UK Championships

BBC will be thrilled when they start coverage tomorrow, what with defending champ Neil Robertson getting KO'd yesterday by Peter Lines.

Kyren Wilson, Anthony Hamilton and Mark King all bit the dust earlier in the week. But Boring Barry Hawkins soldiered on...

as did Judd, Ronnie, Mark Williams etc, to be fair

This 128-man format is woeful. Watering down the event like this is farcical. Admittedly, Robertson should have won anyway, but this extra long schedule is making this once prestigious event a bit of a joke.

^ of changes Barry Hearn made this is the one i disagree with, format devalues this tournament

There's something I haven't seen before - Ross Muir (currently playing Ding) wearing a fingerless glove on his bridge hand. Apparently he suffers from sweaty hands and the glove is supposed to make the cue slide more smoothly.

Reading through some old interviews, he doesn't really need the glove anymore and has said " It’s become my trademark now if you like, and I have no intentions of ever playing without it again! "

He should moonwalk onto the stage then.

The problem with the rise in tournaments means there needs to be ways to differentiate between them. So some have the best of 7 rounds, and this clearly starts with best of 11. Maybe the treatment of the top and bottom of the rankings the same rather ruins the point of having rankings?

World number two Stuart Bingham bit the dust yesterday too.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has breezed through this afternoon however.

Hope Hazel Irvine wears a skirt and black tights sometime this week.

Oliver Lines turfed Judd Trump out comfortably.

Mark Allen hit a 147 on his way to victory.

Ronnie amusingly slagged off the sport as like a car boot sale, something tacky and low rent. Bad Bazza Hearn has naturally slapped him down.

I think it's only a matter of time before the gambling companies get slapped down, and then snooker will be in trouble again.