Neal Foulds reflects on a memorable week of snooker in Yushan, where 147 maximum man Thepchaiya Un-Nooh claimed a big title win, and Ronnie O'Sullivan broke yet another record.
Three of snooker’s big underachievers have provided us with some of the most memorable moments of the season, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh’s magnificent victory at the World Open on Sunday was the icing on the cake.
The strange quirk is that all three of the players I'm about to discuss are left-handers, and it started back in October when the mercurial Jack Lisowski finally broke his ranking title duck on an emotional night in Belfast, beating his best friend Judd Trump in the final of the Northern Ireland Open.
It was a long overdue ranking win for a player who has always promised so much, and the moment was even more poignant because Jack had lost his father just months prior. There were lots of tears and plenty of hugs, and it really was a special snooker night.
Life has clearly thrown its challenges at Jack over the last year or so, but he’s handled himself impeccably well and very nearly won again at the Welsh Open recently, reaching another final and picking up a tidy bonus from BetVictor in the process.
It’s always satisfying to see talent fulfilled, and that wouldn’t be the last time that happened in what has been an enthralling campaign.
Sink or swim for Burden in Blackpool
The next one came at the Shoot Out in Blackpool, where Alfie Burden pulled off one of snooker's biggest ever shocks.
I must confess to being a little biased here, as I go back a long way with Alfie, a wonderful talent himself and a better player than the career he’s had.
And the story behind Alfie’s win in Blackpool is real Roy of the Rovers stuff. Having fallen off the tour, he was way down the list of reserves for the Shoot Out, only to get a late call up on the day of the tournament starting.
The only snag was that at the time Alfie got the call from World Snooker Tour, he was in his swimming shorts and just about to go for a dip near his home in Hertfordshire. Even by abandoning his swim, Alfie was still faced with a four-hour drive to Blackpool.
In the end, his match got put back, but not by much, and he ended up arriving at the venue with just minutes to spare. A quick dash across the car park and no time for a quick hit beforehand.
When Alfie trailed David Lilley 46-0, heaven knows what he was thinking, but he somehow mustered a brilliant break of 49 to pinch the frame and match. From there, there was no stopping him, and he beat Stuart Bingham in the final.
The scenes at the end won’t easily be forgotten, Alfie overcome and ending up dancing on the table in celebration. Back on the tour and a first prize of £50,000 at the end of a barmy few days. Like so many, I was thrilled for him.
Alfie has always been a good player to watch, as so many left-handers are. Jack is the same, so easy on the eye, and completing this season’s theme of underachievers to finally come good was Thepchaiya, another beautiful left-hander who is a treat to watch when in full flow.
I’d argue Thepchaiya is the greatest underachiever of the lot. He’s an incredibly gifted player, always has been, and he makes the game look so easy.
It can feel lazy when we say that someone has underachieved, but in the case of the three players I’ve mentioned, and especially Thepchaiya, I think it should be taken as a compliment. That he’s been so far away from winning anything for so long does a massive disservice to his ability.
It’s here I must also offer a pat on the back to James Cooper who tipped up Thepchaiya at 66/1 in his pre-tournament preview on this website – and he must’ve been one of the very few who fancied him. What a brilliant shout.
Thepchaiya a complete one-off
Thepchaiya is a complete one-off. He never takes a backwards step and never plays a negative shot. You must admire him for that. If he was a poker player, he would be all-in on every hand.
I think Thepchaiya will have had plenty of people rooting for him last week. The way he plays the game, how could you not fall in love with him? And it was nice to see him get one back on Judd Trump who beat him from a long way behind in the World Championship he went on to win in 2019.
That match was one that in many ways changed history. Judd, the great player of his generation, came desperately close to losing and a better split on pack from Thepchaiya in the deciding frame was, in the end, the difference between that and what followed.
As is so often the case, those moments can change careers. It certainly did for Judd, that being his only world title to date, and who knows how far Thepchaiya would've gone that year were it not for a cruel run of the balls.
But he held his nerve in a thrilling semi-final on Saturday, this time coming out on the right side of a tense decider which he looked to have thrown away when missing a simple pink to win. Given the circumstances, the black he potted moments later was outstanding.
As for the final with Ronnie O’Sullivan, I must say that it was as good as any final I’ve seen in a long time. I’m always wary of falling for recency bias, but the evening session was mind-blowing. It really was.
Both men played fantastically well, and Ronnie won’t be disheartened to have lost. He did very little wrong. In fact, after reeling off three centuries to lead 7-6, he barely got a look at another shot as Thepchaiya hit close to 500 unanswered points.
Sometimes you have to hold your hands up, and it was noticeable how quickly Ronnie was out of his chair to congratulate his opponent at the end of the match, having done the same moments earlier following the 147 maximum break Thepchaiya produced in frame 16.
The maximum was brilliant, not just the break itself, but because he didn't need to go for it, given Ronnie had knocked in a record-high break of 153 a few days earlier, meaning there was no high break prize available.
But that mattered little to Thepchaiya, who is a born entertainer. The 147 could’ve been a distraction, and there were times when he left himself tricky on the black when he could’ve got better position on another colour. But that’s not Thepchaiya.
The crown absolutely loved it, as did I in the commentary box, and if ever there was a break to some up a player, it was this one. The total clearance he made a few minutes later to win the match wasn’t half bad, either.
There’s an old saying about left being best, and Jack, Alfie and Thepchaiya are just three of a big band of left-handed players who have made that case this season.
153 for record-breaker O'Sullivan
And after all that, it's remarkable to think that Sunday’s final wasn’t even the highlight of the week – or perhaps it was. We can argue about that one another time, but regardless, Ronnie’s 153 against Ryan Day is one of the greatest moments I’ve witnessed in over 50 years of being involved in snooker.
It’s very rare to even get the opportunity to do what he did, to get a free ball with all 15 reds on the table, but to get straight on the black and immediately look for the 155 is ridiculous. I’ve never seen that happen, even in practice, and I doubt Ronnie has, either.
Dave [Hendon] and I were so nervous on commentary, wiling Ronnie to do it. Sweaty palms and bags of nerves. The final black on the bottom cushion hardly helped in that regard.
It was such a special moment, one I don’t think we’ll ever see repeated. And once again, it was that man O’Sullivan who delivered it.
More broadly, you’d have to be positive about Ronnie’s game, certainly more positive than a few weeks ago. He might’ve lost the final, but I’m not sure anyone could’ve lived with Thepchaiya in that last session. That’s the game sometimes.
I doubted whether Ronnie could win an eighth world title and while I’m not saying he will when we roll into Sheffield next month, he suddenly has plenty going for him.
Aside from the fact he knows better than anyone how to win the big one, his form appears to be coming back just at the right time.
We shouldn’t forget that he made the semi-finals at the Crucible last year having played even less snooker than this year, and his form wasn’t as good as what we saw last week where he finally looked happy with his cue and tip.
You wouldn’t leave him off your shortlist, that’s for sure, and he’ll go there nice and fresh, which is no bad thing for someone of his age. One thing is certain, the World Championship just got even more interesting.
That’s all to come, but I want to finish by saying just what a fabulous week Yushan produced. There was lots of talk beforehand about the absence of big hitters such as Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins harming the tournament, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
It was a superb week, for my money the best event of the season, with some brilliant, attacking players contesting the latter stages and putting on a show.
A world-record break, a 147 maximum and a final for the ages played between the greatest of all time and a sharp-shooting left-hander who pots balls at the speed of light. It doesn’t get any better than that.