Q School Event Two 2012 - Four more players join winners' group

15:52:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Wells, back on the main
After Martin O'Donnell, Sam Baird, Ian Burns and Chen Zhe proudly graduated from the Q School Event One, it was time to see four more players getting their two-year tickets for the Main Tour, the second event of the series seeing Daniel Wells, Jamie O'Neill, Sean O'Sullivan and Paul Davison joining the gang.

Although Daniel Wells is no stranger from playing next to the big names from the snooker industry, the 23-year-old Welshman from Neath performing in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 season, the last couple of seasons he was nowhere to be found in the rankings.

Still, that didn't stop him from taking part in the PTC series and obtaining some pretty good results. But having the experience of being on the Main Tour, to just take part in certain events is not the same, so Daniel did his best and regained his position next to the stars.

During Q School Event One he almost reached the quarter-finals stage, but sadly lost by 4-2 to Ian Burns (the player that will go on a grab one of the first four spots on the Main Tour).

However as the second event started, Wells obtained a great reversed 4-2 scoreline in front of Mark Vincent, crashed Josh Boileau 4-0, hammered both Lucky Vatnani  and Ben Jones 4-1, only to end up on a tight 4-3 result against Michael Wasley and earn his well deserved ticket back where he belongs, on the Main Tour.

Also fully aware of what a Main Tour place means is Jamie O'Neill, the 25-year-old Englishman who turned professional back in 2007.

Pink Army's soldier Jamie O'Neill
He experienced the ups and downs of having chosen a career in snooker, but he did it with his chin up and although his start in the Q School series wasn't a very promising one, losing his first match to Jeff Cundy by 4-2, the second try was a luckier one and he managed to transform his dream of playing on the Main Tour into reality.

His first Q School Event Two victory was not an easy one to obtain, the 4-3 scoreline from playing Mohammed Omar saying it all, but it soon became just a bad memory when Jamie won 4-0 over Khizar Raoof.

Then it came the 4-2 victory in front of Duane Jones, another great whitewash of 4-0 by playing against Gary Wilson and finally the glorious 4-2 over Scott Donaldson, scoreline that cemented his place on the Main Tour. 

Often asked if he’s related with the great Ronnie O'Sullivan, Sean O'Sullivan managed to achieve his biggest dream this year and has become a pro.

Sean storms in into the winners' group
Only 18, but with a great cue action and a lot of guts and ambition to succeed, Sean started his journey towards the Main Tour with his left foot, losing by 4-1 to Stuart Carrington in the opening match of Q School Event One.

Still, that didn't stop him and when the second event started he made his big breakthrough. In the same way as Daniel Wells, Sean managed to reverse the 4-1 scoreline in his favour and thus won his first match against Christopher Keogan, result that gave him the confidence he needed to go on and crash Nick Dyson 4-0 and hammer Mohamed Al Shaikh 4-1.

He had a pretty difficult match to play against Michael Wild in the penultimate round, but the lad managed to win it by 4-3, before "going back to base" and closing his Q School journey with a 4-1 in front of a player that had a very good and stabile run, Ryan Causton.

The "veteran" of this graduating team is Paul Davison, a name that many of you know and remember. The player from Pickering put on some quite entertaining snooker shows through the years and after winning his way back into the big league, he's favourite to put on some more.

Paul Davison
Davison took a great start in the Q School Event One, when he almost reached the quarter-finals (he lost 4-3 to Martin O'Donnell), and after that performance it was easily to guess that he won’t give up until reaching and winning the quarter-finals of the Q School Event Two.

The ice was broken with a 4-1 scoreline obtained by playing Rhys Clark and last year's Q School graduated Adam Wicheard, but also by facing both Alex Davies and Adrian Gunnell. The last match saw Davison having to face a player that had a great run thought both Q School events, Gareth Allen, but whom he beat 4-2 in order to win his "shiny" ticket back onto the Main Tour.

The Q School Event Three is underway as you read these lines, on May 29 the last four remaining places on the Main Tour finding their owners.

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Ten minutes with top ref Brendan Moore

00:17:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Brendan at the 2012 WC
Tall, elegant, a true professional and often described as "a top bloke", Brendan Moore is one of snooker's best known figures. He's been in the referring business since 2002 and he's done one hell of a job so far. 

I personally remember the 2010 UK Championship final that he referred (a very special one for Brendan, as you will soon discover) between John Higgins and Mark Williams. It was total blast, the perfect mix between top snooker, tension and the good old twist-and-turns of this lovely cue sport.

Since then he's referred a lot of matches, but his Crucible final is yet to come. No doubt the magical moment will happen in the near future, but until then, let's take a few minutes and know more about the person that's often seen as a secondary participant in a snooker match, but who, in reality, has a huge impact on how the cue-crossings evolve.


