It’s the annual highs and lows snooker evaluation with many speaking factors over the course of 2024 to recall.
Partly one on Tuesday, we took a glance again at a number of the low speaking factors from the final twelve months within the sport.
For half two at the moment, let’s evaluation just some of one of the best and most memorable snooker moments from 2024.
The Highs
The massive three
There have been essential occasions to be gained all the way in which from January to December, however the primary focus as ever was on the Triple Crown tournaments.
The 12 months was launched with the 2024 Masters on the Alexandra Palace in London the place Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed a record-extending eighth title on the prestigious invitational.
The next World Championship in April and Might might not have represented a traditional version of the game’s blue-riband showpiece.
But the motion on the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield nonetheless resulted in a worthy winner being topped, with Kyren Wilson beating Jak Jones within the closing.
In the direction of the top of 2024, the UK Championship returned to York and noticed Judd Trump emerge with the silverware on the Barbican Centre.
Trump, Wilson, and O’Sullivan mixed to say 11 trophies throughout 2024, and the world numbers one, two, and three fittingly managed to share the large three titles amongst themselves as nicely.
Welsh successful machine
One other participant who excelled in huge moments throughout 2024 was Mark Williams, who picked up two of the opposite most prestigious prizes on the calendar.
The 49 year-old turned the second-oldest winner of a rating occasion together with his success on the Tour Championship in April.
Williams produced a miraculous clearance within the deciding body of his first-round match with Tom Ford earlier than continuing to beat Judd Trump, Mark Allen, and Ronnie O’Sullivan for glory.
The success earned him an invite to the Champion of Champions in November, which he duly went on to win for the primary time as nicely.
In between these two triumphs, Williams narrowly missed out on turning into the inaugural champion of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The Welshman botched what primarily was championship ball within the deciding body of his dramatic closing in Riyadh with Trump.
Nonetheless, all indications are that the present world quantity six might be difficult for honours nicely into his 50s.
Younger weapons
The likes of O’Sullivan and Williams understandably obtain loads of plaudits for his or her profession longevity.
Nevertheless, any sport wants younger blood with a view to keep recent and appeal to a more moderen era of followers.
In that sense, 2024 was a reasonably good 12 months with some constructive indicators that budding expertise, from varied totally different backgrounds, is rising.
The 2024/25 roster of pros consists of 17 year-old Hungarian Bulcsú Révész and 25 year-old Hong Kong potter Cheung Ka Wai, who gained the WSF worldwide newbie occasions.
Poland’s Antoni Kowalski, 20, and 18 year-old Artemijs Zizins of Latvia every progressed from the powerful Q College competitors to realize promotion to the primary tour for the primary time.
All 4 rookies produced a number of constructive leads to their early months on the tour to point that they’ve shiny futures forward.
There was promise proven by gamers from the standard dwelling of the game, too.
English teenager Stan Moody has reached the final 16 of three rating tournaments this season, Scottish 20 year-old Liam Graham went all the way in which to the ultimate of the Snooker Shoot Out, whereas Northern Eire’s Robbie McGuigan and Welshman Liam Davies gained the key European newbie titles.
Chinese language takeover
In fact, the best affect of the younger gamers on the primary tour has come from the ever-strengthening contingent from China.
Coming off the again of a 12 months that was undoubtedly the worst for Chinese language snooker, 2024 has arguably been its greatest.
Si Jiahui and Wu Yize each made large strides up the rankings by every reaching a brace of rating occasion finals throughout 2024.
Their younger countryman Lei Peifan pipped them to the put up, although, when it comes to turning into the most recent rating occasion winner from China.
Lei, ranked 84, shocked fellow 21 year-old Wu within the closing of the current Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
The established members of the Chinese language steady made certain to get in on the act too, with Ding Junhui again within the winners’ enclosure following his triumph on the Worldwide Championship.
Xiao Guodong was probably the Chinese language participant of the 12 months, the 35 year-old touchdown the Wuhan Open trophy earlier than contesting the Champion of Champions closing besides.
A phrase too for Bai Yulu, the ladies’s world champion who has impressed with a collection of victories on the World Snooker Tour – together with a memorable run to the ultimate spherical of qualifiers for the UK Championship.
A number of different Chinese language gamers reached the latter phases of occasions, too.
There was discuss of a Chinese language takeover on the prime of the sport for twenty years, however there are clear indications now greater than ever that any such eventuality is imminent.
Elevated prize cash
Saudi Arabia was talked about in yesterday’s article on the 2024 lows, however it will be remiss to disregard its affect on the rising pool of cash out there to the gamers.
Whether or not folks prefer it or not, it’s a indisputable fact that skilled sport is a enterprise. Gamers need to compete and win, however in addition they need to receives a commission.
The introduction of Saudi-backed occasions to the calendar has had an apparent impact on the general prize fund, which now exceeds £20 million.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters had its critics, but it was a uncommon instance of a rating occasion the place each single participant obtained prize cash – even those that misplaced within the opening spherical.
This highly effective injection of capital has pressured different tournaments to up their recreation.
The House Nations occasions, along with the German Masters, have all seen their complete prize funds considerably improve, whereas it was introduced that the Masters at Ally Pally will carry a document champion’s cheque price £350,000.
With the Chinese language tournaments nonetheless battling with one another to see who can supply essentially the most profitable sum, and Hong Kong being launched as a brand new wealthy vacation spot, snooker’s long-term ambition to be revered as a worldwide recreation with financial clout has been strengthened.
The 2024 snooker evaluation will proceed on Thursday with our subsequent quiz. For those who missed the primary quiz, click on right here.
Featured picture credit score: WST
