Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 7th Place: Mark Selby Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan (Antwerp Open)

We've now reached the halfway point of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown as day 6 of the countdown takes us back to Sunday 17th November 2013 when Mark Selby took on Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the Antwerp Open at the Lotto Arena in Belgium. This was a really brilliant match, with plenty of high scoring periods from both men, and a great comeback as well as a bit of tension in the early stages and again right at the end. This once again showed the value of the PTC events, as a brilliant match was created, yet the match only lasted a couple of hours.

Here's what happened on the evening in question at the Lotto Arena:

Mark Selby Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan

The match started off in style, after Ronnie potted a great long red to the yellow pocket, after Selby missed a tough long pot of his own. Ronnie was soon in full flow and at his best, a great split of the reds on 52 leaving the frame at his mercy, and a break of 74 confirmed that he would take the opener in no time at all. The second frame started off with a top quality long red from Mark Selby, to give him his first opening of the match. A brilliant split of the reds from the blue on 13 turned the opening into a golden opportunity for The Jester to hit back immediately. However, a really poor missed blue off of the spot on 39, left O’Sullivan in with a chance, although it looked like a very tough clearance when the 5 times World Champion came to the table. But Ronnie then missed a fairly straightforward red of his own along the bottom cushion, letting Mark off and leaving him in an easy position to level the scores. With a lead of 34 with 1 red left on the table, Selby missed a fairly easy red on the bottom cushion himself, when he only needed the red for the frame. O’Sullivan then potted the final red, and the black before snookering himself on the yellow, sending them into a battle on the colours. Selby potted the yellow but then missed frame ball green, before O’Sullivan potted green and brown but failed to get on the blue. After a long safety battle on the blue, Mark Selby eventually knocked in a decent long pot to level the scores at 1-1. Ronnie O’Sullivan was first in, in the third frame after Selby missed a red to the middle which Ronnie brought up the table from the break off shot. O’Sullivan then missed a mid-range red on 24 and left that red on for Selby who had his opportunity. A good mid-range red of his own on 20 kept the break going but he was unable to get the right angle to bust the reds open, and had to play safe on 28. O’Sullivan knocked in a great long pot though, and then created himself a brilliant chance, which he took with a run of 54 making it 2-1 to the World Champion. After a high quality safety battle, with both players playing showing off their great tactical knowledge, but when Selby missed a tricky long pot, O’Sullivan was able to get in and had a really good scoring opportunity in the early stages of the frame. However he could only make 22 before missing a mid-range red by quite a distance. A poor shot from Ronnie trying to escape from a snooker, let Selby in again with a decent opening to try and cancel out Ronnie’s frame and match lead. A nice contribution of 56 put Selby 25 ahead with 3 reds left on the table, and in a fairly commanding position. There was another great safety battle on the final 3 reds, before Ronnie made a nice long pot but couldn’t get on a colour.  O’Sullivan then potted another decent long red, and played a great shot on the black to get on the final red on the cushion which he potted with ease, and he cleared up to and including the pink to move into a 3-1 lead, and only 1 frame away from taking the Antwerp Open title.

A careless attempt at a long red from O’Sullivan, with the Rocket catching the blue first, left Mark Selby right in with a good chance to make a valuable contribution early on in the fifth frame. A brilliant recovery red to the green pocket on 36 after an unlucky split, made it an excellent chance but he missed a simpler red to the left middle on 52, but Ronnie let him off straight away with a missed red of his own. A brilliant long red from Selby later on, showed Selby’s bottle but he couldn’t get on a colour and failed to cover a long red near the corner with the safety shot, only for Ronnie to miss the long red and hand Selby the easy chance he needed to clinch the frame, with an additional 61 closing the gap to one frame at 2-3. A brilliant safety shot from Mark Selby produced a him a good scoring opening, with the reds spread, as Ronnie left one on trying to land on a red from the snooker. Mark picked the reds off brilliantly, and showed his true fighting qualities, by forcing a decider with a wonderful 133 total clearance.

A bit of poor luck from Mark Selby after a missed long red, left O’Sullivan a chance, but he failed to get on a colour from the red, and had to play safe prematurely. A poor safety a short while afterwards from Mark gave the Rocket his first proper chance of the decider, and a decent split of the reds on 14 put Ronnie in a great position to take the frame and the match in 1 visit, but an uncharacteristic missed black from the spot on 28, gave the 3 times Masters champion his first chance in the decider. Once again, Selby picked the reds of really well, and with all the balls there for the taking Mark made no mistake, completing a brilliant comeback victory with a magnificent break of 77 clinching the 2013 Antwerp Open and winning this classic contest.

 

What a match it was as well, with a brilliant comeback from Mark Selby, deserving of winning him yet another PTC title, and all credit has to go to Ronnie O'Sullivan as well as it takes 2 men to make a classic contest, and he played really well in the opening stages or warm-up time as Mark Selby probably prefers to call it. Another great tussle on Boxing Day then, as the countdown continues into the top 6 tomorrow. But do you think they'll be six of the best of 2013 snooker? Well you'll have to wait and see what I've got for you then!

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 8th Place: Shaun Murphy Vs John Higgins (The Masters)

The 5th day of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown takes us back to Thursday 17th January when Shaun Murphy took on John Higgins in the 2013 Masters Quarter-finals at the brilliant Alexandra Palace in London. This match was an incredibly tense one that saw a brilliant comeback, and may not have been of the highest quality if you looked at the stats, but it certainly bought plenty of entertainment to everyone watching on TV and at the fabulous arena.

