Neil Robertson is the 2013 China Open champion after a hard fought 10-6 victory over Mark Selby in todays final in Beijing.
This was amazingly Robertson's first full ranking title since the 2010 World Open,although he has won a number of PTC events as well as last seasons Masters,and he was made scrap all the way here by the Leicsterman,who battled,the way a world no.1 should,right to the final ball.
It had appeared that we might be set for an early finish as Robertson dominated the first session that in truth lacked in real quality to take a 6-1 lead into the evening.This really was a tough matchplay snooker with a succession of 30min plus frames meaning that play was stopped two frames short of the scheduled nine to allow the players a break between sessions.
These were tough times for Selby who normally thrives on nicking fragmented frames.but any of us who were counting him out were forgetting who exactly we were dealing with and in the evening session he responded like all great champions do by coming out and giving it everything he had.
Looking a different player he rolled in breaks of 81 ,125 and 66 to close the gap to 6-4.Robertson at this stage must have fighting to keep a lid on the memory of losing that 4-0 lead to Selby in the UK championship earlier in the season and he managed to stop the rot by taking a vital eleventh frame with a 110 to lead 7-4 at the interval.
The next frame was now going to be key and with the scores at 37-34 in Robertson's favour,he knocked in a crucial last red and cleared the awkwardly placed colours to lead 8-4.That became 9-4 courtesy of a 90 break and Robertson now stood just one frame away from the title,but as we have come to expect from Selby he wasn't finished just yet.breaks of 116 & 63 closed it again to 9-6.Robertson wasn't to be denied though and won the next to secure the hard fought 10-6 win.
For Robertson this was a richly deserved and long overdue success.Over the last couple of seasons he has been ultra consistent but I have felt at times he has gotten bogged down in matches and fallen into the trap of tying not to lose rather then playing to win which is not his natural game.I think here ,especially in his semi final against Maguire that he has gone back to his old "bull by the horns" style and that will stand him in good stead for the battles ahead.
As for Selby,he once again proved here,even in defeat,exactly why he has had the success he has had this season and he fully deserves his place back at the top of the world rankings.He will now head to the Crucible in three weeks full of confidence as he seeks to the World title to the UK and Masters titles he has already won this season
So thats 10 ranking events this season with 10 different winners,That leaves with only one tournament left and thats the big one at The Crucible where among everything else we will be welcoming back a certain Mr; O'Sullivan.The countdown begins now,Roll on April 20th!
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Saturday, 30 March 2013
China Open Semi final round up & Final preview
As if the fact that we are three weeks away from the Crucible wasn't exciting enough,we have a final line up that will only serve to whet our appetite further as our thoughts drift towards that 17 day marathon,as Mark Selby faces Neil Robertson for the China Open title.
Selby was the first man through to the final producing a dominant display to win his semi final with Shaun Murphy.The writing was on the wall for Murphy from early on here as Selby raced to a 3-0 lead.Murphy did manage to get one back before the interval but Selby,who seems to just have a way of controlling the table won the next two to make it 5-1. Murphy who to his credit never gives in,did manage to get one back,but there was to be no miracle fightback here and Selby sealed the comfortable 6-2 win.
This in many ways was a typical Selby win.Never at any stage did he seem to be playing at his peak but his all round table management made life very awkward for Murphy,who just never seemed to get going.This is something that surely happens too often in Selby matches to be a coincidence.He seems to have found a way,deliberate or not of just controlling a match and choking the life out of his opponent.If this is a tactic,all credit to him as it has brought him much success and the world no.1 spot.There is after all no right or wrong way to play the game.
For Murphy this tournament pretty much summed up his season,Hr has been very consistent at reaching the business end of tournaments,but has never really threatened to win one.
In many ways,in the consistency stakes at least,the same can be said of Neil Robertson,though he has only lost his previous two ranking final this season in the deciding frame.
He reached his third ranking final of the season here courtesy of a fine 6-5 victory over Stephen Maguire.
This was a proper best of 11 tussle that swung both ways before the Aussie prevailed.The scene for what was to come was set early in this one as Maguire took the opening frame before Robertson stormed back to lead 2-1.He looked set to make that 3-1 but a fine counter attack from Maguire leveled it at 2-2 at the interval.
