Eight men remain in the hunt to be crowned world snooker champion this night week and it must be said, a case can be made for all of them.
Before we get into what might happen in the last eight though, we'll quickly run through the last of the round two action today.
Judd Trump finally showed up in his match against Ricky Walden to run out a somewhat comfortable 13-9 winner in the end.
This one had given every appearance in the first two sessions that it would be a lot closer than this,but things turned decisively in frame 18 when,leading 9-8 & building a nice early frame lead,Walden went for a kamikaze red to the middle.He missed and trump cleared with a superb 66 to level at 9-9.
From here he never looked back an ran out an easy winner.
Also Mark Williams produced his best snooker of the match in the final session as he recorded a 13-7 victory over Robert Milkins & Ding quickly got the frame he needed to beat Anthony McGill 13-4 .
So into the quarter finals then and first up we have a repeat of the Masters final as Mark Allen once again faces Kyren Wilson
This could be a real cracker from two player who I think are well suited to the multi session format.Allen has produced his best snooker,since that Masters victory,here this week & Wilson hasn't been under any pressure as he breezed through the opening rounds.
This is possibly the hardest match to predict,but I just think that when it comes to it, that Mark Allen may just have that little bit extra to see him over the line.
score prediction 13-11 to Allen
Also in the top half of the draw we have a repeat of the 2011 final here as John Higgins faces Judd Trump.
The way he played in that championship it seemed only a matter of time before Trump claimed the crown,but here we are seven years later and he's yet to get that close again.
Higgins of course reached last years final & looked for a long time like the winner, only to run out of steam on the last day.
This week Higgins has been at his supreme best yet again in demolishing Jack Lisowski 13-1 whereas Trump has seemed , at various times in both his opening matches, to be all at sea.He did however produce his best snooker at the end of his match with Walden and if he can carry that confidence forward he could give Higgins plenty to think about.
Higgins will rightly start as favourite in this one,but he can these days throw in an odd shocker and anyone thinking of backing the odds on should be conscious of this.
That said, I think with Trumps confidence seemingly so fragile at the moment,Higgins is just the player to capitalise and I predict he'll win 13-7
Into the bottom half and an intriguing clash between Ding Junhui & Barry Hawkins
After a number of years of struggle here,Ding has in recent years shown a real liking for this place and here faces someone else, in Hawkins, who comes alive at this venue.
This again is tough to call,but I think Ding has shown enough here in that last two seasons to suggest he really has learned how to manage this tournament.I expect him to show that gain here and run out a comfortable winner 13-6
Finally after accounting for one legend Ali Carter faces another in Mark Williams. Williams has had a great season and although he hasn't quite shown it here this week, he's reached the quarter finals with some ease.
Carter of course reached this stage by finally recording a first career victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan , in a tense affair and it remains to be seen just whats left in the tank for the battle ahead.My feeling is that this might just be a case of "after the lord mayors show" for Carter & I think Williams will win 13-9
It all gets underway at 10am Tuesday
Monday 30 April 2018
Sunday 29 April 2018
World Championship Day 9 Round up.
Middle Sunday at the championship and in theory a day with no match playing to a finish,but others had different ideas.
After the elimination of the hot favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan here yesterday at the hands of Ali Carter ,it was perhaps time for someone to step to fill the void at the top of the market and today we saw two real contenders stake that claim.
John Higgins has of course been here many times before and showed himself to be in fine form here yesterday as he opened up an 8-0 lead over Jack Lisowki. The four time former champ was in no mood to hang around today either, as he extended that lead to 10-0 when they resumed. Lisowski did at least manage to avoid the whitewash, taking the next with a fine run of 81, but a 100 from Higgins in the next was followed by a tournament high break of 146 to make it 12-1.He could only manage 73 in frame 14 but it was enough to see him through with a 13-1.
So last years runner up is into another quarter final here and who can say, the way he played today that a fifth world title isn't in his sights.
It did look for a long time like we would have two matches today would be finishing with a session to spare ,but Ding Junhui fell one short of this against Anthony McGill, albeit all but over with the Chinese star holding a 12-4 advantage
Ding was simply superb in the first session here as he stormed to an 8-0 lead and although he took his foot off the pedal tonight,make no mistake, Ding is here with the full intention of claiming that elusive first world title.
In the other round two matches playing to a finish tomorrow a real slog looks on the cards as Judd Trump & Ricky Walden head into their last session locked together at 8-8.
This one has been a nervy affair all day with both player producing moments of brilliance,but also throwing in some shockers.It would certainly be no surprise to see this one go all the way to a decider.
Things look a little more comfortable for two time champion Mark Williams who holds a 10-6 overnight lead against Robert Milkins. Williams has not been at his best in this one,but as so often with him he is still doing enough and surely a last eight encounter with Ali Carter awaits.
Of course with only two session tomorrow we can all have a bit of a lie in before it all kicks off at 1pm
After the elimination of the hot favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan here yesterday at the hands of Ali Carter ,it was perhaps time for someone to step to fill the void at the top of the market and today we saw two real contenders stake that claim.
John Higgins has of course been here many times before and showed himself to be in fine form here yesterday as he opened up an 8-0 lead over Jack Lisowki. The four time former champ was in no mood to hang around today either, as he extended that lead to 10-0 when they resumed. Lisowski did at least manage to avoid the whitewash, taking the next with a fine run of 81, but a 100 from Higgins in the next was followed by a tournament high break of 146 to make it 12-1.He could only manage 73 in frame 14 but it was enough to see him through with a 13-1.
