Moment of the Month: July: Neil Robertson thrills crowd by making consecutive home finals

There have been some spectacular moments already on my moment of the year countdown, and today we go back to July when my moment of the month was Neil Robertson's performance at the Australian Open to reach a second final in two years on home soil. This is how he did it:

The Australian Open was the main action of July in the snooker world, and with a few top players deciding not to enter the event it’s always nice that Australia’s snookering hero Neil Robertson plays every year as you’d expect him to, and for him to make a second consecutive Australian Open final in this year’s tournament was certainly a crowd pleasing moment and my moment of July.

Neil made the final of the 2013 Australian Open before losing out to Marco Fu, so when he got to the final this time around the people of Bendigo were certainly hoping that he would go one better in 2014. Things went perfectly according to plan for the “Thunder from Down Under” in the early stages of the tournament with a 5-2 win over Andrew Higginson in the Last 32, a 5-0 whitewash of Jamie Jones in the Last 16, followed by a 5-2 quarter-final victory over Robert Milkins. In the semi-finals he played Mark Davis and there were no problems for Neil in overcoming that particular test as he beat Mark 6-2 to get into the Australian Open final.

In the final he met Judd Trump who himself had been thrilling the crowd with some fantastic snooker all week, and the fans could certainly expect more of the same in the finale to the weeks snooker. There would certainly have been some extra nerves for Robertson in the match as he tried to win a ranking event in his home country in front of all of his family and friends back in Australia, who he also visited while he was out there. The nerves didn’t show in the early stages as he was level at 3-3 after six frames before Trump went on a blistering spell of five frames in a row either side of the session break to go a frame from victory at 8-3 and Neil could only win the next couple of frames to delay the inevitable before Judd sealed a 9-5 win.

Neil Robertson is a great ambassador for snooker as a hard working player that has got where he is at the top of the work through dedication to his snooker and to keep improving and become the best player he possibly can be. The aim of taking a tournament over to Australia would’ve been to try and produce some more Australian snooker players and for Neil to come home and make consecutive finals will hopefully inspire some young Australians watching on the TV some inspiration to pick up a cue and hopefully take up the game having seen the great successes of one of their own in Neil. If in 10 years we have an Australian player or two coming through the amateur ranks to professional level having been inspired by Robertson than it would’ve made all of the effort worth it I’m sure, as disappointed as he’ll be not to have won his home event… yet. To achieve what he has done though is fantastic and more than worthy of my moment of the month for July.

That was a fantastic moment for Australia's population of snooker players and fans, and there are more crowd pleasers to come tomorrow as we look at August's moment of the month.

Player of the Month: July: Judd Trump

My player of the year countdown has reached the height of summer today, as I take a look back to the month of July where I decided that the stand out player of a quiet snookering month was the Ace in the Pack, Judd Trump. These are my thoughts on his July and why he is a good contender for player of the year:

July was a very quiet month of tour action, mainly as the snooker players were given a bit of time off for the summer, meaning the only event in July was the Australian Open. Judd was the stand out man of the tournament and eventual champion beating home favourite Neil Robertson convincingly in the final 9-6. To get to the final he overcame Rory McLeod, Alan McManus, Ricky Walden and Xiao Guodong, and he certainly looked to be back to his best form throughout the event, making him an incredibly dangerous prospect for the rest of the season (which he’s since proved).

Judd Trump 5-4 Ricky Walden – Ricky Walden had Judd in really deep trouble early on in this match as he led 3-0 with breaks of 104, 72 and 47 to put himself into a very commanding position. Judd has a much improved temperament these days though and he dug in superbly. A fabulous 110 kept him in the match going into the interval before he won a scrappy fifth to close to just a frame behind at 2-3 and that seemed to be the key frame as Judd kicked on in the next with an 86 to level the scores. Unfazed from watching his 3-0 advantage vanish, Walden went one ahead with two to play thanks to a contribution of 80. Ricky looked in a superb position to win the match as a break of 49 had him 45 points ahead in the eighth, but a counter break of 77 from the left  hander took the match into a deciding frame, where Judd only needed one chance with a run of 85 sealing a fantastic comeback victory.

