Champion of Champions Day 1
As the nights draw in and Christmas rapidly approaches, the start of the Champion of Champions is always a welcome tonic. Play began in earnest with the first match being Martin Gould against Neil Robertson. This was a match that that frankly left Gould in the shadows of his opponent with Robertson in blistering form. Martin had very little opportunities in this match and when he did get to the table, he was frankly poor. Neil cranked up the match to a level that left Gould drowning in the Australian’s expertise. Frame after frame, Neil produced effortless snooker that put closer and closer to his car in the car park. This was a game to forget for Martin and didn’t reflect what a great player he really is. He had to win a tournament to be here in the first place yet on the day for whatever reasons, he didn’t perform well and suffered a 4-0 whitewash at the hands of Robertson.
The second afternoon match was a groundbreaker in snooker with Reanne Evans taking on Shaun Murphy. Evans, a twelve times World Champion in the women’s sport had received a call from World Snooker at the last minute. Reanne thought it was an April Fool’s joke at the time and had to ask for clarification. Women’s snooker has come a long way with more investment and promotion. So this match was so important in carrying on that drive and showing that a unisex is the way forward. In the match itself, Murphy gave his opponent the upmost respect but Evans struggled at first with the super fast pace of the table. Murphy was able to capitalise on this and soon took a three frames advantage. With one frame needed, Murphy looked like he was in the driving seat but guess what, he should have tightened his seat belt? Murphy was in for a surprise as Reanne pulled off three frames in a row to take the match to a decider. Social media went wild as the stakes were raised of the strong possibility of Evans winning the match. However in the end, Murphy did what he needed to do and knocked in a 130 break to seal the frame and match. However Reanne should be very proud of her efforts on the day and this marks an important step forward for equality in our sport.
In the evening session, the two winners of the afternoon’s play met each other. Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson have clashed on many occasions but in this occasion both players came into this match in blistering form. This was echoed in the match itself Shaun took the first frame with a break of 72 and then matched that with another on an increased break of 98. In the next, drama ensued with Robertson missing the winning black and gifting Murphy the frame. Now 3-0 up, Shaun looked like he had this match in the bag but Robertson suddenly came back at him and took the next three frames with breaks of 95, 90 and 100, Murphy’s lead had evaporated before his eyes but he managed to take the next with a break of 76. Robertson fought back again and brought the match to 4-4 after a safety battle on the pink. Murphy wasn’t having any of it and took the next, desiring his one frame lead. Robertson then levelled it up again to take the match to a sizzling deciding frame In the end the comeback kid, Robertson won the match but what an epic battle it was and both players should be commended in their standard of play. If this is how it is going to be all week, we are in for a feast of snooker.
The second afternoon match was a groundbreaker in snooker with Reanne Evans taking on Shaun Murphy. Evans, a twelve times World Champion in the women’s sport had received a call from World Snooker at the last minute. Reanne thought it was an April Fool’s joke at the time and had to ask for clarification. Women’s snooker has come a long way with more investment and promotion. So this match was so important in carrying on that drive and showing that a unisex is the way forward. In the match itself, Murphy gave his opponent the upmost respect but Evans struggled at first with the super fast pace of the table. Murphy was able to capitalise on this and soon took a three frames advantage. With one frame needed, Murphy looked like he was in the driving seat but guess what, he should have tightened his seat belt? Murphy was in for a surprise as Reanne pulled off three frames in a row to take the match to a decider. Social media went wild as the stakes were raised of the strong possibility of Evans winning the match. However in the end, Murphy did what he needed to do and knocked in a 130 break to seal the frame and match. However Reanne should be very proud of her efforts on the day and this marks an important step forward for equality in our sport.
In the evening session, the two winners of the afternoon’s play met each other. Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson have clashed on many occasions but in this occasion both players came into this match in blistering form. This was echoed in the match itself Shaun took the first frame with a break of 72 and then matched that with another on an increased break of 98. In the next, drama ensued with Robertson missing the winning black and gifting Murphy the frame. Now 3-0 up, Shaun looked like he had this match in the bag but Robertson suddenly came back at him and took the next three frames with breaks of 95, 90 and 100, Murphy’s lead had evaporated before his eyes but he managed to take the next with a break of 76. Robertson fought back again and brought the match to 4-4 after a safety battle on the pink. Murphy wasn’t having any of it and took the next, desiring his one frame lead. Robertson then levelled it up again to take the match to a sizzling deciding frame In the end the comeback kid, Robertson won the match but what an epic battle it was and both players should be commended in their standard of play. If this is how it is going to be all week, we are in for a feast of snooker.
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