Neil Robertson Vs Stephen Hendry In The Ultimate Snooker Skills Challenge

the next player to take up the Q-tips challenge is none other than Neil Robertson Neil Robertson thank you very much an honor there's five challenges well there's actually six there's a sixth one which decides the winner but the main five challenges we're starting here so we got an S step obviously start here and you going to put as many balls as you can but in order so you get a point for each red obviously you can't move another red you can't no you can move any pocket you want and thanks to our sponsors fair play we're going to have a 50 wag on this but it's you guys that are going to keep the money if you want to take part I've been starting first you want to start first or you want I mean you can uh you can have are you sure I actually thought when I D this challenge would be quite easy but see I'm struggling already yeah you don't want to land straight do you I guess no trying to pinch a bit there that's a good shot I think I mean the shot is to screw off the cushion really isn't it oh go I've gone too far oh well do you know what the shot is here then a triple in the Middle where like hit here hit the hit the red into here oh to get to go to put it in there yeah because don't you have to hold for well do well exactly yeah and you can't hit the red so I think you got to try the triple in the middle God now when I dream this Char up I thought this would be really easy actually when you get past which I've done in practice when you get pass the first five it becomes easy once you get middle of the table it becomes easy I've gone too far I've done a that's a good shot that's a show I should have played yeah but this is getting harder now nice that was a good shot that was a that was um The Mark Allen Bridge yeah yeah you get your bridge on right close Mark Allen it's like you in your chair and he's like lands dodgy on the blue and all sudden he does this mega short bridge and he like somehow holds it I think you stand across here right yeah he must I'm actually no cuz I'm scared of touching the red sh beautiful I got to the pink see now it becomes straightforward doesn't it you putting a lot of practice at the moment I amate yeah more more than ever not not your best Seas s on tour is it no it's not my best season and certainly one that uh if you told me I was going to have at the start of it I I wouldn't have believed you but um here we are it's uh it's certainly an exciting challenge someone sent to me two years ago that you you might possible have to qualify for the Cruis B I would say you're abs absolutely nuts what you mean after I won the Players Champion to Champ back to back exactly yeah I know like Larry David I said are you nuts I know yeah crazy but um I actually haven't played bad this season at all but I don't know I think maybe maybe some opponents picked up on maybe you know maybe not full of confidence or something and I mean confidence is everything right it doesn't matter who you full of confidence it doesn't matter but um you know but since the master though my form's picked up massively like I'm playing much much much better yeah lot of centries and stuff so I feel really good about my game but um yeah but qualifying for the world is something that's uh you know it's probably going to be something I have to face so but that's fine why not if you win the World open if I win the World open no but um I'm not going to put all my eggs in my basket and think well would that if if you went out there thinking I have to win this would that not like really get your no because I've been doing that all season all right okay I had that record right every year since 2006 I've won a tournament and this that was this last calendar year was the first one I didn't and like start of the Season it was like I just want to I just want to win my first tournament and then then then I don't have to worry about it and then semis of Shanghai and then the next tournament you know next few and all because I knew I was going to Australia I was going to miss the last couple of tournaments yeah someone from World Snooker came in during during the Irish and goes uh yeah Neil you you like your records he's like a new guys just started working goes Neil you like your records uh you know if you don't if you got two tournaments left if you don't win one uh your your records finished he go does that put you under pressure or is that something that I'm like who who the hell are you like you know as if he's someone from uh like you know one of the the Tablo newspapers or something and so of course I was like oh yeah no no no I I think it's a great challenge you know like I want to knock the guy out for putting that into my head halfway during a tournament you're cruising though cruising though and so um so I lost and then the the pressure of that record was actually more than the form itself actually because it was something I was really proud of you know be like some of yours you know when you've like won four tournaments like you won the Masters like you won one you won five in a row or something you know you're scared of Los you know or like when you won four worlds in a row didn't four five worlds in a row you know you want to just whatever you have you want to keep them going as long as possible so I felt a bit of pressure to kind of keep that and and what I did was I think I became a bit desperate you know and I looked like I was trying to Force wins rather than just let