PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK WATTERSON

So Sheffield will continue to play host to the World Snooker Championship until 2014. Despite murmurings that the tournament could move abroad, most likely to China or Dubai, it is set to be revealed today that a contract has been agreed to keep it in Britain for at least 5 more years.

Snooker is a sport in desperate need of a shot in the arm, if not in terms of quality of play, most certainly in terms of popularity. Snooker can only watch on as Cricket's latest glamour version of the game, the IPL is thrust into the limelight, taking headlines and perhaps even sponsors away from a sport of great tradition.

No doubt the mooted talks that threatened to take the World Championships abroad took place with the good of the game in mind, but it will come as a relief to the sport's true fans that the Holy Grail of snooker will remain in it's spiritual home.

No doubt opinion on the deal will flood out in the coming days, and the overwhelming majority will be pleased it remains in Sheffield, but hopefully it won't overshadow what promises to be an exciting end to the tournament.

Unfortunately for many, Ronnie O'Sullivan's exit provokes the end of their own involvement in the tournament, but to do that would be to miss out on what has already been an intriguing tournament.

Stephen Hendry looks back to the sort of form that gave him his record 7 World titles, taking an early lead in his quarter-final against Shaun Murphy. A majestic maximum clearance reminiscent of his glory days may yet prove to be the moment to re-ignite his career.

A 100/1 outsider on the opening weekend, Hendry will take heart from the fact he is one of the few players to have seen and done it all before, and will surely enjoy his position as underdog.

Hendry's game unravelled after a crushing Semi-Final defeat (17-4) to O'Sullivan in the 2004 World Championships, and indeed lost 17-6 at the same stage last season. However, with his nemesis out of the tournament, and the discovery of some form in the early rounds, Hendry can take his new-found confidence into the latter stages, and perhaps even beyond.

While Rory McLeod may have taken the record for becoming the first black player to reach the televised stages of the Championship, do not bet against Hendry set his own record of 8 World Championship titles.

 
 

There is no denying his brilliance. Even on a bad day, when his head is in the proverbial shed, his ability with a snooker cue is unquestioned. He is without doubt, the number one player in the world in terms of ability, charisma, and personality.

Despite all this, however, O'Sullivan's well-documented struggles with his frame of mind always seem to dominate the headlines.

Be it his frequent threats to quit the game, his filthy outburst at the China Open last year, or his recent 'X-factor' rant - he is a man that can be attributed to the widest variety of quotes.

His Welsh Open bid ended in 5-3 defeat to Marco Fu after drubbing Steve Davis in the first round. Following that match, most snooker fans would have known his tournament would not end in victory. "I'd be surprised if I won this one, but then I've won most of my tournaments without playing that well. This is a great event and the Welsh fans are great, but I really just want to win a couple of matches" he said, indicating all is not well in the O'Sullivan camp.

Previous to this, The Rocket has spoken of a lack of desire to go to far away places for what he describes as 'a pittance' (the prize-money). Despite his erratic behaviour on and off the table though, he is the man everyone wants to watch, for what he might do - be it a maximum clearance or a breakdown. People can relate to him, he  is a personality.

Wthout him, what would snooker be right now? Tennis is increasingly a popular sport because of a) the high level of play at the top-end of the game and b) because of the great rivalry between Nadal and Federer. Snooker, whilst a completely different sport of course, has relied on similar attributes throughout the years. Particularly during it's boom of the 80's and 90's there was the dominance of Davis and Hendry, only for rivals to emerge and push them even further. Now though, O'Sullivan can afford to not go to some tournaments, yet still retain his Number One slot.

Complete outsiders such as Ricky Walden are able to claim Ranking tournament victories and players yo-yo between the top 16 and 32. While some may point that it indicates a high-level of play throughout the game, when it happens on a regular basis, it does not lend to the spectacle of the sport.

Whilst fans love an upset, an under-dog, they can have too much of a good thing too. When fans turn up to a tournament, not knowing who the favourites are, there is no established order, and no upset. At the moment, it's very much a case of Ronnie and the rest. Established greats such as Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Jimmy White all struggle to even make the tournaments, and not even Stephen Hendry can remember the last tournament he won.

Sport fans tend to prefer gradual change as opposed to an overhaul of players almost overnight, especially given snooker's appeal to an older generation.

Snooker should be grateful that Ronnie's there, and hope that any talk of quitting is just that, talk. He's holding snooker together at the moment, and given his 'x-factor' comments last month, he knows it. 

 
 

So, on Saturday, the latest Snooker Masters tournament will begin. Despite its presitgious nature, being right up there with the UK Championship and World Championship, it does not contribute to the ranking system. The winner takes away his cheque and the sheer pride of having won the tournament. All the biggest names have won it, and have seen it as a stepping stone to greater things.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, despite patchy recent form will, as always, go into the tournament as firm favourite. He was in exhilerating form at the end of last season, winning the World title at a canter, and followed it up with the first ranking title of the season, and a final appearance in the second. Since being beaten by qualifier Ricky Walden in that final though, his form has slumped, and he seems to be going through one of those periods where his head is all over the place.

In spite of this, he'll be heavily backed, because even Ronnie at 60/70% of his game, can beat most of the top 16 in all honesty, and on top-form, I don't think there's a player who can live with him.

Outside of Ronnie, there's a number of players who can win the tournament. Shaun Murphy got back amongst the titles in the UK Championship, and well full of confidence takes some stopping, as will Mark Selby, who's become something of a nearly-man of late, just coming up short in numerous finals and semi-finals.

Slightly further back are John Higgins and Stephen Hendry, both of whom go through form where they show the brilliance that won them World titles, but also tournaments which show why they haven't been winning tournaments regularly for some time. The Masters, as it only contains 18 players usually produces a well-known winner.

I'd plump for Selby. With no multiple winner of ranking tournaments so far this year, I think it may well be his time, and he often plays well over middle-distance matches. O'Sullivan will be difficult to beat if he turns up with his head screwed on, but just looked out of sorts completely against Joe Perry in the UK Championship, and plays him once more here, in the first round.

MArco Fu looked in great shape last month, and might be ready to go the distance for what would be his biggest victory. And if Stephen Maguire can re-produce his best, as he so often does on such stages, the people who backed him as a future World Champion will feel a lot better.

Should make interesting viewing...