So let's have a look back at this incredibly cold evening in January:

Shaun Murphy Vs John Higgins

The match started well for Shaun Murphy after John Higgins played a poor shot trying to run into the pack and letting Murphy in. After a brilliant split off of the pack on 25, Murphy carved himself out a great chance to win the opening frame. However, Shaun broke down on 33 after failing to get position on a red. Both players then missed shots at a red, as the safety play continued. Then John Higgins played a poor shot trying to get passed the brown to a red, but clipping the brown instead.  Then a further 85 from Murphy gave him the frame and a 1-0 lead. After a tough safety went wrong for Murphy in the second, Higgins got in with a nice long red and after John potted a tricky red on 28, he managed to build a nice frame winning opportunity. Although, he missed a tricky cut on the yellow on 53 and gave Shaun a chance. When Murphy had a horrible kick on 21 though, causing him to miss the blue, then a poor safety from Shaun a couple of shots after gave Higgins the chance he needed to level, and he added 49 to make sure that he did so and make it 1-1. Poor missed reds from both players in the third, first from Murphy and then Higgins gave Murphy the first good chance to make a big contribution. Murphy had a bit of poor luck going into the pack, but held a nice 33 point lead, before he managed to get in again, but a bad positional shot meant sure that he only made 3. Shaun had a 41 point lead, but that soon started to go when Higgins potted a brilliant long red and got himself in. He closed the gap to 14 before missing a tough red on the bottom cushion, which Murphy then potted but failed to get on a colour playing safe with a 15 point lead and just the colours left. Murphy then potted the yellow, and later the green, before playing a poor safety on the brown which Higgins then potted, and cleared the remaining colours to lead 2-1. The Magician then missed a long red early in the fourth which let Higgins in with a good chance, but he could only make 28 before missing a black by the red, Murphy then made 29 before he went in off on the blue, sending the frame into a tactical battle once more.  Murphy lost the tactical battle after going in off, and Higgins had the chance to make it 3-1. However, Higgins missed the yellow but he had a 23 point lead going down to the colours, and he later potted a good long yellow and cleared up to and including the pink to make it 3-1 at the interval.

After the break, Higgins had the first chance after potting a great long red, and a few brilliant recovery shots gave him a good opportunity to lead 4-1. It was a break of 69 that left Murphy needing snookers with 5 reds left, before a brilliant pot on the last red gave Higgins the frame and the 4-1 lead. Murphy needed a big improvement if he was to win from here. An excellent long pot started things off for Murphy in frame six, and gave him a nice early chance. Murphy potted a nice black to recover things on 27 and a plant on 34 put him right back in great position, looking like making it 2-4. The break continued and 70 was enough to put him back to 2 frames behind John Higgins. When Higgins missed a plant early on in frame seven he gifted an early chance to Murphy, to close the gap to within 1 frame. But, Murphy chipped the black off of the table on 40, giving Higgins a chance to get back into the frame, but John soon missed the penultimate red, before Shaun potted it, only to go in off in the middle pocket. Higgins soon potted the last red and had a great chance to make it 5-2. John played a poor shot on the green though, and was whiskers away from a double on the brown but just couldn’t get it. This let Murphy back in, and he potted the brown, blue and pink to make it 3-4 and only trail John by 1 frame. Shaun got in first in frame eight as well, and he made it count as a well-made break of 77 squared the match at 4-4. An excellent long red from Shaun Murphy gave an early chance in frame nine, and a brilliant black to the middle on 17 showed the all-out attack mode that Murphy had now gone into. However, he missed a blue to the yellow pocket on 25 and let Higgins in, and after he got a great split of the reds from the pink, he had an excellent opportunity to take full advantage and move a frame from victory at 5-4. Higgins couldn’t do it in one visit, but after fluking a snooker he got a second chance to get the red he needed to go 5-4 in front. A missed long red from John cost him early in the tenth frame, letting Murphy in, but he could only make 8 from it. Another terrific long red from Shaun landed him on the black, he had a terrific chance to force a decider. However, he ran out of position once more letting Higgins back in again, but he could only make 5 before having to play safe himself. John Higgins then potted a great red to the middle and gave himself a chance to win the match, but he missed a simple red trying to bring a red from the cushion and all the balls were there for Shaun to force a decider, and after the scoreboard temporarily froze, Murphy potted up to and including the pink to make it 5-5.

After Shaun missed a relatively tough red early in the decider, John potted a fairly tough one himself and gave himself the first good chance. John Higgins played a great split from the blue on 45, but a poor positional shot from the next red left John a tougher blue from the side cushion which he missed to give Murphy his chance, Murphy left himself a tough blue almost immediately to the green pocket, which he potted leaving the Scot looking up to the heavens and Murphy with a golden opportunity to win, and he made a brilliant 67 to win the match 6-5 pointing to a particular member of the crowd, and giving them the thumbs up in celebration of a very memorable win.

 

This was what Shaun Murphy had to say about the match, when I asked him about it a few weeks ago:

This was always going to be a tough game. Any match against John is always a tough game and he and I have had quite a few good games in recent years. This game at last year’s Masters was no different. We had a really good battle, finishing with a final frame decider. I think John got in first, and had a good lead until I was able to mount a comeback and made a nice break in the end to nick the frame and the match. One of my best mates, James, was sat in the crowd and as I won I spotted him going crazy so I had to give him a wave.

 

What a brilliant match it was as well, with plenty of tension, and going to a very exciting decider that had me on the edge of my seat, and what another brilliant comeback that was as well from Shaun Murphy who went on to lose to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. Another brilliant present on Christmas day, and Boxing day will see another titanic tussle, but who will take 7th on my Christmas countdown? You'll have to come back tomorrow and find out.

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 9th Place: Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Hawkins (World Championship)

The 4th day of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown takes us back to Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May 2013 when Ronnie O'Sullivan took on Barry Hawkins in the 2013 World Championship Final at the magical Crucible theatre in Sheffield. Ronnie had never really ever been tested that much in any of his previous World Finals, but that was all about to change in this classic final over the best-of-35 frames.

