Well if the story of the first few days of the Shanghai Masters was one of tense close ties with many going to the deciding frame today was to prove the total opposite of that with a series of one sided matches.In the first session alone the four losing players won a total of three frames between them.The evening matches were slightly more competitive but only even at that only one match reached it's eighth frame.
So what of the games themselves.
John Higgins again showed signs that his game is coming back with an impressive 5-0 win over Ryan Day. His opponent in the quarter finals will be Ali Carter who himself has also struggled to repeat the form that saw him reach the World Final at the Crucible in May but today easily swept aside Stephen Maguire again by a scoreline of 5-0.
Mark Williams who was runner up in controversial circumstances here last year continued his smooth progress through this years event with a 5-2 win over the The Wuxi Classic winner Ricky Walden..He'll face Joe Perry who inflicted a rare 5-0 whitewash on Neil Robertson.
The stand out tie of the round on paper was the clash between two of the games young guns Judd Trump and Mark Allen who have had a few interesting tussles over the last twelve months.It is perhaps wishful thinking to expect fireworks every time these two meet and today wasn't to be one of those days but in a fascinating match where he once again fell behind this time 2-0 Trump showed his fighting qualities to win five in a row and record a 5-2 victory.In the quarter final he will play Graeme Dott who beat Stephen Lee 5-1
Elsewhere Jamie Cope failed to build on his victory over the world no.1 Mark Selby going down 5-1 to Stuart Bingham who now faces Shaun Murphy who got by a battling Mark King 5-3
Tomorrow see's all four Quarter finals taking place and on current form a case can really be made for any of them to lift the title come Sunday.This should make for a very interesting few days of what has probably been the best tournament of the season so far.
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Shanghai Masters The story so far
The Wildcard round has been the subject of much debate in the snooker community over the years but on occasion they can provide a real story and that was the case here when Lu Haotain fought back from 3-0 down to beat Marco Fu. Lu first came to our attention earlier this year when he became the youngest winner of the IBSF World Under 21 Championship and he showed remarkable composure for a boy who wont turn 15 until November in sealing victory here.The first round proper was to prove a step to far as he lost 5-2 to Mark Allen but he is definately one to keep an eye on.
Allens opponent in the last 16 will be Judd Trump who showed signs he is getting his game together again as he came back from 3-0 down to beat the Australian Open winner Barry Hawkins 5-3.This was perhaps the best Judd has played in a while so this rematch of last years UK Championship final has the potential to be a classic.
Another man struggling for form despite his victory in last months Paul Hunter Classic is our World No.1 Mark Selby. he looked badly out of sorts and went out tamely to Jamie Cope losing 5-1.His opponent in the next round will be Stuart Bingham who came through his match in a deciding frame beating Tom Ford 5-4.
There was again to be disappointment for Ding Junhui and his legions of fans as he once again failed to sparkle in his homeland going down 5-4 to Mark King who will now play Shaun Murphy who also came through in a decider beating Dominic Dale 5-4
Elsewhere there is hardly anyone in the game with a better record in Asian tournaments and he once again showed his liking for this part of the world beating Mark Davis 5-1 and he will now play Ricky Walden who managed to hold his nerve beating Steve Davis 5-4 having seen "the Nugget" fight back from 4-1 down.
John Higgins has had a 2012 to forget so far but showed signs of a return to form with a fine 5-2 win over Jamie Jones and now faces Ryan Day who beat the recent PTC winner martin Gould again by a margin of 5-4.
In the remaining last 16 games we have a rematch of last seasons World semi final with Stephen Maguire facing Ali Carter following there victorie over Peter Ebdon and Rob Milkins respectively ,Joe Perry against Neil Robertson and Stephen Lee taking on Graeme Dott.
Tight close games have been the order of the day so far this week and there is no reason to think that will change as we get towards the business end of things.A fascinating few days lie ahead
Allens opponent in the last 16 will be Judd Trump who showed signs he is getting his game together again as he came back from 3-0 down to beat the Australian Open winner Barry Hawkins 5-3.This was perhaps the best Judd has played in a while so this rematch of last years UK Championship final has the potential to be a classic.
