Player of the Year 2015: The Final Countdown

The big moment has arrived. The time to reveal the best player of 2015 (in my opinion). Below I will order all 12 nominees from the player of the month awards and talk a little bit about why I have placed them where they in the list...

12^th: David Gilbert (October) - Reaching a first major final for David was fantastic in Daqing and hopefully he has now taken the first step on the way to finally fulfilling his potential, and it was particularly good to see him come back like he did there after narrowly missing out in the semi-finals in Bulgaria just a couple of weeks before. Unfortunately for Gilbert, his performances through the rest of the year are not enough to get him any higher up on the list.

11^th: Anthony McGill (April) - Anthony's run through qualifying and to the quarter-finals of the World Championships, winning plenty of tight contests was particularly impressive given some of the deciding frame losses he had suffered during the season. He pushed top players all the way but ultimately lost some key too deciders to Selby in the German Masters and Murphy in the China Open amongst a host of others. Despite all of that he has not been a tournament winner in 2015 and has struggled in the first half of the new season.

10^th: Mark Williams (March) - Consistency has been the name of Mark Williams 2015 pretty much throughout as he has risen back inside the top 16 of the world rankings. The run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open started this all off and was followed by a run to the final of the Gdynia Open, semi-finals in India, Bulgaria and another final at the Players Championship finals, with a whole host of quarter-finals on top of that. He was probably the most consistent player not to win something but because of that and early exits in the World and UK Championships he has to finish lower down on the list.

9^th: Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao (June)  - These two guys did brilliantly to win the World Cup in June against all of the odds and that was fantastic to see, but then to come over to the UK and win their Last 16 matches of the Champion of Champions was remarkable. As an individual Zhou was obviously the most impressive of the two as he has been playing in all pro events and has already broken into the top 64 with half a season to go on his original two year tour card. There's going to be plenty more occasions for these two to top the list in the coming years as individuals.

8^th: Ali Carter (August) - It was a very special time in August when Ali Carter emotionally won the Paul Hunter Classic. After what he has been through it was great to see him achieve another tournament victory and it was also nice to see him make the quarter-finals of the Masters when his seeding was frozen at 13 for the 2014/2015 season. I still feel that there is a long way to go for Carter before he is back at his very best and I would like to see him achieve this.

7^th: Kyren Wilson (September) - Kyren Wilson's win in Shanghai was a magnificent performance in September and he has since followed that up with a semi-final appearance in the Champion of Champions. The next step for Wilson is to break the top 16 and challenge for a big ranking event in the UK or Europe but there is plenty of time for him to achieve this.

6^th: Mark Allen (November) - As well as winning the Bulgarian Open in November and the Champion of Champions final, Allen lost out in the semi-finals of the Masters to the rampant Shaun Murphy, and was very unlucky to lose in the Last 16 of the World Championships as Hawkins won four in a row to take that match. A lot of improvement was shown from Allen and I think he is now in a position where he could really challenge for all of the majors in 2016 so well done to him.

5^th: Mark Selby (February) - Selby was superb in 2016 and unlucky not to finish higher up on the list. A certain Eurosport commentator considered his season as world champion to be poor with German Masters and China Open titles, what more do you want Mike? The German Masters win was particularly good considering that he has been playing a different cue sport in China just two days before where he made the final, and in the Masters he lost in the first round but to a man who went on to win the whole thing. In the International and UK Championships he lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winners too so it has by no means been a bad year in 2015 for Selby.

4^th: Stuart Bingham (May) - Some people will think putting the World Champion in at fourth place is very harsh. What he achieved in Sheffield was superb but he will admit it has been a little bit of a struggle since then, and when you consider the three players that are above him in the list you will see that it was a very tough decision for me. Bingham has been a credit to snooker in 2015 once again and deserves everything good that comes his way from being world champion as he is a genuinely nice man and someone we as snooker fans can be extremely grateful to have representing out sport.

3^rd: John Higgins (July) - Three ranking titles for John Higgins would normally see him at the top of this list but I think that his wins in Wales and Australia come in tournaments with either short formats at the start or less top players involved and the prize money tariff reflects this. If he had gone further than the Last 16 of the Masters and World Championships or got over the line in his UK classic with Neil Robertson then he would certainly be number one in my mind and it was nice to see him return.

2^nd: Shaun Murphy (January) - Shaun again is quite unlucky not to have won overall as well. Especially when you consider he's my favourite player and we get on well. What a year it was though for Shaun. A Masters win, completion of the Triple Crown, narrowly missing out on a second world title as well as very consistent performances in all of the European Tour events which a lot of players neglect of course. Two finals in Germany at the German Masters and Paul Hunter Classic backed up that this is the best year of Shaun's career to date and I think there is plenty more to come from the Magician. His charity work is another reason that he should be high up on the list. He is a credit to the sport and is leading the way on many fronts. His interaction with fans via social media is second to none and he is always a gentleman. The bottom line is that like Stuart Bingham, we as snooker fans are very lucky to have him.

