Joe Perry, Marco Fu, Ding Junhui and Graeme Dott make up the semi-final line-up of the International Championship, after Fu knocked out Mark Selby and Perry produced an equally great performance to beat Ryan Day 6-1, while Dott played well in beating Liang Wenbo and Ding won a marathon match 6-3 over Peter Ebdon.
So let's take a look back on today's quarter-final action:
Marco Fu 6-5 Mark Selby - Marco Fu produced a wonderful comeback from 5-3 down to beat Mark Selby and go into the semi-finals. The match started poorly for Marco, as he was unable to close out the opener, and a break of 58 from Selby allowed him to steal. The same thing happened in the next frame, with Fu losing the frame from 74 points ahead, with breaks of 40 and 35, allowing Selby to steal it by a point. Fu soon pegged Selby back though taking a scrappy third frame to make it 2-1. Marco then squared the match, ahead of the mid-session interval with a break of 59, and a break of 88 put Fu 3-2 ahead. Selby took a scrappy sixth frame though to level the match once more, he got into his stride, a break of 50 putting him back in front and a break of 79 put him 1 from victory at 5-3. He should've won next frame, but Fu stole it by a point with a 34 clearance, and this really spurred Fu on. An 84 from Fu took the match into the decider, and a magnificent pressure break of 112 completed Marco's comeback and gave him a 6-5 win that put's him into the last 4.
Joe Perry 6-1 Ryan Day - A superb performance from Joe Perry saw off Ryan Day 6-1, to book his place against Marco Fu in the first semi-final tomorrow. Day started well taking the opening frame with a break of 72. It only went downhill from there for the Welshman. Perry won the next frame on the black, and stole the next with a break 70 to lead 2-1. Perry then made a magnificent break of 134 to got into the interval with a 3-1 advantage. The storm didn't let up for Day after the break, as he only made 14 more points in the match, as Perry made breaks of 115, 71 and 103 to seal the match, 6-1 in no time at all.
Ding Junhui 6 - 3 Peter Ebdon - Ding Junhui beat Peter Ebdon in a marathon match that went on for well over 4 hours and finished at around 12.40 am in Chengdu. The match started out at a reasonably good pace, with the Chinaman winning the opening 2 frames, helped by breaks of 86 and 76. The third frame was the first of the marathon frames that were to follow, with Ebdon eventually doing another to take it, and close the gap to 2-1. He should have levelled the match at the interval, in another lengthy fourth frame, but an early 60 break wasn't enough for Peter to win it, and Ding stole it for a 3-1 advantage. Another long frame followed after the break, with neither player being able to find any rhythm at all, not surprisingly it was Ebdon that took it to close the gap to 3-2. Ding was able to find some rhythm in the next couple of frames, extending his lead to 5-2 with runs of 82 and 83 helping him go within a frame of the last 4. As you'd expect Peter kept on fighting, and was able to grind on in the eighth frame, which was another fairly long affair, but the main thing for Peter was that he took it, and kept the match alive at 5-3. After a re-rack, and a very lengthy safety battle (lengthened further by what were deliberate tactics at this stage from Ebdon), Ding was able to get in and a break of 62 took him over the winning line and booked his semi-final spot. Peter just couldn't get into the game, and Ding's improved maturity and patience paid off, as he eased through in the end.
Graeme Dott 6- 3 Liang Wenbo - Ding will now play Graeme Dott, after the Scot knocked out Ding's compatriot Liang Wenbo 6-3 in the other match this afternoon. Dott started the match well with a break of 97 comfortably giving him the opening frame. Wenbo needed 3 chances to close out the second, but he eventually took it and levelled the match at 1 all. The third was a fairly scrappy affair, with both players having plenty of chances, but it was Dott that soon prevailed for the 2-1 advantage. An important 68 before the interval, allowed Liang to level the match once more at 2-2. After the break Graeme began to dominate. A break of 82 put him back in front again, while runs of 27 and 30 were enough to put him 2 clear. Wenbo pulled one back, taking the seventh with the help of a nice contribution of 65, to close the gap to 4-3. Dott pulled away again though, with a lovely 91 putting the 2006 World Champion one from victory at 5-3. He needed more than one chance in the ninth, but a break of 45 was enough for him to take the match, and put him into the last 4.
First semi-final preview:
Joe Perry Vs Marco Fu - The first best-of-17 semi-final (played over 2 sessions) will be played tomorrow between Joe Perry and Marco Fu. Both players have been playing well all week, especially Perry, who made 3 century breaks in today's quarter-final, and hasn't looked back since being 5-1 down in the last 64. Perry however, has never won a ranking event, and only won his first professional tournament earlier this season, capturing the first Asian Tour Event. Despite this, I think that Perry has showed this week that he is certainly good enough to win this match and go on to take the title on Sunday, and that it is just about keeping up the standard of snooker he was playing against Ryan Day in particular. Marco Fu though will prove no walkover for Perry, and he has played some equally good snooker all week long. He reached the final of the German Masters in February and won the Australian Open in July, whilst also getting back into the top 16, which shows that this is not a one off. It's great to see Marco back to his best now, and only his best will be good enough tomorrow, if he is to beat Joe. My overall prediction would be for a very tight encounter throughout, with both players playing at a high standard. With Perry never winning a ranking event though, this could come down to nerve and experience.
Prediction: A 9-7 win for Marco Fu
Well it is shaping up to be quite a weekend of snooker, with 4 quality players left in the event. I look forward to watching tomorrow's semi-final, and will bring you a review of that and a preview of the 2nd semi-final tomorrow.
Thursday 31 October 2013
Wednesday 30 October 2013
Robbo out in International Last 16
Neil Robertson and Mark Allen were both knocked out in the Last 16 of the International Championship, while the likes of Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Marco Fu all progressed to the Quarter-finals.
So here's a look back on today's 3rd round action:
Peter Ebdon 6-5 Neil Robertson - This was an absolutely cracking last 16 encounter, with both players playing very well indeed. Neil done the early running in the match, starting off with a break of 65 in the opener, while Ebdon levelled the match despite a break of 61 from Robertson. The Aussie then took a lengthy third frame to lead 2-1, but was back in full flow in the next with yet another century, this time a 117, to take a 3-1 lead into the break. After the break, Peter Ebdon was nothing less than absolutely superb. Many people find Peter Ebdon boring to watch, but when he is in full flow and making breaks, he plays gripping snooker and is very enjoyable to watch. Today was another of those occasions. He made a brilliant 134 break after the mid-session interval, and followed that up with an equally good 87 to square the match at 3-3. Both players had chances in the next frame, but a break of 58 from Ebdon allowed him to take it and go into the lead. Another brilliant 87 in the eighth frame put Ebdon one frame from knocking out the world number 1 at 5-3. He had his chance in the next frame, but a break of 58 wasn't enough for him to take it, and Robertson was back to 5-4. It looked like the Aussie would force a decider when he was on a break of 68 in the tenth frame, and after opening the remaining reds, ran out of position and handed a chance back to Peter. Ebdon then cleared the remaining reds, and was on a break of 56, needing pink and black to win the frame, when he missed a tricky pink with the rest. Robertson then missed 2 shots on the Pink, before knocking in a magnificent long Pink to the green pocket, forcing a decider, despite nearly going in off. Neil Robertson had an early lead in the decider, before a break of 39 put Ebdon in front once more. The decider then got very tense, and after Ebdon missed match ball Yellow, Robertson ran out of position and missed a tough brown , before Ebdon twitched the brown into the middle to take out the thrilling encounter 6-5.
Ding Junhui 6-1 Matthew Stevens - Ding simply did what he had to do in this one, against an under performing Stevens, and secured a quite comfortable 6-1 win. After Stevens broke down on 33 in the opener a break of 53 allowed Ding to take it. In the next a Stevens break of 41 helped him to level at 1-1, but both players were getting plenty of chances. Stevens failed to take his chances again in the third, and though Ding wasn't yet playing that well, a break of 48 put him 2-1 in front. The next frame was again fairly scrappy and dis-jointed, both players had plenty of chances, but Ding did enough to take a 3-1 lead into the interval. The Chinaman was much better after the break, and after Stevens broke down on 36 in the fifth frame a break of 77 by Ding put him 3 frames clear. Ding dominated the next as well, with a run of 68 putting him within a frame of the quarter-finals. That frame didn't take a long time coming, as the Shanghai Masters and Indian Open champion finished in style with a lovely 110 sealing a comfortable 6-1 victory. Ding will now play Peter Ebdon in the last 8.
Marco Fu 6-2 Zhao Xintong - Marco Fu saw that young wildcard Xintong's great run in this event came to end, playing fantastically to beat the 16 year old 6-2 in the last 16. It was Xintong that started brightly with a 55 break helping him take the opening frame. However, Fu soon showed what he was made of with a well made break of 94 to level the match, before a break of 63 put him in front, and a magnificent 116 took him to mid-session 3-1 up. Xintong took a very important after the break, needing a couple of chances, but eventually making it 3-2. However, Fu once again showed his good from and ruthlessness, making a nice run of 88 to go 2 in front again, before a brilliant 73 stole the seventh frame from Xintong's grasp, putting the Australian Open champion within 1 of the Quarters. Fu was soon over the line, with another good break of 84 to put him into the last 8 with a fairly simple 6-2 win. Credit has to go to Zhao Xintong though, he has played brilliantly all week and had some great victories against Steve Davis, Craig Steadman and Barry Hawkins, to show that he is definetly a star in the making, and that his name should certainly be remembered.
