The final of the 2014 Shanghai Masters will see Mark Allen face off against Stuart Bingham following a day of comebacks and high drama that certainly gave the crowd their money's worth.
What was to come seemed a million miles away in the first of the days semi finals when Mark Selby flew out of the blocks to take a convincing 3-1 lead over Mark Allen at the interval. That lead became 5-2 shortly after and it seemed only a matter of time until the World Champ sealed the frame he needed to reach another final,but Allen had other ideas.He took a close eighth to close to 5-3 and from here he produced his best snooker of the match,winning the next two with breaks 115 & 64 to level things up a 5-5.
Into that decider then and Selby seemed to have weathered the storm as set about constructing what looked likely to be a match winning break. This wasn't to be however,as a needless attempt to split the reds with his break on 63,left him out of position and a series of scoring visits,the last of which followed a missed pink from Selby to the centre,allowed Allen to clear the colours and claim the 6-5 win on the black.
This win will no doubt have satisfied Allen a great deal having seen been the victim of a similar comeback from Selby in the final of the Riga Open a couple of months back.This time it was the Irishman who out-Selbyed Selby to keep up,what in recent seasons,has been an impressive overseas record
Another payer with a fine record when on his travels is Stuart Bingham,but playing the defending champion Ding Junhui in front of his own crowd,he came into today as the firm underdog.
That seemed to be an accurate reflection of the match when Ding opened up a 4-2 lead,but then something extraordinary happened. Ding seemed to lose his concentration and Bingham started to score in the fashion that had seen him reach this stage of the tournament with the minimum of fuss,
Breaks of 63,59 & 97 were enough to see Bingham reel off four frames in a row and secure his place in the final with a 6-4 victory.
So there we have it, not the final any of us would have been expecting,but a fascinating one none the less. Going on form during the week, Bingham has certainly been the more consistent,but Allen produced his very best stuff in his win over Selby and will no doubt have been filled with confidence following that.
This is really too close to call but with a gun to my head I would slightly favour Allen.
Saturday, 13 September 2014
Friday, 12 September 2014
Shanghai Mastersc Quarter Finals round up.
Quarter finals day at the Shanghai Masters and we had a day of relative calm in three of the matches and a real nail biter in the other.
Lets the straight forward results out of the way first.Ding Junhui is still firmly on course to defend the title he lifted here 12 months ago after a convincing 5-2 victory over Graeme Dott. Time was when the weight of expectation seemed to stifle Ding in his home events,but that certainly now it seems well in the past and he will take some stopping this weekend.
His semi final opponent will be Stuart Bingham,who brought the run of Alan McManus to an end,beating the Scot 5-1.
Thins did not fair any better for McManus's fellow veteran Fergal O'Brien,as the Irishman went down 5-0 to Mark Selby. This one could have been a bit closer if at 2-0 down Fergal had managed to take either of the close frames that followed,but he couldn't manage it and Selby wrapped up the whitewash with a 76 break in the last.
The other quarter final also had a one sided look to it when Mark Allen took a tight fifth frame to lead Michael White 4-1,but from here the Welshman found some form,knocking in breaks of 85,83 & 76 to level it up at 4-4. In the decider both had their chances,but it was Allen who eventually fell over the line to win 5-4.
The semi finals take place tomorrow with that Ding v Selby final still very much on the cards.
Lets the straight forward results out of the way first.Ding Junhui is still firmly on course to defend the title he lifted here 12 months ago after a convincing 5-2 victory over Graeme Dott. Time was when the weight of expectation seemed to stifle Ding in his home events,but that certainly now it seems well in the past and he will take some stopping this weekend.
His semi final opponent will be Stuart Bingham,who brought the run of Alan McManus to an end,beating the Scot 5-1.
Thins did not fair any better for McManus's fellow veteran Fergal O'Brien,as the Irishman went down 5-0 to Mark Selby. This one could have been a bit closer if at 2-0 down Fergal had managed to take either of the close frames that followed,but he couldn't manage it and Selby wrapped up the whitewash with a 76 break in the last.
