For all the intimacy of the two table set up,there really is nothing quite like the Crucible when it is down to the one table set up.That is what the four men who remain will face tomorrow when they start their semi finals.but first a look back at the quarter final action.
If we're honest for all the snooker we've seen over the last week or so there has been the feeling that the championship as a whole had been a bit flat.That is not something that can be said anymore after one of the truly great Crucible matches.as Judd Trump edged a thriller with Shaun Murphy 13-12.
This result seemed a long way away in the early stages as a badly out of form Trump struggled in the first session and Murphy took full advantage to lead 6-2..Trump knew coming into the second session he needed a good one but the sings weren't there early as Murphy extended his lead to 8-3.To his credit though ,Trump dug in and won the last five frames of the session to level at coming into this afternoons final session.
The scene was set for a grandstand finish then and for once we weren't to be disappointed.Trump got in first to go 9-8 before Murphy made it 9-9 with a 128 and he then made it 10-9 with a 70 clearance after Trump had earlier broke down on 59,Trump wasn't going away though and leveled again at the interval with a 77.
This was snooker of the highest quality from both these men and it was perhaps written in the stars from the off that we were going to have a decider.That is exactly what we got as both players exchanged frame for frame to take us to 12-12.In a frame that lasted 53 minutes it was Trump who got the upper hand in the tactical battle to seal a famous win.
For Murphy this was another quarter final defeat in a season near misses but he can be proud of the performance he put in here and the fact is it would have been enough to beat most.
Trump has had a poor second half of the season by his standards. but he showed here that he has the all round game to compete with the very best and he will need all that and more in his semi final where he will face our defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Ronnie booked his place in his tenth Crucible semi final with a comprehensive 13-4 win over Stuart Bingham.
There has been much written about the Ronnie over the years and many arguments about where he stands in a list of the greats of the game,but to put it simply,no other player has ever or will ever make the game look a ridiculously easy as he did in the first session here.In taking a 7-1 lead over Bingham he was simply awesome.and the match more or less finished as a contest there and then,
This looked like been over with a session to spare when Ronnie raced to 12-1 with three frames left,but Bingham,with a little help from Ronnie allowing his concentration to drift at least avoided that indignity winning all three to make it 12-4.This was only delaying the inevitable though and Ronnie wrapped up the win in the .first frame of the night.
All the talk afterwards was of his press conference where he seemed to contradict his earlier statements during the week and once again threatened retirement.That will at least give the papers something to write tomorrow,but really we have heard all this so often before it's hard to take it at face value.
In many ways its a pity that this will take the headlines as the Trump v O'Sullivan clash has the potential to be a classic.Trump spoke of having no fear of playing Ronnie.and of going on the attack against him.This is an admirable ambition to have,but the fact is such a tactic could just play into Ronnie's hands and I think the Rocket will reach his fifth Crucible final.What happens after that is anyones guess.
All the talk pre tournament was off the "quarter of death" which included the likes of Selby,Lisowski,Allen and Ding It is then something of a surprise that the man who came through this section of the draw is Barry Hawkins.
Playing here in his first Crucible quarter final he added the scalp of Ding to his list with a solid matchplay performance.
After many years of expectation there was a feeling that this could be Dings year and maybe that added pressure told on the Chinese as he never really got going in this match..The signs for what was to come were there early on as Hawkins won the first session 5-3 and held the same two frame advantage after the second the score now 9-7.
Ding knew he needed a good start this morning but big bounce when in,cost him the first and he never looked comfortable after that the score now.10-7.That became 11-7 in the next and Hawkins could see the finish line getting ever closer.Hawkins lead 50-0 in the next but Ding forced his way back into it and seemed set to take it before amazingly missing a straight forward brown.They say the balls don't forgive you in this game and was certainly the case for Ding here as Hawkins outrageously fluked the frame ball pink to go 12-7.This was the final nail in Ding coffin and.Hawkins wrapped up the win in the next to win 13-7.
Ding will no doubt look at the fact he didn't get the run of the ball here but in truth he simply didn't play well enough against an opponent on the crest of a wave.You have to wonder now if he will ever now win the world title that had once seemed his destiny when he burst on the scene.
Hawkins though can look forward to a clash with another surprise semi finalist in Ricky Walden who had never won a match at the Crucible prior to this years event.He was th reach this stage with a fine 13-6 victory over Michael White.
