feedback | low graphics version
| feedback | low graphics version | ||||
|
 | | You are in: Sports Talk |
| | Thursday, 1 February, 2001, 18:08 GMT Would you have snubbed The Nugget?  Six-times world champion Steve Davis will miss the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley for the first time in 20 years because he has not been invited. But would you have made sure one of the game's greatest players graced the tournament he last won only four years ago? We want to know whether the man nickamed The Nugget because of his staggering success should have been picked ahead of Jimmy White? Or are the rules just unfair?
The Benson and Hedges Masters is an invitational tournament. If your name's not down, you're not coming in. A total of 18 players take part - the world's top 16 ranked players plus the winner of a satellite tournament, the Benson and Hedges Championship, and a wild card invited by the sponsors. Shaun Murphy is in as championship winner, even though he is ranked 150 in the world, and the invitation went to local favourite Jimmy White. But Davis, who slipped to 17th in the rankings at the start of the season, was snubbed. Ironically, he is currently back up to 16 in the provisional list. So Davis, who has career earnings of about �5m, misses out. Yet younger players who have less than �500,000 in prize money such as Anthony Hamilton, Marco Fu and Paul Hunter, take their place. Should organisers have made an exception for Davis? Is the Whirlwind too big an attraction to leave out? Or maybe players should be picked purely on their recent form? And just who is Shaun Murphy? Tell us who would have got your vote and why? And whether snooker should follow the example of golf and remember the game's greats?
It's fair enouh really - Jimmy or Steve? This page would have been about the disgrace of not inviting Jimmy if they went the other way. Doing this to England's most successful player is diabolical. He was loyal to the fans in every occation for years, no matter where it was. It will be a shame when Steve Davis retires. Shame on the governing body!
HoJo, USA Absolutly disgraceful, get the dinasaurs out of running this game! This will be snooker's loss, but it will be 9 ball pool's gain. It's more exciting anyway! It's really a massive shame that both Steve Davis and Jimmy White are both ranked outside the top 16. It was a very difficult choice to make for the organisers. It would have been magnificent to have seen them both compete. But to bend the rules for only one year just to let Davis in would be unfair on the winner of the Benson And Hedges Champion who has had to win six or seven matches just to make Wembley Conference Centre. Davis is a legend, and we should never forget that. It's lovely to see young talent like Shaun Murphy given a chance to compete at this level, and try to improve as top level players. The organisers should be promoting fairness to all players, not creating a playground for fading stars, suffocating the progress of younger players rising up the rankings rapidly. Sorry, I'd have snubbed Davis too. The top 16 are there on merit, so to say "Shaun who?" is unfair. The Whirlwind is still the people's favourite. Davis has had more than his 15 minutes of fame. It's time for the young-guns to have a crack. | | 
Other top Sports Talk stories:  Links to top Sports Talk stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||
 | | | | |
|  Links to other Sports Talk stories |
| ||
 | ^^ Back to top | |
| Front Page | Football | Cricket | Rugby Union | Rugby League | Tennis | Golf | Motorsport | Boxing | Athletics | Other Sports | Sports Talk | In Depth | Photo Galleries | Audio/Video | TV & Radio | BBC Pundits | Question of Sport | Funny Old Game ------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> | BBC Weather >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMII|News Sources|Privacy | ||