The other quarter final also had a one sided look to it when Mark Allen took a tight fifth frame to lead Michael White 4-1,but from here the Welshman found some form,knocking in breaks of 85,83 & 76 to level it up at 4-4. In the decider both had their chances,but it was Allen who eventually fell over the line to win 5-4.
The semi finals take place tomorrow with that Ding v Selby final still very much on the cards.
Thursday, 11 September 2014
Shanghai Masters Last 16 round up.
Day four at the 2014 Shanghai Masters and home favouite Ding Junhui stayed firmly on course to defend the title he won here last yr,but not without an early scare against Martin Gould.
As always against the very best player Gould knew he needed a good start here to have a chance and thats what he got,taking the opening frame and a lengthy second to lead 2-0. From here though Ding visibly stepped up a gear and leveled at 2-2 going to the interval.
On the resumption of play Ding extended that lead to 4-2 to stand one away from victory & although Gould managed to pull one back,it was Ding who sealed his place in the last 8 winning the next to secure the 5-3 victory
His quarter final opponent will be Graeme Dott after the Scot won the battle of the former world champions,beating Shaun Murphy 5-3.
World Champion Mark Selby is also well in the hunt for another title after he survived a mid match revival from Michael Holt,which saw Holt level at 3-3 from 3-0 down,to eventually secure a 5-3 win.
Next up for him is Irish veteran Fergal O'Brien,who continued his decent start to the season by defeating Zhao Xindong 5-3.
A free scoring start to this saw the opening six frames shared in this one,before things got a little scrappier & the experience of the Dubliner showed as he ran out a 5-3 winner.Although he did reach the final of a PTC event last yr this is the first time Fergal has reached a full ranking quarter final since 2007. A hard worker at his game,he will not be intimidated by playing the World champ
tomorrow.
Talking of veterans,Alan McManus continued his recent resurgence,following up his victory over Ronnie in the last round with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of his fellow Scot Stephen Maguire here.
It has really been a remarkable few monthes for McManus,who was a quarter finalist at the Crucible in April & he will go into his last 8 encounter with Stuart Bingham here brimming with confidence.Bingham for his part reached this stage with an easy 5-1 dismissal of Dominic Dale.
Tee remaining Quarter final could potentially be the most exciting as Mark Allen takes on Michael White.
Allen reached this stage with a 5-1 victory over Mark Williams & White defeated fellow Welshman Ryan Day 5-2.
So there we have it.8 will become 4 tomorrow as we approach the business end of things over the weekend. The draw points to a Ding v Selby final,but when have such things in our sport ever been straight forward!
Quarter Final draw
Ding Junhui v Graeme Dott
Alan McManus v Stuart Bingham
Mark Allen v Michael White
Mark Selby Fergal O'Brien
Next up for him is Irish veteran Fergal O'Brien,who continued his decent start to the season by defeating Zhao Xindong 5-3.
A free scoring start to this saw the opening six frames shared in this one,before things got a little scrappier & the experience of the Dubliner showed as he ran out a 5-3 winner.Although he did reach the final of a PTC event last yr this is the first time Fergal has reached a full ranking quarter final since 2007. A hard worker at his game,he will not be intimidated by playing the World champ
tomorrow.
Talking of veterans,Alan McManus continued his recent resurgence,following up his victory over Ronnie in the last round with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of his fellow Scot Stephen Maguire here.
It has really been a remarkable few monthes for McManus,who was a quarter finalist at the Crucible in April & he will go into his last 8 encounter with Stuart Bingham here brimming with confidence.Bingham for his part reached this stage with an easy 5-1 dismissal of Dominic Dale.
Tee remaining Quarter final could potentially be the most exciting as Mark Allen takes on Michael White.
Allen reached this stage with a 5-1 victory over Mark Williams & White defeated fellow Welshman Ryan Day 5-2.
So there we have it.8 will become 4 tomorrow as we approach the business end of things over the weekend. The draw points to a Ding v Selby final,but when have such things in our sport ever been straight forward!
Quarter Final draw
Ding Junhui v Graeme Dott
Alan McManus v Stuart Bingham
Mark Allen v Michael White
Mark Selby Fergal O'Brien
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Shanghai Masters The Story so Far.
