CHINESE HACKS DISTRACTED BY FOOTBALL CLIMAX

While one title was being decided in the arena in Chengdu, attention was to say the least divided in the media centre with most Chinese sports journalists following streams of the season’s football final-day climax that saw Guangzhou Evergrande needing at least a point at Shandong Luneng to guarantee retaining their Chinese Super League crown at the expense of Beijing Guoan.

There were plenty of laptops showing split screens of the games at Shandong and Beijing’s home match with Henan Jianye. If it had been Sky, the Chinese characters across the top would have read ‘Judgment Day, There Can Be Only One’, it was that kind of occasion – not unlike the Mark Allen vs Ricky Walden clash down the corridor.

An early goal for Shandong raised briefly the prospect of a title decided on head-to-head-record in favour of Beijing, but their goal-shy strikers and a Guangzhou equaliser handed the title to veteran Italian manager Marcelo Lippi’s side, leaving many from the capital in the room dejected.

PANDAS FROZEN OUT OF FINAL WALK-ON

Very few among the UK-based officials and media escaped having to wear some part of a panda costume in Chengdu to keep promoter ‘Jerry’ happy. But tournament director Mike Ganley decided to spare the two finalists the indignity of being escorted into the arena by a bear apiece.

A trial run on the Saturday was enough to convince Ganley, generally keen to indulge local sentiment and help publicise Sichuan province’s most iconic creatures, that the black and white costumes did little for the gravitas of the occasion to the wider world and the plug was diplomatically pulled.

Instead a chuckling Mark Allen and Ricky Walden left the mascots in the corridor on their way out to start the best of 19 frame showpiece.

FIREWORKS ON AND OFF THE TABLE

Loud fireworks being set off outside the Sichuan Tennis Center, presumably for a wedding on the Saturday night, could be heard in the arena during frame 12 of the Mark Allen vs Mark Williams semi-final at the International Championship, entirely appropriate given the potting carnage that was occurring on the table.

Allen’s breaks were  92, 71, 52, 54,  105, 55, 77, and a superbly compiled 67 while Williams chipped in with 120, 135, 70, 84, 49, 102, 46 and 86 to level at 8-8.

In characteristically phlegmatic and sporting style Williams was already well on the way to shrugging off the inevitable disappointment as he left the post-match press conference, insisting on the way out after the 9-8 thriller: “You won’t see many matches like that.”

WILKINSON AND VERHAAS OWN THE SHAMROCK

As ever in Chengdu the Shamrock Bar in the centre of town proved the watering hole of choice for players and officials during the International Championship though with the event back at the Sichuan Tennis Center in the Shuangliu district in the southern suburbs, the bar was a good 30-40 minute taxi ride away.

Referee Jan Verhaas spent more time than he would have liked in the city two years ago, having to wait five weeks before being allowed to fly home after a Deep Vein Thrombosis scare – and became a well-known figure out and about in that time.

To such an extent that he was asked by the management to be a guest judge for the Shamrock’s annual Halloween party costume competition on the Friday night after the Ricky Walden/Rob Milkins semi-final.

It is fair to say the costume theme was only loosely followed, and despite Verhaas voting into third place a young lady wearing hot pants and a dinosaur outfit the winner was declared as Captain America.

The revelry then continued on the pool table where former snooker world No5 Gary Wilkinson, now on the World Snooker payroll, put on a masterclass in a long unbeaten run for the gathered throng.

SPORTSMANSHIP ALIVE AND WELL IN SNOOKER

It is a shame large chunks of the media only ever want to cover snooker when there is a match-fixing story – and knowing sports editors as I do, can’t see that changing for a couple of them any time soon even if some are fairer in their coverage.

But the other side of snooker, the one we see almost every day and in every match, is the sportsmanship on show from players from top to bottom of the rankings during the contests when fouls are habitually called on themselves and other courtesies shown to an opponent in all manner of ways.

And there was a further but different example of this late on Thursday night at the International Championship in Chengdu. Earlier that evening Mark Williams and Mark Allen had fought like tigers to get through their respective quarter-finals against Ronnie O’Sullivan and Michael White – and more of the same could be expected in their Saturday semi-final, when no quarter would be asked or given in a huge match for both.

But that was for another day. And the pair could be seen cheerily shooting the breeze about the day’s events in the hotel lobby until 1.30am over a shared McDonalds takeaway.

WALDEN BOMBS OUT BLEARY-EYED BURNETT

Jamie Burnett could be pleased with his week’s work in Chengdu, the world No51 reaching a first ranking quarter-final for four years, and picking up a welcome cheque for £17,500.

But he also accurately predicted his own demise with downbeat assessments of his wins over a below-par Judd Trump and a Peter Ebdon who struggled with the table conditions.

Burnett said after the 6-2 win over Ebdon: “I have really found it hard to get proper sleep this week, I am on about two hours a night and not playing particularly well, even though I am into the quarter-finals. If I run into a good player playing well, I could have big problems.”

That proved highly prophetic as an on-song Ricky Walden ran out a 6-1 winner on Thursday afternoon to grab a place in the last four.

NEW O'SULLIVAN HANDLERS IN CHENGDU

Ronnie O’Sullivan was joined in Chengdu by members of his new management company, international talent agency James Grant - in China to familiarise themselves with his tournament routine and see the frenzied interest in him in the Far East for themselves.

The organisation represents a wide range of sports stars across the globe including footballers from the UK, Europe and the Americas and international rugby players. Five-time world champion O’Sullivan joins a stable that also has a large number of television, music and literary clients.

CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR WITH TV TABLES

The choice of which matches make it on to the TV tables is often a subject for heated debate – not least from the players, who have been known to query why their encounter is not rated as a more desirable proposition than some other.

Such decisions are usually made by some combination of the broadcaster, promoter and tournament director. And on the Tuesday evening in Chengdu it was Stuart Bingham asking the question as to why his Wednesday night match against Mark Allen – a repeat of the previous month’s Shanghai Masters final – was not down as one of the two matches to be televised.

At that stage the Ronnie O’Sullivan/Li Hang game had been put on No1 table the following evening, with the winner of Judd Trump/Jamie Burnett v Peter Ebdon slotted in on No2.

As it turned out Trump suffered a shock defeat to the Scot, prompting a rethink and Bingham got his wish of a televised table after all. Unfortunately for the world No10, what went out to the watching millions was a 6-4 defeat to Allen, who gained a measure of revenge for Shanghai.