Let's have a look back on those 2 brilliant days in May then:

A poor early safety from Barry Hawkins gave Ronnie O’Sullivan the first chance of the World Championship final. An early kick ruined things for Ronnie though causing him to miss the black, causing the break to end on just 13. A missed long one from Ronnie, let Hawkins in with his first opportunity of the final. A missed black to the middle on 4 though showed his nerves at this early stages, and his need to settle quickly. This left Ronnie right in amongst them with a decent opening to take the first frame. A quick fire 74 confirmed that he would do just that and lead Hawkins 1-0. An easy long red got Hawkins in first in the second frame but he’d only got to 6 before showing his nerves once again with a rash shot with the rest. This allowed O’Sullivan to get in again straight away, and a brilliant quick fire 92 gave Ronnie a 2-0 lead in no time at all, with a brilliant cross-double sealing the frame. A decent long pot got Hawkins in first again in the third frame, and it was important that this time he made it count. He managed to stay on top of his nerves this time (just about) and compiled a brilliant 88 to get on the board at 1-2. Another missed long red from Ronnie early in frame four, let Hawkins in again. A good split of the reds from a red on 23 put Barry in a great position to level the scores ahead of the interval. Some good recovery blues to the corner kept the break going, and another well -made break of 81 ensured the scores would be level going into the first interval, and just reminded Ronnie that he did have a match on his hands here. After the longest safety battle of the match so far, Hawkins again potted first in frame five with a decent long red, but failing to get in and out of baulk from the blue brought the break to a premature end, although an odd shot left Ronnie right in amongst them, but his break also ended prematurely after a poor shot on the black with the spider left him out of position. An easy long red got Hawkins back in again though, and he’d knocked up a 43 point lead before he missed a red to the middle. He was back in shortly after with a good thin cut to the corner, as an additional 50 gave him the frame and put him 3-2 in front.  It was a missed long pot, and some poor luck from Barry Hawkins that left Ronnie in early in frame six, and Ronnie had the reds open immediately from the first blue, giving him a great chance to square the scores. Ronnie picked off the reds very well and he soon past the winning post in the frame with a good pink to the middle and an equally good long red confirming the frame as a contribution of 76 made it 3-3. A really poor safety from Barry Hawkins at the beginning of the seventh frame left Ronnie O’Sullivan bang in the balls once again. A great split of the reds on 52 from the black basically confirmed that Ronnie would lead 4-3 going into the final frame of the session, once again constructing his break brilliantly and pilling on the first century of the final, a 113 to move ahead once again. Even at this early stage, the final frame of the session was crucial with both players knowing that 4-4 or 5-3 to Ronnie would have a big difference on their mind sets, going into the evening session. A poor safety from Barry and a decent pot from Ronnie, meant that the man seeking his 5^th World Title was in first again in the eighth frame, and in pure Ronnie style he made it consecutive centuries with another brilliant 100 this time to move 5-3 ahead of Barry Hawkins at the end of the first session of 4 in the 2013 World Championship final.

The first frame of the first evening session started off with Hawkins knocking in a good mid-range red, and then an equally good black to get right in and give himself a good chance to close the gap. Barry failed to get in and out of baulk from the blue though and his break ended on 27. Barry got back in again, after Ronnie missed a simple red, but he missed an easy pink on 22, but Ronnie couldn’t capitalise again with a missed red near the bottom cushion and Hawkins made an additional 24 to seal the frame and close to 4-5. Barry was in first again in the tenth frame with a cracking long pot, and he was in around the black. However, Barry fouled a red with his cue on 24, but it took a good pot from Ronnie for him to get in with his great opening to score. Ronnie got a poor split of the reds though and his break ended on 12. Barry left a red over the corner from his safety though, and O’Sullivan was back in again, this time with an excellent opportunity to take this frame, especially after the great pink he potted into the yellow pocket on 1, and an eventual break of 49 left The Hawk needing snookers. He got one but failed to get the second, and Ronnie potted the green to confirm that he would lead 6-4. The eleventh frame started off by Ronnie trying to force the yellow in after a long red, and instead missing it and leaving Hawkins in. He opened the bunch nicely on simultaneous shots from the blue and then a red to take the break to 32, but he failed to get on a red from the next blue and had to play safe. Another terrific long red from Barry got him going again, and an additional 23 showed Hawkins fight as he closed to a single frame again at 5-6. A great red to the middle gave Ronnie a great opening early in frame twelve, and he’d potted 6 reds with 6 blacks before running out of position. The Rocket was able to add 21 to the score after making a plant, and then Ronnie was gifted another chance to pot the red he needed and move into a 2 frame lead again at 7-5. A cracking long pot from Hawkins gifted him the first chance of the thirteenth frame but he missed a hard red to the yellow pocket, meaning he could only make 8. He was quickly back in the balls though, after a fantastic red along the bottom rail, and a nice split of the reds made it into a golden opportunity. He took the opportunity and made sure he was sticking with Ronnie, a break of 83 closing to one frame again at 6-7. Some cracking safety from Barry at the start of frame fourteen forced the mistake from Ronnie, and gift him a good early chance. That early chance soon turned into an excellent opportunity to level the scores and that was exactly what he did with a run of 133 to make it 7-7. In the fifteenth,  Barry missed a similar long red to the one he knocked in in the previous frame, and left a red on for Ronnie, which he potted to give himself an early opening to go back in front. A good split of the reds from the black on 39, quickly put him in great shape to make a frame winning contribution, and that was exactly what he did, knocking another great 103 to lead 8-7. A nice mid-range red got Ronnie back in and scoring again in the sixteenth frame but the break ended after a poor positional shot, with The Rocket only making 11. However, a missed straight long pot from Barry soon after left O’Sullivan with a great opening once again, and he soon raced into a 9-7 lead with consecutive centuries, this time making a brilliant 106. Hawkins came up short attempting to land up to a red on the bottom cushion, leaving Ronnie a red to the middle which he took to give himself the first chance in the seventeenth and final frame of the session. Although, Ronnie missed a blue to the corner on 8 and left The Hawk in with a chance to swoop and win the session 5-4, but he missed an easy red very early on in the break, as the tension was beginning to tell. The frame quickly became quite a tactical one, highlighting it’s importance and the difference between 10-7 and 9-8. Hawkins won the lengthy safety battle, pulling out a good long pot,  and he made a nice 42 to take a 17 point lead in the frame, but he left Ronnie in, and he was able to close the gap to 4 before playing a great snooker on the last red, which Hawkins missed to leave Ronnie a free ball. O’Sullivan potted 2 pinks and then got on the final red, but couldn’t get on the pink. However, he then played a stunning snooker behind the pink, which Barry hit, but left on as a long pot, which Ronnie knocked in to lead by 10 points with 25 left. O’Sullivan then played the best safety shot of the entire event on the green, but Hawkins not only got out of it, but fluked the green straight in. Ronnie potted the brown but couldn’t get on the blue, and lead by 11 with 18 on the table. Barry potted the blue and pink to make it a black ball frame with the scores level and a poor safety shot from Hawkins left O’Sullivan a chance to cut the black in, and he did just that to move into a 10-7 advantage at the end of the first day of this brilliant final.

The second day of the final started off with both players getting a wonderful reception to the arena, before O’Sullivan had the first scoring chance of the session, after a missed long pot from Barry gave The Rocket an easy opener. However, a bad positional ended the break on 14. Ronnie was soon back in with a thundering long red, and some good rest shots kept the break going, but he missed a blue to the corner on 22 and Hawkins was able to get in for his first chance of the session. His break ended on 30 when he failed to get the correct cannon on the 4 reds on the bottom cushion. Hawkins was soon back in again after a missed long red from Ronnie, and he needed to make this once count. Hawkins cleared up to and including the brown to confirm that he would close the gap to two again at 10-8. Ronnie was in first in the next frame after Hawkins left him a tempting red along the cushion, and he made a nice 54 before not getting the correct split on the reds. Hawkins then called a foul on himself, and with the poor safety he played in the shot in question, left Ronnie in with a golden chance to make it 11-8. A break of 76 confirmed that he would re-take that three frame advantage. The twentieth frame started off in very scrappy style with neither player able to get in, and the reds making their way up to the baulk end with every safety shot. A fluked red from Ronnie put him in all sorts of trouble, because of the safety he’d played and he was forced into taking on a tough pink, which he missed to leave Barry in amongst them. Hawkins made a nice break of 46 before he missed frame ball red, and left Ronnie a chance to counter. A brilliant clearance of 55 made Hawkins pay for his miss, as Ronnie pulled out all the shots on the last red and the green amongst others for him to now go four clear at 12-8. Barry was first in in the twenty-first frame as O’Sullivan missed a red to the yellow pocket and left the same red on for Barry. He went into the reds on 25, but couldn’t get on anything nice and had to play an excellent recovery red to keep the chance going, and turn this into a frame winning opportunity. An excellent break of 90 made sure that Barry Hawkins responded brilliantly to Ronnie’s clearance in the previous frame, making it 12-9 at the third mid-session interval. Ronnie was at it again after the break though, getting straight back in with a good long red, and when he played a great 2 cushion split of the reds from the blue Ronnie had the frame in the palm of his hands. He didn’t let it go, and went on to make another century (a 133), his fifth of the final to go 13-9 ahead and 5 frames from winning the World Title. Hawkins needed to hit back again, and he gave himself an early chance to do so in the twenty-third frame, with a good long red to get in. His break ended on 40 after he missed a testing red to the middle after opening the reds. Hawkins got back in again, but he missed a tough black shortly after, leaving Ronnie another chance to steal a frame that Hawkins should’ve won. A great clearance of 67 really damaged Barry’s hopes as O’Sullivan now moved 14-9 ahead. A poor safety from O’Sullivan though gave The Hawk an early opening in frame twenty-four, but a horrible kick on 40 caused Barry to miss the pink and give Ronnie yet another opportunity to go on the counter-attack, but he missed on 38. Hawkins was able to get back in after the safety battle, and a clearance of 47 kept him in the match at 14-10 with one frame left of the afternoon session on day two. Hawkins was first in in that final frame of the third session, but he failed to make any more than 7. A brilliant double from Ronnie gifted him an opening to score. A clever cannon on the reds from the black took the break to 19, and put him in a great position to make a lot lot more. He did make more, and his sixth century of the match, a 124 this time, put Ronnie O’Sullivan 3 frames from the title at the end of the penultimate session as he led 15-10.

The final session started well for Barry Hawkins, needing to play brilliantly he started off with an excellent long pot. Things only got better for Hawkins as he picked the reds off nicely and put a brilliant break together as a 127 total clearance helped him close to 11-15. A poor escape at the start of frame twenty-seven didn’t help The Hawk, as it left The Rocket in with an early scoring chance. However, Ronnie missed a simple red on the stretch on 18, and Barry potted a nice red to get in and then split the pack well from the pink well to give him a great opening. Barry played some brilliant shots in the break and took everything phenomenally a run of 66 leaving O’Sullivan needing 2 snookers with 2 reds left. O’Sullivan then went in off, and Hawkins potted the penultimate red with the blue which was more than enough to make it 12-15. Hawkins was in first in the next as well after a bad error from the defending champion, and if the Australian Open champ could make this count then he would have every chance of winning the match. Hawkins missed a red along the bottom rail though, and left it for Ronnie to get in and punish Barry’s error. O’Sullivan picked off the free reds nicely and then on 47 he opened the reds nicely from the pink, leaving the frame at his mercy. A brilliant break of 77 practically gave him the frame, despite Hawkins coming back for 3 snookers, but he missed the black from the penultimate red and conceded to give O’Sullivan a 16-12 lead, leaving him needing only 2 more to take the ultimate title. A missed long red from O’Sullivan early in the twenty-ninth frame left Hawkins in, but a kick after a poor positional shot meant he only made 8 and gave the chance back to Ronnie. He opened the pack well on 30, and looked ever more likely to go one frame from victory. It was a wonderful break of 88 that did it for O’Sullivan as he went into the final mid-session break leading 17-12. A great red to the yellow pocket going things going for O’Sullivan after the interval, and the writing looked like it was on the wall for Barry Hawkins very early on. Once Ronnie had potted frame ball he gave it a fist pump to show what winning back-to-back World Titles meant to him, especially after taking a year off. A break of 88 sealed the deal, and the 18-12 victory, and Ronnie gave another fist pump to his family after congratulating Hawkins on his brave effort, and once Ronnie Junior joined him in the main arena things were complete for him, and they were richly deserved. I said it at the time, and I’ll say it again now that loads of credit has to go to Barry Hawkins for being the man that has pushed O’Sullivan the most in a World Final, and he played brilliantly throughout the whole event, and made this into the classic match that it was.