let it happen yeah you know so but um now it's gone it's like it's almost a relief really in a way yeah cuz now I can just just focus on and no one's going to bring it up you know so well sorry I had to bring it up there that's right you you let off but anyway this is this this challenge should make you feel better cuz you've absolutely rinsed me in this this challenge I made it an S because of my name and it's my worst should have done an N Fly flying now very good very good very very good has anyone ever done the whole lot you're the second person ah I'm not going to do a spoiler on camera and say who it was but you're the second was very well played the S one is is actually quite good if you're doing that as a practice routine where you not let a touch a cushion or something it' be quite good for your touch so this is the second challenge six Reds six different colors so when you po the color it stays down and the colors Count Their Own value I went first last one you can go first here right okay so anywhere you want maybe I'll go to the bul colors first I'm working my way up the table rather than going I like the effort you're putting into the thought you're putting into this I always think taking one of the Reds from the blue got be the first two for sure y oh and you can't touch colors like no no you can't touch well if you sort of Grays pass right take it but you can't can and want to like like move this red so the blue goes kind of thing right right okay I still keep going to pick it out but it stays down yeah big match the pink and black [Applause] interesting see what red you're playing it's going to go this one rid of the blue and then remove that one and go for the green good Ploy keeping The Two Reds that end with a for the pink and black do you think I mean obviously we hope we don't but do you think if you have to qualify for the world that'll take bit of pressure off I actually said a couple of years ago I said I'd almost rather be a qualifier com going a couple matches under your belt yeah cuz you're coming in against the seed where the pressure is all on them you know cuz I think that was one of ding's best years they had no pretty qualified kind of had no yeah he qualified easily and then he came in and he was super sharp I mean I don't think anyone want to draw me out of the draw not at all not at all yeah that' be the one ball in the hat that no one wants but I mean but it's John as well John John's going to have to qualify too I think John Higgins really yeah John is is there as well quite close Ja Jack lazowski is out so there's a lot of really good players like who yeah Al Alan mcmanis said that he believes there's like there's kind of like 30 top 16 players now in terms of the standard and the way we the way our ranking system is is that you know it's very top heavy in the prize money which means it's top heavy in the points cuz you don't we don't have like a proper point system so if you're like if you were like me a couple of years ago you win Players Championship to a championship that's a lot of points to just come off yeah and if you're making even if you're making quar or semi-finals that's not enough to make up you have to back that up with wins you know we've actually seen that with players who have actually fallen off the tour like Michael Hulk he won the shootout which was like big prize big and a l of but then he knows that all points are coming off and then came off melg one he the shoot out all the points come off heal too you know it's a lot of points to get one H dis isn't it yeah but I mean you know it is it is what yeah see you're talking to [Laughter] talking oh good shot good shot get on the cush stop get on the cush stop look at that was like the black knocked in for the maximum in the final UK 100% record so far have you noticed much difference in the game since uh you started like doing all the commentary and punditry work in the studio and stuff I a couple of years or anything the game seems have slowed down a lot yeah the game slowed down I think the win has become all important um there's very few players um or very few players there players that yeah used to I mean Mark Allen for example it's very difficult to criticize someone who's winning trophies you mean because you just look why you you know he's winning why but I see 30 seconds of a shot for someone who's normally 22 23 and I see is that is that the game he wants to play but listen you want to win you want to win iose I mean he won a few events last season won a few this season hasn't he I do yeah I do I do see a lot of players going going that way of especially safety play I think trying to be too clever with safety for me safety was an afterthought and I know that's an oldfashioned opinion because their safety is so important now to play but I used to think with you know get the cuq on the bul who should I'd rather have stick someone here and make them play off the pack than snooker them every going to get leave push and drop on something you know put them under pressure to play play a shot I think but listen the brake building's incredible now yeah you got all the information out there like on YouTube a lot of good YouTube channels and and you can all you can watch all the matches that like when Ronnie's playing jud's playing and do you watch a lot still yeah yeah I do yeah yeah yeah I don't watch all the tournaments like I'll if I think it's like a good match if I think like you know maybe like Ronnie and Jud playing or you