Another man struggling for form despite his victory in last months Paul Hunter Classic is our World No.1 Mark Selby. he looked badly out of sorts and went out tamely to Jamie Cope losing 5-1.His opponent in the next round will be Stuart Bingham who came through his match in a deciding frame beating Tom Ford 5-4.
There was again to be disappointment for Ding Junhui and his legions of fans as he once again failed to sparkle in his homeland going down 5-4 to Mark King who will now play Shaun Murphy who also came through in a decider beating Dominic Dale 5-4
Elsewhere there is hardly anyone in the game with a better record in Asian tournaments and he once again showed his liking for this part of the world beating Mark Davis 5-1 and he will now play Ricky Walden who managed to hold his nerve beating Steve Davis 5-4 having seen "the Nugget" fight back from 4-1 down.
John Higgins has had a 2012 to forget so far but showed signs of a return to form with a fine 5-2 win over Jamie Jones and now faces Ryan Day who beat the recent PTC winner martin Gould again by a margin of 5-4.
In the remaining last 16 games we have a rematch of last seasons World semi final with Stephen Maguire facing Ali Carter following there victorie over Peter Ebdon and Rob Milkins respectively ,Joe Perry against Neil Robertson and Stephen Lee taking on Graeme Dott.
Tight close games have been the order of the day so far this week and there is no reason to think that will change as we get towards the business end of things.A fascinating few days lie ahead
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Shanghai Masters
The snooker roadshow returns to China this week for the second of five ranking events this season when the players descend on Shanghai for this years Shanghai Masters.
In days gone by a tournament in the last week of September would be the event to launch a new snooker season following a long summer break but not anymore as we've already enjoyed a summer of snooker from PTC's to two ranking events The Australian Open and The Wuxi Classic.
Hard as it has been a supporter to get used to this change it has also proved difficult for some of the games stars who have struggled to hit top form yet this season. This could be a because they simply haven't practiced enough all summer,because with the season now been so long they are focusing on honing there games for "the Majors" as we see on golf or simply due to the fact that with so much tournament play the lack of match sharpness is no longer an issue so the playing field is far more level.
This will create very interesting situations in the years to come as if it does become clear the players at the top of the rankings aren't preparing for the off peak tournaments as they might it opens up large earning potential for those just below the top ranks.
Back to this tournament though and all the above questions haven't made predicting tournament winners any easier so I'm going to chicken out and wait until the dust has settled later in week to make any.
The whole thing gets underway tomorrow with the dreaded wildcsrd round and we'll have extensive coverage on Eurosport in this part of the world and on liveworldsnooker.tv where available.
This will create very interesting situations in the years to come as if it does become clear the players at the top of the rankings aren't preparing for the off peak tournaments as they might it opens up large earning potential for those just below the top ranks.
Back to this tournament though and all the above questions haven't made predicting tournament winners any easier so I'm going to chicken out and wait until the dust has settled later in week to make any.
The whole thing gets underway tomorrow with the dreaded wildcsrd round and we'll have extensive coverage on Eurosport in this part of the world and on liveworldsnooker.tv where available.
Monday, 10 September 2012
PTC 3 Weekend round up
There is an ad currently running on Comedy Central for Charlie Sheens new comedy show that features Charlie standing on a train track with a speeding train approaching,suddenly the train brakes,flips over and explodes.From the wreckage Charlie emerges unharmed and walks the the camera declaring C'mon everybody deserves a 24th chance" .
This is a feeling that Rod Lawler my well empathise with this morning as he reflects on his 4-2 victory over Marco Fu in last nights PTC3 final in Gloucester.As we all know Rod dropped off the tour at the end of last season after 21 years and it seem genuinely contemplated retirement before deciding to give it one more go and enter the Q School.He duly regained his tour card and the early signs this season were that he was determined to make the most of his second chance when he qualified for the Wuxi Classic.That said I dare say even in his wildest dreams he never believed he would have a weekend like this where he would beat players like Stuart Bingham and Stephen Lee in deciding frames before lifting his first professional title at the ripe old age of 41.