This one it has to be said was pretty one sided from the start as White playing at this stage of an event for the first time struggled to cope and Walden took control to lead 6-2 going into today.That became 9-3 and it looked as though an evening session might not be required,but White to his credit rallied to 9-6 before Walden won a crucial final frame of the session to go 10-6 into tonight.Here rounded off his win by taking the three frames he needed to win 13-6.
So that leaves us with the unlikeliest of semi final pairings,but make no mistake both these men are here on merit and could very well serve up a real nail biter.This could really go either way but I just have a feeling that Walden might edge it.Really though that is nothing more then a feeling.
Both matches play their opening eight frames tomorrow before we really get into the meat of these contests on Friday and Saturday. Lets fasten our seatbelts and enjoy the ride.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
World Championship 2013 Quarter finals preview
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Stuart Bingham
The question coming into this championship was,how Ronnie would compete after a year out of competition and I think the evidence of what we have seen so far suggets,that far from the lack of match fitness telling over the tournament,the opposite might be the case as he appears to be getting stronger with every session,In his match with Carter he was put under severe pressure a times but was by the end playing his best snooker so far,albeit that his long ball percentage could still be improved upon.
Bingham on the other hand has had another good season and played well to shake off Mark Davis in round two.He has at times looked very capable of scoring heavily when in the balls but has also had moments in matches where his snooker brain seems to have gone walkabout,This is something he can't afford to do against Ronnie and I expect O'Sullivan might just move up another gear here to and win 13-6
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
This one really looks to be the tie of the round as these two have both been in fine form here so far. Trump came into this tournament with many question to answer after what had been a poor second half of the season but has looked back to near his best in his wins here over Dale and Fu.
Murphy on the other hand has had a decent season that has seen him at the business end of most tournaments but has failed to lift a trophy.Murphy talked recently about his frustration his failure to convert these chances into trophies and I think he will be frustrated here again as I expect Trump to go through may 13-9.
Michael White v Ricky Walden
This is perhaps the hardest match to call as neither of these men have any form at this stage of a World Championship.White here has lived up to his growing reputation in the game by firstly showing his bottle to see off Mark Williams in round one and then showing his powers of concentration to ignore all the goings on in his encounter with Poojaeng to record an easy win,
Its hard to believe Walden had never won a match at the Crucible befoee his 10-1 walloping of Holt in round one and he answered those who question his temperament by holding off the comeback of Milkins in round two,
This one could really be close but I think the experience of Walden might just be enough to see him through to the semi final by a scoreline of 13-11
Ding Junhui v Barry Hawkins
I think its fair to say that this is a quarter final few have predicted when the draw came out.but its what we have in a quarter that has been filled with shocks.Hawkins reached his first Crucible Quarter final courtesy of a fine win the first round over rising star Jack Lisowski and a tough battling win over a below par Mark Selby in the second.
Ding has shown battling qualities of his own holding off the McManus comeback in round one and coming back himself from 6-2 down against King in round two.Many have questioned over the years if Ding has what it takes to compete at the Crucible ,but I feel his run to the semi final two years ago and indeed his fightback against King here,showed he does have the stomach for the fight.I think he'll move one step closer to his dream here with a comfortable 13-7 win
Monday, 29 April 2013
World Championship Day Ten
Today saw the conclusion of round two and now only eight men remain with a hope of becoming the 2013 Betfair World Championship.
Ronnie O'Sullivan again showed that he is the man to beat with a 13-8 victory over Ali Carter.In a match where his frailties on long shots briefly threatened to derail his championship it was once again his brilliance once in the balls that saw him through.
In the first session he had at one stage lead 5-1 but Carter rallied to 5-3.Ronnie then started the second session with an 86 to go 6-3 but Carter knocked in breaks of 73 & 87 to make it 6-5 before a 105 from Ronnie restored his two frames lead at 7-5.
Despite this break Ronnie was still looking a little tired and Carter started to put him under a little pressure by winning the next two to make it 7-7.This was now you felt the crucial part of this match and Ronnie answered any questions we may have had about how much he want this winning the last two of session to lead 9-7 overnight.
Th first frame tonight was a tight affair that Ronnie eventually won to go 10-7.Carter knocked in a super long red in the next to set up a gutsy 86 to just stay in it at 10-8,but here Ronnie just put on the afetrburners to win the next three with quickfire breaks of 88,106 and 88 and seal the 13-8.