 

It wasn't an unbelievably close contest, but what it did provide was something different from the boring runaway O'Sullivan wins, with some brilliant break-building shown off by both players this time. We all knew how good Ronnie was, but Hawkins proved throughout the event that he is a top top player. So, did you enjoy my Christmas Eve offering, and can't wait to find out who will hit 8th on the classic countdown? Well you'll have to wait until Christmas Day itself to find out.

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 10th Place: Ding Junhui Vs Neil Robertson (2013 PTC Grand Finals)

It's time for the 3rd day of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown and today we are taken back to Sunday 17th March 2013 for our 10th place match which was Ding Junhui against Neil Robertson in the final of the PTC Grand Finals in Galway. Even though the match was only a best-of-7 frames contest it produced an absolutely epic clash between 2 players that have been giants of the game in 2013.

So let's have a look back at this magical evening in Ireland:

Ding Junhui Vs Neil Robertson

Ding Junhui was in first in the final with a nice long pot to give himself the first scoring chance of the match. He’d made 41 when he ran out of position after potting a tricky black, and was forced to play safe. Neil got in with a nice long red of his own after a small safety battle, and after a good blue to the corner he was in with a great chance to take the opening frame. Once he developed the last red from the cushion it became an excellent chance, which Robertson took with a break of 88 to lead 1-0. Robertson was in first again in the second frame, with a good red to the middle to get going. Robertson was already on 51 when he played the split to the pack from the black, but he couldn’t get on one and was forced to play safe with his 58 point lead. A brilliant long red soon had him back in with a second opportunity to kill off the frame. That was exactly what he did with an additional 22 stopping Ding from coming back to the table, and giving the Australian a 2-0 advantage. Neil Robertson was first in again in the third frame, after potting a good red to the middle, but could only make 12 after failing to get on a red after splitting the pack from the blue, which was really unlucky. Robertson missed a long red in dramatic fashion shortly afterwards, as the red wobbled and came off of the table. Another missed long red from Neil shortly afterwards cost him, as Ding was left right in amongst the reds. A good split of the reds on 41 from the blue left Ding with all the balls open to get his first frame on the board. However, the mistake came shortly afterwards as Ding missed a red with the rest on 51, leaving Robertson with a great opportunity to counter. That was exactly what Robertson did as a break of 60 was enough to put him 3-0 in front and only one frame from taking the PTC Grand Finals title.

Ding really needed to improve and fight back if he was going to win this title now, and an early Robertson miss of a red to the green pocket left Ding in with a chance, a good red to the green pocket early on kept the break going and he picked the reds off nicely at the beginning of the break until he left himself a tricky red to the middle on 52, which he just missed. When Robertson missed another red to the green pocket in similar fashion though, Ding was back in again and already with a healthy advantage in the frame. A nice plant on 15 just stopped Robertson coming back to the table, and a further 70 made sure that Ding got his first frame on the board and stayed in the match at 1-3. But was this the start of a brilliant comeback? Well, Ding was first in again in the fifth frame with a brilliant long pot to get on the blue as well, giving him a brilliant opening to score, and score was exactly what he did, making a magical 130 total clearance to close to within a frame of Neil who hadn’t had a chance since going 3-0 up, at 2-3. A poor safety from Neil early in the sixth frame, gave Ding another early scoring occasion. Although, it didn’t amount to much as Ding was forced to play safe on 9 after failing to split the black away from the reds near it’s spot. After a long safety battle after this, Ding made the first mistake to give Neil his first opportunity to try and win the match. He’d got to 44 before he played a poor positional shot to get on the next red and had to play safe with a 30 point lead. A missed pot attempt from Robertson, left the Chinaman in with a chance to close the gap in the frame, or even possibly win it. Some good pots on the final reds put him 6 points ahead going down to the colours, but when he massively overdone his position on the yellow, ending up snookered on it behind the green, bringing on a vital battle on the colours. After an exchange of fluked snookers from both men, it was Robertson that was unable to get the yellow safe from one of Ding’s fluked snookers, with Ding potting the yellow, green, brown, blue and pink to confirm that we would be heading into a deciding frame at 3-3.

Neil missed a long red early in the seventh and final frame, and Ding potted a nice red to the yellow pocket to get going, and give him the first proper opening. A brilliant split of the reds on 14 from the blue gave him a brilliant chance to win the match at that visit. That was exactly what Ding did as he manoeuvred through the reds brilliantly and only an in-off from the black on 98 stopped him finishing the match with a century, but Ding didn’t mind as he had a fist pump of his own and banged his chest to show what this win meant to him. It was truly a brilliant performance from Ding Junhui, to come back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 and one that is worthy of “classic” status.

What a match that was, and you know the rest of the countdown is going to be good when this only just made 10th place, with some brilliant break-building and a terrific comeback from Ding Junhui, producing a good advert for the short format. Did you enjoy that? Then be sure to return tomorrow on the very eve of Christmas to find out who enters the countdown in ninth place.

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 11th Place: Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy (2013 Shanghai Masters L16)

The second day of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown takes us back to Thursday 19th September 2013 when Ding Junhui took on Shaun Murphy in the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters and produced an absolutely brilliant match, that had pretty much everything with great scoring and tension by the bag full.