So last years runner up is into another quarter final here and who can say, the way he played today that a fifth world title isn't in his sights.
It did look for a long time like we would have two matches today would be finishing with a session to spare ,but Ding Junhui fell one short of this against Anthony McGill, albeit all but over with the Chinese star holding a 12-4 advantage
Ding was simply superb in the first session here as he stormed to an 8-0 lead and although he took his foot off the pedal tonight,make no mistake, Ding is here with the full intention of claiming that elusive first world title.
In the other round two matches playing to a finish tomorrow a real slog looks on the cards as Judd Trump & Ricky Walden head into their last session locked together at 8-8.
This one has been a nervy affair all day with both player producing moments of brilliance,but also throwing in some shockers.It would certainly be no surprise to see this one go all the way to a decider.
Things look a little more comfortable for two time champion Mark Williams who holds a 10-6 overnight lead against Robert Milkins. Williams has not been at his best in this one,but as so often with him he is still doing enough and surely a last eight encounter with Ali Carter awaits.
Of course with only two session tomorrow we can all have a bit of a lie in before it all kicks off at 1pm
Friday 27 April 2018
World Championships Day 7 Round up.
Day seven and we have the first man into the quarter final plus the hot favourite for the title in a bit of trouble.
Mark Allen is into the last 8 after a strong final session performance to see off the challenge of Joe Perry 13-8.
Allen had held a 5-3 lead overnight,but Perry started the better this morning,knocking in a couple of centuries on his way to 6-6 at the mid session interval.
Allen took the next two when they resumed to lead again 8-6,but Perry rallied again to hit back & level it up at 8-8.
Things now seemed beautifully poised going into tonight,but Allen was in no mood to hang around and quickly took the five frames he needed to secure a 13-8 win,sealing it a fine break of 122..
So the Masters champion marches on and with the confidence a major win can bring,he will be starting to fancy his chances here as we move in the second week.
It may be a case that by tomorrow afternoon,a number of players will be fancying their chances here if Ali Carter can hold his nerve & secure a first ever career victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan from a position of 9-7 ahead.
Indeed it could have been a whole lot better for "The Captain" who after starting the night session with a 5-3 lead,took the first three of the night to lead 8-3.
Ronnie looked completely off his game,but managed to nick the last before the interval to trail 8-4.
From here Ronnie knew he needed to win the next mini session at least 3-1 & suddenly finding his potting,if not his normal pinpoint positional play,thatsjust what he did. He may well have won all four,but for a kick on 54 in frame 14,but he'll be relieved to be still in with a chance when they play to a finish tomorrow afternoon.
Also playing to a finish tomorrow are Barry Hawkins & Lyu Haotain in a match that followed a similar pattern to the above game, this time it was Hawkins who lead 8-3 only for his young Chinese opponent to fight back to trail also by two at 9-7 overnight.
Elsewhere Kyren Wilson holds a 5-3 lead over Jamie Jones after the opening skirmishes in their encounter.
Mark Allen is into the last 8 after a strong final session performance to see off the challenge of Joe Perry 13-8.
Allen had held a 5-3 lead overnight,but Perry started the better this morning,knocking in a couple of centuries on his way to 6-6 at the mid session interval.
Allen took the next two when they resumed to lead again 8-6,but Perry rallied again to hit back & level it up at 8-8.
Things now seemed beautifully poised going into tonight,but Allen was in no mood to hang around and quickly took the five frames he needed to secure a 13-8 win,sealing it a fine break of 122..
So the Masters champion marches on and with the confidence a major win can bring,he will be starting to fancy his chances here as we move in the second week.
It may be a case that by tomorrow afternoon,a number of players will be fancying their chances here if Ali Carter can hold his nerve & secure a first ever career victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan from a position of 9-7 ahead.
Indeed it could have been a whole lot better for "The Captain" who after starting the night session with a 5-3 lead,took the first three of the night to lead 8-3.
Ronnie looked completely off his game,but managed to nick the last before the interval to trail 8-4.
From here Ronnie knew he needed to win the next mini session at least 3-1 & suddenly finding his potting,if not his normal pinpoint positional play,thatsjust what he did. He may well have won all four,but for a kick on 54 in frame 14,but he'll be relieved to be still in with a chance when they play to a finish tomorrow afternoon.
Also playing to a finish tomorrow are Barry Hawkins & Lyu Haotain in a match that followed a similar pattern to the above game, this time it was Hawkins who lead 8-3 only for his young Chinese opponent to fight back to trail also by two at 9-7 overnight.
Elsewhere Kyren Wilson holds a 5-3 lead over Jamie Jones after the opening skirmishes in their encounter.
Thursday 26 April 2018
World Championship Day Six Round Up.
Day six at the championship,the end of the first round & by far the most dramatic day of the tournament so far.
Judd Trumps dreams of winning a first world title are still alive,but only just after he fell over the line to beat Chris Wakelin 10-9 in as dramatic a late night finish as we will ever see.
It had all looked to be going so well for Trump when he extended his overnight lead to 8-4,but back came Wakelin to level it at 8-8 and it was now game on.