Maguire seemed to be stamping his control on the game to lead 4-2 but in two almost identical frames where Maguire made the early running it was Robertson who fought back to level things up again at 4-4. Maguire edged to within one of victory taking the next but his old Achilles heal of playing the odd rash shot out of frustration came back to haunt him in the tenth and Robertson knocked in a break of 110 to force the decider.
The decider itself was a cagey affair but it was Robertson who took full advantage of the first clear chance to win it with a 81.
This was ironically Maguires best performance of the week and he can head to the Crucible next month with a fair degree of confidence from his recent successes.
For Robertson who at one stage had never lost a tv final,it is a chance to right the wrong ,as he will see it,of not having a ranking title on the cv for this season.That title wont be easily won though against an opponent who is,at the very least his equal,in the "tough as granite"stakes.Selby also has the advantage of a couple of high profile recent wins over the Aussie and for that reason will probably start a slight favourite.That said though I do just have a feeling that the Robertson's hunger for a title this season will see him through.Don't be surprised if it's another tight finish though.
Friday, 29 March 2013
China Open Quarter finals round up.
Quarter Finals day in Beijing and on the face of it looked to have been rather straight forward,as all four higher ranked players got through to the semi finals but it could really be argued here that the final scores only tell half the story.
First man through to the semi finals wa ark Selby who beat Mark Williams 5-1.After sharing the opening two frames,Selby won a longish third to lead 2-1 before a fourth frame that would prove to be crucial to the outcome.Williams got in first with a break of 53,but it was Selby who,as has become his trademark,dug in to clear with a break of 64 for a 3-1 lead.That became 4-1 in a scrappy fifth before he sealed the win with a 72 in the last.
This is a win that confirms Selby will go into the Crucible as world no.1 and that is just reward for what he has achieved this season.The man who will hope to stop him also going there as China Open champion will be Shaun Murphy after he fought back to beat Jack Lisowki 5-4.
The wuestion coming in here was how would Lisowski handle the pressure of his first ranking quarter final,but he seemed to be up to the challenge as he took the opening frame with a run of 62 before Murphy leveled with a 137.Murphy edged ahead in the next courtesy of an outrageous fluke on the black that really has to be seen to believed,but Lisowski,again showing the fluency he has displayed all week,made it 2-2 at the interval with a 71 break.
Lisowski seemed to heading for his first ranking semi final as he stretched his lead to 4-2 but as we know by now,Murphy never gives up and helped by a young man now feeling the pressure of what he was on the verge of achieving,he fought back to level at 4-4. It was anyones game now but Lisowski was clearly feeling the pressure and failed to take some decent chances before the more experienced Murphy saw out the frame to win.
Lisowski will no doubt be feeling very disappointed at not getting the job done,but away from the heat of the battle he can look back on a big week in his snooker apprenticeship.I have no doubt he will be competing at this stage of events many times in the future.
The other semi final tomorrow will see Neil Robertson play Stephen Maguire after both came through the second set of quarter finals.
It is hard to believe,given his consistency this season that Robertson is yet to lift a ranking title this season,but that is the position the Aussie finds himself in here in the seasons penultimate tournament. This was a match that was never going to be a free flowing affair and when a long four frames left it 2-2 at the interval it looked as though we could be in for a long session.The frame immediately after the interval seemed to be confirming that as it stretched to over 45 minutes before Robertson won it.That seemed to free him up a bit as he moved 4-2 ahead with a 115 in the next.Campbell had his chances in the next to close the gap,but failed to take them and Robertson made the best of his chance to seal the 5-2 win.
His opponent tomorrow will be recent Welsh Open winner Stephen Maguire after he again defeated the man he had beaten in that finsa,Stuart Bingham in a match that never reached the standard they produced in Cardiff.
Maguire started well enough and went 3-0 ahead before Bingham got off the mark to make it 3-1.From here the match got a bit scrappy but it was Maguire who held it together the best to win 5-1.He talked afterwards about how rubbish he had played but the fact is,once you are still in the tournament you have the chance to improve.
A quality semi final line up then and reall no result would be a surprise with these four high quality and evenly match players.
I am going to put my neck on the line however and predict a Selby v Maguire final
First man through to the semi finals wa ark Selby who beat Mark Williams 5-1.After sharing the opening two frames,Selby won a longish third to lead 2-1 before a fourth frame that would prove to be crucial to the outcome.Williams got in first with a break of 53,but it was Selby who,as has become his trademark,dug in to clear with a break of 64 for a 3-1 lead.That became 4-1 in a scrappy fifth before he sealed the win with a 72 in the last.
