World Snooker Championship 2010

On Monday (19th April 2010) my wife and I visited Sheffield to watch the World Snooker Championship first round match between Mark King and Steve Davis at the Crucible Theatre.

This was the first time I had been to Sheffield and my first impression was that it had a very large number of litter bins in the town centre. Well done Sheffield.

The Crucible Theatre was a surprisingly small and intimate venue. The views that we had from seats 62F and 63F were excellent. After years of watching the snooker on the television, the table was unexpectedly hi-def. Even if we had been at the back of the theatre, the view of the game would have been excellent.

Steve Davis was making his 30th appearance at the World Snooker Championship and got a standing ovation when he entered the arena (our participation in which was covered nicely by the BBC).

The match was very entertaining, with a nice mix of big breaks and tactical play. The highlight of the first half was when Marcus Campbell (playing on the other table) blew his nose very loudly during one of Mark King’s shots. A similar situation occurred in the second half, when Steve Davis was distracted during a shot by a member of the audience stifling a sneeze very loudly.

The session ended with Mark King leading 5-4; though Steve Davis went on to book his place in the second round, to play John Higgins, with a 10-9 win.

Leaving the theatre we were met with a large queue for the parking meter, so we went down to one on a lower level of the car park where we found no one at all. It was very enjoyable to drive passed the long queue a minute later on our way home.

Bed was achieved before 1am, despite the late finish.