Moment of the Month: November: Murphy's crazy day in Mulheim

We're down to the final few months as I look back at the best snooker moments of 2014 and today we look back at the penultimate month of November and one particularly memorable Sunday in Mulheim for Shaun Murphy. This is what took place on Murphy's crazy day:

Sunday 23^rd November is not a day that Shaun Murphy will be forgetting in a hurry, and to be honest neither will a lot of snooker fans because the events of that day will live large in the memory for a long time to come. This was of course the day where my moment of the month for November was secured and it’s tough to know where to start when describing.

Firstly, it’s worth taking a trip back to the beginning of October when Shaun won the third European Tour event of the season out in Bulgaria on an emphatic weekend where Murphy played sublime snooker and beat Martin Gould 4-2 in the final to take the Bulgarian Open title. That means that going into the European Tour event four, the Ruhr Open, Shaun Murphy was one of the men to watch.

Playing his first three matches on the Saturday Shaun overcame Lu Ning, Michael Holt and David Gilbert to secure his place in the Last 16 where he would play Joe Swail. After a 138 in frame two of that match it was in frame three that one of the huge moments of the Sunday took place. Murphy had a massive chance for a maximum having potted the 15 reds with 15 blacks and had gotten down to the blue before the mistake crept in and he quite simply twitched the blue off of its spot to give up a brilliant 147 opportunity and he went on to win the match 4-3 against Joe to set up a meeting in the quarter-finals against Mark Williams.

The Magician wasn’t to wait long for his next maximum chance, as in frame four of the quarter-final with Mark he again did the hard work to pot the 15 reds with 15 blacks, but a small kick on the yellow left him short on the green and trying to roll it in, he could only watch (and quite possibly tear up) as the green just didn’t reach and maximum attempt number two of the day went begging. At least he gave himself the opportunity to put himself in the position again possibly, by beating Mark Williams 4-2 to reach the semi-finals. Shaun was in desperate trouble early on in this match as he found himself 3-0 down and staring at defeat with Judd looking in great form. Breaks of 58 and 98 kept Shaun in the match though and put the pressure on Trump who made an awful error on the pink to allow Shaun to clear and force a deciding frame. Both players had chances in that decider and it was Murphy that eventually took his to complete a magnificent turnaround winning all of the last four frames to beat Judd Trump 4-3 and put himself into the Ruhr Open final.

In the final Shaun met Robert Milkins with Shaun looking for consecutive European Tour titles, while Milkins was looking for his first full title as a professional. It was Murphy that dominated though from start to finish, and it was in frame two that Murphy had the chance again to make the snooker players dream of a 147. Having potted 14 reds and blacks, he was looking for a good angle on the final red to the middle but he landed straight on it and had no chance of obtaining ideal black ball position, so he chose to roll it in and play the black with the cue ball above the blue spot. In spectacular style though Murphy was somehow able to cut the black in and landed on the yellow to the middle and there were no more mistakes this time as he cleared to make his fourth professional maximum break and his third in 2014 alone, and the big fist pump from Shaun Murphy showed what that meant having missed two golden chances earlier in the day, and breaks of 62 and 58 in the next two frames made sure that Shaun Murphy beat Robert Milkins to finish a crazy day in style with a 4-0 win giving him the Ruhr Open title, consecutive European Tour titles and my moment of the month for November.


It was a wonderful moment that had a happy ending eventually for Shaun Murphy, and tomorrow I will bring out my final moment of the month before deciding on my final list and announcing the winner.

Player of the Month: November: Ricky Walden

We're down to the final contenders now on my player of the year countdown, and today we go back to November where I was impressed the most with Ricky Walden. This is exactly what I have to say about him:

My top man for November was International champion Ricky Walden who produced some fine performances both in the International Championship and the following Champion of Champions event in Coventry. The International Championship was split over the course of both October and November, with Ricky beating Mark Allen in the final in November, and dispatching of Robert Milkins, Jamie Burnett, Joe Swail, Zhou Yuelong and David Morris at the back end of October. Ricky then went straight on to the Champion of Champions event in Coventry the next week and despite suffering from some heavy jet lag he managed to whitewash Mark Allen (him again) in the first round before losing out in the group final to Neil Robertson, although that could’ve easily been a different story. The month came to a close for Ricky with victories in the first two rounds of the UK Championship against Steve Davis and in a decider against Robbie Williams.

Here are a few of the victories that particularly impressed me from Ricky in November:

Ricky Walden 10-7 Mark Allen – Ricky Walden had been playing fluent snooker all week at the International Championships and it continued at the start of the final against Mark Allen. Breaks of 49 and 59 from Ricky in the opener gave him a 1-0 lead, before runs of 40 and 45 saw Allen level the match. A high of 64 from Walden helped him on his way to the next two frames as he went into the first interval 3-1 ahead. Allen soon won the next two, with a 113 in the sixth to level at 3-3 and the next two were shared to make it 4-4 with one frame of the session to go. It was a frame both players had chances in but Allen took it to lead 5-4 after the first session. That didn’t faze Ricky though who made contributions of 45, 47 and 85 on the way to winning three straight frames taking a 7-5 advantage. Breaks of 68 and 74 saw Allen come back and level the game once more at 7-7. From here though Ricky Walden found an extra gear and his very fluent best of the match by making breaks of 85, 103, 54 and 62 to win all of the next three frames and become the International Champion with a 10-7 victory.

Ricky Walden 4-0 Mark Allen – When the players were drawn to play against each other again just a few days later at the Champion of Champions event in Coventry I don’t think that either one would’ve been relishing the prospect, especially after a long haul flight back from China that both players were clearly still feeling the effects of. Ricky Walden is the type of player though that always just gets on with whatever is thrown at him, and giving his best on the day. That is certainly what he did in this match starting off with breaks of 53 and 57 to win the opener and he followed that up with a run of 58 to take the second frame and go halfway on the road to victory at 2-0. Walden dominated the third frame and that was when Allen really looked like he was struggling as Ricky went one away at 3-0. It was one visit stuff from Walden in the fourth and what turned out to be final frame with a run of 86 seeing him through 4-0.

That shows the two sides to Ricky Walden’s game, because when he’s at his best he’s incredibly fluent and he can make breaks for fun, beating anybody in the world to win tournaments like he did in the International Championships and has showed many other times in the past for the three times ranking winner. However, when he and his opponent are both struggling he is very good at being able to do what he has to in order to win the match by grinding out a result. If Walden does make a very bad start in matches sometimes though and his opponent starts putting him under lots of pressure he can be beaten by anyone at times and that sometimes shows some of the consistency he lacks in tournaments, and is possibly the reason why Walden hasn’t matched the titles he’s won in China with titles in the UK and a consistent top 8 ranking. He is still a brilliant player though and well capable of winning a big UK event and I sincerely hope he does because he’s a great ambassador for snooker and he always goes about things in the right way.  

Ricky is another brilliant candidate for my player of the year and tomorrow i'll reveal my final candidate when I look back at the month of snooker in December.

Classic Matches of 2014 Countdown: 2nd Place: Mark Selby Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan (World Championships)

We're down to the final days of my classic matches countdown for 2014, and it's time to announce the runner-up on this years list and it is the World Championship final played on Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May between Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan and given their long rivalry it always looked like being a classic encounter...

Mark Selby Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan:

After a long period of safety with some early final nerves, Selby let Ronnie in for the first chance on what did look like an awkward table. O’Sullivan played the table expertly though, bringing reds out shot by shot and an extraordinary run of 69 was enough in the end for him to go 1-0 ahead. Mark Selby’s first chance came in frame two after a poor snooker escape from O’Sullivan, but a missed black on 9 going into reds cut his break far too short and left Ronnie an opening. Ronnie made 27 before his cannon into the reds didn’t leave him on one and he played safe. Mark missed a long shot straight away though to give O’Sullivan his second chance. An additional 37 was to prove enough for him to go 2-0 ahead. O’Sullivan had the first chance again in frame three after a Selby safety shot didn’t work out as planned. Ronnie looked to be showing the ruthless form he had throughout the event so far and a contribution of 102 put him 3-0 in front. A missed brown from Ronnie at the beginning of the fourth left Selby an early opening. An unsuccessful split on 25 left Selby without a pot on and he was forced into a safety shot. A long pot from O’Sullivan soon after though got him back scoring, but a mistake on 16 leaving him snookered on his intended red forced him into playing safe. A missed long red from Selby though left Ronnie another chance, but he didn’t add much before losing position again and that left Mark a chance. Selby cleared to the green to get his first frame on the board and make it 1-3 at the first mid-session interval.

