POOL SHARK SELBY MAKES IT BACK WITH TIME TO SPARE

A few people had expressed concerns about Mark Selby’s schedule and travel plans to Berlin for the German Masters after losing a tight final of the Chinese Eight-ball Pool World Championship to Darren Appleton on Monday night.

But after a narrow 21-19 defeat the snooker world champion certainly looked cheery enough after jetting in to Germany on Tuesday night, in plenty of time for his opening match on the main TV table against Anthony McGill on Wednesday afternoon.

Selby, with a strong pool pedigree before making it big in the 15-reds game, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and picked up £30,000 for his efforts in the Far East, playing with his trusted snooker cue.

And it was certainly no disgrace losing to Appleton, a former pool world champion and world No1.  Selby had beaten Appleton 11-7 in the eight-ball pool world championship final nine years previously.

WHICH WORLD CHAMPIONS WILL WE SEE AT PONDS FORGE?

There is plenty of intrigue over which of the former world champions no longer on the tour will take advantage of Barry Hearn’s offer and assume their place in qualifying for this year’s World Championship at the Crucible.

Joe Johnson was cagey on the question on the eve of the German Masters, but we here at Inside Snooker are still putting him down as a probable, along with Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor. For the last two mentioned that would have extra poignancy (and hopefully column inches) given it is the 30th anniversary of their epic final battle.

Cliff Thorburn remains a possibility, John Parrott an outside chance and Terry Griffiths a likely non-starter.

Much of the focus will be on Stephen Hendry’s intentions, but the Scot, a record seven-time winner in Sheffield, continues to tease the snooker public – dropping the odd hint that he misses the competition, but also insisting that he has nothing to prove and will not be making a comeback as a mere PR stunt and prelude to a big and embarrassing defeat.

There is also some speculation that contractual issues with his current paymasters at a rival Chinese table manufacturer might make it difficult to play in a Star tables tournament, but presumably even if true those could be negotiated if the will was there.

ACTOR FIRTH SEES RED IN BERLIN

THE German Masters took place a week later this year – meaning the tournament clashed full on with the start of the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival (or Berlinale), one of the more prestigious world cinematic gatherings.

So it was perhaps not altogether surprising, though still unexpected, to virtually walk in to Colin Firth milking it on the red carpet at the nearby eight-screen IMAX complex off the Potsdamerplatz,  just 15 minutes’ walk from the Tempodrom on the eve of the event.

Firth was in town as part of a whistlestop European tour to promote knockabout spy flick Kingsman: The Secret Service, in which he plays a veteran secret agent.

The actor, now 54 but who still makes ladies of a certain age swoon for his wet-blouse antics in the BBC television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice 20 years ago, hammed up the quintessential English gent like an old pro for the adoring German public both outside and then inside when introducing a debut screening of the film in the country.

Firth then slipped out of a side door where a convoy of black limousines were waiting to whisk him away, along with a few die-hard photographers camped out in the light snow and some selfie-seekers who were left disappointed after the star declined all such invitations.

He then sped off just before anyone could ask if he was hanging around for the Xiao Guodong/Liam Highfield clash the following day.

MC WALKER CUTS IT FINE AFTER CAR TROUBLE

MC Rob Walker cut it very fine to take up his usual arena position ahead of the showpiece Masters semi-final between Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Making the short trip from home down the A40 and round the North Circular to Alexandra Palace Walker saw his cherished second-hand BMW start to cough, splutter and finally start to emit clouds of steam from the bonnet while stuck in gridlock coming up the last hill to park at the venue.

Pushed for time, he had to call the RAC, dash into the building and enlist the help of World Snooker’s digital media officer Lewis Ward to go out and deal with the recovery organisation while he attended to a sell-out crowd that in all truth did not need too much warming up for such a clash.

The man from the RAC claimed to have fixed the problem – a faulty pipe – but more issues the next day left Walker ruefully contemplating having to shell out for a replacement vehicle.

CRUCIBLE NEWS EMBARGO FAILS TO HOLD

When is an embargo not an embargo…

The announcement that the World Championship is to stay at its spiritual home of the Crucible Theatre was greeted with delight from most quarters outside China – and probably even some from within that country who have sampled the atmosphere first hand.

A press release with a strict 7pm Sunday night embargo had been prepared in advance with quotes from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn and Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore proclaiming the decision to extend the deal by two years to 2017, the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the first staging.

A formal press conference was planned for 7pm at Alexandra Palace but the information surfaced on the ITV web site, presumably leaked from the Sheffield end, and that prompted Hearn to then go on the BBC mid-afternoon to confirm the news.

With journalists having also elicited the views of notable greats such as Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, by the evening, there wasn’t much new information to be had.