Monday 6th April

I am writing this early on Sunday evening and Ronnie is just leading in the final, but not by nearly enough to guarantee success.  Probably the most talented snooker player since the meteroic Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins.  But often, as indeed with Alex, talent is not enough; you need other things in your armory, self-belief, patience and temperament.

You sometimes also need your opponent to meltdown before you do.  And this is what makes the current match between Ronnie and Barry Hawkins so fascinating.  On paper there is no contest; Ronnie is by far the better player – Barry Hawkins although ranked fourteenth in the world was hardly expected to get this far, and to be fair to him, he has played some remarkably brilliant snooker.  As has Ronnie, who makes the game look so easy, almost as if he isn’t trying.  And a bit like watching the start of a Formula 1 race with Ronnie there is always the chance of a car-crash.  He has spectacularly imploded before, add to that the fact that he hasn’t played since he won this very event last year and his statement that he is only doing it for the not inconsiderable money, you do wonder just what will happen.

And of course, unlike almost any player anything can happen when Ronnie is playing in the World Championship final.