Judd Trump 9-5 Neil Robertson – In the final, Judd was in for a tough match against home crowd favourite Neil Robertson and he’d have known that after all of the tough matches they’d had in the past, particularly their world quarter-final from just a couple of months previous where Robertson came back to make the semi-finals. As I say though, Judd has learned from these tough matches and tight defeats to become an improved player with a better temperament. The first six frames of the final were shared at 3-3 before Judd went on a superb run to win five frames on the trot either side of the session break, with contributions of 55, 114 and 101 helping him to within a frame of victory at 8-3. Breaks of 45 and 109 from Robertson kept the match alive at 5-8 and you had to wonder if a comeback was on, but Judd killed any thoughts of that in the fourteenth frame as a run of 51 helped him take the frame and the title, which was his first since the International Championship in November 2012 20 months ago.

When Judd is on top form he’s one of the best and most exciting players to watch in the game of snooker and he’s certainly turned things around since the beginning of the 2014/2015 season with brilliant performances in the European Tour events and in major events as he showed winning the Australian Open but also in making the Champion of Champions and UK Championship finals as he is a much improved player in all aspects of his game. You can tell from the results and the impact that it’s had on his game that Judd is now focussed on his snooker, and is working as hard now as he’s ever done in his career. If he continues that hard work, with the amount of talent he has, he will win big titles by the bucket full just as idol Ronnie O’Sullivan has in his career and it won’t be long before Mr Trump is a World Snooker Champion.

Judd is certainly one of my top contenders for player of the year, but who will be my next contender as I take a look back at the month of August tomorrow? Well you know where to look to find out.

Classic Matches of 2014 Countdown: 6th Place: Michael Wasley Vs Ding Junhui (World Championships)

We're now into the second half of my 12 days of Christmas classic matches of 2014 countdown, on day 7 today as we take a look back at the 6th placed match which was Ding Junhui Vs Michael Wasley from the Last 32 of the World Championships at the Crucible played across Sunday 20th and Monday 21st April. On paper it should've been a comfortable win for Ding Junhui playing someone ranked so much lower than him, but was it about to be the day of the underdog...

Michael Wasley Vs Ding Junhui:

When Ding left Michael Wasley an early tempter in this match, he played it nicely to give himself the first good chance of this match, making 53 from it before playing safe, failing to get into the pack of reds. Shortly after, a bad safety from the young man gave a first opening in the match to Ding Junhui. He cleared the remaining reds, and had gotten to the green where he left position short, missing it as he tried to come around the angles for the brown. After a battle on the green, Ding knocked it in from range and cleared to lead 1-0. After a scrappy start to the second, Ding had the first half decent chance with the pink and black in play. 37 was accumulated by Ding before he missed the pink with the cue ball under the cushion, leaving a reasonable opening for Michael. A clearance of 62 made the most of that opening and levelled the match at 1-1. Ding had the first chance of frame three, but he missed on just 8 to leave Wasley in with an opportunity to put the Chinaman under some pressure. A lovely split of the reds taking the break to 29 left all of the reds in brilliant position for Michael to win the frame in one visit, but he made a real mess of position on 38 which brought the break to an end. Wasley was soon back in to kill off the frame and he did just that to go in front 2-1. A brilliant long red gave Ding Junhui the first chance in frame four, and a superb split to take the break to 49 gave put him in brilliant position to level the scores going into the mid-session interval. A break of 76 in the end from Ding proved enough to secure that 2-2 score line at the break.