Trump has a recent history of been vulnerable when an opponent fights back against him,but he held his nerve to lead again 9-8.
Wakelin looked to be in to level in the next,but a miss allowed Trump the chance to counter.All seemed to be going well until a poor positional shot on the brown,led to finishing the wrong side of the blue,which led to a long pink and finally a tricky black to the centre which he missed & Wakelin potted it to force the decider 9-9.
Into a decider then and after all that had gone before in the it was never going to be a clean kill.Both player now punch drunk from the previous two hours drama both had chances,but a simple missed red from Trump looked to have presented Wakelin with a clear chance for victory.
Trump slumped in his chair could hardly look,but Wakelin somehow managed to go in off the pink and Trump was back with a chance for redemption.There was to be one more twist though as he failed to get position on match ball green to leave Wakelin just about alive. Unfortunately for him an attempted double on the green knocked in the black to leave him needing a snooker and another foul on his next visit left needing two.
He did manage to get one snooker back,but he never got near another one &Trump eventually potted brown & blue to seal the 10-9 win.
Mighty relieve for him then ,that he hasn't exited in the first round for a second year in a row & who knows maybe this night fortnight we will be hailing him as our new world champion,but he'll certainly have to play better than this to do it.
Up to that thriller it had looked as though the main story of the day was going to be the magnificent performance from Anthony McGill,who produced a stunning comeback from the dead to edge out Ryan Day 10-8.
Day had held a 6-3 lead overnight,but although the first four were shared this afternoon to move the score along to 8-5,there were just the signs that Day wasn't in the same touch he has shown in his recent tournament victories & maybe McGill sensed that as well when they resumed as he slowly started to fight back.
Fight back is exactly what h did as he amazingly took the next five frames to seal a 10-8 victory.
In the second round matches that started today Mark Allen leads Joe Perry 5-3 & Lyu Haotain will be delighted to be only 5-3 down to Barry Hawkins having trailed at one stage 4-0.
Wednesday 25 April 2018
World Championship Day Five round Up
Another day,another former world champion exits the stage at the 2018 world championship,as Neil Robertson joins the growing number of seeds to fall at the first round stage.
Starting the day trailing Milkins 3-6 Robertson knew he needed a good start today and thats what he eventually got,taking a lengthy first frame of the day and then adding the second to close within one at 5-6.
He was also first in in the next,but when he couldn't take advantage Milkins pounced to open a two frame lead again and never looked back, taking the next three for a comfortable 10-5 win.
A miserable end to a difficult season for Robertson,who missed out on a place in the Masters and although he did manage to regain his top 16 place with a win in the Scottish Open he never really kicked on from it.There have of course also been off the table issues which no doubt will have taken their toll on him & hopefully things for all concerned will have improved by the start of the new season.
For Milkins this was a repeat of his first round victory over Robertson here in 2013 and he can now look forward to a second round clash with two time champ Mark Williams.
Williams had started the day with a comfortable 7-2 lead over Jimmy Robertson,but there were just signs early on that their might be a bit of life in this one as Robertson took the opening two frames to close the gap to 7-4, indeed he was unlucky not to have been left an easier chance from a wild Williams effort on a red,but when he failed to pot one Williams rediscovered his grove to roll in a 140 and settle his nerve again.
Another century followed in the next to make it 8-4 & although Robertson pulled one more back the match was all but over & Williams duly got the frame he needed to seal the 10-5 win.
Meanwhile John Higgins was made to sweat a little more then he probably expected against Thai debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh,who delighted the crowd this evening with a wonderfully refreshing devil may care attitude that had the four time champ, momentarily at least,on the ropes before his experience ultimately told.
Starting the night session trailing 6-3 Un-Nooh to hit the ground running & thats just what he did.taking three of the first four played,knocking in two centuries,one of which was a missed 15th red of a maximum attempt and thrilling the crowd with some spectacular potting all of which left him trialling Higgins at the interval by one at 7-6.
Theres not much though that Higgins hasn't seen at the Crucible at this stage and the wily Scot duly dug in when they returned to extend his lead again to 9-6 & although Un-Nooh did pull one more back,Higgins got the frame he needed to reach the last 16 with a 10-7 win.
Elsewhere Judd Trump holds a 6-3 lead over Chris Wakelin,who marked his debut with a wonderful break of 141 & Ryan Day also holds a 6-3 advantage over Anthony McGill.Day also now holds the current high break with fine 145 to finish the session.
Tomorrow see's those two matchs conclude as well as the opening session of the Perry v Allen & Lyu v Hawkins second round best of 25's.Things are starting to hot up.
Starting the day trailing Milkins 3-6 Robertson knew he needed a good start today and thats what he eventually got,taking a lengthy first frame of the day and then adding the second to close within one at 5-6.
He was also first in in the next,but when he couldn't take advantage Milkins pounced to open a two frame lead again and never looked back, taking the next three for a comfortable 10-5 win.
A miserable end to a difficult season for Robertson,who missed out on a place in the Masters and although he did manage to regain his top 16 place with a win in the Scottish Open he never really kicked on from it.There have of course also been off the table issues which no doubt will have taken their toll on him & hopefully things for all concerned will have improved by the start of the new season.
For Milkins this was a repeat of his first round victory over Robertson here in 2013 and he can now look forward to a second round clash with two time champ Mark Williams.