So what did we learn from this match.Well just as in his first game here,his break building once among the balls is as good as ever but his long game just hasn't fully clicked yet.That said if he is to win this title from here he will be playing every day and You have to feel he'll only get stronger as the week goes on.
His opponent in the quarter finals will be Stuart Bingham after he saw off the determined challenge of Mark Davis to win 13-10.This one had looked on paper like it would be nip and tuck the whole way and so it was to prove as they traded frame for frame to in the early stages to go 4-4 after the first session.
This pattern continued into the second session as the score became 5-5 before Bingham finally won two in a row to go 7-5.At this stage he would have been looking to kick on but maybe through trying too hard the opposite began to happen as Davis once again fought back to level at 7-7.The momentum seemed to be with Davis now and he took the lead for the first time in the match at 8-7.This was to be short lived though as Bingham leveled again at 8-8.
Starting off this afternoon it was again Bingham who got off to the better start going 10-8 but once again Davis responded to level at 10-10.It looked as though this one could go all the way but it was Binmgham who found his form aftewer the interval to go 11-10 with his second century of the match and he won the next two to reach his first Crucible quarter final.
With the elimination of Robertson,Selby and Allen form the bottom half of the draw a lot of attention has gone onto Ding Junhui with many thinking that this is possibly his best chance to win the title This was maybe on his mind as he looked badly out of sorts in going 6-2 behind following his first session with Mark King.
The beauty of the longer frame matches are that they allow players recover from a bad start and the consensus seemed to be that if Ding could win the second session he would still go through.As it happened he was to .do better then that winning the first five to take a 7-5 lead and although King briefly stopped the tide to level at 7-7 Ding won the last two to take a 9-7 overnight lead.
Starting this afternoon Ding looked in good form again taking the opening frame to go 10-7 but a missed black off the spot in the next allowing King to win it and close to 10-8.To his credit King also won the next to get to 10-9.It seemed now that we may may have a match on our hands,but Ding knocked in a cool century to go 11-9.and closed the match out after the interval to win 13-9.
The last man into the Quarter finals was Ricky Walden who held off a brave fightback from Robert Milkins to progress by a scoreline of 13-11.
This at one stage had looked like it might finish with a session to spare as Walden extended his 5-3 lead from the first session to 9-3.Milkins first objective was to avoid this indignity.He managed to do this by winning the next and also securing the last two of the session to keep himself just about still in the match trailing 10-6 going into the final session.
In the past Walden has often been criticised for a failure to press home his advantage in matches and it looked as though those old failings were coming back o haunt him here as Milkins won the first two of the night to make it 10-8.He would have been relieved then to win the next with a 61.Milkins wasn't going to lie down though and won the next two to make it 11-10.The pressure was now on but Walden wasn't to be denied as he made it 12-10 with a run of 79.Milkins kept his hopes alive winning the next but Walden secured victory with an 86 to finish it 13-11 . He will now play debutant Michael White in the quarter finals,
So eight men left and one week from tonight we will have our 2013 World Champion.I thinks its fair to say we are now at the business end of things.
Ronnie O'Sullivan again showed that he is the man to beat with a 13-8 victory over Ali Carter.In a match where his frailties on long shots briefly threatened to derail his championship it was once again his brilliance once in the balls that saw him through.
In the first session he had at one stage lead 5-1 but Carter rallied to 5-3.Ronnie then started the second session with an 86 to go 6-3 but Carter knocked in breaks of 73 & 87 to make it 6-5 before a 105 from Ronnie restored his two frames lead at 7-5.
Despite this break Ronnie was still looking a little tired and Carter started to put him under a little pressure by winning the next two to make it 7-7.This was now you felt the crucial part of this match and Ronnie answered any questions we may have had about how much he want this winning the last two of session to lead 9-7 overnight.
Th first frame tonight was a tight affair that Ronnie eventually won to go 10-7.Carter knocked in a super long red in the next to set up a gutsy 86 to just stay in it at 10-8,but here Ronnie just put on the afetrburners to win the next three with quickfire breaks of 88,106 and 88 and seal the 13-8.
So what did we learn from this match.Well just as in his first game here,his break building once among the balls is as good as ever but his long game just hasn't fully clicked yet.That said if he is to win this title from here he will be playing every day and You have to feel he'll only get stronger as the week goes on.
His opponent in the quarter finals will be Stuart Bingham after he saw off the determined challenge of Mark Davis to win 13-10.This one had looked on paper like it would be nip and tuck the whole way and so it was to prove as they traded frame for frame to in the early stages to go 4-4 after the first session.