Perhaps its the fact we all love a good comeback story but I have rarely seen such an outpouring of joy across twitter and the internet last night following this win and it seems that Rod is a genuinely liked and likeable person.I like the quote from his father who shouted out "I've waited 30 years for this"
A word also for his final opponent Marco Fu.Fu has always been an infuriating player because on a going day he's a match for anyone but his career has been blighted by inconsistency.This however was a going weekend for him and although he ultimately fell at final hurdle he can only take great confidence going forward this season after fine wins against Stephen Maguire,Mark Williams,Ricky Walden,Ali Carter and Shaun Murphy.
Elsewhere in the tournament we had the brief reappearance of Ronnie O Sullivan who came in Saturday afternoon ,went for everything and lost 4-3 against Simon Bedford.,we had Ken Doherty and Fergal O Brien also flying the flag for the over 40's with some good victories, also we had a number of the games so called top players continuing to struggle to find their form this season which may be a worry for some and a super venue that to the dismay of many will only be hosting one more PTC event.
Following one more night of Premier League snooker this Thursday we again turn our attention for the rest of september. to China for the Shanghai Masters and Asian PTC 2
I will preview these in due course but in finishing up I want to again mention Rod Lawler who showed this weekend what hard work and dedication can lead to and I suppose the moral of the story is it doesn't matter if its your 2nd or 24th chance.it what you do with it that counts.
This is a feeling that Rod Lawler my well empathise with this morning as he reflects on his 4-2 victory over Marco Fu in last nights PTC3 final in Gloucester.As we all know Rod dropped off the tour at the end of last season after 21 years and it seem genuinely contemplated retirement before deciding to give it one more go and enter the Q School.He duly regained his tour card and the early signs this season were that he was determined to make the most of his second chance when he qualified for the Wuxi Classic.That said I dare say even in his wildest dreams he never believed he would have a weekend like this where he would beat players like Stuart Bingham and Stephen Lee in deciding frames before lifting his first professional title at the ripe old age of 41.
Perhaps its the fact we all love a good comeback story but I have rarely seen such an outpouring of joy across twitter and the internet last night following this win and it seems that Rod is a genuinely liked and likeable person.I like the quote from his father who shouted out "I've waited 30 years for this"
A word also for his final opponent Marco Fu.Fu has always been an infuriating player because on a going day he's a match for anyone but his career has been blighted by inconsistency.This however was a going weekend for him and although he ultimately fell at final hurdle he can only take great confidence going forward this season after fine wins against Stephen Maguire,Mark Williams,Ricky Walden,Ali Carter and Shaun Murphy.
Elsewhere in the tournament we had the brief reappearance of Ronnie O Sullivan who came in Saturday afternoon ,went for everything and lost 4-3 against Simon Bedford.,we had Ken Doherty and Fergal O Brien also flying the flag for the over 40's with some good victories, also we had a number of the games so called top players continuing to struggle to find their form this season which may be a worry for some and a super venue that to the dismay of many will only be hosting one more PTC event.
Following one more night of Premier League snooker this Thursday we again turn our attention for the rest of september. to China for the Shanghai Masters and Asian PTC 2
I will preview these in due course but in finishing up I want to again mention Rod Lawler who showed this weekend what hard work and dedication can lead to and I suppose the moral of the story is it doesn't matter if its your 2nd or 24th chance.it what you do with it that counts.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
PTC3 Preview.
I'm not entirely sure of the reason,it could be the fact we had a summer with the European Championships and the marvelous London Olympics or the fact that following his few monthes in exile that we have Ronnie back or it may even be just that we are now in September and we are conditioned that with the evenings drawing our thoughts turn to all things snooker,but it really seems that despite having already had two full ranking events as well as a couple of PTC events there is an excitement about this weekend that hasn't existed so far this season.
