He's an overnight success but it took him years to do it

A big chapeau to Stuart Bingham for his sensational victory in the World Snooker championship. Apparently he has been playing snooker professionally in the lower orders for nearly twenty years before discovering that elusive something, that  ineffable quality of being able to concentrate and deliver under the severest pressure imaginable. The problem with snooker, as with golf, is that there is so much time, time for the player to wind him or herself into knots of anxiety whilst considering the shot in hand. The great golf psychologist Dr Bob Rotella says the key to success in any sport, whether it be holing a six foot putt, potting a long red or scoring a three-pointer in basketball is quite simply:
"To concentrate on the target without worrying about the outcome"

But oh dear, how difficult that is in practice! You can go part of the way with incessant practice, but even that isn't enough when under the greatest pressure.

But however thrilling the match was last night, I found the occasion marred by the BBC's practice of leaving the arena at the end of each frame to go into that little bubble studio and listen to the erudite comments of various experts. And they were erudite too- world champions like Steves Davis and Hendry. Having said that a lot of what they said simply described action we had just seen for ourselves. No, what I believe the audience wants is to continue to be absorbed by the atmosphere in the Crucible Theatre; to watch the balls being re-racked, look at the faces of the crowd and especially to  observe the demeanour of the two players. You want to look at their eyes. Are they calm and indicating a steely resolve, or are they shitting themselves? Forgive me for banging on about this yet again, but what I want at a sporting event is the best seat in the house, courtesy of the cameras- and I want to stay there as the match unfolds, not be jerked off somewhere else every few minutes. There's plenty of time for reflection during the mid-session intervals and the longer breaks between sessions. Otherwise, leave the coverage where the action is- on and around the table.

Could these frequent breaks have something to do with lucrative contracts made with the Asian countries which have taken to snooker in such a big way? I wonder...