World Championship Day Three.

The first of three Mondays at the championship and a day after one legend officially hung up his cue,three more of the all rime greats showed today that their is still plenty of life left in them yet.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a short price with most bookies to claim a sixth title here and it could be argued he may well claim that title with out again facing an opponent playing as well as David Gilbert did here.

The fact that today started with Gilbert somehow 6-3 down after a first session where the Tamworth native was the top of his game was a mystery and he kept up that high standard this morning to push Ronnie into producing his best to eventually win 10-7.

Of course by now the result is only secondary as Ronnie will once again be grabbing the headlines tomorrow for the wrong reasons after refusing to speak to the media following the match.He can expect a hefty fine from World Snooker for this and you really have to wonder at times why he brings these things on himself.

Elsewhere his fellow veteran Mark Williams quickly booked his place in the last 16,turning a 7-2 lead into  a 10-4 win over Graeme Dott & John Higgins looked in superb form this morning as he opened up a 7-2 lead over Ryan Day.

In the evening matches Michael White looked as though he may have weathered the storm against Sam Baird when he turned a 5-4 overnight deficit into a 7-6 interval lead,but not for the first time,that 15 minute break changed things as Baird reeled off four in a row when they resumed to run out a 10-6 victor.

On the other table,recent two time ranking runner up Ricky Walden was having a real battle against Robbie Williams as both men struggled for form.Walden looked in real trouble here when he trailed 7-5,but a four frame burst moved him within one of the win at 9-7 and although Willaims produced a great century to get back to 9-8,Walden got over the line in the next to win 10-8.

In the other match started today Mark Selby seemed a bit rusty early on following his recent absence from the game,but seemed to warm to the task and opened up a comfortable 7-2 lead over Milkins at end of play.

So that was that for today.Tomorrow see's two more of the real fancies for this tournament entering the fray as Mark Allen & Neil Robertson cue up for the first time at this years championship.It'll be interesting to see if the betting markets are correct.

World Championship Day Two.

Day Two at the 2016 World Championship and although we saw two more big names topple ,for a certain generation there is one story today that outranks all others,the official retirement of Steve Davis.

Steve of course has been all but retired since he lost his tour place in 2014,but now in the light of the recent passing of his father Bill he has made it official.

To fully document just what Steve Davis has done for snooker both on and off the table over the last 38 years would take far more than a mere blog post so lets today  just simplly say thank you to "The Nugget " and wish him a long and happy retirment from the table.

Back to the action on the table and after yesterday seeing last years champion bow out,today we saw the man he beat in that final also exit the event as Shaun Murphy went down 10-8 to Anthony McGill.

McGill was the story of the tournament here last year when he knocked out Mark Selby,before falling to Murphy in the quarters.On the back of that then it must be said he's had a disappointing season,but there s something about this venue that agrrees with him and he starting this morning 5-4 behind,he recovered from losing the first frame this morning to reel off the next four,with some superb all round matchplay to lead 8-6.

From here,in typical Murphy style, Shaun twice got back within one with runs of 88&70 ,but could never just get level and it was McGill with breaks of 117 & 97 who closed out the match to win 10-8.

In the other match to finish today Alan McManus got the better of the battle of the Scots as he beat Stephen Maguire 10-7.

This is McManus's 20 appearance at the Crucible and the 45 year old needed all that experience as Maguire threatened a comeback comeback when the score went 7-6 from 7-3. at the mid session interval.Maybe it was a case of the break in play coming at the right time as McManus took the next two to go 9-6 and although maguire won the next,it was the veteran McManus who closed out the win 10-7.

In other actiuon Ronnie O'Sullivan somehow finds himself leading 6-3 against David Gilbert who was playing superbly at time.They play to a finish in the morning.Mark Williams is in an even stronger position against his fellow former world champ Graeme Dott,the Welshman leading 7-2.

The other two games that started today are much closer affairs with two more seeds in some trouble as Ricky Walden & Michael White both trail their respective opponents Robbie Williams & Sam Baird by the odd frame 5-4.

All of those matches finish tomorrow as two more big guns ride into town to start their camapaigns in the shape of John Higgins &Mark Selby. Another great days action ahead.