Mark Selby 6-1 Stuart Bingham - The Jester from Leicester managed a fairly simple victory set-up a quarter-final meeting with Marco Fu, against a quite out of sorts Stuart Bingham. I expected this to be quite a close encounter, but that theory was blown out of the water very early, by some great snooker from Mark, but also a failure of Stuart to take his chances. An early 69 in the opener, gave Selby the early advantage, and he soon doubled this, needing a couple of chances to put himself 2-0 ahead. A nice break of 107 gave the UK champion the third, before he took a scrappy and important fourth, after both players had plenty of chances, to go into the interval 4-0 up and cruising into the last 8 in Chengdu. Bingham needed more chances in the next after the break, but a top run of 47 eventually closed the gap to 4-1. The barrage didn't end for poor old Stuart though, as a break of 90 from Selby moved him to within 1 of the next round, and that 1 came in the next as a break of 64 helped him close out the match and a resounding 6-1 win. On this basis, and after other results in the bottom half, Mark Selby has certainly become my new favourite to win this section and make the final, and I look forward to seeing if he can fulfil this prophet in the next couple of days.
Ryan Day 6-3 Fergal O'Brien - Day and O'Brien managed a magnificent standard in their last 16 tie, as there was a half-century break in every single frame, as the Welshman managed to book the quarter-final place with a great 6-3 win. Top breaks of 55, 65, 71, 82, 96 and 103, countered O'Brien's own runs of 67, 68 and 70, as Day ended up winning the match on a re-spotted black in the ninth frame, to cap what was a wonderful performance. This is hopefully the start of a long overdue return to form for Ryan, who has been in the doldrums for a few years now.
Joe Perry 6-4 Mark Allen - Day will now play Joe Perry who scored a good victory against Mark Allen today. Perry made 2 centuries, a 102 and a 105, as well as other runs of 60 and 63, taming Allen's fight, on the way to a hard earned victory.
Graeme Dott 6-5 Kurt Maflin - Graeme Dott secured his place in the quarter-finals of the International Championship, with a very tight victory over Kurt Maflin. The Scot was ahead for much of the match, making top breaks of 58, 61, 66 and 126, but top runs of 66, 71, 72, 85 and 93 from Maflin allowed him to cling to Dott. However the big Norwegian couldn't do enough as Dott took a tight decider, and the match.
Liang Wenbo 6-1 Mark Davis - Liang Wenbo kept his great run of late going, with a crushing 6-1 victory over 6 Reds Champion Mark Davis. Davis was unable to take his chances early on in the match as Wenbo took an early 3-0 lead. Breaks of 74 and an 88 (when Wenbo was on a maximum, but miss-cued on the 12th red) then knocked the stuffing out of the Englishman, as he found himself 5-0 down, needing to win 6 on the bounce to progress to the last 8. A break of 74 in the sixth kept his hopes alive, but these hopes were soon destroyed as Wenbo made a break of 78 to take the seventh frame, and set-up a quarter-final tie with Graeme Dott.
Quarter-Final Draw and Previews:
Ryan Day Vs Joe Perry - Both guys have been playing very well this week, and Perry really hasn't looked back since being 5-1 down in the Last 64. Meanwhile, Day has been improving with every round, and based on his performance today, I have to fancy his chances of making the semi-finals. Perry will be a very tough opponent, and I expect this to be a tough match, but I have a feeling that Day will just squeak it.
Marco Fu Vs Mark Selby - Both players are playing very well this week, and this should be a very good, close contest. Selby has not played well all week, but he hasn't had to, winning some matches on top scoring form, while grinding out some others in true Selby fashion also. Fu has also been scoring well this week and will be a hard opponent to overcome, but I feel that Selby is slightly overdue a good ranking win, and has become a forgotten man since his Masters win in January. Therefore, I not only think that Selby will win this match, but I also think that he is a favourite for the title on Sunday.
Ding Junhui Vs Peter Ebdon - Ding has showed already this week that he is a certain contender for his 3rd ranking event in succession. He has scored well all week, and played some good stuff when he has had to. Will Ebdon care about any of this? No. Ebdon played superbly well, but also managed to grind Ding out in a match I remember well from the 2012 China Open when Ding was 3-1 ahead and lost 6-3 as Ding just couldn't find his Rhythm after the interval. The way that Ebdon played today against Robertson, the same thing could happen again, but the form Ding is in, and the maturity he has shown in recent times, suggests such a thing won't happen again.
Graeme Dott Vs Liang Wenbo - Liang Wenbo has played really well so far, and a lot of betting firms have Wenbo as favourite, which doesn't surprise me with his recent form and the results he has had. However, I think that is incredibly harsh on Dott, who has played just as well, but been able to go under the radar up to this point. When Dott is on form, he is an even harder player to beat, so it will take another brilliant performance from Wenbo to get through to the semi-finals. I think that this is the reward for a lot of hard work by Dott, who has struggled quite a bit in the last year or 2, and I think that he will keep the run going into the last 4.
Whatever the outcome of these quarter-finals, it should be some cracking entertainment, with a great line-up as we head into the final stages in Chengdu. Really looking forward to even more great snooker ahead.
So here's a look back on today's 3rd round action:
Peter Ebdon 6-5 Neil Robertson - This was an absolutely cracking last 16 encounter, with both players playing very well indeed. Neil done the early running in the match, starting off with a break of 65 in the opener, while Ebdon levelled the match despite a break of 61 from Robertson. The Aussie then took a lengthy third frame to lead 2-1, but was back in full flow in the next with yet another century, this time a 117, to take a 3-1 lead into the break. After the break, Peter Ebdon was nothing less than absolutely superb. Many people find Peter Ebdon boring to watch, but when he is in full flow and making breaks, he plays gripping snooker and is very enjoyable to watch. Today was another of those occasions. He made a brilliant 134 break after the mid-session interval, and followed that up with an equally good 87 to square the match at 3-3. Both players had chances in the next frame, but a break of 58 from Ebdon allowed him to take it and go into the lead. Another brilliant 87 in the eighth frame put Ebdon one frame from knocking out the world number 1 at 5-3. He had his chance in the next frame, but a break of 58 wasn't enough for him to take it, and Robertson was back to 5-4. It looked like the Aussie would force a decider when he was on a break of 68 in the tenth frame, and after opening the remaining reds, ran out of position and handed a chance back to Peter. Ebdon then cleared the remaining reds, and was on a break of 56, needing pink and black to win the frame, when he missed a tricky pink with the rest. Robertson then missed 2 shots on the Pink, before knocking in a magnificent long Pink to the green pocket, forcing a decider, despite nearly going in off. Neil Robertson had an early lead in the decider, before a break of 39 put Ebdon in front once more. The decider then got very tense, and after Ebdon missed match ball Yellow, Robertson ran out of position and missed a tough brown , before Ebdon twitched the brown into the middle to take out the thrilling encounter 6-5.
Ding Junhui 6-1 Matthew Stevens - Ding simply did what he had to do in this one, against an under performing Stevens, and secured a quite comfortable 6-1 win. After Stevens broke down on 33 in the opener a break of 53 allowed Ding to take it. In the next a Stevens break of 41 helped him to level at 1-1, but both players were getting plenty of chances. Stevens failed to take his chances again in the third, and though Ding wasn't yet playing that well, a break of 48 put him 2-1 in front. The next frame was again fairly scrappy and dis-jointed, both players had plenty of chances, but Ding did enough to take a 3-1 lead into the interval. The Chinaman was much better after the break, and after Stevens broke down on 36 in the fifth frame a break of 77 by Ding put him 3 frames clear. Ding dominated the next as well, with a run of 68 putting him within a frame of the quarter-finals. That frame didn't take a long time coming, as the Shanghai Masters and Indian Open champion finished in style with a lovely 110 sealing a comfortable 6-1 victory. Ding will now play Peter Ebdon in the last 8.
Marco Fu 6-2 Zhao Xintong - Marco Fu saw that young wildcard Xintong's great run in this event came to end, playing fantastically to beat the 16 year old 6-2 in the last 16. It was Xintong that started brightly with a 55 break helping him take the opening frame. However, Fu soon showed what he was made of with a well made break of 94 to level the match, before a break of 63 put him in front, and a magnificent 116 took him to mid-session 3-1 up. Xintong took a very important after the break, needing a couple of chances, but eventually making it 3-2. However, Fu once again showed his good from and ruthlessness, making a nice run of 88 to go 2 in front again, before a brilliant 73 stole the seventh frame from Xintong's grasp, putting the Australian Open champion within 1 of the Quarters. Fu was soon over the line, with another good break of 84 to put him into the last 8 with a fairly simple 6-2 win. Credit has to go to Zhao Xintong though, he has played brilliantly all week and had some great victories against Steve Davis, Craig Steadman and Barry Hawkins, to show that he is definetly a star in the making, and that his name should certainly be remembered.
Mark Selby 6-1 Stuart Bingham - The Jester from Leicester managed a fairly simple victory set-up a quarter-final meeting with Marco Fu, against a quite out of sorts Stuart Bingham. I expected this to be quite a close encounter, but that theory was blown out of the water very early, by some great snooker from Mark, but also a failure of Stuart to take his chances. An early 69 in the opener, gave Selby the early advantage, and he soon doubled this, needing a couple of chances to put himself 2-0 ahead. A nice break of 107 gave the UK champion the third, before he took a scrappy and important fourth, after both players had plenty of chances, to go into the interval 4-0 up and cruising into the last 8 in Chengdu. Bingham needed more chances in the next after the break, but a top run of 47 eventually closed the gap to 4-1. The barrage didn't end for poor old Stuart though, as a break of 90 from Selby moved him to within 1 of the next round, and that 1 came in the next as a break of 64 helped him close out the match and a resounding 6-1 win. On this basis, and after other results in the bottom half, Mark Selby has certainly become my new favourite to win this section and make the final, and I look forward to seeing if he can fulfil this prophet in the next couple of days.
