BARRY HAWKINS paid tribute to his club-room mentor whose funeral he missed on Wednesday to play in the UK Championship.
The Hawk, 45, knocked Dave Gilbert out with a 6-5 win in the last-16 but he was unable to say goodbye to close pal Les Church, who passed away after a long illness.
Church worked at Jordans Bar in Rainham, Kent, and was always reminding Hawkins to hone his talent.
The world No.20 – into his third quarter-final in 20 appearances – said: “It’s strange, this game. There’s somebody looking down on me.
“It’s Les’s funeral, bless him. The person who gave me my table at the club and let me play there for the last 15 years.
“If I wasn’t at the club, he was always in my earhole, telling me to get to the club and practise. I will miss those voice calls. He was a big influence.
“I’m gutted I’m missing the funeral. If I had had a day off, I’d have got the train home. It’s a shame.
“He would have wanted me to stay here and try to crack on and do well for him.
“I contributed to the charity that they wanted us to donate to. He will be sadly missed.
“Out there you’re in a little bubble, your mind is on the job. This morning I was a bit disappointed. I’m thinking of the family.”
Ding Junhui was unhappy with the playing conditions on table one as he lost 6-5 to Shaun Murphy – who punched the table in celebration -even though he hit THREE centuries across the 11 frames.
It comes after both Judd Trump and Neil Robertson slammed the conditions as ‘unplayable’ on Tuesday night.
At 3-1 down at the mid-session interval, Trump returned to the action and clinched the next five frames with breaks of 73, 126 and 67 to progress with a 6-3 result.
But the two cueists walked away feeling frustrated with the situation in the sport’s second-biggest tournament.
Trump, 35, said: “I’ve played in some bad conditions but that was close!
“It’s disappointing as it always seems to be in the big events over here. Very heavy all of the time. The cushions were bouncy and heavy.
At 3-1 down at the mid-session interval, Trump returned to the action and clinched the next five frames with breaks of 73, 126 and 67 to progress with a 6-3 result.
But the two cueists walked away feeling frustrated with the situation in the sport’s second-biggest tournament.
Trump, 35, said: “I’ve played in some bad conditions but that was close!
“It’s disappointing as it always seems to be in the big events over here. Very heavy all of the time. The cushions were bouncy and heavy.”
But Ronnie O’Sullivan has told them all to stop moaning – and use their snooker brains instead.
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