Williams had started the day with a comfortable 7-2 lead over Jimmy Robertson,but there were just signs early on that their might be a bit of life in this one as Robertson took the opening two frames to close the gap to 7-4, indeed he was unlucky not to have been left an easier chance from a wild Williams effort on a red,but when he failed to pot one Williams rediscovered his grove to roll in a 140 and settle his nerve again.
Another century followed in the next to make it 8-4 & although Robertson pulled one more back the match was all but over & Williams duly got the frame he needed to seal the 10-5 win.
Meanwhile John Higgins was made to sweat a little more then he probably expected against Thai debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh,who delighted the crowd this evening with a wonderfully refreshing devil may care attitude that had the four time champ, momentarily at least,on the ropes before his experience ultimately told.
Starting the night session trailing 6-3 Un-Nooh to hit the ground running & thats just what he did.taking three of the first four played,knocking in two centuries,one of which was a missed 15th red of a maximum attempt and thrilling the crowd with some spectacular potting all of which left him trialling Higgins at the interval by one at 7-6.
Theres not much though that Higgins hasn't seen at the Crucible at this stage and the wily Scot duly dug in when they returned to extend his lead again to 9-6 & although Un-Nooh did pull one more back,Higgins got the frame he needed to reach the last 16 with a 10-7 win.
Elsewhere Judd Trump holds a 6-3 lead over Chris Wakelin,who marked his debut with a wonderful break of 141 & Ryan Day also holds a 6-3 advantage over Anthony McGill.Day also now holds the current high break with fine 145 to finish the session.
Tomorrow see's those two matchs conclude as well as the opening session of the Perry v Allen & Lyu v Hawkins second round best of 25's.Things are starting to hot up.
Tuesday 24 April 2018
World Championship Day Four Round Up.
Day four at the Crucible and another former champ exits the tournament,as three more players booked their places in the last 16.
Stuart Binghams hopes of a strong finish to his interrupted season were dashed today at the hands of Jack Lisowski.
Lisowski has been a much talked about player over the years,but despite his obvious ability it looked like hi would forever be a talent unfulfilled.Lately though there have been signs that he may be just getting to grips with the game and he impressed here again with a fine display to beat the 2015 champ.
This was as free flowing a match as we have seen here this year,,with fluent break building from both men serving up a real treat for for the crowd & it was perhaps Bingham who emerged from their morning the session the happier,taking the last two of the session to trail by just one at 4-5.
Into the night session and a tight finish looked on the cards as the first four frames were shared to move the score to 7-6,but it was Lisowski who pulled away when they resumed after the interval to move within one of victory at 9-6.
Bingham did pull one back to trail 9-7,but Lisowski got the frame he needed to seal the 10-7 win.
In other matches played to a finish today.Ding Junhui was in no mood to hang around as he quickly turned an overnight 6-3 lead against Xiao Guodong into a 10-3 win & Ricky Walden proved to strong for Luca Brecel,eventually seeing off the young Belgian 10-6.
Elsewhere,two time champ Mark Williams fine run of form shows no sign of coming to and end as he opened up a 7-2 lead over Jimmy Robertson & the other Robertson in the draw,Neil is also in real danger of bowing out to the man who also eliminated him in the first round in 2013, He trails Robert Milkins 6-3
Stuart Binghams hopes of a strong finish to his interrupted season were dashed today at the hands of Jack Lisowski.
Lisowski has been a much talked about player over the years,but despite his obvious ability it looked like hi would forever be a talent unfulfilled.Lately though there have been signs that he may be just getting to grips with the game and he impressed here again with a fine display to beat the 2015 champ.
This was as free flowing a match as we have seen here this year,,with fluent break building from both men serving up a real treat for for the crowd & it was perhaps Bingham who emerged from their morning the session the happier,taking the last two of the session to trail by just one at 4-5.
Into the night session and a tight finish looked on the cards as the first four frames were shared to move the score to 7-6,but it was Lisowski who pulled away when they resumed after the interval to move within one of victory at 9-6.
Bingham did pull one back to trail 9-7,but Lisowski got the frame he needed to seal the 10-7 win.
In other matches played to a finish today.Ding Junhui was in no mood to hang around as he quickly turned an overnight 6-3 lead against Xiao Guodong into a 10-3 win & Ricky Walden proved to strong for Luca Brecel,eventually seeing off the young Belgian 10-6.
Elsewhere,two time champ Mark Williams fine run of form shows no sign of coming to and end as he opened up a 7-2 lead over Jimmy Robertson & the other Robertson in the draw,Neil is also in real danger of bowing out to the man who also eliminated him in the first round in 2013, He trails Robert Milkins 6-3
Monday 23 April 2018
World Championships Day 3 Round Up
Day Three at the championship and another big name bites the dust,but two of the dark horses for the title both progressed.
Shaun Murphy became the third seed to bow out of this years championship, losing out in a decider to Welshman Jamie Jones.
Jones had announced himself on the games biggest stage here in 2012 with a debut first round victory over Murphy & history was to repeat itself here,but only after a titanic battle over two enthralling sessions.
Out of the heat of the battle when he reflects on this match Murphy will look back on a couple of occasions where he seemed to be taking control of the match only for his opponent to fight his way back into it.
The first of these was in yesterdays first session, where he was pegged back to 5-4 from 5-2 and the other was today, where having shared the opening two frames, Murphy hit top gear,rolling in back to back centuries to lead 8-5 to the interval.
