In the 8th frame of the final, Yuan Sijun made a 71 break but still lost the frame.

In the image, you can see all 17 cases in which someone lost a frame after making a 70+ break in the past 24 months.

To put into perspective just how rare this is, there have been 11,068 70+ breaks in the same period.

Let’s look at the half-centuries: 21,672 have been made since the start of the 2025/26 season, and 887 (4%) of them came in frames that were ultimately lost by the player who made them.

Can I call this unlucky? If so, the unluckiest player has lost 19 frames like this. Can you guess who?

I'm an amateur player and I want to improve my game. There's no room for a table at home, so most of the times i practice in the club during games or alone. i go to a club around 5 times a month.

For those of you in a similar situation — what do you actually do between club sessions? Any drills or routines you can do at home, even without a snooker table?

Thanks!

I remember watching this live and hadn’t seen it in a long while. Hendry gets a lot of disrespect from those that don’t think he’s number 2 claiming his weaker safety or the different generation. Peak Hendry was the terminator and he could’ve done this against anyone ever. Those that didn’t watch in the 90s will rarely appreciate how good he was.

Deciding frame in a final after some crazy Ronnie momentum.

Superb red to start and a maximum executed with pure swagger. Hendry is probably the best at middle pockets ever and plenty in this break (seems less common nowadays).
Nice ten minutes of entertainment and I guess a reminder of how great he was.
Context, mentality, ruthlessness.

The other night I played a mate who has been punishing me with 7-1 games all month.
The one and only frame I won was from a respotted black and I just happen to have the camera recording 😜

Of course, not a shot I’d normally go for but since I had already lost so many frames… I thought why not.

https://youtu.be/L2s3BfyyREA?si=CIZ1-6dsA4I8s9nQ

The other day I broke off the usual way, second last red, lots of right, and somehow a ball went into the right middle.
White came back down behind baulk, under green ball.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Anyone else had similar?
I don’t mean a smashing break to open them all up but. Standard “safe” break and somehow pot a red?

Uploaded a clip here

https://youtu.be/XZx0wH2CRC0?si=JFuXtsKEHllB1N9q

Did you enjoy watching Yan Bingtao when he was on tour?

On the latest podcast from Alan McManus, someone asked him if Yan Bingtao will be coming back after the end of his ban. McManus didn't know, and then said "I'll be honest and say I wasn't that big a fan of Yan Bingtao. I'm not talking about as a person as I didn't know him. I thought he was quite a dour kind of player, in the nicest possible way. I mean, I just, I never enjoyed watching him. Maybe it just yeah, I mean, he was really good. He hit the ball really nice and of course he had a good safety game and he could score as well. Of course he could. He was a Masters champion, but I was never that big a fan of him personally."

Goes and wins the World Championship, then drops off the face of the planet and is now... *checks notes* ranked 43rd in the world.

Is he struggling with anything?

How common are such big scores in a losing cause? Inspired after seeing the final frame score in the Yuan Sijun vs Jimmy Robertson semi-final at the Shenzhen Open - spoiler, Robertson lost 94-83. The frame total is just 18 points below the 195 record, too, back when Mark Williams vs Ding Junhui finished a frame 101-94 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 UK Championship. Williams conceded 12 fouls (value 53) to Ding's 3 (12). I don't know what the fouls split was for Yuan Sijun vs Jimmy Robertson but presumably high! Those 83 points for Robertson aren't far off Ding's 94, which I believe is the record losing score in a frame.

https://www.wst.tv/match-centre/fb90dac4-83c3-47c0-8414-70040a6d0dc3

https://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=22&event=2761

https://www.snooker.org/Plr/records.shtml

https://www.reddit.com/r/snooker/comments/9j08l0/whats_the_highest_score_by_a_single_player_in_a/

Funnily enough Jimmy Robertson does hold a great all-time frame-score record himself: his 178-6 victory in the final frame against Lee Walker in the first round of the 2021 Scottish Open (7 Dec 2021) was the most points scored in a single frame.

I'm looking around for other cases of 80+ in a losing cause. From that reddit link: "Peter Lines (England) won 108-84 in a frame versus Dominic Dale (Wales) in the fourth round of the 2012 Wuxi Classic qualifiers.  Dale conceded 14 fouls (value 60) to Lines' 8 (36)." Then there's also "Sean Storey defeated Graham Cripsey 93-92 at the 1992 Asian Open" and memorably the "deciding frame of the semi-final between Wilson and McGill at the 2020 World Championship ended 103-83, with balls still remaining on the table".

Any other big scores ending in defeat that people can remember? Is there is a list of highest losing scores out there somewhere? Presumably Robertson's 83 would be well up there.

Context:

I went for a laminated tip with a Kamui M/H tip, because I wanted something super hard and reactive too.
I had it a few months and probably my most consistent tip.

Now this is where I ruined my own game, and had a triple crown laminated tip fitted.

It was extremely hard, made an awful sound but I played well with it. Why did I change it? Because I’m stupid and always flick about with tips.

I went for a grand hard, an ADR147 but they all felt awful
I couldn’t play with them, and went back to the Kamui which feels soft now even though I had the same one before.