So let's have a look back on what happened on this thrilling Shanghai evening:

Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy

Ding Junhui potted the first red of the match after a missed long red from Murphy, and carved out a nice chance in the opening frame, but he failed to split the pack and could only make 42. Shaun then knocked in a great long red, giving him a nice chance to take the opener. That was exactly what he did as a lovely break of 86 gave Murphy a 1-0 lead. Ding fluked a red early in the second, but could only make 5 before missing the green and letting Murphy back in. Shaun had made 30 before he missed the black from its spot looking to break the reds open, and letting Ding in, the opposite of what happened in the first frame, and after a plant on 20 from Ding, the remaining 3 reds were all there for the taking, as the Chinaman made it 1-1 with a 74 clearance. After Ding left a red on failing to escape from a snooker early in the third, Shaun had another chance and got the reds open straight away. A great recovery red on 16 got him back in position, but when he ran out of position on 19, and played an average safety shot, Ding potted a fairly simple long red to get his chance to score. He had to pot a couple of good balls along the way, but otherwise he made the break look simple as a nice 67 left Murphy needing a couple of snookers which he couldn’t get, making it 2-1 to Ding Junhui. After a scrappy start to the fourth frame, a simple missed red from Ding gave Murphy an excellent chance to level the match going into the interval. A break of 62 punished Ding’s error and made it 2-2. A very classy break of 84 gave Ding Junhui the frame after the interval to make it 3-2. It was a bad miss from Ding that gave Murphy the chance to level once more, and Shaun took all of the balls very well, and built a brilliant break of 102 made it 3-3.

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the seventh frame was a very scrappy one indeed, certainly to start with, with lots of reds going safe and neither player able to really get in. Shaun managed to make a good plant, but was snookered in all of the colours by the reds, and on the second attempt at the escape, he left a free ball and gave Ding Junhui a good chance to go back in front. A good recovery red to the middle, but he soon went in off on the pink to squander the opportunity. However, Shaun then failed to make a plant on some reds near the corner and soon opened the reds, but Ding missed another pink, letting The Magician back in with a chance to close the gap in the frame at least. Although, he only made 4 before he ran out of position once more. Ding then potted the next 2 reds (playing a snooker in between) but he missed the green that would have only let Murphy tie. But, as things went in this frame, Shaun missed the red and the Chinaman potted it, but failed to get on the yellow, as Murphy came back for 3 snookers. Murphy got one snooker and then potted the yellow, green and brown to leave him needing one more snooker on the blue, but he failed to get it and Ding potted the blue to finally make it 4-3. Murphy potted a simple long red early in frame eight, and then went into them from a red on 3, but couldn’t get on a colour, and was forced to play a snooker. Shaun Murphy later potted a brilliant long red to get perfectly on the black, and had a great chance to take the match all the way, and a great recovery shot on a red near the black cushion soon put him bang in amongst them, and Shaun took the rest really well to insure that the match went the full nine frames with a break of 84.

Ding was first in, in the decider with a nice long red to get perfectly on the black, and gift him a scoring chance. The home favourite managed to make 40 before he got a poor split on the reds and missed a tough double. 2 more reds and blacks later for Ding and he had a valuable 60 point lead with 7 reds left, but 4 of those on the side cushion. Ding potted the next red after Shaun missed a long one and made his lead 61 with 75 on, but with the black also relatively safe. Murphy then potted red and pink to reduce the gap to 54, but failed to get into the safe reds and had to play safe. A few pots later from Shaun, and he’d closed the gap to 39 but with only 43 on. Ding then missed a pot on the only red he needed, and went in off, but Shaun failed to get the snooker behind the yellow from the ball in hand situation, and Ding was able to go one better with his next shot, and play a superb snooker.  Murphy’s first attempt brought about some laughter from himself and the crowd as he failed miserably at his attempts on a masse shot, and a comment from Shaun that “at least nobody was watching”.  His second attempt went to the other extreme and he was whiskers away from getting out of the impossible snooker, bringing Shaun to his knees, but also meaning he could now only tie the frame. Ding soon had him snookered again, and Murphy missed again to leave him 47 behind with 43 on the table. Ding then potted the penultimate red with the pink to leave Murphy needing 5 snookers and put the game beyond any doubt, and when Ding potted the final red that was game over, ending this thrilling contest with a 5-4 win for home favourite Ding Junhui, who went on to win the event and claim another win on home soil, which was only fair having come through such a high quality encounter.

This is what Shaun Murphy had to say to me when he looked back on the match a couple of weeks ago:

My match against Ding in this year’s Shanghai masters was a really good game. It was always going to be I guess. I'd been away from home for three weeks at that point having played in the World 6 reds Championships in Thailand, an exhibition event in Hong Kong and I knew my game was in good shape. Again the match went the distance and ended with a pretty scrappy frame. The match pretty much swung on a snooker that Ding laid on me with two reds left, and still to this day I haven't managed to escape from it. I set the shot up a few times on my table where I practise at Urmston Cons Club and I'm still trying.

On the day itself, I tried to Massè around the yellow all the way down the table and land on a red near the side cushion. Unfortunately but quite funnily I miss cued and the cue ball literally travelled about 6 inches! It was hilarious at the time and still raises a smile thinking about it now. It was of course replaced and I had another go, this time playing a more conventional shot using 5 or 6 cushions, missing the red by a fraction. This left me needing snookers and from then on the writing was on the wall. It's never nice to lose, but at least that shot gave a few people a laugh at the time, including me.

 

I'd like to thank Shaun for doing that little piece for me there, on what was a truly brilliant contest between two brilliant players, that will in fact meet again in the first round of January's Masters, and we could well be talking about that match this time next year. So, who will take 10th place on my Christmas countdown? Be sure to come back tomorrow and find out.

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 12th Place: Stephen Maguire Vs Stuart Bingham (Welsh Open Final)

Right then, it's that time of year that we've all been waiting for. That's right my 12 days of Christmas countdown of the 12 best snooker matches of 2013. Before we get underway with the countdown I better lay out what we can expect over the next 12 days and that is the best 12 matches (in my opinion) from the beginning of the 2012 UK Championships to the end of the 2013 Champion of Champions cup.

