SNOOKER has found a new cushion to rest on with the Players Championship coming to Channel 5.
The terrestrial broadcaster won the rights for the tournament, which starts on Tuesday, along with the Tour Championship and British Open from .
Channel 5 will debut a new ref cam as part of their snooker coverageCredit: Getty
Katie Shanahan will lead a new era of snooker broadcastingCredit: Andy Clarke
There will be familiar faces for fans with and Alan McManus.
However, a new broadcaster has promised some new .
One of these will see the debut of a “ref cam” style camera.
Similar to what is seen in Premier League football matches, the camera will give viewers the chance to see the game from the referee’s point of view.
This new feature will also be accompanied by some new faces.
Four-time world champion , as well as on the table, while the same can be said for former UK Championship and Masters winner Matthew Stevens.
Meanwhile, former star Katie Shanahan will be the face of ‘s coverage as the presenter.
She is taking on a position while already covering the Lionesses on ITV, reporting on Sky Sport’s Soccer Saturday and hosting talkSPORT’s Early Sports Breakfast starting with a 2:45am alarm.
But the 34-year-old is undaunted by the extra challenge, telling Metro : “I’m here, there and everywhere.
“I’m mainly with ITV, and talkSPORT now and I spent seven years at the .
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“I would probably say I’m a multi-sport presenter. It’s been heavily football, but I love all sport.
“I’ve covered five major football tournaments, two Olympic Games, one Winter Olympics and the Games.
“I’ve covered rugby, , a Women’s World Cup final at Lords. I can’t wait to get stuck into the snooker next.”
Shanahan, who ran the last year and is now training to complete an Ironman challenge but admits she still enjoys “a pint in a nice cosy English pub”, dipped her toe into media studies at university.
She did not move into the industry full-time until in her early 20s ended her playing days.
Recounting the harrowing ordeal, she added: “I basically got a hockey ball smashed at my head, it split my head open and I had to have on my face because basically my facial bones moved out of place.
“Then I had to have spinal reconstruction for six months and I’ve never picked up a hockey stick ever again.
“The ball hit me in between my eyebrows and fractured my skull. But if it had hit my temple, I would have died on the spot. So I was very fortunate that it just so happened to hit me where it’s pretty solid.”
The competition, which starts on Tuesday February 17 and runs until Sunday February 22, will hand £500,000 to the winning player.
It will be Channel 5’s first professional snooker event, but will not see the participation of after the snooker icon withdrew from the event and was replaced by Higgins in the field.
All active players involved with Channel 5 will work subject to playing commitments.
The afternoon sessions for all six days will be shown live on 5’s main channel, with the show starting at 12.30pm.
The rules of snooker
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:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
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.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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