Second Round Update
April 28, 2008
The championship is finally starting to warm up and yesterday saw two of the big guns go head to head. In a thrilling second round match between Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan the fiery English man came out on top. Ronnie won the game by nine games to seven and completed a polished performance. The young English man rarely looked in trouble and kept his cool at pinnacle moments throughout the game. Sullivan will now move on to the next round and it looks like he could go all the way this year.
In other matches Liang Wembo from Chince beat Joe Swail of Northern Ireland by 9 frames to 7. In the other two matches Stephen Maguire beat Neil Robertson by 11 frames to 5 and Joe Perry beat Stuart Bingham by 9 frames to 7. Another classic match in progress there. The two Englishmen putting on a great show.
China Rookie Liang knocks out Ken Doherty
April 25, 2008
Chinese rookie Liang Wenbo has produced the biggest upset of this years tournament by knocking out world number 4 Ken Doherty.
Liang will now join fellow countryman Ding Junhui who beat Marco Fu in the last round. Liang’s victory enforces the every growing quality of snooker in China, and is certain to have overjoyed the Chinese contingent.
Liang played brilliantly during his tie with Doherty and fully deserved his victory. In the first 7 frames Liang had produced 5 over 50 breaks. Liang did admit that he was nervous during the match, but beating Ken Doherty would have given him a massive confidence boost.
Following this defeat Doherty looks likely to drop out of the world 16, for this first time in 15 years. It hasn’t been a very good year for Ken who only 1 year ago Doherty even had the change to become world number 1.
The Irishman was gutted after his performance admitting that he was struggling to find his form, he was however surprised with Liangs confidence stating that it looked as if he had been at the crucible more times than himself!
King knocks out favourite Selby
April 24, 2008
Last years runner up for the World Snooker Championship Mark Selby has been knocked out of this years tournament by Mark King.
Marks defeat has come as a surprise to many snooker fans, his recent consistent form had made Selby second favourite to win this years tournament at the crucible. Selby did manage to get into a 5-4 lead going into the next session, this lead was quickly pegged back by Mark King who punished Selby whenever he made a mistake. This continued for throughout the match which Mark managed to win 10-8.
Mark was gracious in defeat admitting that the better player won the match. He will however be very disappointed at exiting the tournament so early following his recent success in the Welsh open.
King stated that he was really please with his good solid performance, which is something that has been missing or King in recent years. He did however have some nerves during the final frame, but managed to keep these at bay for a great win.
Ding wins marathon match against Fu
April 23, 2008
Ding Junhui has won a marathon battle of the east against Hong Kongs Marco Fu 10-9, Ding now continues onto the 2nd round of the tournament.
The match was full of first class safety shots, and some great snooker including a few century breaks. Ding started off the better of the two racing into a fantastic 5-1 lead, before getting his lead pegged back to 5-4 from a determined Marco Fu.
Both players seemed to be very nervous during the match, maybe due to the huge amount of supporters that were watching the match in the far east, which was thought to be around 100 million people!
Ding held his nerves in the final frame and managed to win a very hard fought match. Dings reward for getting though this match will be a 2nd round tie against seven times world champion Stephen Hendry.
The fans in the far east will no doubt be relishing their mans game against the most successful player in world snooker. This hard fought win will hopefully give Ding the extra confidence he needs to play a more confident and relaxed game against Hendry. If Ding loses his anxiety I can see him getting passed Stephen Hendry and pleasing all his fans in the far east
Bingham through after Davis comeback
April 22, 2008
Stuart Bingham kept his cool last night to win remarkable match against six time world champion Steve Davis. Bingham was 8-3 up at one point in the match, but a fantastic Davis comeback saw Davis level the match at 8-8.
It looked like the next frame would see Davis take an incredible lead at 9-8, Davis however missed the final black, and left an easy pocket for Bingham. If Davis would have won that frame I believe his momentum would have taken him on to win the match.
Defeat in that frame however handed the momentum to Bingham who made no mistake clinging the match with a 59 break in the final frame. Davis after the match was annoyed to have lost after making such a good fight back, and was frustrated at his missed chances in the final 2 frames.
Following this defeat Davis has dropped out of the worlds top 16, and will now have to go through the qualifying sessions to compete in major tournaments. Davis however is not put off by this and is relishing playing in further big tournaments.
Although Bingham had beaten Davis, he has never beaten someone so experienced on such a big stage. The victory was overwhelming for Bingham who had to hold back tears after the match.
Higgins gets through tough 1st round match
April 21, 2008
Defending snooker world champion John Higgins has successfully got through his tough first round draw against Matthew Stevens
Higgins was comfortably in control of the match, after obtaining a massive 7-2 from the morning session. Stevens however did managed to win the first 3 frames of the evening to bring on a mini revival. Stevens thoughts of a revival however were wiped out when defending champion Higgins took the next 3 frames with impressive breaks of 72, 120 and 103 to claim the match.
