Snooker review 2011
We look back at the highs and lows from the last year in the world of snooker.
Last Updated: 21/12/11 10:00am
It was a revolutionary year in snooker in 2011, but also one jam-packed with controversy as new tournaments sprung up all over the world - a move that did not go down well with some of the top players.
Barry Hearn's involvement in snooker really took hold in 2011 with new tournaments taking place in Australia, Germany and even in Brazil, with the World Cup also returning for the first time since 1996 and being won by China.
After struggling to attract sponsors and seeing a decline in tournaments, Hearn introduced all these new events and a new Players Tour Championship series.
It was these events, along with alterations to the UK Championship, that caused a stir amongst some of the players, most notably Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen, who both launched strong outbursts against both the PTC series and Hearn's running of the game.
Again the Crucible provided the highlight of the year, but it was with mixed emotions that the Sheffield crowd saw John Higgins win a fourth World Championship - coming just 12 months after his involvement in the notorious match-fixing betting sting launched by a tabloid newspaper.
Higgins still played his way into the elite company of four-time winners though, as he stopped Judd Trump's remarkable run to the final - but Trump would later bounce back to take the UK Championship title in December to cap a brilliant year for the youngster.
Player of the Year - Judd Trump
Finally, after a few false dawns Judd Trump made the huge breakthrough into snooker that everyone thought he would ever since his days of dominating the youth game. We say finally, but the Bristol left-hander is still only 22 and could be the dominant force of the future.
Trump has had a few good results over the last few years, but 2011 was a huge step in terms of consistency, and from making his first ranking final to winning his first event and making the Crucible final, Trump ends the year way up in fifth in the world rankings.
It all kicked-off for Trump at the China Open when he reached his first ranking event final, and duly disposed of Mark Selby in a thrilling 10-8 victory, showing the flamboyant potting and nerveless composure that could make him a huge star for years to come.
Off next to the Crucible, where Trump produced a wonderful performance to dump defending world champion Neil Robertson out of the tournament in the first round, before storming all the way to the final.
Higgins proved just too good for him, but Trump responded by claiming the second-biggest title, the UK Championship, in December, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan along the way, to end a magnificent year in a style befitting a man leading the new generation in snooker.
Match of the Year - Allen 10-9 Stevens
Mark Allen had an eventful year off the table, but also on it he was rarely out of the news, as he made the UK Championship final and before that the semi-final of the Masters and quarter-finals at the Crucible.
At the World Championships Allen won back-to-back matches in the final frame, with thrilling 13-12 victories against Barry Hawkins and Matthew Stevens.
It was the first of those, against Welshman Stevens, which just edged it in drama as Stevens led 9-6 and had to pot a pink to win 10-7, but missed it and allowed Allen just a glimmer of hope.
Allen rattled in a century break as he came back from the dead to take three frames in a row under immense pressure to go through 10-9 - before repeating the excitement with a 13-12 win over Hawkins in the next round.
Controversy of the Year - Allen's rants
Off the baize, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen was just as entertaining as he was on it, seemingly intent on taking on Ronnie O'Sullivan for the most column inches outside of the actual snooker matches themselves.
News firstly grew of the rising tension between Allen and Stuart Bingham, who he accused of having no bottle after losing at the Crucible and revealing a serious rivalry between the pair. It back-fired on Allen though as a fired-up Bingham beat him in a grudge match at the Australian Goldfields Open before going on to claim his first ranking event.
Allen then aimed his fury at Barry Hearn at the UK Championship. After the snooker chief had slightly shortened the early round matches a furious Allen called for him to resign for breaking a promise not to tinker with snooker's biggest events.
Some ill-placed swearing got Allen in trouble, and he later appeared at a press conference with tape over his mouth, but he refused to go back on his statement that "The players don't really matter, so **** the players."
Allen faces a disrepute charge for swearing and his comments against Hearn.
Year to remember - John Higgins
It was a year of redemption for John Higgins after his six-month ban in 2010 following the notorious match-fixing betting sting, but he showed exactly what he can do on the table with a fourth World Championship win at the Crucible.
2011 was a sad year for Higgins as his father passed away after a long battle with cancer, and it made for an emotional return to winning ways as the Scotsman won the Welsh Open soon afterwards and dedicated that victory to his father.
After his much-publicised troubles 12 months earlier, Higgins was determined to show what he can do as he returned to the Crucible, but fans remained divided and he was heckled during the semi-finals by an angry spectator.
Higgins did not lose focus though, and beat Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and eventually Judd Trump in the final to stand fourth on the list of all-time winners behind Stephen Hendry, Ray Reardon and Steve Davis
Year to Forget - Ronnie O'Sullivan
The Rocket seems to have run out of steam this year, with the wait for a ranking event title still going on. He is now without one since 2009 and is in serious danger of slipping out of the top 16 in the world rankings.
The three-time world champion may have continued his dominance of the Premier League, but there are no ranking points available for that event and results elsewhere have not been enough to keep up with the rest of the world's best.
O'Sullivan has again threatened to walk away from snooker, once at the start of the year and again after losing to Judd Trump at the UK Championship in December, whilst also voicing his angry opinion about the smaller PTC events that carry ranking points.
With little interest in playing in those smaller events, O'Sullivan would certainly not fancy a return to the qualifying scene for the major events and should he slip out of the top 16 he may well carry out his threat to hang up his cue.
A row about him being paid appearance money also soured the year, with The Rocket insisting he deserved extra for being the only crowd-puller in the sport, but with Trump and Mark Allen leading a new breed of exciting young potters O'Sullivan may soon find himself just among the also-rans.