10.5.13

SNOOKER LEGENDS ON EUROSPORT

Snooker Legends has been a successful series of exhibitions featuring players who helped make the game such a successful TV phenomenon.

Launched four years ago by Jason Francis, it has attracted large crowds to various venues around the UK.

Nostalgia tends to be the past with all the bad bits forgotten. However, the players in the legends really are that – players who have become household names through their success and popularity.

The Legends mixes fun with competition. One of its pulling powers is that it isn’t grimly serious like tournament play but neither is it a bash-up.

This weekend, the Legends will be televised for the first time, by Eurosport. The Rok Stars Cup features two star-studded teams: Dennis Taylor, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Steve Davis v Cliff Thorburn, Stephen Hendry, Neil Robertson and Tony Drago. So just the 21 world titles between them.

It will be O’Sullivan’s first outing since winning a fifth world title earlier this week. He was on good form at the World Snooker awards last night, reiterating that he would play next season without disclosing precisely which tournaments.

He did say that his preference was for smaller tournaments – and indeed the Legends – because they don’t carry the intense pressure of, say, the World Championship (though he coped admirably with this at the Crucible this year.)

In my experience, though, players like Ronnie and Jimmy love to put on a show, to entertain. This is why they are box office and it’s one of the reasons the Legends has been successful: people want to come back again.

Coverage starts at 5.30pm tomorrow on Eurosport2.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can't wait !!! Sadly I can't go but have it on my sky planner in glorious HD.

Anonymous said...

Great news - well done Eurosport.

Anonymous said...

Full list of awards:

World Snooker Player of the Year: Mark Selby

Snooker Writers Player of the Year: Mark Selby

Fans Player of the Year: Mark Selby

Rookie of the Year: Ian Burns

Performance of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Magic Moment of the Year: Jimmy Robertson

147 Club (players making a 147 during the season): Stuart Bingham, Ken Doherty, John Higgins, Tom Ford, Andy Hicks, Jack Lisowski, Kurt Maflin, Ding Junhui.

Hall of Fame inductees: Terry Griffiths, Joe Johnson, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon, Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott and Neil Robertson.

Anonymous said...

How can you even have a "player of the season"when a player waltzes back in at the end and hands everyone their asses on a plate? The award is a farce this year. Was Selby actually there to receive it? I would have been too embarrassed to accept something like that after what has happened. I can understand why some people think Ronnie shouldn't have won it, but 20 years from now when people talk about this season the player they'll be talking about won't be Selby.

Anonymous said...

This season best forgot, standard of plays been terrible, 20 yrs frm now this season will be recalled by no one.

Anonymous said...

I just hope someone else wins WC next year, sick to death of all this ronnie rubbish, quite frankly is boreing.

Anonymous said...

Are the pockets bigger at these legends events, they look massive?

Anonymous said...

Yeah the pockets do look rather generous. Some of the pots along the cushion going in like they do on an American Pool Table.

The event looks like a lot of fun, it is a shame that Eurosport has decided to turn the volume from the arena down so you can't actually hear the banter that is going on. It's what makes these Legends events.

Dave Hendon & Joe Johnson constantly referring to stuff "that JV has said" forgetting that the viewers at home can at best hear the muffled sound of John Virgo (on the BBC commentary this would be a good thing!).

I understand there was a bit of a hoo-hah trying to get this event screened on Eurosport in the first place, it's a shame that they've made a bit of a pigs ear of it and are trying to cover it like a normal run-of-the-mill Snooker tournament which, of course, it is not.

The start of the coverage where there was no commentary due to a technical hitch and full sound from the area was far more entertaining.

Becky said...

Does anyone know if today's (11th May) 5:30 showing on Eurosport is available to watch/catch-up on anywhere online? I caught the last session online but wanted to see it from the start.
Thanks!
Becky

Anonymous said...

if you've never seen it - this is the other and greatly entertaining side of snooker - complete with HUGE pockets.

Anonymous said...

same pockets, same (sort of) tables as any event. but not with the same pressure and conditions.

and 20 years from now I hope I'm alive to enjoy the great memory of Ronnie successfully defending the world title.

and another 20

Anonymous said...

Do you know how pathetic you sound ? Snooker is much better with ronnie in it, he brings the crowds in when are you o'sullivan haters going to realise that ?

Anonymous said...

What about the length on Drago's trousers ?
Expecting a flood ?

Anonymous said...

A snooker table with 9 ball pockets

Anonymous said...

Not big enough for Dennis !

Seriously, it's great to see these guys together representing different eras and watching how much the game has changed.
Pocket jaws have obviously been made wider for this event but nobody wants to see missed balls.
That aside, the Riley table looks great. I'm sure a proper Riley tournament table would be far more reliable than those made in China Star tables.

Anonymous said...

Re 12.20

"nobody wants to see missed balls"

All I can say is... ??????????

Anonymous said...

12.28....

In relation to this type of fun event, smart arse !

Anonymous said...

I had enough after an hour. Think WS need to be careful about overkill. Once a year would be enough for this kind of gimmickry

Ok, its easy to watch Ron, Jimmy and Tony on big pockets with no pressure, but Thorburn? He was hard to watch in his prime but he's useless now. Same goes for Taylor.

Claus said...

Whatever I expected of the Legends it has proven to exceed it. Loads of fun.

Long live Eurosport for delivering all sides of snooker. And the Nugget is in his natural element giving me some rare belly laughs.

Anonymous said...

back to back world titles. o'sullivan is the man.

Anonymous said...

Isn't this an independent event? Not sure WS has much say in it. Maybe they should bring back Big Break with the "legends", which combined the banter and the potting well. I really miss that show.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely.
What snooker used to be all about.
Shades of Pot Black and Big Break.
Actually, remember a mid eighties snooker quiz show, hot on the heels of the Robert Lindsay, Paul McGann series of the same name, 'Give Us A Break'.
When did you see all the players (esp Ronnie) enjoying playing so much ?
Hoping the tournament goes from strength to strength.

Anonymous said...

Easy gig for you tonight Dave

Anonymous said...

watching the wonderfully entertaining Cliff Thorburn render Steve almost to hang himself on Saturday night, (along with the watchers) makes me realise that there are no characters in snooker anymore.
Who nowadays could offer the viewing public such snooker gold as watching Cliff make a difficult game look ludicrously difficult.

Anonymous said...

how much do players receive for these shows??im sure a few grand each

Anonymous said...

Well it's got to be enough to cover a return fare to Canada I guess.

Anonymous said...

They'd all be on different rates with o sullivan at the top and drago talor and thorburn at the bottom im sure

Anonymous said...

The most shocking thing I have ever heard in a commentary box was in relation to the Legends. Dennis interrupted his commentary to promomote the Legends tour, and Willie expressed an interest in participating.

Dennis's response: "You're not good enough, Willie."

Brief silence, and then Willie changed the subject quickly. I don't think Dennis meant to dismiss Willie so harshly, but it even topped Simon Cowell in the cruel "put down" stakes. I couldn't stop laughing for about an hour afterwards. The real tragedy is that it is true!

Anonymous said...

Not really no.