The Importance of Temperament in Snooker (Barry Hawkins Tour Championship)

Barry Hawkins has just come off his third semi-final of the season where he fell victim to a Ronnie O’Sullivan comeback from 9-6 ahead to fall short in the deciding frame. While it’s obviously not the result Hawkins was looking for, he should aim to look at the positives from his performance this week and take that into the World Championship and following season.

Hawkins’ performance this week showed the viewers as well as his opponents just how well he can really play. If you watch his match against O’Sullivan, this was particularly evident where he was firing on all cylinders. His break-building was fluent, his potting sharp, and safety play was at its finest. I think there are four key facets that should be possessed by any snooker player if they wish to do well and these are three of them.

The fourth element, which you’ve probably guessed, is the temperament. The first three aspects of the game don’t hold much significance if the temperament isn’t there to push away the negatives moments of a match and get to the finishing line. This is where Hawkins has to work on removing emotion from the equation and treat each frame loss in a way that doesn’t impact the following frames.

Of course, this is far easier said than done. And Hawkins isn’t the only player to suffer from this. This can affect every single player, even those at the very top. Common favourites like Hawkins, Gilbert and Lisowski all fall victim from time to time particularly as they get to latter stages of tournaments. And when they get closer to the winning line of a match, nerves can creep in which can lead to a domino effect of misses which their higher ranked opponents will capitalise on.

It seemed as if Hawkins had started to hold his nerve a little better with his match against Trump, who was staging a comeback similar to the one in their previous encounter where Hawkins was 5-1 up yet still lost the match. Hawkins was able to fend off the World No. 1, suggesting a turn in the tide. It could be argued that the red missed at 9-6 up was an unfortunate kick but that would still leave Hawkins with three frames to close the match. And in scenarios like that is why temperament is so crucial.

Nevertheless, Hawkins, having reached his third semi-final, is already having one of his best seasons in years. And the fact that he was able to qualify for the Tour Championship in the first place shows just how well he has been playing this year. Hawkins has always been a performer in the longer format matches as shown by his recent Crucible record and this longer format experience will only benefit him going into the Worlds.

Hawkins has always been praised for his consistency but this season he has taken this consistency to the next level by venturing deeper into tournaments. And the tournaments he has gone far in are no small feats. Hawkins has reached the semi-finals of the German Masters, Players and now the Tour Championship. His ranking will also notice an improvement having already moved up a couple of places following his performance this week. And he will also be within striking distance of a couple of those above him in the rankings if he can keep the consistency going.

I’m always rooting for Hawkins to get that big win he deserves and hopefully the wait won’t be too long before we get to see it.

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How Tour Cards Work In Snooker

You generally hear a lot of talk relating to ‘tour cards’ in snooker and certain players earning/losing them, but what exactly does it mean in the context of the sport? Granted, this isn’t something you hear a lot of when you’re watching the top players, but rather the lower ranked players they often find themselves up against in the early stages of an event. So how does the tour card work?

Simply put, the tour card is what allows a snooker player to compete in the circuit/season. All players in the world rankings ‘technically’ have one, which they could have gained in a number of ways. The Top 64 players in the world rankings (i.e. the two year rolling list) automatically keep their tour cards to allow them to compete in the following season.

When a player earns a tour card it lasts for two years, so the only exception to the Top 64 rule is if the player is still on their first year of the tour card. So technically, if some cataclysmic disaster happened to Judd Trump and he fell out of the Top 64, he would have to requalify despite being in the upper end of the rankings for such a substantial period of time.

So how do those outside the Top 64 get their place on the tour? The remaining 64 places are filled in a number of ways, some at the discretion of WST in the form of wildcards. For example, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry have all been awarded wildcards for their services to the sport. Other wildcard places are offered through victories in amateur/junior tournaments across a variety of regions.

For the current 2020/21 season, the top 4 players on the one year ranking list for the prior season will be awarded a two year tour card. The formal way to earn a tour card is through Q-School, but the Challenge Tour offers an alternative opportunity for those unsuccessful in qualifying through the main route. Generally this would be enough to make up the 128 places on the tour but in the cases where it isn’t, that’s where the wildcards are granted an opportunity.

Having a tour card allows you to compete in every available tournament on the circuit but obviously, it’s rare that all 128 professionals actually compete in all events. This is where remaining places are made up from things like Order of Merit (those who played well but didn’t qualify for a tour card). Tour cards are given a two year expiration in order to give new professionals the time to build up their ranking position and retain their spots on the tour.

However, at the end of a season there can only be 64 and the ranking positions of those in and around that rank will find themselves in hot water as they struggle to maintain their standings. It is often the case that winning another match can provide the extra prize winning required to push past the person in 64th position, given how close earnings are at that position.