I. The “Let’s get to know Brendan Moore a bit more” section:


1. First of all, can you please tell me what did you want to be when you were a child?

Brendan Moore: "When I was growing up I wanted to be a pilot, didn't get the qualifications I needed from school though. I played a lot of snooker as a child and wanted to be a snooker player, but I soon realised I wasn't going to be good enough for that."

 
2. What does Brendan like to do in his free time? What kind of music does he listen? What kind of films does he enjoy watching? What books does he like to read?

BM: "In my spare time I like to spend time with my family; we like to go bowling and going to the cinema. I love to go to the cinema too. I’m a big Eddie Murphy fan. I love all his films, but I’m a James Bond fan too."

"Music wise I love the 80s, I've got hundreds of 80s songs in my car and on my Ipod."

"I love reading, I’m a fan of James Patterson, Michael Connelly and John Grisham."

"I play snooker a lot, I'm the captain of a team in the Sheffield League."


3. Last time I checked your highest break was 63? Has that chanced?

BM: "My highest break in match play is still 63."


4. Born in Sheffield, brought up in Sheffield, living in Sheffield. It’s no secret that this city has a great history with sports in general and snooker in particular. Do you think it kind of influenced you to get into snooker referring? Or is just a coincidence?

BM: "I love Sheffield. I was born here and have lived here all my life."

"It's a great sporting city, we have two football teams, a good ice-hockey team and a great Basketball team. Of course we have the Crucible Theatre too, the home of snooker."

"Living here hasn't influenced me in any way in wanting to become a referee. I wanted to learn the rules seen as I was captain of my team, so went to a referees seminar. I loved refereeing at an amateur level and decided that I wanted to try and get into the professional game and do this for a living. It was the best decision I ever made as I love this job."

5. Do you have any superstitions? Snooker related or not? Any special way of preparing before a match starts?

BM: "No I don't have any superstitions."


II. The “Oh, no! Here we go again with snooker” section:

1. If you could relive a match that you refereed, what would that be and why?

BM: "If I could relive any match I have refereed so far it would be the UK Final back in December 2010."

"John Higgins came back from 9-5 down to beat Mark Williams 10-9. The atmosphere was electric and both players played some great snooker all day."


2. If you could choose a match to referee in the future what would that be and why?

BM: "If I could pick any game to referee in the future it would have to be the World Final in Sheffield. It was great walking out to ref the semi final this year, but I would love to do the final."


3.  On a scale from 1-10 how hard is to be a snooker ref?

BM: "When I first started refereeing years ago I would have said on a scale from 1-10 in difficulty that it was a 10. But I’ve been doing it a few years now and gained loads of experience so now I would say 4 or 5."

"We have to concentrate all the time and it can be very tiring. I'm very lucky though in the fact that I love doing this job, there are much harder jobs out there."


At the 2012 Masters tournament
4. The 2011/2012 season was probably one of the busiest in snooker history and that implied travelling, a lot of travelling. Many players have complied about this hectic schedule, but how was it for you?

BM: "Last season was very hectic, we were travelling all over the world. In the last nine months I’ve been to Australia, Brazil and Hainan in China. I love the travelling and seeing parts of the world that I wouldn't get to see if it wasn't for my job. The snooker season is now almost all year round. It's great to be so busy."

 
5. How do you see this sport evolving? Is snooker heading towards the right direction?

BM: "We have tournaments all over the world now, this sport is getting back to where it belongs and is definitely in great shape."


III. The “Fire away!” section:

1. Tea or coffee? Hm … or beer?

BM:  "Coffee or Diet Coke."


2. Referring a final or a semi-final?

BM: "Definitely a final."


3. TV or the cubicles?

BM: "TV."


4. Whitewash or decider?

BM: "Decider."


5. The World Championship or the Masters?

BM: "The World Championship."


6. Referring in the UK or “Doesn’t really matter as long as good snooker is part of the equation”?

BM: "The Crucible."


7. Elegant suit or the Shoot-Out t-shirt?

BM: "Suit."


IV. The “Fill the spaces…” section:


1. The most important quality of a snooker ref … is concentration and knowledge of the rules.

2. The moment I shall never forget (snooker or personal – your choice) … Personal life - When my kids were born.
 
As a Referee - the first time I walked out at the Crucible Theatre, the atmosphere there is different to anywhere else in the world.

3. The most embarrassing moment in my snooker career as a ref … haven't had one yet.

4. My proudest moment in my snooker career as a ref … was when I was given my first final to ref at the Welsh Open back in 2009

And one more question:

If, by God knows what reasons, you’d have to give up referring snooker tomorrow, what would you like to do instead?