Ryan Day 6-3 Fergal O'Brien - Day and O'Brien managed a magnificent standard in their last 16 tie, as there was a half-century break in every single frame, as the Welshman managed to book the quarter-final place with a great 6-3 win. Top breaks of 55, 65, 71, 82, 96 and 103, countered O'Brien's own runs of 67, 68 and 70, as Day ended up winning the match on a re-spotted black in the ninth frame, to cap what was a wonderful performance. This is hopefully the start of a long overdue return to form for Ryan, who has been in the doldrums for a few years now.
Joe Perry 6-4 Mark Allen - Day will now play Joe Perry who scored a good victory against Mark Allen today. Perry made 2 centuries, a 102 and a 105, as well as other runs of 60 and 63, taming Allen's fight, on the way to a hard earned victory.
Graeme Dott 6-5 Kurt Maflin - Graeme Dott secured his place in the quarter-finals of the International Championship, with a very tight victory over Kurt Maflin. The Scot was ahead for much of the match, making top breaks of 58, 61, 66 and 126, but top runs of 66, 71, 72, 85 and 93 from Maflin allowed him to cling to Dott. However the big Norwegian couldn't do enough as Dott took a tight decider, and the match.
Liang Wenbo 6-1 Mark Davis - Liang Wenbo kept his great run of late going, with a crushing 6-1 victory over 6 Reds Champion Mark Davis. Davis was unable to take his chances early on in the match as Wenbo took an early 3-0 lead. Breaks of 74 and an 88 (when Wenbo was on a maximum, but miss-cued on the 12th red) then knocked the stuffing out of the Englishman, as he found himself 5-0 down, needing to win 6 on the bounce to progress to the last 8. A break of 74 in the sixth kept his hopes alive, but these hopes were soon destroyed as Wenbo made a break of 78 to take the seventh frame, and set-up a quarter-final tie with Graeme Dott.
Quarter-Final Draw and Previews:
Ryan Day Vs Joe Perry - Both guys have been playing very well this week, and Perry really hasn't looked back since being 5-1 down in the Last 64. Meanwhile, Day has been improving with every round, and based on his performance today, I have to fancy his chances of making the semi-finals. Perry will be a very tough opponent, and I expect this to be a tough match, but I have a feeling that Day will just squeak it.
Marco Fu Vs Mark Selby - Both players are playing very well this week, and this should be a very good, close contest. Selby has not played well all week, but he hasn't had to, winning some matches on top scoring form, while grinding out some others in true Selby fashion also. Fu has also been scoring well this week and will be a hard opponent to overcome, but I feel that Selby is slightly overdue a good ranking win, and has become a forgotten man since his Masters win in January. Therefore, I not only think that Selby will win this match, but I also think that he is a favourite for the title on Sunday.
Ding Junhui Vs Peter Ebdon - Ding has showed already this week that he is a certain contender for his 3rd ranking event in succession. He has scored well all week, and played some good stuff when he has had to. Will Ebdon care about any of this? No. Ebdon played superbly well, but also managed to grind Ding out in a match I remember well from the 2012 China Open when Ding was 3-1 ahead and lost 6-3 as Ding just couldn't find his Rhythm after the interval. The way that Ebdon played today against Robertson, the same thing could happen again, but the form Ding is in, and the maturity he has shown in recent times, suggests such a thing won't happen again.
Graeme Dott Vs Liang Wenbo - Liang Wenbo has played really well so far, and a lot of betting firms have Wenbo as favourite, which doesn't surprise me with his recent form and the results he has had. However, I think that is incredibly harsh on Dott, who has played just as well, but been able to go under the radar up to this point. When Dott is on form, he is an even harder player to beat, so it will take another brilliant performance from Wenbo to get through to the semi-finals. I think that this is the reward for a lot of hard work by Dott, who has struggled quite a bit in the last year or 2, and I think that he will keep the run going into the last 4.
Whatever the outcome of these quarter-finals, it should be some cracking entertainment, with a great line-up as we head into the final stages in Chengdu. Really looking forward to even more great snooker ahead.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Ronnie, Higgins and Williams crash out in Last 32 at International
Former World Champions John Higgins and Mark Williams and defending World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan were all knocked out in the 2nd round today. Meanwhile, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui all made it through to the last 16 in Chengdu.
So here's a round-up of today's action:
Liang Wenbo 6-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan - I for one thought that this was a really entertaining and tense match to watch, as Wenbo came from 3-0 and 4-1 down to beat O'Sullivan 6-4. Ronnie started really brightly with a break of 120 in the opener, to stamp some early authority, and after Ronnie doubled his lead after Wenbo failed to take his chances, things were already looking bleak for the Asian Tour 3 champion. It only got bleaker for Wenbo as another century from the Rocket, a 121, put him 3-0 ahead early on. Wenbo was able to take his chances in the next though, in what was an important frame, to pull it back to 3-1 at the interval. Ronnie punished Wenbo again in the next frame though, to lead 4-1, with many thinking at this stage that Wenbo was down and out. He needed a few chances in the next couple of frames, but poor safety from Ronnie kept providing them as the Chinaman pulled the score back to 4-3. Then Wenbo really began to believe and started playing well, a break of 118 allowing Liang to square the match at 4-4. Wenbo needed another 3 clear chances to kill off the next frame, and fully overturn the deficit to lead 5-4. Once again the 10th frame was very similar, but a break of 49 from Wenbo eventually finished it off, and gave him a 6-4 win that meant the world to him. Full credit to Liang for what is clearly a fantastic win.
Ding Junhui 6-3 James Wattana - Ding managed what turned out to be a fairly comfortable victory in the end, against Wattana 6-3. Wattana started well, taking the opening frame with a break of 67, before breaks of 89 and 96 from Ding put the in form man in front. Wattana dominated the next frame though to draw level at the interval. Ding was ahead once more after the break, taking the 5th frame, before a magnificent 131 break gave him a nice 4-2 advantage. A 92 from Wattana got him back into it, but his hopes were squashed as 110 from Ding, put him 1 away from victory at 5-3. Ding then dominated the ninth frame, to give him the frame he needed for a comfortable 6-3 win, outlining that he will certainly be tough to beat this week.
Neil Robertson 6-1 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - Neil Robertson played fantastically once again, in thrashing That Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1. Robertson started as he meant to go on, making the joint highest break of the tournament, a 143, to take the opening frame, before another century doubled his early advantage. A break of 69 from Un-Nook got him back into the match, but he was soon blown away again. Runs of 54 and 74 gave Robertson the last before the mid-session break, before he dominated the fifth frame and made another century to go 5-1 ahead. Robertson clinched his place in the Last 16, and took out a 6-1 victory with a break of 77, to end a fine performance from the Aussie, and one that reiterates why he is my favourite for the event.
Marco Fu 6-4 Xiao Guodong - Both players played very well in this contest, that was very close until at 4-4, Marco Fu was able to pull away and win it 6-4. The Australian open champion made top breaks of 59, 63, 66 and 103, to cancel out Guodong's highs of 58, 96 and 97. Fu now plays wildcard Zhao Xintong in the last 16.
Mark Selby 6-4 Peter Lines - Mark Selby had to use all of his battling qualities in this match, but played well when he needed to, to overcome Lines. Top breaks of 53, 54, 55, 65 and a 116 in the final frame, helped Selby to victory, and as we head into the Last 16, you get the feeling the best is yet to come from the Jester this week.
Matthew Stevens 6-2 John Higgins - It seemed like Higgins was just unable to take his chances in this match, as Stevens was able to dominate the Scot, with high breaks of 52, 56 and 75 helping Stevens to a good victory, particularly for his confidence ahead of the rest of the tournament.
Kurt Maflin 6-2 Mark Williams - Kurt Maflin secured another good victory today, after beating Robert Milkins in the opening round. The Norwegian played well once more and was helped along, in his usual fashion, with good breaks of 74, 76 and a 106 break to clinch the match.
Graeme Dott 6-1 Kyren Wilson - Graeme Dott played superbly well in beating Kyren Wilson 6-1, who only yesterday outplayed Stephen Maguire. Breaks of 60, 86, 93 and 121 helped support the view that the Scot is perhaps coming back into some form, and could be a contender to go far this week.
Today's Other Results:
Mark Davis 6-3 Stuart Carrington
Peter Ebdon 6-5 Mark Joyce
Mark Allen 6-4 Dave Harold
Ryan Day 6-4 Alan McManus
Fergal O'Brien 6-4 Rod Lawler
Zhao Xintong 6-1 Barry Hawkins
Stuart Bingham 6-4 Martin Gould
Joe Perry 6-3 David Gilbert
Last 16 Draw and Predictions:
Ryan Day Vs Fergal O'Brien - This should be a decent contest, but will also be tense with a ranking quarter-final at stake for 2 guys who rarely find themselves in this position as often as they used to. I think that Day has managed to play ok and go under the radar and should take a tight win here.
Mark Allen Vs Joe Perry - Mark played very well in the first round, but not so well today, and will need to improve if he is to beat Perry, who isn't playing great snooker, but is well capable of beating Allen. Still think the Northern Irishman will win though.
Marco Fu Vs Zhao Xintong - Difficult to know what to expect from this one, as Zhao has really upset the book so far in this tournament, making the last 16 as an unknown 16 year-old wildcard, but Fu is playing well this week, so this should be as far as his dream run takes him.
