ONE DIRECTION STAR LOUIS CAUSES A STIR

COVERING snooker for any length of time sees you asked to obtain quotes from a fairly eclectic mix of visiting celebrities – and on Saturday it was Louis Tomlinson, a singer with boy-band One Direction, that was even interesting the showbiz editors. The presence of the 22-year-old, spirited in covertly to watch Ronnie O’Sullivan to presumably avoid being mobbed by teenage girl fans outside, will have pleased World Snooker with one eye on trying to attract a younger audience and have the game seen as ‘cool’ by a wider cross-section of society. Tomlinson declined any set-piece interviews with the BBC or written press, managing to escape with a couple of autographs and photos for the events team, but spoke to various officials before and after the Rocket’s 10-4 win over Robin Hull having arrived with a director of Doncaster Rovers Football Club. Tomlinson made his debut for home town club Doncaster’s reserves in February, a match that attracted a record club crowd for that level of competition. The singer had never been to the Crucible, a professional snooker match or met O’Sullivan before but by all accounts hugely enjoyed the experience. O’Sullivan’s balcony guests that night included not only Tomlinson but artist Damien Hirst and sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, as unlikely a trio of guests as you could find. The singer is reportedly worth £20million and is off to Colombia next on tour. It might be a while before we are saying that about a snooker player.

HEARN TEASES FORMAT CHANGE

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn, as so often before, got everyone talking yesterday by announcing during a chat with Rob Walker on the governing body’s YouTube channel that he would, this coming Wednesday, be announcing proposed changes to the World Championship format from next year.

This was akin to lobbing a grenade into the Crucible before retreating to a safe distance. Inevitably, it was all greeted as if civilisation itself was about to end, with theories swirling and tweets flying back and forth.

What was missed by most was that Hearn stated the World Championship format would change, not the Crucible format.

Our prediction is a radical restructuring of the qualifying process, to include more players, including potential invites for former champions.

The way it could work – and this is just one of those wild theories I referred to earlier – is to keep the top 16 at the Crucible but have everyone else play a 128-player qualifying event consisting of three rounds. This would not be popular with players ranked 17 to 32, who currently play just one round to qualify, but would give scope to boost the field with wildcards, essentially making it a 144-player tournament.

Hearn knows the Crucible format, for all its eccentricities, basically works and has stood the test of time. If he is in fact to start meddling with this then he should be prepared for widespread opposition.

We shall find out the facts at the press conference on Wednesday, when Hearn is expected to announce other new developments, including a new ranking event on ITV.

WALKER BRACED FOR THE 'REAL' MARATHON

ROB Walker was the usual bundle of unbridled enthusiasm in the media centre at the Crucible counting down the minutes to calling out Ronnie O’Sullivan, Robin Hull, Stuart Bingham and Ken Doherty on Saturday morning at the World Championship. Walker does plenty of other TV and radio work during tournaments, but the main focus at the blue-riband tournament is the build-up both on and off camera to players walking down the famous stairs. Like many of those working at the tournament Walker sets himself a list for ticking-off purposes, and was relieved when someone pointed out he would not have to do the 51 high-energy intros he was braced for over the 17-day marathon, but ‘only’ 46 – with five mornings off in the three-session days, including the two-day final.

DOHERTY SEALS RETURN WITH A KISS

KEN Doherty was understandably delighted to be back at the Crucible after a 10-5 win over Thailand’s Dechawat Poomjaeng in the final qualifier, a stage where the Irishman has suffered bitter disappointment on a couple of occasions. Last year Doherty, at 44, the oldest competitor in this year’s event, lost 10-9 to Matt Selt just one win away and he also once lost 10-6 to Jimmy Robertson having led 6-3, losing the last seven frames. The Dubliner was in two minds about whether or not to kneel down and kiss the floor of the hallowed building once again – but egged on by MC Rob Walker on Saturday morning he was tipped over the edge and gleefully repeated the gesture before his match against Stuart Bingham.

Photographs by Monique Limbos

SNOOKER SHOE-DOWN

Xiao Guodong will today become the 189th player to compete at the Crucible since the World Championship moved there in 1977.

The Chinese, who finished runner-up to his compatriot Ding Junhui in the Shanghai Masters last September, takes on Ali Carter in what promises to be one of the best matches of the first round.

Xiao will be wearing his distinctive shiny silver shoes, which he says cost him £400. “I just like shopping. I like to buy nice things, they make me feel better,” he said.

He follows in the tradition of famous snooker shoe-wearers, led by Joe Johnson in 1986. We were hoping Xiao would draw Judd Trump, himself known for his fancy footwear, so that we could bill the match as a ‘shoe-down’. All is not lost – they could meet in the semi-finals.

THE COMPLAINTS

This is a special time of year for snooker fans but people can be strange and it’s amazing how some want to find things to complain about: when they haven’t actually happened.

The first ‘the World Championship is moving to China’ story was written in 2004 and they are still being written, despite a lack of actual evidence.

The World Championship isn’t moving to China any time soon, just as it wasn’t in 2004. Possibly a Ding Junhui victory at the Crucible would increase the financial pressure from China to scoop the game’s biggest event but the BBC will keep it in the UK as long as they broadcast it, and Barry Hearn wants it to stay at the Crucible.

Ignore everything else you have heard, these are the facts, although some are almost willing it to happen – so they can then complain about it.

The other thing people get upset about at this time of year is the format changing. For years we’ve heard matches will be shortened – except they haven’t been. And won’t be.

“It’s a bizarre format but it works” is how Hearn put it. He’s right. It’s not a format you would come up with today but it has stood the test of time. Every champion of the television age has had to pass more or less the same test.

(As an aside, it’s amusing how players who rail against format changes usually go on to suggest them themselves. Many feel the first two rounds are too long.)

If the World Championship were to leave the Crucible the format might change. But I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the same event and the same venue five years from now.

And doubtless we’d still be reading about how the World Championship was about to move to China.