It was not without a scare or two but Anthony Hamilton saw off former world champion Stuart Bingham 6-4 at around 1am on Sunday morning to reach the German Masters final. There he will face Ali Carter, who came through his semi-final far more comfortably earlier in the day with a 6-2 win over defending champion Martin Gould. But despite Carter’s own incredible recent history and health battles to get back to the top, it was Hamilton’s day in Berlin at a sold-out Tempodrom. The 45-year-old from Nottingham is in his 26th year as a professional, and has never won a ranking title – arguably the cu ..read more

I must admit, it was with no huge surprise on Wednesday morning that I woke up to see the news that Discovery and Sky had come to an agreement over their 12-channel dispute. A row that always seemed like a bit of corporate sabre-rattling as a prelude to an inevitable deal was ended with the news that Discovery’s dozen channels on the Sky platform, including Eurosport 1 and 2 carrying much of the season’s snooker,  would continue to be shown beyond January 31st. To be honest in our house the cries might have been louder from the kids for any potential loss of Animal Planet than this week’s ..read more

Prompted by a tactful question from the ever-professional Hazel Irvine, Ronnie O’Sullivan paid a heartfelt and generous tribute to Paul Hunter on Sunday night after winning his record seventh Masters title. There will be something more substantial on here later today about the Rocket’s achievement, but I would just like to dwell for a moment on the Leeds man who died just over 10 years ago now at the tragically young age of just 27 – and his brave parents Alan and Krystina. The re-naming of the trophy in Paul’s honour was a fitting and overdue gesture from World Snooker, and credit to chairman ..read more

A friend of mine brought his eight-year-old son to the Masters on Saturday afternoon for the first time – and I’ll probably have to tell him on the school run next week it isn’t always that good. Managing expectations is something Ronnie O’Sullivan has had to do all his life as an adoring public, especially at the Masters on his home patch, turn up expecting miracles. But against Marco Fu they got one, or at least a near-one, as the Rocket was forced to abandon a damaged tip trailing 2-1 but after having a new one fixed by off-duty referee Paul Collier shrugged off the significant setback with ..read more

We’ve all played our best mate for a few quid – but perhaps not for the £40,000 that will be at stake when Barry Hawkins takes on Joe Perry on Saturday night in a Masters semi-final. To say Hawkins and Perry are late bloomers at the Masters would be something of an understatement. The Hawk had not won a match in the event until last season at the age of 36, going on to reach the final only to be on the end of a 10-1 humbling by Ronnie O’Sullivan. And Perry, now 42, had an even worse record, having lost on all six previous appearances until beating Ding Junhui in 2015, during his 24th season as ..read more

Neil Robertson reckons he needs to silence Ronnie O’Sullivan’s rowdy support early on Thursday afternoon in their Masters quarter-final. The 34-year-old originally from Australia but now based in Cambridge admits that clashes between the pair always have the feel of an Ashes-style rivalry. People’s Champion O’Sullivan, going for a record seventh title at Alexandra Palace, is assured of raucous and partisan backing in his own London back yard. But Robertson thrashed the Rocket 6-1 in the same tournament two years ago, and will draw on those memories despite two big losses to O’Sullivan last yea ..read more

Around the tournaments, in the bars, and even the players’ rooms, there is a prevailing wisdom that crops up more than any other single viewpoint about the relative standard of today’s game. And it goes like this. The strength in depth, with players right the way down the rankings capable of stringing big breaks together, has never been higher. This means fewer easy matches early on in tournaments, no room for complacency from the leading lights. But the other side of it concerns the very best, and many believe that Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins in the late ..read more

Stephen Hendry has opened the door to the possibility of a Crucible Theatre return by signing up for revamped World Seniors Championship in March. The record seven-time world champion retired from professional competition five years ago after a glittering and trophy-laden career. But Hendry, now 48, admits that watching so much snooker from the studio and commentary box for television has got his juices flowing again. And he will be one of eight legends in the draw, alongside John Parrott, Cliff Thorburn, Dennis Taylor, Joe Johnson and Willie Thorne, for the tournament to be staged in Scunthor ..read more

Joe Perry admits that an excellent victory and performance at the Masters on Monday night against Stuart Bingham could not have come at a more timely moment. The 42-year-old has a largely wretched record at the prestigious invitation event for the sport’s elite players, and matched the best run of his 26-year pro career by reaching the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace – where he will take on Ding Junhui. World No9 Perry, who won his first and to date only ranking title less than two years ago, has been through the kind of doldrums in recent months experienced by many players – struggling wit ..read more

Ronnie O’Sullivan starts the defence of his Masters crown hoping some advice to opponent Liang Wenbo does not backfire on him on Sunday afternoon. The Rocket is going for a record seventh title in the prestigious invitation tournament, staged at Alexandra Palace in north London. And the two know each very well, having forged a close friendship following years as practice partners at the Grove facility in Romford. Wenbo, 29, was challenging Ding Junhui for the China No1 tag some years ago and then lost his way in the game, badly underachieving given his unquestioned ability. But he started to p ..read more