China Open 2012 (Day 6) - On-fire Maguire to meet legend Ebdon in final

19:23:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Maguire lands in final
Scotland's Stephen Maguire was the first player to book a place in tomorrow's China Open final after beating Stephen Lee by 6-2, hours later the final last spot getting Peter Ebdon's name on it as the Englishman outclassed the local Chinese star, Ding Junhui by 6-3.

The first semi-final of this year's China Open tournament saw the two "Stephens" of snooker engaging in what seemed at the beginning as a close battle of cues.

Maguire started by taking the first two frames with a top break of 76, but Lee was sure to come back and draw level with runs of 67, 47 and 39.

Ooops!
After the 15-minute break the Scottish player regained his leading position after hitting in breaks of 51 and 53, from this point on, Lee being mostly kept in his seat, a definitely on-fire Maguire potting like a madman and cruising easily towards victory with runs of 66, 71 and 91.

It was clear victory of 6-2 that Maguire obtained over Big Lee and a very well deserved one, this being the second time the Scotsman books himself a place in a major ranking event final this season (the first one was the German Masters) and the third one if we are to count the PTC 12 event, which he won.

Ebbo is in a wonderful form
A more long and tactical battle of cues was given between China's Ding Junhui (who turns 25 on April 1st) and England's Peter Ebdon, the last named one prevailing with a well fought 6-3 scoreline.

Although the match started really well for the 2012 Welsh Open champion, Ding flying at 3-1 up after firing in breaks of 87, 49 and 83, after the break Ebdon put his cue into action, slowly but efficiently, to get back in the match at 3-3 by using runs of 54 and 69, but also to take the lead for the first time since winning the opening frame.

A nice and steady break of 68 was throwing Ebbo just one frame way from victory, at 5-3, while a set of 64 and 58 were securing him a long waited victory.

The birthday-boy, Ding Junhui not very happy to lose
Peter won the World Championship in 2002, but it's interesting to see that the last ranking event final that he reached was the 2009 China Open, when he beat John Higgins 10-8. At the same time, his green baize rival whom he's meeting tomorrow in the final, Stephen Maguire, is no stranger from winning this tournament either, the Scotsman writing his name on the trophy the year before, in 2008.

The final will be played under "the best of 19" rule as it follows:

07:30 First session
Stephen Maguire v. Peter Ebdon


12:30 Last session
Stephen Maguire v. Peter Ebdon

 *all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
19:45 - 21:45 British EuroSport

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China Open 2012 (Day 5) - Beijing thriller

21:50:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Maguire's revenge
The quarter-finals of this year's China Open can be easily described as dramatic and thrilling. None of the four matches were, what an American would say piece of cake, and none of the matches was won easily despite some pretty clear scorelines.

Stephen Maguire and Ronnie O'Sullivan were the only ones who managed to go all the way through the last frame and keep the tension high, the Scotsman being the one who won the tactical battle on a re-spotted black to set a snooker meeting with Stephen Lee who knock down the defending champion Judd Trump by 5-3.

In the afternoon session, Ding Junhui didn't give too much of a chance to Ali Carter sending the Captain in a solo flight back to the UK with a 5-2 scoreline, while Peter Ebdon messed with Neil Robertson’s head for four hours to finally beat him by 5-3.

O'Sullivan's good form wasn't enough to win him the match
Stephen Maguire was leading Ronnie O'Sullivan by 5-3 after the first session of the German Masters final, only to lose after a few hours by 9-7. That was happening at the beginning of February, but Maguire didn't forget that defeat. That's for certain considering how he fought against Ronnie today.

He flew all the way to 2-0 with breaks of 57 and 76, but O'Sullivan was also in a good form, so he replayed with a series of 88 and 60 to draw level as the interval as kicking off.

After the 15-minute break the Scotsman was taking the lead once more, this time with a bit of help from a 79 break, but when he missed an easy blue during the 6th frame, O'Sullivan transformed that chance in a beautiful 102 clearance.
Big Lee is in the semis

Refusing to surrender Maguire hit in runs of 38 and 40 to go 4-3 up, but as before O’Sullivan was coming back at him to force the decider.

It was during the last frame when Maguire missed a black off its spot on a 29, O'Sullivan coming for a 54 stopped by missing a red. A life line for the Scottish player that went on to clear the table with a 33 and force a re-spotted black. What a better way to finish a match played in such  a close and unique way, than with a re-spotted black?

It didn't last too long before Maguire took his chances with a cross double, the black ball refusing to go into the left middle pocket, but heading from there "across the street" into the right one. Maguire was winning by 5-4.

Trump fails to defend his Chinese crown
At the next table the defending champion, Judd Trump and the recent winner of the PTC Grand Finals crown, Stephen Lee were fighting for a place in the semi-finals as well.

It felt like one of those days for Trump, one of those winning days, when he used breaks of 65 and 92 to capture the first two frames, but Lee didn't let that get to him and answered with two great century breaks of 113 and 107.

