April 25, 2025 • 10 mins
The 2025 World Snooker Championship is well underway.
It runs from the 19th of April through to May 5th at the Crucible in Sheffield – the very best in the world competing to claim the game’s most famous and coveted trophy.
Totally Snookered’s Michael Day joined Piney to give an update on the state of the competition so far.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The twenty twenty five World Snooker Championship started at the
Crucible Theater in Sheffield last weekend. We'll run through until
next Monday. Great pleasure to welcome to the show. Chief
snooker writer for Totally Snookered, Michael Day. Michael, thanks for
joining us. First of all, where are we in the
tournament in terms of completed matches?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Thanks for having me on, Jason. Yeah, we're currently at
the second round stage. So actually the Championship as a whole,
we had ten days of qualifying before the main event
at the Crucibill Theater, so it's a real sort of
like month long extravaganza of snooker. But we've just completed
the first round, so that's the last stay too at
the Crucible, and we're currently at the last sixteenth stage.
(00:55):
That will carry on until Tuesday and then Tuesday Wednesdays
a quarterfinals and from there it will be the one
table set for the last four and semifinals.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Major shock on the opening day defending champion top seed
Kyron Wilson, who won last year, of course, against Jack
Jones knocked out by a Chinese qualifier in the first round.
How big a shock surprise was this?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
It's incredible really.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Obviously we talk about the Crucible curse, so no first
time champion at the crucibill has successfully defended the title
the following year. But Kyron, I mean, he was my
tip for the tournament. He's been in fantastic form since
winning the world title last year. He's taken his game
up several levels, won four big ranking events this season,
and he really was, you know, a pick for many
(01:43):
people to win the whole tournament. But laypey Fan, the
player he played, is a really good young Chinese buyer
making his Crucible debut, and he actually won a tournament
earlier on in the season down there. I think he
was ranked in the seventies. That was a big shock,
but yet big upset. Kiroen was six three up. Laypey
Fan played exceptionally well. Kyron come back at him, but
(02:06):
I went to deciding frame and fair credit to Lay
because he stayed positive and it really was a big upset.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
All right. Want to ask about a couple of other
players in round one, seven time winner ronege O Sullivan.
This is this thirty third consecutive edition of the tournament.
He says, though, despite battling stage fright and nerves over
the last couple of years, how did he looking around one?
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, it's an interesting one because we haven't seen Ronnie
since the start of January. He was playing in the
Championship League Invitational and he actually snapped his queue deliberately.
I'll hear that he actually chucked it in the toilet
as well, and so we've not seen him on the
professional circuit since then. Coming back using a new queue,
which is quite big for Ronnie because his old Q
he'd won world titles with. It was a bit of
(02:52):
a sketchy performance in the first session from Ronnie his
opponent Ali Carter. It wasn't on top gear either, But
the second session Ronnie was exceptional. He made three centuries
in space of four frames seventy, a couple of fifties,
and from a position of where it was five to four,
where it's looking like it could be a tight finish,
Ronnie just he just ran away with the match and
(03:14):
it was a very very impressive performance. And you know,
all of a sudden, we're talking about a potentially eight
Tweld title for the Rocket.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Is he still pretty popular with snooker fans.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Ronnie O'Sullivan, oh, one hundred percent. You know, he is
the flag bearer. He is, you know, he is the
top draw.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean he does say things in the media and
sometimes his actions are a little bit unhelpful for the
sport perhaps, but you know, when he gets on the
table and he performs like he did in the second
session of his open real match, we just were reminded.
While we love Ronnie, you know, he's been at the
top of the sport now for over three decades. You know,
he's just an absolute Hollywood sporting superstar. Yeah, and I mean,
(03:58):
you know, he's forty nine years old. Now, most sports
people would be you know, they'd be retired and have
their feet up and point and slippers and all that.
But but Ronnie, at times, even though he's not as
consistent as he was in the past, at times he
just looks as best as he's ever been before. And
hopefully he'll be around for many more years yet.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Neil It's types. So another upset in the final round
my match qualifier Ben Wallaston beating Mark Selby teen eight.
I think there was Wollaston's first match victory at the Crucibile.
Tell us about that one.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yes, another really interesting match that Mark.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Selby's had a really rejuvenating season, won three events, so
a bit like Cora and Wilson. He come into the tournament,
as you know, one of the real serious contenders for
the title. But he actually drew Ben Willison, who's a
fellow Leicester player, so they're both from the same cities.