World Championship Day One

Day one at the Betfred World Championship and we have already lost our defending champion as Stuart Bingham went down 10-9 to Ali Carter in a real Crucible thriller..

Bingham has really struggled under the weight of the crown this season and that more than any "Crucible curse" would have been his main concern as he headed towards Sheffield this week.With this in mind he would surely have preferred an easier opponent than Ali Carter against who he has very poor record.

His certainly wouldn't have felt any better early on as Carter won frame after frame to lead 5-1.Bingham though rallied to take the last three of the morning and finish the session just the one behind at 5-4.

That quickly became 5-5 when they resumed in the evening,but it was Carter who pulled away again to lead by three at 8-5 going to the interval.Things were now looking ominous for Bingham,but he wasn't going to give up his title without a fight & producing glimpses of the form that saw him lift the trophy last year he came back to draw level at 8-8 and then take the lead for the first time since the opening frame with a century to lead 9-8.

Carter was now looking jaded as his exertions in the qualifiers seemed to have left their mark,so its then all the more remarkable that he somehow managed to dig deep again to draw level at 9-9 with a break of 102.

Into that decider then and although he didn't clinch it in one visit a useful early visit from Carter with the balls going awkward was enough to give him the advantage he needed and he eventually got over the line to win 10-9.He'll now await the winner between the two Scots Maguire & McManus in the last 16 with McManus currently with the edge leading 6-3.

For Bingham it will be a case of looking forward to next season where he will hopefully find the freedom in his game again now unburdened by the responsibility of the title.One thing for certain though is that although he will no doubt be disappointed with how he played in his year as champion,he can certainly look back with pride a the way he represented crown.

In a new departure this year we had two matches finishing on the opening day and the other one was certainly a much more one sided affair as Marco Fu swept past Peter Ebdon 10-2.Fu was simply superb here & although possibly helped by an opponent in Ebdon who was drained from his tough week at the qualifiers, two centuries and four more 70 plus breaks speak volumes about how well he played

Fu can sit back tomorrow morning and watch Shaun Murphy & Anthony McGill fight it out for the right to face him in round two.Murphy holds a slender 5-4 after their first session this afternoon.

A dramatic day one then with two players safely through to the last 16 and they will be joined by two more tomorrow.Also of course in the afternoon we have the first appearance of Ronnie O'Sullivan.It'll be interesting to see just how up for a titl at a sixth title he is.

World Championship Preview

So here we are on the eve of the annual snooker extravaganza at The Crucible theatre with 32 players still dreaming of lifting that famous trophy on the first Monday in May.I must admit I have found a large part of this season to be pretty uninspiring,but often the long matches bring out all that is best in the game and I have no doubt it will do so here again.

In many ways this could well have been the shortest preview I've ever written,because I am firmly of the opinion that if the Ronnie 'Sullivan we saw at the Welsh Open shows up at The Crucible,he will win this in a canter. His performance that week was not just miles ahead of anything else we've seen this season,but was up there with the best we've ever seen in the games history.That win of course came on the back of a sixth Masters title in January and confirmed that when in the mood there is still noone near him.This in addition to a favourable enough draw to at least the quarter finals makes him a worthy favourite & maybe,if your someone who likes a bet at a short price,possibly worth a wager,I've certainly seen worse 7/4 shots.

That said though,if that Ronnie doesn't show up I think we have possibly the most open World championship we've ever seen,with possibly up to 10 other real contenders for the crown of which these are the most probable

Suppose the obvious place to start is with defending champion Stuart Bingham,who shocked the snooker world last year with his run to the title.Unfortunately for Stuart the heightened expectation that comes with the crown has weighed heavily on his shoulders this season and he has really struggled to get any sort of run going.This plus the dreaded "Crucible curse" would make him becoming the first first time winner to defend the title seem very unlikely,but who knows,he climbed the mountain once so why not again.

The man most people see as the the main threat to Ronnie is the 2010 champion Neil Robertson. Robertson looked to be playing as well if not better than ever when he lifted the UK Championship last December and although his form has tailed off a bit since  he may well be just concentrating on peaking at the right time.He certainly will have to be at his best in what looks the most competitive quarter of the draw.

