Neil Robertson won group 4 in Coventry after coming from 3-1 down to beat Martin Gould, and then winning a thrilling match against Ali Carter who overcame Mark Allen earlier in the group semi-finals. Overall it was an absolutely great standard from all of the players on show on the third day at the Ricoh Arena, and it was easily the best group so far.
So let's have a look back on the action:
Neil Robertson 4-3 Martin Gould - Neil Robertson produced a great comeback to beat Martin Gould from 3-1 down in the group semi-finals in Coventry. The match got off to a fairly scrappy start with Martin Gould needing a few chances to kill off the opener. Robertson need a couple of chances himself to square the score in the next, but a break of 44 helped him do just that. Gould started to take control of the match, a break of 48 helping him towards the next frame and a 2-1 lead, before a brilliant run of 102 put him 3-1 up and 1 frame from victory. Robertson didn't give up though and managed to find that extra gear to come back at Gould. A break of 77 pulled the score back to 3-2, before a wonderful 129 from Neil levelled the match and took it into a deciding frame. In the end the deciding frame was dominated by Robertson with a break of 112 giving Neil the match, and completing the magnificent come back. It was unlucky for Gould but there wasn't a whole lot he could have done to prevent that fight back, it was just magnificent stuff from the World No.1.
Ali Carter 4-3 Mark Allen - Ali Carter had to come back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to beat Mark Allen 4-3 in the other group semi-final, in another brilliant match that kept a good standard up throughout. Mark took an early lead with a break of 58 helping him to the opening frame, before a break of 54 put Allen 2-0 ahead. The Captain fought back though, with very nice breaks of 77 and 68 squaring the scores at 2-2 in what was shaping up to be a very close battle. Both players had chances in the fifth frame, and it could have been key to the overall outcome, and it was Allen that took at the second time of asking to lead 3-2. Allen had his chance to take out the match in the next, but played a poor shot and let Carter in, who made a break of 54 which was enough for him to force the decider. It was Ali that dominated the decider, with Allen not really having a proper chance to clinch the match, and it was eventually a break of 41 that was practically enough for him to seal the match and book his place in the group final against Neil Robertson.
Neil Robertson 6-5 Ali Carter - The group final was played at a great standard throughout the match, and if you will excuse all of the clichés, it really was a shame to see one of them lose in what was easily the match of the tournament so far. It was Carter that set the standard early on with a magnificent break of 112 giving him the opener. It wasn't long before Robertson was level with a brilliantly constructed break of 119 making it 1-1. The next frame was dominated by Carter until he fluked the blue in going for a thin red when Robertson already needed snookers. However, Carter eventually managed to take the frame and make it 2-1. Ali needed 2 or 3 chances to take the next frame, but once he did The Captain had a 3-1 lead at the mid-session lead. In true champions style, Robertson fought back once more making it 3-2 with yet another century (a 105 this time) before he levelled the match at 3-3, after missing the 15th black on 113, going for a maximum. Carter didn't buckle though making it 3 consecutive centuries with his own break of 127 regaining the advantage at 4-3. Both players had chances in the eighth frame before Robertson produced another brilliant clearance of 52 to square the scores at 4-4, making it a best of 3 for a place in the semi-finals. The next frame was fairly tense, with a break of 59 not proving enough to take the frame, as Robertson's break of 30 was enough for him to go 5-4 ahead and a frame from victory. One thing that this match deserved was a deciding frame to settle a great contests, and 2 evenly matches players. In the end the match got what it warranted, as Carter plucked out a brilliant break of 72 to make it 5-5. The decider, as you would expect, was a very tense affair, that swung like a pendulum with both players having chances (which is all you want in a decider I've heard). However, the last swing of the pendulum was towards the World No.1 as he managed to win a classic contest 6-5 and go into Saturday's semi-finals.
A great standard then on day 3 of the Champion of Champions, and one that would be difficult to match in the rest of the tournament. Although, with the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins and Mark Davis in action on the final day of the "group stages" from Group 1, it could easily be matched, or even bettered if Ding and O'Sullivan are at the very best. I'm really looking forward to another day of quality snooker then in Coventry, with ITV4 continuing to do themselves proud.
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