1^st: Neil Robertson (December) - That means that the winner without a doubt is Neil Robertson. For me, Neil is now the leading player in the world. To choose to make a major diet change when you are a sportsman at the very top of your game is a very gutsy decision to make. He is also leading the way when it comes to peaking for the majors. UK Champion, Champion of Champions, Masters finalist and a deciding frame loss in the World quarter-finals. Not a bad haul for 2015 is it!! Add to that a win on the European Tour and a 147 maximum in the UK final then you have a very well rounded player who is the leading man in snooker.

 

So there you have it. 2015 done. What awaits in 2016 and who will be the leading player? Well we'll all just have to wait and see. 

Moment of the Month 2015: The Final Countdown

It's the final countdown. Time for me to reveal my favourite moment from the world of snooker in 2015. I will do this by counting down the 12 monthly nominations in order to get to number one...

12^th: Ford makes Riga final months after clinging on to tour spot (August) - This was a nice moment for Tom at the time particularly after the couple of years he had had on the baize. While it was nice to see it doesn't really stick out as one of the main memories of the year.

11^th: Ben Woollaston reaches maiden ranking final (February) - A similar feeling for me applies to Ben Woollaston making the Welsh Open final here. While it was a great moment to see him start to kick on and reach a first ranking final, because he didn't win the title and it hasn't led to greater things as yet, it doesn't feel like a pivotal moment in the grand scheme of 2015.

10^th: Gould so close to maiden ranking title (July) - This was a good confidence boosting moment for Martin Gould, especially just a few months on from blowing his chance to make the final of the World Grand Prix, and while it would have hurt to lose for a while ultimately he didn't lose the final, John simply won it. He has taken confidence from it as you can see from performances since but again the moment doesn't carry the same magic as certain others.

9^th: McLeod grabs first ever tournament win (October) - What a moment this was for Rory McLeod over the course of a weekend a the Ruhr Open for him to win his first professional tournament. To get him higher up on this list though with the stuff of legend in 2015 it would have to be a full ranking title, but that doesn't take anything away from what he achieved.

8^th: Davis rolls back the years in black ball thriller (April) - 30 years on from the 1985 black ball final it was just nice to see Steve Davis still competing, but to be playing well and winning matches in deciding frames on the black it was wonderful, even if it was just a one-off event.

7^th: World Cup winners beat world finalists (June) - The reason this one was in 7th place is simply because, as good a moment as it was to see Zhou Yuelong beat Stuart Bingham and Yan Bingtao beat Shaun Murphy (unless you'd been invited to watch and was supporting Shaun!!), this wasn't even the Chinese teenagers best moment of 2015, so how could it be mine.

6^th: White wins Indian Open and Shoot-out in magical 10 days (March) - In the moment these were two fantastic victories and have really spurred him on up the rankings with greater confidence and are surely the start of great things to come. Winning once a year is enough for most players but to win twice in the space of a couple of weeks for your two biggest pay days in snooker really is magical.

5^th: Young Chinese pair win World Cup (June) - This was of course the event I referred to earlier when Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong won the World Cup in Wuxi representing China B, against all of the odds. They weren't even meant to be the best Chinese representatives in the event, purely there some may say to make up the numbers but instead we saw a glimpse into the future and two players who are going to be here for a very long time indeed.

4^th: Murphy finally completes Triple Crown (January) - The special thing for me about Shaun Murphy finally winning the Masters to complete snookers Triple Crown was how close he had come before, how long it had been since he completed the second leg by winning the 2008 UK Championship, and some of the worrying reflections he had immediately after his exit in the 2014 Masters. You could see the delight and relief in his body language and expressions immediately after a 10-2 stylish thrashing of Neil Robertson. It was right up there with the snooker memories of 2015.  

3^rd: Wenbo jumps for joy as he earns Masters spot (December) - The whole achievement with Wenbo here was getting into a Triple Crown final and securing his spot in the Masters but the real magic with this came with the 'heart on sleeve' philosophy to the play of Liang Wenbo. Especially in the semi-final you could see how much pressure he was under, while his celebrations after each one of his victories in the Last 32, 16, quarter and semi-finals was special to watch and well worth a podium finish in my countdown here.

2^nd: Wilson wins in Shanghai as qualifier (September) - He was a qualifier. He nearly didn't get his visa to even attend the tournament. There was certainly no easy draw for Kyren Wilson and a couple of deciders against top players like Ding Junhui and Judd Trump were negotiated with the style that made this such a phenomenal moment. To see someone so young rise through the pack and win his first ranking event shows the sort of potential that we are talking about here with Kyren and there are going to be plenty more magic moments to come from him but second place is by no means bad for your first effort!!!

