IT is closing in on a quarter of a century since an impossibly fresh-faced 17-year-old called Ronnie O’Sullivan casually put an end to Stephen Hendry’s run of three successive UK Championship wins by defeating him 10-6 in the 1993 final. The Scot would claim his seventh and final World Championship two years later but that changing of the guard, O’Sullivan’s first major title, seemed pertinent yesterday as the Londoner entered the latest edition of the UK championships looking as dangerous, wild and carefree as he did 24 years ago.
With Hendry relegated to the commentary position rather than centre stage, and events taking place at the Barbican in York rather than the iconic Preston Guildhall, the Hendry role this time belongs to reigning champion Mark Selby, the outright World No 1, who currently has a monopoly of the ‘triple crown’ of the richest tournaments in the sport as reigning UK, World and Masters Champion. Further spice comes from the fact O’Sullivan just seven more tournaments to surpass Hendry’s all-time mark of 36. We have not had to wait for the televised stages to witness the first shock of the competition. Ding Junhui, regarded as the best player to come from Asia, is already packing his bags for home after surrendering a 5-1 lead to exit to Ireland’s World No 130 Leo Fernandez.
“I think there is a comparison there,” Hendry told Herald Sport yesterday. “Mark Selby is prioritising the big events of every season – the UK Championships, the worlds, the Masters - and that is something that I did too. He is obviously miles ahead in the rankings - he could take a year off and still be No 1! But if you are going purely on form, though, you would have to say O’Sullivan is the man to beat. He has been in three of the last five finals and won two of them. At times he has looked back to his best. There are very few players out there who would fancy their chances of beating either of those two guys. When it comes to these big events, they have kind of got an aura. A lot of people are beaten before they even come to the table.”
After York, the snooker tour comes north of the border, with the Scottish Open to be played at the Emirates Arena for a second year, a welcome shot in the arm to a Scottish snooker scene which pales by comparison with the glory days of yesteryear. Dott and Glasgow’s Anthony McGill have taken the matter into their own hands, inviting Under-16s free of charge along to free coaching sessions at Minnesota Fats in Mount Florida, and Hendry applauds anything which can rekindle interest up here. His comments came just one day after the World Snooker Federation (WSF) welcomed Scottish snooker as a full member.
“There are not so many places to play now, you used to see it everywhere,” said Hendry. “And maybe snooker just isn’t a priority for young kids to play now, whether they would rather be playing football, on social media, or playing computers. All the young prospects right now seem to be coming from China. But all credit to guys like McGill for doing things like that while they are on the circuit. Because something needs to be done to entice young people back to play snooker. It was great to have a major event back in Scotland too. That can only help, even if the attendances last year weren’t brilliant.”
There were headlines last year about Hendry making a return to the world championships – the winner of the World Seniors event automatically gets a place in qualifying for the Crucible – but he has no plans in this area and is merely happy mixing his work for media and sponsors with another pastime, poker. “My position hasn’t changed – I am definitely not coming back on the tour,” Hendry said. “I played a big poker event in Dublin two or three months ago and I came 56th out of 544th. I got a small piece of prize money, nothing write home about. But unless I get really lucky and hit some very good cards, then I am not going to be making money,”
Also a keen golfer, one recent setback was finding his clubs stolen. “Yeah I am on the look-out for more clubs. But I think losing my cue [he got it back after offering a £10,000 reward] was a bit more serious.”
**Stephen Hendry was speaking on behalf of online betting site BetStars. Hendry is backing Mark Selby, priced at 4/1, to win the UK Championship. #Callit at www.betstars.uk
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