Sunday 25 September 2016

Shanghai Masters-Glory for Ding

An emotional Ding Junhui claimed the 2016 Shanghai Masters title earlier today,with a 10-6 win over world champion Mark Selby in a highly entertaining final

This was Dings 12th ranking title and ends a two year ranking title drought for the Chinese number 1 and gained him a small slice of revenge for his Crucible final loss to Selby last March.

Those two seasons had been torrid for Ding,as he seemed to lose all confidence and had fallen so low as to have to qualify for that world championship.Those days can be forgotten now though as what we saw this week was the Ding of old.

Into the match itself and though both showed themselves to be in good stroke early on with a century each,it was Selby who took the lead to the first interval at 3-1.From here though it was all Ding and as his confidence grew he first drew level at 3-3 ,before continuing to dominate,eventually reeling off five in a row to finish the session 6-3 ahead.

If we know anything about Selby though it is that he never gives in and into the evening session he made a storming start,rolling in breaks of 76,102 & 53 without reply to level it up at 6-6. 

This made the next frame vitally important and it is a testament to Dings mental strength that he could knock in a superb 97 to edge ahead again at 7-6.

That put him on the front foot again and when they resumed further breaks of 52 & 63 put him on the brink of victory at 9-6.That victory eventually came in the next,despite the best snookering efforts of Selby,as Ding sealed the 10-6 win.

This was really an excellent final and a fitting end to what has been a super week of snooker. The crowds were great and the atmosphere for the final was possibly the best we've had for a final In China.The fact that we only had 32 players at the venue really helped as it didn't have the rushed feeling we get from so many of the flat draw tournaments. It was also nice to not have best of 7's for a change.

As for the players,this was the second great final between these two in a matter of months and if the Selby v Ding rivalry was to become the narrative for the season,we wont have any complaints.

Saturday 24 September 2016

Shanghai Masters Semi Final Round Up

The final of the 2016 Shanghai Masters will be a repeat of last seasons world final as Mark Selby once again takes on Ding Junhui for the £85,000 top prize.

Mark Selby was the first player to secure his place in the final ,but only after completing a trademark Selby comeback to eventually sneak past Stuart Bingham 6-5.

This of course was a battle between the games two most recent world champions and at different times today,they each showed flashes of the form that helped them claim those titles.

First out of the blocks in this one was Selby,who,with the help of breaks of 76 & 65,went to the interval leading 3-1.When they resumed though the game changed completely as Selby's form went walkabout under a barrage of scoring from Bingham.Runs of 67 & 123 drew him level,before further breaks of 72 & 87 gave him four frames in a row and put Bingham on the brink of the final at 5-3.

As we all know by now though,there is noone in the game at the moment more dangerous when he's behind than Selby.Back he came to take a scrappy ninth,before breaks of 63 & 68 drew him level at 5-5 to force the decider.From here there was probably only one winner and the world no.1 got over the line to secure his final place.

His opponent there will be Ding Junhui who shook off the challenge of Stephen Maguire 6-3 to claim his final place.This one didn't quite have the quality of the first semi final as a cagey start saw them go to the interval at 2-2.

A counter attack in the fifth frame saw Maguire take the lead at 3-2,but that was as good as it got for the Scot as Ding took the next four to seal the 6-3 win.

So as I said this is a repeat of last years Crucible decider and I'm sure Ding will be hoping he starts this one a bit better than he did that.Lets hope he does and that both players give this tournament the final it deserves.

Friday 23 September 2016

Shanghai Masters Quarer Finals Round Up.

Four players remain in the hunt to be crowned the 2016 Shanghai masters champion after a day of hard fought last 8 action.

The first semi final tomorrow will see the last two world champions battling it out for a place in the final as Stuart Bingham takes on Mark Selby

Bingham has shown a welcome return to form here this week,but in truth didn't have to be near his best today as Ali Carter struggled to reproduce the snooker that had seen him beat John Higgins yesterday.

Bingham took the opening two frames here to lead 2-0,before Carter got on the board taking the third frame on the black.That was as good as it got for him though as Bingham pulled away again to seal a comfortable 5-1 victory.