BM: "If I had to give up my job as a referee tomorrow I’d buy a pub. I've been a bar manager in several pubs a few years ago, and I would love to have a place of my own one day."

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Q School Event One 2012 - And the first four winners are ...

20:52:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The first four
The first "trimester" of the Q School is over so it's graduation time for four players that stood the test of time (aka. five days). Their names are: Sam Baird, Martin O'Donnell, Ian Burns and Chen Zhe.

It's like he never left the Main Tour for Sammy who regained his spot next to the stars of snooker after starting his race with a perfect 4-0 whitewash against the Polish prodigy Kacper Filipiac, continuing it in the same way by playing George Marter, then "The Assassin" Allan Taylor, James Cahill and Nick Jennings in the quarter-finals.

It seemed like an easy road for Baird, considering that every match was won with a 4-0 scoreline, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hard work. So we are proud to welcome back the man who represents the Pink Army in such a unique way.

Baid is back on tour
After winning the Snookerbacker Classic tournament, Martin O'Donnell caught the public eye, even though, in all honesty, the public eye was a bit lazy regarding him, for he needed acknowledgement way before winning a tournament. 

The lad that loves snooker more than anything proved it's time for the world to take him seriously, so he got his cue into action hammering Declan Brennan 4-1, ending on a tense 4-3 scoreline with Alex Taubman, going back to base and scoring a perfect 4-0 in front of Jamie Clarke, then returning to 4-3 by taking on Paul Davison, only to end his journey in the same way he started it, by obtaining a 4-1 victory against Adrian Ridley.
MOD after winning Snookerbacker Classic

Ian Burns is also one of the lucky players that gets to perform on the Main Tour for two seasons to come, and although the Englishman started his snooker marathon in a very light way (his first opponent, David Singh pulling out of the event), he proved to be well worthy of a place next to the heavy names of the snooker industry after taking down Adrian Gunnell by 4-3, Nick Dyson by 4-1, Daniel Wells by 4-2 and a very dangerous Rod Lawler by 4-3.

It must be said that after the 138 break that Davison made, Burns' 131 was the highest second century break of the Q School Event One, closely followed by Sam Baird's 129 one.

Ian Burns gets to play with the stars
Last but far from being the least, Chen Zhe has finally made it in the big league. The 19-year-old Chinese player cruised towards reaching the finish-line by facing powerful opponents like Joe Delaney, whom he crushed 4-0, Kyren Wilson 4-1, Sydney Wilson 4-3, Chris Norbury 4-2 and Jordan Brown who was hammered by 4-1.

China's Chen is pretty Zen
Not as lucky were legend Steve Davis' son, Greg, who lost his first match to Alex Taubman 4-3, nor the legend himself Tony Knowles who got beat 4-2 by Nick Dyson, or the Women's champion Reanne Evans who was crashed 4-0 by Scotland's Ross Muir. However all three of them have enrolled in the second event, so hopefully they'll make their big breakthrough in a few days.

From today on, for the next five days another series of cue crossings are going to kick off as the Q School Event Two is now underway.

Below you have Day One match schedule:

Round 1

10am
1) Dessie Sheehan 1-4 Saqib Nasir
2) Lucky Vatnani 4-2 Fabio Luersen
3) Mark Vincent 2-4 Daniel Wells
4) Jay Bullen 2-4 Josh Boileau
5) Ben Jones 4-1 Bobby Cruickshanks
6) Elliot Slessor 4-0 Richard Remelie

1pm
7) Lee Spick w/o Kuldesh Johal
9) James Cahill 0-4 Ashley Wright
10) Christopher Norbury v Michael Wasley
11) Shahbaaz Khan 4-1 Kankan Shamsi
12) Oliver Brown 4-1 Sam Harvey

4pm
13) Joe Delaney v Matthew Day
14) George Marter w/o David Singh
15) Jordan Brown v Declan Brennan
16) James Silverwood v Jamie Rhys Clarke
17) Peter Antrobus v Adrian Ridley
18) Lee Page v Scott Donaldson

7pm
19) Fraser Patrick v Stephen Ellis
20) Greg Batten v Alex Taubman
21) Duane Jones v Jason Devaney
22) Martin O'Donnell w/d Mohammed Raoof BYE
23) Mohammed Omar v Jamie O'Neill
24) Gary Wilson v Tony Knowles
*all hours are UK time

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Back to school, back to Q School

23:44:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The race for getting a place on the Main Tour starts tomorrow, so all the players that want to turn their dream of performing shoulder to shoulder with the stars of snooker into reality are going back to school.

Although is Sunday and many of us are still taking advantage of the weekend, the fun seems to be over for the lads that want to book their place on the Main Tour. The Q School Event One kicks off and with it the snooker "carnage".

