History in the making. That’s an odd phrase isn’t it? I mean by definition everything is history in the making because it hasn’t happened yet. Whether it’s me putting the bins out (usually on a Wednesday around 5pm for reference) or Ronnie O’Sullivan aiming to equal the tally of seven world titles with Stephen Hendry, it simply hasn’t occurred at this point in time, although you could argue that me putting the bins out at 5pm on a Wednesday is a bit more predictable and rather less likely to be talked about in years to come. Anyway, we’ll stick with it, Ronnie aims over the next two days to ad ..read more

A situation of one-tableness They always claim on the telly that we’re only half way through the championship when we get to this stage. They wax lyrical while raising knowledgeable eyebrows that you’ve had to win 36 frames to get here and now you have to win another 35 to win it and blah blah blah blah blah, what a load of old nonsense that is. The four that are left, all with £100k already in their back pocket, will all be imagining what it would be like to win this again. With 14 titles between them it’s not going to be a new name on the trophy, but who will it be that adds to their tally ..read more

We’ve now reached the last eight stage of the World Championship and it’s time to see who will be taking their place on the one table situation. The last 16 saw the pre-championship favourite Neil Robertson fall despite an emphatic 147 and we are left with five former champions and three possible first time winners.  As ever, click on the match to take you to the head to head record courtesy of Cue Tracker. Yan Bingtao v Mark Williams  (Tue 10am/7pm, Wed 2.30pm) In terms of meaningful matches, if Yan is to make the one table set up for the first time, he will have to do what he has n ..read more

A venue like no other (photo courtesy of Steven Hallworth) As quick as a flash we now head into the second round at The Crucible, the first round has produced some excellent performances, most notably for me from the maestro Mark Williams and the two youngsters Zhao Xintong and Jackson Page. Having been to Sheffield for the opening day there was a palpable air of excitement and relief to be back to normality amongst the snooker community. I think that’s definitely feeding into the atmosphere inside the arena. Unfortunately this has not put a stop to the constant and frankly tedious debate ev ..read more

It’s that time again First of all, welcome back. I’ve been on a self-imposed retirement from this place for nearly a year now but if there is one thing that will always spark back my interest it’s the best 17 days of the year on the snooker calendar, yes people (or whatever you identify as), it’s time for the 2022 Betfred World Snooker Championship from the Crucible. I wasn’t planning on penning a preview this year but when I actually said as much on social media something very odd happened, everyone started being very nice to me and begging me to rethink. It seems that even though this part ..read more

With the World Championship just around the corner, it’s once again time to revamp an old archive post and take a look at how well the favourites at the bookies in the big event have fared down the years.  When you look back at the history books you find that the bookies have given remarkably few players the accolade of World Championship favourite as the years have passed, Ronnie O’Sullivan has now held that accolade a record 13 times in his career, but this year it’s the turn of the man in form and 2010 champion Neil Robertson.  The World Championship has now been a Crucible staple ..read more

Are you a snooker player or a snooker coach looking to increase your existing traffic? Perhaps as a player you are considering doing some coaching regionally to bump up your earnings or perhaps you are starting out as a coach and need to drum up business? Whatever your situation one thing that you need is a strong web presence. I’ve recently set up a webpage for none other than Nottingham’s finest Michael Holt, you can take a look at it here. If you like what you see then get in touch and I’ll do the same for you for a one-off annual fee. What you will get: An exclusive homepage for your coac ..read more

For anyone that would like one to one coaching lessons from a seasoned professional, Michael Holt is now available for bookings at his private table in Nottingham. For more details click here Contact michaelholtsnooker@outlook.com The post Coaching with The Hitman first appeared on Snookerbacker ..read more

Table for two. A rather lacklustre World Championship so far sparked into life on Wednesday with the conclusion of the quarter finals with two of them going very close, so we’re now set up to see four Englishmen battle it out over the next three days to see who can make the two day final. This first day of the semi finals always bothers me a bit I have to say, I understand that the table fitters have to move through the night to transform The Crucible from it’s previous guise to the one table situation but I’d still prefer there to be three sessions today with one of the semi-finals reaching ..read more

Who will make the one table situation? We’ve now reached the last eight stage and although there is a general feel that this has not yet been one of the classic championships of recent times that can all change if we get some memorable matches from here on in. Off the table and before I get to the match previews, the big news is that I managed to get my Twitter account suspended last Saturday for a week, which can only be described as careless. The crime for which I have been accused and convicted in the space of around 10 seconds without access to legal advice actually had nothing whatsoeve ..read more