After the break, both players had early chances, but Mark’s next opening was a very good one, but one of the worst positional shots you’ll see, to leave himself completely hampered on the black from a simple red ended the break on just 23. Mark had the next chance as well though after being left an easy long pot and this time but another bad miss ended the break prematurely again. That left Ronnie an opening but the last three reds on the bottom cushion looked like being the problem, and that’s where the safety battle began with Selby 17 ahead with 51 remaining. When Ronnie’s chance came, he cleared the final three reds but failed to land on the yellow so played safe with a 3 point advantage. Selby won the battle on the yellow and a clearance to the pink gave him another frame back at 2-3. O’Sullivan had the first chance in the sixth frame but he missed a tough black on 17, putting Selby in. He potted the first red, and then went into the reds from the black over the corner, but the cue ball ran up the table and that was end of break. An amazing red from range gave O’Sullivan the next opportunity with all of the reds nicely spread, and he took that opportunity to go 4-2 ahead with a beautiful break of 63. After a long bout of safety at the start of frame seven, the first scoring visit came from Selby, and it amounted to 28 before he went into the reds and was unlucky not to have a shot on one. It wasn’t long before Selby had his next chance though, but he missed a tough red on 10. He was back in again shortly after though and this time he’d built up a lead of 48 with 67 on before playing safe with the final five reds all safe, as well as the yellow, green and blue. Selby potted the next red and laid a tough snooker, which O’Sullivan was unable to get out of, leaving Ronnie needing a snooker which he couldn’t get so Selby had now won three of the last four frames at 4-3 to O’Sullivan. In the final frame of this session O’Sullivan had the best of the early scoring opportunities. He made 38 before missing a relatively straightforward red, which left a chance for Mark. Selby built a lead of 10 before playing safe on the final red. After fluking the final red, Mark missed the black and left Ronnie a golden chance to clear for the 5-3 lead which he took to punish the poor mistake from Selby.

The first proper scoring of the second session was done by Ronnie O’Sullivan, but he missed a tough black on 10 and left a chance for Selby and he accumulated 24 before missing a tough red himself to the middle. Ronnie therefore was back at the table and scoring and a run of 40 left Mark Selby only being able to clear for a re-spot with two reds remaining. Ronnie potted the next red however, and was able to do enough to secure his 6-3 lead. A magnificent pot to the baulk corner from O’Sullivan had him straight back amongst the balls in frame ten. A break of 52 followed to put Ronnie in a commanding position 57 ahead with 75 remaining. Mark Selby was able to get the next chance to put some points together, and he cleared the remaining reds and the yellow in a break of 42 before playing safe on the green which was on the side cushion. However, it was O’Sullivan that eventually potted green and brown to extend his lead to four frames at 7-3. After a fluke at the start of frame eleven, Selby had a chance to build an early advantage in the frame, but he could only make 18 from it and was really struggling to make big breaks so far in this match. An unfortunate miss at a middle distance red on the stretch from Selby, Ronnie was in again with an opening to build a commanding position.  A break of 63 was enough for the Rocket to make it four frames in a row and all three at the start of this session to lead Selby 8-3. Mark did have a good opportunity at the start of the twelfth and he made his highest break of the match so far, although when the run ended on 55 it still wasn’t a frame winner, leading by 56 with 67 available. A missed long pot and in-off in one shot from Ronnie though did seal his fate and Mark pulled a frame back to trail 4-8 at the mid-session break.

Following that interval, Selby was in first making a break of 20 before he knocked a red in going into the pack from the black, but the split wasn’t good anyway and nothing was left for O’Sullivan. When Selby got the next chance a break of 43 should’ve been enough to win the frame, but some snookers from Ronnie meant he could win again. Ronnie potted the final red but when the green went in with it, Selby was left a free ball potting brown, to get on the yellow and this time he did do enough to make it 5-8. A nicely played red from range got O’Sullivan going again in frame fourteen, and after some quality recovery pots, he was soon in prime position to win the frame in one visit and he did that with a 131 total clearance to move four ahead at 9-5, and guarantee a lead going into Bank Holiday Monday. Ronnie got in first in frame fifteen too, and a good long blue early on kept his break going. Yet again, O’Sullivan killed the frame off in one visit as a run of 87 made it 10-5 with two frames left in the session that you felt Selby really needed to win both of. After a couple of failed attempts out of a snooker from O’Sullivan, it was Selby that had the first scoring opportunity. He needed to make it count but a break of 17 was simply not good enough. A fabulous long range red have O’Sullivan the next opening but an uncharacteristic miss on the black on 9, let Selby back in much quicker than he’d have expected. A run of 58 from this point was more than enough for Selby to make it 6-10 with a frame to play in the session, but he desperately needed to follow it up. After a long period of safety and a missed long red from O’Sullivan in frame seventeen, all of a sudden Selby had a golden opportunity to, at the very least, build a big lead. Given the pressure on it and the amount of balls he had to knock in down the bottom cushion, the break of 62 that followed was magnificent and more than enough for Selby to escape from the session only three frames behind at 7-10.

As we entered the second day of the final, and the third session of the match, a long pot from O’Sullivan got the scoring going for the first time on the day. He managed 32 from his first visit before losing position after failing to split into the pack nicely. After a long period of safety sending reds up the table, it was O’Sullivan that made the mistake giving Mark Selby his first opportunity of the day. From there Selby manufactured a break of 59 which was enough for him to close the gap to just a couple of frames now at 8-10. After giving away 22 points in fouls to Ronnie at the start of frame nineteen, Selby had the first proper scoring visit but 11 was all he could before losing position. Mark had the next chance shortly after and a break of 52 left O’Sullivan only being able to force a re-spot with three reds left and when he missed a tough first black that was four frames in a row for Selby to close to one behind at 9-10. After early chances for both players in the twentieth frame, Mark looked to have a big opportunity with the reds open after playing a good snooker behind the yellow. This time a contribution of 74 put him back on terms with Ronnie in this match at 10-10. Both players had early bites of the cherry early on in the final frame before the mid-session break in a frame that turned very scrappy. Selby had the best contribution in the middle of the frame with a break of 28 followed by a good snooker behind the brown left Selby 27 ahead with 51 remaining. The next chance went to Mark as well after a nice red from range gave him the chance with the remaining reds in the middle of the table to kill off the frame. He missed the final red however with a 34 point lead and just 35 left. O’Sullivan got the better of the final red but needed the black to win the frame without getting snookers and when he missed it that was frame over and a complete turnaround in this final was complete as Selby from 5-10 had made it 11-10.

After the mid-session interval, Mark Selby pocketed the first chance to build up some points, but a miss using the rest on 36, sent the same chance over to Ronnie with the reds in decent positions. A break of 50 put him in the driving seat, yet he was only 14 points in front when he missed the final red, but he won the safety battle on it to go 22 points ahead on the yellow. Both players had attempts at the yellow, but Ronnie missed the easiest one and left everything on for Selby. The green shouldn’t have been a problem for Selby but he missed it nonetheless, but Ronnie did too before a safety battle on the green began. When a long green went in for Ronnie though, the tensest frame of the match so far went to him as the match was levelled once again at 11-11. Mark Selby had the first chance of frame twenty-three scoring 25 ahead of an unsuccessful cannon into the black and reds that saw the black fly in. The Jester had the next opening as well and he added another 19 as the frame started to turn a little scrappy. After a very long bout of safety, Ronnie had the next opportunity he could only make 6 as Selby led by 31 with 67 remaining. A hit and hope snooker escape opened a lot of reds up for Ronnie to chip away at Selby’s lead and he cleared the remaining reds and laid a snooker behind the black to trail by 2 with 27 left on. Three misses out of the snooker put O’Sullivan 10 ahead now. A brilliant long pot on the yellow, and some earlier foul points left Selby 4 behind, but he won the battle on the green as well to go 1 behind with 22 on. Pots on the brown and blue left Ronnie needing a simple pink to the middle to win the frame but somehow he missed it and Selby potted the pink and black, followed by a fist pump and a celebratory cue bang as he knew how big that frame was, to go 12-11 in front at what became the end of the session two frames early to give the players a fair break before the evening session just an hour and a half away.

