Nick Metcalfe looks back on snooker in 2023, from the match-fixing scandal that rocked the sport, Luca Brecel's World Championship win and Ronnie O'Sullivan's latest York triumph.
Match-fixing scandal leaves scars, but snooker will survive and thrive
Every snooker year throws up drama and intrigue. It's why we're all here. This year felt more like a very long rollercoaster ride, one that left the sport battered and bruised.
No serious review of 2023 in snooker can start anywhere else but the match-fixing scandal. Even now the scale of it defies belief.
Ten players were found guilty and banned for their part in the fixing, following an independent disciplinary hearing. Two of them - Liang Wenbo and Li Hang - were banned for life.
These were all bad actors, but that pair were off the scale, found guilty of not just fixing matches, but persuading and facilitating other players to fix matches too. On top of that, they attempted to cover up their involvement and hinder the inquiry.
The sport is a better place without them, but the others involved will return and that won't always be easy to stomach. Former UK champion Zhao Xintong, who was found guilty of lesser offences - namely being a party to another player fixing matches and betting on matches in breach of the rules - could be back on tour in just over a year's time.
It's fair to say at this stage that I do believe in rehabilitation and second chances in all areas of life - there's no gain being pious here, we all need them - and given that in most cases the players have shown genuine contrition, it's probably right that they're still allowed to build a future in the game.
The authorities deserve credit for the way this case was dealt with. Crucially, it was a quick process, and we've seen plenty of examples in other sports of similar issues dragging on for years. And while the punishments weren't strong enough for many observers - I tend to side with those who think they were on the lenient side - they were at least handed out decisively.
It would be naive in the extreme to think this saga put an end to nefarious behaviour in the game - human nature will inevitably lead some to the dark side - but the definitive outcome to the inquiry must have been a major step in a positive direction.
Also, let's keep some perspective here too. Other sports have had far bigger problems with cheating over the years. Chronically so in the case of athletics and cycling for example. Nobody is suggesting that we stop enjoying the Olympics or Tour de France.
So it's right to compartmentalise if we can. There will still be people in snooker trying to beat the system, but they're far outweighed by the principled and decent majority.
Snooker will endure all this and will thrive again. The glory of the game will always win out, I'm sure of it. It's too special to give up because of some rotten apples. And it's now high time that I reflect on what we saw on the table.
Belgium ace lights up Crucible
Let's start with a brilliant World Championship. One of the most enthralling we've seen in Sheffield. And a champion few would have predicted, with Belgium's Luca Brecel having never previously won a match at the Crucible.
The way Brecel fought back to beat seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals was admirable, and his recovery from a seemingly hopeless situation against Si Jiahui in the semi-finals was positively inspiring.
Even then, most of us fancied he'd be giving the runners-up speech, given the formidable Mark Selby was his opponent in the final. Not a bit of it. Brecel took it to Selby from the start and then held his nerve when the Leicester man came back on the concluding evening, to seal a famous 18-15 victory.
The result was ideal for the sport, a real shot in the arm for snooker in mainland Europe. You only have to see the hunger for events on the continent - even in exhibitions - to appreciate there is a bedrock of support out there for the game.
There were sparkling performances everywhere you looked. Shaun Murphy looked back to his best in the early months of the year, capturing the Players Championship and Tour Championship. Judd Trump enjoyed the autumn of his life, winning an amazing three ranking tournaments in a row. He's now up to fifth place in the all-time list of ranking event winners.
Champion O'Sullivan still going strong
And just this month, the great O'Sullivan claimed an eighth UK Championship to give us one of sport's most perfect lines - he is now the youngest (at 17) and oldest (47) winner of that prestigious title. When he's really up for the fight at a tournament, there are no real signs of his standards dropping. He could stay around the top of the game for years to come yet.
On top of that, we finally saw the O'Sullivan documentary 'The Edge of Everything', which many are comparing to the very greatest of all sports films. It offers a stark reminder of not just O'Sullivan's own mental health struggles, but the pressures on all players in this most singular of sports.
As for those in the early days of their snooker journey, tour rookie Stan Moody looks a proper player and judging by his starring role in a BBC documentary, isn't afraid of talking a good game. Liam Pullen, who came through Q School this year, could well have a big future too and it's only a matter of time before Liam Davies, who has been cleaning up the titles in the amateur ranks, joins them on tour.
The most improved player of the year must be Zhang Anda, runner-up to Trump at the English Open and then winner of the International Championship. It's been an absolute pleasure watching Zhang this season, with the 31-year-old giving us plenty of evidence to suggest he'll now be a permanent force in the game.
Work to do for WST
Not everything in snooker's garden is rosy. Communication from the World Snooker Tour is at times seriously lacking. The chairman, Steve Dawson, has been invisible for much of his tenure. Some of the tournament venues are not becoming - surely we can do better than provincial leisure centres. Issues over live scoring have felt quite amateur. Simply finding out tournament schedules and results has become a laborious process for fans.
All that said, the game is not in crisis as some have claimed. Crowds remain excellent at many tournaments. Television audiences are more than healthy - nearly three million viewers watched BBC coverage of the recent UK final. We're finally heading back to China regularly following the miseries of the Covid pandemic and the organisation of the tournaments there this season has been first class.
Many of us remain besotted by the game and it's mostly because of what happens on the 12 by six. We've never been able to avert our eyes and we never will. The quality and excitement of the actual sport isn't in the slightest doubt, into next year and far beyond.
May you enjoy snooker as much as you ever have in 2024. Merry Christmas everybody.
