The first match of the countdown takes us back to the 17th February this year when Stephen Maguire took on Stuart Bingham in the 2013 Welsh Open final, and with both players playing brilliantly during the week this was always going to be a tough match to call, but also a cracking contest.
So let's take a look back on what happened over this amazing Best-of-17 final:
Stephen Maguire Vs Stuart Bingham:
Early on in the final, Bingham potted a nice long red after
a missed long red from Maguire, but after going into the pack and being
snookered on all colours he gave away 28 points in fouls before going in off
and leaving Maguire a chance at a long red which he missed. Maguire then potted
a nice red to the middle pocket after a safety battle near the black spot end,
and soon created a nice chance to win the frame. A really good break of 71 from Stephen made
sure that he got a really good start and make it 1-0. Bingham missed another
long red early in the second, giving Maguire an early chance to build a decent
advantage. He went on to make a good break of 62, before going into the reds
from the blue and failing to get on one nicely. Maguire was soon back in again
though, and a good red to the green pocket on 7 ensured that Bingham would need
snookers if he came back and led by 76 with 67 on. Eventually though, Maguire potted a nice long
penultimate red to secure the frame and a 2-0 lead. After a longer safety
battle in frame three, Bingham potted a nice red to the centre pocket before
then missing a blue off of the spot, giving Maguire another chance. However
Maguire could only make 14 before he ran out of position, but he did leave
Bingham snookered on all reds. Bingham then potted a good long red, and put
Maguire into an impossible snooker on the baulk cushion. Maguire had no choice
but to smash the cue ball into the jaws of the green pocket, managing to come
down and hit a red, but he was very unfortunate to leave a red on and give
Bingham a great chance. A good break of 56 left Maguire needing a snooker, but
when Bingham potted the last red it made sure that he’d get his first frame on
the board and make it 1-2. In the last frame before the interval, Bingham
potted a great early long red but could only make 12 from it. Maguire managed
to get in with a nice double, and after a decent split of the reds he had a
nice chance to build a good lead in the fourth frame. Some good recovery reds
from Maguire kept the break going, and put him in a great position to win the
frame in 1 visit. Maguire did exactly that, taking a 3-1 lead with a fabulously
well-made break of 114.
After the break, Bingham was first in after being left a red
to the middle, although he could only make 7 as he missed a difficult blue to
the corner. However, Stephen then missed a straight mid-range red allowing
Bingham back to the table straight away with a chance. Some good early shots to
get the black open made it into a great frame winning opportunity, and a very
good break of 79 made sure that he did take the frame and close the gap to a
single frame at 2-3. A missed pot with the rest by Stuart in the sixth frame,
gave Maguire a nice opportunity to gain an early advantage in the frame. A
great positional shot from the black on 33, and nice recovery red on 40 then
made it into a superb chance to go 2 frames ahead once more. An excellent 110
put Maguire 4-2 ahead, with just 2 frames left in the session. In the seventh
frame, Bingham got in with a great red to the middle, and a brilliant recovery
red on 16 kept the break going in fantastic fashion. Stuart was on 55 when he
missed a tricky red to the middle, but leaving everything fairly safe. Another
superb red to the middle got Bingham back in again, and just a few pots from
reducing the deficit once more to only the one frame. An additional 78 making
it 3-4, with 1 frame left of the session. Bingham knocked in a magnificent long
red early in the eighth frame, and was extremely unlucky not to get on the
black. Another good long red, landed Stuart on the black near the corner, but
he failed to get on another red and was forced to play safe again. Stephen left
Bingham another chance to make a decent contribution in the frame. Bingham had
built up a nice 50 point lead when he had to play safe, but was soon back in
again after Maguire missed a red with the rest following a kick, but he could
only make 6 before missing the red, giving Maguire a chance to steal. A
brilliant red on 5 gave him a glimmer of hope, and another good red on 18 got
him right back into it, but it was impossible to get on the last red and he
played a poor safety to allow Bingham to take the frame and make it 4-4 at the
end of the first session.