Mark Selby Vs Stuart Bingham - Before the start of the tournament, I predicted this particular last 16 tie, and said that I thought Bingham would beat an out of form Selby, however Selby has been playing slightly better this week, and has been able to grind out victories as well, which is a good sign for him. I think that Mark will probably grind out another win here.
Neil Robertson Vs Peter Ebdon - Robertson is playing excellent snooker this week, and while Peter has a good record against Neil and is playing decent snooker, he is not playing anywhere near the standard that will be required to topple Neil this week. Should be comfortable for the Aussie.
Ding Junhui Vs Matthew Stevens - Again Stevens played decent snooker in overcoming Higgins today, and there is no reason why he couldn't beat Ding, but I just think that Ding won't lose this one if he continues on his current good form.
Graeme Dott Vs Kurt Maflin - Kurt has already caused 2 upsets, and there is every chance that he could cause another here against Graeme, but the Scot played really well today, and he is overdue a good run in a ranking event. Dott to win for me.
Liang Wenbo Vs Mark Davis - Liang played very well today, but i'm not sure that he will be able to sustain the same level of performance against Davis tomorrow, after the mental exertions of his encounter with Ronnie. Mark has also been on a good run this season, and has already won 2 events in Asia this season, and I think that he should be able to beat Wenbo tomorrow, to keep his hopes alive for a 3rd Asian Title of the season.
So, as you can see, there has already been some top quality snooker this week, and some great matches, and the way that the draw has shaped up, there is plenty more of it to come. I'm really excited for what the rest of this event will provide us with.
So here's a round-up of today's action:
Liang Wenbo 6-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan - I for one thought that this was a really entertaining and tense match to watch, as Wenbo came from 3-0 and 4-1 down to beat O'Sullivan 6-4. Ronnie started really brightly with a break of 120 in the opener, to stamp some early authority, and after Ronnie doubled his lead after Wenbo failed to take his chances, things were already looking bleak for the Asian Tour 3 champion. It only got bleaker for Wenbo as another century from the Rocket, a 121, put him 3-0 ahead early on. Wenbo was able to take his chances in the next though, in what was an important frame, to pull it back to 3-1 at the interval. Ronnie punished Wenbo again in the next frame though, to lead 4-1, with many thinking at this stage that Wenbo was down and out. He needed a few chances in the next couple of frames, but poor safety from Ronnie kept providing them as the Chinaman pulled the score back to 4-3. Then Wenbo really began to believe and started playing well, a break of 118 allowing Liang to square the match at 4-4. Wenbo needed another 3 clear chances to kill off the next frame, and fully overturn the deficit to lead 5-4. Once again the 10th frame was very similar, but a break of 49 from Wenbo eventually finished it off, and gave him a 6-4 win that meant the world to him. Full credit to Liang for what is clearly a fantastic win.
Ding Junhui 6-3 James Wattana - Ding managed what turned out to be a fairly comfortable victory in the end, against Wattana 6-3. Wattana started well, taking the opening frame with a break of 67, before breaks of 89 and 96 from Ding put the in form man in front. Wattana dominated the next frame though to draw level at the interval. Ding was ahead once more after the break, taking the 5th frame, before a magnificent 131 break gave him a nice 4-2 advantage. A 92 from Wattana got him back into it, but his hopes were squashed as 110 from Ding, put him 1 away from victory at 5-3. Ding then dominated the ninth frame, to give him the frame he needed for a comfortable 6-3 win, outlining that he will certainly be tough to beat this week.
Neil Robertson 6-1 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - Neil Robertson played fantastically once again, in thrashing That Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1. Robertson started as he meant to go on, making the joint highest break of the tournament, a 143, to take the opening frame, before another century doubled his early advantage. A break of 69 from Un-Nook got him back into the match, but he was soon blown away again. Runs of 54 and 74 gave Robertson the last before the mid-session break, before he dominated the fifth frame and made another century to go 5-1 ahead. Robertson clinched his place in the Last 16, and took out a 6-1 victory with a break of 77, to end a fine performance from the Aussie, and one that reiterates why he is my favourite for the event.
Marco Fu 6-4 Xiao Guodong - Both players played very well in this contest, that was very close until at 4-4, Marco Fu was able to pull away and win it 6-4. The Australian open champion made top breaks of 59, 63, 66 and 103, to cancel out Guodong's highs of 58, 96 and 97. Fu now plays wildcard Zhao Xintong in the last 16.
Mark Selby 6-4 Peter Lines - Mark Selby had to use all of his battling qualities in this match, but played well when he needed to, to overcome Lines. Top breaks of 53, 54, 55, 65 and a 116 in the final frame, helped Selby to victory, and as we head into the Last 16, you get the feeling the best is yet to come from the Jester this week.
Matthew Stevens 6-2 John Higgins - It seemed like Higgins was just unable to take his chances in this match, as Stevens was able to dominate the Scot, with high breaks of 52, 56 and 75 helping Stevens to a good victory, particularly for his confidence ahead of the rest of the tournament.
Kurt Maflin 6-2 Mark Williams - Kurt Maflin secured another good victory today, after beating Robert Milkins in the opening round. The Norwegian played well once more and was helped along, in his usual fashion, with good breaks of 74, 76 and a 106 break to clinch the match.
Graeme Dott 6-1 Kyren Wilson - Graeme Dott played superbly well in beating Kyren Wilson 6-1, who only yesterday outplayed Stephen Maguire. Breaks of 60, 86, 93 and 121 helped support the view that the Scot is perhaps coming back into some form, and could be a contender to go far this week.
Today's Other Results:
Mark Davis 6-3 Stuart Carrington
Peter Ebdon 6-5 Mark Joyce
Mark Allen 6-4 Dave Harold
Ryan Day 6-4 Alan McManus
Fergal O'Brien 6-4 Rod Lawler
Zhao Xintong 6-1 Barry Hawkins
Stuart Bingham 6-4 Martin Gould
Joe Perry 6-3 David Gilbert
Last 16 Draw and Predictions:
Ryan Day Vs Fergal O'Brien - This should be a decent contest, but will also be tense with a ranking quarter-final at stake for 2 guys who rarely find themselves in this position as often as they used to. I think that Day has managed to play ok and go under the radar and should take a tight win here.
Mark Allen Vs Joe Perry - Mark played very well in the first round, but not so well today, and will need to improve if he is to beat Perry, who isn't playing great snooker, but is well capable of beating Allen. Still think the Northern Irishman will win though.
Marco Fu Vs Zhao Xintong - Difficult to know what to expect from this one, as Zhao has really upset the book so far in this tournament, making the last 16 as an unknown 16 year-old wildcard, but Fu is playing well this week, so this should be as far as his dream run takes him.
Mark Selby Vs Stuart Bingham - Before the start of the tournament, I predicted this particular last 16 tie, and said that I thought Bingham would beat an out of form Selby, however Selby has been playing slightly better this week, and has been able to grind out victories as well, which is a good sign for him. I think that Mark will probably grind out another win here.
Neil Robertson Vs Peter Ebdon - Robertson is playing excellent snooker this week, and while Peter has a good record against Neil and is playing decent snooker, he is not playing anywhere near the standard that will be required to topple Neil this week. Should be comfortable for the Aussie.
Ding Junhui Vs Matthew Stevens - Again Stevens played decent snooker in overcoming Higgins today, and there is no reason why he couldn't beat Ding, but I just think that Ding won't lose this one if he continues on his current good form.
Graeme Dott Vs Kurt Maflin - Kurt has already caused 2 upsets, and there is every chance that he could cause another here against Graeme, but the Scot played really well today, and he is overdue a good run in a ranking event. Dott to win for me.
Liang Wenbo Vs Mark Davis - Liang played very well today, but i'm not sure that he will be able to sustain the same level of performance against Davis tomorrow, after the mental exertions of his encounter with Ronnie. Mark has also been on a good run this season, and has already won 2 events in Asia this season, and I think that he should be able to beat Wenbo tomorrow, to keep his hopes alive for a 3rd Asian Title of the season.
So, as you can see, there has already been some top quality snooker this week, and some great matches, and the way that the draw has shaped up, there is plenty more of it to come. I'm really excited for what the rest of this event will provide us with.
Monday 28 October 2013
Trump, Maguire and Murphy fall on 2nd day in Chengdu.
Judd Trump, Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy were the 3 big name casualties on the second day of the International Championship in Chengdu, while Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui all managed to get through. This sees the continuation of Trump and Murphy's poor starts to the season, and leaves many of their fans wondering when they will get out of this rut as many, like myself, believe that it is only a matter of time, but as some have suggested this is hardly the end for either of them. As a wise man once said "form is temporary, class is permanent." and both have class by the bagful.
So here's a look back at some of today's action:
David Gilbert 6-4 Shaun Murphy - This was a superb match, which ebbed and flowed, before Gilbert took a grip on it and took the 6-4 win. The match was a very high scoring one, and the first frame was the only exception really as it was a scrappy affair until a break of 47 gave Gilbert the 1-0 advantage. Murphy hit back immediately, with a break of 74 levelling the contest, before a break of 100 gave Gilbert the lead, before a 74 in the next helped him double that lead, and go into the mid-session break 3-1 ahead. Murphy hit back once more with a wonder 125 break reducing the deficit to 3-2, before breaks of 56 and 57 restored David's 2 frame advantage. As always Shaun kept on fighting, as runs of 83 and 90 helped the world number 6 level the contest at 4-4. However, it was Gilbert that was able to take control once more and hold his nerve, as breaks of 71 and 62 helped him to the last 2 frames and set-up a Last 32 meeting with Joe Perry. A great win once more for Gilbert who is beginning to show us his full potential.
