Ding shines in Galway

A bit delayed but here's a general overview of the events of the PTC Finals in Galway last week.

First Round- Big names fall early.

There were a lot of bad results for the big names in Galway as 8 out of the 13 top 16 players that qualified, crashed out. John Higgins went out 4-2 to fellow top 16 player Ali Carter, as did Mark Davis 4-0 to in form Mark Allen. Graeme Dott went out to Xiao Guodong 4-1, while Stuart Bingham fell 4-2 to Joe Perry and Mark Williams went out to Leicester's Ben Woollaston 4-3 having led 3-1.

Elsewhere World No.2 Mark Selby went down 4-3 to Jack Lisowski. Selby admitted that he wasn't at his best despite breaks of 76 and 63. But Lisowski made a fine clearance in the decider under pressure and set down the man that topped the Euro order of merit.

Judd Trump was another surprise casualty as he went out against Alfie Burden, who performed superbly. Alfie took an early 2-0 with a good break of 76 in the second. Trump wasn't at his best but levelled at 2-2 only for Burden to go ahead again. Trump won a tight sixth frame, to force a decider but a magnificent 113 in the decider gave Alfie Burden a famous victory.

Comeback man Joe Swail made a great comeback from 3-0 down to Stephen Maguire to win 4-3. Maguire had complete control at 3-0 having made breaks of 89,56 and 52. Joe did have chances though and continued to get them, winning two tight frames to get it back to 3-2. A well played break of 69 in the next forced a decider for the outlaw. Joe Swail played a good decider and took his chance in the end to book his place in the second round.

Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui survived scares to get through also.

Second Round - Favourites through but Captain falls

Tournament favourites Neil Robertson, Mark Allen and Ding Juhui all got through to the quarter-finals while Ali Carter was sent packing by Marco Fu. Tom Ford, Xiao Guodong, Kurt Maflin and Ben Woollaston also got through.

Ding Junhui played fantastically in beating Anthony McGill 4-3, making 3 centuries along the way. Ding made breaks of 101 and 133 in the first 2 frames and a break of 54 in the fourth gave him a 3-1 lead. McGill fought back winning the next two to force a deciding frame. Unfortunately for him it was all in vein as Ding Junhui made a magnificent 130 in the decider to get through.

Neil Robertson came from 1-0 down and 51 points down in the second frame to beat Barry Hawkins 4-1. This one required a decent performance from Robbo as Hawkins looked good early on, but a steal in the second frame from the Aussie turned the match in his favour. He won the next and made breaks of 63 and 58 in the last two frames to get through comfortably in the end.

Ali Carter appeared to lose the plot in his second round match against Marco Fu. Carter took the first frame and looked like taking the second until feathering the white while playing the pink, allowing Fu to level at 1-1. A good break of 63 from Marco gave him a 2-1 lead as Carter was becoming visibly frustrated by missed oppurtunities. He again had chances in the fourth frame but after Fu took that, and the 3-1 lead, Carter seemed to lose any chance of winning the match. It proved true in the fifth frame as a break 55 put Marco Fu in a commanding position to win, and after Carter missed 2 hit and hope shots on the yellow, Fu was gifted the ball he needed for a 4-1 victory.

Quarter-Finals - Ding through with maximum

Ding Junhui booked his place in the semi-finals in Galway with a maximum break on the way to a 4-3 victory over Mark Allen. Elsewhere at the Bailey Allen Hall, Neil Robertson beat Xiao Guodong 4-1, Tom Ford got through 4-1 against Marco Fu and Kurt Maflin overcame Ben Woollaston 4-3.

Ding Junhui hit a 147 in the opening frame of his classic match against Mark Allen. However, he did find himself 2-1 behind as Allen didn't seem fazed by the earlier events. A total clearance of 138 and a break of 81 restored Dings lead and continued the fascinating break building on show to the fantastic crowd. Allen made a century of his own, a classy 125 forcing a great match into a deserved decider. The match ended with yet another century, Ding Junhui's third of the match, a 108, earning him a semi-final against Kurt Maflin.

Neil Robertson eased past Xiao Guodong, despite again losing the firt frame of his match on the way to a 4-1. A tidy break of 60 was enough for Robertson to get back on track at 1-1 and a scrappy third put him 2-1 ahead. He started to put his stamp on the match with a break of 92 in the fourth, putting him 1 frame away from a semi-final place. Neil got their in the fifth frame despite an early 52 from his chinese counterpart and earning a semi-final meeting with Tom Ford.

Semi-Finals - Ding and Robertson seal final spots

Neil Robertson made the final of the PTC Grand Finals in Galway for the second consecutive year with a 4-3 win over Tom Ford. Robertson dominated the early stages of the match, proving why he has such a great head to head record against Ford. Breaks of 50,65 and 80 gave the Thunder from Down Under a 3-0 lead and he looked certain to make the final. Ford did not give up though and breaks of 60,51 and 66 of his own put the pressure on Robertson at 3-2. Ford continued to pile pressure on Neil who missed a chance to win the match and Tom Ford managed to force a decider. In an understandably tense decider both men had early chances, but Neil Robertson eventually took his and celebrated victory with a loud shout of "YES" and a fist pump to the crowd.

Ding Junhui had a much calmer semi-final against Kurt Maflin who never rose to the big occassion. Kurt Maflin had chances in every frame but lost them all and the match 4-0. Maflin failed to convert chances and a break of 53 from Ding gave him the first and he took the second frame comfortably as well. Ding looked comfortable in taking the third frame as well and it looked as if there was no way back for the Norwegian. Maflin had a great chance in the fourth frame, potting a red over the pocket and splitting all of the reds. However, he missed a tricky brown to the middle pocket and gifted Ding a match winning chance, that he took with a break of 73 to put him into the evenings final.

Final- Super comeback gives Ding the title

In a repeat of their Masters first round match, Ding Junhui and Neil Robertson battled it out for the £100,000 first prize in Galway and the title of PTC Grand Finals champion. Robertson started the better of the two players with an 88 break giving him the first frame. The Aussie soon found himself 2-0 ahead with a nice break of 58 showing that he meant business. Ding should have won the third frame, with a break of 51 giving him the chance. However, he couldn't convert it into a frame winner and a Robertson break of 60 made it 3-0 to him just as he did in his earlier semi-final. But in the same manner as that match, things started to swing the other way. Ding made breaks of 52 and 70 to get his first frame on the board. It was soon 3-2 thanks to a brilliant 130 break from Ding, his seventh century break of the week. Neil Robertson had a good chance to win the match 4-2, but he could only manage 44 and Ding came back to the table and forced yet another decider. After Robertson played a poor shot early on in the decider, Ding soon found himself at the table with the chance to win. He soon had the reds nicely split and took them all superbly, an in-off on the black only denying him an eighth century of the week. A bang on the chest from a man who rarely shows any emotion, told everyone what this meant to him and the fantastic Irish crowd, who turned out in good numbers all week (despite several days play finishing past midnight). Ding Junhui in the end, was far better than anyone else during the week and once he got going no-one could stop him as that great final comeback showed.


Thanks for reading and i will be back soon to look ahead to the China Open in Beijing.