The draw is filled with names that ring a bell, names that we know by heart, names that are going to be written in highlights some day, so there's no turning back. This is their moment, their chance to make it happen.

Tomorrow's event is part of the Q School series of three events, each of them lasting for five days and with every match being played under "the best of 7" rule. At the end of each event, four players (the "fight" stops in the quarter-finals) will receive a well deserved place on the Main Tour, place that has a two years “warranty" (aka. for two years the player’s safe to play next to the heavy names in the business).

So long story short, here we go again with snooker. Below you have Day 1 match schedule:

10am
Christophen Keogan v Mitchell Travis
Adrian Ridley v Simon Bevz
Jeff Cundy v Jamie O'Neill
David Gray v Robbie Williams
Mitchell Mann v Michael Wild
Gary Wilson v Matthew Day

1pm
Stuart Carrington v Sean O'Sullivan
Jamie Barrett v Paul Davison
Martin O'Donnell v Declan Brennan
Greg Davis v Alex Taubman
James Hill v Jamie Rhys Clarke
Andy Marriott v Kuldesh Johal

4pm
James Cahill v Zak Surety
Sam Baird v Kacper Filipiak
Kankan Shamsi v George Marter
Yin Lung Cheng v Allan Taylor
Lee Page v Stephen Groves

7pm
Liam Monk v John Astley
Rhys Clark v Marc Harman
Nick Jennings v Charlie Walters
Tom Maxfield v Ashley Wright
Justin Astley v Habib Subah
Reanne Evans v Ross Muir
*all hours are UK time


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Snooker in May 2012

19:11:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The snooker party continues
What? Don't tell me you thought this is it. That after the World Championship we are going to take a big, long break. Not a chance! From Sunday on we are getting back to school, the Q School, that is.

This is the second time the Q School takes place and if you were to ask some of the players that got a place on the Main Tour last year, the answer would be that this is one hell of a snooker marathon, but that in the end it pays off.

So, here we are, ready to get back to basics and start qualifying for the Main Tour. Might not be as entertaining as the World Championship, but for the lads that are dreaming to make it in the Big Gang, this is one hell of a show.

Structured in three events, the Q School kicks off on May 13 and ends on May 29, at the end of this marathon 12 players getting a well deserved pot next to the stars.

1. Q School Event One

When?: 13 -17 May
Where?: WS Academy, Sheffield
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.

2. Q School Event Two

When?: 19 - 23 May
Where?: WS Academy, Sheffield
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.

3. Q School Event Three

When?: 25 - 29 May
Where?: WS Academy, Sheffield
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.



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World Championship 2012 - O'Sullivan crowned Crucible king

23:23:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


Ronnie O'Sullivan, the 2012 world champion
Ronnie O'Sullivan won by 18-11 over Ali Carter to conquer his forth word title at the Crucible. The Rocket dominated the entire match, beginning to end, and during the last day of the final was constantly supported by his baby-boy, Ronnie Jr. who played a huge role in the after-victory ceremony.

O'Sullivan started his Crucible journey by taking down Peter Ebdon in the first round, continued with Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, Matthew Stevens, only to find himself facing his four-years-ago opponent, Ali Carter in the grand final.

And if four years ago Ronnie was winning by 18-8, this year the history didn't change too much, the Rocket prevailing the 17-days of intense snooker with an 18-11 scoreline over Captain Carter.

Ali Carter, the 2012 World Championship runner-up
With a first session ended on a 5-3 scoreline, O'Sullivan managed to end the second one making the gap even bigger, at 10-7. Carter, the man who had ones of the toughest opponents to face throughout the entire tournament, was really struggling.

The next session saw him trying to come back, when Ronnie was seven frames ahead of him at 14-7, breaks of 105 and 56, narrowing the gap at just four points.

Still, by the end of the frame, the three-time world champion was reaffirming his real intentions of winning the match with a break of 64 for a 15-10 scoreline.
Ronnie Jr is very happy with his dad's victory

Hours later the lads returned into a packed arena where people from all around the world were either waiting for Ronnie to wrap things up, or for Carter to come back and turn tables on his opponent.

A break of 70 points was sending Ronnie two frames away from victory, while Carter just managed to pull back a frame with a 64 break and not finish this last session without making any continuation.

Ronnie sharing the moment of glory with his kid
The last two frames were carefully captured by a flying Rocket with runs of 46 and 61 in order to land on his forth world title.

So, what a season comes to an end tonight! And particularly, what a season Ronnie has had! Won two of the PTC events, won the German Masters and now he won his forth world title. 

Oh, and just a quick note: those things he said about considering to retire? Not a chance in hell! Not for the moment, at least.


