Last week was a particularly sad one for snooker, with news of the passing of John Virgo. JV, as we all knew him, was a great man, and snooker has lost one of its very best.
I grew up knowing JV from an early age. He was born and bred in Salford, a proud Mancunian at heart, but he lived on the outskirts of London for many years, and we went back a long way.
I first came across him in Ron Gross's snooker club in Neasden. Ron’s club was a real hotbed of snooker stars in those days, and it was there I first met Jimmy White. JV was an outstanding player himself, a superb break-builder and an artist in the balls. I admired him greatly from the very first time I saw him play.
Some maybe wouldn’t realise just how good John Virgo the player was, but I got to see him first-hand, and he really was something special. An exceptional talent, but JV felt he never quite played to the level he was capable of.
Later, he practiced at Ealing Club where my Dad was resident professional, and my first trip to the Crucible was to watch JV play in the World Championship of 1979. He had a fantastic run that year, eventually losing to Dennis Taylor in the semi-finals, and went on to win the UK Championship just a matter of months later. That was probably JV's finest achievement as a player, and demonstrated just how good he was.
I learned a lot from JV the player in those early years, and then again when I moved into the commentary box and he was already firmly established as a broadcaster. As many have said in recent days, JV was extremely generous with his time and knowledge, and I was always grateful for that.
I remember commentating with him not long after I’d made the transition from playing, and I was a keen as mustard, having done lots of research and pulled up a mountain of stats. JV said to me early on that while there was a place for that, ultimately, people wanted to enjoy what they were watching and have its story told to them.
That stuck with me all these years. You need a mix in my opinion, two people who bring different things to the commentary box – but JV had it all. He knew the game inside out, but wasn’t one for rattling off statistic after statistic. JV knew that snooker was an entertainment business, so would paint the picture instead, and that voice of his was just made for it.
Few could tell stories quite like JV. He was wonderful company whatever the environment, and that shone through on Big Break where he got his own big break as it were. That show suited him down to the ground, and he worked so well with Jim Davidson. Big Break made JV a showbiz star, but it did an awful lot of good for snooker, too.
One final JV story, if I may. After the unforgettable black-ball final in 1985, JV was one of the first to go into Steve Davis' dressing room to offer a word of comfort to the beaten man. Of course, for Dennis Taylor and his team, it was pure joy and elation, but Steve was distraught, and JV knew that would be the case. He knew the game, he knew people, and he was always willing to offer a helping hand or a word of comfort if he could.
He particularly warmed to entertainers, probably because he was one himself. He wouldn’t criticise Alex Higgins, and was always a ferocious supporter of Ronnie O’Sullivan, even when others wanted to call them out for their off-the-table behaviour. He liked mavericks, I guess, the characters, but above all else, he took people as he found them, and just loved to see exciting players entertain the public.
There are a few people in snooker who I hold in especially high esteem, the late Terry Griffiths being one, but JV was someone I looked up to and admired as much as anyone. He was a good guy, one of the best, and I will miss him.
On goes the road to Sheffield
The Players Championship starts on Tuesday, with Channel 5 kicking off their coverage of a tournament that continues to grow in stature, and is always a really good week. I know a lot of the new team from my time with ITV, and all the signs are that they will do a terrific job with the event.
And just like that, it already feels like we are working our way towards Sheffield and the World Championship. The Players Championship can sometimes take on the role of precursor to the Tour Championship, which precedes the Crucible showpiece. Qualifying for the Tour Championship, therefore, will be a huge motivating factor for the 16 players on show next week, but this is a big one to win in its own right.
The first event of the Players Series, the World Grand Prix, took place in Hong Kong recently, and was won in tremendous style by Zhao Xintong. The world champion was sensational there, particularly in the final where he knocked in five centuries in his evening-session demolition of Zhang Anda.
You get the feeling that Zhao is really coming of age now, emerging as one of the great players. His standard of play in Hong Kong was as good as anything we’ve seen in a very long time. There was an air of O’Sullivan or Stephen Hendry at their best about his snooker, and he looks ready to become the next dominant force in the game.
I did think Zhao would be okay in his first year as world champion, and it’s not always easy, as the case of Luca Brecel shows. But Zhao has looked hungry for more success, playing in everything, even the Shoot Out, and getting better and better as the season has progressed.
That’s the frightening thing about Zhao. It looks like the best is still to come, and I really think he could be the man to break the Crucible Curse when we return to Sheffield in April. Zhao has a big few months ahead of him, and I said a few weeks back that he had realistic hopes of being number one this time next year. I’m standing by those comments.
Zhao’s form, Judd Trump returning to winning ways in Germany, and Mark Selby’s continued excellence makes next week even more fascinating. Selby, already Champion of Champions and UK Championship winner this term, was in sublime touch when landing the Championship League this week.
Some of the big guns are really starting to fire now, though Zhao did have Selby’s number in Hong Kong, along with a host of other tough-nut match-players to suggest even the very best tactical players are struggling to tie him down.
That makes him just about favourite for the Players Championship in my book, but this is a strong field, as you’d expect, and it will be that way for the next couple of months as we enter what really is crunch time in the snooker season.
There is much to look forward to for snooker fans, but all that is tinged with sadness knowing that JV won’t be there to enjoy it with us, to tell those special snooker stories through our television screens like only he could.