They knew each other very well, and I actually think
that was a bad draw for Mark because obviously when
you play someone you know very well, a mate or
(04:54):
a practice partner, can sometimes take the intensity away. For
Ben Williston, he'd not been at the crucill for twelve years.
This was his second appearance. We qualified and Selby just
did not perform. It was a very very strange, scrappy
performance from him, and the fair credits to Ben Woodiston.
He managed to get the job done ten eight and
(05:14):
that's a really big win for him and it'd be
interesting how he gets on for the remainder of the competition.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
World number one Judd Trump, he didn't have any issues
study five centuries I see here during a team four
round one victory. Would Trump be favorite to win the
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Now. Yeah, again, it's another really interesting point because he's
the runaway world number one. He's won three massive events
this season. Second half of the season his form has
been a little bit more patchy, but he comes in.
He was a tournament favorite, and it was a bit
weird because several of the players were sort of being
talked ahead of him. But you've got jud Trump. Like
(05:51):
I say, he's the world number one, and his performance
against Julia Long was fantastic. He made five centuries. He
actually equaled the record for the most centuries made by
one player in a round one match. That just proves
how well he is playing. He's actually up to ninety
eight centuries for the season, so if he gets two
more at the Crucible over the coming days, he actually
(06:13):
pockets one hundred thousand pounds bonus. So he's also got
that little bit of added pressure as well. Yes, he's
rightfully the favorite. There are question marks. Obviously he's won
this before, but there are question marks around his reliability
over longer matches, multi session matches, and he's got Sean
Murphy in the last sixteen so that's a real blockbuster tie.
(06:35):
If he can get past Murphy, then I think, you know,
he could go all the way and get the second
World crown.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
All right?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And who else, Michael, who else has We've talked about
a couple of players who are still there, but who
else that we haven't mentioned might yet go deep deep
into this tournament.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Well. One of the running stories throughout the tournament, even
from the very first qualifying round was China's Jaubzing Tong
and now now is a former UK champion, former top
six player, but he was involved in the Chinese match
fixing scandal from a few years ago. He wasn't found
(07:13):
have fixed any matches himself, but he was evolved in
the scandal and he was banned from the sport for
two years. So he actually come back at the start
of this year on the amateur circuit, managed to get
his professional tour card back, so he's actually competing here
at the cruci Will as an amateur.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
He won four qualifying rounds, so.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
He's coming through the sort of labyrinth of preliminary ratches
at the Cruise. We beat Jack Jones quite comfortably really
to get into the last sixteen, and as we speak
now he's winning his last sixteen match against Laypey Fan
the player beat Kayan Wilson. So I think Chao zing
Tong is somebody who I've seen like Ronnie O'Sullivan. He's
li liken him to like a Luke Littler of snooker,
(07:54):
even though he Chao's a few years older than Luke.
So very interesting what happens with Jiao. Obviously, we've never
had a Chinese World champion. This year we've had a
record number of Chinese players at the Crucible.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
We've had ten.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Previously it was six, so that perhaps sort of shows
you with the direction of you know where snook is going.
But we've got so many other great players. They're like
I say, We've got Murphy, We've got Luca Prissell, you
won the tournament two years ago, Dingen Wii and another
top Chinese player class ninety two is still there, John Higgins,
Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
We really do.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Have a stacked tournament and it's shaping up to be
possibly one of the most exciting world championships and years.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Absolutely even hearing the names that it makes you look
forward to the week you here it in just to
finish Michael, the tournament itself, the World Snooker Championship, the
sitting at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield. Still plenty of prestige,
still plenty of interest. Tickets relatively hard to come by,
are they.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
They're like gold dust, they really are.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
They get pretty much sold out pretty much a year
in advance.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
If you've never been to the Crucible, it is a
very very special atmosphere. It is like a cauldron, especially
in the early rounds where you've got two tables. If
you're in the front row, you could actually stick your
arm out and you know, touch the player. It's such
a fantastic atmosphere. It's it's an electric atmosphere. Obviously there's
there's talks and conversations whether the Crucial will will still
(09:22):
host this tournament because the contract runs out in twenty
twenty seven, and we've had bosses of the sport talking
about this last year. In this year, it would be
a big pity if you know, it was to leave
the Crucible. But the fans absolutely love it. The players
it's you know, the players is mixed bad because you know,
the pressure. The facilities probably aren't what you would expect
(09:46):
for a World Championship, but that adds to its character.