If at this stage we had not had an interval he may have closed things out, but as we see so often, that 15 minute break can change things & it certainly did here for Jones,who found some scoring of his own to take the next three to level at 8-8.
Murphy did stop the rot to edge ahead again at 9-8,but a superb 124 from Jones levelled it again at 9-9 and he controlled the decider to seal a famous 10-9 victory.Next for him will be a last 16 clash with Kyren Wilson.
In other matches played to a finish ,Barry Hawkins celebrated his 39th birthday with a hard fought 10-7 victory over Stuart Carrington
"One for the purists" is the kindest way to describe this one as a morning session pulled ashore a frame early, turned into a late night slog,but it was Hawkins who pulled it together when things started to wrong from 7-3 up to 8-7 & he produced some of his best snooker in the last two frames to see out a 10-7 win.
There were no such worries for Mark Allen,,who will be delighted to have seen off a potentially tricky opponent Liam Highfield with some ease to set up a round 2 clash with Mark Selbys conqueror Joe Perry.
Starting out this morning with a 6-3 deficit Highfield needed a quick start and that's what he got with a fine 99,but when a tight second went to Allen,the writing was on the wall & the man from Northern Ireland quickly closed out a 10-5 win.
Elsewhere in matches that started out today,Ding Junhui survived an early scare against Xiao Guodong coming from 2-0 down to hold a 6-3 overnight lead, which is also the score by which Ricky Walden leads Luca Brecel.
Shaun Murphy became the third seed to bow out of this years championship, losing out in a decider to Welshman Jamie Jones.
Jones had announced himself on the games biggest stage here in 2012 with a debut first round victory over Murphy & history was to repeat itself here,but only after a titanic battle over two enthralling sessions.
Out of the heat of the battle when he reflects on this match Murphy will look back on a couple of occasions where he seemed to be taking control of the match only for his opponent to fight his way back into it.
The first of these was in yesterdays first session, where he was pegged back to 5-4 from 5-2 and the other was today, where having shared the opening two frames, Murphy hit top gear,rolling in back to back centuries to lead 8-5 to the interval.
If at this stage we had not had an interval he may have closed things out, but as we see so often, that 15 minute break can change things & it certainly did here for Jones,who found some scoring of his own to take the next three to level at 8-8.
Murphy did stop the rot to edge ahead again at 9-8,but a superb 124 from Jones levelled it again at 9-9 and he controlled the decider to seal a famous 10-9 victory.Next for him will be a last 16 clash with Kyren Wilson.
In other matches played to a finish ,Barry Hawkins celebrated his 39th birthday with a hard fought 10-7 victory over Stuart Carrington
"One for the purists" is the kindest way to describe this one as a morning session pulled ashore a frame early, turned into a late night slog,but it was Hawkins who pulled it together when things started to wrong from 7-3 up to 8-7 & he produced some of his best snooker in the last two frames to see out a 10-7 win.
There were no such worries for Mark Allen,,who will be delighted to have seen off a potentially tricky opponent Liam Highfield with some ease to set up a round 2 clash with Mark Selbys conqueror Joe Perry.
Starting out this morning with a 6-3 deficit Highfield needed a quick start and that's what he got with a fine 99,but when a tight second went to Allen,the writing was on the wall & the man from Northern Ireland quickly closed out a 10-5 win.
Elsewhere in matches that started out today,Ding Junhui survived an early scare against Xiao Guodong coming from 2-0 down to hold a 6-3 overnight lead, which is also the score by which Ricky Walden leads Luca Brecel.
Sunday 22 April 2018
World Championship Day Two Round Up
Day two at The Crucible and after all the drama of yesterday, which saw the elimination of the top seed Mark Selby, all eyes were on this mornings session to see if no.2 seed Ronnie O'Sullivan was going to follow him.
It was way back in 1982 that we last saw both top seeds go out in the first round & Ronnie showed that he was in no mood to see it repeated here as he flew out of the traps. Trailing Maguire 6-3 overnight,a 3-1 mini session was the least he could afford and that is exactly what he got with \Maguire only taking to last before the interval to hold the slimmest of advantages at 7-6.
That was to be as good as it got for Maguire though as Ronnie reeled off the next four when they resumed to seal a 10-7 victory.
So the stat books can be put away for now and maybe the most impressive thing about Ronnies display was the way he dug in when things got tough. That can only bode well for his chances here over the next fortnight.For now he can enjoy a couple of days rest before a second round clash with Ali Carter.
Carter had also started the day trailing 6-3 to Graeme Dott,but just like Ronnie he got going quickly to level it up at 6-6.These two have a history of close matches and one of those tight,dramatic Crucible finishes looked on the cards here as they traded blows over the next four frames to make it 8-8.
Carter though had looked the more likely to score in the balls all day & that proved to be the deciding factor as runs of 56 & 63 saw him over the finish line 10-8.
In other matches to finish today Lyu Haotian made it a Crucible debut to remember as he swept to a 10-5 victory over Marco Fu.
Starting with a 6-3 overnight lead, the 20 year old Chinese was in no mood for a long night as he took the opening two frames to lead 8-3. Fu to his credit never gave up though and thoughts of his amazing comeback against Brecel here last year started to resurface as he closed to 8-5.There was to be no fairytale comeback this time though as Lyu impressively closed out the match with runs of 79 & 61.