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World Championship 2012 (Day 16) - O'Sullivan leads Carter after first day

01:40:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Rocket Ronnie, just eight frames away from victory
Day one of the World Championship final is over and at the end of it Ronnie O'Sullivan took a 10-7 lead over Ali Carter.

The Essex-final started with the 'Rocket' flying at 2-0, but the 'Captain' caught up with him really soon, as the mid-session interval was kicking off, Carter using breaks of 84 and 33 to draw level.

Still, by the end of the first session O'Sullivan was sure to take a considerable lead of 5-3 after hitting in runs of 52, 92 and 141.

A few hours after the lads re-entered into the arena, Carter tried to restore the balance of the match and started by taking the first frame with a break of 56. But his opponent had other plans and after a pretty scrappy affair and just a top break of 49 points, O'Sullivan was reinstalling the two-frame advantage, while a strategically 68 was putting him 7-4 ahead.

The 'Captain' was able to pull back a frame in time to avoid O'Sullivan extending his lead, but what followed next frustrated the man whose last ranking title is the 2010 Shanghai Masters, Ronnie capturing two consecutive frames with runs of 36 and 29 for a 9-6 lead.

Captain Carter hasn't really taken off yet
59 points seemed to be enough to maintain Carter's hopes of making a comeback alive as he cashed the 15th frame, but when O'Sullivan won the next on, his dreams were shattered one more time.

Still, after a very intense last frame, Carter succeeded to restore the three-frame gap and closed the session by trailing 10-7.

The match resumes tomorrow, at the end of the day the name of this year's World Championship winner being no longer a mystery.

2.30pm
Ali Carter 7-10 Ronnie O'Sullivan (eight frames)


7.30pm
Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan* (10 frames)

*denotes the last session of the match

TV coverage:
14:30 - 18:00 BBC Two
15:15 - 17:30 British EuroSport
19:30 - 23:00 BBC Two
19:30 - 22:30 British EuroSport

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World Championship 2012 (Day 15) - Rocket Ronnie joins Carter in final

22:18:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

O'Sullivan reaches the final of the WC
After Carter's 17-12 victory from early today, it was Ronnie O'Sullivan's turn to finish the match he started with Matthew Stevens on a 17-10 scoreline and get his well deserved spot in the final.

The match that O'Sullivan and Stevens played was a bit of one-sided one, although in all fairness the Welshman did fight back and those 10 frames he cashed throughout the entire snooker dispute were won fair and square.

Still, O'Sullivan's merciless cue action set the Essex man on a 5-3 scoreline after the first session finished and although Stevens managed to draw level at five apiece during the second one, O'Sullivan was winning the next six frames with breaks of 62, 110, 98, 94 and 113 to go 11-5 up.

Things didn’t seem to look too bright after the third session either, the Rocket using a series of 81, 38, 37 and 39 to go two frames away from victory at 15-9.

Stevens run ends in the semis
At returning into the arena for the last time, "The Welsh Dragon" made a final effort to gain some control of the match with a beautiful break of 116 points, but O'Sullivan replayed with runs of 130 and 35 to end the snooker rendezvous at 17-10.

So from tomorrow on until Monday evening we have a very interesting final to look forward to: Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan, the lads meeting on the same territory, four years ago, back then the winner being the Rocket, 18-8.

Will the history repeat itself, or shall we see a new king crowned at the Crucible this year? We'll just have to wait and see.

Tomorrow's match schedule:

2pm
Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan  (eight frames)
 

7pm
Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan (nine frames)


TV coverage:
14:00 - 18:10 BBC Two
16:30 - 17:30 British EuroSport
19:00 - 22:00 British EuroSport
19:00 - 23:00 BBC Two

I remind you that the final is played under the "best of 35" rule for two days.

P.S. Apropos of nothing, if you are interested in  a Barry Hearn documentary, the Beebs (BBC Two) is showing one tomorrow from 18:10 until 19:00. Enjoy you share of Bazza's life.

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World Championship 2012 (Day 15) - Captain Carter lands in final

19:27:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Captain Carter lands in final
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are happy to inform you that we shall be landing on World Championship’s final in a few moments time. Thank you for choosing Carter Airlines and see you again tomorrow for another spectacular flight in our quest for the shiny trophy!"

That's how it must have sounded when Ali Carter landed in the final of this year's World Championship, after he beat Stephen Maguire by 17-12.

It's been an outstanding match that had it all: from brilliant positional shots, to flukes, from fouls, to getting lucky, from safety shots that were just out of this world, to playing for snookers. Still, throughout the entire match Carter was the only always in charge. 

