2014 UK Championship - Selby and White exit competition

Selby's out

Saturday marked the first day of the televised stages of the 2014 Coral UK Championship and we had some pretty interesting surprises along the way. 

First of all, Mark Selby, the reigning world champion lost to David Morris by 6-4, Ryan Day experienced the same treatment from a very determined Scotsman, Fraser Patrick, while Barry "The Hawk" Hawking, was brought down by the 007 Agent Nigel Bond who managed to recover from a 5-0 deficit and win by 6-5.

The newly dad of the lovely baby girl Sofia, Mark Selby was put in all sorts of trouble by the Irishman David Morris, who by the mid-session interval was taking control of the match, at 3-1. 

However, the current world champion hit in breaks of 60 and 68 to draw level, but it was a one-street way from this point on for his opponent, who fired a beautiful 126 break, followed by 72 and 79 to reach the finish line.

Ding in action

After the match Mark Selby posted on his Twitter account: "Disappointed to lose today. All credit to David he deserved to win. Feet up now with little one and come back fresh for Masters."

The comeback of the championship must definitely be represented by Jimmy White who took on a pretty difficult task in trying to over come "The Chinese Machine" Ding Junhui. And although Ding was far from his best, it was him who in the end prevailed by 6-2.

"The Whirlwind" opened with a full-of-hope 66 break, but by the mid-session interval he was being led by 3-1, after Ding won a tricky frame on the black.

After the break Jimmy would bring hope into his fans' hearts, as he hit a 47 to pull back a frame, but unfortunately for him Ding push him with runs of 77, 77 and 33 to ensure a place into the next round.

Is the Whirlwind back for good?

Fair to say through that White seemed more composed and more focused than ever, with a very great attitude and with the killer look, which had been missing from some time now. Hopefully we will see more of his great cue action in the next tournaments.

John Higgins managed to cope with Jamie Cope and scrapped his way to a 6-4 victory, while his fellow countryman, Fraser Patrick recorded an outstanding victory against Ryan Day (6-4) and hit, what is at the moment, the highest break of the tournament (139).

Judd Trump proved to be merciless in from of India's star, Aditya Mehta whom he beat by a crystal clear 6-1 scoreline.

Judd and his very interesting star-printed collar

Three consecutive frames were entering Judd's pocket as the Bristol-man was firing in breaks of 41, 72 and 46, before Mehta won his first (and last) frame of the match with a top break of 44.

Trump continued cruising with runs of 110, 39 and 62 to book his place into the next round.
After the match the Indian player tweeted: "With hard work and patience I'm sure I will be where i want to be.. just keep the faith.. Thanks for all the support guys.. Won't let u down".

Aditya Mehta

Nigel Bond cashed a very important, but more importantly, hard-fought victory in front of Barry Hawkins after being led 5-0, while Robert Milkins and Mark Williams (both suffering from something: Robert from an eye infection and Mark from a bad shoulder)  whitewashed their opponents 6-0, Marcus Campbell and Jimmy Robertson respectively. 

Bellow you can check Saturday's full results:

Ding Junhui 6-2 Jimmy White
Mark Selby 4-6 David Morris
John Higgins 6-4 Jamie Cope
Michael Holt 3-6 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Matthew Stevens 6-3 Gerard Greene
Fraser Patrick 6-4 Ryan Day
Marco Fu 6-1 Lio Haotian
David Gilbert 6-2 Mark Joyce

Graeme Dott 6-4 Anthony Hamilton
Aditya Mehta 1-6 Judd Trump
Barry Hawkins 5-6 Nigel Bond
Robert Milkins 6-0 Marcus Campbell
James Cahill 6-4 Andrew Higginson
Robbie Williams 5-6 Ricky Walden
Igor Figueiredo 4-6 Anthony McGill
Jimmy Robertson 0-6 Mark Williams

Ref Eirian Williams puts gloves away

World Snooker announced today that snooker referee Eirian Williams has decided to retire from snooker circuit and put his gloves away. This happens just as the 2014 UK Championship kick off in York.

Sad news for all the snooker fans and players out there, who had the chance to see or have Eirian as referee in a match. The Welshman has a very scouting eye, a more than elegant posture and such a great and distinct manner to conduct a match.

Williams stated for World Snooker: "I felt it was time to step down and let the younger referees have their time," said Eirian. "I spoke to my family and decided it was the right time to put away my gloves. I've got three grandchildren now and another one to follow in December. Through the travelling I did in the early part of my refereeing career, I missed parts of my own children growing up, and I don't want to do that with my grandkids.

"I will miss the camaraderie on the circuit and a lot of the people I worked with, as well as the chance to see younger referees come through, having worked as an assessor in recent years."

Having a portfolio of matches that any other ref could kill for, Eirian is proud to had supervised no less than four World Championship finals and witness history in the making.

"The 1998 Welsh Open final is one of my fondest memories because it was my first final in Wales and it was won by Paul Hunter. Then of course my first World final was a career highlight, as well as the other Crucible finals.

And alongside that I would put the 2006 Masters final when John Higgins cleared up in the last frame to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan - that was in incredible match.", added the ref for World Snooker.

I can't think of ending this piece with anything else rather than with a huge thank you for everything Mr Eirian Williams has done for snooker over the years and for that little, special treat of granting me an interview three years ago.

Here it is, if you want to take a look at it.

2014 Ruhr Open - Maximum whitewash from Murphy

Shaun Murphy - the 2014 Ruhr Open champion

Shaun Murphy whitewashed Robert Milkins by 4-0 in tonight's Ruhr Open final to win his second European event title this season. And because "The Magician" is ... well, a magician he also hit a beautiful 147 in the process. Just for us the crazy kids in love with snooker.

The entire tournament Murphy seemed very composed and focused with one single thing on his mind - utter and total victory. So Sunday night the Fairy Godmother of Snooker make his wish come true in a one-sided final that finished in less than one hour an a half.

Although Robert Milkins seemed pretty determined from the very first frame, an early mistake caused more damage than expected - a missed black to the left pocket - offering Murphy the chance to come to the table and hit a nice and steady 66 break in order to win the opener.

Robert Milkins - the 2014 Ruhr Open runner-up

The next frame was a genuine delight for all the snooker fans, because Shaun managed to finally hit a 147 break (he had various attempts throughout the tournament: no less than two today and three yesterday) thus becoming the first player ever to score three maximum breaks in one single year!

Needless to say that "The Magician" was over the moon, punching the air, while the crowd gave him a standing ovation and Robert a heartfelt hug. This is actually Shaun's forth max break in his career as a professional snooker player. 

However, even if the moment was filled with a lot of pressure and emotions the Englishman didn't lose his composure and continued to cruise towards victory, ending with runs of 62, 30 and 58 for a crystal clear 4-0 final result.

Shaun celebrating his very special 147

An overexcited German crowd applauded its champion, while at home we did the same, not forgetting to dream with over eyes over the second most prestigious and important ranking event in the snooker calendar - the UK Championship due to kick off this Tuesday and from Saturday on, on the telly.

In the end I must point out that Shaun looks very fit. Sure that he could have looked like that for quite some time now, but I haven't seen a snooker match in ages - a piece of information you hardly want to hear about - but you all know I like to over share with you lot!

See yaa in York!