Following the interval, Wasley was given the opening scoring visit. It quickly developed into what looked like being a big one as a good cannon into the pack on 29 left the balls appealing for him. A poor couple of shots cost Michael position in the end and his break came to an end on 57. The next couple of chances went to Ding, and the last of these looked like a good opportunity to steal the frame after he brought the final red from the cushion. However, he missed the yellow leaving him 20 behind with 27 on. Wasley soon chipped the yellow into the middle, but snookered himself on the green which would’ve been frame ball. The Gloucester player soon had another chance at the green and duly potted it to leave Ding requiring a snooker, but he couldn’t get it and Wasley went in front again at 3-2. Frame six got off to a very scrappy start as the reds started to build up around the left hand side of the table with a number of balls on cushions. Ding had a decent chance with 8 reds remaining and an 8 point deficit to put himself in a commanding position, though he only built up a 16 point lead with 4 reds left before things got difficult and he missed a tricky ball down the cushion. A solid red from range had him back in next but he missed a tricky brown to the middle and handed the opportunity to Wasley, but he only made 1 before leaving Ding in. In the end the frame came down to a safety battle on the final red with Chinese player ahead by 22. He potted the final red to make that 23 in front with 27 on, but he jawed the brown and left the yellow for Wasley, who potted it yet snookered himself coming down to the bottom end for the green. Michael was left the green but again failed to get on the brown next and more safety followed. They both had chances at the brown but it was Ding that potted it to level the match at 3-3. The Chinaman was back in early in frame seven with a brilliant early scoring prospect. That prospect turned into a reality as a superb century break of 136 put Ding in front for the first time since the opening frame at 4-3. A nightmare safety shot from Wasley gave Ding the first good opening of frame eight as well, and he could have made a lot more than the 19 he did before losing position and missing a tough red. A failed long attempt from Michael let him straight back in, though this time he only added 14 before making a total mess of a tougher blue to the middle. When Ding had his next chance however, he didn’t waste it adding 65 to clinch the frame and guarantee an end of session advantage leading 5-3 with one frame to go. Ding had the first couple of chances in the final frame of the session, accumulating 18 from the first and only 3 from the second as he played a beautiful split from the yellow, just failing to land on a red. A super long red gave him a third bite of the cherry, and additional 40 left him just a red from the winning line in this frame but he landed in no man’s land on the red he needed and missed the thin clip. Wasley couldn’t make the most of his chance though, potting a red but missing the pink he needed, which ultimately gave Ding the frame and a 6-3 end of session lead.

A very good long range red from Michael Wasley got his account going in the second session, as he looked to get back into the match. It wasn’t a great chance as he came to the table with plenty of reds on the right side cushion, and he made 24 before missing a tough blue. That let Ding in to try and capitalise but a missed black soon after gave the opportunity back to Wasley. It came down in the end to safety on the last two reds with the young Gloucester man 7 points ahead. Michael potted the last red with green, but failed to get down onto the final red, so was now 11 ahead with 35 on as more safety came about. Wasley made a good long pot soon after on the final red and was able to clear to the brown to pull a frame back at 4-6. Michael had the first chance again in frame eleven, and a fantastic split to take the break 24 left him in a position you felt he needed to win the frame from if he was to be a contender in this match. A century of 135 certainly made him a serious threat to Ding in this match as he closed the gap to 5-6. The cool and calm Wasley was back in first again in the twelfth looking to make it three frames in a row and draw level in the match. On 44 he fell awkwardly on the pink and decided to protect his lead rather than go for the pink and possibly let Ding in. A stunning red from range gave Michael the next chance and an additional 18 was enough for him to level the scores at 6-6. After Wasley went into an early lead of 29 in the thirteenth, Ding had a golden chance with the reds at his mercy to regain overall advantage in the match. Having lost all three frames so far in this session a frame winning run of 73 was enough for him to regain the lead at the mid-session interval at 7-6.

After the break Michael Wasley potted the first balls, and split the balls all over the table taking him to 14 but was very unfortunate not to land on one. A well picked out three ball plant from Ding gave him the next opening, but he left himself tough on his next red after the green and put the opportunity there for Michael who added 24 before a bad miss, and a later missed attempt to the baulk corner, left Ding all of the balls in good position to win the frame at this visit. A break of 64 was plenty for Ding to take the frame and give him a little bit more breathing space with an 8-6 lead. Michael had a decent chance at the start of the next frame with plenty of reds open for him to try and build a 40 or 50 point lead. He’d built a very useful 42 point lead before failing to get on a colour from his previous red and playing safe, which he was very disappointed with. The frame started to go scrappy until Ding got the next chance after being left a red at range, but a missed black off of the spot killed the break on just 9. He was soon back in though after a miss from his opponent left him another opening. Ding played all of the remaining reds perfectly but missed his intended cannon on the brown from the yellow and lost cue ball position on the green, playing safe with an 8 point deficit. Wasley potted the green to move 11 ahead with 22 on in what was becoming a pivotal frame of this match that could easily swing it either way. Ding lost the safety battle on the brown as well but brown, pink and black were all safe so Ding came back with a 15 point deficit and still a chance of winning the frame. Michael killed the frame off though by potting the blue from range in superb style to move only a frame behind at 7-8. The five time ranking winner of the season was under pressure now in this match, but he had the first opening in frame sixteen to try and put some more breathing space between himself and his more inexperienced opponent. Ding made 31 before losing position on the black and taking on a risky blue from range. Wasley then came in with a long pot but failed to get on a colour, though he also failed to roll up to the green leaving it short and Ding duly put him back into to play. The frame then started to go scrappy as both players potted reds but were unable to get nicely on colours. Wasley eventually got his chances with three reds remaining and a 24 point deficit as he looked to get back into the frame. Several well played pots later though and it was a great chance to clear and he dished to the pink with a 41 to level the match once again at 8-8. Due to the seventeenth frame and the previous two taking so long, it was announced that after this frame the players would be taken off and they would have to play the match to a conclusion after the evening session later on. The seventeenth frame itself was again scrappy, with Ding only being able to make 28 from his first chance in the frame and after Wasley had a couple of chances and Ding added 20 to his frame total before losing position on a colour from the penultimate red, it all came down to the final red with Ding laying a snooker to protect his 27 point advantage with just 35 left, after missing on the first attempt by hitting the black and missing again on the second attempt, Wasley needed a snooker himself, which he failed to get so that Ding would leave the arena with the 9-8 advantage for him to come back later on needing just a frame for victory, while Wasley would need both of the remaining two frames.

It’s always tough to wait around for an unknown period of time and then come back to play possibly only one but no more than a couple of frames and it’s who prepares best for that will come out on top. After a long period of safety to start off frame eighteen Michael Wasley punched in a wonderful long red to give him the first chance and on the black with the reds out in the open it looked like a decent one to force a decider from a very early stage, but nothing is certain at this stage under huge pressure. A couple of doubles towards the end of the break made sure he got to the century but the frame was already secured long ago and a break of 103 from Michael Wasley took us into the nineteenth and deciding frame. Michael Wasley had the first chance in the decider with another stunning red from range, and he had the reds opened up very early on in the break and you wondered if he could possibly win the decider in a single visit. It was one poor positional shot from the green that cost him though as the break ended after he missed a pressure red on 35. Ding played a brilliant red along the bottom cushion to try and capitalise on Michael’s error and he knocked in a superb long range black under pressure to keep the break going, but things were getting tense and he ran out of position on 18. With 6 reds left then, Wasley was 17 points ahead but the next mistake from either player could prove costly. Ding potted the next red, but position on the pink wasn’t ideal and that led to no position on the next red, though he did attempt a very thin red, only to go in off. Wasley played the next red with pink, but again failed to get position on the next red so he led by 21 points with 51 remaining in this final frame. After several foul points given away, Wasley finally got out of the snooker he was in, but leaving an opportunity for Ding who potted the next 2 reds with blacks, but he couldn’t nudge the final red far enough away from the cushion, playing safe on his 7 point lead. A horrendous fluke on the final red from Wasley gave him a brilliant chance to clear for the frame and match and he cleared to the blue to leave Ding needing one snooker on the pink. Despite the Chinaman’s best efforts, he couldn’t get the snooker he needed and Michael Wasley eventually potted the pink to seal a fantastic upset in the first round of the World Championships beating one of the favourites Ding Junhui 10-9.

What a superb comeback that was from Michael Wasley at various points in the final session, despite also being a massive underdog, so all credit to him for pulling off a fantastic victory. Who's made it into the top 5 of my list? Be sure to have a check of the blog tomorrow where you'll find out.

Moment of the Month: June: Wildcard Xintong makes Wuxi Last 16

At the halfway point of my countdown of the best moments of the year I take a trip back to June, when my favourite moment was Zhao Xintong the Chinese wildcard player made the Last 16 of the Wuxi Classic. Let's have a reminder of how he did it.

The reason that moment of the month for me in June was the performance of Chinese wildcard player Zhao Xintong at the Wuxi Classic was simply because for an amateur to reach this stage of a ranking event in this day and age takes a lot of talent because of the standard of play amongst the professionals, and it demonstrates the talent that this young man has at a very young age. It’s not the only time that Xintong has performed well in a ranking event doing so in both the 2013 International Championship, and the 2014 Shanghai Masters to name a couple.

