Barry Hearn admits staging a major snooker tournament in his long-time Brentwood base will be as sweet as anything put on in Beijing or Berlin.
Theoretically, the 74-year-old promoter is enjoying a happy retirement as honorary president of the Matchroom sporting empire he built from former family mansion Mascalls just off the A12 in Essex. But try asking son and current chairman Eddie if the phone has stopped ringing with a never-ending stream of ideas and advice. You don’t just put 45 years of toil behind you.
Snooker was Hearn’s first love, from the time he bought a chain of clubs in the county in the 1970s and from a then-Romford HQ unleashed Steve Davis on an unsuspecting world. Though there have been clashes and public spats with world number one and reigning world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan from nearby Chigwell, the county has proved just about big enough for both.
And the Rocket will be the main attraction as the action gets under way in the first ever ranking event in the town at the English Open in the Brentwood Centre on Monday.
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Hearn says: “Matchroom have done 750 event days of live sport around the world this year so it’s nice to have one on my doorstep. Maybe I’m getting lazy and more presidential as I get older…I can go and watch, pop in when I feel like for world class sport.
“It all started for us in Essex with the Ginger Magician himself, Steve Davis. I started myself in snooker in 1973 or 1974. So the sport does have real history in the county, with Davis coming through in the late 70s to dominate the sport in the 1980s. The Nugget, the Romford Robot some called him. And I am probably the archetypal Essex boy from the 1980s, with Margaret Thatcher and all that.
“I shall definitely go and watch. In fact it is embarrassing to say I will probably go more to this than to this season’s World Championship in Sheffield. I moved to Brentwood in 1982 and after the kids left home Mascalls became the head office. It has been a dream house and I could never, ever sell it. Too much has happened here.
“It’s also a triumphant homecoming for Ronnie as world number one and reigning world champion. Look, Ronnie is who he is – he plays when he wants, as the chant goes. But I am pleased to see him playing quite a lot right now because he is a legend, and legends don’t last forever so we want to see him as much as we can.
“He is the number one draw in the world still and gives ticket sale a big boost, no question. And I think Essex is big enough for the both of us – I am getting a lot softer and more mellow anyway.
“I am trying this retirement thing, but I have to tell you I am not very good at it. I am still sticking my nose in, I am on the ball on everything. I am still altering my snooker world rankings by hand, I am still watching every match. The crew are a great squad, but I will still have my opinions and I make sure people know them.”
Hearn also had words for seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who will be absent from the draw, as he so often has been since his underwhelming comeback in 2020. The promoter does not regret awarding a tour wildcard to the Scot for his huge contribution – but raises the possibly of a legacy being tainted.
Hearn says: “If anyone deserves a wildcard for his contribution to snooker, it is Stephen Hendry. And even though Jimmy White never won the World Championship, the same applies to him
“The difference between the two is that Jimmy is desperately trying to win matches and put in the work. And with Stephen, the common-sense decision when you are talking about class people is ‘Are you serious – don’t spoil your legacy by participating unless you feel you can be competitive.’
“And that is one for him to make his mind up rather than World Snooker, because our duty is to recognise and reward the contribution. So the decision, as it was with Steve Davis…he made his decision based on that principle and I would expect others to do the same.
“In other words, don’t embarrass yourself, don’t stay longer than you want to or are relevant. But the door is open to you provided you make the effort to be competitive.”
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
