As if to prove that the game of snooker is becoming more of a global attraction, there has been action taking place on the green baize in both Berlin and Cardiff over recent days. Mark Selby was delighted with his fortunes in the German capital as he took the German Masters final, while Ronnie O'Sullivan was less pleased by the set-up of the arena for the Welsh Open in Cardiff, despite his first-round success.
Despite hardly suffering in terms of his ranking position in recent months, Selby has endured something of a lean spell in terms of title successes since lifting the World Championship crown back in May of 2014.
Indeed, in defeating Shaun Murphy 9-7 in Germany in the final, it represented the Leicester player's first ranking title since then. He will be hoping that the return to the top of the world rankings that accompanied his win, can also improve his consistency in the later stages of future tournaments this season.
It was no easy ride to overcome the determined Murphy in Berlin though, as his fellow Englishman established a 5-2 lead to place the pressure fair and square on his opponent's shoulders. 'The Jester' responded to claim the next five frames and seemed destined to gain the much needed triumph, yet Murphy responded to level at 7-7. That proved to be the end of his resilience though, as 31-year-old Selby took the next two frames to lift the title.
O'Sullivan came through his first-round encounter at the Welsh Open with few issues it seemed, as he was a fairly comfortable 4-1 victor over Vinnie Calabrese. Yet the five-time world champion was less than flattering about the new Motorpoint Arena venue in Cardiff, as it hosts the event for the first time since 2003. With a massive ten tables in operation for the tournament, the current champion likened it to a "shopping mall."
'The Rocket' was particularly unhappy about the etiquette displayed by certain members of the crowd, as they did not seem to be too concerned about the players' preparation for playing their shots.
His background in the game has been such as to expect the spectators to remain quiet and not move around while a shot is being addressed. His observation at Cardiff so far has been quite the opposite, with people "getting up as and when they wanted."
The first-round matches continue in Cardiff today, with many of the top players in the world in action including Judd Trump and Ali Carter.
