{"id":6762,"title":"1 - World Snooker Championships Cue&A (18\/08\/20)","description":"Stephen answers your top 10 questions on the 2020 World Snooker Championships","content":"

18th August 2020<\/u>
Welcome to Blog 1. The World Championships seemed like the perfect place to start and a Q&A felt like the best way to get going.\u00a0\"\"
Thanks, as always for your questions and getting involved. We had thousands to work through, so I\u2019ve picked my top 10 that seemed to come up more often than others and I\u2019ve tagged the names of those whose questions we picked.

Let\u2019s get going!

Who was the surprise performer of the championships? \u2013 (@rhys.williamson)
<\/strong>I think it would have to be Anthony McGill. I know he\u2019s been in the top 16 before but he was down at 39 in the rankings before the championship. To qualify and get the semi-final and the way he played in the semi-final, I thought was incredible. He surprised me and I actually didn\u2019t think he had that kind of form in him, so Anthony McGill impressed me the most, just ahead of Kurt Maflin.\u00a0

Do you think Ronnie was disrespectful to Mark Selby? \u2013 (@ngrove1)
<\/strong>No I don\u2019t actually, I think Ronnie realised he was in trouble in the match and did what he did to try and get himself into a frame of mind to relax and play Snooker freely. I think it\u2019s always up to his opponents to focus on their game.

Do you think the fact there wasn\u2019t any fans effected certain players performances? \u2013 (@graeme.simms)
<\/strong>I think it definitely helped some of the qualifiers feel more comfortable at the Crucible. The Crucible Theatre was a completely different animal with no crowds. So yes, I think it helped the qualifiers, but I also think it helped Ronnie win the World Championship. Ronnie admitted himself that he preferred it with no people around and without the distractions that come with a typical World Championships.

Do you think there should be a day\u2019s break between the semi-final and the final? \u2013 (@andysinstatreble7)
<\/strong>No, I don\u2019t. The reason why the World Championship is the hardest tournament to win and the biggest challenge for every player is because it tests every part of your game. It tests you technically but also your stamina and whether you can continue to play your best after 17 days of hard Snooker. So no, there should never be a break between the semi-finals and the final.

Which was the best game to commentate on and why? \u2013 (@benwhittaker132)
<\/strong>The Kyren Wilson and Anthony McGill final session. The standard of Snooker played by both players was incredible, but to be involved and commentate on that final frame and to not know what was going to happen next was my favourite by far.\u00a0<\/strong>The final frame was the most incredible frame of Snooker I have ever seen in my whole 35-year or so career. I have never seen anything like it and will probably never see anything like it again.

Do you think the higher temperature affected how the tables played? \u2013 (@mdang44)
<\/strong>It definitely did. Normally the World Championships are played in April in a cooler temperature. The fact it was played in August when it was much warmer meant they had to have the air conditioning on, which I believe made the Crucible a bit colder and a bit damper which made the table play allot heavier. So yes, I think the temperature definitely affected the playing conditions.

Are the pockets more generous (bigger) than when you played at the Crucible? \u2013 (@gazmcl88)
<\/strong>No, I actually think the pockets play tighter. If you speak to the table fitters, they will say the templates are exactly the same, but I do think Star tables play tighter than tables did back in the late 80\u2019s\/ early 90\u2019s.

What was your best pot of the tournament? \u2013 (@hayden.bruce6)
<\/strong>Anthony McGill. He had just lost a frame and his first shot of the very next frame he potted a long red and cannoned the black into the open and landed perfect on the black. It was an incredible shot.

What was your favourite Match of the World Championships? \u2013 (@sahandlotfi_22)
<\/strong>John Higgins and Kurt Maflin. It was a very high standard throughout, both players played really well, Kurt Maflin was outstanding, and John had a 147 so I think that match had everything.

What was your favourite moment? \u2013 (@slevij)
<\/strong>There were a few but my favourite moment of the 2020 Snooker World Championships was when they let people back into the arena for the final. For the players to have the opportunity to walk out to that atmosphere, even though it was only a third full, with a huge round of applause was one of my favourite moments of the championship. To have 15 days of no crowds and then see them in the arena for the final was great.
<\/p>

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