All The Fun of the Furth
The Paul Hunter Classic is in full swing in Furth Germany
One hundred and eighty players are gathered the Stadhalle, Furth, Germany to compete in the Paul Hunter Classic, in a field headed by World Champion John Higgins.
In addition to John Higgins, there are 34 Main Tour pros lined up alongside International players from around the world and the keen amateurs from right across Europe.
The main business is the Paul Hunter Classic, where the players have been competing in 45 round robin groups for the past two days.
They will be whittled down to 90 for the knock out stages, which run from Friday - Sunday.
This event is the ultimate Festival of Snooker, bringing together the world's top stars, leading amateurs and thousands of snooker crazy fans.
The Stadhalle can accommodate 1600 spectators and it is full to bursting as fans gain every vantage point they can find.
There are two arenas with two tables and another with one table, each with tiered seating and all packed to capacity.
The atmosphere is like no other in snooker. It is more relaxed than a ranking event, with less pressure for the professionals, although they're all here to win, and maybe more than that, to put on a show for the crowds.
The fans are able to mix freely with the players, who are all being followed by fans seeking autographs and photos. Rod Lawler commented "I got asked for about forty autographs after one match, that's more than when I played at the Crucible."
Joe Swail nearly brought the house down, but missed the last red when attempting a maximum break. Shaun Murphy's 139 holds the high break at the moment but every player is out to beat that figure.
Alongside the main tournament, there are peripheral events such as the World Speed Team event. This features three man teams from around the world, competing in three speed disciplines.
First of those is "pot as many balls as you can" from a pack of 10 reds. The teams line up on adjoining tables, hopefully not put off by one referee wearing a kilt and another sporting black gloves!
Tony Drago, not known to be slow around the table was pipped at the post by the Dutch team, who despatched the Rest of World Team, comprising Drago, Rory McLeod and Gerard Greene, much to the delight of the Orange Army.
It's fast, it's fun and it's very funny. World Snooker's referee Jan Verhaas tried, unsuccessfully to keep some sort of order amongst the mayhem, while Eurosport's commentator Rolf Kalb, kept up a duel on the microphones with Bernie Micklelit as each compered one table.
Thursday evening sees the legendary "Players Party" where the players let their hair down, mingle with the fans, enjoy the band and the barbecue and probably more than a few beers!