Alan McManus 6-5 Judd Trump - This really was just a great encounter, between 2 players that played really well, with the odd mistake here and there costing them frames, in what was a very close match that the Scot McManus managed to edge 6-5. It was Alan that took the first frame, before Judd showed what was to come with a nice break of 92 to equalise, he took the next as well to lead 2-1, but as was the trend of the match, McManus levelled straight away once more. After the interval, McManus potted a red after splitting the pack from the blue, which then gave Judd the platform to make a nice 102 break to lead again at 3-2. McManus recovered though as he squared the match again with a run of 71. A 51 from the defending champion in the seventh frame, helped Trump to take it and a 4-3 advantage. A plucky break of 75 once again allowed McManus to level the match, this time at 4-4, before he took his chances again in the ninth frame to go 1 away from victory. However, Judd had other ideas making the highest break of the match, a 110, to take the match into a much deserved decider. The decider was very tense, with a lot of tactical play, and it was the tactical prowess of "Angles" McManus that gave him the upper hand, and as soon as he got the chance, the Scot took it, as a high pressured break of 31 was enough to give him the match, and a last 32 meeting with Ryan Day.
Ding Junhui 6-5 Cao Yupeng - This was another high quality encounter that saw a lot of top breaks, as Ding held on, having been 5-2 up earlier in the match, before his compatriot pulled the match into a decider. The recent Shanghai Masters and Indian Open winner started very brightly with a break of 73 giving him the opening frame, before a clearance of 52 doubled his lead, cancelling out an earlier 56 from Yupeng. Yupeng took a tight 3rd frame to get back into the match, before a run of 57 gave Ding a 3-1 lead at the interval. A nice break of 61 helped Cao reduce Ding's lead, until a 93 and then a 73 put the world number 4 a frame from victory at 5-2. Cao hung on in there though, taking the next to keep his hopes alive, before runs of 58 and 55 helped the young gun force the final frame decider. In the end it was the experience of the former UK Champion that shone through as a pressure break of 63 was enough to book Ding's place in round 2.
Neil Robertson 6-4 Alex Davies - Neil Robertson survived a massive scare as Alex Davies reduced Robertson's lead from 5-0 to 5-4 before Robertson managed to seal the 6-4 victory. The Aussie started as he meant to go on with a break of 100 giving him the opening frame, before a 77 made it 2-0. The next frame was a little more scrappy and Robertson need a few chances before he was able to take it and an early 3-0 advantage. It was a run of 68 in the next that gave the Wuxi Classic champion a 4-0 lead at the interval. It didn't get any better for young Davies as Neil made a break of 73 in the next which put him 1 frame away from victory at 5-0. Then Davies' fight back begun. A break of 49 was enough for Alex to get the score back to 5-1, before a break of 41 cut Robertson's advantage to just 3 frames, and not even a 63 break in the next was enough to see the Aussie home, before a 45 from Alex Davies helped him back to 5-4. Finally, Robertson showed his nerves of steel in the tenth frame with a magnificent 128 century break seeing Robertson through.
Kyren Wilson 6-3 Stephen Maguire - Stephen Maguire was another of the top seeds to bow out in the Last 64 of the International Championship, as Wilson pulled out another great performance to beat another top player. Breaks of 72 and 55 helped Wilson along to an early 4-1 advantage. Then Maguire fought back with a 126 and a 54 to reduce his lead to 4-3. Young Kyren held his nerve with runs of 72 and 93 giving him the 2 frames he needed to seal another classic 6-3 win for Wilson.
Mark Selby 6-0 Jamie Burnett - The reigning UK and Masters champion had no such problems in his first round encounter with Jamie Burnett, as breaks of 50, 51, 68, 69, 71 and 88 gave the Englishman a comfortable 6-0 whitewash of the Scot.
Today's Other Results:
Ryan Day 6-4 Mike Dunn
Marco Fu 6-2 Adam Duffy
Xiao Guodong 6-2 Alfie Burden
Fergal O'Brien 6-4 Ben Woollaston
Rod Lawler 6-3 Aditya Mehta
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Jimmy White
Zhao Xintong 6-2 Craig Steadman
Peter Lines 6-3 Mark King
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1 Zhang Anda
Peter Ebdon 6-2 Jack Lisowski
Mark Williams 6-2 Paul Davison
James Wattana 6-5 Gary Wilson
Last 32 Draw and Predictions
Alan McManus Vs Ryan Day - Will be a close one but expecting a Day win.
Fergal O'Brien Vs Rod Lawler - Will be a slow one but think O'Brien will edge it.
Mark Allen Vs Dave Harold - Comfortable win for Allen.
Joe Perry Vs David Gilbert - Expecting an entertaining and close match but a win for Perry.
Barry Hawkins Vs Zhao Xintong - Should be an easy win for Hawkins against the young but dangerous Wildcard.
Xiao Guodong Vs Marco Fu - Will be close again, but Fu played well today, and I expect him to nick it.
Stuart Bingham Vs Martin Gould - Should be another entertaining, tight match, but think Bingham will just take it.
Mark Selby Vs Peter Lines - After today, a comfortable Selby win.
Neil Robertson Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - The Thai could run him close but expect Robertson to come through.
Peter Ebdon Vs Mark Joyce - Most likely a scrappy win for Ebdon.
John Higgins Vs Matthew Stevens - Expecting a nice win for Higgins against out of form Stevens.
Ding Junhui Vs James Wattana - Easy win for Ding
Kyren Wilson Vs Graeme Dott - Wouldn't put it past Wilson to get another good win, but think that Dott will grind this one out.
Mark Williams Vs Kurt Maflin - This will be far from comfortable with Williams, but with his improving form, I expect him to come through.
Mark Davis Vs Stuart Carrington - Should be an easy enough victory for Davis.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Liang Wenbo - This won't be easy for O'Sullivan, and he will have to be on top form against the recent AT3 champion. Should still come through though.
It's all shaping up to be a brilliant tournament, and i'm expecting a lot of entertaining snooker from the Last 32 tomorrow. Should be an enjoyable day on the baize.
So here's a look back at some of today's action:
David Gilbert 6-4 Shaun Murphy - This was a superb match, which ebbed and flowed, before Gilbert took a grip on it and took the 6-4 win. The match was a very high scoring one, and the first frame was the only exception really as it was a scrappy affair until a break of 47 gave Gilbert the 1-0 advantage. Murphy hit back immediately, with a break of 74 levelling the contest, before a break of 100 gave Gilbert the lead, before a 74 in the next helped him double that lead, and go into the mid-session break 3-1 ahead. Murphy hit back once more with a wonder 125 break reducing the deficit to 3-2, before breaks of 56 and 57 restored David's 2 frame advantage. As always Shaun kept on fighting, as runs of 83 and 90 helped the world number 6 level the contest at 4-4. However, it was Gilbert that was able to take control once more and hold his nerve, as breaks of 71 and 62 helped him to the last 2 frames and set-up a Last 32 meeting with Joe Perry. A great win once more for Gilbert who is beginning to show us his full potential.
Alan McManus 6-5 Judd Trump - This really was just a great encounter, between 2 players that played really well, with the odd mistake here and there costing them frames, in what was a very close match that the Scot McManus managed to edge 6-5. It was Alan that took the first frame, before Judd showed what was to come with a nice break of 92 to equalise, he took the next as well to lead 2-1, but as was the trend of the match, McManus levelled straight away once more. After the interval, McManus potted a red after splitting the pack from the blue, which then gave Judd the platform to make a nice 102 break to lead again at 3-2. McManus recovered though as he squared the match again with a run of 71. A 51 from the defending champion in the seventh frame, helped Trump to take it and a 4-3 advantage. A plucky break of 75 once again allowed McManus to level the match, this time at 4-4, before he took his chances again in the ninth frame to go 1 away from victory. However, Judd had other ideas making the highest break of the match, a 110, to take the match into a much deserved decider. The decider was very tense, with a lot of tactical play, and it was the tactical prowess of "Angles" McManus that gave him the upper hand, and as soon as he got the chance, the Scot took it, as a high pressured break of 31 was enough to give him the match, and a last 32 meeting with Ryan Day.
Ding Junhui 6-5 Cao Yupeng - This was another high quality encounter that saw a lot of top breaks, as Ding held on, having been 5-2 up earlier in the match, before his compatriot pulled the match into a decider. The recent Shanghai Masters and Indian Open winner started very brightly with a break of 73 giving him the opening frame, before a clearance of 52 doubled his lead, cancelling out an earlier 56 from Yupeng. Yupeng took a tight 3rd frame to get back into the match, before a run of 57 gave Ding a 3-1 lead at the interval. A nice break of 61 helped Cao reduce Ding's lead, until a 93 and then a 73 put the world number 4 a frame from victory at 5-2. Cao hung on in there though, taking the next to keep his hopes alive, before runs of 58 and 55 helped the young gun force the final frame decider. In the end it was the experience of the former UK Champion that shone through as a pressure break of 63 was enough to book Ding's place in round 2.