He can now look forward to a second round match against either Hawkins or Carrington. As for Fu, hopefully the summer can see a return to full health for someone who is a class act on and off the table.
Also through to the last 16 is Kyren Wilson who carried a 7-2 lead over Matthew Stevens into tonights session & quickly dispatched an under the weather opponent 10-3.
Elsewhere in matches that started out today, Masters champ Mark Allen will be delighted to hold a 6-3 advantage over a potentially dangerous opponent in Liam Highfield,but Shaun Murphy wont be sleeping quite so easy after letting an early advantage slip to only hold a 5-4 lead overnight against Jamie Jones
They will both finish tomorrow where we also see four more matches starting out including the campaign of Chinese no.1 Ding junhui.
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It was way back in 1982 that we last saw both top seeds go out in the first round & Ronnie showed that he was in no mood to see it repeated here as he flew out of the traps. Trailing Maguire 6-3 overnight,a 3-1 mini session was the least he could afford and that is exactly what he got with \Maguire only taking to last before the interval to hold the slimmest of advantages at 7-6.
That was to be as good as it got for Maguire though as Ronnie reeled off the next four when they resumed to seal a 10-7 victory.
So the stat books can be put away for now and maybe the most impressive thing about Ronnies display was the way he dug in when things got tough. That can only bode well for his chances here over the next fortnight.For now he can enjoy a couple of days rest before a second round clash with Ali Carter.
Carter had also started the day trailing 6-3 to Graeme Dott,but just like Ronnie he got going quickly to level it up at 6-6.These two have a history of close matches and one of those tight,dramatic Crucible finishes looked on the cards here as they traded blows over the next four frames to make it 8-8.
Carter though had looked the more likely to score in the balls all day & that proved to be the deciding factor as runs of 56 & 63 saw him over the finish line 10-8.
In other matches to finish today Lyu Haotian made it a Crucible debut to remember as he swept to a 10-5 victory over Marco Fu.
Starting with a 6-3 overnight lead, the 20 year old Chinese was in no mood for a long night as he took the opening two frames to lead 8-3. Fu to his credit never gave up though and thoughts of his amazing comeback against Brecel here last year started to resurface as he closed to 8-5.There was to be no fairytale comeback this time though as Lyu impressively closed out the match with runs of 79 & 61.
He can now look forward to a second round match against either Hawkins or Carrington. As for Fu, hopefully the summer can see a return to full health for someone who is a class act on and off the table.
Also through to the last 16 is Kyren Wilson who carried a 7-2 lead over Matthew Stevens into tonights session & quickly dispatched an under the weather opponent 10-3.
Elsewhere in matches that started out today, Masters champ Mark Allen will be delighted to hold a 6-3 advantage over a potentially dangerous opponent in Liam Highfield,but Shaun Murphy wont be sleeping quite so easy after letting an early advantage slip to only hold a 5-4 lead overnight against Jamie Jones
They will both finish tomorrow where we also see four more matches starting out including the campaign of Chinese no.1 Ding junhui.
.
Saturday 21 April 2018
World Championship Day One Round Up
Day one at the 2018 world championship & if the next 16 days are as dramatic as this one we are in for one hell of a tournament.
There really is only one place to start and that is with the news that we will be crowning a new world champion, as Mark Selby's two year iron grip on the title came to an end at the hands of Joe Perry.
Selby has had,by his standards,a poor season,but having produced something like his best form in capturing the China Open two weeks,it seemed that once again he was peaking at the right time.Still though I couldn't shake the feeling that if he were going to be vulnerable here then it would be in the early rounds and so it was to prove.
Last year on the opening morning Selby steamrolled a clearly tired Fergal O'Brien,but signs were on it here early on that this would not be as straight forward, as Perry flew out of the traps to lead 4-0 going to the first mid session interval.Such is the reputation that Selby gained for himself over the years, that when he put the next two on the board to close to 4-2 when they resumed, it seemed that it may be a case of panic averted. Perry though was cuing superbly and runs of 59,84 & 109 moved him 7-2 clear at the end of the session.
A major story was now brewing and when Perry took the opener of the night session to extend that lead to 8-2, victory seemed all but assured, Selby though had one more bit of fight in him and with the enormity of what was happening seeming to suddenly dawn on Perry, Selby battled to the next two to close to 8-4. If at this stage he could have also taken the next to get within three at the interval,then maybe we may have had a different story,but instead Perry dug in to take the next with a run of 76 to move within one of victory at 9-4 & he sealed a famous win when they resumed, the score for the record 10-4.
A miserable day for Selby then in what, bar a couple of exceptions, has been a miserable season. It will be interesting to see how he responds next season without the weight of the world crown on his shoulders. For now though we must concentrate on the present and Joe Perry can look forward to round 2 clash with Allen or Highfield.
With that story developing from the morning,all eyes were on the other hot favourite for the title, Ronnie O'Sullivan when he started out against Stephen Maguire this afternoon and "The Rocket" has a bit of work to do when they resume in the morning.
Just like in the Selby match the underdog took an early 4-0 lead here,but helped by back to back centuries Ronnie fought back to within one at 4-3. Maguire though took the last two of the session to go clear again at 6-3.They play to a finish in the morning and by lunchtime tomorrow we may well be looking at a championship with both the hot favourite eliminated.
