Snooker Loopy

After a week of thrilling snooker in Guangzhou, China, we eventually found out who would battle for this auspicious title. England faced Wales as Shaun Murphy was drawn against Mark Williams in a snooker battle that both players were keen to win in order to add another title to their career curriculum vitae. With £150,000 on offer for the tournament winner, a lot was riding on both Mark and Shaun to play their “A” game to make this a match to remember. When the lights finally went down and the players assumed their seats, the Chinese audience waited with baited breath to see who would be the outright victor on Sunday night. When push came to shove, both Murphy and Williams hung on each others’ coattails and the pendulum swayed between both players as each took frames to play a match that was nip and tuck from the start. The match score went to 3-3 and then  4-3 to Williams before Shaun took the last two frame before the interval to take a 5-4  lead. After the interval , the first fra

With only four players left in this year’s China Championship, today marked the start of the semi- final stage. Mark Williams drew Hossein Vafaei. These players have only played once before with Williams a 6-1 winner. This was a match that heavily leaned in Mark’s favour and with Williams getting off to a blistering start, the signs looked ominous for the Iranian. The first three frames all went Williams’ way with a display of snooker that was reminiscent of his World Championship performance. Vafaei just had to sit back and watch as Mark rapidly took a massive advantage to lead 3-0. In the next, Hossein shot into gear and potted one of the best long balls shots I have seen. Potting a red the full length of the table with the white in the jaws of the opposing pocket was sublime. He then went on to make a a two ball plant that really sealed him his first frame, 3-1 Williams. After the interval, Mark just went up a gear and left Hossein wondering whether he would get another chance. The

With yesterday’s play causing more pain for the top 16, the likes of Judd Trump and John Higgins were sent packing. With only Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Mark Williams left from the snooker elite, todays play was always going to be an interesting encounter. In the afternoon’s play, Mark Williams was drawn against David Gilbert. Williams played out of his skin, leaving Gilbert left sat in his chair for most of the opening frames, Gilbert was only able to capture a frame in a match that started off as what could have been described as “The Mark Williams Show”. This was quick fire play by the Welshman and if you had left the room for any reason, you would have returned to find Williams already 3-1 to the good. Breaks of 63, 93 and 56 saw Mark leaving the arena to return to his dressing room with a big grin on his face. After the interval, this perfection story with Williams taking the first frame after the interval to lead 4-1. A messy next frame ensued with Williams unabl

We are now halfway through this tournament and the casualties are licking their wounds and the victors licking their lips. This is a competition where no player is not safe until they have potted their last ball, a feat that will have their nerves jangling and their brows perspiring. Today’s play was no exception with a shock exit at the start of play. The “Ace in the Pack”,  Judd Trump, probably thought that his draw against Joe Perry would be a relatively easy affair but anyone who knows or has seen Perry play, knows that this player is no walk over. When Joe is in form, he is an exceptionally dangerous player and today the snooker tide turned in his direction. Trump’s valiant efforts was not enough on this occasion and Neil Robertson’s best friend and practice partner, Joe Perry had a convincing win, 5-2. Today proved again that a forty something player, forty-five in fact, can compete with the best and win. This win also means that Perry regains a place in the top sixteen. A feat t

As the China Championship enters day three, so Chinese fans have to support another of their players as Ding Junhui fell to the sword yesterday and crashed out of the top sixteen at the same time. Today was of course a different day. Judd Trump was again in action and made light work of Zhou Yuelong. Trump with breaks of 69, 121, 69 and 51 displayed a devastating performance, proving that this Bristol lad is no mood to lose. A blistering 5-0 score line showed that on this occasion a whitewash was the only result desired. Joe Perry also made it through against Stephen Maguire. Perry has been in the snooker shadows in recent months with little form and early exits, it is encouraging to see Joe play well again and to a standard that has resulted in a last 16 place in this tournament. This match was hard fought and Perry thoroughly deserves the 5-3 win. There was also a close match between John Higgins and Li Hang with the fist frame lasting fifty seven minutes and twelve seconds. Hang e