At returning into the arena Lee became in charge of the match's faith for the first time and extended his lead at 4-2 after stopping his break on 60, Trump coming for a 30 but missing the last pink, then Lee sending it to a hungry-for-balls pocket.

Still, Trump continued to fight for his beloved crown that last year was bringing him into the eyes of the public and actually managed to pull back a frame with a top break of just 37.

However, Big Bear Lee decided the match lasted too much and closed the deal with a perfect 96 for a 5-3 result.

Local star Ding Junhui gets a place in the next round
The third quarter-final match of the day saw the local star Ding Junhui sending the Captain Ali Carter home with a 5-2 result after ending the first session leading him by 3-1.

Although Carter did manage to hit the only century break of the match during frame two, win the 5th frame with a 43 and had a pretty good and consistent fight throughout the tournament, Ding proved to be too strong for him.

With runs of 71 and 63 the 2012 Welsh Open champion was booking himself  place in tomorrow's semi-finals, letting Carter to fly back to the UK and get on practicing for the coming World Championship.

Slow, but efficient - Peter Ebdon
Also sent home for practicing was Neil Robertson, the Australian getting beat by "The Ebdonator" Peter with a 5-3 result.

One of the most surprising match endings of this tournament was to see Peter Ebdon getting to Robbo's way of playing the game but also managing to find enough form as to beat him.

The lads were all square at the interval, although it could haven been a 3-1 lead for Robertson if he had killed the second frame and not missed the red on 53, thus not giving Ebbo the chance to win it on the black.

Curly Robbo is heading back home
Still, after the break the Aussie put his nose back in front with a 51 break, but Ebdon didn’t lose any time and restored the equality with a 46 one.

From this point on, Robertson was quite unable to get back on track, Ebbo taking the lead for the first time at 4-3 and ending the Australian’s misery during the next frame for a place in the next round.

Day 5 list of results:

Judd Trump  3-5 Stephen Lee
Stephen Maguire  5-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan

 
Ding Junhui 5-2 Ali Carter
Neil Robertson 3-5 Peter Ebdon

Tomorrow the semi-finals are kicking off the first two players to get six frames under their belt, having guaranteed a place in the final.

07:30
SF1 Stephen Maguire v. Stephen Lee


12:30
SF2 Ding Junhui v. Peter Ebdon

*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
13:00 - 15:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
21:30 - 23:00 British EuroSport

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China Open 2012 (Day 4) - Tactical battles in Beijing

19:50:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Vintage Ebdon in action
It's been a great day for tactical battles here in Beijing, with some pretty entertaining matches for the fans to follow, like the one between John Higgins and Peter Ebdon ended on a 5-4 result in favour of the Englishman, or the one gave between Neil Robertson and Stephen Hendry, match finished with the Aussie in the winner’s role, 5-3.

Great victories were also recorded by Ali Carter, who made sure the tournament will be free of wildcards, sending home Lu Ning by 5-1, but also by Ronnie O'Sullivan who fond himself in a winning-mood and hammered an old green baize rival, Mark Williams by 5-1.

Higgins forced to go home
It was the last match of the day, but by far a very surprising and great one to follow. Too bad it wasn't broadcasted and we had to follow just the scorelines. I'm talking about the encounter between Peter Ebdon and John Higgins, of course.

The match started with a pretty determined Higgins who flew all the way to 3-1 after hitting in breaks of 107, 89 and 47, while Ebdon only managed to kill the opener with a 64 one.

But after the mid-session interval the "Ebdonator" began his comeback. Runs of 53 and 109 were enough to level the match at three apiece, but clearly Higgins wasn't very happy about that.

So he put his nose in front again with a 49, but Ebdon caught up with him immediately after a series of 31 and 24 (leaving his opponent in need of a snooker that he didn’t manage to get).

Curly Robertson sends off Master Hendry
The decider saw the Scotsman being left in the same position as before, meaning in need of a snooker, and even though he managed to get it on the brown, he still lost the match by 5-4. Thus the 2002 world champion, Peter Ebdon secured himself a place in the quarter-finals.

Also landing in the quarter-finals was Neil Robertson, the Australian engaging in a pretty tense crossing of cues with the legend Stephen Hendry.

The seven-time world champion clinched the opener (after needing a snooker) on the last black, but Robertson was going to cash the next ones with runs of 95 and 74. Still, at the interval the players were all square at 2-2 after Hendry won a scrappy 4th frame.

Captain Carter flies in quarter-finals
After the mini-break Robertson retuned in the leading position due to collecting 68 consecutive points off the table, but Hendry drew level with the very first occasion for a 3-3 scoreline.

Once again Robertson was back in front after runs of 29 and 22, this time though the Scotsman not being able to catch up with his opponent, a missed red costing him heavily as Robbo ended the match with a 86 break for a 5-3 win.

Ali Carter make sure of having a wildcard-free tournament from now on, the Essex man hammering Lu Ning by 5-1 and proving he means serious business after not such a great season, the same scoreline being used by a very-moody-for-winning O'Sullivan who beat Mark Williams using runs of 77, 47, 45 and 66 in the process.