This is a win that confirms Selby will go into the Crucible as world no.1 and that is just reward for what he has achieved this season.The man who will hope to stop him also going there as China Open champion will be Shaun Murphy after he fought back to beat Jack Lisowki 5-4.
The wuestion coming in here was how would Lisowski handle the pressure of his first ranking quarter final,but he seemed to be up to the challenge as he took the opening frame with a run of 62 before Murphy leveled with a 137.Murphy edged ahead in the next courtesy of an outrageous fluke on the black that really has to be seen to believed,but Lisowski,again showing the fluency he has displayed all week,made it 2-2 at the interval with a 71 break.
Lisowski seemed to heading for his first ranking semi final as he stretched his lead to 4-2 but as we know by now,Murphy never gives up and helped by a young man now feeling the pressure of what he was on the verge of achieving,he fought back to level at 4-4. It was anyones game now but Lisowski was clearly feeling the pressure and failed to take some decent chances before the more experienced Murphy saw out the frame to win.
Lisowski will no doubt be feeling very disappointed at not getting the job done,but away from the heat of the battle he can look back on a big week in his snooker apprenticeship.I have no doubt he will be competing at this stage of events many times in the future.
The other semi final tomorrow will see Neil Robertson play Stephen Maguire after both came through the second set of quarter finals.
It is hard to believe,given his consistency this season that Robertson is yet to lift a ranking title this season,but that is the position the Aussie finds himself in here in the seasons penultimate tournament. This was a match that was never going to be a free flowing affair and when a long four frames left it 2-2 at the interval it looked as though we could be in for a long session.The frame immediately after the interval seemed to be confirming that as it stretched to over 45 minutes before Robertson won it.That seemed to free him up a bit as he moved 4-2 ahead with a 115 in the next.Campbell had his chances in the next to close the gap,but failed to take them and Robertson made the best of his chance to seal the 5-2 win.
His opponent tomorrow will be recent Welsh Open winner Stephen Maguire after he again defeated the man he had beaten in that finsa,Stuart Bingham in a match that never reached the standard they produced in Cardiff.
Maguire started well enough and went 3-0 ahead before Bingham got off the mark to make it 3-1.From here the match got a bit scrappy but it was Maguire who held it together the best to win 5-1.He talked afterwards about how rubbish he had played but the fact is,once you are still in the tournament you have the chance to improve.
A quality semi final line up then and reall no result would be a surprise with these four high quality and evenly match players.
I am going to put my neck on the line however and predict a Selby v Maguire final
Thursday, 28 March 2013
China Open Quarter Final Preview
Quarter final day at the China Open in Beijing and despite some early shocks this week we are left with possibly the strongest last eight we have seen in a tournament in quite a while.
First up we have Mark Selby v Mark Williams.This is fascinating match up and rematch of the Shanghai Masters final from last season.This is significant as since that match which ended in a small bit of controversy Williams has really struggled for form and has recently half mocked about retirement.That said his comeback today ,from 4-2 to Ali Carter saw him produce snooker close to his best and he will be hoping it signals a return to form.
Selby reached this stage with a 5-2 victory over Ricky Walden.He may have failed to reach the level of performance he did in his first match here,but he again showed the matchplay skills that have seen him win so often in the past.to come through. This quarter final may be close as Williams for all his break building abilities can scrap it out with the best of them but i feel the momentum is with Selby and may be enough to give him the edge.
Athe same time on the other table we see Jack Lisowski v Shaun Murphy in what is Lisowski's first ranking quarter final.He reached this stage by following up his victory over Trump with a stirring fightback to beat Mark Davis 5-4.Lisowski has been talked about in glowing terms for a while now and maybe his run here will be the spark that moves him to the next level regardless of how much further he progresses.
The man hoping that run does end here is Murphy.These have been strange times for Murphy,who was Mr.Consistent for much of the season without winning a title and just like a golfer who has a series of pars,the run either comes to end with a birdie or a bogey.Unfortunately for him is was a bogey and he has seen his form drop off of late with some early exits.He has looked better this week but I just feel that Lisowski will keep his run going here and follow up a first quarter final appearance with a first semi final.
In the evening session we have two men who have a recent history as both contested the recent Welsh Open Final.Stephen Maguire beat Stuart Bingham 9-8 on that occasion and we could well have another close battle here.both men have produced solid displays this week but I think that once again Maguire,who got a much needed boost to his confidence winning that Welsh Open title will confirm that form to win this one.