In what could be described as a “mega Monday” , the China Championship entered its second day with a multitude of matches. The big guns of snooker were all at work today with emphatic wins for Neil Robertson who beat his Chinese opponent Zhao Jianbo, 5-1 and plays Matt Selt next and the defending champion, Mark Selby sailed through to the last 32 stage with a 5-2 score line against Lu Ning, compiling a 121 break on the way. He will play Martin Gould in the next round. If anyone thought Marco Fu was going to make a fight back this season, will have been bitterly disappointed as the former Berlin Masters finalist, David Gilbert snuffed out his chances as this recharged player heaped a 5-1 victory on Fu. Fu who has been dogged with eye problems, thought a recent operation would put stop to his bad form but with breaks of 62, 126, 126 and 77, David can be pleased with a good day’s work. The afternoon’s play also produced wins for Lu Honghao who saw off Ricky Walden with a close win  of 5

With all the matches now over for the day, it is time to reflect on what happened in today’s play.Some of the top players were in action and as the day progressed so the results started to flood in. With the exception of Graeme Dott who lost 5-4 to Kurt Maflin, all the top seeds made it through the quagmire of the first round. Judd Trump put in an impressive performance against James Wattana, winning, 5-1 and John left Andrew Higginson dazed and confused with the same score line. Lesser known players such as Michell Mann and Jordan Brown saw off Lyu Haotian and Sunny Akani, 5-4 and the promising Joe O’Comnor was unable to produce previous good form today, losing in a close fought match that produced Ryan Day as a victor, 5-4. There were defeats also for Ben Woolaston and Dominic Dale who both lost 2-5 to Matthew Selt and Matthew Stevens. Last year’s winner, Mark Selby survived a clash with Chen Feilong, 5-3. Barry Hawkins also beat Liam Highfield, 5-2. In the evening’s play Ding Junh

Snooker continues its tour this week with another visit to a Chinese tournament. This time snooker fans are treated to the China Championship. The current champion is Mark Selby but with twelve months passing since his win, the snooker playing field has changed and Mark has many rivals to challenge him to the title. The dust has already settled on the the Shanghai Masters with Ronnie O’Sullivan taking the scalp but with several players coming to the forefront with excellent form, the odds are on for another player to snap up this snooker crown. With Ronnie sitting out this event, perhaps Judd Trump can reignite the juddernaught train and capitalise on this tournament, His run up to the Shanghai Masters had been explosive with wins in the World Championship and the International Championship but whatever reasons, Judd stalled in the Shanghai Masters and let Ronnie slip past him. With Judd Trump and Neil Robertson in the winning mix, Robertson will have to put aside his turmoil in Shan

China always brings out the best in players and great snooker as a result. The final today between  Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan is a sparring that fills every snooker fan’s heart with joy and produces a thriller that brings tension and genius to the green baize. On the day, both players made the most of their opportunities and Murphy player a lot better than I thought he would. The Ronnie cyclone is never an easy feat to manage and you must take your chances when they are given. Murphy had two chances in the match taking a 6-5 lead and then when it looked like O’Sullivan should take frame and match, Shaun got the run of the ball and started to pull back. However when he could have taken it to a last frame decider, he lost position on a red and Ronnie killed off the match with a fabulous cross-double red. Murphy can leave this final with his head held high, a final that he didn’t think he would be in several weeks ago as it was dubious whether he would be able to enter the tou

With one semi-final played yesterday, it was time today to decide who would join Shaun Murphy in tomorrow’s final. The pitch between Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan looked like being a classic match and whenever someone plays Ronnie, drama is never far behind. What started out as a close match with the first two frames being taken by each player, soon turned into a Ronnie master class.. Neil clearly could have won this match, having at one point, a 5-1 lead over O’Sullivan. However disaster struck for Robertson when he chipped his cue tip. For a player, this probably the biggest nightmare and Neil had to make an agonising decision in a hurried  fifteen recess whether to attempt to replace his tip or play on. Perhaps his decision to play on was unwise as despite knocking in a century break after the recess, Robertson’s game started to nosedive. Ronnie won five of the next seven frames with two centuries and five half centuries. Ronnie is certainly on fire in Shanghai. This is Ron

