The plush Crowne Plaza hotel in Berlin, adjacent to the Tempodrom venue and a favourite for players, officials and media, has changed hands since last year’s German Masters, formerly known as the Wyndham Grand.
And the new management were left in little doubt as to some serious shortcomings in the very busy bar area on opening Wednesday night.
Amazingly the 423-room hotel ran out of glasses in the bar, which must be the equivalent of the Munich Beer Festival running out of beer on the first day.
An early casualty was former world champion Shaun Murphy, who arrived having lost a decider to Ben Woollaston and was frankly in need of a drink. A suitable haranguing from World Snooker director Brandon Parker should ensure no repeat for the rest of the event.