The last Quarter final between Marcus Campbell & Neil Robertson looks on the face of it to be the easiest to call but although it would be surprising to see Robertson exit here it is not beyond the realms of possibility for Campbell to prevail.That said Robertson looked very good today in beating Allen and he should win this one on all known form.
Fascinating days snooker in store then and no matter what the results are we are in for a great weekend of action
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
China Open The week so far
The eyes of the snooker community are once again trained on Beijing this week as the the city plays host to the fifth and final ranking event to take place in China this season,the China Open.
The proximity of this tournament to the world championship has always sparked debate as to it's importance,but maybe now,with so much snooker been played over a long season it provides much needed clues as to who still has something left in the tank ahead of the 17 day Crucible marathon.
If this is indeed the case it will be hard to see Judd Trump or John Higgins lifting the famous trophy on the first Monday in May after both exited here in the first round for the second successive tournament.The two month period earlier in the season,where it looked as though both these men were set to dominate now seem a long way time ago,as apart from a few flashes of form both have largely struggled since.
Here Higgins again lost a close match this time to Robert Milkins by a scoreline of 5-4.Higgins has lost a few matches like this of late and a this stage of his career every close match he loses must hurt that little bit more.
Trump for his part,still has a long career ahead of him but also will need to up his game a bit if this season is't to end in a whimper for the young man.Here he went out in a high quality and highly entertaining match against his former housemate and fellow young gun jack Lisowski.As happy as I'm sure Lisowski had been in the last couple of years to see his great friend having such success,there must surly be a part of him wishing it was him.he showed here that he certainly has the talent to compete at the very top level and maybe he is just one good run in a tournament away from convincing himself of that fact as well.
It has seemed,after his impressive display in Galway last week,that Ding Junhui might finally be playing well enough to put his poor home record behind him but once again he failed to negotiate the early rounds.losing here 5-3 to Barry Hawkins despite launching a spirited fightback from 4-0 down.
Also exiting in this round was defending champion Peter Ebdon who despite reverting to his old cue failed to rekindle the form that saw him lift the trophy here last year. he went down here 5-3 to Marcus Campbell.
Someone who has begun to show some form here after seemingly going off the boil following his mid season successes in the UK and The Masters is Mark Selby.His match today will be remembered for the missed final black when attempting a 147 but he really did play well and will be a force for anyone to contend with this week.He also has the added incentive of a possible return to the no.1 ranking following Trumps exit.
Also impressive was Neil Robertson who whitewashed namesake Jimmy 5-0.He will now play Mark Allen in the last 16 in the standout tie of the round.
Other still involved are Bingham,Maguire,Carter,and Mark Williams so this one is shaping up to be an interesting week.I will blog in more detail tomorrow when the last 16 has sorted itself out.
The proximity of this tournament to the world championship has always sparked debate as to it's importance,but maybe now,with so much snooker been played over a long season it provides much needed clues as to who still has something left in the tank ahead of the 17 day Crucible marathon.
If this is indeed the case it will be hard to see Judd Trump or John Higgins lifting the famous trophy on the first Monday in May after both exited here in the first round for the second successive tournament.The two month period earlier in the season,where it looked as though both these men were set to dominate now seem a long way time ago,as apart from a few flashes of form both have largely struggled since.
Here Higgins again lost a close match this time to Robert Milkins by a scoreline of 5-4.Higgins has lost a few matches like this of late and a this stage of his career every close match he loses must hurt that little bit more.
Trump for his part,still has a long career ahead of him but also will need to up his game a bit if this season is't to end in a whimper for the young man.Here he went out in a high quality and highly entertaining match against his former housemate and fellow young gun jack Lisowski.As happy as I'm sure Lisowski had been in the last couple of years to see his great friend having such success,there must surly be a part of him wishing it was him.he showed here that he certainly has the talent to compete at the very top level and maybe he is just one good run in a tournament away from convincing himself of that fact as well.
It has seemed,after his impressive display in Galway last week,that Ding Junhui might finally be playing well enough to put his poor home record behind him but once again he failed to negotiate the early rounds.losing here 5-3 to Barry Hawkins despite launching a spirited fightback from 4-0 down.
Also exiting in this round was defending champion Peter Ebdon who despite reverting to his old cue failed to rekindle the form that saw him lift the trophy here last year. he went down here 5-3 to Marcus Campbell.