Neil Robertson 6-4 Alex Davies - Neil Robertson survived a massive scare as Alex Davies reduced Robertson's lead from 5-0 to 5-4 before Robertson managed to seal the 6-4 victory. The Aussie started as he meant to go on with a break of 100 giving him the opening frame, before a 77 made it 2-0. The next frame was a little more scrappy and Robertson need a few chances before he was able to take it and an early 3-0 advantage. It was a run of 68 in the next that gave the Wuxi Classic champion a 4-0 lead at the interval. It didn't get any better for young Davies as Neil made a break of 73 in the next which put him 1 frame away from victory at 5-0. Then Davies' fight back begun. A break of 49 was enough for Alex to get the score back to 5-1, before a break of 41 cut Robertson's advantage to just 3 frames, and not even a 63 break in the next was enough to see the Aussie home, before a 45 from Alex Davies helped him back to 5-4. Finally, Robertson showed his nerves of steel in the tenth frame with a magnificent 128 century break seeing Robertson through.
Kyren Wilson 6-3 Stephen Maguire - Stephen Maguire was another of the top seeds to bow out in the Last 64 of the International Championship, as Wilson pulled out another great performance to beat another top player. Breaks of 72 and 55 helped Wilson along to an early 4-1 advantage. Then Maguire fought back with a 126 and a 54 to reduce his lead to 4-3. Young Kyren held his nerve with runs of 72 and 93 giving him the 2 frames he needed to seal another classic 6-3 win for Wilson.
Mark Selby 6-0 Jamie Burnett - The reigning UK and Masters champion had no such problems in his first round encounter with Jamie Burnett, as breaks of 50, 51, 68, 69, 71 and 88 gave the Englishman a comfortable 6-0 whitewash of the Scot.
Today's Other Results:
Ryan Day 6-4 Mike Dunn
Marco Fu 6-2 Adam Duffy
Xiao Guodong 6-2 Alfie Burden
Fergal O'Brien 6-4 Ben Woollaston
Rod Lawler 6-3 Aditya Mehta
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Jimmy White
Zhao Xintong 6-2 Craig Steadman
Peter Lines 6-3 Mark King
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1 Zhang Anda
Peter Ebdon 6-2 Jack Lisowski
Mark Williams 6-2 Paul Davison
James Wattana 6-5 Gary Wilson
Last 32 Draw and Predictions
Alan McManus Vs Ryan Day - Will be a close one but expecting a Day win.
Fergal O'Brien Vs Rod Lawler - Will be a slow one but think O'Brien will edge it.
Mark Allen Vs Dave Harold - Comfortable win for Allen.
Joe Perry Vs David Gilbert - Expecting an entertaining and close match but a win for Perry.
Barry Hawkins Vs Zhao Xintong - Should be an easy win for Hawkins against the young but dangerous Wildcard.
Xiao Guodong Vs Marco Fu - Will be close again, but Fu played well today, and I expect him to nick it.
Stuart Bingham Vs Martin Gould - Should be another entertaining, tight match, but think Bingham will just take it.
Mark Selby Vs Peter Lines - After today, a comfortable Selby win.
Neil Robertson Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - The Thai could run him close but expect Robertson to come through.
Peter Ebdon Vs Mark Joyce - Most likely a scrappy win for Ebdon.
John Higgins Vs Matthew Stevens - Expecting a nice win for Higgins against out of form Stevens.
Ding Junhui Vs James Wattana - Easy win for Ding
Kyren Wilson Vs Graeme Dott - Wouldn't put it past Wilson to get another good win, but think that Dott will grind this one out.
Mark Williams Vs Kurt Maflin - This will be far from comfortable with Williams, but with his improving form, I expect him to come through.
Mark Davis Vs Stuart Carrington - Should be an easy enough victory for Davis.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Liang Wenbo - This won't be easy for O'Sullivan, and he will have to be on top form against the recent AT3 champion. Should still come through though.
It's all shaping up to be a brilliant tournament, and i'm expecting a lot of entertaining snooker from the Last 32 tomorrow. Should be an enjoyable day on the baize.
Sunday 27 October 2013
Big names ease through on opening day in Chengdu
The top names made light work of their matches on day 1 of the International Championship in Chengdu, with the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Allen all gaining comfortable victories to put them into the last 32.
So this is what happened on an action packed first day:
John Higgins 6-2 Joe Swail - John Higgins started his International Championship campaign very brightly in a 6-2 win over Joe Swail. Higgins made a 105 to take the opener, before doubling his lead in the next with a nice break of 85. Higgins took the next frame as well, and was soon 4-0 ahead at the interval with a break of 62 helping him to the fourth frame. Swail began to show signs of a fight back after the break though, getting on the board in the fifth frame, and then making a 107 (the highest break of the match) to make it 4-2. But in ruthless Higgins fashion he controlled the next 2 frames of the match and took the 6-2 victory, and a nice platform to build on for the rest of the tournament.
Mark Allen 6-1 Tian Pengfei - Mark Allen started his tournament in style, playing incredibly well in his 6-1 win over China's Pengfei. It was Pengfei that took a tight opening frame, and as soon as Allen levelled up in the 2nd frame, his high scoring dominance began. It was a break of 70 that gave Allen the lead for the first time, and break of 60 in the next gave him a 3-1 lead at the mid-session break. The Northern Irishman then came out and knocked in a very nice 111 break to increase his advantage further at 4-1. Allen needed 2 visits in the sixth frame, but he made them count as breaks of 64 and 51 put him one away from the 2nd round. In true winners style Mark finished with his highest break of the match, a 123, to seal victory and his place in the last 32 against Dave Harold.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Anthony McGill - Ronnie O'Sullivan was hardly at his best, but did enough to beat Anthony McGill 6-2, as McGill consistently failed to close frames out after making starts. O'Sullivan needed a couple of chances to take the first frame, after McGill failed to close out the frame, and let Ronnie back in. The Scot levelled up in the next with a good break of 72. In the next McGill made an early break of 51, but O'Sullivan managed to get in and made a magnificent break of 73 to steal the frame from McGill's clutches. Ronnie took another tight frame to lead 3-1 at the interval, with McGill knowing he should've at the very least been level at 2-2. O'Sullivan then seized on this and made a lovely break of 80 to put himself 4-1 up and in full control of the match. Anthony fought back with a well constructed 81 to reduce the deficit to 4-2, but couldn't take his chances in the next as Ronnie went one away at 5-2. He needed a couple of visits in the next, but a break of 52 eventually sealed the match and a 6-2 win for the World Champion.
Graeme Dott 6-4 Michael White - I expected that this match would be close, and I wasn't wrong as this match ebbed and flowed before Dott took out a 6-4 victory. Dott took out the first couple of tight frames to give himself an early 2-0 lead before the Welshman took the next 2 to level the match going into the mid-session interval. A break of 68 (Dott's highest of the match) re-gave him the lead at 3-2, before he took the next to put him on top again. White hung on in there though with a timely 74 reducing the gap to 1 once more at 4-3. Dott dominated the next to put him 1 away from the last 32 at 5-3, before White fought back, shutting Dott out of the ninth frame to make it 5-4. However, it was Graeme that held his nerve with a break of 65 helping him take out the match at 6-4, and book his place in the next round.
Joe Perry 6-5 Jamie Jones - Joe Perry found himself 5-1 down against Jamie Jones in this last 64 encounter, with top breaks of 96, 69 and 59 giving the Welshman a commanding lead and putting him 1 frame away from the second round. However, Perry had other ideas dominating the next 4 frames, helped by breaks of 82 and 107, to take the match into a decider. The decider was close but Perry did enough to book his place in the last 32 and complete a very good comeback.
Today's other results:
Dave Harold 6-4 Pankaj Advani
Martin Gould 6-3 Matt Selt
Matthew Stevens 6-4 Rory McLeod
Kurt Maflin 6-2 Robert Milkins
Mark Davis 6-4 Oliver Brown
Stuart Carrington 6-4 Michael Leslie
Liang Wenbo 6-3 Li Yan
Wildcard Round:
Alan McManus 6-5 Zhou Yuelong
Jimmy White 6-4 Yuan Sijun
Zhao Xintong 6-1 Steve Davis
Kyren Wilson 6-1 Lin Shuai
Tomorrow sees the remaining 18 Last 64 matches taking place with the likes of Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire amongst those in action. It should be another enjoyable day of snooker, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to reporting on some more entertaining matches tomorrow.
So this is what happened on an action packed first day:
John Higgins 6-2 Joe Swail - John Higgins started his International Championship campaign very brightly in a 6-2 win over Joe Swail. Higgins made a 105 to take the opener, before doubling his lead in the next with a nice break of 85. Higgins took the next frame as well, and was soon 4-0 ahead at the interval with a break of 62 helping him to the fourth frame. Swail began to show signs of a fight back after the break though, getting on the board in the fifth frame, and then making a 107 (the highest break of the match) to make it 4-2. But in ruthless Higgins fashion he controlled the next 2 frames of the match and took the 6-2 victory, and a nice platform to build on for the rest of the tournament.
Mark Allen 6-1 Tian Pengfei - Mark Allen started his tournament in style, playing incredibly well in his 6-1 win over China's Pengfei. It was Pengfei that took a tight opening frame, and as soon as Allen levelled up in the 2nd frame, his high scoring dominance began. It was a break of 70 that gave Allen the lead for the first time, and break of 60 in the next gave him a 3-1 lead at the mid-session break. The Northern Irishman then came out and knocked in a very nice 111 break to increase his advantage further at 4-1. Allen needed 2 visits in the sixth frame, but he made them count as breaks of 64 and 51 put him one away from the 2nd round. In true winners style Mark finished with his highest break of the match, a 123, to seal victory and his place in the last 32 against Dave Harold.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Anthony McGill - Ronnie O'Sullivan was hardly at his best, but did enough to beat Anthony McGill 6-2, as McGill consistently failed to close frames out after making starts. O'Sullivan needed a couple of chances to take the first frame, after McGill failed to close out the frame, and let Ronnie back in. The Scot levelled up in the next with a good break of 72. In the next McGill made an early break of 51, but O'Sullivan managed to get in and made a magnificent break of 73 to steal the frame from McGill's clutches. Ronnie took another tight frame to lead 3-1 at the interval, with McGill knowing he should've at the very least been level at 2-2. O'Sullivan then seized on this and made a lovely break of 80 to put himself 4-1 up and in full control of the match. Anthony fought back with a well constructed 81 to reduce the deficit to 4-2, but couldn't take his chances in the next as Ronnie went one away at 5-2. He needed a couple of visits in the next, but a break of 52 eventually sealed the match and a 6-2 win for the World Champion.