Next in the betting and also in that quarter is Judd Trump, who finally got back to winning ways,lifting the China Open title for a second time a couple of weeks ago.Trump though has had a very in and out sort of season and on that evidence its hard to imagine him getting through this championship without having a few mini crises along the way.How he ultimately does will depend on how he handles them.he has at such times in the past been found wanting.

Last years runner up Shaun Murphy by his own admission struggled for a long time to get over that defeat,but produced a commanding performance in winning the World Grand Prix last month and will once again be eyeing up another run at the title here with a potential quarter final against Ronnie in the offing

 The big story early in the season was the re-emergence of John Higgins who was showing that life can at least begin again at 40,as he won the Australian Open & the International Championship before pushing Robertson harder than anyone else at the UK.Since then though that odd silly miss has crept into his game again and I just have my doubts that he can sustain his form long enough these days to challenge at the business end.

Its seems strange to have gotten this far through my preview without mentioning Mark Selby,but such has been his lack of form this season it is easy to overlook the 2014 champ.The fact that he pulled out of the most recent events for personal reasons you have to just wonder if his mind will be fully on the job here.If its not a potentially tricky first round opponent in Robert Milkins was the last thing he wanted.However if he is up for this he will prove as difficult to beat as always.

The spectacular fall from grace of Ding Junhui has been sad to watch this season and even a recent rally in form wasn't enough to spare him the indignity of having to qualify for the championship. To his credit though he knuckled down to fairly breezed his way through the qualifiers and it may well be having come here in years past with massive expectations on his shoulders,that this may turn into a blessing.He will need to hit the ground running though as he faces German Masters champ Martin Gould in round one before a potential clash with Trump in round 2.

Of the others recent Player Championship winner Mark Allen may well see this as his best chance of winning the games biggest prize,especially if Selby in the same quarter fails to shine & maybe Ricky Walden could put his recent final defeats behind him to produce a run.

All in all a fascinating 17 days ahead with the following my recommended value bets

Ricky Walden to win his quarter 11/2

Mark Allen to win his quarter 5/2

Round One Lucky 15 : Ebdon (9/4) Carter (7/5) Perry (10/11) McManus (9/4)

Welsh Open,A Ronnie Masterclass

Ronnie O'Sullivan last night produced a stunning fightback to claim a fourth Welsh Open title with a 9-5 victory over Neil Robertson.

This was a final match up most snooker fans had been waiting for,with Robertsons performances in the Champion of Champions & UK Championship putting him forward as perhaps the one payer around who could challenge "the Rocket".

There seemed to be some validity to these claims as he opened up early leads of 3-1 & 5-2,but Ronnie took a vital last frame of the afternoon session to go into the evening just two behind at 5-3.

Into the night then and it was Robertson who got in first again,but when he failed to make the most of his chance in the opening frame,Ronnie capitalized and that was to be that,with O'Sullivan finding his groove again and the normally unflappable Robertson wilting a little under the pressure..All this meant was,what had looked like been a thrilling night turned into a procession as Ronnie went through the gears to secure the title.

Where exactly do you even start summing up how well Ronnie played this week? From the very first match,with all its "146" controversy,he just looked in complete control around the table.This was as close to snooker perfection as we are ever likely to see.

Last year at this event Ronnie was not a happy bunny,dismissing the venue as been like "playing in a shopping centre",but this week he just exuded confidence and calmness and really never looked in danger.

As for the tournament as a whole,it was really great week.I'm still not a fan of the best of 7's for the early rounds and some of the scheduling towards the end of the week seemed to have little logic to them,but in terms of the action we saw it was arguably the tournament of the season so far.In the end we even had our  147 as Ding produced the moment of magic in his quarter final against Robertson.Ultimately he lost the match,but after a tough season for the Chinese superstar,this may be the lift he needs to get back on track.

He though,like the others will have to find something special if they are to compete with Ronnie the way he's playing.at the moment.Last month he won a sixth Masters title without ever really been near his best,but here was practically unplayable.This may be the last time we see him before the  Crucible, if he doesn't take his place in the World Grand Prix,that this win qualified him for,but wherever it is lines up next he will start a a warm favourite and playing like this will take all the beating.

Germa Masters Final.Gould Does It

Martin Gould is the 2016 German Masters champion ,after he completed a 9-5 victory this evening against Luca Brecel in front of a full house at the Tempodrom in Berlin.

