Abandon hope all ye who enter the Table Eight twilight zone…

Up until the last 16 matches on Friday at the German Masters there will be seven tables in use in the main arena, and an eighth set up in a separate area off the main foyer, used as a VIP area for the latter stages. The circular open space, with shallow tiered steps allowing spectators to effectively sit on the floor, might conceivably provide a decent atmosphere if it was full. But the first two players to sample it on Wednesday, Kurt Maflin and Tom Ford, were far from impressed at being shunted away from the main auditorium. So angry was world No27 Ford, 30, after a 5-2 defeat that he picked up a formal warning from referee Greg Coniglio for using bad language. Complaints included the table conditions as well as the setting, with a handful of onlookers making for a surreal experience.

London-born Norwegian Maflin, 30, could at least make his comments from the perspective of having won the match and wanted to avoid being placed there again.

He said: “I didn’t really like it, to be honest – it felt like a practice game. For sure, you would rather be in the main arena. Maybe it would have been a bit different if it had been full in there, 200 people or something – a different atmosphere.

“But the table played awful, the cushions felt as if they were playing slow, there were a lot of kicks and echo sounds in there. I hope I am not in there for my next match.

“Tom was frustrated, Berlin is a great city and a great venue, you get here and then you get stuck in a room with four people, when you expect to be in the main arena.”

Ryan Day was handed an unexpected day off in Berlin and bye through to the last 32 of the German Masters after scheduled opponent Cao XinLong failed to make it on to the plane in London. A visa issue prevented Cao, in his first season on the main tour, from satisfying the authorities prior to boarding and taking his place at the Tempodrom.

China’s Li Hang ran into problems in Berlin even before he had got out of Tegel airport. The 23-year-old arrived alone on a flight from London Heathrow, and engrossed on his phone in the baggage reclaim area was blissfully unaware that his cue had completely jammed the baggage belt. A helpful fellow passenger tried to unblock the logjam of suitcases, placing Li’s cue on top of a large pile of bags – but it duly fell off with a large crash on the floor, finally waking the player from his reverie. The world No96 anxiously examined his cue case for damage before heading off into the freezing night looking for a taxi.

Rod Lawler made the most of his first qualification for the German Masters, arriving early with wife and childhood sweetheart Jo to see the many iconic sights and landmarks on offer in Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. And it just got better for the 42-year-old Liverpudlian even before he had hit a ball. Former Anfield season ticket holder Lawler, along with fellow Liverpool fan and World Snooker press chief Ivan Hirschowitz, settled down in the nearest bar showing the football on the Tuesday night to watch his beloved Reds against Everton and revelled in the demolition Merseyside derby as Brendan Rodgers’ team won 4-0.

MONDAY, JANUARY 27

Inside Snooker understands ITV4 will not be showing the Haikou World Open this year, as they did last.

The ITV coverage was generally well received and drew encouraging audiences but the Champion of Champions event in Coventry went so well that the World Open, though a ranking tournament, may seem a little bit of a backward step considering the time difference with China and the relative lack of atmosphere at the sparsely attended Haikou venue.

However, discussions are believed to be well advanced with ITV to broadcast a second exclusive event next season, as an addition to the Champion of Champions.

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Further to our story earlier last week about the PTC Grand Finals, we understand alternative venues in Thailand outside of Bangkok have been scouted in case there needs to be a switch from the capital but that the event will go on.