This pattern continued into the second session as the score became 5-5 before Bingham finally won two in a row to go 7-5.At this stage he would have been looking to kick on but maybe through trying too hard the opposite began to happen as Davis once again fought back to level at 7-7.The momentum seemed to be with Davis now and he took the lead for the first time in the match at 8-7.This was to be short lived though as Bingham leveled again at 8-8.
Starting off this afternoon it was again Bingham who got off to the better start going 10-8 but once again Davis responded to level at 10-10.It looked as though this one could go all the way but it was Binmgham who found his form aftewer the interval to go 11-10 with his second century of the match and he won the next two to reach his first Crucible quarter final.
With the elimination of Robertson,Selby and Allen form the bottom half of the draw a lot of attention has gone onto Ding Junhui with many thinking that this is possibly his best chance to win the title This was maybe on his mind as he looked badly out of sorts in going 6-2 behind following his first session with Mark King.
The beauty of the longer frame matches are that they allow players recover from a bad start and the consensus seemed to be that if Ding could win the second session he would still go through.As it happened he was to .do better then that winning the first five to take a 7-5 lead and although King briefly stopped the tide to level at 7-7 Ding won the last two to take a 9-7 overnight lead.
Starting this afternoon Ding looked in good form again taking the opening frame to go 10-7 but a missed black off the spot in the next allowing King to win it and close to 10-8.To his credit King also won the next to get to 10-9.It seemed now that we may may have a match on our hands,but Ding knocked in a cool century to go 11-9.and closed the match out after the interval to win 13-9.
The last man into the Quarter finals was Ricky Walden who held off a brave fightback from Robert Milkins to progress by a scoreline of 13-11.
This at one stage had looked like it might finish with a session to spare as Walden extended his 5-3 lead from the first session to 9-3.Milkins first objective was to avoid this indignity.He managed to do this by winning the next and also securing the last two of the session to keep himself just about still in the match trailing 10-6 going into the final session.
In the past Walden has often been criticised for a failure to press home his advantage in matches and it looked as though those old failings were coming back o haunt him here as Milkins won the first two of the night to make it 10-8.He would have been relieved then to win the next with a 61.Milkins wasn't going to lie down though and won the next two to make it 11-10.The pressure was now on but Walden wasn't to be denied as he made it 12-10 with a run of 79.Milkins kept his hopes alive winning the next but Walden secured victory with an 86 to finish it 13-11 . He will now play debutant Michael White in the quarter finals,
So eight men left and one week from tonight we will have our 2013 World Champion.I thinks its fair to say we are now at the business end of things.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
World Championship Day Eight
Day eight at the 2013 Betfair World Championship and proof that lightening can strike twice.
When Barry Hawkins knocked out Mark Selby in the first round her last year,all the talk was of the neck injury that Selby had been suffering from and perhaps not enough credit was given to Hawkins for his performance.That certainly wont be the case this year as the Australian Open Champion produced some great snooker to eliminate the world no.1 and with it dash his hopes of winning this seasons grand slam.
This one was nip and tuck all the way and Selby came into this afternoons final session holding a slim 9-7 lead.Very often in these situations,the first frame can be vital and so it proved here with Selby missing an easy black to open a three frame lead,Hawkins capitalizing to make it 9-8.That became 9-9 shortly afterwards and although Selby retook the lead in the next,it was Hawkins again who leveled at 10-10 at the mid session interval.
The feeling throughout this match was that although Selby was always leading he just never playing at his best and Hawkins took advantage of this to take the lead in the next and make it 11-10.That became 12-10 and when Selby missed a long red in the next Hawkins pounced to win the match 13-10.
This victory caps off what has probably been Hawkins best ever season and he can be rightly proud of how ,in many ways he outSelbyed Selby here by sticking to him throughout.
For Selby,he can look back on what has been a strange season for him.If he is honest with himself hell admit that he never really played at his best but still managed to win two of the games biggest prizes,The UK Championship and The Masters,Here he looked a little jaded to me and perhaps a few weeks off now might be just what he needs.
The defeat of Selby here,along with that of Robertson earlier means that Judd Trump can become the season ending World no.1 if he win the title and that dream is still very much alive after he beat Marco Fu 13-7 to reach the quarter final.
Starting the day leading 6-2 he may have believed the hard work was done,but Fu is a tough competitor and in the second session this morning he threw everything he had at Trump to close within one at 8-7 before Trump nicked the last to go into tonight 9-7 ahead.