Elsewhere we also have two other seeds in real danger of going out at the first hurdle as Marco Fu & Ali Carter each trail 6-3 at the end of their respective first sessions.
Fu of course has been out of the game in recent times with serious eye problems and will need all his
years of experience if is to turn it around against the Chinese debutant Lyu Haotian,who joined the exclusive list of player to make a century in their first Crucible session.
Carters opponent comes from the other end of the experience spectrum and it will take some effort from him to come back against the 2006 champ Graeme Dott.
The one seed who looks comfortable is Kyren Wilson who holds a commanding 7-2 lead over Matthew Stevens.
So that was day one and all eyes tomorrow will be on the morning session to see if Ronnie can keep his hopes of a sixth title alive. If he can't then we are looking at possibly the most open championship in history.
There really is only one place to start and that is with the news that we will be crowning a new world champion, as Mark Selby's two year iron grip on the title came to an end at the hands of Joe Perry.
Selby has had,by his standards,a poor season,but having produced something like his best form in capturing the China Open two weeks,it seemed that once again he was peaking at the right time.Still though I couldn't shake the feeling that if he were going to be vulnerable here then it would be in the early rounds and so it was to prove.
Last year on the opening morning Selby steamrolled a clearly tired Fergal O'Brien,but signs were on it here early on that this would not be as straight forward, as Perry flew out of the traps to lead 4-0 going to the first mid session interval.Such is the reputation that Selby gained for himself over the years, that when he put the next two on the board to close to 4-2 when they resumed, it seemed that it may be a case of panic averted. Perry though was cuing superbly and runs of 59,84 & 109 moved him 7-2 clear at the end of the session.
A major story was now brewing and when Perry took the opener of the night session to extend that lead to 8-2, victory seemed all but assured, Selby though had one more bit of fight in him and with the enormity of what was happening seeming to suddenly dawn on Perry, Selby battled to the next two to close to 8-4. If at this stage he could have also taken the next to get within three at the interval,then maybe we may have had a different story,but instead Perry dug in to take the next with a run of 76 to move within one of victory at 9-4 & he sealed a famous win when they resumed, the score for the record 10-4.
A miserable day for Selby then in what, bar a couple of exceptions, has been a miserable season. It will be interesting to see how he responds next season without the weight of the world crown on his shoulders. For now though we must concentrate on the present and Joe Perry can look forward to round 2 clash with Allen or Highfield.
With that story developing from the morning,all eyes were on the other hot favourite for the title, Ronnie O'Sullivan when he started out against Stephen Maguire this afternoon and "The Rocket" has a bit of work to do when they resume in the morning.
Just like in the Selby match the underdog took an early 4-0 lead here,but helped by back to back centuries Ronnie fought back to within one at 4-3. Maguire though took the last two of the session to go clear again at 6-3.They play to a finish in the morning and by lunchtime tomorrow we may well be looking at a championship with both the hot favourite eliminated.
Elsewhere we also have two other seeds in real danger of going out at the first hurdle as Marco Fu & Ali Carter each trail 6-3 at the end of their respective first sessions.
Fu of course has been out of the game in recent times with serious eye problems and will need all his
years of experience if is to turn it around against the Chinese debutant Lyu Haotian,who joined the exclusive list of player to make a century in their first Crucible session.
Carters opponent comes from the other end of the experience spectrum and it will take some effort from him to come back against the 2006 champ Graeme Dott.
The one seed who looks comfortable is Kyren Wilson who holds a commanding 7-2 lead over Matthew Stevens.
So that was day one and all eyes tomorrow will be on the morning session to see if Ronnie can keep his hopes of a sixth title alive. If he can't then we are looking at possibly the most open championship in history.
Friday 20 April 2018
World Championships 2018 Preview
Well after a season of ups & downs,with a few breakthrough performances,some of the games bigger names struggling,but mostly the dominance of the "class of '92",who refuse to go away,we arrive at Sheffield with 32 players still dreaming of lifting the famous trophy come the first Monday in May.
The Favourites
If the betting is to be believed this years championship is a two horse race between Ronnie O'Sullivan & Mark Selby. Ronnie comes here on the back of what on paper has been his best ever season with 5 ranking titles already under his belt.He has at times been simply unplayable & perhaps more significantly he seems to have found a perfect balance in his life on and off the table which is key for him.If he can produce that sort of form again here surely a sixth world crown is well within range.
While Ronnie this season has cemented his place as the games greatest ever exponent,talk of Mark Selby deserving a place among the all time greats quietened down as he endured a season to forget.He did win the International Championship in November,but there followed a series of early round exits as he struggled to get a foothold in any tournament. This was until of course the newly revamped China Open a fortnight ago,where after a slow start in the early rounds,he suddenly clicked into gear to clinch the title with a run of impressive displays,to put himself right on target to launch his title defence here.
If Selby is to be vulnerable here it may well be in the early rounds again,with a potential 2nd round clash with Mark Allen on the cards.If he gets through to the second week he will take a bit of stopping again.
The Contenders
Though if I'm honest I would be shocked if neither of these two made the final,the level below them in the betting, we have a few hoping to take advantage of any slip ups that may occur.