And that's what makes it such a unique test in
the snooker and sporting world.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Michael, thank you so much for joining us across New
Zealand and giving us some really great insight into the
World Snooker Championship. We look forward to the second round matches,
onto the quarters and the royal business into the tournament. Again,
thank you for your time this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Thank you, Jason Over really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks at b weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The twenty twenty five World Snooker Championship started at the
Crucible Theater in Sheffield last weekend. We'll run through until
next Monday. Great pleasure to welcome to the show. Chief
snooker writer for Totally Snookered, Michael Day. Michael, thanks for
joining us. First of all, where are we in the
tournament in terms of completed matches?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Thanks for having me on, Jason. Yeah, we're currently at
the second round stage. So actually the Championship as a whole,
we had ten days of qualifying before the main event
at the Crucibill Theater, so it's a real sort of
like month long extravaganza of snooker. But we've just completed
the first round, so that's the last stay too at
the Crucible, and we're currently at the last sixteenth stage.
(00:55):
That will carry on until Tuesday and then Tuesday Wednesdays
a quarterfinals and from there it will be the one
table set for the last four and semifinals.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Major shock on the opening day defending champion top seed
Kyron Wilson, who won last year, of course, against Jack
Jones knocked out by a Chinese qualifier in the first round.
How big a shock surprise was this?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
It's incredible really.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Obviously we talk about the Crucible curse, so no first
time champion at the crucibill has successfully defended the title
the following year. But Kyron, I mean, he was my
tip for the tournament. He's been in fantastic form since
winning the world title last year. He's taken his game
up several levels, won four big ranking events this season,
and he really was, you know, a pick for many
(01:43):
people to win the whole tournament. But laypey Fan, the
player he played, is a really good young Chinese buyer
making his Crucible debut, and he actually won a tournament
earlier on in the season down there. I think he
was ranked in the seventies. That was a big shock,
but yet big upset. Kiroen was six three up. Laypey
Fan played exceptionally well. Kyron come back at him, but
(02:06):
I went to deciding frame and fair credit to Lay
because he stayed positive and it really was a big upset.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
All right. Want to ask about a couple of other
players in round one, seven time winner ronege O Sullivan.
This is this thirty third consecutive edition of the tournament.
He says, though, despite battling stage fright and nerves over
the last couple of years, how did he looking around one?
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, it's an interesting one because we haven't seen Ronnie
since the start of January. He was playing in the
Championship League Invitational and he actually snapped his queue deliberately.
I'll hear that he actually chucked it in the toilet
as well, and so we've not seen him on the
professional circuit since then. Coming back using a new queue,
which is quite big for Ronnie because his old Q
he'd won world titles with. It was a bit of
(02:52):
a sketchy performance in the first session from Ronnie his
opponent Ali Carter. It wasn't on top gear either, But
the second session Ronnie was exceptional. He made three centuries
in space of four frames seventy, a couple of fifties,
and from a position of where it was five to four,
where it's looking like it could be a tight finish,
Ronnie just he just ran away with the match and
(03:14):
it was a very very impressive performance. And you know,
all of a sudden, we're talking about a potentially eight
Tweld title for the Rocket.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Is he still pretty popular with snooker fans.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Ronnie O'Sullivan, oh, one hundred percent. You know, he is
the flag bearer. He is, you know, he is the
top draw.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean he does say things in the media and
sometimes his actions are a little bit unhelpful for the
sport perhaps, but you know, when he gets on the
table and he performs like he did in the second
session of his open real match, we just were reminded.
While we love Ronnie, you know, he's been at the
top of the sport now for over three decades. You know,
he's just an absolute Hollywood sporting superstar. Yeah, and I mean,
(03:58):
you know, he's forty nine years old. Now, most sports
people would be you know, they'd be retired and have
their feet up and point and slippers and all that.
But but Ronnie, at times, even though he's not as
consistent as he was in the past, at times he
just looks as best as he's ever been before. And
hopefully he'll be around for many more years yet.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Neil It's types. So another upset in the final round
my match qualifier Ben Wallaston beating Mark Selby teen eight.
I think there was Wollaston's first match victory at the Crucibile.
Tell us about that one.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yes, another really interesting match that Mark.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Selby's had a really rejuvenating season, won three events, so
a bit like Cora and Wilson. He come into the tournament,
as you know, one of the real serious contenders for
the title. But he actually drew Ben Willison, who's a
fellow Leicester player, so they're both from the same cities.
They knew each other very well, and I actually think
that was a bad draw for Mark because obviously when
you play someone you know very well, a mate or
(04:54):
a practice partner, can sometimes take the intensity away. For
Ben Williston, he'd not been at the crucill for twelve years.