And so it is the snooker professionals roll into South West Snooker Academy for unfortunately it seems the penultimate for PTC 3 this weekend.Suppose the logical place to start is with the man who will probably get all the headlines,our returning World Champion Ronnie O Sullivan.Following a summer saga of will he wont he Ronnie has eventually signed his contract and his participation can only be a positive for the event as everyone will be eager to see if he can hit the ground running and reproduce the form that saw him sweep to his fourth world title in May.This is not something that can be ruled out despite his lack of competitive action.
Ronnie of course is not the only star on show and many others may see this weekend as the perfect chance to hone their form with a busy period of tournaments coming over next couple of monthes.Another of the games greats who made a belated return to action was John Higgins,After never really getting going last season you get the feeling this year might be a make or break year for Higgins.It certainly would be great for the game if he could find his form from a couple of seasons ago.If he did there is little doubt he would lift a few titles this year
Current World no.1 Mark Selby will come into this weekend feeling a lot better about himself following his victory in The Paul Hunter and he seems to have put his injury and form problem behind him.We can expect another bold showing this weekend from Selby who seems to relish match snooker as much as anyone.
Perhaps the most consistent player of 2012 so far has been Stephen Maguire who already has a win in PTC1 and a runner up in PTC 2 to his name.One gets the feeling he may be slightly more in favour of these events then he used to be!
Of course I can't mention everyone but I'm sure we'll see players like Judd Trump,Neil Robertson,Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen who will all be looking to kick start their seasons here as well as the likes of Ricky Walden,Barry Hawkins and Martin Gould who have already been in winners circle and wanting to build on their success's.
This sets us up nicely for a weekend in front of the PC and a fascinating weekend of snooker.
@thegreenbaize
And so it is the snooker professionals roll into South West Snooker Academy for unfortunately it seems the penultimate for PTC 3 this weekend.Suppose the logical place to start is with the man who will probably get all the headlines,our returning World Champion Ronnie O Sullivan.Following a summer saga of will he wont he Ronnie has eventually signed his contract and his participation can only be a positive for the event as everyone will be eager to see if he can hit the ground running and reproduce the form that saw him sweep to his fourth world title in May.This is not something that can be ruled out despite his lack of competitive action.
Ronnie of course is not the only star on show and many others may see this weekend as the perfect chance to hone their form with a busy period of tournaments coming over next couple of monthes.Another of the games greats who made a belated return to action was John Higgins,After never really getting going last season you get the feeling this year might be a make or break year for Higgins.It certainly would be great for the game if he could find his form from a couple of seasons ago.If he did there is little doubt he would lift a few titles this year
Current World no.1 Mark Selby will come into this weekend feeling a lot better about himself following his victory in The Paul Hunter and he seems to have put his injury and form problem behind him.We can expect another bold showing this weekend from Selby who seems to relish match snooker as much as anyone.
Perhaps the most consistent player of 2012 so far has been Stephen Maguire who already has a win in PTC1 and a runner up in PTC 2 to his name.One gets the feeling he may be slightly more in favour of these events then he used to be!
Of course I can't mention everyone but I'm sure we'll see players like Judd Trump,Neil Robertson,Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen who will all be looking to kick start their seasons here as well as the likes of Ricky Walden,Barry Hawkins and Martin Gould who have already been in winners circle and wanting to build on their success's.
This sets us up nicely for a weekend in front of the PC and a fascinating weekend of snooker.
@thegreenbaize
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Premier League preview.
Well as the dust settles on a fabulous two weeks of London 2012 the sporting calendar returns to normal this week, with the start of the new Premiership season only a few days away and the return of the Premier League this Thursday night.
Of course the big story coming into this years tournament is the absence of defending and current world champion Ronnie O Sullivan.Since the introduction of the shot clock Ronnie has made this tournament his own only failing to win it once when for some reason best known to himself he decided to run a half marathon on the morning of the final!.
This does leave the tournament with a "Hamlet without the Prince" feel to it but with such a strong line up consisting of all last seasons ranking event winners once it gets going I'm sure the audiences will still be treated to an exhibition of top quality snooker.
