Stephen Hendry snooker blog
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Mark Selby out in first round to Mark King
0394 days
by admin
in Uncategorized
Mark Selby came to Wembley Arena as the defending in the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters. And for the first two frames he played like one.
To read the full story: http://snooker.bettor.com/mark-selby-out-in-first-round-to-mark-king/news/1337595
John Higgins back with two centuries
0430 days
by admin
in Uncategorized
World No.2 John Higgins, back playing in Britain after serving a six-month ban, made a promising start in his first-round match in the UK championship at Telford.
The Wizard of Wishaw came to the tournament in decent nick from the PTC events in Germany and the Czech Republic, opened with scores of 105 and 100 in the opening two frames but could not get clear of Stephen Lee after the opening session of their match.#
To read the full blog: http://snooker.bettor.com/john-higgins-back-with-two-centuries/news/1336440
John Higgins marks return with superb tournament win
0449 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
John Higgins made a sensational return to the snooker circuit by winning the Euro Players Tour Championship event five in Germany.
The three-time champion of the world was back in competitive action after serving a six-month ban after he was found guilty for failing to report a would-be corruptor to the sport after newspaper News of the World implicated him in a match-fixing scandal.
The last time Higgins played competitively, it was in the defeat to Steve Davis in the second round of the world championship back in April.
Higgins won seven matches impressively en route to becoming the 11th different winner of the 11 PTC events so far, defeating Shaun Murphy – the man he beat in 2009 to win his third world crown – 4-2 in the final.
The Wizard of Wishaw kicked off the final with a beautiful break of 132, and then doubled his lead with a 66. Murphy soon levelled the match with runs of 64 and 50.
Murphy was looking to be the first player to win two events in the series, but Higgins took control of the match by making a 95 and then made a 53 in the next frame.
“It was a good final. I only really missed one ball, when I should have gone 3-1 up,” said a buoyant Higgins. “I just came here hoping to get a few matches under my belt, so I’m delighted to win it.”
Whilst serving his ban, Higgins fell from world No.1 to No.4, but thanks to the win, he has climbed up to No.3.
Higgins admitted he was more nervous in returning to action after the ban than he was in his first world championship final, and even he didn’t think he would win the event after three days of action.
“I had to be realistic coming here as the other players had all been competing regularly for four or five months. I knew I was good enough to win it but I didn’t expect that much,” said the 35-year-old. “The first match was the hardest and that was the worst I played, Joe Jogia had chances to beat me. After that I settled down and felt a lot better.
“The draw was bound to be hard as the standard is so high now. Martin Gould was a very tough match as he’s the most improved player on the circuit, and then to beat two of the best in the world in Graeme Dott and Shaun in my last two matches was amazing really.
“Winning here gives me some confidence but there’s a long way to go, I would have felt that whatever happened here. It has no real bearing on the rest of the season,” said Higgins.
Higgins was worried by the reception he would receive from the crowd and his fellow players, but was pleased with the way it turned out. “I’m delighted, not just for me but for my family and friends. The reception from the snooker community was exceptionally warm and encouraging,” he said.
“I didn’t expect anything else. These are players I have known for years. They know John Higgins and I know them. I promised in September that I intended to pick up many more trophies, [this] is just the start,” Higgins added.
The fine start is the perfect tonic for Higgins.
Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy up against difficult opponents
0461 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
With only three weeks left in the snooker Premier League group phase, the race is on to decide who will make it to the play-offs.
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson and current Premier League champion Shaun Murphy are both in action tomorrow night. Robertson takes on table-topper Marco Fu, while Murphy has a tough match against the Masters champion Mark Selby.
Robertson and Murphy are the only players to have played just three times and are playing catch-up to the rest of the field. Both players have one win, one draw and a defeat to their name so far. Murphy is bottom of the league, but don’t read too much into that, as he is only three points off top-spot having played two games less than Fu. Ronnie O’Sullivan moved off the foot of the table to third place with a win in his last match, showing how tight this year’s competition is.
