Meet the Fans - David Jackson
The fans give their views on the action at the Crucible
During the course of the Championship we will be featuring fans from all over the world. Listening to news about snooker in thier countries' and getting their perspective on the matches they've been watching.
First of all we meet a Crucible veteran, David Jackson from Australia.
Jackson, from Sydney, is a former Vice President with the Australian Association and the News South Wales State Snooker Association.
He watched his first World Championship way back in 1970, in Sydney, when John Spencer beat Warren Simpson.
Jackson made his first 32 hour trip from Sydney to the Crucible in 1992 and from 1996 onwards he has been to the Crucible every year, and seen every day's play.
He watched Mark Allen make his way to the semi finals last year and thinks the Northern Ireland player is a potential champion.
"He's a very good player. He's got the makings of being a champion, but I don't know if he's ready yet to win this year.
From his front row seat Jackson was virtually within touching distance of Ford and Allen as they got their match underway. As MC Rob Walker told the audience "You've got the best seat in the house."
Jackson was getting his first view of Tom Ford. While UK viewers may have seen Ford in action before, in Australia they are starved of live snooker action.
"We get recorded highlights, but often it can be months after the event."
So what did Jackson think of the Crucible debutant?
"Tom didn't look nervous at the start, although I'm sure he must have been. He didn't look at all rattled, even when he left Allen in for a clearance to win the first frame.
"Ford missed the black in the fourth, when he was trying to clear up to force a re-spot. and that put him under pressure as he went four-nil down. He'd deserved to take at least one of the first four frames.
"He [Ford] did get a few chances but it's hard on your debut. But against these top players you need to be taking those chances.
"Ford was getting a lot of the hard shots but missed a few easy ones.
"He made a beautiful century and that showed us what he's capable of and I'm sure getting the break and his first frame would have relaxed him a bit.
"I would have loved to see Mark Allen make the maximum. At the start of the break I didn't think he stood much chance as there were several hard reds. But he got rid of those. Then he didn't get good position on the black to get on the yellow and landed badly on the yellow.
The crowd were all willing him to get the long double on the green.
Jackson is hoping that as Barry Hearn has taken over the Chairmanship of World Snooker, there may be better chances for Australia to get some tv coverage.
"We've been able to watch Barry's Premier League Darts in Australia, so maybe he'll be able to do the same with the snooker and do right by us Aussies!
"It wouldn't surprise me to see Hearn start up some sort of Asian circuit and we can pick up some of their channels.
"The general public in Australia are in the dark about the snooker. Even Neil Robertson's success hasn't really registered. The big sports that get all the tv time are the Aussies Rules, Rugby League and Cricket. And there's more 'soccer' on now too.
Australia won the Oceania qualifying section in the World Cup so they will have high hopes for their team in South Africa, particularly as many of players are with overseas teams, such as in the Premier League in the UK.
Despite the renovations, the interior of the Crucible looks much the same as ever, as the snooker gets underway again, but the media coverage, entertainment and off table activities have changed dramatically since Jackson's first visit.
"There was none of this entertainment, no big screens or anything like that. You just turned up, went into the arena, watched the match and went away again.
"I think this street entertainment is great fun. And the big screen is a godsend. I can remember one year when I didn't have tickets to the final. I was wandering the streets until I found Dixons and watched the match on one of their televisions through the window.
"Now the fans can congregate together and socialise and renew old friendships. I've met so many people down the years, and this year my friend, who I met here at the Crucible, met me when I arrived and I've stayed with him at his house in Oxford this week. And I was very lucky because otherwise I could have been delayed by the flight cancellations due to the volcanic ash.
Can Jackson see any new young talent emerging from Australia?
"We do have Junior age events in the various states and national championships from Under 12s upwards. I think Vinnie Calabrese has been the best prospect to come through. He lost out to Shawn Budd in the Oceania Championship this year, so it will be Budd who gets the Oceania nomination for next season's pro tour.
"Sadly we don't have so many junior events these days in New South Wales. It's hard for the kids to find places to play. Clubs are reluctant to let them in because of the gaming machines and alcohol licences.
If you're watching the snooker on television you should be able to spot Dave fairly easily. He's right in the front row on Table 2. The cameras frequently zoom in on his awesome selection of ties.
He set out this morning with a smart tie from the 2002 IBSF World Billiards championship, but when I glanced back this afternoon, he'd changed into a very loud and visible tie with brightly coloured snooker balls on it!