Higgins was in fine form for the last few frames of the match, even admitting that he ‘didn’t really miss a shot’. He simply concentrated on keeping in front, and wiped out any mental images of Matthew coming back into the match. This relatively easy win in arguably the toughest first round draw would no doubt have given Higgins the extra confidence boost he needs for the tournament.
This defeat will disappoint Matthew Stevens who was hoping to increase his world rankings after recently falling out of the worlds top 16 players
Preview of Higgins vs Stevens match
April 18, 2008
Current world snooker champion John Higgins has without doubt been given the hardest opening match of this years championships against Matthew Stevens.
Matthew Stevens has twice been a runner up at the crucible, and is currently out of the worlds top 16 players. This makes the match against Stevens even more tough as he looks to fight his way back into the elite group.
Stevens however has been struggling for form recently, this is partly due recently becoming a new father. He does however tend to play his best snooker when he under pressure, and I expect Higgins to be in an extremely tough match.
Higgins recent form will please Stevens, as he seems to have lost the rhythm he had when he won last years championships. If however Higgins manages to find the fluency we all know he has, he will win this match.
Recent history has shown that Higgins can be a slow starter, whereas Stevens tend to have consistent form throughout his matches. I do feel however that on the day Higgins will have to much for Stevens, and will win a tight match by a couple of frames.
5 players to watch for at this years crucible
April 17, 2008
This years snooker world championships at the crucible is looking to be one of the tightest yet. There are some great players involved, all with strong chances of winning the tournament, I have listed 5 of the players to look out for below:
1. Ding Jun hui
There is no doubt that Chinese Player Ding Junhui has the potential to one day win at the crucible. The question is when will Ding’s game will mature enough to win the most difficult snooker tournament in the world.
Last year at the world championships Ding showed glimpses of his potential before getting easily beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan. The question this year is whether Ding can handle the expectation of the Chinese public, he is seen as a celebrity over there with over 100 million people known to watch him play.
2. Ronnie O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan as usual will be one of the favourites to win this years tournament, Ronnie’s only issue is his mental strength, which has let him down on many occasions. His flamboyant style and temperament is however part of Ronnie’s game, and something that he will always have.
There is little doubt that Ronnie’s ability should have won him more titles by now, and few would best against ‘the rocket’ winning this years championships
3. Mark Selby
Mark surprised many people last year when he made it all the way to the crucible final. Since then Mark has been on fantastic form, winning the Welsh Open. His recent good performances have made Mark a player to watch out for at this years tournament.
Marks major advantage is his temperament, when things go wrong it does not seem to phase him. This winning quality will be fully tested when he steps out at the crucible.
4. Shaun Murphy
Shaun has proved that winning the championship back in 2005 was no fluke, since then Shaun has played consistently well in all ranking events. His attacking style of play has won him many fans, but is also the weakness of his game. Shaun often attempts really difficult pots when perhaps a safety shot might be better.
Shaun has improved this area of his game recently, and should be there or there abouts towards the latter stages of the tournament.
5. John Higgins
Since winning the world championships John has not performed as well as he would have hoped. Higgins however is a great snooker professional with years of experience at the crucible. This experience and maturity will give John that extra lift he needs to perform well in these championships.
John has the toughest first round draw, playing against the experienced Matthew Stevens, I do however expect Higgins to get through this match, but not by much. He has a tough draw and opens against Matthew Stevens, but John is a great player and I expect him to do well.
Ding to be the most watch player at the World Championships
April 15, 2008
When all the snooker professionals start at the World Championships at the crucible on Saturday there will be millions of people watching. Most people however won’t be watching the UK players such as Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Instead the highest viewed first round match will be between Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, as the sports popularity in the far east becomes even bigger. Snooker is now becoming extremely popular in the far east with a staggering 110 million people tuning into the final of the China Open. Thats about twice the population of the entire UK!
Ding has been the creator of this new snooker evolutions, and is now viewed as a sporting superstar in his home country. Although Ding has not won any title recently, he will take great comfort in knwoing he has inspired a new generation of snooker players in China.
It has been predicted that around 50 million of China massive population player snooker, with nearly 300 venues with snooker tables available in just Beijing!
Mark Selby Profile
April 14, 2008
Mark Selby has been the most consistent player over the last six ranking events. Mark’s best performance was in the crucible last year, where he made it all the way to the final. Mark had to play catch up in his first game against Stephen Lee, coming back from 5-0 behind, that win showed lots of character
Mark gained lots of confidence from that victory, which got him through to the semi final of the tournament where he would play Shaun Murphy. The game against Shaun was very tight with Mark eventually winning 17-16 after winning the final three frames.
Mark then went on to play Higgins in the final, where he fought from 12-4 down to trail by one frame 14-13. Higgins however showed the class of an old professional eventually being mark 18-13.
Marks consistency to perform well at ranking events together with his fearless potter and confidence makes him a difficult opponent for any player.
- DOB – 19/06/1983
- Provisional Ranking – 4th
- Turned Pro – 1999
- Ranking Tournament Victories – 1
- Highest Tournament Break – 139
