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.
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