In this particular event he started out by beating Andrew Norman who has had his struggles in the year and a half he’s been back on tour, to the point now where he seems to have stopped entering events. To follow that up with a 5-1 thrashing of Chris Melling in the Last 64 though was incredibly impressive as Melling is a talented player himself. He beat another very talented player in the Last 32 by overcoming Jack Lisowski 5-2 and that set up his place in the Last 16 against Shaun Murphy. Unfortunately for Xintong that is where his ran end as Shaun’s experience and class proved too much for him as he went down 5-2, but he can take an incredible amount from his consistent runs from the wildcard beating a couple of pro’s in a lot of events that he is put into now as a wildcard.

To beat three recognised players and make the Last 16 of any event is quite the challenge and for a wildcard of such a young age to do so shows a great deal of natural talent, that nurtured, coached and sent in the right direction can certainly make Zhao Xintong into the next great Chinese player and one day he could be right up there competing with the current achievements of Ding Junhui. He certainly seems to have the potential to do so, and to show us that on the big stage in a ranking event time and time again (he’s also beaten Marco Fu and Barry Hawkins in ranking events in the past) really is a brilliant moment for the game, whatever your opinion on wildcards is.

Some people feel that there is no need for wildcards and that it spoils the tournament in some ways, and while I agree with this in some ways, in other aspects it is nice for young amateurs to be given opportunities to play in ranking events in front of home crowds, and that it can unearth some really brilliant talents as it has done with Ding Junhui (who originally came to the fore as a wildcard) and Lu Haotian (who has made the final of an Asian Tour event since being on tour). Putting everything together though it’s always a great moment and a great achievement when a young amateur player rises up and impresses the snooker world with some great victories against tour pro’s and some fantastic performances along the way so all credit to Zhao Xintong for his run to the Last 16 of the Wuxi Classic, a stand out moment for the month of June.

Now that we're halfway through my moment of the month countdown it's full steam ahead to the finish line and tomorrow we'll be on to the best moment in my view of July.

Player of the Month: June: Joe Perry

It's time for day 6 of my look back on the best players of 2014 and this time I'm looking back on June where my player of the month June and these were my thoughts on him:

The Wuxi Classic was the main event of June with the Yixing Open Asian Tour event preceding it. Joe was one of the stand out performers making the Last 16 of the Yixing Open before losing to defending champion Ding Junhui, then making the final of the Wuxi Classic where he was incredibly unlucky to miss out on his first full ranking event title in a decider to his good friend Neil Robertson. Earlier in the tournament Joe overcame amateur Chen Zifan and Robert Milkins without dropping a single frame, along with wins against Liang Wenbo, Robin Hull and Martin Gould. On any other day Joe would’ve won the final and it’s really a great shame that he didn’t because he certainly deserves to win a big title, and hopefully his time will come in the future, because he certainly still has the game for it as he showed in June on his run to the final in Wuxi.

These were some of my picks of Joe Perry’s matches in June:

Joe Perry 5-0 Robert Milkins – As early as the Last 32 Joe had an incredibly tough match against a brilliant player in Robert Milkins. Joe made very light work of what could’ve been a tricky encounter on the day though, and showed some of the form that would eventually take him to the final, whitewashing the Milkman including breaks of 51, 53, 69 and 90 to cap a fine performance and one that certainly sums up Joe Perry’s June.

Neil Robertson 10-9 Joe Perry – Breaks of 49 and 56 helped Joe into an early 3-0 lead in this final, and he may have been forgiven for thinking a little further ahead and at least from here taking an end of session lead in this huge final as he eyed up a major ranking title. Neil dominated the next two frames losing to 2-3, before breaks of 74 and 61 in the sixth frame gave Perry some more breathing space at 4-2. 72 from Robertson kept Perry under pressure at 3-4 before a 47 from the gentleman guaranteed an end of session lead that he’d have desired at 5-3. The session ended at 5-4 to Perry but Robertson soon equalised in the final session at 5-5. 68 from Perry put him back ahead at 6-5, though the Australian won all of the next three frames to lead 8-6. However, Joe didn’t give in and won the next three frames himself with breaks of 54, 41 and 93 to go one frame from the title with two to play leading 9-8. It took a brilliant response from Neil to break Joe’s heart and win the match as he won the final two frames with runs of 87 and 78 as Perry was left powerless to Neil’s scoring. However, that doesn’t take the shine off of what was a superb week for Perry.

