Джон Хиггинс благодарит Москву за гостеприимство
 Джон
Хиггинс: «Я рад своей победе, но настоящим победителем
был снукер. Мы с Патриком проделали большую и тяжелую работу, после
неважной посещаемости в Джерси, нам удалось привлечь тысячи болельщиков
в Варшаве, Берлине и Москве. Никогда не знаешь, что может произойти, и
мы не знали, как все пройдет в Москве». «На финале
присутствовало около 1000 болельщиков, это было чем-то особенным. Мне
действительно понравилось, что они смогли увидеть нескольких
топ-игроков в действии. Болельщики были счастливы сфотографироваться с
нами или просто взять автограф. Это не похоже на Великобританию, где
нас воспринимают, как нечто обыденное». «Я был вне
себя от радости, увидев, уровень организации турнира в Москве. За
кулисами также все было великолепно, в России отличные организаторы и
турнир функционировал, как часы». «Гостеприимство
было на невероятном уровне. Кроме вина и еды мы насладились поездкой на
Красную Площадь, увидели Кремль, где состоится Гранд-Финал. Так же, как
и все игроки, с нетерпением жду возвращения сюда в
марте». Top-Snooker HIGGINS'
BIG THANK YOU TO MOSCOW
JOHN HIGGINS has revealed he was blown away
by the success of Moscow.
Back home in Scotland this week
after putting Ding Junhui to the sword following a superbly-executed
5-0 win in the fourth leg of the FSTC Sports Management World Series of
Snooker , Higgins admitted he did not quite know what to expect when
the idea of playing in the Russian Capital was first
mooted.
But he does now and as far as Higgins is concerned -
RUSSIA ROCKS.
Higgins, architect of the World Series ,
along with Pat Mooney, chief executive of FSTC Sports
Management, is understandably proud of what the duo have achieved,
taking snooker to mainland Europe.
He was joined in Moscow by
fellow star pros Mark Selby and Dinghui - unfortunately Graeme Dott had
to stay behind to be beside his pregnant wife Elaine - and left singing
the praises of the first top tournament to be staged over
there.
It's fair to say the competition in the Krilya Sovetov
sports arena, which is renowned for hosting boxing events, was a
knockout.
And while Junhui might have felt he had been smacked
on the nose by an in-form Higgins, there was really no losers
in the latest leg of the tournament, following hot on the heels of
earlier success stories in Warsaw and Berlin.
Higgins said :
"I'm delighted I won but the real winner was the game of
snooker.
"Pat and I have worked long and hard to put this all
together and while the crowds in the first leg in Jersey were poor,
Warsaw, Berlin and Moscow attracted thousands of
supporters.
"You never know what is going to happen and Pat
and I both had an element of uncertainty as to how many would turn up
in Moscow.
"But the fans turned up in their numbers and we had
1000 inside the arena for the final which was a bit
special.
"What I really liked was how appreciative
they were of being able to watch some of the world's best players in
action.
"When they came up and asked for a
photograph or an autograph you could see how excited they
were.
"It's not quite the same in the UK when
sometimes the fans take you a bit for granted.
"Overall, I was
chuffed to bits at how well everyone was treated in
Moscow.
"The behind the scenes work was excellent, the Russian
organisers were superb and as a result the tournament ran like
clockwork.
"That's all you can ask for and for me to
win the event was the icing on the cake.
"And when
the boys were not at the snooker table, the hospitality was
unbelievable.
" Apart from being wined the dined we also
enjoyed a day out in Red Square and saw the Kremlin where the grand
final will be held in March.
"I cannot wait to get
back and all the players feel the same." By John
Docherty
theworldseriesofsnooker.com
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