Someone who has begun to show some form here after seemingly going off the boil following his mid season successes in the UK and The Masters is Mark Selby.His match today will be remembered for the missed final black when attempting a 147 but he really did play well and will be a force for anyone to contend with this week.He also has the added incentive of a possible return to the no.1 ranking following Trumps exit.
Also impressive was Neil Robertson who whitewashed namesake Jimmy 5-0.He will now play Mark Allen in the last 16 in the standout tie of the round.
Other still involved are Bingham,Maguire,Carter,and Mark Williams so this one is shaping up to be an interesting week.I will blog in more detail tomorrow when the last 16 has sorted itself out.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
PTC Grand Final
After a season of events all over the world and a week of battling it out in Galway.The final brought together two of the sports real heavyweights to slug it out over the best of seven frames as Neil Robertson faced Ding Junhui for the title of PTC Grand Final champion 2013
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It is a sign of just how strange a season this has been to think that this was the tenth full ranking event and neither of these great champions had managed to claim one up to now
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Into the first frame then and in what was to become the pattern in the early frames Ding got in first but only managed 41 before running out of position.Robertson capitalised with an 88 to take a 1-0 lead and quickly made it 2-0 with the aid of a 58 break in the next.
Any memories Robertson had of his 4-0 final defeat here last year to Stephen Lee were quickly vanishing as he stretched that lead to 3-0 in a frame that was a carbon copy of frame one with Ding again breaking down when in first,this time on 51 and Robertson countering to win it with 60.These were worrying time for Ding who in truth hadn't really done much wrong.
Frame four looked like it may be a case of history repeating itself as once again Ding made the running with a 52 only to break down,but on this occasion Robertson failed to capitalise and Ding finished off with a 70 to put his first frame on the board.
This seemed to relax Ding a little and he rattled in a wonderfully crafted 130,his 8th century of the week. to close within one,the score now 3-2.
Things were now getting serious as we entered the sixth frame.Ding again made the running with 38 before running out of position and Robertson countered with 44.This one though boiled down to a battle on the colours and after an extraordinary run of shots Ding produced a fabulous escape,snookering Robertson on the yellow in the process.Robertson managed to hit the yellow,but left it on and Ding held his nerve to pot a difficult brown along the baulk cushion finishing perfectly on the blue to force us into a decider.
They say when it comes to this,that all you are looking for is a chance and that chance fell to Ding.and as has done so often this week,he made a match winning clearance of 98 to become PTC Grand final champion 2013.Just how much this meant to Ding was obvious as he showed far more emotion then we are used to seeing from him,thumping his chest in delight.
Speaking afterwards Robertson,who at one stage had never lost a tv final but has now lost his last four,was in reflective mood remarking that in none of those finals had he played badly it was just that his opponent on each occasion had played very well.Indeed this is true and never more so then here as Ding finished with a pot success rate of 99%.
It was also noticeable this week that Neil was not getting as bogged down in his matches as he has been of late and whether this was a conscious move by him or not,I feel his game will only benefit as a result.
For Ding this win will be satisfactory on many levels.Not only has he lifted his first major trophy in over a year,but he also showed great reserves of fortitude to fight his way back into it from 3-0 down.I'm not sure the Ding of a few seasons back would have shown such resilience.If this is something he has now added permanently to his arsenal he will become an even more formidable competitor in the coming seasons.
So a great tournament finishes with a great final and a worthy final. There may have been problems with the scheduling in the first four days and this will definitely need to be looked at for the future,but that shouldn't take away from what was another great week in the city of Galway.Crowds may have varied during the week but with so much else going on in Ireland around St Patricks weekend we still had healthy crowds for the concluding stages.Lets hope snooker returns here again next year.
PTC Grand Finals semi-final round up
The final of the 2013 PTC Grand final will between last years runner up Neil Robertson and yesterdays maximum man Ding Junhui,after both came through very contrasting semi-finals.
First up we had Robertson taking on Tom Ford.This was Ford's first ranking event semi-final and it showed early on as he struggled to get any rhythm going early on as missed a few easy balls in the opening frame,eventually losing it.!-0 Robertson.
Into the second and Robertson made the early running with 50 before another unexpected miss from Ford presented him with the chance to kill it off,which he did with a break of 65.From here the score quickly became 3-0 courtesy of an 80 break and it look as if Robertson was coasting to the final.