Joe is a fantastic player with a brilliant all round game who has worked hard to get back into the top 16 in the last couple of years and deserves to be there and deserves to win a few more events before the lights go out in his career. Practising with Neil Robertson has clearly helped him and he’s taken to the changes in snooker professionally, playing in most events and you can tell from his attitude that all he wants is the best thing for the game of snooker to be played in the fairest conditions possible and for that he’s a player that deserves to do well and deserves recognition when he does do well.

 

Joe Perry is a decent contender for my player of 2014 after the year or so that he's had and in my view he's been very impressive, but you'll have to wait until January 2nd to find out who wins it. Tomorrow i'll be revealing my player of the month for July so stick around for that.

Classic Matches of 2014: 7th Place: Mark Williams Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan (International Championships)

As we reach the halfway stage of my classic matches of 2014 countdown on Boxing Day as today it's time for 7th place and that match is Mark Williams Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan from the quarter-finals of the International Championship back on Thursday 30th October. I would certainly describe the contest as one where frames were won in clusters...

Mark Williams Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan:

Ronnie O’Sullivan played a brilliant red from range to get the scoring in this quarter-final going, but there weren’t many available reds and he only made 14. The next opportunity fell to Mark Williams, and this one was much nicer with a large number of the reds available, but a couple of shots where he couldn’t hold position cost him as he missed a red from middle distance on just 10. The players then handed chances back and forth in what was turning into a very poor quality opening frame, until O’Sullivan was back in again with four reds remaining and a nine point lead. Ronnie built his lead up to 26 on the last red before laying a snooker behind the black. Pretty soon he’d potted the last red and was able to clear to the yellow to make it 1-0. Mark Williams had the first scoring effort of frame two but was only able to accumulate 16 before missing one to the centre, leaving the chance for O’Sullivan and from it he produced 65 to build a 49 point lead with 59 available when the break ended with a safety shot. Williams earned himself another opportunity to claw his way back into the frame with a nice cut from range, but when he missed one near the cushion, Ronnie was able to play the balls he needed to double his lead. Frame three got off to a poor quality start with both players having a couple of scoring visits but not being able to make more than just a few, but it was eventually Williams that started to build a lead and he was 51 ahead with 59 on when he missed frame ball red into the middle. That gave O’Sullivan a lifeline as he chipped away at that deficit by potting the first of the four remaining reds with a black, before then having a piece of good fortune as he left a red over the corner and Mark failed twice (having hit the green on the first attempt and being put back) to hit the red, leaving a great chance for his opponent to clear. A superb shot from pink to black was needed, but Ronnie did clear and was already halfway to victory in this best-of-11 at 3-0. After a re-rack in frame four O’Sullivan had the first chance to put some points on the board once again, only making 19 this time before missing an incredibly thin black, which gave the chance to Mark, but again he couldn’t find any rhythm only managing 14. Again both players struggled to string a substantial break together and with four reds remaining O’Sullivan had an 11 point lead in what was another scrappy frame. A nice long red gave Williams a good chance of getting his first frame on the board, and he did just that clearing to the blue to trail Ronnie 1-3 at the mid-session interval.

Straight after the break, Ronnie missed a red from range leaving an early opportunity for Mark to gather some points. Once the break was up to 29 Williams had the reds open and was in prime position to build at the very least a commanding lead in the frame. He hurried to the winning line in the frame and a quick fire century break of 120 closed the gap to a single frame at 2-3. The first decent chance of frame six also went to Mark Williams after Ronnie missed a simple enough green and a run of 59 gave Williams a very useful 52 point advantage with just 67 remaining and plenty of reds safe. Ronnie made the mistake pretty much immediately and an additional 11 was all Mark needed to level the match at 3-3. Again in the seventh frame Williams had the first break building opportunity, although he was unlucky when opening the pack not to get on a red and had to play safe on only 19. A clever double gave Ronnie an opening, though an uncharacteristic miss on the blue highlighted that he was struggling and brought the break to a premature end on 27. From here the Welshman had a golden chance to win his fourth frame on the bounce and a break of 37 including a good double on the final red secured that and completed Mark’s turnaround for him to lead for the first time at 4-3. A safety error early in frame eight provided Williams with the first scoring chance yet again in a frame and he soon made it into a full chance as a break of 77 was more than enough for him to make it five frames in a row and go one away from the semi-finals at 5-3.

