It wasn’t a great Championship for the Grove, as none of the players went past the last 16 in the biggest event of the season.
It actually started on April 5, 2017, in Ponds Forge, with all Grove players, except Neil and Judd who were seeded, needing to win three matches to reach the television stages at the Crucible. Only Luca Brecel managed that, with Li Hang and Yu Delu coming close.
The main event started on April 15. Judd arrived at the Crucible as pre-tournament favorite but went out in the last 32 to Rory McLeod. Judd was unfortunate to suffer a shoulder injury a couple of days before the start of the event. Even so, it was an extremely disappointing defeat. Luca also lost in the last 32: from 7-2 up he was pegged back to 9-9 by an extremely determined Marco Fu, who used all his experience to eventually win by 10-9. Neil reached the last 16, were he fell at the hands of … Marco Fu, in a match that was close, extremely tense and error ridden.

Neil had come to the tournament, admitting that being addicted to video games has damaged his career, and determined to make it right. It takes courage and honesty to open up that way, and, although he came short this time in Sheffield, his game showed signs of improvement. He wasn’t impressed with his own performance against Marco though …

Those results also mean that James Cahill will lose his professional status at the end of the Championship and will need to re-qualify, via the Q-School if he wants to pursue a career as a snooker player next season.

All detailed results are on Cuetracker as usual.