Coming out tonight Trump was in no mood for messing around and after a longish first frame he quickly found his form to finish off the match in clinical fashion 13-7.He will now face another one of the tournaments in form men,Shaun Murphy in what promises to be a superb quarter final clash.
In matches that got underway today Ronnie O'Sullivan holds a 5-3 lead over Ali Carter in a rematch of last years final,Carter winning the last two of that session to stay in touch going into tomorrow afternoon and could we have another major shock on our hands as Mark King holds a 6-2 advantage over Ding Junhui going in to the second of their sessions also tomorrow.
The day though undoubtedly belongs to Barry Hawkins who at 34 reached his first world championship quarter final.
When Barry Hawkins knocked out Mark Selby in the first round her last year,all the talk was of the neck injury that Selby had been suffering from and perhaps not enough credit was given to Hawkins for his performance.That certainly wont be the case this year as the Australian Open Champion produced some great snooker to eliminate the world no.1 and with it dash his hopes of winning this seasons grand slam.
This one was nip and tuck all the way and Selby came into this afternoons final session holding a slim 9-7 lead.Very often in these situations,the first frame can be vital and so it proved here with Selby missing an easy black to open a three frame lead,Hawkins capitalizing to make it 9-8.That became 9-9 shortly afterwards and although Selby retook the lead in the next,it was Hawkins again who leveled at 10-10 at the mid session interval.
The feeling throughout this match was that although Selby was always leading he just never playing at his best and Hawkins took advantage of this to take the lead in the next and make it 11-10.That became 12-10 and when Selby missed a long red in the next Hawkins pounced to win the match 13-10.
This victory caps off what has probably been Hawkins best ever season and he can be rightly proud of how ,in many ways he outSelbyed Selby here by sticking to him throughout.
For Selby,he can look back on what has been a strange season for him.If he is honest with himself hell admit that he never really played at his best but still managed to win two of the games biggest prizes,The UK Championship and The Masters,Here he looked a little jaded to me and perhaps a few weeks off now might be just what he needs.
The defeat of Selby here,along with that of Robertson earlier means that Judd Trump can become the season ending World no.1 if he win the title and that dream is still very much alive after he beat Marco Fu 13-7 to reach the quarter final.
Starting the day leading 6-2 he may have believed the hard work was done,but Fu is a tough competitor and in the second session this morning he threw everything he had at Trump to close within one at 8-7 before Trump nicked the last to go into tonight 9-7 ahead.
Coming out tonight Trump was in no mood for messing around and after a longish first frame he quickly found his form to finish off the match in clinical fashion 13-7.He will now face another one of the tournaments in form men,Shaun Murphy in what promises to be a superb quarter final clash.
In matches that got underway today Ronnie O'Sullivan holds a 5-3 lead over Ali Carter in a rematch of last years final,Carter winning the last two of that session to stay in touch going into tomorrow afternoon and could we have another major shock on our hands as Mark King holds a 6-2 advantage over Ding Junhui going in to the second of their sessions also tomorrow.
The day though undoubtedly belongs to Barry Hawkins who at 34 reached his first world championship quarter final.
Friday, 26 April 2013
World Championship Day Seven
Day seven at the Betfair World Championships and today we had a former world champion coming through an old fashioned Crucible thriller,a young debutant further enhancing his growing reputation and two of the pre tournament favourites starting to show some form.
In the battle of the World Champions it was who cam out on top but only after a proper late night thriller.The day had started with Murphy leading 6-2 but the one thing we know Dott is is a fighter and he came storming back to take second session 6-2 and level the match at 8-8 coming into tonights final session.
What we effectively had now was best of nine and that became a best of five as they shared the next four frames to go 10-10.In a match as close as this you always get key moments and we certainly had one of those in the next when after 55 minutes of battling away we went to a respot only for Dott to play an awful shot gifting the frame to Murphy.That seemed to be playing on Dott's mind a little as Murphy also took the next to go to the brink at12-10 but Dott to his credit showed all his fighting qualities to close to 12-11,The next was a tight nervy affair as you would expect at this stage but it was Murphy,who went 25 minutes without potting a ball during it,who made the most of his best chance to claim the win 13-11
He will now be starting to fancy his chances of claiming a second World title and a possible quarter final clash with Judd Trump will have us all getting very excited.Dott will no doubt look back on that respotted blck as the turning point but he can reflect on another high class Crucible campaign.