Trump - still in possession on the Chinese crown
The reigning champion, Judd Trump made another victim, Stuart Bingham being defeated by 5-3 even if he played quite well, not the same being the case of Graeme Dott who lost by the same scoreline to Stephen Lee in a match that showed us a very "low on confidence" Scotsman at work, as him himself said after the match.

However, at least one Scotsman prevailed today, Stephen Maguire beating Ricky Walden after a classical and tactical battle of cues by 5-4, the lads spending no less than three hours in front of the green baize.

Day 4 list of results:

28 Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Mark Williams
25 Judd Trump 5-3 Stuart Bingham
27 Stephen Maguire 5-4 Ricky Walden
26 Stephen Lee 5-3 Graeme Dott


29 Mark Selby w/d Ding Junhui BYE
32 Peter Ebdon 5-4 John Higgins
30 Ali Carter 5-1 Lu Ning
31 Neil Robertson 5-3 Stephen Hendry

Tomorrow the quarter-finals round kicks off with:

07:30
QF1 Judd Trump  v. Stephen Lee
QF2 Stephen Maguire  v. Ronnie O'Sullivan

12:30
QF3 Ding Junhui v. Ali Carter
QF4 Neil Robertson v. Peter Ebdon
 *all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2
21:30 - 23:00 British EuroSport


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Selby pulls out of China Open

14:19:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

World number one, Mark Selby pulled out of the 2012 China Open tournament with a neck injury.

We are all very used to see players pulling out of events a few days before they start or at the last minute, but it can happen during one as well. Selby is a living proof of that, the Englishman suffering from a neck injury that has bothered him even during his first match played against wildcard Li Hang, whom he beat 5-0.

After that match the Leicester man said for World Snooker: 

"I didn't really know how I was going to perform because I have a problem with my neck, I've been suffering a little bit of pain. But putting that aside the performance itself was good, I played really well and didn't give Li Hang many chances."

Although he was looking forward to his next snooker rendez-vous with Ding Junhui, that was supposed to happen today from 12:30 (UK time), Mark Selby decided it was for the best to withdraw from the tournament.

He said: "I'm absolutely gutted to have to pull out and to let down the Chinese fans as I was really looking forward to playing Ding tonight. But I have been suffering with neck pain and I struggled through my first round match. I don't want to do any more damage, especially with the World Championship coming up, so I'm going back to the UK to get some treatment. I look forward to coming back to China soon as I love playing here."

Due to Selby's withdrawing, Ding Junhui gets a bye for the quarter-finals where he's going to meet the winner of Ali Carter v. Lu Ning match.

Get well soon, Selby!


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China Open 2012 (Day 3) - Return of titans

20:05:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Is Higgins back for good?
As the days go bye, the China Open tournament becomes more and more interesting, today being the day when certain green baize titans have returned to claim their throne, this being the case of John Higgins who beat Rory McLeod by 5-1, Mark Williams who used the same scoreline to "get rid" of China's Jin Long, but also the one of snooker's Captain, Ali Carter who fought like a lion for a 5-4 victory over Dominic Dale.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, the player whose absence was noticed during the last two tournaments (World Open and PTC Grand Finals) made a great start at the China Open by taking down Scotland's Marcus Campbell 5-4, while wildcard Lu Ning made another victim, this time in the person of Shaun Murphy, who lost to the Chinese man by 5-2.

He had a great last season, but not such a great one at the moment and with the World Championship just around the corner, John Higgins needed to regain some of the form that brought him no less than four ranking titles during the 2010/2011 season.

McLeod didn't stand a chance in front of the current champ
He met with the man that practically drained all of his energy during last year World Championship Last 16 round Rory McLeod, but this time Higgins wasn't going to let Rory get to him.

Although the match started in a typical way, meaning that the Scottish player had a great chance to take the opener, but missed a relatively simply red on 41, thus McLeod returning to clear for victory, what followed next was a genuine example of keeping it cool, assuming your mistakes and being extra careful with your safety shots.

Higgins was levelling the match with a 62 break and taking the lead at 2-1 with a 61, while runs of 20, 90, 40 and 58 were giving the current world champion the chance to write a 5-1 result on the scoreboard.

Williams on the road to potting like a Machine
Another great master of the green baize, Mark Williams managed to put the audience on their feet as he hammered the local star Jin Long 5-1 and even if the Welshman declared after the match that :

"I'm not playing anywhere near my best. To be honest I'm nowhere near as good as I was five or six years ago. I'm never going to be as good as that.", it is clear that this victory comes on the back of some serious improvements in his playing style.

With breaks like 74, 57, 78, 24 and 25 Williams proved he's still in the race, hanging on there and as he so well put it "giving it 100%". 

Ali Carter, who's been tormented by his illness during this season and never quite managed to get back on track since winning the 2010 Shanghai Masters title, shined a bit on the green baize.

The Essex man took on the Welshman Dominic Dale in a match that saw all its frames being consumed with the Captain always in the leading position. 