What’s a match when it is between friends? Today Mark Allen took on his good friend Shaun Murphy in the first of the semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters. Off the table they laugh and joke with each other but on the baize normal service is resumed as both were just interested in getting the job done and progressing to a major final. With £200,000 on offer for the final winner, Murphy was in the end the strongest of the two, a first to ten frame match, Murphy quickly had a 6-3 lead over Allen. After the interview, Murphy continued to be the dominant force and knocked in breaks of 64 and 80 to make it 8-3. This was the end of the road for Mark as he never got another chance and Shaun like a    blast of hot air, killed off the match, 10-3. He will now face either Neil Robertson or Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final. Murphy said in his post match interview “I know there is good snooker in there” and how right he was. Murphy is like a fine wine, he gets better with age, perhaps not showing his

The Shanghai Masters never fails to disappoint the viewers and today’s play was no exception. With many of the top players having been toppled like a house of cards, it was up to the remaining seeds to show their quality on the baize. Today’s play involved the greatest in the game and first up was the match between Judd Trump and Mark Allen. The pressure was on Trump in this match as he aimed to continue and preserve his unblemished 13 match victory run but as I have said so many times in blogs, Mark Allen isn’t phased by anyone, especially a record that can be extinguished. It wasn’t long  before Allen had gained a 3-1 lead over his opponent. Trump had clawed back an initial frame with a 109 break but that is where it ended for the man from Bristol. The powerhouse that is Mark Allen stole the show from there on and left Trump dazed and confused with a 1-6 loss. On the other table, Neil Robertson  was drawn against Barry Hawkins.Robertson who seems to be bubbling back to his best thi

Well if you wanted to know if the snooker season has started, look no further than the Shanghai Masters. Today presented us with a feast of snooker. My suspicions of David Gilbert rang true and he looked really good in his match against Judd Trump. However Gilbert hasn’t proved me wrong and continues to be a nearly man. Despite chances, he wasn’t able to seize the window of opportunity. To be fair to him, he did mount a comeback in the match and there was a period of nip and tuck in the match but in the end Trump still proved why he is at the number one spot and World Champion, sealing frame and match, 6-4. He has now won thirteen matches in a row. Mark Allen faced Liang Wenbo and this turned out to be a bruising battle with Wenbo slapping Mark down every time he tried to come back but Allen is a fighter and like a dog with a bone, never gives up until a match is finally over. From 3-1 and 5-4 down in the match, Allen stuck to his guns and proved why he is nicknamed the “pistol”, he

Snooker can be a brutal sport and the wildcard round proved my point. Top players were sent packing with early exits for Ali Carter, Stephen Maguire and today in the race for the last sixteen, more familiar heads were to roll with Liang Wenbo polishing off Stuart Bingham, 6-4. The carnage was not to stop there as David Gilbert continued to show excellent form and made light work of the novice, Cao Jin, whitewashing him 6-0. Gilbert, a previous Berlin Masters ‘ finalist is a player that should in theory go all the way buy whatever reason, just fails to take the title. A frustrating player but maybe this might be the tournament where he shines. Seismic tremors continued to reverberate in Shanghai when Jack Lisowski who has been tipped for the top for some time took on Mark Selby. On paper, Selby looked like the clear favourite but recent form has eluded Mark from match wins and on the day, it was Lisowski that proved he had the credentials to carve out a win. This must be a bitter blow

So the moment has arrived for this now invitational event to take place and in day one six matches took place. The early matches ended with definitive score lines with Shaun Murphy achieving a great win against Lyu Haotian, 6-1 and Jack Lisowski beat Wu Yize by the same margin. As for the televised matches, Barry Hawkins had a match on his hands when a reinvigorated Yan Bingtao matched his game in their slug to the end. Both players were exceptionally good and in the end it was  right that this match should be decided in a final frame. In the end, Hawkins managed to find the something needed to win the match but this battle could in the end have gone either way. Barry must be relieved to have crossed the line first in this 6-5 epic. The same can’t be said of Ali Carter who fell into the first round exit trap. His Chinese opponent, Zhang Yi, dominated the match and Ali was only able to capture three frames to avoid a heavy defeat. Perhaps the long plane journey had affected Carter’s p