A few monthes back coming into the staging of the Welsh Open I remember reading several articles bemoaning the state of Welsh snooker but after this week it appears they may just have a savior in the shape of 21 year old Michael White.
White to be fair has been talked about as a potential start since he was a teenager but here he has shown the snooker world in general,just what a talent he really is.
Coming in today with 7-1 lead from his first session with Dechawat Poomjaneg he would have been determined to make sure he finished the job with a session to spare and he quickly won the first two frames to go 9-1.Poomjaneng did win the next and had his chances to win the twelfth but it was White who took it to go to the interval leading 10-2.An 83 made it 11-2 and although Poomjaeng made it 11-3 White sealed the win impressively with runs of 73 and a 102.
All this means he can now have a rest in the morning as he awaits the winner between Robert Milkins and Ricky Walden in the quarter final.For Poomjaeng it means the end of the road but he will leave the tournament with happy memories of his first time at the Crucible and indeed no one who saw him play will forget him either.
World no.3 Judd Trump has had a mixed time of it of late but at times in his first match against Dale he showed signs that he was rediscovering his best form and that was again the case today as he finished his first session against Marco Fu with a 6-2 lead.
There hadn't been much to separate these two in the opening four frames as they went to the interval at 2-2. but it was then that Trump found an extra gear and breaks of 127,61 and 112 made it 5-2 before he cleared in the last to that 6-2 overnight lead.
In last years World Championship world no.1 Mark Selby,suffering from a painful neck injury,went out in the first round to Barry Hawkins.and he provided the opposition again today as they started their second round.
Selby seems to have a habit of winning frames without seemingly been at his best and that was again the case here as he took a 5-3 lead from the first session.Into the second session and it was Hawkins who got the better of a couple of lengthy frames to level at 5-5 That became 6-6 at the interval but it was Selby who found a bit of form when play resumed as he raced into a 9-6 lead.Hawkins to his credit though managed to take a vital final frame and will only trail 9-7 when they resume tomorrow,with all very much still to play for.
In the battle of the World Champions it was who cam out on top but only after a proper late night thriller.The day had started with Murphy leading 6-2 but the one thing we know Dott is is a fighter and he came storming back to take second session 6-2 and level the match at 8-8 coming into tonights final session.
What we effectively had now was best of nine and that became a best of five as they shared the next four frames to go 10-10.In a match as close as this you always get key moments and we certainly had one of those in the next when after 55 minutes of battling away we went to a respot only for Dott to play an awful shot gifting the frame to Murphy.That seemed to be playing on Dott's mind a little as Murphy also took the next to go to the brink at12-10 but Dott to his credit showed all his fighting qualities to close to 12-11,The next was a tight nervy affair as you would expect at this stage but it was Murphy,who went 25 minutes without potting a ball during it,who made the most of his best chance to claim the win 13-11
He will now be starting to fancy his chances of claiming a second World title and a possible quarter final clash with Judd Trump will have us all getting very excited.Dott will no doubt look back on that respotted blck as the turning point but he can reflect on another high class Crucible campaign.
A few monthes back coming into the staging of the Welsh Open I remember reading several articles bemoaning the state of Welsh snooker but after this week it appears they may just have a savior in the shape of 21 year old Michael White.
White to be fair has been talked about as a potential start since he was a teenager but here he has shown the snooker world in general,just what a talent he really is.
Coming in today with 7-1 lead from his first session with Dechawat Poomjaneg he would have been determined to make sure he finished the job with a session to spare and he quickly won the first two frames to go 9-1.Poomjaneng did win the next and had his chances to win the twelfth but it was White who took it to go to the interval leading 10-2.An 83 made it 11-2 and although Poomjaeng made it 11-3 White sealed the win impressively with runs of 73 and a 102.
All this means he can now have a rest in the morning as he awaits the winner between Robert Milkins and Ricky Walden in the quarter final.For Poomjaeng it means the end of the road but he will leave the tournament with happy memories of his first time at the Crucible and indeed no one who saw him play will forget him either.
World no.3 Judd Trump has had a mixed time of it of late but at times in his first match against Dale he showed signs that he was rediscovering his best form and that was again the case today as he finished his first session against Marco Fu with a 6-2 lead.
There hadn't been much to separate these two in the opening four frames as they went to the interval at 2-2. but it was then that Trump found an extra gear and breaks of 127,61 and 112 made it 5-2 before he cleared in the last to that 6-2 overnight lead.