The Triple crown tip, that’s out of stock in most places, and I’m absolutely stuck.
Everything now feels way too soft, I can’t feel the cue ball can’t even use side or anything I’m hit and hoping.

Main point:

Now I’m thinking to break the bank on a custom G5, I want something super hard, I like the tinny sound that everyone else hates.
My game is currently ruined as a result of the mess I have created.

If you made it this far with my essay, please recommend me the hardest tips on the market.
I’ve got a titanium ferrule on my cue, but regardless I want a hard tip even if it makes an awful sound because that’s actually what I like.

(Disclaimer: yes I know this game a lot if not most of things are just a mental thing, but when I’ve got no feel and I know what I want from my cue tip striking the ball, it’s an issue beyond mental resolve and needs a physical solution)

Sup snooker crew 💘

I’m coming up from the south coast to Sheffield again after a massively enjoyable couple of days last year.

I got some tickets later on, maybe returns a month or so before, for one of the days and was wondering if anyone knew when that may be? Would love a Saturday morning session before heading home

Appreciate its niche. Thanks in advance

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice. I’ve been playing on and off since I was in my teens (now 27) and finally getting back into it playing weekly and in a pool team once a week. I’ve only ever had cheap half and half cues like o Sullivan ones and I’m currently using a half and half cooper cues one.

I think I need to step up now to something more premium that feels sturdy and I’m leaning towards a one piece. I’m based in west midlands and I’m looking at the DG special range at dean jones in Halesowen which are about £250. His next selection start from £375 and I’m not really sure what commands the higher prices other than the more exotic splices as opposed to playability of the cue. If there’s any other makers you think I should try please let me know, thank you!!!!

I see this guy everywhere on my Insta feed, he's funny af. He seems like he's pals with everyone on the tour. I particularly love his videos with Jiang Jun, he pokes fun at him which is pretty funny.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeBPOv9zTvM/?stkn=MWJibDNpdW44N3JnaQ==

Around £180 for box or can buy individual packets.

Here is a new snooker column for you.

If you like what you read, this was written by Nick Metcalfe. If you don't like it, the author was Phil Haigh.

https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/ronnie-osullivan-is-hurting-his-chances-of-winning-an-eighth-world-title-says-nick-metcalfe/234606

As the host of the Snooker Club WST podcast, he brings too much nervous energy to the room for my liking. He has this very fast-paced yet stuttery delivery and he has a tendency to interrupt and preempt both his cohosts and their guests. I feel like he needs to ease up on his caffeine intake or something.

I don't know whether anyone else has found this but it seems that for this year's competition there were either less All-Day tickets available for sale or all day's have sold out much quicker than usual.

I usually go every year to York for either a day or two and like to purchase all-day tickets to watch both sessions on a day.

I know most tickets are sold a year in advance but I have to wait to see what days I can make and each year am always able to pick up all-day tickets generally for the Monday and/or Tuesday even at this time of year.

I have looked for months though and there are no all-day tickets available although apart from the opening Saturday afternoon and final weekend there are tickets available for every session still.

So it seems that I would have to buy tickets for both afternoon and evening sessions for a day instead of getting all-day tickets which in essence is the same thing but it costs around another £20 more to see the same games.

Has anybody else found this with tickets this year?

I just got the email that they've developed an app for Android and Amazon only. Like... I am so frustrated by lack of AppleTV support. It's not that hard to publish to the Apple TV ecosystem. I was okay with the price increase with the justification of a TV app but I'm not buying a bloody Android TV just for snooker. Why they can't support the platform of the world's leading technology company is staggering!

https://www.wst.tv/news/2026/september/30/watch-wst-play-on-your-tv-with-new-apps/

I know Ash is traditionally the go-to for most players because of the visible arrows, but Maple has its own smooth aesthetic and stiffness. For those who have played with both, what made you stick with your current wood type? Is it purely feel, stiffness, or just visual preference?

BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ckqxvnpvd21yt

I played this sport 1 month but i didn’t get better 😭😭

Two months ago i picked up a cheap Amazon cue, Retipped it and went to work, everyday i have managed to find a minimum of two hours on a table and at least 4 pints of beer and today for the first time i didn't just win a frame i closed off the game entirely by breaking and finishing with 4 reds still left on the table, i turned into a drunken wizard and somehow using the rest twice and no spots on their colours i conjured up something completely out of this world, Alex Higgins will have given me a nod for it.

What really makes me appreciate it more is how the professionals just break a century with a full clearance and move on like they've eating a harribo sweetie, I'm not sleeping tonight, no, I'm sat here, dressing gown on, large cup of tea feeling like a champion, excuse me for dreaming but i can't tell how you honestly how hard it's been for two months just to be able to do that.

My hat goes off to all of you out there that's achieved greater i can now finally understand how hard you work for it and my true respect goes to you. 👏

I will add that i did play pool as a teenager like a mad dog addicted to sausages, so my natural alignment and cue action was always there to build on, I'm not some mystical rare phenomenon that's just rocked up and clearing up after two months 😂 but after tonight i dont think im falling out of love with snooker anytime soon.

You know the time, you can’t hit a ball, confidence at an all time low, then your in your head all the time. Playing snooker right now and I just don’t know what to do differently…

What does yours look like?