After a disappointing afternoon for O’Sullivan, he would’ve been looking for something big to get him back on track at the start of the final session. A brilliant long ball gave him that chance straight away and he was into the reds on 20 getting the perfect split and a golden chance to win the frame in one visit. A break of 100gave him the start he needed to level the match at 12-12. A very well spotted plant from Selby got him underway in the final session in frame twenty-five. Once into the bunch on 16 it looked like a very good chance for Mark to find the perfect response to Ronnie’s ton. However, he only managed 34 before losing position. A fantastic long pot gave O’Sullivan the next attempt at trying to win the frame, but he failed to make the cannon he wanted and his break ended on 24. A good snooker from Selby ended up giving him the next chance and he didn’t need much more to win the frame, but he missed frame ball pink. Eventually, Selby was able to pot the red he needed to win the frame and go in front again at 13-12. A superbly cued red from range gave Mark the first chance in the next but a missed brown cut him short on 23. The next chance was O’Sullivan’s following a red into the baulk corner, but awkward cueing on a tough black caused him to miss on 25. After a long period of safety with the black covering one of the corner pockets, Mark was left an opening but could only make 9 from it. It wasn’t long before he was let back in again and he cleared the remaining reds to take the frame and give himself a little bit of breathing space at 14-12. Mark had the first chance in frame twenty-seven but could only make 23 before failing to land on one from his split of the pack, and his next chance only amounted another 10 before falling the same way. When a third opportunity was thrown his way, he knew he had to take it and turned it into a frame winning chance as he made it three frames in a row to lead 15-12 at the final mid-session interval and he was now well into his stride in this match, as demonstrated by the latest break of 56.

The first chance from the break went to Ronnie after another top quality long pot got him going, but he ran out of position on a colour on 30 and missed a very tough blue but was lucky to leave everything safe. Another top quality red soon after to the middle got him back scoring and this time he clinched the frame with a run of 49 making it 13-15. A superb long red under pressure at the start of the next with all of the reds open, gave Selby a golden opportunity to build a big lead. He left himself further away from his intended red on 29 though and the miss left Ronnie the golden opportunity that Mark had had, but the tension started to show when he missed a simple enough yellow on 15. He added 18 before missing a very tough red to the middle, leaving the Rocket in again. By now the table was looking very tricky for any kind of clearance and it all came down to a safety battle on the final four reds with Selby ahead by 24 points. Ronnie made the next red with the blue before missing again, yet he quickly had another bite of the cherry and fantastic pots on the final reds and the yellow allowed the defending champion to clear and close the gap to just a frame at 14-15. Following the loss of the last two frames, Mark would’ve been looking to steady the ship, and a good long pot gave him that chance in frame thirty. When his split worked out nicely on 36, it looked like a perfect frame winning opening now. A beautiful contribution of 127 allowed him to do just that and go two clear again at 16-14. O’Sullivan was first in the thirty-first frame but a split from the green didn’t work out and he only managed 10 points from it. A mistake from Ronnie soon after left the Jester a big opportunity to build up plenty of points. He did exactly that again as he could sense the chance to try and kill Ronnie off in this match and a superb break of 87 was enough to put him a frame away from his first world title at 17-14. At the point of no return, Ronnie O’Sullivan knew he had to produce something special and a pretty special long pot got the ball rolling in the thirty-second, but he lost good black ball position on just 15 and was forced into playing safe. An unlucky shot from Selby in a tricky position left Ronnie the next opening as well, and he looked in a good place to pull a frame back until a poor positional shot on 41 left him 56 in front with just 67 left. Mark Selby had the next opportunity in this frame with a brilliant pot down the top cushion, before a shot on the blue sending the cue ball around the table and into the two reds by the pink was one of the shots of the tournament and left him in a superb position. The final two reds with the green on the bottom cushion looked like being an issue but a good shot from the black brought the first of those out, but he missed it at a tricky distance and the break was cut short on 22, trailing by 34 with 43 on. A brilliant long pot saw Selby pot the first of the final two reds, but he couldn’t get nicely on a colour to split the final red on the bottom cushion so he laid a snooker trailing by 29 with 35 on. A brilliant pot came soon after from Mark on the final red, leaving a good angle on the black to get on the yellow as well. The green was still in an awkward position and it took superb positional shots from yellow to green and then green to brown to keep the break alive. Again a good shot was needed from blue to pink with the rest but he played it to perfection and followed with pink and black to complete a superb 35 clearance and win the World Championship by beating Ronnie O’Sullivan which of course got a brilliant reaction from Mark who was elated, along with his family on the balcony. What a brilliant fight back it was from Selby to win thirteen of the last seventeen frames in order to take the title and who knows how many could be to come for Selby now.


That match had everything including a turnaround on the second day that most people within the game wouldn't have thought possible after the opening day that Selby had had and his opponent in Ronnie O'Sullivan. Tomorrow then it's the finale as I reveal the winner of my classic matches of 2014 list, but who will take the spoils?

Cue Action Blog FANTASY SNOOKER LEAGUE 2015

After having the idea over the Christmas period I've decided to start a fantasy snooker league for 2015 which will encompass all of the snooker tournaments in 2015 on the World Snooker calendar and is of course free for everybody to join in and have some fun. Of course with every fantasy league comes a certain set of rules that need to be upheld for things to work, and inspired by the old fantasy snooker site from a couple of years ago, here are mine:

-          £8 million pounds will be given to players for every tournament (put into an overall account which will be 8 million multiplied by the number of known events as of 4^th January 2015) right from the Championship League snooker to the UK Championships in December.

-          No more than two players can be picked for a single event, though a minimum of one player must also be picked.

-          Money to be spent on players does roll over to the next tournament, encouraging players to be smart with their money and selections.

-          The Triple Crown events (Masters, World Championships and UK Championships) will be double points due to the events prestige and to encourage more smart play for these events.

-          Points scoring will not include amateur qualifiers in European Tour events, wildcard round matches or rounds of ranking events that are classed as qualifiers on the official World Snooker calendar

-          Points will be based on performances including match wins, centuries, frame winning difference and overall tournament performance.

-          All picks must be with me  (Tournament Director) before the start time of the first match of the professional stages of an event.

-          All players will be priced based on their seeding given at the start of the event.

-          Only professional players can be picked for events as amateur players have no ranking.

-          The league is purely for fun with no set prize (unless I come up with one once the winner is announced or a prize is donated).


Not the most complicated set of rules, but if you do have any questions please comment on the bottom of the blog or tweet me @CueActionBlog and if you think certain other rules need to be implemented that I haven't thought of, again feel free to contact me in the above ways.


Meanwhile, these are the ways in which points will be scored in the 2015 Fantasy Snooker League:

-          5 points for each match won in a tournament.

-          2 bonus points for every century made in a tournament.

-          2 bonus points if a match is won by a three frame aggregate or greater (For example a 4-1 win in a PTC event would therefore get the 2 bonus points as the match was won by 3 clear frames).

-          Losing tournament semi-finallists get 2 bonus points, losing tournament finallists 5 bonus points, and tournament winners 10 points.

-          Highest tournament break earns 2 bonus points.

-          A maximum 147 break earns 5 bonus points.
 As with the rules, if you have any points scoring queries or other points scoring ideas you think I could implement feel free to contact me in the ways that I mentioned earlier.