Mark Selby on the other hand had to fight a bit harder to reach the semi final against a stubborn Ryan Day.

This was a tight affair with Selby perhaps counting himself lucky to be leading 3-1 at the interval.The next couple were shared,before Day got back within one again at 4-3.That was as close as  got though as Selby got the frame he needed to close out the 5-3 win.

The other semi final see's home favourite Ding Junhui take on probably the player of the week so far in Stephen Maguire.

In an exciting match Ding finally ended the challenge of Michael Holt to the delight of the home crowd as he sealed his semi final spot with a 5-3 win.

It was Ding who took the early initiative here to lead 2-0,but runs of 77 & 50 drew Holt level at the interval.Ding again edged ahead with a 103 when they resumed,but back came Holt again with a 64 to make it 3-3.It was Ding though who pulled away again with a 61 to go 4-3 and he sealed the win in the next to secure his last four place.

Stephen Maguire had a much easier time of it as he swept by Michael White 5-1..

Both best of 11 semi finals take place tomorrow with Selby v Bingham up first with Ding v Maguire following in the evening.

Thursday 22 September 2016

Shanghai Masters Last 16 Round Up

Last 16 day in Shanghai and we had victory for the home favourite,good wins for the last two world champions and  the exit of a couple of the games legends legends,

The home crowds once again went home happy as Ding Junhui progressed to the quarter finals with an impressive 5-2 win over Mark Allen.

Ding had struggled in the previous round to see off Scott Donaldson ,but although he lost the first frame here he quickly found his groove to reel off four in a row to lead 4-1.A 64 was enough for Allen to pull one back in the next,but Ding was not to be denied as he took the next to seal the win

He will now face Michael Holt,who followed up his victory over the defending champion Kyren Wilson in the last round with another fine display today to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-2.

Although he had come through the last round by the skin of hid teeth it didn't mask just rusty Ronnie had appeared to be and against an opponent like Holt has become,you simply can't get away with that.Three frames in a row from Holt here saw him turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead and although Ronnie threatened to spark a comeback in the next,another miss on an easy black spelled the end for him as Holt cleared with 64 to seal a famous win.

A strange thing that seemed to creep into Judd Trumps game last season was a tendency for the wheels to fall off when he seemed to be completely in control in a match and that reared its head again today against Michael White.

Trump had won his first round here without dropping a frame and stormed into a 3-0 lead today,but back came White and Trump had no answer as the Welshman won five in a row to win 5-3.

He will face the maximum man Stephen Maguire who continued his fine run here this week with a 5-3 win over Barry Hawkins.

Former world champ Stuart Bingham surely must be starting to grow in confidence again as he booked his quarter final place with another solid display to overcome David Gilbert 5-2 & he next faces Ali Carter again showed his game to be in a good place beating John Higgins 5-2

World champ Mark Selby needed to produce something nearing his best to eventually shake off the determined challenge of Stuart Carrington,eventually getting over the line 5-3 & will now play Ryan Day who beat Mei Xi Wen 5-2.

Quarter finals
Michael Holt v Ding Junhui
Michael White v Stephen Maguire
Stuart Bingham v Ali Carter
Mark Selby v Ryan Day

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Shanghai Masters The Story So Far.

Three days into the 2016 Shanghai Masters and we've already had plenty to thrill what seem for once to be very healthy Chinese crowds.

Of course to begin with here,we had the dreaded wildcard round,which although nothing more than an inconvenience to most,still always seems to trip someone up.This time it was Martin Gould who went down 5-0 to 16 year old Yuan Sijan..The other thing of note from this round was a 147 from Stephen Maguire in his win over Yi Chen Zu.

Into the tournament proper then and we've already said goodbye to our defending champion Kyren Wilson who wen down 5-2 to the always tricky Michael Holt..He will next face Ronnie O'Sullivan,found some form just in the nick of time as he fought back from 4-1 to beat Liang Wenbo 5-4.