Graeme Dott 6-4 Michael White - I expected that this match would be close, and I wasn't wrong as this match ebbed and flowed before Dott took out a 6-4 victory. Dott took out the first couple of tight frames to give himself an early 2-0 lead before the Welshman took the next 2 to level the match going into the mid-session interval. A break of 68 (Dott's highest of the match) re-gave him the lead at 3-2, before he took the next to put him on top again. White hung on in there though with a timely 74 reducing the gap to 1 once more at 4-3. Dott dominated the next to put him 1 away from the last 32 at 5-3, before White fought back, shutting Dott out of the ninth frame to make it 5-4. However, it was Graeme that held his nerve with a break of 65 helping him take out the match at 6-4, and book his place in the next round.
Joe Perry 6-5 Jamie Jones - Joe Perry found himself 5-1 down against Jamie Jones in this last 64 encounter, with top breaks of 96, 69 and 59 giving the Welshman a commanding lead and putting him 1 frame away from the second round. However, Perry had other ideas dominating the next 4 frames, helped by breaks of 82 and 107, to take the match into a decider. The decider was close but Perry did enough to book his place in the last 32 and complete a very good comeback.
Today's other results:
Dave Harold 6-4 Pankaj Advani
Martin Gould 6-3 Matt Selt
Matthew Stevens 6-4 Rory McLeod
Kurt Maflin 6-2 Robert Milkins
Mark Davis 6-4 Oliver Brown
Stuart Carrington 6-4 Michael Leslie
Liang Wenbo 6-3 Li Yan
Wildcard Round:
Alan McManus 6-5 Zhou Yuelong
Jimmy White 6-4 Yuan Sijun
Zhao Xintong 6-1 Steve Davis
Kyren Wilson 6-1 Lin Shuai
Tomorrow sees the remaining 18 Last 64 matches taking place with the likes of Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire amongst those in action. It should be another enjoyable day of snooker, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to reporting on some more entertaining matches tomorrow.
Friday 25 October 2013
International Championship Preview
Sunday
morning (in the very early hours) sees the start of the International
Championship in Chengdu, China. This is the second time the event has been
held, and has already become the 3rd biggest ranking event on the
calendar, only behind the World and UK Championships. The event is also the
first of the longer formatted events of the season, with the Last 64 to the
Quarter Finals being best of 11, the semi-finals best of 17 frames over 2 sessions,
and the final is a traditional best of 19. It should be an event of top quality
snooker, and with it being a longer format, the cream will rise to the top, and
in my opinion I don’t think it will be a tournament for the underdog.
Quarter 3
So let’s have
a look at who I think the front runners will be this week:
Quarter 1
The top quarter has got plenty of
big names in it, with the likes of defending champion Judd Trump, last years
semi-finalist Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen all having a shot at the title, while
Joe Perry and Ryan Day are also capable of getting on a good run and winning
this opening quarter. Judd Trump tweeted earlier this week that he was going to
win the title and make a maximum while he was at it. However, a quick look at
the form guide tells you that things haven’t gone his way so far this season,
and that this comment was rather optimistic, rather than realistic. With no
other top players in his little section, he should make the quarter-finals, but
I can’t see him making it any further than that. Meanwhile the bottom section
is quite a tough one to call. Mark Allen should have a comfortable game against
Tian Pengfei in the first round, while he could face Pankaj Advani in the Last
32, who beat him recently in Indian Open, though Allen was quite unwell (along
with many players I should add) during that tournament. Shaun Murphy has an
even tougher draw, facing David Gilbert in the Last 64, who has had a good
season so far and will provide a tough early test for Murphy, that could
indicate how far he will go in the event. He’ll then face either Joe Perry, who
is very capable of making a run of it this week, as he showed in winning the
first Asian Tour of the season. Perry should come through his opening match
against Jamie Jones, but the Welshman won’t provide Perry with an easy ride to
round 2 either. However, I still think that Murphy and Allen will meet in the
Last 16, where they will play out what I would expect to be an entertaining,
but very close contest. Shaun has had a little while off, to work on his game
and get accustomed to his new cue a bit more, and will definitely be after
making up for his poor start to the season. Allen on the other hand won the
recent Ruhr Open event, and if he has fully recovered from illness after the
Indian Open, he has to be one of the main title contenders. However, I
certainly think that Shaun Murphy has a point to prove in this event, after a
poor start to the season and I have always stood by the theory that he’s always
enjoyed the longer format much more, and if he can find his form early on in
the tournament, you’d be a fool to right him making the Last 4.
Quarter Winner: If he
can get into his stride in the early rounds Shaun Murphy should win this quarter after a couple of weeks off.
Quarter 2
The second quarter has also got a
lot of big names including UK and Masters holder Mark Selby, Australian Open
champion Marco Fu, World Championship runner-up Barry Hawkins and Stuart
Bingham, whilst Xiao Guodong and Martin Gould are also capable of making the
latter stages of the event. However non e of these players are really in the
best form at the moment, which makes it really difficult to pick the winner of
this section. Mark Selby has a reasonably easy opening encounter with Jamie
Burnett, with a second round date with either Mark King and Peter Lines which
should see him through to the last 16. Then, looking at the draw, your money
should be on Stuart Bingham meeting him in round 3. Stuart is not on the best
run either of late, but in my opinion Bingham has been playing slightly better
and is due a good run in a ranking event, so I expect him to beat Selby and
make the quarter-finals. Barry Hawkins starts of his International campaign
with a match against either Jimmy White or a wildcard, which he should some
through to play Craig Steadman, Steve Davis or a wildcard, which shouldn’t be
any trouble to him either. In the last 16, the likelihood is that Barry will
play Marco Fu, who made the quarter finals in Chengdu a year ago. This will be
a very close encounter (should the draw pan out as such) and I think that the 2
are very evenly matched in all departments. However, something in me thinks
that Barry will just edge this one, and if he does I believe that he’ll be able
to see off Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals as well.
Quarter Winner: Barry Hawkins should be able to save some energy in his opening
matches, to make a charge into the latter stages of this event.
Quarter 3
Battling it out to make it to the
quarter finals, in the 3rd quarter are Wuxi Classic champion Neil
Robertson, man of the moment Ding Junhui, John Higgins and Matthew Stevens.
Meanwhile, last year’s semi-finalist Peter Ebdon and young gun Jack Lisowski
could also go on a run to the latter stages, while neither really has the current
form to do it this time around. Neil
Robertson is the stand out name in the top half of this quarter, and he should
be able to make the quarter-finals quite comfortably, with only Peter Ebdon or
Jack Lisowski (whoever should win this first round encounter) likely to give
Neil any trouble at all in the early stages of this event. Meanwhile, Ding
Junhui hardly has an easy draw to make it to the quarter-finals. His first
round opponent is Cao Yupeng, who should certainly provide his fellow
countryman with an early test. If he makes it through that either Gary Wilson
or James Wattana, could offer him another tricky tie, while his last 16
opponent is likely to be either John Higgins or Matthew Stevens. However, the
way Ding has been playing in the last month he should be able to come through
those matches and set up another quarter-final meeting with Neil Robertson.
Now, I think that the next season or so will see this pair trading blows, and
after Ding’s win against him in the Indian Open, Robertson will certainly want
his revenge this time around. I think this match could all come down to the
amount of energy the two players have to use in the early stages, with Ding
having a much tougher draw than Neil.
Quarter Winner: It’s
a tough one but Neil Robertson should
come through.
Quarter 4
The bottom quarter is easily the hardest
one to call, with the whole section full of capable talent. World Champion
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the headline act of this quarter, but it won’t be easy for
him with the likes of Welsh Open champion Stephen Maguire, Rotterdam Open
winner Mark Williams, 6 Reds holder Mark Davis, Graeme Dott and Robert Milkins
all capable of winning big events.
Meanwhile, Michael White, recent Asian Tour 3 champion Liang Wenbo, PTC
Grand finals semi-finalist Kurt Maflin and recent Asian Tour 3 semi-finalist
Anthony McGill are all also capable of going on a good run and upsetting the
odds. Out of everyone in this quarter,
Stephen Maguire is the best player in the best form at the moment and should be
to get through his opening match against either Kyren Wilson or a wildcard. His
next opponents would be either Graeme Dott or Michael White, which I expect to
be a very tight match, and one that will certainly take it out of both players.
Therefore, if Maguire can stay relatively fresh, he should be able to make it
to the last 16. There he’d be likely to meet either Mark Williams or Robert
Milkins. Now in the last couple of tournaments Milkins has not been in the best
form, while Williams has really start to find his and is playing a lot better
than he was at the end of last season. Therefore, I expect that it will be
Williams that plays Maguire, in what I would expect to be yet another
entertaining contest. Maguire has the better of the head to head record, and I
think that he will certainly be the favourite of the 2 to reach the quarter
finals, and continue his decent run of late.