It's time now for me to price up the first couple of events for the Fantasy League so you can make your picks as quickly as you like or leave it until you have seen my written previews if that gives you a better idea of things.

Championship League 1 (A combination of groups 1 and 2) DEADLINE MONDAY 5TH JANUARY at 12pm

Neil Robertson - £5.5 million
Barry Hawkins - £5.3 million
Judd Trump - £5 million
Stuart Bingham - £4.9 million
Marco Fu - £4.7 million
Shaun Murphy - £4.6 million
Stephen Maguire - £4.5 million
Ali Carter - £4.4 million
Robert Milkins - £4 million
Michael Holt - £3.5 million 

The Masters - DOUBLE POINTS - DEADLINE SUNDAY 11TH JANUARY 2015 1PM

Ronnie O'Sullivan - £6 million
Mark Selby - £5.8 million
Ding Junhui - £5.6 million
Neil Robertson - £5.5 million
Barry Hawkins - £5.3 million
Mark Allen - £5.1 million
Judd Trump - £5 million
Stuart Bingham - £4.9 million
Ricky Walden - £4.8 million
Marco Fu - £4.7 million
Shaun Murphy - £4.6 million
Stephen Maguire - £4.5 million
Ali Carter - £4.4 million
Joe Perry - £4.3 million
John Higgins - £4.2 million
Robert Milkins - £4 million


To sign up to be in the league simply comment on this post or tweet or Direct Message me over Twitter @CueActionBlog to express an interest and then select your players before the deadlines for the two events by contacting me in the same ways and please make it clear which players you have picked for each event.


Otherwise, thanks for reading and if you are thinking of joining the lead I hope this all made sense to you.

Moment of the Month: October: Carter wins on return in Hong Kong

I promised yesterday that my moment of the month for October would be one very special moment indeed and that moment was Ali Carter's win on return to snooker at the Hong Kong Exhibition Cup, and it really was a brilliant moment for Ali to come back and do that. Here is exactly what happened a long with some special words of my own on the inspiration that is Ali Carter:

It’s no secret to us snooker fans the horrible things that Ali Carter has had to go through in recent years, and the torrid times continued for Carter during the middle of the year. After beating Testicular cancer in the second half of 2013, whilst also suffering from Chrones Disease for some time now, which has made travelling to events in China very difficult because of the dietary changes that you have to make when you have the disease, Ali received the horrible news again after the World Championships in May that he now had Lung cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments to fight cancer off for a second time, Ali was able to make his return to the practise table in the Autumn as he built up the strength to return to competition once again. Carter’s return was at first planned for the Bulgarian Open in early October, but after pulling out of that one he made his comeback after a last minute invitation into the Hong Kong Exhibition Cup taking place from the 13^th-18^th of October. The event isn’t officially licensed by the WPBSA but it is certainly still a tournament that is well respected by World Snooker and the players that enter it, and by us fans as well.

The format of the event sees is that the 8 players entered are split into two groups of four where each player in the group plays each of the other three players once, before the top 2 in each group move into the semi-finals. That gave Ali the opportunity to play three matches over the best-of-7 frames to make his comeback and see how things go, which was especially nice to do in a small invitation with no threat to his ranking (which has actually been frozen at 13 until the end of the season).

His campaign started off against home man Marco Fu in a match Ali won convincingly 4-1 to make a dream start to the event in a performance that included three breaks of 55. Next up for the Captain was Shaun Murphy who won his opening game and was at the top of his game after taking the title a week or so before in Bulgaria. On that occasion Murphy was the victor 4-1 with a top break of 92, while Carter did manage a break of 63 in the frame he was able to win. That left Carter with a winner takes all match in the final round robin game against Liang Wenbo. Liang was off to the perfect start taking an early 2-0 advantage thanks to big contributions of 90 and 107. Ali hit back though winning all of the next four frames including runs of 70 and 105 himself to beat Wenbo 4-2, and take 2^nd place in Group B with two wins and a loss.

That meant that Ali played Mark Davis in the semi-finals over the best-of-11 frames and I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one who was desperate to see Carter win and make the final. Mark is a very tough opponent, and has a good record out in Asia, but on this occasion Ali was able to beat him quite comfortably 6-2 with a high break of 139 to put himself into the final where he would play his good friend Shaun Murphy once again after Shaun beat Joe Perry 6-5 in the other semi-final. The final was played over the best-of-13 frames which was split into mini sessions of six and seven frames. The first six frames of the final were shared as they ended the first mini session at 3-3 with breaks of 68 and 112 for Ali who had led both 2-0 and 3-1. Having won the final two frames of the first session, Shaun then won the first two of the next to move 5-3 in front, but Carter hit back in style to level the match at 5-5 thanks to breaks of 69 and 99. A contribution 54 put Shaun Murphy one ahead with two to play at 6-5, but Ali forced the decider with a very timely break of 101, and when his chance came in the decider he took to produce the “perfect result” as he took the Hong Kong Exhibition Cup title beating Shaun Murphy 7-6 in a win that the twice World Championship runner-up classed as one of the biggest of his career so far on his comeback to the game having beaten cancer again in what he tweeted was the biggest match of his life before undergoing his first treatment.

In fact, Carter’s tweets have been inspirational to all snooker fans, myself included because it really does help to put everything that goes on in life into perspective as Ali said that it has for him. He has now realised that snooker isn’t the most important thing in his life, and that nothing that goes on in snooker anymore can affect him and he has nothing to fear from the game anymore having been through what he has. That’s why I’m sure that Carter can win more professional titles before his career is over, because he has nothing else to prove now having won the biggest battle of his career and that is perhaps why he was able to win again so soon after his return. Ali Carter’s tweets and comments are the reminder to us that snooker is just a game and the small problems we have in life are nothing compared to what others have to go through, as well as the fact that we should think before moaning to others about our own pointless issues because you never know what other people have going on.

That quite simply is why Ali Carter’s victory on return to action in Hong Kong is my moment of the month for October because of the other battles he’s won just to get back playing the game.

 

That moment is one of the main contenders for my snookering moment of the year in 2014, but there are still two more to reveal from November and December so be sure to stick around for those before I reveal the final rankings.

Player of the Month: October: Oli Lines

As you would expect and have seen so far the contenders for in my player of the year countdown have all been players right up there at the top of the rankings but my next contender and October's Player of the Month is very much a rising star in Oliver Lines. So, here are my thoughts on the young man:

My pick for player of the month in October was a young man that is certainly shining in his first season on the professional tour, most impressively making the final of the second Asian Tour event of the season in mid October. He also made the Last 32 of the Bulgarian Open, and probably should’ve gone further losing a decider to Ricky Walden having been dominating the match in the early stages after convincing wins over Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski on the same day. Over at the Asian Tour event 2 he beat a couple of Chinese amateurs to get going before victories over Zhou Yuelong, Mike Dunn, Ryan Day and Jimmy Robertson before eventually losing out to Stuart Bingham. It’s clear that Oliver is an incredible young talent as he has shown with his performances in just half a year on tour, and I expect him to grow into a strong top 64 player after his first 2 years having earned the tour card.

To pick a selection of his best displays in those 2 events in October is always tough because he played well in almost every game, but here’s a few that I think stand out:

Ricky Walden 4-3 Oliver Lines – Oliver Lines was in total control of a top player in Ricky Walden in the early stages of this ET3 Last 32 encounter as breaks of 53 and 56 helped him on his way to the opening couple of frames and a very useful 2-0 advantage. A break of 57 from Oli in the third left him in a brilliant position to go three frames clear, but he missed his chances on the colours and Walden won a key frame to make it 1-2. In true Ricky style, despite not playing his best he was able to grind out the next two frames after Lines appeared to have gone off of the boil and Walden was one away at 3-2. A 25 clearance in a scrappy sixth though for Lines was what forced him a deciding frame, which was some effort after everything that had gone on in the last hour of this match. Both players had early chances in the decider, but again Lines couldn’t take his and a run of 67 from Walden was enough for him to seal the match and teach Oli a bit of a harsh snookering lesson with a remarkable 4-3 victory given how badly he played.