This was a case of third time lucky for Gould,who had fallen short in his two previous final appearances,but perhaps it was those experiences that gave him the edge,as after a nervy first session, he really came into his own tonight with some superb single potting.

The match itself today started slowly for both players,but Gould found himself 3-1 up at the interval and moved it on to 5-3 at the end of the afternoon session.From here he pushed on when they resumed to extend that lead to 7-3 and although Brecel did manage to put two more frames on the board,the result was by now not in doubt as Gould sealed a famous 9-5 win.

This was a real triumph for Gould who has threatened on many occasions in the past to make the breakthrough to the next level in the game only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here though,in a tournament where so many of the games top stars failed to perform to their best,Gould has been a rare exception and is a well deserving winner.This also means he can be removed from the lists of "best player not to have won a ranking event" we snooker nerds like to come up with in our off time.

As for Luca Brecel,well this young man showed once again here in reaching the final what a raw talent he is.The hope now would be that he can smooth the rough edges off his game,because if he can,he will be challenging for titles for many years to come.

So what of the tournament as a whole? Well when this tournament started with a bang a few years back it immediately established itself as one of the highlights of the snooker calendar,but despite a wonderful venue & great crowds we still have the problem of the first couple of days where things just seem a little rushed,also it would be nice if there was a way of having more than one televised table.

As for the tv coverage,Eurosport once again brought us some of their own brand of studio analysis and although this time we were spared Colin Murray doing the presenting,I'm not sure Matt Smith is the right long term presenter,at least though, this time with him, it was actually watchable.It would be great if they can just get this final part of the puzzle correct and find a top quality anchorman,because the actual analysis from Jimmy,Ronnie & Neal was superb.

Anyway such is the way the season goes from now Gould wont get much chance to celebrate this title as the tour rolls on this week to the Shootout this weekend & the Welsh Open starting on the 15th.Who is to say on this evidence Gould wont be making it back to back titles there.



            





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German Masters Semi Finals Round Up

Both Martin Gould and Luca Brecel will tomorrow play in the biggest match of their careers as they battle it out for the German Masters titles after coming through two gruelling semi finals today.

In the first match of the day Martin Gould reached the third ranking final of his career,with a 6-2 win over Graeme Dott.

In a tournament that has been all about the shock results,these two were surprise winners last night, with Gould edging out Trump 5-4 & Dott recording a comprehensive 5-1 victory over his fellow Scot Stephen Maguire.

These wins,as well as events in the other half of the draw,would have meant both these men waking up this morning feeling they had a real chance of claiming this title.It is with this in mind and the added pressure of the single table set up in this imposing arena that maybe we can forgive them for what was an extremely edgy match of not high quality snooker.

What quality there on show did come from Gould though and with a high break of 87 he took a 4-0 lead to the interval.

Dott got off the mark in the next,but a 53 from Gould was enough to restore his four frame lead at 5-1.Dott did pull one further frame back,but a scrappy eighth went to Gould on the pink to seal the 6-2 win.

Into the second semi final and a hope that two of the games young rising stars might serve up some better fare,but sadly we were to have more of the same as Wilson & Brecel struggled to show their real talents in what turned into another hard slog

A lengthy first frame went to Brecel on the black and this set seemed to set the trend for what turned into a real war of attrition.The scrappy snooker continued to the interval with Brecel playing slightly the better & this been reflected in the scoreline with the Belgian leading 3-1.

Wilson got back to within one taking the next to trail 3-2.before Brecel knocked in his highest break of the night,a 67 to lead 4-2.

Wilson,despite struggling in vain to find any form,somehow got himself back within one at 4-3.but another timely break,this time a 63 moved Brecel within one of the final at 5-3.

Both had their chances in the next,with first Luca looking like clearing and then Wilson countering,but the key moment came when Wilson failed to cut a tricky green and Brecel cleared to pink to seal the 6-3 win.

So tomorrow will see the crowning of a new ranking event winner ,with Gould hoping it'll be third time lucky & Brecel looking to make history as the first player from mainland Europe to claim a ranking title.Lets hope both players can put todays slog behind then to produce the final that this event,this venue and these fans deserve.

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