Nick Metcalfe returns with a new snooker column, looking ahead to the Champion of Champions in Leicester and reflecting on Neil Robertson's comments about the integrity of the sport.
Ray Reardon. Doug Mountjoy. Ronnie O'Sullivan. Neil Robertson. John Higgins. Shaun Murphy. Mark Allen. Judd Trump. Mark Williams. Mark Selby.
That's not a bad set of tournament winners, is it? The message is clear. Unless you're a generational talent, don't be thinking you can get your hands on the Champion of Champions trophy.
This event has always had a gravitas about it, particularly since it came back proper in 2013. The roll call of champions is entirely fitting.
That said, I've never believed it's had quite the same sense of occasion since it left Coventry's Ricoh Arena. Since then, the Champion of Champions has been on the road. To Milton Keynes (for pandemic reasons), Bolton and now Leicester.
As a rule, I like big tournaments to have fixed abodes where possible. This one doesn't.
I've also never been totally convinced about the entry criteria. In fact, I'm not sure organisers have been either. There's been more than a hint of making it up as they go along. And not in a charming way.
Is the World Seniors champion in this time or not? We're never quite certain, although the identity of the winner of that event at the Crucible usually gives us a clue. This time, it's Ronnie O'Sullivan. Need I say more?
All that said, we'll still very much be relishing the action when it begins on Monday.
Let me point you the way of Wednesday. First up, O'Sullivan will take on Murphy. The career head-to-heads are strongly in O'Sullivan's favour, but he's often not looked the part of late and Murphy has the memory of beating him in one of the best finals at this event.
That match is followed by Wu Yize taking on Chang Bingyu. If both players bring their best to the table, hold onto your hats. Wu was a brilliant winner of the World Championship in May, and has already claimed the Shenzhen Open crown this season. Chang stormed to the Wuhan Open title in the summer.
Whoever wins in those two afternoon affairs, the match on Wednesday night is set to be a thriller. Book yourself a place on the sofa.
Other highlights of the week include Judd Trump against Jak Jones on Tuesday. The Welshman impressively turned Trump over in a World Championship quarter-final in 2024 and a British Open semi-final earlier this season.
And if World Open winner Thepchaiya Un-Nooh turns up close to his best, his clash with 2025 world champion Zhao Xintong next Thursday could well be a cracker.
Alan McManus has made a very strong contribution to the snooker lexicon by branding this tournament as being the start of the "winter swing".
What a swing it is. We have the UK Championship in York on the horizon, not to mention the Masters at London's Alexandra Palace early in the new year and then another week to treasure at Berlin's Tempodrom for the German Masters.
That can wait for now. It's all about the champions from Monday. You can be sure they will serve us up a treat.
Robertson's message could be wake-up call for stars
Former world champion Neil Robertson made headlines when he wrote on social media that the "sporting conduct in snooker is in the absolute bin" and "the integrity of snooker has fallen off a cliff compared to 20 years ago".
Robertson has since removed the post, but it's still worthy of comment.
It's easy to be rose-tinted about the past. The truth is that plenty of the top stars when I was growing up in the 1980s were anything but angels.
You didn't need to turn to the back pages to read about some of their antics either, because they were often slap bang on the front of the newspaper.
Neil Robertson says ‘the sporting conduct in snooker is in the bin’.
— Talking Snooker (@TalkingSnooker) November 3, 2026
At the International Championship, we’ve seen Kyren Wilson angrily launch his cue across the table and Jimmy White tell a referee, ‘don’t give up your day job’.
Is Robertson right? Are players going too far? pic.twitter.com/09W11JgFUr
That said, we've witnessed some scenes inside match arenas lately that are just not on.
Matt Selt screaming in disappointment when losing a German Masters qualifier to Artemijs Zizins two years ago was appalling.
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White have both spoken to referees in disrespectful fashion in recent times.
And just this week, we saw Kyren Wilson angrily fling his cue across the table when his International Championship meeting with Liam Highfield wasn't going his way.
Calling this impetuous behaviour would be a polite way of saying it.
Players do have a duty to observe a certain code of conduct. I mean we all do in life clearly, but when your actions can be seen by anyone on television, these things are magnified.
Perhaps the stars could treat Robertson's message as something of a wake-up call.