know John Selby like you know if there's anything I think is could be a bit interesting match I you I might tune in watch a bit of it but I won't watch A Match just for the sake of watching SN would you would you like still learn stuff of other players are I think I think I think Ronnie and John are the two that I think is still it can be like educational I think you know just try to predict what they're going to play and then see what they do play I think from Ronnie's perspective of how he just never plays Scrappy frames yeah it's obviously a big one for me right if I can avoid the scrappy frames then yeah there's not many players who can beat me no no and that's why I think for you the way you play the way you dominate players and Bully players I don't think safety's no it's not through it's not priority safety doing someone's nut no it's getting in you know good long balls or good safety and oh dear he's cleared up he's cleared up this is the problem though if I keep doing my job then you can't catch me so what do you have to do here so this is a speed challenge 15 Reds start where you like you get 90 seconds to clear up if you don't clear up in 90 seconds we just count how many Reds if you do clear up within 90 seconds you get 10 point bonus if you miss keep going okay yep so it's basically just to try and clear up in the time [Music] try and keep the cube all this side of the [Music] table bit all over the place see should be a good yeah running around now as long as you don't miss I [Music] guess I'm leaving the Reds too spaced [Music] out good playing this quick cuz I don't have to think about anything the technique yeah no thoughts good in my oh no one seen that no that's fine that's fine in trouble oh dear what's going on here stop no the last thing you want is have to use a [Music] rest [Music] recovery 5 Seconds oh no what are you doing I got panicked do you still I'm done I have to beat 14 essentially yes basically you have to clear you clear up yeah as ahead time for Neil to take part while he's doing this I'm going to give you a little word about our sponsor as I mentioned before Neil and I have got a little wager on who will win but it'll be you guys that can win the prize yeah everyone's got a mate that doesn't pay their bets Fair plays here to hold them accountable the fair playay exchange app allows you to challenge your friends and put real money on the line the app is completely free and allows you to place bets with your mates without the need for physical cash and once they've signed up it takes them 20 seconds to place a [Applause] bit big strides around the table you can bet in absolutely anything you want pool golf snooker keep track of how you're getting on against your mates so you can bring it up next time you play them there's no Commission on a bet your place for your pals you keep exactly 100% of the winnings so if you both put on a tener the winner gets that 2020 if you want to have the chance to win for free sign up to fair play exchange using the link that's in the description and use the code Q-tips it takes no time to get started you not close control the C Ball would have to say going well now [Applause] though oh that was a good pot sorry for a left hander [Music] though plenty time plenty time plenty time well done very impressive my idea was to like just slowly Shuffle Shuffle across was over after two shots this challenge is a safety challenge so you can go either green spot or yellow spot yeah you play the figure of eight shot okay the idea we put five Reds here if you choose to make a cannon on any of those five you get one point okay with every red you take away make it a smaller Target you get another point so you get three goes so it's accumulation of the points hang on let's just see if it's possible oh he wants a practice no well because I don't even know if it's possible on this table might slide table yes oh no I can't I can't hit that any thicker okay is it possible I think for a r we have to have a little asteris here because some tables of cloth slide more so I'm going to allow to put the cube ball a bit further to the left of the the spot now the players that have taken part so far are going to complain but but Mark Williams table like the cloth was pretty old was it but it still slid a lot of that a lot yeah um but yeah but it's my competition so I can do what I want end of the day let's go for Five Points like it soz I I think that I'll only hit that one anyway don't oh no was it going to hit it yeah but I don't know if it had the pace yeah would have had the pace that's that's close double kiss oh get in boom good this is not going well this challenge I'm getting absolutely Ely ruined it's too much oh the dou I would have missed it out there yet so you got it wide wow but Five Points though I'm happy with that what are you going to do uh I'm going to go five first I just want to get get a go for it you were asking me early what I see in in commentating I think safety players improved so much even the qualifiers I'm playing you know players that are obviously I mean I'm going in round one players at rank 60 70 80 they still the safety game they don't kind of leave you the free to nothings anymore do they no even with my safety game surely can hit five no double kiss you should have gone for one so what what are you going to you're going to do it now I'm going to have to so if you get it now then you win well I've got three goals I could get another 10 I could get 10 points here