This was his second appearance. We qualified and Selby just
did not perform. It was a very very strange, scrappy
performance from him, and the fair credits to Ben Woodiston.
He managed to get the job done ten eight and
(05:14):
that's a really big win for him and it'd be
interesting how he gets on for the remainder of the competition.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
World number one Judd Trump, he didn't have any issues
study five centuries I see here during a team four
round one victory. Would Trump be favorite to win the
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Now. Yeah, again, it's another really interesting point because he's
the runaway world number one. He's won three massive events
this season. Second half of the season his form has
been a little bit more patchy, but he comes in.
He was a tournament favorite, and it was a bit
weird because several of the players were sort of being
talked ahead of him. But you've got jud Trump. Like
(05:51):
I say, he's the world number one, and his performance
against Julia Long was fantastic. He made five centuries. He
actually equaled the record for the most centuries made by
one player in a round one match. That just proves
how well he is playing. He's actually up to ninety
eight centuries for the season, so if he gets two
more at the Crucible over the coming days, he actually
(06:13):
pockets one hundred thousand pounds bonus. So he's also got
that little bit of added pressure as well. Yes, he's
rightfully the favorite. There are question marks. Obviously he's won
this before, but there are question marks around his reliability
over longer matches, multi session matches, and he's got Sean
Murphy in the last sixteen so that's a real blockbuster tie.
(06:35):
If he can get past Murphy, then I think, you know,
he could go all the way and get the second
World crown.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
All right?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And who else, Michael, who else has We've talked about
a couple of players who are still there, but who
else that we haven't mentioned might yet go deep deep
into this tournament.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Well. One of the running stories throughout the tournament, even
from the very first qualifying round was China's Jaubzing Tong
and now now is a former UK champion, former top
six player, but he was involved in the Chinese match
fixing scandal from a few years ago. He wasn't found
(07:13):
have fixed any matches himself, but he was evolved in
the scandal and he was banned from the sport for
two years. So he actually come back at the start
of this year on the amateur circuit, managed to get
his professional tour card back, so he's actually competing here
at the cruci Will as an amateur.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
He won four qualifying rounds, so.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
He's coming through the sort of labyrinth of preliminary ratches
at the Cruise. We beat Jack Jones quite comfortably really
to get into the last sixteen, and as we speak
now he's winning his last sixteen match against Laypey Fan
the player beat Kayan Wilson. So I think Chao zing
Tong is somebody who I've seen like Ronnie O'Sullivan. He's
li liken him to like a Luke Littler of snooker,
(07:54):
even though he Chao's a few years older than Luke.
So very interesting what happens with Jiao. Obviously, we've never
had a Chinese World champion. This year we've had a
record number of Chinese players at the Crucible.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
We've had ten.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Previously it was six, so that perhaps sort of shows
you with the direction of you know where snook is going.
But we've got so many other great players. They're like
I say, We've got Murphy, We've got Luca Prissell, you
won the tournament two years ago, Dingen Wii and another
top Chinese player class ninety two is still there, John Higgins,
Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
We really do.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Have a stacked tournament and it's shaping up to be
possibly one of the most exciting world championships and years.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Absolutely even hearing the names that it makes you look
forward to the week you here it in just to
finish Michael, the tournament itself, the World Snooker Championship, the
sitting at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield. Still plenty of prestige,
still plenty of interest. Tickets relatively hard to come by,
are they.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
They're like gold dust, they really are.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
They get pretty much sold out pretty much a year
in advance.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
If you've never been to the Crucible, it is a
very very special atmosphere. It is like a cauldron, especially
in the early rounds where you've got two tables. If
you're in the front row, you could actually stick your
arm out and you know, touch the player. It's such
a fantastic atmosphere. It's it's an electric atmosphere. Obviously there's
there's talks and conversations whether the Crucial will will still
(09:22):
host this tournament because the contract runs out in twenty
twenty seven, and we've had bosses of the sport talking
about this last year. In this year, it would be
a big pity if you know, it was to leave
the Crucible. But the fans absolutely love it. The players
it's you know, the players is mixed bad because you know,
the pressure. The facilities probably aren't what you would expect
(09:46):
for a World Championship, but that adds to its character.
And that's what makes it such a unique test in
the snooker and sporting world.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Michael, thank you so much for joining us across New
Zealand and giving us some really great insight into the
World Snooker Championship. We look forward to the second round matches,
onto the quarters and the royal business into the tournament. Again,
thank you for your time this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Thank you, Jason Over really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks at b weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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