Needing to win all of the remaining three frames, O’Sullivan knew he needed to step up, and he knew he couldn’t let Williams have too many more chances which was what he did at the start of frame nine. Williams made it to 30 before falling unlucky with his split of the pack, followed by a tricky miss into the middle. Ronnie then knocked in a good red to the top corner and with the reds handy these are usually the chances he thrives upon. A very quick fire 72 was what it took for O’Sullivan to close the gap to one at 4-5. A missed long red from Williams left O’Sullivan in early on in frame ten, but he had some bad luck with his split this time and missed a very thin cut to the left corner. Mark though missed the same red and left it over the pocket for Ronnie putting him back in straight away. This time around Ronnie nearly secured the frame, but he missed frame ball after a break of 44, though Mark missed a similar shot to the middle and O’Sullivan was back in sealing the frame to take us into a decider at 5-5. The first ball of the decider was potted by Ronnie but he missed the black off of it’s spot straight away, leaving a Mark a decent opening to build a handy lead in this decider. Mark went into the pack on 50 but there was the break ended and he knew it immediately slapping the table as he failed to get on a red. A 49 point lead is always nice, but can evaporate quickly with O’Sullivan who made the cross double but finished awkward on a black that was incredibly thin, yet he over cooked it. A brilliant double then followed for Williams, knowing he would be on the black over the right corner and additional 22 from Mark was more than enough for him to see off Ronnie O’Sullivan with a fine 6-5 victory ending what was a huge drought between wins for Mark Williams, but he came out on top in this classic to make the International Championship semi-finals.

 

What a fantastic match that was with Ronnie O'Sullivan looking in control at one stage, before Mark Williams took control, only for Ronnie to hit back again before Williams finished off the match. It's really taken some great matches to top this so be sure to come back tomorrow and find out which match made it into 6th.

Moment of the Month: May: Neil Robertson finishes the season with 103 century breaks

We're almost halfway through my moment of the year countdown as I look back on the best snookering moments of 2014 on a monthly basis. Today we go back to May for a moment that certainly grabbed the snooker public's attention throughout the season and that is Neil Robertson's century of centuries. Here are my thoughts:

May of course saw the end to the 2013/2014 season and a beginning to the 2014/2015 season at the back end of it, which meant there was one stand out achievement that deserves the heavy credit and recognition that it was given by the snooker community, and that is Moment of the Month for May – Neil Robertson’s 103 century breaks in the 2013/2014 season.

To achieve something such as a century of centuries is something so astounding to us now that it’s particularly hard to put into words. When you consider that the previous for best for centuries in a season is around 40 less than this, it shows how out of the ordinary and unexpected it was that somebody could make that many centuries in a season. The record setting moment came during the World Championships at the Crucible with the Australian hitting his hundredth hundred during his quarter-final game against Judd Trump. The moment came as one of relief (having missed several chances between 99 and 100, particularly in the final session against Mark Allen where he broke down in the 90’s on two occasions) and huge celebration to Neil who had had his eyes on the milestone for some considerable amount of time, along with his father who was constantly ringing him up to keep tabs on how he was doing.

A further three centuries in his May World Championship semi-final against Mark Selby set the new centuries in a season record at 103, but the real moment of celebration, not only for Neil but for all of his fans and snooker fans as a whole who had been keeping a track on his run to the line for some time. I had believed in fact that he would certainly get close to the ton of tons from as early as the previous December where he was already into the 50’s post UK Championships. If his form continued and he went deep in tournaments throughout the rest of the season (which he did) then surely a century of centuries would be close.

The question now is: Will anyone get close to make 100 centuries in a season again? Well, it’s not impossible as Neil Robertson showed but it would have to be one of the very top players that entered all of the ever growing number of events on tour and made the latter stages in a great amount of them. As the standard of snooker grows though and centuries become more common, and the milestone has been achieved now, players like Judd Trump will believe that if they can play well all the way through a season that they too can come close to making their own fantastic moment as they reach a century of centuries in a season.

Has that made you hungry to look back on more of 2014's best snooker moments? Then be sure to come back in a days time where i'll reveal moment of the month for June.