1^st: Bingham’s tearful Triumph (May) - The winner by far though has to be the World Championship victory for Stuart Bingham at the Crucible in May. Like Kyren he didn't do it the easy way with victories against three former world champions and another one in the making in Judd Trump. After his wins against Ronnie and Judd you could see the tears in his interviews and see what it meant to him and just speaking to him about it now you can pick up two things. The first is that this couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving player as he relishes everything that comes with being a world champion, and the second is very much an extension of the first in that he is such a snooker geek, lover and enthusiast that he appreciates what being a world champion means. He has worked so hard for this moment that it would take a sheer lack of heart for me to not give him first place on my countdown.

 

There you have it then Stuart Bingham and his Crucible win is by far my moment of 2015. I'm sure there will be many great moments in snooker in 2016 too so I look forward to getting the 2016 of snooker underway.

Classic Matches of 2015 Countdown: 2nd Place: Barry Hawkins Vs Neil Robertson (World Championships)

In second place, falling just short of victory on the classic matches of 2015 contest we have a fantastic quarter-final from this years World Championship between Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins.

With 2014’s two World Championship losing semi-finalists battling for a place in the 2015 semi-finals it was all set to be a classic contest on paper. The opening frame was scrappy but it went the way of Hawkins after he fluked the final red and was able to clear the colours to lead 1-0. Neil was soon into his groove in the next to take advantage of Barry’s error with a superb century of 115 to level up at 1-1. An early break of 43 in the third gave Robertson a commanding position in the frame after a good pot from range gave him the chance. Another trademark long shot gave him the chance to kill it off, which he managed with a further contribution of 70 to move ahead 2-1. The next frame was scrappy again and Robertson needed three chances, but Hawkins offered little and Neil was able to get over the line with more quality potting to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.

Barry was looking to improve after the interval and a brilliant range pot gave him the first scoring visit. 47 was accumulated before he opened the reds from a red but failed to hold onto position. Another long pot allowed him to finish the job, and the additional 44 sealed it to get a frame back at 2-3. Hawkins was into his own groove in frame six after a pot to the middle giving him an opportunity that he grabbed with both hands, never really looking in trouble in a break of 98 to square the match at 3-3. In frame seven Hawkins picked out a very clever plant to get yet another chance and with the reds well placed again he made the most of it. On this occasion a clearance of 96 made it three frames in a row now to lead 4-3, and guarantee that he couldn’t lose the session having looked in a precarious position, 3-1 behind at the interval earlier on. He was soon in a commanding position in the final frame of the session, making an early 48 from a confident long pot, but when his pack opener failed to yield a red from which he could continue the break he had to play safe. Poor safeties from Neil gifted him the opening to seal the frame and he was able to add enough to win a dramatic session of snooker 5-3 after taking the last four frames.

At the start of session two Robertson had the first chance amongst the balls but missed an easy pink with the rest to hand Barry a golden opportunity. There was nothing flashy from Hawkins with the balls spread and on a plate for him, and there was little problem in the 108 clearance that extended his lead on day two of this match to 6-3 and making it five frames in a row overall. A well-executed red had Hawkins in yet again in frame ten. Again the reds were fairly open, and even though the black was tied up he was able to work off of the pink. A very weak positional shot on 28 cost him as he just failed to land on the pink and was forced to run away for safety. Robertson made a nice plant but when he missed the green, and he was able to do enough to leave Neil needing snookers which he didn’t manage and Barry made it six frames in a row to lead 7-3. After being dominated for six frames, the Australian needed to respond and very soon which was why the long pot at the start of frame eleven was very timely. He only made 18 though as he lost position after going into the pack from a loose red. When Barry’s chance came he missed a simple red to hand over a lovely opportunity back to Neil. A dead set plant on 29 allowed him to well and truly finish off the frame, fully punishing Hawkins with a run of 65 closing the gap to three at 4-7. Neil was in first in frame twelve with an opening 50 before a silly miss with the rest to gift Hawkins a way back into the frame. Hawkins made 42, to close to within 8 before missing the pink and leaving the last red on for the Aussie who cleared as far as he had to, and go into the break just 5-7 behind.