this could bring me right back into it oh no that's nowhere I bitcher that wait that could yes it could look it's going to keep running the table oh my God stop come on come on come on come on come on that's unbelievable that is unbelievable I used the force there I mean that is joke fan of Star Wars I used the force that is a joke that's perfect too white no wow so so you got five points each yeah Five Points each Five Points each no no I got six you got one cuz you you left five there it was only after the first one that you took him away yeah you hit the one that was would have been worth five if you start off yeah so you only got one oh no so you were like a millimeter away from try to get into this challenge okay the fifth challenge basically clearing the colors you see they're on the wrong spots so that's all that's all there is to really however many points you score the colors have their own value so it's my turn to go first I'm in big trouble oh no where's that going you you're going to kiss the green please full ball kiss flick it oh you have you had a result I can't tell is that is that the worst shot you've ever seen I mean that is just a joke a little dinky uh that is just a joke this game used to be easy please tell me I haven't just scored two points please tell me I haven't just scored two points you have all right I've watched you do that and so I got to uh make sure I don't well you you'll have some control over your back swing though it's irrelevant now I think that's not the best shot [Applause] but we haven't failed the challenge yet so all right yeah I haven't o that wasn't a good shot still got believeable they scored two here a shot 27 points clearance from Robertson how's your chance to uh yeah I mean I just I'm not going to sleep tonight the last challenge normally if the points are quite close this can make a difference all we do here is you get the balls and you're rolling down the table the all got to hit the cushion you've now got cball in hand you just put as many balls as you can the the colors have their value you don't have to put red color red color yeah just just just roll them down just roll them they've all got to get it's like a smarty Factory I think I've had a result there okay it would be funny if I missed that and I can can I touch other balls yeah yeah do what you want yeah another thing i' I've seen or or the lack of and being com obviously I don't watch a lot of the Euros sport tournaments cuz I don't work for Eurosport but have you seen any real super talented youngsters like a a Ronnie leer yeah I mean we'll never see a Ronnie again that's just cuz I few there a few Chinese players who who uh this is the thing that the the young Chinese players like they they're technically in that capable of playing top eight snooker nearly all of them but I think the safety side of things because they're just thrusted onto the main tour they're not learning how to play the game when Tang Pang F come in the channel I was asking him um because a lot of the Chinese players wouldn't have the Q Power the lik of you guys have and he says because they're over coached yes no that's what yeah that's what I was getting and I think that when they start missing a couple they Tinker too much don't back their talent in 10 years time it would be much easier to win events because there won't be the likes of like you know maybe like you know myself John Ronnie Selby Jud Jud will still be but like you know maybe me as well who knows but it it won't be the same the level you know so the level will drop off a lot that's that's why I fear I fear for like you know what snooker will look like but the players right just now like you guys are so special it's just I look for players that are going to continue that on yeah and harder to compete with the other sports as well right you know like I think if you look after if you look at the um the world darts Championship you know there was so many kids buying dart boards because of luk Luke lit you know like the young kid coming through I think there was like somebody put up a um a graphic of the current top 16 all of them apart from two over the age of 30 and 40 really yeah only Luca is 28 uh I can't I can't think of the other player who's who's under I can't think of the other one who's under 30 um cuz I look I look in golf and a lot of sports when you 880 that's when you need to be starting winning not just be like for the future yeah and it's getting harder to knock us off because you know unless you have like um a physical problem in the game or something snakers is very much like an age of sport like you know your body won't just tell you to pack up cuz you got bad hamstrings or a bad back or actually the black doesn't completely gu trick me oh it goes by a mile come on come on easy but yeah I like snooker's got a long way to go in terms of like making sure young players keep playing I think it's really important as well we keep developing the young players from the UK because whether we like it or not like the sport is massive here and this is where you get the most exposure of course like everyone Associates with Ronnie or Sullivan the support he gets and you know what he brings to the to the game and but when Ronnie's you know not here anymore it's like well who's the next one to take over yeah but you got to have personality as well you can't just KN in centy breaks like you know general public don't really care about that like when when they understand the game then they