So after a week of frantic Six Reds, we now know who will face the final and it is of course the same faces as we saw in the World Cup at the start of the season, minus the partnership. On that occasion John Higgins and Stephen Maguire won the title for Scotland but now the slipper is on the other foot with both players opposing each other, vying to claim this Thai jewel. Both players breezed through their semi-final matches with Higgins beating Mark Williams, 7-5 and Stephen Maguire v Gary Wilson ended in the same score line. The final itself was a in essence a scrappy affair with both players missing crucial colours when they had the advantage but in the end Stephen Maguire built on his 6-5 advantage and kicked his game into gear. Both players are great friends off the table and practice together in their local club. The usual puffed out cheeks of Higgins relaxed in this final as John realised that the match was beyond his reach and there were smiles all round as Maguire took frame

So we are now down to the last 16 players and unfortunately not all of them can reach the semi-finals. This competition has produced the best of the 32 players that first entered on day one and  this round certainly didn’t disappoint. With all snooker matches there are losers and on the day the likes of Graeme Dott, Kyren Wilson and Jimmy White just couldn’t muster up enough magic to pass the winning post. Never listen to my predictions because White and Wilson are now out. Maybe I should have gone with Gary Wilson instead. This was a quick day and most of the players were extinguished as they got to the quarter-finals stage. Like any match, the trend seems to be when you beat someone in a a close fought match, you go in to lose in the next round. Stuart Bingham was the the victim of this curse as he beat Mark Selby 6-2 and then lost to Mark Williams, 3-6. In the end, whatever the format, the cream of the crop reign in snooker. The exception seems to be Ding Junhui who never quite ma

With the Six Reds tournament now entering the crucial stage, players were very conscious of the fact that the knockout stage of the competition was looming.The talk of the day had to be that of a resurgent Jimmy White who has now made it to last 16 with a thumping win over Mohamed Khairy, 5-1. The Londoner has been on been on a roll in recent month, winning three of the Seniors events, most recently defeating Darren Morgan at the Crucible. Jimmy next plays Stephen Maguire in a tough battle that could see him add another scalp to his winning page.Perhaps the winning streak is infectious as Ken Doherty also achieved a good win against Alexis Callewaert, 5-2. With the top seeds progressing nicely. Bingham, Ding, Dott, Selby, Gary and Kyren Wilson all won their matches but unfortunately both Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee lost their matches 2-5 and 1-5. This is a great shame because I thought this really was going to be a good opportunity for the women in the sport to shine against the m

With all the talk about Brexit, it is a refreshing change to be able catch up with the snooker instead. Currently in the Round Robin stage, players get several chances to prove their worth. Some people don’t like this format but for me this is a refreshing alternative. The player may have a bad, first match but he or she get more avenues to play well. On day two of the tournament this theory can be seen to be proven with some of the first day defeats reversed into victories. Jimmy White proved such a feat by winning a close match against Ryan Day, 5-4, Thailand’s own, James Wattana beat Kurt Dunham, 5-2. Elsewhere, last year’s victor, Kyren Wilson marched on with his crusade to win this tournament for the second year. He had two impressive wins with a 5-2 victory over Mohamed Shehab from the United Arab Emirates and a close battle with Mark Selby, won him the match on a deciding frame, 5-4 The usual suspects of the top sixteen all did well with Ding Junhui winning against Noppon Sa

Players have been assembling this week for a version of snooker that is fast and doesn’t disappoint. The Six Reds Championship in Bangkok, Thailand has been in full force for a number of years and allows the greats and lesser known players to take a breather from traditional snooker and play a game that reflects the lighter side of snooker, so light there are only six reds in the pack. After long haul flights with some players travelling in style and others in economy class, they were greeted with a  gala dinner and the hospitality that Thailand gives to those that visit its shores. Held at the BCC Central Plaza, Ladprao, 32 players have lined up to compete in the Six Reds Championship. Familiar faces like Ken and Jimmy White joined a mix of snooker’s elite with Kyren Wilson hoping that he could put his name on the trophy for a second year. So after several weeks of anticipation, the tournament opened yesterday with day one producing interesting results. Unfortunately in the United