It was here though that something unexpected happened.Whether it was a case,that Robertson sub-consciously lifted off the gas or that Ford relaxed or possibly a mixture of both,but whatever it was,things started to change.
Ford got his first frame on the board with a break of 60 and followed it up in the next with contributions of 51 & 66 after Robertson had missed a blue off the spot .The score 3-2.Robertson was now showing signs of feeling it and a missed red to the middle allowed Ford the chance to clinch the frame and force the match into a decider,a situation that looked very unlikely only an hour previous.
Robertson must really have been wondering what was happening as he faced to very real possibility of losing a match that he had been in complete control of and it was ford who had the first real chance in the decider but missed a red to the corner.This set the tone for the frame and both missed decent opportunities to win it before Robertson made a decisive 48 to clinch his place in the final,a fact he celebrated with his customary fist pump.
That didn't seem to go down well with Ford as he barely looked at Robertson as they shook hands at the end but maybe this reaction from Ford had as much to do with the fact he had let some clear chances slip in the last frame as much as anything to do with Robertson's celebration.
The incident launched the usual debates on Twitter about whether it is sporting or not but as far as i'm concerned I have no problem with someone releasing their emotions once the match is won.the only time I don't like to see this is during a match itself.
Robertson's opponent in the final will be Ding Junhui after the Chinese eased by Kurt Maflin in a one sided affair.Maflin ,like Ford earlier was also playing in his first ranking semi final and never seemed to settle as Ding won the first three frames without having a break over 50.This wasn't the high scoring Ding that we saw im his previous two matches but in truth it didn't have to be as Maflin really struggled.The end came in the fourth,when having split the pack wide open from his initial red,Maflin missed a brown to the middle.This pretty much summed up the match for him and Ding saw out the 4-0 win with a 73,his highest break of the afternoon.
So after a week that was dominated by shocks in the early matches we have a final between two of the games big hitters.The action gets under way at 8pm (gmt).I can hardly wait.
First up we had Robertson taking on Tom Ford.This was Ford's first ranking event semi-final and it showed early on as he struggled to get any rhythm going early on as missed a few easy balls in the opening frame,eventually losing it.!-0 Robertson.
Into the second and Robertson made the early running with 50 before another unexpected miss from Ford presented him with the chance to kill it off,which he did with a break of 65.From here the score quickly became 3-0 courtesy of an 80 break and it look as if Robertson was coasting to the final.
It was here though that something unexpected happened.Whether it was a case,that Robertson sub-consciously lifted off the gas or that Ford relaxed or possibly a mixture of both,but whatever it was,things started to change.
Ford got his first frame on the board with a break of 60 and followed it up in the next with contributions of 51 & 66 after Robertson had missed a blue off the spot .The score 3-2.Robertson was now showing signs of feeling it and a missed red to the middle allowed Ford the chance to clinch the frame and force the match into a decider,a situation that looked very unlikely only an hour previous.
Robertson must really have been wondering what was happening as he faced to very real possibility of losing a match that he had been in complete control of and it was ford who had the first real chance in the decider but missed a red to the corner.This set the tone for the frame and both missed decent opportunities to win it before Robertson made a decisive 48 to clinch his place in the final,a fact he celebrated with his customary fist pump.
That didn't seem to go down well with Ford as he barely looked at Robertson as they shook hands at the end but maybe this reaction from Ford had as much to do with the fact he had let some clear chances slip in the last frame as much as anything to do with Robertson's celebration.
The incident launched the usual debates on Twitter about whether it is sporting or not but as far as i'm concerned I have no problem with someone releasing their emotions once the match is won.the only time I don't like to see this is during a match itself.
Robertson's opponent in the final will be Ding Junhui after the Chinese eased by Kurt Maflin in a one sided affair.Maflin ,like Ford earlier was also playing in his first ranking semi final and never seemed to settle as Ding won the first three frames without having a break over 50.This wasn't the high scoring Ding that we saw im his previous two matches but in truth it didn't have to be as Maflin really struggled.The end came in the fourth,when having split the pack wide open from his initial red,Maflin missed a brown to the middle.This pretty much summed up the match for him and Ding saw out the 4-0 win with a 73,his highest break of the afternoon.
So after a week that was dominated by shocks in the early matches we have a final between two of the games big hitters.The action gets under way at 8pm (gmt).I can hardly wait.
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