Neil opened up with a run of 33 in frame thirteen but after his pack opener didn’t turn out as planned he ultimately lost position. When Barry’s chance came he succeeded when going into the pack on 19, and he made it to 42 before having to play safe, failing to obtain position on the final two reds in the middle of the table. A poor snooker escape cost Hawkins though as Robertson expertly brought out the final safe red and cleared to make it three frames in a row at 6-7. When a Hawkins error left Robertson in amongst the balls, with most reds open he played some sweet positional shots and kept complete control of the table in a 130 clearance that levelled the match up after four frames in a row from Neil to make it 7-7 with two frames left of the session. Frame fifteen was very scrappy which summed up the tension at this important stage of the match. When Hawkins chance came he managed to open up many of the safe reds and the break he made was classy to put himself 20 in front with 51 left before rattling a testing red. Robertson potted the next red but missed the yellow from distance but Hawkins missed his colour to remain 20 points in front with 35 remaining. As the frame ticked past the 50 minute mark, Robertson missed his chance on the final red and left it for Hawkins but he could only pot a colour and lay a snooker and ultimately he did enough to win the frame and go 8-7 ahead and they were taken off at this stage as they wouldn’t be able to fit the final frame in, before the afternoon matches got underway.

In the final session Neil Robertson was quickly into his stride and with his first chance he was in a dominant mood starting with a magical 141 total clearance to level the scores at 8-8. After a bout of safety at the start of frame seventeen, Robertson missed a red to the middle leaving Hawkins in with loads of reds in the open to pick off. He made 20 before missing one of the easiest reds he will miss and leaving the golden opportunity for Robertson. He was left a tough red to the middle to get in and put it on the far jaw to give Barry a huge let off. He kept in control from there and countered Robertson’s 141 in the previous frame with a break of 108 here to go ahead again at 9-8. When Robertson was left a free ball early in the next he looked solid for 23 until missing an easy red and handing the opportunity across to the Hawk. He took his chance with a second century in succession to move two frames clear leading 10-8. A trademark long pot from the Australian had him in first again in frame nineteen and after watching consecutive centuries from Barry he needed to respond. Once into the reds on 36 the chance was there for a frame to be killed off in one visit again. The frame was soon in the bag, and an easy miss on 90 was the only thing that stopped it from being four centuries in four frames from both players, and the mini session was squared 2-2 to make it 10-9 to Barry Hawkins at the mid-session interval.

Both players had chances after the break, but the key one came after a sensational plant from range from the Australian and he made 65 from there to level the game up once more at 10-10, making it a best-of-5 frames match effectively for a place in the semi-finals. The sensational snooker continued in frame twenty-one after Robertson rolled in a terrific long red and followed with his second 140+ break of the evening, a total clearance of 142 this time to go ahead for the first time since 3-2 at 11-10. Neil had a nice chance early in the twenty-second frame but it was cut short when he seemed to have a heavy contact on a tough red to the middle, cutting him short on 29 and leaving Barry Hawkins an opportunity he simply had to make the most out of. He certainly did exactly that with brilliant pots on the last couple of reds on the way to a superb 109 clearance as the unbelievable standard in this final session continued. After a scrappy opening to frame twenty-three Hawkins had the first chance after rolling in a spectacular long red to get in. With the reds in the open now though and the black on its spot he just needed to keep control and pick the loose reds off to take a vital frame. He did just that with a contribution of 76 to put him back in front at 12-11 and one away from the semi-finals. After a careless escape from Hawkins in the twenty-fourth Robertson was able to pot a red with the spider and build up a 52 point lead to put Barry under some early pressure. That lead was extended to 60 but still with 91 on the table if the Englishman’s chance came along. A good pot and positional shot to run through the pack of reds gave Hawkins that chance, but he lost position on only 28 with a deficit of 32 still standing and three reds left on the table. A bad safety from Hawkins left Neil the chance he needed to clear the remaining reds and force a deciding frame at 12-12.

Neil Robertson fluked a red from his safety shot early on in the final frame, but when he missed a brown to the middle from that red it left Barry the first real chance. 25 points were accumulated before missing a tough brown of his own, and after Robertson potted a red the next time Hawkins played a shot he was snookered. On the second miss, a free ball was left for the Australian but again he lost position still 7 adrift of Hawkins after his pack opener yielded nothing. In the end the big chance fell the way of Hawkins after a decent mid-range pot got him in and opened the reds. Another clever shot on the pink opened it up even more and left him a golden chance to clinch frame and match. When the winning ball went down he let out a huge burst of emotion with fist pumps up to friends in the crowd and a break of 61 proved enough to win a pure classic against Neil Robertson 13-12, a match in which the standard of play itself speaks for how fantastic a match it was.

Moment of the Month: December: Wenbo jumps for joy as he earns Masters spot

The final nominee for the Moment of the Year countdown is upon us, the Moment of the month for December...

December’s main event was the UK Championships in York and one of the headlining points from the event in York was all of the shocks that took place with the runs of guys like David Grace, but the moment I have chosen as my moment of the month for December is the run of Liang Wenbo to make the final, break into the top 16 and grab a place in the Masters.

