Within a week of threatening to quit the game, Stephen Hendry will be in Tallaght today in quest of yet another title. In fact the 32-man field for the inaugural Irish Open at the National Basketball Arena, contains as many as 14 of the current world's top 16.
Though it is not being televised, the World Snooker Association would appear to be in for the long haul. "This is essentially an exercise in showcasing the event with a view to going on to better things," said WSA official, David Hendon yesterday.
As for Hendry, it seems that even the cool, pragmatic Scot is not averse to making ill-judged statements on the spur of the moment, as he admits to doing in Germany last week. "Immediately after a disappointing defeat is hardly the right time to talk about your future in the game," he said.
It is, in fact, only two weeks since Hendry's last win, which was in the Malta Grand Prix in which he beat Ken Doherty 7-6 in the final. As it happens, they are again in opposite halves of the draw this week, with Doherty in action today against Gerard Greene, ranked 45th in the world.
The first match in the bottom half has world number two Ronnie O'Sullivan in action against Jimmy Michie. O'Sullivan would be heading for a notable double but for the fact that he was stripped of this year's Benson and Hedges Irish Masters crown after being found guilty of drug-taking.
So, Doherty, who was awarded the title by default, is in line for the double. And the Dubliner likes his chances. "My game is in good shape and I feel upbeat about my chances," he said. "Obviously the German Masters was a disappointment but I'm determined to have special cause for celebration this Christmas."
Doherty lost to the eventual winner, John Parrott, in the semi-finals last Friday. As it happens, this pair will be joined in Tallaght by three other world champions - Hendry, Steve Davis and John Higgins.
The plan is to complete one round of the championship each day, with Friday being a rest day. So, there will be five tables in operation for the first round today, with five matches this morning (starting at 10.0 a.m.), five in the afternoon (2.30) and six this evening (7.0).
After that, the number of tables will be gradually reduced until only one is left for Sunday's best-of-17 frame final. The first, second and third round matches will be played over the best of nine and the semi-finals will be best of 11.
The prize fund is £305,000 from which the winner will receive £50,000 and the runner-up £26,000. This represents attractive pickings, given that the Grand Prix, which has a field of 64, has a prize fund of £370,000. On current form, world-number-one Higgins is clearly the favourite for the title, in view of a very impressive recent triumph in the UK Championship. In fact he became only the fourth player to add this to the world title in the same year.
His rivals will not be pleased to hear that the Scot feels very much at home in Dublin. "This will be my fourth visit to Dublin this year and I really love it," he said. "After playing in the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters, I came back in the summer for a golf day with Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty. Then I returned again the following weekend with my fiancee Denise."
Obviously Doherty can depend on strong local support but there will be considerable interest in the return of the mercurial O'Sullivan, who clearly has the potential to become a world champion if he can remain focused on his work. Either way, the staging of a world ranking event this week represents a major milestone in Irish snooker.