Starting bad, ending good - O'Sullivan
The runner-up of the 2008 World Championship broke the ice with a great break of 119 points and went at 2-1 up after a 77, Dale drawing level with runs of 33 and 78 as the interval was kicking off.

After the break the lads continued to be just one frame apart, but although Dale forced the decider due to a break of 45 points, Carter was wining it after a decisive 51.

After beating Jamie Jones 5-3, the wildcard Lu Ning made another victim, Shaun Murphy seeing himself in need of booking an early flight to go back home.

Lu used runs of 49, 37, 114, 119 and 68 to beat Murphy 5-2 and set a meeting with the Captain Carter for tomorrow after-noon.

Not a winner for Campbell
His absence left the fans upset in Haikou and Galway, but "The Rocket" came to play in Beijing and even to put on quite a snooker show; Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Marcus Campbell 5-4 after being lead 3-0 by the Scotsman.

What started with a very unfocused and inpatient O'Sullivan, finished with a perfectly in command one, the three-time world champion firing in breaks of 41, 46 and 65 to overcome Campbell's runs of 41, 25 and 21 and draw level at 3-3.

Wildcard Lu Ning in action
The Scotsman tried to take the lead of the match once more and he almost made it, a break of 58 being quite representative for winning the 7th frame if it wasn't for O'Sullivan’s runs of 32 and 41. So, now it was Marcus’s turn to try and bring back the balance.

It didn’t took him long, a break of 66 giving him the opportunity to play one more frame, but when he lost position on 41 by not taking his chances to pot a pretty risky green, O'Sullivan knew what he had to do. 77 points later the Englishman was leaving the arena after winning 5-4 over Campbell.

Ebbo is a pretty good form
If in December Ricky Walden was losing 9-7 to Mark Allen in the semi-finals of the UK Championship, now it was time for the Englishman to take revenge. And after breaks of 78, 62, 50, 28 and 37 and a final result of 5-2, his plan was turning into a reality.

A very important victory was also cashed by Peter Ebdon, who beat Matthew Stevens 5-3, while Stuart Bingham was ending on a 5-4 result his match with Joe Perry.

Day 3 list of results:

24 John Higgins 5-1 Rory McLeod
16 Mark Williams 5-1 Jin Long
14 Mark Allen 2-5 Ricky Walden
10 Stuart Bingham 5-4 Joe Perry


15 Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 Marcus Campbell
20 Shaun Murphy 2-5 Lu Ning
23 Matthew Stevens 3-5 Peter Ebdon
19 Ali Carter 5-4 Dominic Dale

Tomorrow the Last 16 round matches are starting with:

07:30
28 Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Mark Williams
25 Judd Trump v. Stuart Bingham
27 Stephen Maguire v. Ricky Walden
26 Stephen Lee v. Graeme Dott


12:30
29 Mark Selby v. Ding Junhui
32 Peter Ebdon v. John Higgins
30 Ali Carter v. Lu Ning
31 Neil Robertson v. Stephen Hendry

*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport (LIVE
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport2
22:15 - 00:15 British EuroSport


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China Open 2012 (Day 2) - A blast from the past

19:30:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Trump still in the race for defending his crown
The second day of this year's China Open event offered us a great chance to remember some of snooker's greatest highlights, but also comebacks, legend Jimmy White being responsible for putting on quite a snooker show right there on the green baize, while Ding Junhui performed one of his special comebacks to prevail the battle of cues with the Englishman Ben Woollaston.

Mark Selby showed himself merciless in front of wildcard Li Hang whom he whitewashed 5-0, the same happening with Zhou Yuelong who played against Rory McLeod, while Stephen Maguire seemed to be back on track after hammering Barry Hawkins 5-1.

It wasn't a victorious day for "the Whirlwind" Jimmy White, but it sure was one to be remembered as the legend took on one of snooker's youngest and brightest competitors, Judd Trump. 

White brought back some of that old magic
Although many would have been inclined to think this match will end quick and that Judd will put his opponent in the corner, things couldn't be more different. Jimmy fought and fought well.

Breaks of 65, 122, 24 and 25 brought the lad from Bristol the first three frames, before Jimmy could score in runs of 39 and 20 and win his first frame of the day.
The interval couldn't have come in a more perfect moment, the "Whirlwind" having a quarter of an hour to rethink his comeback.

Frame five saw White with the first chance, but lost position on 43 sadly the safety shot being a poor one, thus Trump coming to clear the table with a great 80 break for a 4-1 scoreline.

But Jimmy didn’t give up. A century break (104) and a 62 were enough to buy the cueist two consecutive frames, while Trump was mostly kept in his seat.

Ding Junhui performed one of his special comebacks
The battle ended though after Trump hit a 73 to close the match on 5-3 final result and continue his quest in defending the Chinese crown he so well deservedly got last yer. 

So, although it might not have been a victory for Jimmy, it sure was one of those rare moments when the fans could see why Jimmy White is such a legend and how much snooker has to give to this man.