On December 1^st he played his stable-mate and practice partner Judd Trump in the events Last 32 after coming through two easy matches in the early rounds. However, he didn’t have much chance in the early stages as Judd didn’t let him score a single point in the opening three frames as he went 3-0 behind. His response in frame four was to build a break of 78 and just about stay in it, 1-3 behind at the interval. A break of 67 put Trump 4-1 ahead and you felt that there was no way back for the Chinese player. Judd started to relax though and made a few crucial errors to hand Wenbo chances. A break of 54 was Liang’s best in the three frames in succession that levelled the match at 4-4. A run of 62 was the key in frame nine to make it four in a row and put him 5-4 in front, and from Judd’s body language you could sense that that was that. Wenbo needed plenty of chances to win the match, but when he eventually did win it on the colours there was a loud outburst of “come on”.

Next up in the Last 16 a couple of days later he took on Tom Ford in a massive opportunity for both players to make it through to a major quarter-final. Tom Ford won the opening two frames of the match but then Wenbo found his game with runs of 122 and a 67 to follow that and level the match at 2-2. Ford then came back after the mid-session interval with runs of 86, 58 and 92 on the way to forging a 5-3 lead and moving one away from the quarter-finals. Once again, Liang headed down the comeback trail with runs of 88 and 53 to force an eleventh and deciding frame. Once again we he pushed over the winning line, there was a celebration just to show how much all of this meant to Liang with a 6-5 winning putting him into the quarter-finals.

After their Last 16 match, Ford described Wenbo as boring which I would like to think was the inspiration behind his quarter-final performance against Marco Fu. You would never describe Liang as boring with all of his antics but also with how he can entertain you with his high scoring which he demonstrated at the start of the quarter-finals. He started with three century breaks of 106, 132 and 136 to lead the match 3-0 and Marco had hardly put a foot wrong. Liang was in again and looking to score big but a miss on 49 denied him the chance of four successive centuries, and Marco took advantage with a break of 64 to go into the interval only 1-3 behind. Fu won the next as well, but when Wenbo went 5-2 ahead it looked for all money that he was cruising into the semi-finals. Marco though had other ideas as Liang struggled to get over the line and he won three on the trot to force a deciding frame. Yet again though, Wenbo was dominant in the deciding frame and another big celebration followed with a “come on” putting him into the last 4.

His opponent in the semi-finals was David Grace who was seeded outside of the top 64 before the tournament began, but the pressure was all on Liang Wenbo as both the favourite to now get into the final, and of course with the pressure of getting into the top 16 if he won this match on his shoulders, with this event being the last before the cut off for the Masters. Both players looked incredibly nervy, particularly in the lengthy opening frame that went to Liang. It was Grace that settled better thereafter winning the next three frames to forge a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval. Wenbo settled after the break with a 110 helping him on the way 2-3 but Grace pulled two clear again at 4-2. From there Wenbo was dominant as David could only manage single figure scores in the next two frames, and a run of 50 from Wenbo was fantastic in putting him 5-4 up. The drama unfolded in frame ten when Grace missed the final pink to the middle to force a decider and Wenbo potted pink and black followed by a big celebration as he jumped around with the joy of what he had just achieved.

The best bit for me was when Liang was interviewed after his games and you could see how excited he was to have made into the Masters. He’s certainly been working hard on his English but you certainly didn’t need words or translations to see how excited and happy he was after all of his amazing wins and to hold his nerve in so many big moments was astonishing. For that reason he is my final nominee for Moment of the Year as December’s moment of the month.

Come back tomorrow for my final countdown and the big reveal of my Moment of 2015.

Player of the Month: December: Neil Robertson

Here we go guys. My final nomination for the player of the year in 2015 is my player of the month for December, Neil Robertson.

Of course the UK Championship is the main event taking place at the start of December and as he stormed to victory he showed in my opinion why he is currently the best player in the snooker world.

Whatever was thrown his way in York, he overcame with great skill and bottle as all of the very best players do. On the table he is a heartless machine. He isn’t afraid to punish players for their mistakes and make them pay for not taking advantage of the minimal chances that they are given by the Australian’s minimal mistakes.

There are two great cases of when this was shown in the UK Championships was against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the Last 32 and in the semi-finals against Mark Selby. Thepchaiya got himself back into the game with a break of 140 in the middle of the match, but as we are all well aware he missed the final black for a magnificent 147 maximum break when he seemed to have done all of the hard work. While Neil personally would have felt a great deal of sympathy for his Thai opponent at this point, he didn’t let this show on the table, by going one frame away from winning the match with a faultless break of 145 which at that stage was the highest break of the tournament also, just to stick the knife in as far as Thepchaiya would have been concerned.