In last years World Championship world no.1 Mark Selby,suffering from a painful neck injury,went out in the first round to Barry Hawkins.and he provided the opposition again today as they started their second round.
Selby seems to have a habit of winning frames without seemingly been at his best and that was again the case here as he took a 5-3 lead from the first session.Into the second session and it was Hawkins who got the better of a couple of lengthy frames to level at 5-5 That became 6-6 at the interval but it was Selby who found a bit of form when play resumed as he raced into a 9-6 lead.Hawkins to his credit though managed to take a vital final frame and will only trail 9-7 when they resume tomorrow,with all very much still to play for.
Thursday, 25 April 2013
World Championship 2013 Day Six Round Up
Day six at the 2013 Betfair World Championship and another big name bites the dust.with the elimination of the 2010 Champion Neil Robertson at the hands of Robert Milkins.
Starting this afternoon with Robertson holding a narrow 5-4 lead the type of session we were going to have was evident in the very first frame,Milkins taking it by doubling the blue after 45 minutes of action.Milkins also won the next to take a 6-5 lead before Robertson leveled with a 84..This pattern continued with a series of tight frames that were traded one for one taking the score to 8-8
Things were getting more tense by the minute and the match was to hinge on a long 17th frame that would eventually go to Milkins,but not before Robertson had got three of four snooker he had needed to try and get back into it.Milkins was again in first in the next but broke down on 51 giving the Aussie one last chance.As was the case all afternoon though Robertson couldn't make the most of it and Milkins won the frame to seal a famous 10-8 victory
For Milkins this will rank with the best in his career and he spoke afterwards about just how far he had sunk in his personal life before turning it around.At 37 he joins Mark Davis (40) and Mark King (39) in knocking out some of the so called big guns this week and it may well be the case that with the increase in tournament could well have the impact of lengthening some players careers as they are now constantly getting match practice as opposed to having to try motivate themselves to go down the club.
For Robertson though this will be a bitterly disappointing result.No doubt he will look back at the first session where he was playing well and lead 5-2 but let the last two frames slip as the key moments in the game.I have felt for some time that he tends to start looking for problems that aren't there when the pressure comes on and this has the effect of knocking him out of his natural stride.It has been a joke I've had with a friend of mine that he is slowly turning into Peter Ebdon and I can kind of see what my friend is saying.He really needs to use the off season to reassess his approach to the game,That may sound harsh on someone who has had the season he had,but if he is to be challanging for the real big titles he needs to get back to playing to his strengths .
In last remaining first round encounter,Stuart Bingham rounded off a 10-2 victory over Sam Baird having com into the session leading 8-1.He will no doubt have a tougher time when he takes on Mark Davis in round two.
Elsewhere in the second round clash between the two former world champions,it is the 2005 winner Shaun Murphy who holds a 6-2 lead over the 2006 winner Graeme Dott.With everything that was going on in the last week the performance of Murphy in round one has gone mainly unnoticed,but he was arguably the player of the round and he started here in the same vain with two centuries in the opening four frames. He didn't quite match it after the interval but he goes into the second session tomorrow morning in a very strong position.
In the other second round match which started tonight Michael White holds a commanding 7-1 lead over Dechawat Poomjaeng.who failed to reproduce the snooker that saw him beat Maguire in the last round.He will have to find something special in the second session if he is to keep his remarkable run going.
Starting this afternoon with Robertson holding a narrow 5-4 lead the type of session we were going to have was evident in the very first frame,Milkins taking it by doubling the blue after 45 minutes of action.Milkins also won the next to take a 6-5 lead before Robertson leveled with a 84..This pattern continued with a series of tight frames that were traded one for one taking the score to 8-8
Things were getting more tense by the minute and the match was to hinge on a long 17th frame that would eventually go to Milkins,but not before Robertson had got three of four snooker he had needed to try and get back into it.Milkins was again in first in the next but broke down on 51 giving the Aussie one last chance.As was the case all afternoon though Robertson couldn't make the most of it and Milkins won the frame to seal a famous 10-8 victory
For Milkins this will rank with the best in his career and he spoke afterwards about just how far he had sunk in his personal life before turning it around.At 37 he joins Mark Davis (40) and Mark King (39) in knocking out some of the so called big guns this week and it may well be the case that with the increase in tournament could well have the impact of lengthening some players careers as they are now constantly getting match practice as opposed to having to try motivate themselves to go down the club.
