Neil and Judd were the only two Grove players involved in the prestigious tournament, held in Alexandra Palace, London, from 15 to 22 January 2017. Judd lost by 6-5 in the last 16 to an inspired Marco Fu, Neil went one better but lost by 6-3 in the QF to Ronnie O’Sullivan, the Defending Champion and eventual winner.

Judd and Marco played an extraordinary match, as you can see by these stats:

If you missed it, and despite Judd’s defeat here it is:

Marco was the player of the tournament, despite going out in the SF to Ronnie O’Sullivan: he made 6 centuries (out of 24 in total) during the week and went out with the high break too, a 142. So Judd will be disappointed of course but certainly he didn’t play badly. This is a top 16 only event and everyone is a top player.

Neil had worked hard over Xmas and played well in the first round to beat Ali Carter. But he still isn’t back at his best yet, and as the dedicated sportsman he is, was back at the practice table right on the day after his defeat to Ronnie.

There is one thing though that Neil enjoyed immensely last week … this interview: