Monday, 26 February 2018

LIVE BLOG: Jimmy White vs Yan Bingtao

Yan Bingtao 4-3 Jimmy White - How do you answer the best player in the world saying you have no bottle? Come back from 3-1 down and make a century in the decider. A magnificent 110 break gets Yan Bingtao over the line for a deserved victory. Looked the best of the two among the balls and goes on to the last 64 where he'll face Kurt Dunham.

This is an excellent chance now and should be a match winner. Yan deserves all he gets after opening the reds in the twenties and smashing in a good blue to follow.

Deciding Frame - White attempts red into the middle and leaves it for Yan who has the first chance in this final frame. He'll be looking to build a good lead here at the very least.

Frame Yan - Yan made 58 before playing safe after not landing on the two awkward reds. A long range miss from White though leaves him straight back in to finish off the frame and force a decider here on table 3. 3-3

White broke down on 31 and a little while after Yan earns a chance to counter. The balls are in good positions largely though two reds on the side cushion will need some work.

Frame 6 - First chance in the sixth falls to White after Yan rattles a red along the bottom rail. A difficult black for Jimmy keeps the break going and this is now a decent chance.

Frame Yan - Swift work from Yan as expected closes this frame out comfortably in one visit. When he's been given the chances early in frames he's looked good. A run of 69 closes the gap. 3-2 White

Frame 5 - White was in first but missed the blue with the rest, going into the reds and has now left a good opening for Yan to stay in the match.

Frame White - Not been sparkling from White but he's getting the job done. Yan's frustrations beginning to show after the missed chance and the Whirlwind is one away. 3-1 White.

A missed long pot from White has given Yan an excellent chance to come back and steal this frame to level the match, but he misses an easy black, slumps onto and then punches the table.

From the snooker Yan leaves what was still a difficult rest shot along the side cushion, but White gets it and has another opportunity but cannot get over the line yet in this frame.

Another chance comes following a fluke but he loses position only to play an exceptional snooker. He's definitely using his experience so far.

Frame 4 - White in first but his cannon into the pack doesn't go as planned and his break ends on 13. A couple of shots later he plays an excellent safety and looks to have the upper hand on that front this evening.

Frame Yan - He's really played himself into the game now and has looked much more solid in this break. It ends on 80 with a missed green but importantly he's on the board. 2-1 White

Yan has put the hard work in now in this break and should get the reward for it. He's going to have his first frame of the day by the end of this break.

Frame 3 - Yan needs to get a foothold here and quickly. He's had a couple of half chances but things have not fallen. He's staying patient though, and now has a much better opening.

Frame White - An additional 29 is more than enough for Jimmy to win a frame he had control of throughout. Yan goes off to the toilet scratching his head. Plenty to think about for him, nothings working so far. 2-0 White.

This should be Jimmy's frame now, a good long pot followed by a difficult snooker escape for Yan to negotiate give him another great chance and he already had a 33 point lead coming to the table.

Yan still struggling. More poor safety from him has given White a second chance but he just couldn't land on a red from yellow.

Frame 2 - It's a poor safety from Yan this time that leaves White in first in the second frame. However, things go astray on 18 but Yan can't take advantage. The young Chinese player hasn't got going at all yet.

Frame White - An initial break of 64 from White left Yan needing snookers but he only got one further shot before White was back in to clinch the frame. Looking good so far for the Whirlwind. 1-0 White

A few balls have wobbled on their way in for White in this break but he is still going nicely and split the reds well from the pink. This is certainly a golden chance to take the frame.

Frame 1 - First chance to Yan here, who's having a little stretch between pots. A good long red is followed by an equally good green with the rest, both in the heart of the pocket. However, he only gets to 13 before the referee judges him to have fouled a red, most likely with his clothing. Both players then miss but White is in now.

An unexpected third live blog of the day. Think the broadcasters were hoping to get this on the TV table but it hasn't happened for them in terms of time so the two find themselves on table 3.

Jimmy has had some more good wins this season. Most notably defeating Ali Carter in the UK Championship and Anthony McGill in the German Masters qualifiers. Yan Bingtao has been a different animal though this season. Already a finalist in Belfast you would not be surprised to see him lifting a trophy soon, maybe even this week in Cardiff.

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