Three days of action at the 2014 Shanghai Masters and with the completion of the last 32,as well as the dreaded wild card round,we have a healthy mix of big names and those hoping to capitalize on some good early season form left to battle it out in tomorrows last 16.
Here are the headlines from what we've seen so far.
Defending champion Ding Junhui eased his way through with a 5-1 victory over Jack Lisowski.This had looked on paper as if it could be a tricky one for the Chinese,but in truth he was never really put under any pressure.
World Champion Mark Selby also showed some decent form in beating the veteran Irishman Ken Doherty 5-2.,but his World final opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan opponent didn't fair as well in his first ranking outing of the season,going down 5-3 to the resurgent Alan McManus.
There were mixed results for Ronnies fellow members in "The class of 92" with Mark Williams showing he still has the bottle for the fight,beating Barry Hawkins 5-4 but sadly there was more frustration for John Higgins,who in what seems to be becoming a worrying trend for him,couldn't finish the job off from well in front,as he let a 4-2 lead turn into a 5-4 defeat to Ryan Day.
The last 16 will also be missing the winners of this seasons two previous ranking event with both Neil Robertson & Judd Trump crashing out here in the last 32. Robertson will be wondering just how it came to this as he looked in complete control when leading Michael White 3-0,but the Welshman battled back to edge this one in a decider, 5-4.Trump for his part never looked comfortable and was duly punished by Dominic Dale,going down 5-2.
The much criticized Wildcard round claimed its usual couple of victims with Liang Wenbo & Matthew Selt exiting before their tournament really began,Indeed Selts conqueror Zhao Xintong produced another shock in the next round,beating Marco Fu 5-4. He will now play Fergal O'Brien,who is also doing his bit for the over 40's and reached the last 16 with a fine 5-1 over Robert Milkins.
Elsewhere recently crowned "6 red" world champion Stephen Maguire quickly dispatched Jimmy Rbertson 5-1 and Shaun Murphy & Graeme Dott will face each other in a battle of the former world champs after recording 5-4 & 5-2 wins over Joe Swail & Yan Bingtao respectively.
Here is the draw for the last 16
Ding Junhui v Martin Gould
Graeme Dott v Shaun Murphy
Dominic Dale v Stuart Bingham
Stephen Maguire v Alan McManus
Michael White v Ryan Day
Mark Williams v Mark Allen
Zhao Xintong v Fergal O'Brien
Michael Holt v Mark Selby
Here are the headlines from what we've seen so far.
Defending champion Ding Junhui eased his way through with a 5-1 victory over Jack Lisowski.This had looked on paper as if it could be a tricky one for the Chinese,but in truth he was never really put under any pressure.
World Champion Mark Selby also showed some decent form in beating the veteran Irishman Ken Doherty 5-2.,but his World final opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan opponent didn't fair as well in his first ranking outing of the season,going down 5-3 to the resurgent Alan McManus.
There were mixed results for Ronnies fellow members in "The class of 92" with Mark Williams showing he still has the bottle for the fight,beating Barry Hawkins 5-4 but sadly there was more frustration for John Higgins,who in what seems to be becoming a worrying trend for him,couldn't finish the job off from well in front,as he let a 4-2 lead turn into a 5-4 defeat to Ryan Day.
The last 16 will also be missing the winners of this seasons two previous ranking event with both Neil Robertson & Judd Trump crashing out here in the last 32. Robertson will be wondering just how it came to this as he looked in complete control when leading Michael White 3-0,but the Welshman battled back to edge this one in a decider, 5-4.Trump for his part never looked comfortable and was duly punished by Dominic Dale,going down 5-2.
The much criticized Wildcard round claimed its usual couple of victims with Liang Wenbo & Matthew Selt exiting before their tournament really began,Indeed Selts conqueror Zhao Xintong produced another shock in the next round,beating Marco Fu 5-4. He will now play Fergal O'Brien,who is also doing his bit for the over 40's and reached the last 16 with a fine 5-1 over Robert Milkins.