Oliver Lines 4-2 Ryan Day – Things were going better for Lines who had learnt from his mistakes in the ET3 to make the AT2 quarter-finals where he faced a very tough match against Ryan Day, who had made a 147 break at an early stage of the tournament. Oli got off to a good start as a run of 41 helped him to the opening frame, before a 45 from Ryan was enough for him to hit back and level the match at 1-1. A scrappy third was won by Lines and that seemed to give him a lot of confidence along with his earlier victories and he sensed his opportunity and took it with a magnificent 120 break putting him 3-1 in front and a frame from the semi’s. Another scrappy fifth went Days way though, and you had to wonder whether (after what we’d seen earlier in the month) if the comeback was on. The answer was an emphatic no however, as the young man finished off the match and blasted over the line with his second century match as a contribution of 113 put him into the last 4 with a 4-2 win.

To produce such a fine performance after only being on the tour a few weeks having earned his tour card and starting his first professional season 5 months previous, shows the fine young talent and ability that is Oliver Lines. It is clear that he is going to be one of the stars of the future. Having been around a snooker environment throughout his childhood years with his father Peter also being a strong player, it’s easy to see where Oli’s passion for the game and his major childhood influences have come from. As much as it would be great to see Oliver win a tour event early in his career to the lay down an early marker of what is to come, at such an early stage and young age in his career, Lines’ first aim should be to become an established tour player before then kicking on further and further to an elite level, but as I say, he has plenty of years to do so. Coming from a snooker family with his father Peter still being a tour player, and with both practising at the Northern Snooker centre in Leeds, he’s never going to be short of quality practise facilities and opponents as he looks to progress steadily up through the games rankings, and I have no doubt watching this young man that he has plenty of ability and talent which, matched with plenty of hard work and dedication, will turn into big titles in his future. This performance at the AT2 in October just lays down an early marker of what is to come, and his earlier effort to beat World Champion Mark Selby 6-4 in International Championship qualifying from 4-0 down shows already that he can compete with the best in the business.


That's my player of the month for October and there are two more contenders for me to reveal as I look back on November and December before revealing my final order and Player of the Year for 2014.

Classic Matches of 2014 Countdown: 3rd Place: Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Judd Trump (Champion of Champions)

Today we're into the top 3 of my classic matches of 2014 countdown, and this one was a brilliant finale to the Champion of Champions event in Coventry on Sunday 9th November and the perfect final on paper, and it soon turned into that on the baize as well...

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Judd Trump:

A pot from range got Ronnie O’Sullivan’s account going in the first session of this final, and from that opening he constructed a beautiful break of 137 to win the frame, with some nice exhibition shots towards the end of the break. A brilliant red into the baulk corner got Ronnie scoring first again in frame two, and after a superb split of the reds he looked like making another big break. A contribution of 82 did the job this time for O’Sullivan to keep Judd in his seat and make it 2-0. Another good long red gave Ronnie the first chance but when he missed a thin blue, Trump had his first scoring opportunity of the match, but his split came to nothing and the break ended on 31. An incredibly good red to the middle after the safety battle gave Trump a brilliant chance to get on the board. An additional 39 left Ronnie needing a snooker, but he couldn’t manage it and Judd was on the score sheet at 1-2. The first decent opening in frame four fell to Judd, after a well-played red from range, but a tricky missed black on 40 brought his run to an end and let O’Sullivan back to the table amongst the reds. The last red was the only one that was going to cause Ronnie any problems and so it proved, but a break of 47 left him 5 points in front, with a key battle on the final red to come. O’Sullivan fluked the red getting out of a snooker, though he had to play safe on the yellow 13 ahead with 27 on. Judd got the better of that safety battle though potting the yellow, and clearing to square the match at 2-2 at the mid-session interval.

After the break, Ronnie had the first chance to score after a wild missed long attempt from Trump. A run of 50 gave him a nice advantage in the frame. When he came across his next opening however, he didn’t falter and an additional 80 gave him a 3-2 lead. A confident long strike in the sixth got O’Sullivan back in again, and this time he was into the reds early and perfectly and all of the signs were there for another big break. Another 80 for O’Sullivan opened up that two frame advantage again as he went 4-2 ahead now. After an early 18 couldn’t come to more for Ronnie, he was given another much better opportunity soon after, but he only added another 16 to his total. After a very risky pot attempt to the middle from his opponent, Trump was left a very good opening from which to try and build a lead of his own in the frame, yet he could only make 19 and still trailed. A couple of good snookers laid by Judd got him some handy points, and the escape from the second left Judd a good chance to win the frame at that visit with all of the reds open. He cleared to the pink to close the gap to a frame at 3-4 and put Ronnie under some pressure. At the start of frame eight O’Sullivan responded by knocking in another good red from range and again he was into the reds early looking like taking the frame in one break. His contribution of 139 secured him an end of session lead at 5-3 with just one frame remaining in the first session. Judd knew that the final frame of the session was key for him to either end up a manageable 4-5 behind or a slightly bigger climb at 3-6 adrift. It was O’Sullivan who had the best opportunity in frame nine however, and he didn’t pass it up manufacturing yet another century, a 134 this time, to take a 6-3 end of session lead into the evening.

Judd Trump had the first chance of the second session as a sloppy safety from Ronnie left him in amongst the reds, but there was plenty of work to do. He made 56 to lead by 61 before missing an awkward red to middle. O’Sullivan then played an excellent red into the middle switching the chance to him and a clearance of 70 was enough to steal a frame that should’ve been Judd’s and move 7-3 ahead. A superb red down the cushion from Judd got him as he tried to make amends for the previous frame, but instead of splitting the reds from the green on 23 he missed the pack and went in-off. A sublime red from range got the Rocket scoring again, and once more he was into the reds immediately getting the perfect split but he never seemed to be in perfect control of the break and was forced into a safety shot on 40. Ronnie had the next opportunity however, and this time he was in control and another clearance put him into a five frame advantage at 8-3. Trump had a chance in frame twelve but soon surrendered it to O’Sullivan having only made 11. On 9 however, Ronnie ran out of black ball position but because of the lack of safety option he still took it on and left a red for Judd. From that position, Trump was able to cook up a 102 clearance to pull one back at 4-8. When the left hander was in first again in frame thirteen and with the reds split by the time the break was in the thirties you knew that these were the opportunities he had to make full use of. A second century in a row for Judd took him into the interval clinging on to some hope in this match as he was now three frames behind at 5-8.

Following the mid-session, Ronnie played a safety shot too thick and left Trump right down amongst the reds again with a golden opening. A speedy break of 69 did the job this time and he was now only a couple of frames away from Ronnie at 6-8. Another poor safety shot from O’Sullivan in the fifteenth left the Bristolian in again and again a contribution of 90 made it into a frame winner as he closed to just a frame now at 7-8 with four frames in a row. O’Sullivan stroked home a great range red in frame sixteen as he looked to respond to Trump’s barrage of breaks, yet he only produced 8 points before missing a shot to nothing red. Judd made the next safety error though, presenting a very decent opening to Ronnie. A break of 63 was enough for O’Sullivan to go within a single frame of the title now with a 9-7 lead. At the start of frame seventeen Trump took on a speculative long shot and left the very same red on to give O’Sullivan a half chance. From the first black he was straight into the reds and the spread was very kind to the defending champion who certainly had more than half a chance of making this into a match winning break. It was a fantastic finish from Ronnie O’Sullivan making yet another century break (109 this time around) to see off a valiant Judd Trump and defend his Champion of Champions title with a 10-7 victory and an incredibly high scoring and exciting match.


What an amazing match that was without fantastic break-building on display throughout the match from both players and a great fight back in the middle from Judd Trump, only for Ronnie O'Sullivan to find another gear and finish the match in style. They're all brilliant games in this countdown, that's why they're classic matches but the last two of this countdown really are special so be sure to come back and watch out for those.

Moment of the Month: September: Allen gets revenge with awesome Shanghai fightback

After what we saw yesterday in August on my moment of the month countdown with Mark Selby's comeback victory in the Riga Open final against Mark Allen, my September moment of the month saw some revenge for Allen with an awesome come back in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals. This is exactly what happened:

Following on from August’s moment of the month where we saw Mark Selby inflict one of his trademark comebacks, this time on Mark Allen from 3-0 down to win the Riga Open title 4-3, the pair met again and what it produced is quite simply my moment of the month for September by a mile.

It came in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, this time over the best-of-11 frames (rather than their best-of-7 Riga Open final) after Mark Selby overcame Ken Doherty, saw off a big scare against Michael Holt before thrashing Fergal O’Brien to reach the last 4. Meanwhile, Mark Allen was still showing his own fine form after making that Riga Open final and winning the Paul Hunter Classic to beat Andrew Higginson, Mark Williams and see off a valiant Michael White to make the semi-finals himself.

Once into the semi-finals it was one-way traffic in Mark Selby’s favour in the early stages of the match. He won the opening frame thanks to a break of 70 before a fine break of 116 doubled his lead putting him 2-0 up. A nice 52 from Allen in the third helped him onto the board at 1-2, but Selby went into the mid-session break with his two frame cushion again with a break of 47 his highest in the fourth frame. Mark Selby was handed a few chances in the fifth as he went 4-1 ahead and was looking very comfortable indeed. Allen soon had a frame back thanks to a break of 68, but a 71 in the seventh from Selby put him just a frame from the Shanghai Masters final at 5-2.

A scrappy eighth frame where both players had chances could well have been the turning point as Mark Allen tried to spark some sort of a comeback in a style that his opponent has inflicted on many a player over the years, and he won that frame to close to 3-5 and a quick fire break of 115 closed the gap to a single frame at 4-5 and (as Selby did to Allen in Riga) switching the pressure back on to his opponent as Selby would’ve been desperate to seal the match in frame ten. However, he didn’t get his wish and a fine break of 64 from Mark Allen was the deciding factor in taking us to an eleventh and deciding frame for a place in the final, so it’s fair to say the stakes were high. After losing the last three frames in a row, Selby looked very good at the start of the decider with a break of 63 building him a formidable lead. A run of 40 from Allen got him back into it, as the frame eventually went down to the colours. It was Selby that made the error though and Allen was able to finish things off as a final 27 won him the frame and the match as he took all of the last four frames of the match to produce an emphatic comeback and give the master of brinkmanship a taste of his own medicine. It was nice to see Allen get his revenge there and inflict a defeat on Selby that would’ve hurt the World Champion as much as the Riga Open final loss would’ve hurt the Northern Irishman.

 

We're on the home front now of my look back on the best snooker moments of 2014 and what I have for you tomorrow from October was a truly special moment so be sure to come back and have a read of that one.

Player of the Month: September: Stuart Bingham

As I continue my look back on the best players of 2014, today I take a look back on September where my player of the month was Stuart Bingham. These are my thoughts on him:

September was a quiet month for snooker with the Shanghai Masters being the only major tournament on the calendar, but the outstanding performer and eventual winner of the Shanghai Masters was Stuart Bingham. Picking up his second ranking title, Stuart was rampant at times during the week, especially in his 10-3 thrashing of Mark Allen in the final. He was also impressive in his 6-4 defeat of Ding Junhui in the semi-finals having already beaten Li Hang, Dominic Dale and Alan McManus. Stuart didn’t let up at the end of the month either as he made sure of qualification for the International Championship winning a tough match against Michael Wasley 6-4.

This was the best of Stuart Bingham’s September:

Stuart Bingham 10-3 Mark Allen – The final of the Shanghai Masters was an incredibly one sided one in the favour of Bingham as he blasted into a 4-0 advantage early in the piece thanks to breaks of 99, 46 and 68. Contributions of 97, 69 and 41 helped Allen back into it winning three of the next four to only trail 3-5, though Bingham inflicted a killer blow to win the final frame of the session after both players had good chances to do so. After the break between sessions Allen was playing very poorly and Stuart was able to take advantage of the series of chances he was given to win the first two of the session to go two away from the title at 8-3. Finally, breaks of 57 and 81 were enough for Stuart Bingham to finish the job and win the Shanghai Masters final without going to another mid-session interval with a 10-3 demolition job.

Stuart Bingham 6-4 Ding Junhui – Things were much tougher for Ball run in the semi-finals against home favourite Ding Junhui, who took an early 2-0 lead with the help of a well-made 69 in the second. An 87 from Stuart got him back in it before a 45 in the fourth helped Ding to a 3-1 interval lead. After the break, a run of 55 from Bingham closed the gap again at 2-3, before the Chinaman won a scrappy sixth to lead 4-2. From here though Stuart found an extra couple of gears to win all of the next four frames, forging breaks of 63, 59, 41 and 97 to produce a brilliant comeback and win the match 6-4 to get into the final which he won so comfortably.

Stuart Bingham is easily one of the most improved players over the last 3 or 4 seasons and it is simply because of the excellent attitude that he shows towards the game he plays and loves so much. Snooker isn’t just a job for Stuart and, despite how tough it is for him to leave his wife and children for weeks on end at times, he plays in as many events as he possibly can and his success on the Asian Tour in particular is down to the fact that he enters most of these AT events. At the end of the day, to win events you have to be entered in the first place and a lot of players hovering at around the 30 or 40 mark in the rankings could learn from Bingham if they wish to step up to the elite level that he is at now. He has since showed that he has added an element of consistency to his game now thanks to his work with coach Steve Feeney, and sometimes to improve in this game you can’t be afraid to adopt new strategies and techniques. Consecutive semi-finals in the UK Championships is reward for his hard work and dedication to snooker, and the next step for him is to go and win a big UK event having come close in the UK Championships there and the 2013 Welsh Open. All credit though to Stuart though for turning himself into a top player and showing the guys further down the rankings that transition can be made if you do the right things.


Stuart Bingham has to be a strong contender for my overall player of the year award, but there are so many top  contenders and i'll reveal another tomorrow when I look back at October.

Classic Matches of 2014 Countdown: 4th Place: Mark Selby Vs Neil Robertson (World Championships)

Now we're into the really big gun matches of my classic matches countdown in 2014 as we move on to the World Championship semi-final between Mark Selby and Neil Robertson played over Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd May. The match always looked hard to call on paper, but it proved a much tougher to win with the players trading big hits throughout...

Mark Selby Vs Neil Robertson:

Neil Robertson had the first chance of this semi-final with a good long red, but he missed the black off of its spot immediately and left everything for Mark Selby. Mark took full advantage with a break of 65 to take the opener and lead 1-0. Both players had chances in the second frame, the best of which probably went to Mark who made 54 before missing the final red along the cushion, which was frame ball. A fantastic clearance from Robertson including some fabulous pots on the final colours levelled the scores in the early stages at 1-1. Both players had chances again early in frame three, but it was Neil Robertson who had the best one this time after a well-executed red from range and he made 46 to leave Selby needing snookers with three reds left and he got the snooker he needed on the yellow. Robertson potted the yellow to leave Selby needing a snooker again on the green, which again he managed to get but when Neil got a snooker back and played an expert double on the green that was enough for him to win the frame and move 2-1 ahead. Mark had a brilliant chance at the beginning of frame four with the reds split beautifully and the black available to both corners, and it looked like a frame winning chance if he could keep good cue ball control. Mark certainly made the most of his chance with a superb 133 century break making it 2-2 at the mid-session interval.