For Robertson though this will be a bitterly disappointing result.No doubt he will look back at the first session where he was playing well and lead 5-2 but let the last two frames slip as the key moments in the game.I have felt for some time that he tends to start looking for problems that aren't there when the pressure comes on and this has the effect of knocking him out of his natural stride.It has been a joke I've had with a friend of mine that he is slowly turning into Peter Ebdon and I can kind of see what my friend is saying.He really needs to use the off season to reassess his approach to the game,That may sound harsh on someone who has had the season he had,but if he is to be challanging for the real big titles he needs to get back to playing to his strengths .
In last remaining first round encounter,Stuart Bingham rounded off a 10-2 victory over Sam Baird having com into the session leading 8-1.He will no doubt have a tougher time when he takes on Mark Davis in round two.
Elsewhere in the second round clash between the two former world champions,it is the 2005 winner Shaun Murphy who holds a 6-2 lead over the 2006 winner Graeme Dott.With everything that was going on in the last week the performance of Murphy in round one has gone mainly unnoticed,but he was arguably the player of the round and he started here in the same vain with two centuries in the opening four frames. He didn't quite match it after the interval but he goes into the second session tomorrow morning in a very strong position.
In the other second round match which started tonight Michael White holds a commanding 7-1 lead over Dechawat Poomjaeng.who failed to reproduce the snooker that saw him beat Maguire in the last round.He will have to find something special in the second session if he is to keep his remarkable run going.
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
World Championship 2013 Day Five Round Up
After a couple of days where we have seen some of the player who were been tipped as potential winners of this years title a level of normality returned to the championship today with some of our big guns comfortably going through.
This time last year Judd Trump came into the world championship as the bookies favourite but failed to really get going.This season,after a few monthes of indifferent results,he has come in this week as almost the forgotten man and that may very well suit the world no.3.
Starting the second session today leading 6-3 he lost the first frame of the morning to Dale but quickly found his stride winning the next three with breaks of 104,73 and 61 to go 9-4 ahead.Dale managed to delay the inevitable winning the next but Trump sealed the victory in the 15th frame to win the match 10-5.
Trump talked afterwards about how much work he has put in ,in recent weeks preparing for this championship and time will tell if that work has paid off.It can certainly be said if he returned to the form he displayed in the International Championship,he will be a match for anyone.
Next up for Trump will be a second round clash with Marco Fu after the man from Hong Kong survived a real scare against Matthew Stevens.
Resuming today leading 6-3 Fu won three of the first four frame to move within one of victory.leading 9-4,Stevens though knows better then most that matches here are never over until they are over and started to fight his way back .Playing some of his best snooker of the match he clawed his way back,winning the next three to close to 9-7.
Things were now starting to get interesting but it was Fu who held his nerve to clear from the blue and win a 53 minute 17th frame to clinch the 10-7 win.
Sometimes the bare score doesn't tell the whole story and that was certainly the case yesterday when Ding emerged from his first session with Alan McManus with a 7-2 lead.That score was grossly unfair ti the Scot who played a lot better then that.Starting today he seem determined to set that right winning the first three frames of the day to close the deficit to 7-5.
In the first round last year Ding lead Ryan Day 9-6 only to lose the match and with that in mind he would have been relieved to stop the rot in the next making it 8-5.This seemed to knock the fight out of McManus and Ding won the next two to claim the 10-5 win.
For a while last night it looked as though we might have the possibility of a whitewash as Mark Selby lead Matt Selt. 5-0 despite not playing anywhere near his best.Selt managed to avoid that indignity and even started to play some good snooker closing to 6-3 at the end of the session.
That is how they started tonight and it looked like we may have a match on our hands when Selt won the opener to make it 6-4. Selby though wasn't going to let that happen and he slowly started to find his form to run out a 10-4 winner and set up a second round clash with the man who beat him here last year,Barry Hawkins
In the last two first round matches that have yet to be completed,Robert Milkins won the last two frames of session to keep himself well in touch with Neil Robertson,the Aussie holding a 5-4 lead going into tomorrow afternoons conclusion and barring a miracle Stuart Bingham will complete an easy win tomorrow evening when he resumes with an 8-1 lead over Sam Baird.
We have a rare free morning tomorrow with play not starting until 2-30 when as well as the conclusion of round one we have the beginning of round two With Shaun Murphy starting out against Graeme Dott and Michael White playing Dechawat Poomjaeng.Things are starting to take shape.
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