The first match of the countdown takes us back to the 17th February this year when Stephen Maguire took on Stuart Bingham in the 2013 Welsh Open final, and with both players playing brilliantly during the week this was always going to be a tough match to call, but also a cracking contest.

 

So let's take a look back on what happened over this amazing Best-of-17 final:

Stephen Maguire Vs Stuart Bingham:

 

Early on in the final, Bingham potted a nice long red after a missed long red from Maguire, but after going into the pack and being snookered on all colours he gave away 28 points in fouls before going in off and leaving Maguire a chance at a long red which he missed. Maguire then potted a nice red to the middle pocket after a safety battle near the black spot end, and soon created a nice chance to win the frame.  A really good break of 71 from Stephen made sure that he got a really good start and make it 1-0. Bingham missed another long red early in the second, giving Maguire an early chance to build a decent advantage. He went on to make a good break of 62, before going into the reds from the blue and failing to get on one nicely. Maguire was soon back in again though, and a good red to the green pocket on 7 ensured that Bingham would need snookers if he came back and led by 76 with 67 on.  Eventually though, Maguire potted a nice long penultimate red to secure the frame and a 2-0 lead. After a longer safety battle in frame three, Bingham potted a nice red to the centre pocket before then missing a blue off of the spot, giving Maguire another chance. However Maguire could only make 14 before he ran out of position, but he did leave Bingham snookered on all reds. Bingham then potted a good long red, and put Maguire into an impossible snooker on the baulk cushion. Maguire had no choice but to smash the cue ball into the jaws of the green pocket, managing to come down and hit a red, but he was very unfortunate to leave a red on and give Bingham a great chance. A good break of 56 left Maguire needing a snooker, but when Bingham potted the last red it made sure that he’d get his first frame on the board and make it 1-2. In the last frame before the interval, Bingham potted a great early long red but could only make 12 from it. Maguire managed to get in with a nice double, and after a decent split of the reds he had a nice chance to build a good lead in the fourth frame. Some good recovery reds from Maguire kept the break going, and put him in a great position to win the frame in 1 visit. Maguire did exactly that, taking a 3-1 lead with a fabulously well-made break of 114.

After the break, Bingham was first in after being left a red to the middle, although he could only make 7 as he missed a difficult blue to the corner. However, Stephen then missed a straight mid-range red allowing Bingham back to the table straight away with a chance. Some good early shots to get the black open made it into a great frame winning opportunity, and a very good break of 79 made sure that he did take the frame and close the gap to a single frame at 2-3. A missed pot with the rest by Stuart in the sixth frame, gave Maguire a nice opportunity to gain an early advantage in the frame. A great positional shot from the black on 33, and nice recovery red on 40 then made it into a superb chance to go 2 frames ahead once more. An excellent 110 put Maguire 4-2 ahead, with just 2 frames left in the session. In the seventh frame, Bingham got in with a great red to the middle, and a brilliant recovery red on 16 kept the break going in fantastic fashion. Stuart was on 55 when he missed a tricky red to the middle, but leaving everything fairly safe. Another superb red to the middle got Bingham back in again, and just a few pots from reducing the deficit once more to only the one frame. An additional 78 making it 3-4, with 1 frame left of the session. Bingham knocked in a magnificent long red early in the eighth frame, and was extremely unlucky not to get on the black. Another good long red, landed Stuart on the black near the corner, but he failed to get on another red and was forced to play safe again. Stephen left Bingham another chance to make a decent contribution in the frame. Bingham had built up a nice 50 point lead when he had to play safe, but was soon back in again after Maguire missed a red with the rest following a kick, but he could only make 6 before missing the red, giving Maguire a chance to steal. A brilliant red on 5 gave him a glimmer of hope, and another good red on 18 got him right back into it, but it was impossible to get on the last red and he played a poor safety to allow Bingham to take the frame and make it 4-4 at the end of the first session.

The first frame of the evening session saw the brilliant standard continue, as Bingham made a nice 73 to extend his run to 3 frames in a row and lead 5-4. Bingham got in, in the next frame with a brilliant long red, before missing a red down the cushion on 15 and letting Maguire in. A nice split of the reds on 13 gave him a decent chance to win the frame and level the contest. However, he missed an easy black on 37 but was soon back in with a brilliant plant. From that plant he made a brilliant 71 to make it 5-5 and turn the final into a best of 7 frame match. Bingham was in first again in the next frame, and he managed to pick off the reds brilliantly making a magnificent 118 to regain the lead at 6-5. Bingham was in first again in the next frame, pulling out another top long red, landing him onto the brown. He managed to make 36 before he missed the blue going into the reds, but when Maguire missed a tight black which only just went, Bingham was back in almost immediately. When he missed a red on the stretch on 18, he had a 53 point lead, but Maguire failed to pot a relatively simple one and Bingham then had a great chance to make it 7-5 at the interval of the final session. That was exactly what he did, putting him just 2 frames from the Welsh Open title.

