World Snooker has to be careful allocating complimentary player tickets, mindful of balancing the needs for raising revenue and also making the maximum number available to the public. But for the high-profile occasions every effort is made to ensure that the finalists, especially at venues with a larger capacity, get a reasonable number with the option to pay for more. That meant Mark Selby, with the vast majority of the rest of the crowd supporting Ronnie O’Sullivan, was at least able to secure an allocation of around 20 tickets for the travelling Leicester army in to Alexandra Palace on the Sunday, paying for more on top – with the Rocket getting the same for family and friends.

Jimmy White, himself a former Masters winner fully 30 years ago, has been loyally supporting friend Ronnie O’Sullivan in person at Alexandra Palace this year and passed up the chance to go and watch his beloved Chelsea at home to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon to be at the final, which clashed with the first eight frames being played in north London from around 1.15pm. White, who has attended with a variety of other celebrities in O’Sullivan’s camp over the week including Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and artist Damien Hirst, was still holding out hope before the start of play that he might be able to catch the Premier League clash at 4pm on TV after the first session. “You never know, if he really gets on with it,” said a hopeful White. World No1 Neil Robertson, also a huge Chelsea fan and not involved, did manage to get late tickets for the match at Stamford Bridge.

A cosmopolitan audience on Saturday’s semi-finals day at the Masters reflected the growing influence of the rest of Europe within snooker, and not just the better known countries of Belgium, Germany, Poland and Bulgaria. Fans who had travelled from Finland, Austria, Sweden and Iceland approached MC Rob Walker and asked for a name-check in the arena. Those who had made the trip from Reykjavik were slightly startled when the sometime athletics and Olympics commentator began to regale them with tales of his stag do in the city, a 23-strong mission that involved tobogganing down glaciers.

WILLIAMS TARGETS MASTERS RETURN

There were some familiar faces absent from the Dafabet Masters line-up this year, including Mark Williams, Ali Carter and Graeme Dott. The 38-year-old Williams, known for being fairly laid back about all things snooker and indeed life, has made the most of the week off but even the Welshman, a two-time winner of the title, admitted he has unfinished business at the tournament for the top 16 only after missing only his second Masters in 18 years.

World No18 Williams also admitted that he has not been glued to the TV from afar, with Ronnie O’Sullivan almost the only player whose matches he can sit down and enjoy from start to finish.

He said: “Of course I would have preferred to have been at the Masters, there’s a few of us not made it that are usually there with Ali Carter and Graeme Dott. But I have made the most of the week off and enjoyed myself.

“I have taken the kids to school, spent time with the family, been out for a few drinks, chilled out, and played some darts. I have actually been practising very hard recently, I know some people might find that hard to believe.

“And I don’t think I am finished at the Masters, and will be looking to be back there next year. You certainly aren’t going to get there without practice.

“I haven’t watched too much of it, bits and pieces and to be honest Ronnie is virtually the only one I would watch all the way through, so I saw all of his first-round game against Rob Milkins.

“Ronnie is pretty much the only person I can watch and enjoy watching. If I tune into other matches it might be a frame and then turn over. I’d rather watch ‘Location, Location, Location’ than a whole match involving some of the others.”