Either we are talking about the first session which he won by 5-3, or the second one when he detached himself at 10-6, or the third when he flew at 14-10, the player from Essex was just … well, forget the cliché … flying.

Huge effort from Maguire, but sadly it wasn't enough
The last of the lads encounters started in the best possible way for Ali who used breaks of 41, 27 and 24 to go just one step away from victory at 16-10.

Maguire, who didn't experience the feeling of being in the leading position not even one single time since the beginning of the match, knew he had to do something. So he fought the best way he could, his efforts being rewarded with winning the next couple of frames with runs of 56 and 53.

At 16-12, the lads entered into the mid-session break, but after 15 minutes of having a cup of tea, get some speedy practice, or receive guidance from the Snooker Guru Peter Ebdon (that only applies for Carter), Ali decided to end the match with a top break of 70.

Carter's mentor, Peter Ebdon
The Englishman that hasn't been in a World Championship final since 2008, when he lost to the one who seems to be his opponent this time too, Ronnie O'Sullivan, is writing one hell of a final for the 2011/2012 season of snooker. 

Had a poor season due to his Crohn' disease, but got back on track since the China Open and has kept on fighting to get into the final of a tournament which trophy hasn't lifted yet. Could he do it now? Hard to answer, but we are definitely going to see one hell of a battle of cues in the next two days, that’s for sure!


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World Championship 2012 (Day 14) - Carter and O'Sullivan keep marching on

01:26:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Will Carter and O'Sullivan meet in this year's WC final?
Second day of the semi-finals saw the same leaders as the day before, Ali "The Captain" and Ronnie "The Rocket" reaffirming their position as favourites to reach the grand final, Carter leading Maguire by 14-10, while O'Sullivan ended the second session by being 11-5 ahead of Stevens.

Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire had to dispute two more sessions today and although at the end of the first one the gap between the two baize gladiators was a two-point one (5-3), Carter ended the second one on 10-6 and the third on 14-10.

Breaks of 57 and 59 were helping the Scottish player reinstall the balance of thematch at 5-5, but Carter destroyed it, and moved back in front at 9-5.

Maguire hit a marvellous 142 break to prove he's still there fighting, but Carter closed the session winning a scrappy frame for a 10-6 lead.

The third appearance the lads into the arena started with the Scotsman's runs of 45 and 31 that were narrowing the gap at just three frames, but then Carter took off using breaks of 53, 134, 41 and 72 to go up, up in the sky at 14-7.

Still, Maguire didn’t give in or lose his grip and managed to pull back no less than the last three frames of the session with runs of 64, 70 and 32, the last one being won after Carter missed a tough red on 53. 

In the other match, that only had one session disputed today, Ronnie O'Sullivan took a very decisive 11-5 lead over an overwhelmed Welshman, who although succeeded to came back into the match from being lead 5-3, couldn't do more during this snooker encounter.

With carefully made breaks of 60 and 63 Stevens was turning the scoreline from 5-3 into 5-5, before the "Rocket" decided to fire in runs of 62, 110, 98, 94 and 113 and win the six remaining frames of the session and put the Welshman in all sorts of trouble (to quote the classics) at 11-5.

Tomorrow, the last two sessions of O'Sullivan v. Stevens match are kicking off, along with the last one for Carter and Maguire. The clock is ticking and we need two names for the grand final, so who's going to be?

10am
SF2 Ronnie O'Sullivan 11-5 Matthew Stevens


2.30pm
SF1* Stephen Maguire 10-14 Ali Carter


7pm
SF2* Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Matthew Stevens

*denotes the final session of the match

TV coverage:
10:00 - 13:30 British EuroSport
18:30 - 22:00 British EuroSport
19:00 - 21:30 BBC Two


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World Championship 2012 (Day 13) - Carter and O'Sullivan in front after first session

01:05:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Captain Carter takes a good start
The semi-finals are underway at Sheffield's Crucible Arena and after the first session two players put their nose in front, Ali Carter and Ronnie O'Sullivan, both using the same 5-3 scoreline.

Carter has had to face Maguire in his quest for a place in the grand final and the fact that it's not going to be an easy job for both of them, is a well known fact as the lads have come very well prepared into this tournament.

As an example, the first two frames were really edgy and scrappy, in the end the one who prevailed being Maguire, who was now 2-0 up already.

Still, by the time the mid-session interval was kicking off, Carter was sure to draw level with runs of 72 and 91. The game was on!

At returning into the arena, Carter managed to put his nose in front after a very tense and long frame, which was won on the last black, but Maguire levelled the match at three apiece with a great 82.

Runs of 65, 36 and 24 were hit in the process of taking off, 'Captain' Carter securing his entrance into the second session with a considerable lead of 5-3.