Then against Mark Selby he was not afraid to stick the knife in once more. There were several occasions in the match where Mark had got in first and built a decent lead only to fail in winning the frame in one visit and giving Robertson a chance. Some of Neil’s clearances to take advantage of the opportunities handed to him were superb and the catalyst for a stunning 6-0 victory that absolutely no-one could have seen coming. The thinking that the top players have in these situation is that “if roles were reversed I would not be shown any sympathy from my opponent” if they were not at the very top of their games and Neil is one of the best at this.

In the big events he rises to the challenge and that was what he showed in his last 16 and quarter-final matches against Scottish opponents Stephen Maguire and then John Higgins. Maguire started his last 16 match with Robertson with a century only to barely get another chance as Neil scored for fun and didn’t really miss anything. He simply rose to the challenge and played six sublime frames on the trot to win the match 6-1.

Then against John Higgins he had to sit and watch his opponent make three century breaks and two other breaks of 66 and 69 in the five frames of the match that he won. Most players when playing against a player of John’s class and presented with the snooker that he played would simply roll over thinking there was no way on the day that such snooker could be beaten. With Robertson’s sheer grit and determination he knew that he could still win if he played good snooker and stuck to his game.

Then of course in the final we saw the break to end all breaks, a maximum 147 break. Under the pressure of a Triple Crown final you would think that making such breaks would be the last thing on your mind. However, once presented with the opportunity it is only in Robertson’s nature to take this chance and the positional play he exhibited not just in the break but throughout the sessions in the UK final against Liang Wenbo was of the very highest quality and was the mark of a true champion. The maximum was the first in the final of a Triple Crown event.

In my opinion Neil is one of the players that is the best at gearing himself up for the major events as he has shown in 2015 and he will probably go on to break all records for an overseas player as far as winning major titles is concerned. His background as an overseas player coming over to the UK to ply his trade has made him a tougher player and nothing will stand in the way of success for Neil. The UK Championship is just one example of that and is why he is my player of the month for December.

Tomorrow of course I will reveal my Player of 2015 and reveal the final order with all 12 nominees for the title.

Classic Matches of 2015 Countdown: 3rd Place: Mark Selby Vs Kurt Maflin (World Championships)

Time for a classic match? Absolutely! Today we have the first of the podium places in third place from the opening day of the World Championships between Mark Selby and Kurt Maflin...

All of the pressure in this match was of course on defending world champion Mark Selby, with all of the talk about the Crucible curse and when it might strike. A thundering long pot got him going in the opening frame. After opening the pack on 33 he was looking good to take the opening frame of the 2015 World Championships, and he looked in very good touch early doors compiling a frame winning 84 for a 1-0 lead. The Norwegian representative’s first chance came from a thin cut in frame two. Kurt had been in fantastic form to come through three rounds of qualifying straight after making the semi-finals of the China Open, where he lost out 6-3 to eventual champion Selby. He was soon in full flow here too, getting on the board thanks to a heavy contribution of 96 making it 1-1. A large run of the ball was going Maflins way in frame three. He got in after fluking the red he attempted as a long pot and then when going into the pack he just avoided knocking a red into the right corner. From that red the cue ball was running loose until a cannon left him perfect on the pink and now with a great chance to build another big break, but he missed that pink with a little bit of awkward bridging to leave that opening now for Selby. The frighteningly good standard continued as Selby cleared with a 108 century break to lead 2-1. A very unfortunate safety from Selby to leave a red over a corner left Kurt the chance to hit back again. The frame was at his mercy before a bad miss on the pink left him 60 in front with 75 remaining. A poor rest shot meant he wasn’t punished though and he was able to make the rest of the points required to go into the mid-session interval level at 2-2.

The standard continued after the break when Selby played a marvellous red from range to get the first opportunity. His split of the reds didn’t work out nicely after all of the loose reds had been cleared and he was forced to play safe with 53 on the board. His second chance came after he rolled a tricky red into the middle, but after missing the green straight afterwards there was still room for Kurt to launch a counter attack. He missed the yellow but then following another failed attempt from Selby he was still fighting in the frame. Another poor shot cost Kurt though and this time Selby was able to finish off a sloppy frame to lead 3-2. Maflin was gifted an opening in frame six after Selby was forced into a red from range which he missed. The balls were opened up with a very powerful run through shot, but a miss to the middle again cost him as he only made 44 from a golden opportunity. A super shot soon had all of the balls away from the side cushion to fully open the table for a clearance. The pin point positional shot around the table from the black to the final red proved the frame winner effectively for Selby as the rest was no problem in a 69 that left Maflin needing a snooker.