This season has also seen those two other greats from "'92",John Higgins & Mark Williams enjoy some title success,with Williams in particular playing his best snooker in many seasons.I just wonder though,great as they've been this year if either still has another world title in them.Higgins came here last year in probably better form than he does this,but just couldn't see it out in a final its hard to think a few years ago he would have lost.That was a big blow to him & I'm not sure he believes himself he can win another one.
Williams too for all his brilliance this year has also had those odd bad days from nowhere & its hard to imagine him getting through here without one awful session that may wipe his chances.
Third in the betting on many lists is Judd Trump,who has had only an ok season by his lofty standards.His problem has seemed at times to be that he is in a rush to beat everybody and once someone starts to dig in against him,his confidence appears to be so fragile that he can't handle it.If he can get it together a good run is possible,but I'd fear for him again against any of the games real match players.
You can't look through the contenders without considering Ding Junhui,who was runner up here two
years ago and was arguably the best player in last years championship.He seems to be putting some eye issues early in the season behind him & I wouldn't be surprised if he made another bold attempt here again.
If we're considering Trump & Ding then we have to also look at our Masters champion Mark Allen.For many years people had Allen down as a potential "Major" winner and he finally fulfilled that potential last January & though his form since then has nose dived slightly,he will come here with some confidence & wont be intimidated by that potential round 2 clash with Selby.
A player with great course and distance form in recent years is Barry Hawkins,who has finally started to find some form in recent months after an understandably poor season coming on the back of a family tragedy last year.Looking at the draw it wouldn't be a surprise to see reach another semi final here,but I would be surprised if he went further than that.
Elsewhere I suppose we have to mention the likes of former champions Shaun Murphy & Neil Robertson, but both come here with season disrupted by various off the the tale issues & again it would be a surprise to see them involved at the business end.
Outside of the players listed above,there may well be someone who will shock us all,but I can't find them!
Here are a few recommended bets for a bit of financial interest.
First round Lucky 15
Lyu Haotian 13/8
Graeme Dott 5/4
Ricky Walden 11/10
Jack Lisowski 6/4
Ding to win his quarter 5/2
Outright betting: Mark Allen e/w 28/1
The Favourites
If the betting is to be believed this years championship is a two horse race between Ronnie O'Sullivan & Mark Selby. Ronnie comes here on the back of what on paper has been his best ever season with 5 ranking titles already under his belt.He has at times been simply unplayable & perhaps more significantly he seems to have found a perfect balance in his life on and off the table which is key for him.If he can produce that sort of form again here surely a sixth world crown is well within range.
While Ronnie this season has cemented his place as the games greatest ever exponent,talk of Mark Selby deserving a place among the all time greats quietened down as he endured a season to forget.He did win the International Championship in November,but there followed a series of early round exits as he struggled to get a foothold in any tournament. This was until of course the newly revamped China Open a fortnight ago,where after a slow start in the early rounds,he suddenly clicked into gear to clinch the title with a run of impressive displays,to put himself right on target to launch his title defence here.
If Selby is to be vulnerable here it may well be in the early rounds again,with a potential 2nd round clash with Mark Allen on the cards.If he gets through to the second week he will take a bit of stopping again.
The Contenders
Though if I'm honest I would be shocked if neither of these two made the final,the level below them in the betting, we have a few hoping to take advantage of any slip ups that may occur.
This season has also seen those two other greats from "'92",John Higgins & Mark Williams enjoy some title success,with Williams in particular playing his best snooker in many seasons.I just wonder though,great as they've been this year if either still has another world title in them.Higgins came here last year in probably better form than he does this,but just couldn't see it out in a final its hard to think a few years ago he would have lost.That was a big blow to him & I'm not sure he believes himself he can win another one.
Williams too for all his brilliance this year has also had those odd bad days from nowhere & its hard to imagine him getting through here without one awful session that may wipe his chances.
Third in the betting on many lists is Judd Trump,who has had only an ok season by his lofty standards.His problem has seemed at times to be that he is in a rush to beat everybody and once someone starts to dig in against him,his confidence appears to be so fragile that he can't handle it.If he can get it together a good run is possible,but I'd fear for him again against any of the games real match players.
You can't look through the contenders without considering Ding Junhui,who was runner up here two
years ago and was arguably the best player in last years championship.He seems to be putting some eye issues early in the season behind him & I wouldn't be surprised if he made another bold attempt here again.
If we're considering Trump & Ding then we have to also look at our Masters champion Mark Allen.For many years people had Allen down as a potential "Major" winner and he finally fulfilled that potential last January & though his form since then has nose dived slightly,he will come here with some confidence & wont be intimidated by that potential round 2 clash with Selby.
A player with great course and distance form in recent years is Barry Hawkins,who has finally started to find some form in recent months after an understandably poor season coming on the back of a family tragedy last year.Looking at the draw it wouldn't be a surprise to see reach another semi final here,but I would be surprised if he went further than that.
Elsewhere I suppose we have to mention the likes of former champions Shaun Murphy & Neil Robertson, but both come here with season disrupted by various off the the tale issues & again it would be a surprise to see them involved at the business end.
Outside of the players listed above,there may well be someone who will shock us all,but I can't find them!
Here are a few recommended bets for a bit of financial interest.
First round Lucky 15
Lyu Haotian 13/8
Graeme Dott 5/4
Ricky Walden 11/10
Jack Lisowski 6/4
Ding to win his quarter 5/2
Outright betting: Mark Allen e/w 28/1
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