Visiting the Crucible 2014

2014 and my third trip to the home of snooker & it didn't disappoint.

After the long train journey from Edinburgh and a quick hotel check in it was time for Sheffield’s best takeaway. An excellent large Brisket Burrito from “Street Food Chef” hit the spot & it’s the perfect pre-snooker session lunch.

The view from our seats

We were in the 2nd row this year and watched as Shaun Murphy constructed a 2-0 lead only to fall apart like an Ikea sofa against Ronnie O’Sullivan. Knowing he should have been 4-0 up at the mid session interval (it was 2-2) he got more and more desperate and handed O’Sullivan the remaining four frames to trail 6-2. It was a strange session, entertaining but not the highest quality. Murphy was excellent to see up close, his technique was by far one of the best I've seen up close & obviously the Rocket is in the same category.

We saw the final two frames of Neil Robertson v Judd Trump on the other side and it was clear Robertson was struggling at this point, Trump finished with a good century to a surprising 6-2 lead.
Strolling back through Tudor Square there was a chance meeting with Mark Selby outside the winter gardens. Wearing his full snooker gear he was far from discreet, even the drunk with his bag of lager took notice.

I took the opportunity to ask the rather stressed looking Mark for an autograph, which he kindly obliged, while my dad failed to take a picture of me and Mark, ending up with a fuzzy picture of a bench – one to treasure. You can see the autograph below, it looks like “Marky” to me but I’m not complaining. As I made my way in the opposite direction Mark was mobbed like a member of One Direction outside the Crucible, unlike Harry Styles though he was mobbed by middle aged men & the recently retired community.

In the evening after a disappointing Barbecue meal at the Smoke Point we settled outside for a few beers. A few tables along from us was a couple of Cockneys who had obviously started a few hours earlier, at one point the conversation flowed loudly along these lines

“I love you man, I hate you, you know what I want to kill you!”

We moved inside as it got dark but those hardy cockneys stayed outside for a good few hours yet, whether they were able to construct any coherent sentences we will never know. Inside, to my delight I found out the bar sold Viru, the best of all Estonian beers I might add. This full flavoured and light beer was the perfect tonic after a long day of Snooker and travel.

We talked about how good the Crucible is and other such Sheffield/Snooker based topics. While at the next table Steve Davis sat having his dinner and conducting a rather long winded interview. As the Viru’s flowed the table on the other side of us was filled, it was only snooker legend Matthew Selt, oh and Stephen Hendry was there as well. I then saw the bar staff wheeling away an empty box of Viru, had I really drunk that many?

Surely they had another box?

Davis joined the Hendry, Selt party and we had a table of 13 World Titles, and Matt Selt.
I couldn't bring myself to interrupt Davis, Hendry & Selt. My old man wasn't so bothered and came back with Hendry & Davis’s autograph. An avalanche of fans then descended on them from the tables around us, while Matt Selt had to sit sipping his cocktail sadly not being recognised. The bad news however was that the bar was out of Viru & the recommended replacement was a poor imitation on Talin's tastiest.

The great Steve Davis

The great Stephen Hendry

A much more relaxed Mark Selby walked in after winning 8 of his 9 frames in the evening session to lead Alan McManus 12-4 overnight. A few celebratory drinks were had as a sure-fire place in the semi final was going to be his. At least he hadn't won that evening, as we had tickets to his side of the table in the morning.

In the morning we saw the final two frames in the McManus v Selby match. Alan constructed a lovely break to win the first but Selby clinched an easy victory in the 2nd. For the remainder of the morning we watched as Ronnie crushed Shaun Murphy. Obviously still mentally scarred from the start he threw away in this match.

A burrito for the train home and our quick trip was complete. Till the 2015 championship!

Visiting the Crucible

Visiting the Crucible

View from the Top of the Crucible

I had been a snooker fan for as long as I could remember, well over 15 years but it took me until last year to finally visit the Crucible. Long had I waited, too long some might say and they would be right, but why?

For millions it’s an annual tradition to watch the World Championships on the BBC and since 1977 it has been at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Like Wimbledon and the Masters at Augusta it’s special because it’s the same unforgettable venue. Year after year new memories are created in the same small space. Fans remember Cliff pausing near the end of his memorable 1983 147 break to wipe his brow. On the same side of the arena O’Sullivan threw his chalk into the audience after his 5 minute 20 second maximum in 1997. In more recent years on the other side we've seen Mark Williams in 2005 and Ali Carter in 2008 make maximum breaks.

Crucible Front at night

After an amazing trip last year I had to come back and this year I did. I had tickets for both tables over two days of the quarter finals. I had booked the day they went on sale in July 2012, which was a ridiculous amount of time before the event. However this had allowed me to get two seats in row five on both sides, bang in line with the middle pockets.

Last year we drove from Edinburgh and this year we tried the train, coming from Edinburgh it’s an enjoyable train journey lasting just under four hours. The advantage we found was we were less fatigued and the train station is ideally located within a five minute walk of Tudor Square & the Crucible.

Winter Gardens and Cue Zone (Picture from 2012 WC)

BBC Studio in Winter Garden

Tudor Square (Picture from 2012 WC)

Tudor Square has been renovated a lot in recent years and looks the part these days with the Crucible at one end and the Winter Gardens at the other. The city centre is very nice and is home to several nice reasonably priced hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. The Winter Gardens is home to the Cue Zone. Where the BBC studio and pundits live during the day, you can look around and take pictures. It’s a nice building and good shelter if the weather turns, with a cafe at the far end.

Crucible Foyer

The View from the Front Row

Entering the Crucible for the first time is an exciting experience; the walls are wrapped in images of past champions and historic moments. The foyer is minimal, a few stalls selling programmes and a small bar area but there is a buzz before a session.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the arena and look down is how small it appears. Now I know everyone says this but it really is noticeable and you can’t imagine there are 900+ seats. The steep tiered seating means every seat has an excellent view.

The seats are comfortable and with ample leg room, although if it’s a long session you may want to stand up in between frames. I bought myself a headset to listen to commentary during the session, which is a little bit of struggle to get going at first and for the first few minutes you are scared you have it too loud, but it does improve the experience. A programme and a headset set me back £11 and I think a bottle of water was £1.75 so it wasn't too expensive.

Quick tip: Keep your headset if you plan to return as it’ll still work next year.

After Rob Walker warms up the crowd and the players come out the divide goes down an eerie silence descends on the arena. You then really realise how close to the action you are, people in the front row can literally reach out and touch the players. It’s this intimacy that really allows everyone to enjoy the enormous skill this great game of snooker requires and the little touches of genius the top players demonstrate in each frame.

Player Entrances from my seat. 

I would highly recommend making the trip to Sheffield for anyone who enjoys watching snooker, it really is a very enjoyable experience and the city has a great atmosphere during the Championships. 

Highlights of the Crucible trip: Willie Thorne eating breakfast alone in the hotel dining room while Parrott - who wore out the floor walking between his seat and the pastry table - and Hazel Irvine sat a few feet away. Who would have guessed that Thorne liked a full English breakfast? Oh and Ronnie wasn't bad either. 

A Few pictures from my trip.

Barry Hawkins v Ding Junhui 3rd Session

Hawkins is Victorious!

Michael White

BBC Studio