O'Sullivan not in a great form, but still leading
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Matthew Stevens engaged in what supposedly was a very entertaining match, but for me personally was more of a bore, since both players missed huge chances to make a consistent break or to maintain their turn at the table.

The interval found O'Sullivan with a 4-0 lead over the Welshman, after the first two frames were practically handed to Ronnie after Matthew called a foul on himself, the next two being taken with runs of 66 and 49.

However, as the lads retuned Stevens pulled back two frames, the biggest break hit being a 47, before O'Sullivan reinstalled his dominance at 5-2.

The session was ended with a very important contribution from the Welshman, a break of 80, narrowing the gap at just two frames, 5-3.

Tomorrow the action continues with the same line-up, as it follows:

10am
SF1 Stephen Maguire 3-5 Ali Carter


2.30pm
SF2 Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-3 Matthew Stevens


7pm
SF1 Stephen Maguire v. Ali Carter


TV coverage:
10:00 - 17: 30 British EuroSport
13:00 - 14:00 BBC Two
15:00 - 17:00 BBC Two
19:15 - 22:00 British EuroSport
19:00 - 21:00 BBC Two
00:25 - 01:15 BBC Two

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World Championship 2012 (Day 12) - Rocket Ronnie and Captain Carter fly into semis

01:05:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

O'Sullivan reaches the semis
The last two spots from the semi-finals of this year’s World Championship were carefully occupied by Ronnie O'Sullivan, who proved to be merciless against Neil Robertson and beat the Aussie by 13-10, and also by Ali Carter who had to fight one very tough and dangerous Crucible-debutant Jamie Jones, whom he finally beat by 13-11.

That's it peeps, the countdown has started, we've entered the final stages of this year's grandiose and sumptuous World Championship (I know, I know, some big words out there) the line-up for the semi-finals being completed by the arrival of Rocket Ronnie and Captain Carter.

Although Robertson took a very good start and managed to finish the first session leading O'Sullivan by 5-3, what happened during the next ones, was just madness.

The man that two years ago conquered the world title and up until recently held the record for winning each final he reached, struggled so baddy, while O’Sullivan was on top of his form and practically cruised towards victory.

Not a good day for Robbo
The second session saw O'Sullivan winning no less than six consecutive frames with runs of 48, 47, 97, 62 and 42, while the Australian player barely managed to pull back two by taking a scrappy 15th frame and hitting a 63 to trail 9-7.

As the lads returned for the final session, Robertson seemed a bit more in touch with his winner-mood and after collecting 50 point off the table he was reducing the gap at just one point. But then everything went back to the way it was during the previous session.

O'Sullivan fired in breaks of 104, 71 and 100 to go one away from victory and leave his opponent way behind.

However, Robertson still managed to win the next couple of frames with runs of 89 and 77 before one-very-eager-to-win O'Sullivan closed the match with a top break of 59 to set a meeting with Welshman Matthew Stevens in the semi-finals.

Captain Carter lands in semis
Ali Carter and Jamie Jones offered us one hell of a snooker show, Carter coping very well with the pressure and with his opponent's tremendous shots that got him in the quarter-finals.

The first session ended with the Captain in charge at 5-3 and continued in the same way, the second one being finished at 9-7. Still, that doesn't mean there weren't tense moments throughout the session, especially when Jones drew level at six apiece.

The last of their encounters started with the Captain reaffirming his dominance at 10-7 and with the same "Kiddo" trying to "return" the favour and winning the next frame.

Still, the first to reach the 12 frames, hence to be closer to the finish-line, was the Englishman whose breaks of 38 and 79 were leaving Jones in big trouble.

Jones put on quite a fight, but his run ends in the QFs

But the kid fought back and managed to win the next two frames with runs of 64 and just a top break of 26 and put an enormous pressure on his opponent.

At the end of the day though, experience was the name of the game and Carter knew very well how to cope with the situation, a break of 73 freezing the scoreboard at 13-11.



Tomorrow, we start our semi-finals journey, with the first two players to reach 17 frames getting a place in the final:

1pm
SF1 Stephen Maguire v. Ali Carter


7pm
SF2 Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Matthew Stevens


TV coverage:
13:00 - 16:00 British EuroSport
13:00 - 18:00 BBC Two
19:00 - 21:00 BBC Two
19:00 - 22:00 British EuroSport
23:20 - 00:10 BBC Two (the highlights)

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World Championship 2012 (Day 12) - Stevens gives Ryan a bad Day

14:46:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Stevens reached the semis
Matthew Stevens beat fellow countryman Ryan Day 13-5 to reach the penultimate stage of this beautiful competition that the World Championship is, the semi-finals.

