Snooker legends live up to their billing

Blackburn has been the home of several legendary snooker players over the years, including the 1985 World Champion Dennis Taylor and the even greater Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, World Champion in 1972 and 1982.

The mill towns of East Lancashire have always produced high quality players, the game proving popular over many years in the numerous Working Mens and Conservative clubs dotted around in Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley and smaller towns in between.

So when the Snooker Legends tour hit town tonight, a sell-out crowd was guaranteed, especially as the two players involved were the hugely popular Jimmy White and Ronny O'Sullivan, along with 1980 World Champion Cliff Thorburn and the entertaining John Virgo providing their own commentary.

The players certainly lived up to the high standards the crowd expected, with O'Sullivan in particular in exceptional form with five centuries in eight frames and another one in the one-frame doubles match with two raffle winners from the audience.

White chipped in too with the highest break of the night, a 130, but O'Sullivan was in total command, rattling in four centuries in each of the first four frames, including a 122 which broke down on the green with a maximum in sight - from his very first shot of the night.





It was all part of Dad's Christmas present too, so he certainly couldn't complain about the entertainment!

It's nearly fifteen years since I last played seriously, but I used to be able to play the game to a reasonably high standard, winning the Accrington 'Observer Cup' in 1994 and the Blackburn CIU Championship in 1995 and 1996, as well as reaching the East Lancs Amateur final in 1993. I also won several high break prizes in competition, including some centuries too, but the game was always considerably harder than O'Sullivan made it look tonight.