The other new element to this years tournament will be a return to an actual league format following last years frankly confusing mini tournament system This year the ten players will be split into two groups of five with Group A: containing Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham and a
Group B: of Judd Trump,Mark Allen,Stephen Lee, John Higgins and Peter Ebdon. eventually boiling down to a semi final and final play off between the top two in each.
Of course the secret to Ronnie's success in this tournament has been how little he had to adapt his game for the shot clock which again this year will be 25 seconds..Looking at this years line up you can't imagine Trump or Allen having a problem but it will be intriguing to see how Ebdon adapts.I personally think it could actually help him as it did Selby in his first year when he reached the final.
Who do I tip for glory?The obvious ones are the quick players like Trump and Allen but I have a sneaky feeling for Ding who in the past has shown flashes of brilliance in this tournament.
The action begins Thursday night on Sky Sports and starts off a run of weeks where we will be treated to professional snooker action via tv or internet which will take us all the way to December. The season has well and truly started!!
Follow me on twitter @thegreenbaize for constant snooker updates,
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Ronnie signs contract.
Well after nearly four months of will he/wont he drama Ronnie O Sullivan finally signed his World Snooker contract last night which make him eligible to return to competitive action and he will start his season in the International Championship in China which starts on October 28th.
It has been a tense couple of months with statement and counter statement coming from Ronnie's management company and World Snooker seemingly showing that each side were if anything getting more entrenched in their views.The one thing that was needed at that stage was for O Sullivan and Hearn to sit down together and trash things out. This is seemingly what happened on Monday and thankfully the issues were resolved.
Personally I am delighted by this news,Yes we can all rattle off the whole "snooker is bigger then one man argument" but the truth of the matter is for all the fine players we have there is noone currently in the game who can draw a crowd and inspire future snooker players like Ronnie.I described him on twitter as the "Bolt of the Baize" and he really has that rare quality that people so love in their sports people.,the ability to perform at the highest level when seemingly not trying at all.
A further point to make here is that although there can be little doubt that snooker will continue to grow in popularity in China and mainland Europe we have seen in recent years a serious decline in the amount snooker clubs in Britain and Ireland.This of coarse leads to a decline in numbers of young people playing the game and following the fabulous success of London 2012 we are in danger of losing a generation to other normally minority sports.If we are to have any chance at all of arresting the slide we need the likes of Ronnie playing at the top of his form.
Of course this is not guaranteed and it will be interesting to see if he can reproduce the form of the Crucible where he was perhaps the most focused he has ever been in his career. If he does he will be hard to beat in any tournament he plays in and maybe he will finally become the flag bearer that Barry Hearn so wanted him to be when he took over the sport three years ago.
It has been a tense couple of months with statement and counter statement coming from Ronnie's management company and World Snooker seemingly showing that each side were if anything getting more entrenched in their views.The one thing that was needed at that stage was for O Sullivan and Hearn to sit down together and trash things out. This is seemingly what happened on Monday and thankfully the issues were resolved.
Personally I am delighted by this news,Yes we can all rattle off the whole "snooker is bigger then one man argument" but the truth of the matter is for all the fine players we have there is noone currently in the game who can draw a crowd and inspire future snooker players like Ronnie.I described him on twitter as the "Bolt of the Baize" and he really has that rare quality that people so love in their sports people.,the ability to perform at the highest level when seemingly not trying at all.
A further point to make here is that although there can be little doubt that snooker will continue to grow in popularity in China and mainland Europe we have seen in recent years a serious decline in the amount snooker clubs in Britain and Ireland.This of coarse leads to a decline in numbers of young people playing the game and following the fabulous success of London 2012 we are in danger of losing a generation to other normally minority sports.If we are to have any chance at all of arresting the slide we need the likes of Ronnie playing at the top of his form.
Of course this is not guaranteed and it will be interesting to see if he can reproduce the form of the Crucible where he was perhaps the most focused he has ever been in his career. If he does he will be hard to beat in any tournament he plays in and maybe he will finally become the flag bearer that Barry Hearn so wanted him to be when he took over the sport three years ago.
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