In frame seven, a couple of early scoring visits from Maflin yielded only 31, and when Selby potted a clever cut back with the balls open you felt that another frame winning effort was on the cards. This time a run of 56 left Kurt needing snookers on the colours which he couldn’t obtain so Selby guaranteed an end of session lead, 5-2 up with two frames left in the session. Maflin made 25 from an early opening in frame eight, but his best opportunity stemmed from a mid-range red and a following yellow along the black cushion. Once into the pack, the table was open for a frame clinching contribution. The job was more than completed with a 95 clearance to keep within touching distance of the defending champion, trailing 3-5. Obviously the final frame of the session was a hugely important one, as Selby would much rather take a three frame advantage into the final session, rather than a slender one frame lead particularly having led by three at 5-2. Mark had a couple of early chances but only accumulated 25 points from them. A third chance came the Jester’s way, as he upped his lead to 55 but a miss with awkward bridging left Maflin a chance to reduce his arrears, only 7 was added and a further red was potted soon but with no colour to follow he trailed by 47 with 59 remaining. Overall, Kurt’s safety wasn’t good enough and the final chance Mark was after came to him on a plate as he won the frame and ended the first session with a more than handy 6-3 lead.

 

When the players returned for the final session in the evening, poor tactical play from Kurt gifted Selby a great chance to stretch his lead further. He made a well controlled 48 in addition to an earlier 18 which proved enough to storm 7-3 in front and it looked like he would get through easily at this stage. A rare mistake from Selby and a classy red to the baulk corner from Maflin left him a chance in frame eleven. After an earlier 18, he added quite an easy 49 to leave Selby out of sight and level up the session, by getting back to just three behind at 4-7. Kurt was still struggling with his long game as we entered frame twelve and his miss was to Selby’s gain, leaving him a great opening from which he constructed a beautiful 124 break put him 8-4 up and he looked in beautiful touch at this stage of the match. After a long safety battle in the thirteenth Maflin needed to take his chance to stay in this match essentially. With the reds spread he was in good enough break building fluency to keep position and a well-made 62 took him into the interval 5-8 behind.

Kurt was in again straight after the interval with a long pot to give him the chance. He went into the pack twice very early in the break and without opening too many reds was very lucky to land on red. On 47 he was not so lucky, going into the reds from the black he managed to knock the first red he made contact with into the middle pocket. Mark managed to close the gap so there was just 24 between the two with three reds remaining, initiating a huge safety battle. Kurt had a huge slice of luck to fluke a snooker behind the green. After seven consecutive misses Mark was left needing a snooker, 54 points adrift with 51 on and ultimately it cost him the frame as the Norwegian was two behind at 6-8. Both players had multiple chances at the start of frame fifteen as the tension started to reflect on both players games. By the time Mark laid a snooker on the pink, he was 6 points ahead with three reds left on the table and another important safety battle began. A magnificent red from range allowed Kurt in to have a chance at the clearance and with the other two reds positioned nicely by the black and the baulk colours on their spots it made the clearance simple and the underdog had pulled another frame back to trail by only one at 8-7. A break in the middle of frame sixteen of 33 from Maflin put him 36 ahead with 51, as the frame again came down to the last few reds after both players had chances in the earlier exchanges. An in-off from Selby followed by some good pots by Maflin was plenty to make it four frames on the trot now to level the match up overall at 8-8.

Maflin squandered an opportunity in the opening stages of the seventeenth after missing an easy black, leaving Mark a decent opening. Selby made 46 and there was plenty more there for the taking before a clanger of a miss cut his contribution short and allowed his opponent back to the table. Kurt came right back at Selby with a break of 43 to put him 6 points in front, but was unable to kill the frame off after failing to nudge the final red off of the cushion. An in-off from Selby left an easy pot on the final red for Kurt but he failed to get on the yellow so he had to play safe 13 ahead now. He won the safety battle again though dropping the yellow into the middle pocket before a good pot on the stretch on the green down the cushion and the rest followed to put himself ahead for the first time in the match at 9-8, one away from knocking out the World Champion. Maflin had the first two scoring visits in frame eighteen, positional play letting him down though as he only scored 33 in total from them. The frame opened up after some missed long pots from Maflin and Mark was left a chance with reds spread at the right end of the table. In the early parts of the break the positional aspect did not come easily, but he eventually made 47 to lead by 19 with 35 remaining and having to play safe on the final red. Kurt wobbled a long effort at the last red and left it on for Selby, who potted it and the baulk colours to take the match into a deciding frame at 9-9.