At the bottom of this section,
Ronnie O’Sullivan has an opening round contest with Anthony McGill, which on
paper looks like an easier contest than it is sure to be. McGill is on a really
good run at the moment, and having already got used to the conditions compared
to Ronnie, who hasn’t played in China since the 2012 China Open. However, I
think you’d also be a fool to bet against Ronnie in this one, who will also be
fresh, since his last event was the Ruhr Open. He should face recent Asian PTC
3 champion Liang Wenbo in the last 32, in what will be another tricky match for
Ronnie, but again you still have to expect Ronnie to make it through. Meanwhile, his probable last 16 opponent Mark
Davis has a relatively simple draw to get the third round, and should save a
lot of mental energy for the end of the week. One of the most impressive things
about Mark Davis is his recent record against John Higgins, who must dread the
very sight of him. If he can do a similar job against O’Sullivan, there is no
reason why he shouldn’t win. Although, I still think that Ronnie will come
through this and set up a quarter-final tie with Stephen Maguire. This, for me,
is where O’Sullivan could meet his end in this event. Maguire doesn’t have an easy
draw, but Ronnie having not played in China for a while may not be able to
handle the mental exertions of his draw as well as Maguire will, and that could
well be the deciding factor.
Quarter Winner: I
think that Stephen Maguire is my
favourite to make it through this minefield of a draw.
Tournament runner-up: Shaun Murphy
Tournament Winner: Neil Robertson
Whatever the outcome of the
tournament is, I believe that the top players will make the latter stages of
the event, and make it a very tense, exciting and of course entertaining event,
which should produce some great snooker throughout the week. I’ll be back to
review the matches on a daily basis, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my take
on how things will pan out in Chengdu.
Wednesday 23 October 2013
New World Snooker Live Scores Photos: A who's who guide
With quite a lot of new pictures on the World Snooker Live Scores website of the players, and the majority of players having a new one done, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to poke a bit of fun in the players directions, based on the new images. I just hope that none of the players take offence!
Misery Guts: Anyone would have thought that this was done as a session for new passport photos with many players failing to crack a smile. However, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Daniel Wells have been just about been beaten for this one by Craig Steadman who certainly looks angry about something.
"Hello Ladies": This one can be none other than newly crowned World Seniors Champion Steve Davis. It must be very difficult for the older ladies to say no to him looking like that.
Best Beard: Stephen Maguire usually comes across as the main contender for this one, but on this occasion it's difficult to look further than Anthony McGill for his lovely ginger beard.
Lovely Smile: There are many contenders for this one with Neil Robertson, Matthew Stevens, Scott Donaldson and Rod Lawler all falling short as Ryan Day scoops the Gold.
The Sinister "I'll murder you love" look: Ian Burns and Alexander Ursenbache both look pretty fishy if you ask me, but I certainly wouldn't want to come across Kurt Maflin in the street if he was staring at me like that.
Nice Hair: Amidst all of the comb overs, and spikes, Li Hang has managed to take it a step too far
and does appear to have spilt some kind of Orange dye in it. I don't think he's noticed yet though, so probably best not to point it out to him...
The "I'm trying my best not to laugh" face: A few contenders for this one, including former champion Gerard Greene and quite possibly Matthew Stevens, but for me Michael Holt looks like he's trying ridiculously hard to hold back the giggles.
Closest lookalike to myself: There's only 1 candidate really, a few people have a similar hair style to mine, but really only Shaun Murphy comes close to looking like me. (That's a compliment Shaun!)
Most Cheeky look: Vinnie Calabrese and Chris Wakelin look relatively cheeky, however you won't find a cheekier look in this lifetime than the one on the face of Alex Davies.
Best Photo: Dominic Dale is simply being Dominic Dale in his photo, giving it a cheeky smile, and looking like he is enjoying every second of this particular, and despite facing stiff competition from Rod Lawler who has pulled out his impression of Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit" and Graeme Dott's "Why are you making me do this?" expression, Dominic Dale has one the day this time.
If you don't think I've made the right calls, then take a look at the pictures on the World Snooker Live, make your own minds up and let me know.
The serious stuff will continue later this week as I get ready to preview the International Championship, which starts on Sunday. Really looking forward to that.
Misery Guts: Anyone would have thought that this was done as a session for new passport photos with many players failing to crack a smile. However, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Daniel Wells have been just about been beaten for this one by Craig Steadman who certainly looks angry about something.
"Hello Ladies": This one can be none other than newly crowned World Seniors Champion Steve Davis. It must be very difficult for the older ladies to say no to him looking like that.
Best Beard: Stephen Maguire usually comes across as the main contender for this one, but on this occasion it's difficult to look further than Anthony McGill for his lovely ginger beard.
Lovely Smile: There are many contenders for this one with Neil Robertson, Matthew Stevens, Scott Donaldson and Rod Lawler all falling short as Ryan Day scoops the Gold.
The Sinister "I'll murder you love" look: Ian Burns and Alexander Ursenbache both look pretty fishy if you ask me, but I certainly wouldn't want to come across Kurt Maflin in the street if he was staring at me like that.
Nice Hair: Amidst all of the comb overs, and spikes, Li Hang has managed to take it a step too far
and does appear to have spilt some kind of Orange dye in it. I don't think he's noticed yet though, so probably best not to point it out to him...
The "I'm trying my best not to laugh" face: A few contenders for this one, including former champion Gerard Greene and quite possibly Matthew Stevens, but for me Michael Holt looks like he's trying ridiculously hard to hold back the giggles.
Closest lookalike to myself: There's only 1 candidate really, a few people have a similar hair style to mine, but really only Shaun Murphy comes close to looking like me. (That's a compliment Shaun!)
Most Cheeky look: Vinnie Calabrese and Chris Wakelin look relatively cheeky, however you won't find a cheekier look in this lifetime than the one on the face of Alex Davies.
Best Photo: Dominic Dale is simply being Dominic Dale in his photo, giving it a cheeky smile, and looking like he is enjoying every second of this particular, and despite facing stiff competition from Rod Lawler who has pulled out his impression of Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit" and Graeme Dott's "Why are you making me do this?" expression, Dominic Dale has one the day this time.
If you don't think I've made the right calls, then take a look at the pictures on the World Snooker Live, make your own minds up and let me know.
The serious stuff will continue later this week as I get ready to preview the International Championship, which starts on Sunday. Really looking forward to that.
Sunday 13 October 2013
Indian Open Preview
The Indian open runs from Monday to Friday this week, the first ever ranking event in India. As good a tournament as it should be, the format of best of 7 up to the final, and a best of 9 ranking event final is pretty poor in my book, as in my book no ranking final should be less than best of 17. There have also been 7 players pull out for a number of reasons, but also because of a cyclone heading towards India, but really nowhere near Delhi, making it even more ridiculous.
Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson
Quarter Winner: Has to be Barry Hawkins
Quarter Winner: Stephen Maguire.
Quarter Winner: Mark Selby
Tournament Winner: Mark Selby
Despite the shorter format, and lack of TV coverage (the tournament is only being streamed in Europe) I am still looking forward to the event and it should produce a lot of shocks, and some all-round good snooker. Hope you all enjoy it as well.
Quarter 1
The top quarter features some big in form names like Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui, with Ding in particular playing really well in the last couple of weeks or so. John Higgins is another big name in this section, who could well go far in this tournament, and is due a good run in a ranking event by his standards. A couple of other guys that could be capable of a run this week, as a surprise package are Ryan Day and Liang Wenbo. Out of this quarter, the draw lends itself to more to Neil Robertson, who has a slightly easier run to the quarter-finals which could save him a lot mental energy for later in the week.Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson
Quarter 2
This quarter features players such as Barry Hawkins, Ricky Walden and Joe Perry who are the favourites to make it out of this quarter. As all 3 of these players are in the same section, a surprise package like Doherty, Higginson or Jamie Burnett could also get into the semi-finals if they get on a role. Hawkins has to be my favourite out of all of these as he is in marginally better form, while Perry and Walden have both won PTC events this year so cannot be ruled out either, but I think that Hawkins may just be too good for them this week.Quarter Winner: Has to be Barry Hawkins
Quarter 3
Marco Fu, Stephen Maguire and Mark Davis are the big headline acts in this quarter, whilst there are also a lot of other guys that could have a good run such as Tom Ford, Dominic Dale, Michael Holt and Michael White. Out of all of these guys Stephen Maguire has to be the best of the lot, while Mark Davis won the 6 Reds in Thailand last month. Marco Fu won the Australia Open earlier in the year, and Michael Holt got to the final of the Asian Tour 2 event. For me though Stephen Maguire has the best chance of winning the event, while Marco Fu will offer him the biggest challenge in this quarter.Quarter Winner: Stephen Maguire.
Quarter 4
Finally, the bottom quarter is full of top players whilst also being home to the 2 home favourites Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta. Mark Selby, Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham and Mark Williams are the top players in the section, with Allen being the most in form at the moment having won the most recent event, the Ruhr Open. Mark Williams could do with a good run in this event to get him back in the top 16, whilst Mark Selby can never be ruled out of a good run, I feel that a good ranking event run is overdue for Selby and he is one of my favourites for the title this week, but anything can happen in this shorter format, which basically makes it a glorified PTC.Quarter Winner: Mark Selby
Tournament Winner: Mark Selby
Despite the shorter format, and lack of TV coverage (the tournament is only being streamed in Europe) I am still looking forward to the event and it should produce a lot of shocks, and some all-round good snooker. Hope you all enjoy it as well.
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