Following the break, both players had opportunities but couldn’t make very much from them. Mark had the best chance soon after though as Neil left a red over the corner from his safety shot and Mark was able to get on the black from it, and with the reds open it looked like a golden opportunity to win the frame at that visit. He didn’t take full advantage though missing a red on 48 to the middle leaving him 34 ahead with 51 on the table. The next chance fell to Neil and he looked good until missing the final red along the cushion and leaving it for Mark who cleared to take a 3-2 advantage. A red from range got Selby in again in frame six, and he decided to split the pack from the first blue, to give him the best possible chance of making a large contribution. With pink and black out of play however, it was always going to be tough to keep finding position on the blue or one of the baulk colours and on 34 lost position. Robertson had the next opening but had only made 13 when he missed a red along the bottom rail. From the position Robertson left, Selby added 29 which was enough to move 4-2 in front with two frames left of the session. Neil was in first in frame seven after Mark left him a red over the middle, but he missed the black straight away after being put off by someone in the crowd. From what was left Selby managed 18 before losing position after a cannon to the reds and he played safe. Mark had the next brilliant chance and an additional 72 was more than enough for Mark to guarantee an end of session lead, leading 5-2 with one frame to go. Having lost the last three frames in a row, Neil couldn’t afford to lose a fourth on the trot and needed a big response. A missed long red early in the eighth from Mark, left the Australian the chance to do just that. After getting a good split on 44, Neil looked in the mood to make this a frame winning effort. His contribution of 130 ensured that he finished the session only a couple of frames behind at 5-3 to Selby.

The first frame of the second session was scrappy as both players had chances but couldn’t make anything substantial, until Neil got in with 8 reds remaining adding 46 to his score building a 48 point lead with 51 on the table. When Neil was left a chance at the red he needed for the frame he didn’t squander it and was able to close the gap to just a frame at 4-5. Robertson also had the first running in frame ten as Mark fouled and left him an a free ball that he could use to get a good break going and a break of 113 followed to level the match up at 5-5. Neil had the first chance of frame eleven after a thundering long red, but a missed pink on just 13 was somewhat unexpected after the flawless century in the last and Mark Selby would’ve been relieved to in and potting balls. Mark went into the reds taking his break to 8 and by 16 he had the pink back on its spot to make it into a really good opportunity to move ahead again in this match. A break of 53 from Mark was enough to leave Neil needing two snookers, which he couldn’t get so it was 6-5 to Selby. Another crunching red from range gave Neil Robertson the first opening in frame twelve before the mid-session break, but he broke down on 20 missing a tough blue to the corner with awkward bridging. That let Selby in again with the balls nicely situated. However, he also only made 20 after leaving himself awkward on the black so choosing to opt to play the blue over the pocket, but he failed to get back for another red and had to play safe. The Jester had the next couple of chances, as he set about trying to edge into the lead in this frame. The final red was awkwardly situated so he decided to roll up behind the brown from the previous colour, 24 ahead with just 35 remaining. A miss from Robertson left a free ball where Mark potted two pinks to go 35 ahead with 35 on, before playing safe on that final red again. When Mark potted the final red with the pink though that was well and truly frame over as Mark went into the break leading 7-5.

Following the interval, Robertson knocked in yet another emphatic long red to give him the first chance of the frame. The reds were open early but he still had to pick them off well and a break of 72 came from doing just that as Neil pulled one back at 6-7. He had the first chance of frame fourteen as well after a poorly executed safety from Selby, though he missed a tricky red on 11 and left the opening for Mark. He only made 28 from the initial chance, but it wasn’t long before he was back in again, yet a missed pink halted him in his tracks, before Neil left him yet another chance. Yet again though it was bits and pieces for Selby as he missed another difficult red leaving him 36 ahead with 59 on now. Neil couldn’t make any of the tough starters he was left, and each time he was leaving Selby in. This time Mark made it count and left Robertson needing two snookers with two reds left, which he didn’t get putting Selby 8-6 in front with two frames left in the session. Once more in frame fifteen, Neil made a superb red from range to give himself the initial bite of the cherry, repeating the pattern somewhat though he only made 19 before having to play safe. A superb all or nothing plant from Mark Selby earned him the next scoring visit and as part of playing the plant, all of the reds were at his mercy. A break of 64 left him just a couple of balls from getting past the post, but he played his intended cannon to the wrong ball and had to play safe. With three reds left and a 44 point deficit Robertson was incredibly unlucky to pot a long red, go around the table with the cue ball and in off to leave himself needing two snookers to win the frame, but that was all academic when Selby chipped in a brilliant red of his own from the ball in hand to guarantee an end of session advantage at 9-6 ahead with one more frame to play. The last frame of the session was key even at a very early stage of the match, and Selby had the first opportunity. He made 53 before missing a black off of the spot and that could’ve been a crucial mistake with the frame being his for the taking. That let Neil back to the table. Once he chipped the awkward red out into the open he looked set to clear and steal the frame to get himself back into this match and that is exactly what he did with a run of 61 to close the gap to two at the end of the session at 7-9 to Selby.

In third session of the match, Mark Selby had an early chance with plenty of reds open to build a commanding lead. A fantastic clearance of 104 from Mark put him a good position in this match now at 10-7. Neil Robertson needed a response, and a good long red gave him the first chance to do so in frame eighteen and he made it into a full chance with a break of 85 to make the gap two again at 8-10. The nineteenth frame was very much a scrappy one, though it was Neil Robertson who did most of the early running. After a couple of half chances, he eventually got a full chance mid-way through the frame. It was still a difficult table but he did manage to make enough from those chances to go 60 points ahead with 75 remaining. The next opportunity fell to Mark after a well-executed plant, yet the balls were still very tricky to make a clearance, though he did well until deciding not to risk the pot on the final red and playing safe with a 22 point deficit. Mark took the long pot on, but when he rattled it in the jaws it was left for Robertson and he was able to do enough to leave Mark needing a snooker on the yellow, but he wasn’t able to get it so the Australian closed to within a frame of Selby at 9-10. Neil Robertson was let in first again in frame twenty after Selby missed a half chance at a red with the rest. 13 was all he managed however, as he missed the blue from its spot. With the blue running safe though and the black, pink and even brown out of play for now the chance left for Mark wasn’t going to be easy, and he played safe early on. After a long period of safety play, Selby let Robertson back in around the reds , and he cleared down to the final red leaving Selby needing two snookers which was plenty for Robertson to level the match up at 10-10 going into the mid-session interval.

Following the break, a missed red from range by Selby gave the initial opening in frame twenty-one to his opponent. He made 36 before losing his position on a colour and playing safe. Mark had the next opportunity though with the reds very nicely placed after a nicely picked out long pot. A superb break of 73 regained him his advantage going 11-10 up. After chances for both players early on in frame twenty two, but Mark had the best of those chances mid-way through. A break of 49 to go with the earlier points the Jester had accumulated, was enough for him to take the frame and move into a two frame advantage again at 12-10. A confident red from range got Neil in first in the twenty-third frame, and when he split the reds from the first blue he looked in a position where could make at least 50 points. He made 64 before having to go into the remaining reds, but he failed to land nicely on one and played safe up the table. Selby had the next opportunity and cleared the remaining reds with a run of 39 before missing the yellow leaving him 25 ahead with 27 on. After a Selby foul and Robertson potting the yellow though, Selby was left needing snookers and Robertson pulled a frame back to trail 11-12. Looking to level the match going into the final session, Neil crunched in yet another long red to get himself in at the business end. He made 37 before missing the black off of its spot going into reds, but luckily for him he wouldn’t have landed on a red anyway, so a safety battle commenced. With the balls spread across the table, a missed red to the middle from Selby looked like costing him the frame and it did as a break of 40 was enough for him to close out the session and level the game at 12-12.

The beginning of the fourth session saw a large period of safety and chances for both players until Neil Robertson stroked in a beautiful long pot to give himself an opportunity with plenty of reds in the open. He made the most of it too as a run of 74 put him in front at 13-12. A brilliant long pot on a red in baulk again gave Neil the first opportunity of frame twenty-six. He made it to 40 in the break before losing position splitting the bunch and playing safe. Soon after Mark crunched in his own red from range and when he went into the pack he was successful in splitting the reds and landing on one, developing it into a frame winning opening. A break of 79 followed as Mark levelled the match again at 13-13. The first decent chance in frame twenty-seven went to Mark again after Neil left him a tempter to the middle which Selby played to perfection, but he could only make 14 before losing position. He didn’t have to wait long for his next chance however, and this time he only added 7 before missing a tough red. Selby had the next chance as well though after Robertson left Selby being able to see the red over the corner. This time he put himself into a 46 point lead but still with 59 points available. Neil potted the next red with a blue to go 40 adrift with 51 on the table, but when Selby potted the next couple of reds that was enough to put him ahead in the match again at 14-13. The frame before the interval was now key as Neil Robertson looked to square the match up again and he had the first good chance to do so. A well worked break of 53 was enough to leave Mark needing snookers which he couldn’t get so the match was level again at 14-14.