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Snooker Table Maintenance – What You Need To Know

Maybe you’re one of the few that has their own table. Or perhaps one of the individuals that have their own club with a multitude of tables. Or you’re just curious about the general upkeep of a 12ft 6in snooker table. Regardless of which category you fall in, you may find some useful tips for the maintenance of a snooker table which may help you currently, or if you plan to purchase a table at some point in the future.

Firstly, why does a snooker table need to be maintained? In short, failing to effectively maintain a snooker table will result in a shorter lifespan, unpleasant playing experience and increasing expense for your already costly hobby. A poorly maintained table will lead to significant wear-and-tear in the cloth, reducing the smooth nature of the playing surface required to allow the balls to run in a straight line. So what can be done to extend the condition and longevity of your snooker table?

• Brushing the cushions

Start with the rails and brush in the direction of the cloth (this generally is from baulk to black end). For the shorter rails, you can feel the direction of the nap with your hand and then brush accordingly. Ensure you use a brush that doesn’t have bristles which are too tough to reduce any damage done to fibres

• Brushing the table

Using the same brush, in the direction of the nap (baulk to black) brush any chalk dust from one end to another. Ensure firm strokes where the brush doesn’t leave the table, as opposed to brushing and flicking where dust will rise then fall back on the cloth. Make sure the whole table is brushed and once this is done, you can brush away the dust using the black cushion, or use a handheld vacuum

• Napping/Blocking the cloth

If you don’t have a specialised block tool, then you can wrap a clean and lightly dampened cloth around the flat end of your brush. Alternatively, as Barry Stark suggested, you can use any excess table cloth wrapped around the brush. In a similar manner, brush the table firmly end-to-end ensuring that there aren’t any line markings left over. The best way to ensure this is to overlap your previous strokes until the whole table is blocked

• Ironing the table

It’s recommended that you use a specialised iron for this stage of the process such as a Dowsing, but some may not have access to that kind of equipment. If you have a specialised iron, similar to blocking, ensure that you slightly overlap each time to reduce the chances of leaving any tram lines. This should be done in a continuous motion from end-to-end. And start ironing as soon as the metal hits the bed to avoid burn marks. You do not need to iron the cushions

If you plan on using a domestic iron, you can turn the steam off, switch to a wool setting and still get reasonable results. Before ironing the cloth, test the iron on a piece of paper to check the temperature. If the paper burns, then the iron is too hot for the cloth. Ideally, there should be no visible change

• Respect the table

More so a human factor than equipment, but treat the snooker table less like a pool table. Barry Stark explains it really well in his ‘Table Care Part 1- Respect the cloth’ video but be more gentle with the table. An example of this is not dropping the reds into the triangle, rather forming a general triangle with your arms, then placing the triangle over the reds. Similar to spotting colours, gently place the ball near its spot then roll it into place as opposed to dropping it on its spot. This reduces the chances of indentation and is how the professional referees spot the balls

Ideally, you should care for your table each day but it also depends on how frequently you use it. However, regular maintenance of your snooker table should lead to a longer lifespan, better playing experience as well as a reduction in cost spent on getting a professional to replace the cloth. If you look after your snooker table, your table will look after you.

A useful post from a member of the Snooker Forum in 2010:

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Creating The Ultimate Snooker Player

Have you ever thought about who the ultimate snooker player would comprise of? Perhaps that player already exists for you. But many have thought about how great a combination of certain players would be to become a stopping power of excellence on the snooker table. Today, I’m going to build my perfect snooker player.

Cue stance: Steve Davis

Cue feathering (when the player is lining up the shot): Shaun Murphy

Cue action (i.e. the reaction generated from the cue ball): Stephen Lee

Long potting: Neil Robertson

Break-building/Cue ball control: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Laying snookers: Ding Junhui

Escaping Snookers: Mark Selby

Tactical play: John Higgins

Rest play: Shaun Murphy

Temperament (tough mentality, consistent focus): Mark Selby

Bottle (taking on brave shots when times are tough): Stephen Hendry

Bonus Categories

Cue power: Judd Trump

Plants: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Doubles: John Higgins

Flair shots: Jimmy White

Hairstyle: 90s Peter Ebdon

Clothing: Kirk Stevens 1984 Masters

And that’s my ultimate snooker player. You may not agree, or your list may slightly differ to mine - but that’s okay. Chances are yours won’t be exactly the same as others but it’s YOUR perfect snooker player, so there is no right or wrong answer. Feel free to comment your own perfect snooker player using the above categories and even throw in some extra characteristics of your own if you think I missed a few!

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