If last year during the same tournament Ding Junhui was coming back from being lead 4-1 by qualifier Kurt Maflin and won the match by 5-4, during this year's edition the "Chinese Sensation" outdone himself by performing a great comeback from 4-0 down to win the match 5-4 over Ben Woollaston.

Runs of 61, 49, and 55 were bringing Woollaston an outstanding 4-0 lead in front of the local star Ding Junhui as the mid-session interval was kicking off, but after those magical 15 minutes, things changed and not in the Englishman's best interest.

Ben Woollaston - so close to win the match and yet ...
This year's Welsh Open champion won a scrappy frame five to avoid being whitewashed, but his goal was bolder. He went on to cash another frame with a 64 break and another two to force the decider. The pressure was on.

The pressure was on and the man who knew how to handle it best was the Asian one, a perfect break of 111 points ending Woollaston's suffering at 5-4. 

Ding is meeting with Mark Selby in the next round, a player that he beat during the Welsh Open final, but who also beat him during the recent PTC Grand Finals. So ... what is going to be this time, lads? Especially since it's clear that both of you are on-fire?  (Note: Selby won his match against wildcard Li Hang by 5-0 using breaks of 52, 82, 63 and 139).

A very nice surprise was to see Stephen Maguire regaining some of the form that brought him in the 2012 German Masters final, the Scottish player hammering the Shoot-Out champion, Barry Hawkins 5-1 after firing in runs of 94, 51, 75, 78 and 43.

Selby signing autographs after a comfortable win
The 2006 world champion, Graeme Dott made us remember the match that he and Mark King played in last year World Championship tournament when the same Scottish player was winning over the same Englishman, but by 6-3. This time, it was 5-2, but obtained in the same beautiful and clean manner.

Stephen Lee, the recent winner of the PTC Grand Finals met with an old green baize rival, whom he beat by 4-1 during the 2012 Welsh Open Last 16 round, Tom Ford. And this time the story repeated itself, with the only difference that the final scoreline was 5-1, sustained by top breaks like 86 and 52.

The Irish fans didn't have the chance to see more of their player, Fergal O'Brien engaging in an very long battle of cues against wildcard Jin Long (the irony), battle that ended on a 5-4 result but in favour of the Chinese player.

Day 2 list of results:

17 Mark Selby 5-0 Li Hang
13 Stephen Maguire 5-1 Barry Hawkins
3 Fergal O'Brien 4-5 Jin Long
8 Rory McLeod 5-0 Zhou Yuelong


18 Ding Junhui 5-4 Ben Woollaston
9 Judd Trump 5-3 Jimmy White
12 Graeme Dott 5-2 Mark King
11 Stephen Lee 5-1 Tom Ford

Tomorrow the action continues with:

07:30
24 John Higgins v. Rory McLeod
16 Mark Williams v. Jin Long
14 Mark Allen v. Ricky Walden
10 Stuart Bingham v. Joe Perry


12:30
15 Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Marcus Campbell
20 Shaun Murphy v. Lu Ning
23 Matthew Stevens v. Peter Ebdon
19 Ali Carter v. Dominic Dale
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
07:35 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
12:30 - 15:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2
22:30 - 00:40 British EuroSport

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China Open 2012 (Day 1) - Hairstyle, legends and wildcards

18:35:00 Ramona Dragomir 1 Comments

This year's edition of the China Open tournament started in the best possible way, with a very, very curly Neil Robertson and snooker's legends on loose (aka. Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry). 

At the end of the day, only two wildcards survived the test of going through the battles of cues with the qualifiers, Li Hang sending home Michael Holt with a 5-3 result, a result that was also going to be used by Lu Ning in front of Jamie Jones.

It definitely was a good day for both Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry, one of the world’s greatest cueists succeeding to defeat their opponents and get a place in the next round.

The Whirlwind in action
"The Whirlwind" had to face the Syrian player Omar Alkojah, player that he beat by 5-3. Although he wasn't at his best, White managed to end the first session leading his baize rival by 3-1 using breaks of 57, 32, 38 and 43 but after the break the wildcard started his offensive.

A break of 54 was winning Omar his second frame of the match, while Jimmy was hitting an 80 break (this was actually a failed maximum attempt) during frame six to set foot just one step away from victory. A 64 was buying Omar at least one more frame to play in, as the scoreline was now 4-3 in favour of the Englishman, but White was careful enough to bury any hopes for a decider and ended the match on a 67 break.

Omar Alkojah
Another thrilling match went on between Stephen Hendry and Martin Gould, this time the final scoreline showing that the lads had gone all the way through the last frame, for a 5-4 result.

The one who broke the ice was the Scottish player with a great 135 break, but Gould drew level after the second frame and also took the lead after a twisted third one.

However the interval was finding the boys all squared at two apiece due to Hendry's 86 break, after 15 minutes the seven-time world champion being the one to put his nose in front with a 68 one.

"Vintage" Hendry
It could have gone 4-2 for Hendry if he hadn’t had missed a red as he was on a 21 break, but instead the balance was reinstalled after Martin's runs of 19 and 49. It was 3-3.