After the break, Robertson was in first but he went in-off after splitting the pack from the black on 1 and that left a great chance for Selby to capitalise. A break of 77 ensured that he did to go 15-14 in front. A fantastic shot at the start of frame thirty from Selby to pot a red over the corner, split into the bunch and land perfectly on the black gave Mark Selby the ultimate early opportunity. A break of 54 gave him a nice 48 point lead but there was still plenty left if the Australian got his chance. Mark was back in next however, and an additional 16 looked like being enough and it was as Selby was a frame from victory now at 16-14. Mark had the first opening once more in frame thirty-one as he looked to build a nice platform from which he could try and seal the match in this frame. He only made 14 though before running out a position and a confident red from range gave Robertson the next chance. Once the reds were well split he looked like winning the frame and his 103^rd century break of the season secured it with a contribution of 108 closing the gap to just a frame with a possible two to play trailing 15-16. In frame thirty-two Selby made a good pot to grab the first opportunity, seeking out the frame he needed without going to a decider. From this chance he made into a full opportunity with 74 leaving Robertson snookers he couldn’t get and Mark Selby was into the World Championship final with a fantastic 17-15 victory.

 

What a superb and close match that was between two such evenly matched players throughout the four sessions, and it was a match that neither one really deserved to lose and could've easily been a World Championship final itself. That match will take some topping so you know that the top 3 will have been even more impressive. Be sure to come back tomorrow and find out who takes 3rd place.

Moment of the Month: August: Selby wins in Riga with another classic comeback

As we roll on through the months looking back at my favourite snooker moments of 2014 it's time to take a stop in August where my moment of the month was Mark Selby's Riga Open final comeback against Mark Allen. This was my take on it:

Mark Selby is certainly a man that you would pick, if you had to pick a player to make a big comeback in a match when he was on the brink. That was exactly what he was able to do back in August against Mark Allen to win the Riga Open and become my pick for the moment of the month for August.

To make the final Mark Selby had beaten Ian Burns, Mike Dunn and Jimmy Robertson earlier on in the tournament before victories over Aditya Mehta, Peter Ebdon and Barry Hawkins earlier on, on the Sunday to make it into the final. Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw Mark Allen had overcome Ryan Causton, Anthony Hamilton and Ben Woollaston in the early stages before further wins against Mark Williams, Sean O’Sullivan and Anthony McGill to set up the final against Selby.

When the final came around it was the in-form Mark Allen that got off to the perfect start in the match as a run of 74 put him 1-0 ahead in the best-of-7 final,  as they always are on the European Tour. It looked like Mark Selby was going to level the match when he was on a break of 54 in the second but when he broke down and Allen got his chance he was able to make it 2-0 by stealing the frame with a 56 contribution. The third frame was pretty even and again, went down to the colours and again it was Allen who won the battle and looked to be strolling along to victory at 3-0.

That though was where the switch flicked for Mark Selby as it always seems to when he’s staring defeat in the face and he finds that extra gear. A break of 65 did the job for the World Champion in frame four for him to get on the score sheet, before a fine century in the fifth would’ve had Mark Allen worried in his chair as he certainly knows what Selby is capable of. In frame six a break of 62 got Selby over the line and he was now playing some of his best snooker in the tournament, having relaxed possibly from the feeling that defeat was near and the pressure being on Allen to win it. In the decider, Allen had the first opportunity but he couldn’t make enough from it and when Selby was left in a break of 63 was the catalyst for him taking the frame and the match completing a fantastic turnaround with a 4-3 victory to win the Riga Open European Tour one event.

How does Mark Selby keep producing these wonderful moments and unbelievable comebacks? Is it simply the refusal to lose a match if he can do anything at all about it? Or does he simply relax and loosen up to play his best snooker, pressure free, by feeling that all is lost in the match? Well only Mark Selby could explain it, but he does it time and time again proving rightly so that he is one of the very best in the business, and one of the toughest men to finish off. 

 

What another key and amazing moment that was in the snooker year of 2014, and there's more in that vain to come tomorrow when I reveal my best moment of September, so be sure to come back and have a look out for that.

Player of the Month: August: Mark Allen

As I continue my countdown of the best players of 2014 it's time to take a look back at August where the on song player throughout the tournaments in the month was Northern Ireland's Mark Allen. These were my thoughts on him:

Mark Allen’s efforts in August on tour were by far the most impressive, earning him my pick for August’s player of the month. In the opening European Tour event (the Riga Open) he lost 4-3 in the final against Mark Selby (having been 3-0 ahead), after beating Ryan Causton, Anthony Hamilton, Ben Woollaston, Mark Williams, Sean O’Sullivan and Anthony McGill. The second European Tour event, the Paul Hunter Classic at the back end of August he managed to go one better taking the title with victories against Lee Walker, Alex Borg, Luca Brecel, Robert Milkins, Alan McManus and Rod Lawler before overcoming Judd Trump in the final.

These were some of the defining moments of Mark Allen’s August:

Mark Selby 4-3 Mark Allen – In the final of the first European Tour event of the season Mark Allen met World Champion Mark Selby who was in fine form just as Allen was. Allen was in total control during the early stages of this match with a break of 74 making it 1-0, before he doubled his lead with a run of 56 (after a 54 from Selby) and with two chances in the third frame he made it 3-0 and went just a frame from the Riga Open title. As ever though Selby battled back into the match winning the fourth with a break of 65 before a century left him just a frame behind at 2-3. A contribution of 62 in the sixth was enough for the Jester to force a decider. In the decider Allen had the first chance but only made 33 and the 63 that followed from Selby was the key factor in him winning the frame and the match 4-3 from 3-0 behind, an incredibly disappointing result for Allen.

Mark Allen 4-2 Judd Trump – When Mark Allen got his chance again in the final of the Paul Hunter Classic he didn’t want to let it go, and was desperate to finish off the weekend in style. After a break of 52 in the first from Trump, Allen was able to come back and win the frame on the black. That didn’t faze Judd though as he hit back with a run of 92 to make it 1-1. The next two frames didn’t have the same kind of quality scoring but they were shared for the scores to be level at 2-2. It wasn’t clear cut again in frame five for either player but a break of 49 from the Northern Irishman to move a frame from victory again at 3-2. This time though he did complete the job and get his victory on the European Tour after missing out last time, taking his first chance in frame six as a break of 88 was enough for Allen to win the match 4-2 and take the Paul Hunter Classic title.

Mark really is a fantastic scorer when in amongst the balls and he is starting to show that more and more now. His record in the European Tour events is brilliant as he showed when winning consecutive ET titles in 2013 and again in August with his runner-up and winning performances in the first two events securing a high seeding for the Tour finals which he has definitely qualified for. The job now for a player of Allen’s huge ability is to start taking this form into full ranking events and adding to his two World Open titles. Later on in the year he did make the Shanghai Masters final and the International Championship final, but he would’ve been gutted to lose both of those playing against players of similar ability to him. However, you feel the signs are there that Mark is improving in all aspects of his game and working harder at his snooker as he comes closer and closer to winning more big titles, and he now needs to transfer this to events in the UK where he hasn’t quite been as prolific, and the Masters event first thing in the New Year would be a brilliant time to make that step up.

 

Mark Allen has certainly had a brilliant time of things in the back half of 2014, but has he done enough to become my Player of the year? Well, there are plenty more contenders for that title and i'll reveal another tomorrow as I look back on September.