Elsewhere recently crowned "6 red" world champion Stephen Maguire quickly dispatched Jimmy Rbertson 5-1 and Shaun Murphy & Graeme Dott will face each other in a battle of the former world champs after recording 5-4 & 5-2 wins over Joe Swail & Yan Bingtao respectively.
Here is the draw for the last 16
Ding Junhui v Martin Gould
Graeme Dott v Shaun Murphy
Dominic Dale v Stuart Bingham
Stephen Maguire v Alan McManus
Michael White v Ryan Day
Mark Williams v Mark Allen
Zhao Xintong v Fergal O'Brien
Michael Holt v Mark Selby
Monday, 7 July 2014
Australian Goldfields Open Trumps Triumph
Judd Trump finally brought an end to his 20 month ranking title drought yesterday,when he beat home favourite Neil Robertson 9-5 to lift the 2014 Australian Goldfields Open title.
In a match that probably never really lived up to its potential it was the 24 year old from Bristol who produced the better snooker to deny Robertson the home victory he craved as well as the chance of collecting back to back ranking titles following his win in Wuxi last week.
It had been Robertson who had gotten off to the better start to lead 2-1,but things were quickly level again at 3-3 before Trump produced runs of 55 & 114 to lead 5-3 going into the night session.
The first frame of the night could have gone either way but it was Trump who took it on the colours to extend his lead to 6-3.That became 7-3 when he also took the next and he followed that up with a beautifully crafted 101 break to move to the brink of victory at 8-3.
Robertson of course hasn't enjoyed the success he has in his career by rolling over and he started to find some form taking the next two to close to 8-5. There was to be no fairytale comeback here though as Trump took the frame he needed to clinch a fine 9-5 win.
Thinking back to the last ranking event that Trump had won (2012 International Championship) and the way he was playing then,it is hard to believe that ranking title number four has been so long coming,but such has been the decline in his form during that period that many were indeed starting to question were his best days already behind him?
This is a pressure though that Trump has always been under,ever since his heroics at junior level put him on everyones radar as a certain future champion,with this seemingly being borne out by his run to the World final in 2011.What we have to remember is that Judd is still only 24 years old and at a time where the average age of title winners is creeping into the 30's again he still has plenty of time to live up to his potential.
The fact that he decided to play both here and in Wuxi certainly points to player determined to make an impact this season.
As for Robertson defeat here in the final for a second successive year will be hard to take but he can console himself that he has at least picked up where he left off last season and this current run has put him back to the top of the world rankings.
Snooker takes a break now for the month of July.but what we have seen over the last couple of weeks sertainly whets the appetite for whats to come over the autumn and winter months. The fact that we can now throw the name Trump back into to potential tournament winners pot,only adds to what already looks like being a fascinating season.
In a match that probably never really lived up to its potential it was the 24 year old from Bristol who produced the better snooker to deny Robertson the home victory he craved as well as the chance of collecting back to back ranking titles following his win in Wuxi last week.
It had been Robertson who had gotten off to the better start to lead 2-1,but things were quickly level again at 3-3 before Trump produced runs of 55 & 114 to lead 5-3 going into the night session.
The first frame of the night could have gone either way but it was Trump who took it on the colours to extend his lead to 6-3.That became 7-3 when he also took the next and he followed that up with a beautifully crafted 101 break to move to the brink of victory at 8-3.
Robertson of course hasn't enjoyed the success he has in his career by rolling over and he started to find some form taking the next two to close to 8-5. There was to be no fairytale comeback here though as Trump took the frame he needed to clinch a fine 9-5 win.
Thinking back to the last ranking event that Trump had won (2012 International Championship) and the way he was playing then,it is hard to believe that ranking title number four has been so long coming,but such has been the decline in his form during that period that many were indeed starting to question were his best days already behind him?
This is a pressure though that Trump has always been under,ever since his heroics at junior level put him on everyones radar as a certain future champion,with this seemingly being borne out by his run to the World final in 2011.What we have to remember is that Judd is still only 24 years old and at a time where the average age of title winners is creeping into the 30's again he still has plenty of time to live up to his potential.
The fact that he decided to play both here and in Wuxi certainly points to player determined to make an impact this season.