One more time Hendry was taking the leadership, this time through breaks of 69 and 34, but as before, Gould was catching up with a 105 to force the decider.

The tension reached its apogee when after runs of 21 and 20 Gould missed a red, this leaving Hendry with a great chance to do some damage. But it wasn't to be. Not this time at least, as the Scottish player stopped his break at just 21 points after missing a red that was sitting along the cushion.

Sadly for Gouldie, his China dream ends here
Hendry returned to his seat knowing he will lose the match from there, but surprise! Just after two shots Martin was missing an incredible red that was bringing Hendry back to the table. 35 points later the scoreline became 5-4 in favour of Hendry. He was the winner.

Another interesting match that ended on a decider was the one given between Neil Robertson and Jamie Cope. A match that saw a very, very curly Robertson and a pretty intense Cope.

Sadly for Robbo his new hairstyle didn't seem to have an influence on his playing, his form being far from good, but the Australian player managed to keep his chin up and took one frame at a time in order to secure himself  a place in the next round.

The battle of cues saw the lads not being separated by more than a frame, Robertson's runs of 66, 25, 43 and 82 getting a series of 34, 40, 21 and 40 as a response from Cope. The last frame was a scrappy affair, but the Aussie managed to prevail in the end.

A very curly Robertson
Mark King ruled in the match he had to play against Zhu Yinghui, runs of 78, 80, 43 and 26 being enough for a 5-3 result, Ben Woollaston hammered Chen Feilong by 5-1, while Peter Ebdon, although having to cope with a pretty good comeback from his opponent, sent off  the 14-years-old wildcard Lu Haotian.

Not so lucky were Jamie Jones and Michael Holt, both players losing by 5-3 to wildcards Lu Ning and Li Hang respectively.

Day one list of results:

21 Neil Robertson 5-4 Jamie Cope
1 Jimmy White 5-3 Omar Alkojah
2 Mark King 5-3 Zhu Yinghui
4 Michael Holt 3-5 Li Hang


22 Martin Gould 4-5 Stephen Hendry
7 Peter Ebdon 5-2 Lu Haotian
5 Ben Woollaston 5-1 Chen Feilong
6 Jamie Jones 3-5 Lu Ning


Tomorrow the action continues with:

07:30
17 Mark Selby v. Li Hang
13 Stephen Maguire v. Barry Hawkins
3 Fergal O'Brien v. Jin Long
8 Rory McLeod v. Zhou Yuelong


12:30
18 Ding Junhui v. Ben Woollaston
9 Judd Trump v. Jimmy White
12 Graeme Dott v. Mark King
11 Stephen Lee v. Tom Ford
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
12:30 - 15: 30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
12:30 - 15: 30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2
22:15 - 00:15 British EuroSport

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China Open 2012 - Snooker goes to Beijing

23:41:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Tomorrow we return to China, where the 2012 edition of the China Open is kicking off, so for the next seven days we are expecting great cue action performed as always by our dearest and beloved green baize gladiators.

The China Open is the precursor of the greatest and biggest tournaments in snooker’s calendar (aka. the World Championship), this practically being the last stop before engaging in a two-week snooker show of cues' battles.

Last year, China Open's trophy was conquered by an incredible Judd Trump, this setting the base for a tremendous Crucible run from the Bristol player. It's kind of hard to believe it's been a year since that event, Judd's biggest breakthrough, and that now he's in the posture of defending (for the first time) a ranking title.

But can he retain his Chinese crown? Well, although he hasn't been at his best lately, losing matches in front of players we would have expected him to beat (see the recent defeat he suffered in front of Xiao Guodong during the PTC Grand Finals), the lad's talent hasn't vaporized and his guts, next to him enjoying playing snooker so much will certainly make him a winner.

Let's not forget that this title means a lot to Trump and that's actually enough reason for him to get back on the winning-line.

On the opposite corner we have the man that last year stood between Trump and the World crown, John Higgins. A player that had an out-of-the-ordinary last season, but has failed to recapture some of that amazing form during this one.

This is his last chance to show some improvement before he'll he forced to defend his crown at the Crucible and he knows he needs to do better. Not just because he hasn't won anything this season, but because each defeat affects his self-confidence, as he very well put it so many times. And we all know how important that aspect is when you play in the "big one".

Another player that wants to make the most of this tournament is also Mark Selby. The Leicester man won the Wuxi Classic and the Shanghai Masters, plus PTC 4, but after that he just faded away. This alternation of a good start with a terrible finish (aka., him losing) has kept him away from important titles and if we are to consider that last year he was just top of his class during the China Open, losing the final by 10-8 to Trump, then you can get why this is important to him.

Anyone for Chinese cookies?
But returning to the current China Open, let's see how the first day match schedule is looking like.
Well, first of all, needless to say that is the WildCard round, six out of eight matches having one wildcard on one side, and one brave qualifier on the other. Not getting to say too much about this, for you all know I find it frustrating to see a player that have prevailed up to four matches to find themselves having to face one that hasn't.

