CRUCIBLE NEWS EMBARGO FAILS TO HOLD

When is an embargo not an embargo…

The announcement that the World Championship is to stay at its spiritual home of the Crucible Theatre was greeted with delight from most quarters outside China – and probably even some from within that country who have sampled the atmosphere first hand.

A press release with a strict 7pm Sunday night embargo had been prepared in advance with quotes from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn and Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore proclaiming the decision to extend the deal by two years to 2017, the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the first staging.

A formal press conference was planned for 7pm at Alexandra Palace but the information surfaced on the ITV web site, presumably leaked from the Sheffield end, and that prompted Hearn to then go on the BBC mid-afternoon to confirm the news.

With journalists having also elicited the views of notable greats such as Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, by the evening, there wasn’t much new information to be had.

CRUCIBLE SEEDINGS PICTURE LOOKING CLEARER

The Crucible seedings picture was always going to gradually clear over the course of the week in Preston, with the positions of the top players in the Sheffield draw decided in most cases by events at the Guild Hall. Everyone was interested, including Ronnie O’Sullivan who will take his place at the top of the draw as No1 seed as defending champion. It soon became clear that Ding would be the No4 seed after his early exit at the PTC Grand Finals, in the same half as the Rocket, while Neil Robertson and Mark Selby would be seeded Nos 2 and 3 in the bottom half. Next to be confirmed was Shaun Murphy and Marco Fu, eight and nine, and seeded to meet in the last 16 in O’Sullivan’s quarter. And Friday afternoon confirmed the seedings of Ricky Walden (12), Mark Davis (13), Ali Carter (14), Mark Allen (15) and Joe Perry (16). This left scheduled matches at the last-16 stage between Allen and Robertson, Ding and Davis, Selby and Carter, and O’Sullivan and Perry. The evening matches in Preston were likely to further clarify matters.