appreciate that and then but you know they need to see good characters and yeah that's what I think as much as for Ronnie's the way play snooker as his character we're never going to see anyone like him again no he's able to have the character of like a Alex Higgins or Jimmy white but be so dominant as well and yeah and and Ultra professional yeah I mean there Tom right I mean it's a hard question obviously because you're you're going to be in the world championship involved but I mean can you see him winning the eth this year and Sur passing your record yeah this year um do you think he needs to do it sooner rather later he's had an unbelievable season yeah for me on the other side looking it who's going to stop him me without obviously you're right in front of me I'm thinking if you're not your best who's going to stop him I mean yeah I'm probably the type of character who wouldn't be scared of them in that kind of not many though is there no there's not and there's not many he actually respects as well yeah to be him yeah yeah no I know I know what you mean there yeah I mean especially over that kind of distance as well you know I think once he gets down to the quarters or semis I think before the quarters he can kind of lose to anyone in the field yeah but as soon as he gets down to the quarters or semis then all a sudden the amount of people that could actually beat him in a semi-final comes down to the all the top players you're most vulnerable in the early early stag you're going to get better as a tournament goes on it just depends on him I think if his mindset is really good and that and you know we we saw the documentary yeah you know um what he goes through I don't know yeah I really I think a lot a lot of it really does depend on him I thought it was almost a certainty last year yeah yeah until he I don't know I don't know what happened with I watched the last session with lucer and the worst I've ever seen him kind of play you know I agree I commentated on it and I I I I couldn't believe well I couldn't remember the last time I seen him play that bad at The Crucible in a session I think he has three blacks of a spot I think which is yeah he did but you know it was a yeah I don't know yeah he just had a bad Luka was good but he wasn't outstandingly good in that session Luca's best match was the final yeah at the start of every session he was just devastating like like you and these challenges don't look like missing they men me of these challenges I think I've got to play a cannon now I wanted to just Landing right behind it that must be one of your prodest achievements right amongst all the tournament went do the first player to make 100 centuries that se that was incredible cuz I've really wanted to become like the first player to do it you know cuz you never know how many ts are going to add or whatever you know Jud as well and jud's always like he's a Sentry monster he hates missing on 80 and 90 as well whether he says it or not but he just send it you know he's desperate but I love that though you know like I think when some people go oh yeah but you try to make him it's like what do you think it's a good idea to miss on 80 instead of make 140 so your opponent's in the chair for longer and crowd's going nuts and well the thing is you make 80 miss an easy boy you go back to your chair on a negative you missed an easy shot yeah be like yeah like a golfer or desperate to make a birdie or something the cannon is it I think think so oh no I wanted the double kiss wow here we are it's all come down to this double yeah into there well I saying is it not on here no no I think into here [Music] okay no into there I told you yes Steven that's what I told you it was sorry that's what I meant of course I meant that it was obvious it's a bit of a confidence booster now for the rest of my season well if you go in the season when the world open when the world CH I'm taking the credit yeah yeah absolutely channel is taking the credit but again though it's actually not a bad little practice practice exercise to do I bet you get stitched up here where some of them are going wa look at that wait that's got to go like on The Pink Spot or something in it if it goes in [Music] yeah I didn't have to make a cannon until the end I didn't even have to make a cannon but it looks like you have to make all sorts of cannons do you start off with the blue yeah start with blue and try and bring the black out I mean this is just a joke to the green this could end very quickly pink this could end it's not even a plan I mean it's like you to play cushion first oh don't go for the so hard I got to do it oh that's a great shot what a shot that was just for my own self respect just try and clear up oh over hit that by a long way it's a good shot again put the green there oh that is unbelievable like especially if you look at it from my angle as well it looked like you've arked it perfectly and then you've just miss I guess that doesn't cut in from there does it oh any chance of anything else going wrong here oh my God that doesn't go nice too high I won't go in unlucky Steven I knew robton very well all right cheers buddy pleasure to watch in action

Channel: Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips

Views: 272,519

Keywords: snooker, stephen hendry, cue tips, snooker 2023, world snooker, neil robertson, cue tips challenge, mark williams

Id: 8gX3mZiBA8c

Length: 31min 37sec (1897 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 10 2024