As for Robertson defeat here in the final for a second successive year will be hard to take but he can console himself that he has at least picked up where he left off last season and this current run has put him back to the top of the world rankings.
Snooker takes a break now for the month of July.but what we have seen over the last couple of weeks sertainly whets the appetite for whats to come over the autumn and winter months. The fact that we can now throw the name Trump back into to potential tournament winners pot,only adds to what already looks like being a fascinating season.
Monday, 30 June 2014
Wuxi Classic Final,Robertson defends title.
Neil Robertson yesterday repeated his 2013 Wuxi Classic triumph,but only after coming through a titanic battle with his great friend Joe Perry,eventually claiming the crown with a 10-9 victory.
Perry came into this final still in search of his first full ranking title and it was he who got the better of the early exchanges to hold a 5-4 lead after the first session,indeed but for a typically gutsy display from Robertson the lead could have been even more. This however did leave things beautifully poised going into the evening session and it did not disappoint.
In a session where the momentum swung both ways it appeared early on that Robertson had ridden out the storm as he took four of the first five frames to lead 8-5. Perry though managed to stop the rot taking the next and drew level in a dramatic 16th frame,where after initially missing the final black he made the most of a second chance to level things up at 8-8.
Into the next and it was Perry who edged ahead again with a 93 to move to the brink at 9-8. A victory over Robertson though is not something that is gifted to you,but something you must earn and the Aussie was not for rolling over here taking the next with with an 87 to make it 9-9.
Into the decider then and it was Perry who got in first,but when he missed the blue with the rest on 18,Robertson pounced like all great champions do,knocking in a 78 to clinch the title and deny his close friend his day in the sunshine.
For Perry this will a heartbreaking defeat,but he can take some comfort that,despite the fact he is now in the autumn of his career,he is now playing the best snooker of his life and if he keeps up this level of performance surely another run at a title can't be far away.
For Robertson he will be hoping this will be the springboard to more success this season.Of course last season he followed up his victory here by claiming his first UK Championship as well as the China Open and also that extraordinary century of centuries,but for all that I suspect he will look back at the year with a little disappointment that despite playing some superb snooker he didn't claim more trophies. The question for this season is can he make the leap from consistency to domination.
His next chance to do so comes this week with the tournament he'd like to win possibly most of all.The Australian Goldfields Open
Perry came into this final still in search of his first full ranking title and it was he who got the better of the early exchanges to hold a 5-4 lead after the first session,indeed but for a typically gutsy display from Robertson the lead could have been even more. This however did leave things beautifully poised going into the evening session and it did not disappoint.
In a session where the momentum swung both ways it appeared early on that Robertson had ridden out the storm as he took four of the first five frames to lead 8-5. Perry though managed to stop the rot taking the next and drew level in a dramatic 16th frame,where after initially missing the final black he made the most of a second chance to level things up at 8-8.
Into the next and it was Perry who edged ahead again with a 93 to move to the brink at 9-8. A victory over Robertson though is not something that is gifted to you,but something you must earn and the Aussie was not for rolling over here taking the next with with an 87 to make it 9-9.
Into the decider then and it was Perry who got in first,but when he missed the blue with the rest on 18,Robertson pounced like all great champions do,knocking in a 78 to clinch the title and deny his close friend his day in the sunshine.
For Perry this will a heartbreaking defeat,but he can take some comfort that,despite the fact he is now in the autumn of his career,he is now playing the best snooker of his life and if he keeps up this level of performance surely another run at a title can't be far away.
For Robertson he will be hoping this will be the springboard to more success this season.Of course last season he followed up his victory here by claiming his first UK Championship as well as the China Open and also that extraordinary century of centuries,but for all that I suspect he will look back at the year with a little disappointment that despite playing some superb snooker he didn't claim more trophies. The question for this season is can he make the leap from consistency to domination.
His next chance to do so comes this week with the tournament he'd like to win possibly most of all.The Australian Goldfields Open
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Wuxi Classic 2014
With World Cup fever currently gripping the globe and Wimbledon starting to take over our screens in this part of world,it would be easy to miss the fact that the new snooker season has started in earnest,but start it has and eight men still remain on course to lift the seasons first full ranking title this Sunday in Wuxi.