As you would expect in a World Championship first round deciding frame, things were far from clear cut. Both guys couldn’t complain about having not had chances in the nineteenth, particularly in the opening exchanges. After a straightforward red was missed by Maflin, it left a golden opportunity for the defending champion to stamp his authority on the frame. After a magnificent pot on the fourth red from last, he then missed a tricky brown but the bulk of the damage had been done, a run of 43 putting him 50 ahead with only 51 remaining. Selby then brought the house down with a long red to clinch the match, and celebrated with a big roar and a fist pump to the crowd, showing what it meant to get over the first hurdle of his world title defence. After the handshake there was also a wipe of the brow that Mark did to one of his friends who he pointed to in the audience. It was a superb battle to come from 8-4 down for the Kurt Maflin to ultimately lead 9-8, but once again the comeback king Mark Selby fought hard and came through the high pressured occasion and a classic encounter to win 10-9.

Come back tomorrow to find out which match fell just short of winning.

Moment of the Month: November: World Cup Winners beat World Championship finallists in Coventry

Here is the penultimate nomination for my Moment of the Year, this time from November...

November was a nice month on the snooker circuit with the Champion of Champions in Coventry and the Bulgarian Open as well as the early stages of the UK Championships in York. One moment stood out to me in this time and that was Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao both winning their first round matches at the Champion of Champions against the odds.

Zhou Yuelong’s match with World Champion Stuart Bingham was the very first of the tournament, with both Yuelong and Bingtao qualifying as we saw in June by winning the World Cup to take 2 of the 16 places in this event. Out of the two you felt that Zhou, as the player that had already been playing on the pro tour for a year and a half, was the one most capable and more likely to cause an upset.

He showed his intentions early and settled in brilliantly with a wonderful run of 68 to take the opening frame and lead 1-0. After that it seemed that the pressure was getting to him as he missed a few balls and displayed some inexperienced shot selection, as Stuart wasn’t at his best either so he had enough chances to take advantage of it. For the next three frames though the bad misses started costing Zhou as Bingham won a tight frame and then made a break of 55 on the way to a comfortable looking 3-1 lead. After that, Zhou continued to get chances and although he wasn’t making frame winning breaks he was doing enough to ultimately punish Bingham and put the easy misses out of his mind. At this point in the season Bingham had already lost from 3-1 up on a couple of occasions on the European Tour so that certainly would have been in his mind when Yuelong dominated the next two frames to force a deciding frame at 3-3. After early opportunities for both it was Yuelong that held it together making a break of 62 to win the match 4-3 and knock the World Champion out in the very first round of the Champion of Champions for a massive win in his career.

Meanwhile, his World Cup winning partner Yan Bingtao was not in action until the Thursday afternoon when he took on Masters Champion and World Championship runner-up Shaun Murphy. Coming into the match Shaun had never won a match in two previous visits to the Champion of Champions in Coventry, but you certainly felt that this was the best chance he would have to break that duck. I was actually invited by Shaun to come and watch the afternoons play in Coventry, and the first feeling I got was that Yan Bingtao certainly didn’t look like a 15 year old. I mean that from two perspectives. First of all, he physically looked a lot older than 15, both in terms of his height and facial features so in that sense it would have been easy not to believe he was that young. In fact when I spoke to Shaun after the match he said that until being told when popping back upstairs to the tournament lounge, he had forgotten just how young his opponent was. However, his shot selection was the thing that impressed me. Yes he is certainly an attacking player which is always nice to watch. However, he didn’t push the boat out too much and he certainly has a lot of talent, when you consider that when he is only 15 and most players peak around the age of 30, he has a very long time to improve.

There was not much room for improvement against Murphy. In the opening frame he had to sit and watch as Murphy cleared from the last two reds down to the final black to steal it and you felt that that could be a key moment considering Yan’s youth. He dominated the next and took the two chances he got to level the match at 1-1. Murphy was in first in frame three with a break of 63, and even though he missed carelessly just short of the frame winning line he wasn’t punished and moved 2-1 in front. Frame four was scrappy and both players had plenty of chances. When Bingtao won it to level at 2-2 that was the first time I sensed sitting in the crowd that there was actual belief that Yan could win and I felt that the tension spread through to Shaun as well. Yan’s long potting was superb through the match, and it gave him plenty of chances. In the fifth frame he showed what he was all about with a break of 74 to move ahead for the first time in the match at 3-2. One away from defeat Shaun was in real trouble and when Yan potted a great long ball to get his chance in the balls a break of 58 proved enough to win the match 4-2 and send another big gun packing.

Winning the world cup as a pairing was obviously huge but to then come over to the UK and play the two players he contested the world final, and play as individuals and not as a member of a team with the other guy to fall back on, it felt like a huge moment when this all took place. With £10,000 for winning those matches and getting to the quarter-finals it was also a hugely productive time for them. That is why the pair winning these matches at the Champion of Champions is my moment of the month for November.

I hope you can come back tomorrow to find out what the final nomination will be.