Snooker has made great strides in Germany, as we know, and has a loyal following of viewers on Eurosport but it still has a long way to go to catch up with football…and handball. The recent handball European Championships in Poland saw the Germany men’s team emerge victorious and their success was watched by a staggering 15million on free-to-air television. There was then a day of celebration in Berlin last Monday, which saw 8,000 turn out just to welcome the team home and hail their achievements. Rolf Kalb, eat your heart out.
BURNS TABLE RUINED IN FLOODS
There was nationwide sympathy for victims of the recent UK flooding that devastated many parts of the country, and snooker professional Ian Burns, in action against Michael Holt in the first round in Berlin, was just one of those affected.
Burns had a table at his parents’ house in Croston, near Preston, and as the rains came down it was feared the building would once again be affected as with previous occasions that there had been a deluge and flood alerts.
The expected water level was just a few inches, but almost as an afterthought Burns’ cue, lying on top of the table, was moved upstairs for safety. This proved an invaluable intervention, as the entire table was soon submerged and ruined.
Happily the insurance company, themselves up to their eyes in claims, made sure they did their bit by providing a Star table as a replacement.
ALLEN FINDS LOSING IS JUST PANTS
An early ‘engaging with fans’ award for this week goes to Mark Allen, who might have surprisingly lost a match to Mark Joyce blowing that quarter of the draw wide open, but not his sense of humour.
Taking questions on Twitter before his flight home, the Northern Irishman was asked: “Do you ever worry that your pants might split when bending down for a shot?”
Unfazed, the two-time ranking event winner replied: “Coming from a plus-sized gentleman, it is always on my mind.”
WILSON NOW ONE OF THE BIG BOYS
Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson already has a reputation for being more than capable of holding his own with the media, and there was another good example before his first-round match against Rory McLeod.
Speaking to him in the corridor, I asked him if he felt opportunity might be knocking this week with a few of the big guns not making it through qualifying, and others tumbling out in the first 24 hours of the tournament. With a big smile, Wilson replied: “I am one the big guns!” No arrogance, just humour and plenty of self-belief. That was me told.
MY KINGDOM FOR A GLASS...
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.
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Read MoreBINGHAM MATCH IS JUST THE TICKET
Stuart Bingham usually has a decent following in London for the Dafabet Masters – and a first world title last May did not exactly dampen demand among friends and family for the man from Basildon.
The world No2 estimated that he had to get hold of “around 60-70” tickets for his Sunday night first-round match against Ding Junhui, giving him a very solid support base in the Alexandra Palace arena.
Players receive 10 complimentary tickets at the Masters but are also afforded the right to buy additional ones at a discounted rate, an option the 39-year-old Bingham had to exercise, keeping him very busy in the build-up.
Extra seats have been installed this year bringing the capacity to just below 2,000, a figure that looks certain to set a record for the venue for Ronnie O’Sullivan’s already virtually sold-out clash with Mark Williams on Tuesday.
EBDON JOINS THE BBC COMMENTATORS CLUB
Peter Ebdon arrived at Alexandra Palace in good time for his debut full live commentary stint with the BBC alongside Dennis Taylor for the Stuart Bingham v Ding Junhui evening first-round match on opening Sunday.
Being a former world champion, Ebdon very much fitted the mould for recent BBC appointments in the role, and Taylor and fellow former Crucible king and broadcaster John Parrott spent time reassuring Ebdon in the salubrious surroundings of the media centre canteen area before he took up his place in the booth.
For Parrott, this consisted mainly of telling Ebdon that Taylor once couldn’t speak in the commentary box with a large boiled sweet in his mouth, which led to the wise-cracking Scouser immediately offering him another one.
But Taylor had his own victory to celebrate, having finally won a battle lasting several years with the bean-counters to install some more comfortable chairs for the late-night finishes.
Ebdon was helpfully told by the press that swearing, shouting ‘Vegan Power’ at full volume and discussing the merits of organic carrots were all de rigeur as a commentator – advice he wisely chose to ignore.
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