The very reason of course for this tournament been held in Wuxi is the fact that is the homestead of Ding Junhui,so it is therefore unfortunate that he failed to negotiate the first round which was played in England at the start of June and so was missing from the line up here.The fact that he was been made travel half way around the world to play a qualifying match ,while the local wild cards all had their matches held over to the venue is a discussion for another day,but anyway,Ding seems to have put it behind him quickly as he claimed the first of the Asian Tour events last weekend,beating Michael Holt in the final.
Another notable absentee from the last 8 is our new world champion Mark Selby who went down 5-2 in the last 32 to the always dangerous Liang Wenbo.
So what of the last eight?Well considering this is only the first tournament of the new season we have remarkably strong line up still standing as we reach the weeks business end.
The obvious stand out tie,is the clash between Neil Robertson & Shaun Murphy and this one promises to be an early season classic,with both men picking up where they left off at the end of last term.Robertson it has seemed in recent times,has reached a level of performance that he just doesn't fall below and reached this stage with a comfortable 5-1 win over Michael Holt.Murphy for his part beat one of China's real rising stars ,17 yr old Zhao Xintong 5-2 to reach the quarter finals.
The winner of that one will face the winner of Marco Fu & Barry Hawkins.Both these men have fine early season records and came through today with wins over Stuart Bingham (5-4) & Alan McManus (5-2) respectively.
In the other half of the draw Martin Gould faces Stephem Maguire & Robin Hull squares up against Joe Perry
Gould is making a welcome return to the latter stages of an event for the first time in it seems quite a while and got here with a fine 5-3 victory over an in form Ryan Day.On the face of it Maguires 5-0 win over Judd Trump looks like it was a walk in the park,but scorelines can be deceptive and this scrappy match was a lot closer than the score suggests.
Hull & Perry brought the runs of two of the Chinese contingent to and end with Hull recording a 5-1 win over Cao Yupeng & Perry beating Liang Wenbo 5-2.
The last eight matches all take place tomorrow with coverage on both Eurosport channels from 7.30 GMT
The very reason of course for this tournament been held in Wuxi is the fact that is the homestead of Ding Junhui,so it is therefore unfortunate that he failed to negotiate the first round which was played in England at the start of June and so was missing from the line up here.The fact that he was been made travel half way around the world to play a qualifying match ,while the local wild cards all had their matches held over to the venue is a discussion for another day,but anyway,Ding seems to have put it behind him quickly as he claimed the first of the Asian Tour events last weekend,beating Michael Holt in the final.
Another notable absentee from the last 8 is our new world champion Mark Selby who went down 5-2 in the last 32 to the always dangerous Liang Wenbo.
So what of the last eight?Well considering this is only the first tournament of the new season we have remarkably strong line up still standing as we reach the weeks business end.
The obvious stand out tie,is the clash between Neil Robertson & Shaun Murphy and this one promises to be an early season classic,with both men picking up where they left off at the end of last term.Robertson it has seemed in recent times,has reached a level of performance that he just doesn't fall below and reached this stage with a comfortable 5-1 win over Michael Holt.Murphy for his part beat one of China's real rising stars ,17 yr old Zhao Xintong 5-2 to reach the quarter finals.
The winner of that one will face the winner of Marco Fu & Barry Hawkins.Both these men have fine early season records and came through today with wins over Stuart Bingham (5-4) & Alan McManus (5-2) respectively.
In the other half of the draw Martin Gould faces Stephem Maguire & Robin Hull squares up against Joe Perry
Gould is making a welcome return to the latter stages of an event for the first time in it seems quite a while and got here with a fine 5-3 victory over an in form Ryan Day.On the face of it Maguires 5-0 win over Judd Trump looks like it was a walk in the park,but scorelines can be deceptive and this scrappy match was a lot closer than the score suggests.
Hull & Perry brought the runs of two of the Chinese contingent to and end with Hull recording a 5-1 win over Cao Yupeng & Perry beating Liang Wenbo 5-2.
The last eight matches all take place tomorrow with coverage on both Eurosport channels from 7.30 GMT
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