport however, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams continue to push the boundaries of their limitless winning powers.

See you in ten years for the 2020s Throwback!

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How Tour Cards Work In Snooker

You generally hear a lot of talk relating to ‘tour cards’ in snooker and certain players earning/losing them, but what exactly does it mean in the context of the sport? Granted, this isn’t something you hear a lot of when you’re watching the top players, but rather the lower ranked players they often find themselves up against in the early stages of an event. So how does the tour card work?

Simply put, the tour card is what allows a snooker player to compete in the circuit/season. All players in the world rankings ‘technically’ have one, which they could have gained in a number of ways. The Top 64 players in the world rankings (i.e. the two year rolling list) automatically keep their tour cards to allow them to compete in the following season.

When a player earns a tour card it lasts for two years, so the only exception to the Top 64 rule is if the player is still on their first year of the tour card. So technically, if some cataclysmic disaster happened to Judd Trump and he fell out of the Top 64, he would have to requalify despite being in the upper end of the rankings for such a substantial period of time.

So how do those outside the Top 64 get their place on the tour? The remaining 64 places are filled in a number of ways, some at the discretion of WST in the form of wildcards. For example, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry have all been awarded wildcards for their services to the sport. Other wildcard places are offered through victories in amateur/junior tournaments across a variety of regions.

For the current 2020/21 season, the top 4 players on the one year ranking list for the prior season will be awarded a two year tour card. The formal way to earn a tour card is through Q-School, but the Challenge Tour offers an alternative opportunity for those unsuccessful in qualifying through the main route. Generally this would be enough to make up the 128 places on the tour but in the cases where it isn’t, that’s where the wildcards are granted an opportunity.

Having a tour card allows you to compete in every available tournament on the circuit but obviously, it’s rare that all 128 professionals actually compete in all events. This is where remaining places are made up from things like Order of Merit (those who played well but didn’t qualify for a tour card). Tour cards are given a two year expiration in order to give new professionals the time to build up their ranking position and retain their spots on the tour.

However, at the end of a season there can only be 64 and the ranking positions of those in and around that rank will find themselves in hot water as they struggle to maintain their standings. It is often the case that winning another match can provide the extra prize winning required to push past the person in 64th position, given how close earnings are at that position.

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Snooker's Class of 1992 (2000s) – Throwback

Continuing on with the Class of ’92 appreciation, we turn into the next century as we observe the impact Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams had on the following decade during the 2000s. Spoiler alert: it involves numerous Triple Crowns. Not only that, but here we can really see how these three juggernauts took over snooker as their own playground.

During the 2000s, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams secured a combined 32 ranking titles and a further 26 non-ranking events. This included an impressive 16 Triple Crown trophies, of which 7 were World Championships. As we look at each player below, we can really see the effect that they had throughout this decade and how they took the spotlight away from the rest of the field.

Starting with Higgins, he accumulated 8 ranking events (plus another 8 non-ranking) over the course of the 2000s which included his two World Championships towards the end of the decade, the first of which was against a young up-and-comer by the name of Mark Selby. He was able to win the UK Championship in 2000 (against Williams, no less) and reach back-to-back Masters finals against O’Sullivan, the latter resulting in one of the finest highlights of the decade.

Williams was able to capture 9 ranking titles during this decade which commenced with a strong start to his venture. He became the World Champion at the start of the century in 2000 and followed this with a stellar 2002/03 campaign where he won the entire Triple Crown catalogue. He became the only player beside Hendry and Davis to accomplish this, and no one has since been able to achieve this. Williams’ run throughout the 2000s included the UK Championship in 2002 as well as the Masters in 2003.

Lastly, similar to how Higgins contributed a significant number of wins to the totals in the 1990s, O’Sullivan managed to bring 15 ranking titles and 16 non-ranking victories to the table in the 2000s. It proved to be a prosperous decade for O’Sullivan in the 2000s as he claimed his first WSC in 2001, followed by triumphs in 2004 and 2008. He also added 3 Masters (2005, 07, 09) and 2 UK Championships (2001, 07), whilst establishing himself as the person to beat.

The 2000s was a real stomping ground for the Class of ’92. During the ten year span, O’Sullivan, Williams and Higgins won 7 out of the 10 World Championships. They also provided countless highlights such as the 2006 Masters final, the 2008 WSC 147 (click here to read why it’s my favourite maximum) and Williams’ form to capture all majors within a single season. Propelling themselves from their already impressive success of the 1990s, these three legends went onto establish themselves as multiple Triple Crown champions in the following decade. But it didn’t just stop there…

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