All matches up and including the quarter-finals are being played under the rule of "best of 9" and since this is a Chinese tournament, you all know what the bad news is, right? For those of you living in the UK this means the fun starts somewhere around 7.30am, so you better get a good night sleep tonight for tomorrow we are starting early with:

7.30am
21 Neil Robertson v. Jamie Cope
1 Jimmy White v. Omar Alkojah
2 Mark King v. Zhu Yinghui
4 Michael Holt v. Li Hang


12.30am
22 Martin Gould v. Stephen Hendry
7 Peter Ebdon v. Lu Haotian
5 Ben Woollaston v. Chen Feilong
6 Jamie Jones v. Lu Ning

*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
07:30 - 10:30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
12:30 - 15: 30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
12:30 - 15: 30 British EuroSport 2 (LIVE)
19:00 - 20:30 British EuroSport 2
23:10 - 00:45 British EuroSport


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Championship League 2012 - Ding gets Premier League spot

22:50:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Ding Junhui, the 2012 Championship League champion
Ding Junhui beat Judd Trump 3-1 in order to win this year's edition of the Championship League and secure himself a spot in the 2012 Premier League. 

The Chinese player continued his good run after winning Group Seven just a couple of days ago and managed to qualify on first place for the Winners' Group with 4 points.

On Tuesday, Ding was crashing Tom Ford 3-0 to get himself a place in Winners' Group, tonight almost repeating the same scoreline in front of Judd Trump.

The recent winner of the Welsh Open crown, obtained a 3-2 result in front of Mark Allen, then lost to the man who was going to beat in the final, Judd Trump by 3-2, whitewashed Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins 3-0, the last day seeing Ding hammering another Mark, this time being Mark Davis's turn by 3-1 and losing 3-2 in front of Shaun Murphy.

Still, by the end of the day he had no less than 4 precious points, enough to get him a place in the play-offs, where he met first with Barry Hawkins.
Last time he crashed the Pink Army member by 3-0, this time not being very far, beating him by  three frames to one. 

A very happy Ding and his crystal ball trophy
It could have gone all the way this match, for Hawkins was just one step away from forcing a decider, but missed the brown to be extra sure of his win, Ding only needing a snooker to win the match. A few minutes later Barry was missing the brown, while Ding was clearing for victory.

The final started with the champion breaking the ice, a cool break of 117 getting him the first frame, while Trump replayed with just a 42 to level at one apiece.
Considering the players' performances throughout this season one would have thought it was going to be a close one, but with runs like 70 and 81 Ding Junhui was stopping any speculations and was winning the battle of cues by 3-1.

Although Ding Junhui has a secure place in the Top 16 and has already won an important ranking event, his spot in this year's Premier League being already secured, this win is even more important since it shows what a great cue man this "Chinese Sensation" is, not letting any opportunity pass so he can show his "cue moves".


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Championship League 2012 - Ding in Winners' Group

14:53:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Ding Junhui in Winners' Group
Last night saw Ding Junhui beat Tom Ford by 3-0 in order to grab the last of the remaining spots in this year's Championship League Winners' Group. The Chinese player made breaks of 88 and 127 to send home the player that qualified for the play-offs on first place.

Although Ding Junhui won't lose his Top 16 spot for sure in the next season, it is for the best to know you have an extra chance to play in the Premier League, the Chinese player putting the first brick to the road towards this competition by winning the final against Tom Ford.

The recent winner of the Welsh Open crown didn't have a very promising debut as he lost 3-2 in his first match played against Ryan Day, won the next one by a reversed 3-2 in front of Joe Perry, only to end his day with another loss, 3-1 against the man he'll beat in the final, Tom Ford.

However the last day consisted only in wins for the little Chinese player, a 3-1 against Peter Ebdon, followed by a 3-0 with Dominic Dale and a 3-2 over Marcus Campbell earning Ding no less than 4 points and a place in the play-offs.

Here, he met with the man he just beat in the last match, Scotland's Marcus Campbell, and the history repeated itself, this time in a more decisive way, as Ding beat Marcus 3-0.

This was also going to be the scoreline recorded in the final against Tom Ford, after the first frame, the Englishman being yet to pot a ball. A scrappy second frame saw Ding winning it by being just 13 points ahead, while the third one was secured with a brilliant 127.

And so Ding Junhui became the last player to grab a spot in the Winners' Group, where Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Mark Davis and Barry Hawkins are waiting.

Today, the final battles of cues begin, by the end of tomorrow the name of the player with a guaranteed place in this year snooker Premier League no longer being a mystery.

