Over the course of the upcoming World Championship many will be pinned to their seats inside the Crucible Theatre, while there will be countless others glued to their screens watching from afar. In a 17-day ‘marathon of the mind’ there’s a lot to take in and, because of that, so much[Read More…]
Features
Fin Ruane: “The amateur game in Ireland is on its knees”
By Fin Ruane There is a saying that a year is a long time in politics. Yet, the fact is it took me just six short months to realise that working for an organisation that represents and acts in such an appalling manner towards the game of snooker and its[Read More…]
Boileau Seeking Success After Second Runner-Up
Last weekend, Ireland’s Josh Boileau collected his second runners-up trophy in a major international event in as many months. The Kildare cueist ended an amazing run to the final of the World Under-21 Championship in the United Arab Emirates with an 8-3 loss to Iran’s Hossein Vafaei Ayouri. This followed[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: Who’s the Greatest?
By Fin Ruane On the morning of the greatest snooker show on earth and the question remains as to whether Ronnie O’Sullivan can win a third world title in a row and become world champion for a sixth time. However, the bigger question that has been posed all season will[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The Magic of the Crucible
By Fin Ruane As the countdown continues to this year’s World Snooker Championship in Sheffield and all eyes turn to the Crucible Theatre, many snooker fans are looking forward to visiting the famous venue – some for the umpteenth year in a row, others for the very first time. Visiting[Read More…]
Boileau Brimming After European Run
Last week Irish teenager Josh Boileau reached the final of the European Under-21 Championship in Romania. It was a fantastic achievement and signals the start of a potentially long and successful career in the sport. The CYMS Newbridge player has been good enough to give his account of the magnificent[Read More…]
Big Interview: Ron Florax of CueTracker.net
Just as there has been an influx of new tournaments over the last few seasons, so too has the online presence of snooker increased on the internet. One of the best of these websites to have surfaced is CueTracker – which has quickly become the most concise online database for[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: Irish Amateur Snooker One Year Later
By Fin Ruane Last January I wrote a piece entitled “The Future Of Amateur Snooker In Ireland” highlighting the alarming state and decline of amateur snooker in the country. In it I wrote how amateur snooker was suffering not only to loss of interest amongst players but in the way the[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The Rebirth of Junior Snooker in Ireland
By Fin Ruane Last weekend the second day of Junior events in the new Irish snooker season took place in four selected venues throughout the country. This may sound somewhat familiar but these events are different. They are part of a total reinvention of the junior set-up in Ireland and[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: Remembering Paul Hunter
By Fin Ruane This weekend the snooker roadshow moves on to Furth in Germany for another European Tour event. This tournament, however, is of special significance and is one always well supported by the majority of the players involved as it’s named in honour of the dearly missed Paul Hunter.[Read More…]