The first frame of the evening session saw the brilliant
standard continue, as Bingham made a nice 73 to extend his run to 3 frames in a
row and lead 5-4. Bingham got in, in the next frame with a brilliant long red,
before missing a red down the cushion on 15 and letting Maguire in. A nice
split of the reds on 13 gave him a decent chance to win the frame and level the
contest. However, he missed an easy black on 37 but was soon back in with a
brilliant plant. From that plant he made a brilliant 71 to make it 5-5 and turn
the final into a best of 7 frame match. Bingham was in first again in the next
frame, and he managed to pick off the reds brilliantly making a magnificent 118
to regain the lead at 6-5. Bingham was in first again in the next frame,
pulling out another top long red, landing him onto the brown. He managed to
make 36 before he missed the blue going into the reds, but when Maguire missed
a tight black which only just went, Bingham was back in almost immediately.
When he missed a red on the stretch on 18, he had a 53 point lead, but Maguire
failed to pot a relatively simple one and Bingham then had a great chance to
make it 7-5 at the interval of the final session. That was exactly what he did,
putting him just 2 frames from the Welsh Open title.
After the break, ball-run Bingham made a nice plant, but
then missed a tricky brown to the middle, leaving the Scotsman in with an early
chance. However, he missed a tough red along the bottom cushion on 11, and
Stuart was back in once more, but he missed a chance to open the reds from the
blue, and was forced to play safe. Maguire then knocked in an amazing long red
to screw back for the yellow and go into the reds. Maguire had put together a
good break before he missed a simple red, leaving Bingham another chance.
Although, Bingham couldn’t get on the yellow nicely and Stephen came back to
the table with a 1 point advantage. Bingham potted the yellow but missed the
green and left the green on for Maguire after the Scot played a good snooker
behind the black. Bingham potted the brown, but then decided to play safe on
the blue turning down a tough pot. Bingham then fluked the blue after a long
safety battle but missed the pink, which Maguire knocked in, in great style
landing perfectly on the black to win the frame by a point and close the gap to
6-7. The fourteenth frame started off with a nice pressure red from Bingham, to
give him an early opportunity to make a nice contribution. Bingham missed a
tricky red on 31 though, and was definitely beginning to look like he was under
a lot of pressure. Bingham knocked in a fantastic long red to start himself off
again, and then played another good red to the middle on 8, but he missed a
simple blue on 9 to allow Maguire back to the table with the reds open and only
40 points to make up. Maguire then missed a black on 25 after a kick on the
previous red left him out of position, but Stuart missed a long red and then
Maguire played a brilliant double to get right back in amongst the balls with a
fantastic chance to square the match. A break of 42 made sure that that was
exactly what he did, turning the match into a best of 3 now at 7-7. With the
momentum now in this final, Stephen Maguire was first in in the fifteenth
frame, with a nice red to the middle to get going. After a brilliant split of
the reds from a red on 28, and after a decent pink to follow, he now had a good
chance to go on and regain the advantage in this great encounter. A lovely
break of 77 made sure that he took the lead for the first time in the evening
session, going 1 away from victory at 8-7. The sixteenth frame got off to a
very scrappy start and resulted in a re-rack. A missed long red shortly
afterwards from Bingham gave Maguire his first opportunity to take the title.
However, an explosive kick on 20 ended the break prematurely, and Bingham was
able to pot a long red in off the blue. However, he could only make 6 before
letting Maguire back in who made a decent contribution of 39 to take a nice
lead in the frame. Stephen Maguire then played a ridiculous hit and hope from a
snooker that wasn’t too hard to get out of. That put Stuart Bingham right in
amongst them with a good chance to clear and force the decider. A brilliant
pressure pot on the final red along the black cushion, made the rest of the
clearance look easy, as a magical clearance of 58 made sure that this game got
the final frame shoot-out that it deserved.
Stuart Bingham potted the first ball of the deciding frame,
knocking in a good long pot, but failing to get on a colour, playing a good
snooker instead. Bingham then potted another decent red, but screwed in off in
the middle to give Maguire a half chance at a long red, but the Scotsman failed
to take it. The drama continued as Bingham missed a tough plant, and Maguire
then got the first real chance after potting a tricky little red of his own.
Maguire took all of the balls very well, and after potting a nice red to ensure
that Bingham wouldn’t come back to the table for snookers, Stephen punched the
table a few times, showing what it meant for him to win this title and end his
long wait for a ranking event win, with a 9-8 win over Stuart Bingham. That wonderful 82 in the decider was worthy of
winning any ranking event, and adding to the reasons why this match was such a
classic final in the history of the event, and in the snooker year of 2013.
What a match that was, it had just about everything from top breaks to killer tension, and that only made 12th place on my Christmas classics countdown, so you know there's going to be plenty more quality contests to look back on between now and New Year's Day.
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