Talking Snooker

Nick and Phil welcome all-time snooker great John Higgins to the podcast for a marquee episode. The four-time world champion speaks to us at length about his incredible life and career in the sport. Among the many topics we cover are: Higgins and his relationships with fellow Class of 92 members Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams; confrontations with Alex Higgins; turning professional and his early days on tour; his first world title in 1998 and further glory at the Crucible; losing three successive world finals and his future in the game. Plus for the first time, Higgins talks in detail about his ban in 2010 after being set up and secretly recorded by a Sunday newspaper.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. Your feedback would be much appreciated. And a review of the podcast, especially if you listen via Apple, would be especially welcome. We'll return next time to reflect on this special conversation with Higgins. If you want to contact us on any snooker matter, you can do so via Twitter @TalkingSnooker or by emailing [email protected]

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Nick and Phil are joined by Brendan Cooper, author of the superb book 'Deep Pockets: Snooker and the Meaning of Life'. Brendan chats about his love of snooker and how the book came about. We also talk through the latest news and results from the Championship League and round-up everything else from the snooker world, including Rob Walker completing his nationwide cycle and run for charity.

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Nick and Phil are joined by Jeremy Wilson from The Telegraph to address your latest correspondence. Topics include the recent match fixing verdicts, referees and the prospects of Kyren Wilson. We also find out about Jeremy's love of snooker and career, along with talk on snooker's position in the media landscape. Plus we welcome in the new season with chat about the start of the Championship League.

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Louis Heathcote, one of the best young talents in snooker, joins Nick and Phil after coming through Q School 2023. He tells us about the gruelling, emotional tournament, how he celebrated success and the ups and downs of his four years on tour so far.

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It's a sad time for snooker as ten players have been banned, two for life, after the sport's biggest ever match fixing scandal. Nick and Phil reflect on the punishments and the report that explains why the bans range from just under two years for Zhao Xintong to a lifetime for Liang Wenbo and Li Hang. This is probably the saddest episode of the podcast we've ever brought you but clearly necessary and we'd appreciate your company and feedback.

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Phil and Nick are back with the first episode of the Talking Snooker summer season for 2023. There's a look back at the World Seniors and WST Awards for 22/23. Plus the recent Women's British Open and news from Q School, including the four players who earned two year tour cards from Event One. We also catch up on your views and round up the rest of the snooker news.

*3 minutes - World Seniors

*9 minutes - WST Awards

*17 minutes - Women's British Open

*22 minutes - Q School

*32 minutes - Correspondence

*50 minutes - Match fixing scandal

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Nick and Phil reflect on a famous triumph for Luca Brecel and a memorable World Championship at the Crucible. There's plenty of talk about the Brecel v Mark Selby final in Sheffield, two contrasting semi-finals and the tournament as a whole. There's also a look back at the key moments of the season and a catch up with your correspondence. The podcast will now take a break for a few weeks, before we return with our summer season of programmes.

*1 minute - World Championship final

*21 minutes - World semis

*30 minutes - Tournament overall

*38 minutes - Correspondence

*One hour, 12 minutes - Review of Season

*One hour, 32 minutes - Goodbye to 22/23

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Phil and Nick are joined by the chairman of World Seniors Snooker, Jason Francis, at the Ronnie O'Sullivan shop. There's plenty of chat about Ronnie O'Sullivan's career and future, the forthcoming World Seniors Championship and the 900. If you'd like to have your say on anything you've heard on the podcast, please do tweet us @TalkingSnooker or email [email protected]

*1 minute - Talk about Ronnie O'Sullivan, including the Ronnie shop

*14 minutes - World Seniors Championship

*32 minutes - Reflections on The 900

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Nick and Phil are joined by one of snooker's super fans, Brian Wright, in Sheffield's Tudor Square to talk about the latest developments at the World Championship. There's a review of every second round and quarter-final match, including victory for Luca Brecel over Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby seeing off John Higgins and Si Jiahui making the last four. There's also a look ahead to the semi-finals.

Brian also talks about ticket prices and his belief they've now risen too much for this tournament, amid stories about empty seats in the first year of the new Century Club hospitality tickets. There's plenty too about Brian's tradition of wearing Coventry shirts at the Crucible and his great love for the event, which he's been attending for decades.

We are also honoured that Brian chose his time with us to share personal details about his life and his significant recent mental health issues of recent times. We would like to say that if you've been affected by anything you've heard in this episode, there are a number of organisations out there that will be able to help. You can contact the Samaritans at http://www.samaritans.org or call this number for free from any phone in the UK and Ireland: 116 123

*5 minutes - Second round review

*24 minutes - Quarter-finals review

*35 minutes - Semi-final review

*46 minutes - Brian Wright on mental health issues

*One hour, 10 minutes - Brian Wright on Crucible ticket prices

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