If at the beginning of the match the lads played it simple and shared frames up until two apiece, by the end of the first session Day was putting his nose in front at 5-3 with breaks of 80, 39 and 44.

However, Stevens started the second session very confident of his game, runs of 44 and 48 helping him to draw level, while a series of 46, 46, 40 and 63 were winning him all the remaining six frames.

The scoreline was now 11-5 and Day had a lot to think about and some serious catching up to do next time they were meeting.

Sadly for Ryan it just didn't happen, Stevens closing the match with breaks of 38, 36 and 41 to secure himself a place in the semi-finals where he's meeting with the winner of Robertson v. O’Sullivan match.

Below you have both players' reaction after the match:


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Stephen Hendry - there's no retirement from being a legend

13:50:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


Stephen Hendry has retired. It's a fact.

For his fans and most of the snooker fans, the news came as a shock and many were those whose eyes filled with tears all of the sudden. Without trying to be dramatic here Hendry going out of snooker represents the end of an era.

He ruled the 90s and put an end to Steve Davis' dominance, he took snooker to the next level, showed what determination is all about, worked his arse off to reach his goals and treated the sport that made him a champion with the respect it deserved.

To start telling you how many titles he won would be useless for many of you already know and if you don't, then on what planet have you been living until now?

I remember when snooker wasn't one my passions. I remember seeing Hendry on television. I had no idea I was watching a legend in action, but somehow he always managed to stop me from pushing another button on remote control and watch his game.


Back then snooker rules were a mystery to me. I had no idea what this man was doing with those colourful balls. But whatever the rules were, he followed and knew them by heart, for he was winning most of the time.

Over the years his name remained stuck into my head, so every time snooker was on, I was looking for the only face I knew: Hendry's ice figure.

Two years ago, when snooker became part of my life for good, I was searching for his name on the draw. There it was, again. Far from his best, but still maintaining that geniality sparkle, Hendry wasn't amongst those favourite for the title anymore.

But for me it didn't matter. What it did matter was the fact that after all those years of not having a clue about players; names, or what this sport was really about, "its logo" was still playing. One of the greatest icons of snooker's history was still there rocking on the green baize.

It was my first connection with this sport and I guess that if you are a complete ignorant and imbecile like I was, not having a thing to do with snooker, but still knowing Hendry and acknowledging at some level that he's a great player, this guy must have meant something for the sport. I'm being ironic here; he's meant a great deal!

Last year, during the same World Championship he revealed his intentions of retiring from snooker after the fact he'll drop out of the glorious Top 16 was a certainty. The fact that he would have to qualify for events and play in the PTCs to retain a certain honourable ranking position wasn't something the legend was very fond of.

Still, he didn’t do it, went back on the practicing table and stunned us all when he qualified for most of the ranking events (UK Championship, Welsh Open, Haikou World Open and China Open) and got his "best arse in the snooker showbiz" at the Crucible too.
He even reached the semi-finals of the PTC 12 Event, before losing by 4-3 to the same Stephen Maguire.

When he came into the Crucible arena and beat Stuart Bingham, made that marvellous maximum break and kicked the defending champion John Higgins out, the thought of seeing him retire didn’t even cross my mind.

Then it came the terrible 13-2 defeat after playing against Maguire, the way-too-warm-and-emotional salute of the crowd and the announcement that he retires.

Came as a shock for many, came as a normal thing for him. A decision that he stated he took "about three months ago" due to a busy schedule, new commitments in China and a poor form that wasn't winning anything lately.


To give up the Wembley arena or the Crucible to playing in a sad little cubicle after being on top of the world for so many years, wasn't an easy thing to do and it probably ate him alive during the last season. And we all know that when you aren't enjoying work anymore, you become frustrated and can't perform well.

And for Hendry it was always about performing not good, but great. He loves winning, he loves being the best, that's why when he couldn’t do it anymore decided to end it. It's an honourable thing to do, although it produces pain to the sport's fans all over the world.

On the other hand, how many times have we sit in front of our telly and said it was so painful to see Hendry play and lose, most of the times? In a recent interview he gave for the BBC he said he didn't play great at all during this World Championship. He had a good session, but that’s all.

For a perfectionist that's not enough. For a person who draws his energy from winning, that can't be enough. For a player whose only motivation is to win tournaments and do great when he's at the table, that's just not enough.

So "enough, is enough" as the man himself said it yesterday.

What Hendry leaves behind is a sport that wouldn’t and couldn’t' be the same without his great achievements and wonderful cue action. What Hendry leaves behind is a generation of players that turned to snooker precisely because of him. What Hendry leaves behind is a legacy that will continue no matter if he plays snooker or not.

Because you see, you can't retire from being a legend.

Thank you Stephen for being such a great inspiration for me and for many others!


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