Home favourite Ding Junhui had to also use all his battling skills to eventually see off Scott Donaldson 5-4 & he will now face Mark Allen who dispatched recent Indian Open winner Anthony McGill 5-0.

Michael White held his nerve to see off Ricky Walden in a deciding frame 5-4 where by contrast his opponent in the  next round Judd Trump had a much easier time of it,easing past Ben Woollaston 5-0.

5-0 scorelines were much the order of the day as Barry Hawkins whitewashed Robert Milkins to set up a last 16 clash with the in form Stephen Maguire who dispatched new father Shaun Murphy by the same scoreline.

Stuart Bingham showed signs of a welcome return to form with a 5-0 win over Jamie Jones and he will now play David Gilbert,who turned around a 3-0 deficit against Marco Fu,winning in the end 5-4.

Also making a slow start in his match was John Higgins,who was perhaps lucky to reach his interval with Matt Selt only 3-1 behind,but the veteran Scot found his touch when they resumed to run out a 5-3 winner.

A slow start is probably not a luxury Higgins can afford in his next match though as next faces an in form opponent in Ali Carter,who dispatched Kurt Maflin with the minimum of fuss 5-1.

Ryan Day & Mei Xi Wen will also face each other after both provided the only real shocks in the first round.Day reached the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Neil Robertson  in a match that wont live long in the memory,while Mei Xi Wen beat former world champ Mark Williams 5-3.

Finally world champ Mark Selby brought the run of  Yuan Sijan to an end with a 5-1 win & will now play Stuart Carrington who beat Joe Perry 5-4..

From here the tournament now starts to up the pace with all last 16 matches taking place tomorrow.Hopefully from here the already good crowds continue to build to what could be a grandstand weekend.
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Sunday 18 September 2016

Shanghai Masters Preview

Tomorrow morning see's the start of the 2016 Shanghai Masters and is the point that for many that the new season properly begins.

That might be slightly unfair,we have after all had four events already this season,but maybe its the spaced out nature of things,or perhaps indeed just my own inability to adjust to the new reality,but it just doesn't feel like things really get going until we get to this more traditional time of year for snooker.

That said though ,those who have fully embraced summer snooker have been rewarded with some fine snooker action that has already provided those perennial winners world champion Mark Selby (Paul Hunter Classic) & Neil Robertson (Riga Masters) with their first titles of the new season,as well as Anthony McGill with his first ranking title in the Indian Open and also a heart warming victory for Ali Carter in the World Open.

A bonus for the event this year is the participation of Ronnie O'Sullivan who seems set to play a far more active role on the circuit this season,but if he is to make an impact here he will need to be on it from the word go, in a quarter of the draw that also includes defending champion Kyren Wilson,home favourites,Liang Wenbo & Ding Junhui,as well as Mark Allen and Anthony McGill.

Still I expect this section to boil down to a Quarter final between Ronnie & Ding with maybe "the Rocket" who has been performing superbly in his recent exhibition series with Judd Trump to edge it
Quarter winner Ronnie O'Sullivan

If that quarter looks tough to call,then the same can be said for the next section which includes Judd Trump,recent new father Shaun Murphy,Ricky Walden, & Barry Hawkins.Following the same template as the top quarter though I think Trump too may have benefited from that exhibition series and he may well come through here.
Quarter winner Judd Trump

Into the bottom half and one of the interesting things to see this season will be just how Stuart Bingham gets on with the weight of the world crown removed from his shoulders.Here he doesn't have the worst draw with a quarter final against either Ali Carter or John Higgins looking likely.I think that will be far as he gets though and I think that this sort of best of nine event could well see John Higgins make another bold bid for yet another ranking title.
Quarter winner John Higgins

Finally the last section will surely once again boil down to a quarter final battle between Neil Robertson & Mark Selby.These matches are always a toss of the coin but perhaps Robertson will edge this one.
Quarter winner Neil Robertson

So there we have it,what promises to be fascinating week gets underway in the morning on Eurosport and even if the weather outside has turned a little autumnal,we can take comfort in what promises to be a week of top class green baize action.