Today match schedule:

TABLE ONE (all times are approximate)
11am - Judd Trump v. Shaun Murphy
12.15pm - Barry Hawkins v. Mark Allen
Not before 2pm - Shaun Murphy v. Neil Robertson
3.15pm - Mark Allen v. Ding Junhui
Not before 6pm - Shaun Murphy v. Mark Davis
7.15pm - Neil Robertson v. Ding Junhui


TABLE TWO
11am - Neil Robertson v. Mark Davis
12.15pm - Ding Junhui v. Judd Trump
Not before 2pm - Mark Davis v. Barry Hawkins
3.15pm - Judd Trump v. Neil Robertson
Not before 6pm - Barry Hawkins v. Ding Junhui
7.15pm - Mark Allen v. Mark Davis

*all hours are UK time

Don’t' forget to keep an eye on www.sportlemon.tv  if you want to know how are the boys doing.

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PTC Grand Finals 2012 (the final) - Stephen Lee puts on champion robe

00:57:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Stephen Lee - the 2012 PTC Grand Finals champion
Stephen Lee recorded a perfect 4-0 scoreline in the final played against Neil Robertson, becoming the second PTC Grand Finals champion. 

The man from Trowbridge cruised towards victory nice and steady and managed to win the final frame after a thrilling battle of cues ended on a re-spotted black.

A couple of weeks ago Lee was losing the Haikou World Final against Mark Allen by 10-1, this time though thing going to be different, the final 4-0 result proving the 2006 Welsh Open champion deserves to be taken into account when it comes to winning tournaments.

The English-Australian snooker affair had a pretty scrappy start, the biggest break made in the first frame being Lee's 26 one, while Robbo could only reach up until 20. It took about 44 minutes for the Englishman to leave Neil in need of two snookers and another three for the Aussie to fluke the last pink and concede the frame.

The finalists: Neil Robertson and Stephen  Lee
The next stop was a break of 52, which put Stephen two ahead, while a 47 followed by a poor safety shot from Robertson were throwing Lee just one step away from victory at 3-0.

The last frame saw Robbo losing position on 27, Lee doing the same on 66, while the table had only two reds and the colors left to be potted. When Lee sent one of the reds into the yellow pocket, it all seemed to be over for his opponent, but as the red was going in, so was the cue ball. 

Robertson came to the table to make a perfect 35 clearance that was freezing the scoreline at 66-66, hence the black was re-spotted.

Lee punches the air as he wins the battle
It took the lads a few minutes of attempts and safety shots, but in the end the Australian made a terrible mistake and placed the black right next to the left centre pocket. 

Cleary nervous, Lee bent over the table and pushed his cue sending the last ball into a hungry pocket. His fist punched the air - he was champion once more.

Stephen Lee's victory comes after the 2006 Welsh Open tournament, but also after winning last year's minor-ranking EPTC crown that he obtained after beating Stephen Maguire.

On the other hand, Neil Robertson's legacy of winning all the televised finals he qualified for has been stopped, though the Australian has showed himself confident to regain that position. 

The PTC Grand Finals is being followed by the China Open tournament starting on March 26, with Judd Trump as defending champion.

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PTC Grand Finals 2012 (the final) - An English-Australian snooker affair

18:17:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


Big Lee reaches the final
Stephen Lee and Neil Robertson have become the two finalists of this year's PTC Grand Finals, after Lee beat Andrew Higginson 4-2, while Robbo cruised pass Stephen Maguire with a brilliant 4-0 scoreline.

It's going to be an English-Australian snooker affair for this year's PTC Grand final with the powerful and silky-smooth-cue-action man (aka. Stephen Lee) on one side and the pretty-but-very-dangerous Neil Robertson on the other.

Stephen Lee seems to like the taste of reaching the final, after the Haikou World Open, the man from Trownbridge having one more chance to prove to the entire world he deserves to win. 

He started his snooker dispute with Andrew Higginson by taking the opener with just a top break of 31 points, to which his opponent responded with a 65 during the next frame, after Lee missed a red to the green pocket as he was reaching 42.

The third frame saw the same Stephen Lee missing another red, this time to the right centre pocket on 30, Higginson coming to the table and cueing like a dream. Still, his dream became a nightmare when he missed frame ball on 51, Lee returning to clear until the pink and take the lead once more.

A strategically 104 break was hit by the PTC 5 champion during the next frame to draw level at two apiece, but just like before, Lee was regaining his leading position, this time after a great 102.

Is Robertson going to continue his series of winning-finals?
The last frame was also going to cashed by "The Bulldog" of snooker, Lee collecting no less than 82 points off the table to end the match on a 4-2 result and get a free pass into tonight's final.

Neil Robertson managed to grab the second ticket for the final, after showing himself merciless in front of his baize rival. Stephen Maguire (the man he beat during PTC 6 final) with a 4-0 result, thus getting in the 10th final of his career as a professional player.

The Australian opened with a 110 break, continued with a 45 and hit a great 84 for a safe flight at 3-0, while an out-of-form Maguire only potted a lonely red.

The following frame saw the Scottish player getting in early, but his 23 break was overshadowed by Robertson’s 62, a 62 that was also bringing him the victory.

So, tonight from 8pm (Ireland time) we have the final battle of cues between Stephen Lee (a player that needs to wash a bit of that horrible 10-1 defeat from the World Open from two weeks ago) and Neil Robertson (a player that won all the finals he reached).

Who's going to be?

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