After the break, ball-run Bingham made a nice plant, but then missed a tricky brown to the middle, leaving the Scotsman in with an early chance. However, he missed a tough red along the bottom cushion on 11, and Stuart was back in once more, but he missed a chance to open the reds from the blue, and was forced to play safe. Maguire then knocked in an amazing long red to screw back for the yellow and go into the reds. Maguire had put together a good break before he missed a simple red, leaving Bingham another chance. Although, Bingham couldn’t get on the yellow nicely and Stephen came back to the table with a 1 point advantage. Bingham potted the yellow but missed the green and left the green on for Maguire after the Scot played a good snooker behind the black. Bingham potted the brown, but then decided to play safe on the blue turning down a tough pot. Bingham then fluked the blue after a long safety battle but missed the pink, which Maguire knocked in, in great style landing perfectly on the black to win the frame by a point and close the gap to 6-7. The fourteenth frame started off with a nice pressure red from Bingham, to give him an early opportunity to make a nice contribution. Bingham missed a tricky red on 31 though, and was definitely beginning to look like he was under a lot of pressure. Bingham knocked in a fantastic long red to start himself off again, and then played another good red to the middle on 8, but he missed a simple blue on 9 to allow Maguire back to the table with the reds open and only 40 points to make up. Maguire then missed a black on 25 after a kick on the previous red left him out of position, but Stuart missed a long red and then Maguire played a brilliant double to get right back in amongst the balls with a fantastic chance to square the match. A break of 42 made sure that that was exactly what he did, turning the match into a best of 3 now at 7-7. With the momentum now in this final, Stephen Maguire was first in in the fifteenth frame, with a nice red to the middle to get going. After a brilliant split of the reds from a red on 28, and after a decent pink to follow, he now had a good chance to go on and regain the advantage in this great encounter. A lovely break of 77 made sure that he took the lead for the first time in the evening session, going 1 away from victory at 8-7. The sixteenth frame got off to a very scrappy start and resulted in a re-rack. A missed long red shortly afterwards from Bingham gave Maguire his first opportunity to take the title. However, an explosive kick on 20 ended the break prematurely, and Bingham was able to pot a long red in off the blue. However, he could only make 6 before letting Maguire back in who made a decent contribution of 39 to take a nice lead in the frame. Stephen Maguire then played a ridiculous hit and hope from a snooker that wasn’t too hard to get out of. That put Stuart Bingham right in amongst them with a good chance to clear and force the decider. A brilliant pressure pot on the final red along the black cushion, made the rest of the clearance look easy, as a magical clearance of 58 made sure that this game got the final frame shoot-out that it deserved.

Stuart Bingham potted the first ball of the deciding frame, knocking in a good long pot, but failing to get on a colour, playing a good snooker instead. Bingham then potted another decent red, but screwed in off in the middle to give Maguire a half chance at a long red, but the Scotsman failed to take it. The drama continued as Bingham missed a tough plant, and Maguire then got the first real chance after potting a tricky little red of his own. Maguire took all of the balls very well, and after potting a nice red to ensure that Bingham wouldn’t come back to the table for snookers, Stephen punched the table a few times, showing what it meant for him to win this title and end his long wait for a ranking event win, with a 9-8 win over Stuart Bingham. That wonderful 82 in the decider was worthy of winning any ranking event, and adding to the reasons why this match was such a classic final in the history of the event, and in the snooker year of 2013.

 

What a match that was, it had just about everything from top breaks to killer tension, and that only made 12th place on my Christmas classics countdown, so you know there's going to be plenty more quality contests to look back on between now and New Year's Day.

Neil Robertson is UK King

Neil Robertson completed his triple crown at the weekend by beating Mark Selby 10-7 in the 2013 UK Championship final, to go with the Aussies 2012 Masters victory and 2010 World Championship triumph. For me, Robertson really deserved this victory, especially how he played in the evening session of the final, but also through his consistent performances throughout the event.

For me the tournament as a whole was a general success, with the UK Championships taking on the new flat 128 structure, with some brilliant surprises as amateur Mitchell Travis beat Marco Fu 6-5 in the Last 128 stages and the 90th seed David Morris making the Last 16 of the event. However, the best players still climbed to the top as 14 of the top 16 seeds made into the Last 16, and the defending champion and world No.2 contested the final with the World No.1. The York Barbican also showed when it got down to the latter stages why the UK Championships shouldn't be moved from there in the near future, as it was always going to be difficult for any venue to have 8 tables on the go at one time, but with matches like Bingham/Robertson in the semi-finals and the final between Selby and Robertson, the Barbican showed it could host top class snooker to the fans and create a brilliant atmosphere.

Anyway, lets have a look at how the 2013 UK Championship final panned out:

Neil Robertson 10-7 Mark Selby - The final started off in brilliant fashion as Mark Selby knocked in a brilliant 130, to give the crowd a flavour of what to expect in the match. Robertson then reminded everyone of how well he was playing, and that this would be a really closely fought contest as a break of 63 made it 1-1. Selby began taking control of the match after that point thought taking the next 2 frames before the interval, and the next 2 after the interval to lead 5-1, as the World No.1 failed to get into a rhythm and settle into the match. Breaks of 49 and 57 helped the defending champion take advantage of his opponents poor showing to this point. At this stage the final 2 frames of the session became massive for Neil who really needed to win them both to stay in the final. That was just what the World No.1 did in true champions fashion with breaks of 54 and 123 making it 5-3 after the first session, with a possible 11 more frames to come in the evening.

The next session started well for Mark Selby as he managed to carve out a couple of chances on his way to a 6-3 advantage. However this 3 frame lead didn't last long as Robertson managed to find a couple of extra gears, making breaks of 56, 122 and 132 to level the match for the first time since the second frame at 6-6, going into the final mid-session break. After the interval, Robertson continued to dominate, snatching a very important 13th frame to lead for the first time, before he doubled that lead at 8-6 with a break of 47 helping him on his way. Mark Selby kept on fighting though as a break of 74 kept him within 1 frame of Neil Robertson at 8-7. The sixteenth frame was a massive one in the context of the match, and one that really broke Mark Selby. With Selby looking to steal the frame on the black, he had a more difficult black then he would like to clinch the frame and level, but he missed it to everyone's amazement, leaving it for Robertson to take the frame and go 9-7 ahead. Neil took out the match and the title in style though, with a break of 57 in the seventeenth frame giving the Aussie the 10-7 victory, that meant the world to him and all of his family and friends that were there supporting him.


So overall, I don't believe that the new format has taken any of the gloss away from what was still a fantastic tournament once you get down to the latter stages of the event. However, I still think that there is room for improvement for this format, and that to be on a level playing field, the BBC shouldn't be holding matches over from the Last 128 stages.

I still think that everyone involved in the tournament did a great job, and can't wait for the next televised snooker, which happens to be The Masters in January. Can't wait, and I hope that you guys can't either.