Robertson handed out a 6-0 thumping to Ding Junhui in his last outing, but against Fu a score like that is highly unlikely. Fu is the tournament’s biggest surprise. Sitting pretty on top of the pile, he already has one foot in the semi-finals. A point would guarantee that place, and enable him to relax and watch the others fight it out for the final three play-off spots over the next fortnight.
Fu sent Ding packing last week, winning 5-1 and ending the UK champion’s hopes of reaching the last four. Prior to last week’s match, Fu was the only player not to have made a century break and collect the £1,000 bonus, but he changed that in the final frame by grabbing one to round off a fine evening.
Robertson began his Premier League campaign with a defeat, but since then he has shown why he is the world champion and world No.1. He battled hard to get a point against Mark Williams, and got his first win by beating Ding. If Robertson wants to book his place in the semi-finals, he would have to beat Fu, and then remain unbeaten against O’Sullivan and Murphy in his final two games.
Murphy has tricky games left as well. He plays the Jester from Leicester Selby, then Williams, and he finishes his round-robin phase against the world champion.
Selby has won two and lost two in his four games so far. He beat Robertson 4-2 and blew Fu away 5-1. He has made four centuries along the way, and is currently on four points. With Fu at the top of the table, the final three places are going to be contested by Selby, Robertson, Williams, Murphy and O’Sullivan, and neither player can afford to lose a game.
Murphy kicked off the defence of his title with an emphatic 5-1 win over Ding. It has been some time since Murphy played a game, and when he did, he was involved in a high-quality encounter against O’Sullivan in the 3-3 draw.
Prediction: Robertson 3 Fu 3, Murphy 2 Selby 4
Ronnie O’Sullivan crowned Power Snooker champion
0463 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Surprise surprise, Ronnie O’Sullivan became the first winner of Power Snooker, and were we expecting anything less?
Power Snooker launched last Saturday, and the format of the game was only going to suit one man. The 20-second shot clock encourages quick-fire play and becomes all about the player’s potting. It was snooker as you’ve never seen it before, and it certainly delighted O’Sullivan at the end of it.
The Rocket pocketed the first-prize of £35,000 after beating Luca Brecel in his first match, Ali Carter in the semi-final and Ding Junhui in the final. Where points counted instead of frames, O’Sullivan only played 90 minutes. Not bad for a day’s work then.
“Finally snooker has come into the 21st century,” said O’Sullivan. “We’ve been kicking behind for a few years while everyone else has been going forward. Power Snooker is a new format that is definitely here to stay.”
Power Snooker was created in a bid to change the face of snooker, with the crowd getting involved with the game, shouting out on shots and counting down when time elapses. The players walked on with their own choice of music, accompanied with the Power Girls, and looked to be having fun. Think of it like darts, but instead of a dartboard picture a snooker table.
The crowd certainly enjoyed watching the likes of O’Sullivan, the Whirlwind Jimmy White and the reigning world champion Neil Robertson demonstrate their exceptional potting abilities, and moving around the table rapidly to play their shots in time. The potting of the Power Ball – which triggers a two-minute power play where points are doubled – was a treat for the audience and got them fully involved.
But there have to be at least some doubts about the new format.
If Power Snooker makes a return then it must have done something right. Rod Gunner, its creator, is hoping it will revive the sport, but from first impressions it just seemed like a bit of fun. Snooker is always played to crowds who give maximum respect to whoever is playing, and it was quite out of place for someone in the crowd to be calling out just when a player was about to play a shot.
It works for darts, because the players are used to it, and it has to work for football, but trying to encourage this for snooker, a sport that requires full concentration, doesn’t work at all.
Obviously O’Sullivan is glad to see something like this, as he’s been crying out for snooker to be changed for a long time. The traditionalists may not have been impressed, and would think that if snooker needed a facelift, this was not the way to do it.
The rules were just complicated with so many points being accumulated by the players. Even the referees were struggling to keep up and relied on the scoreboard for the majority of the games. A twist on the rules didn’t work, and Power Snooker is just going to be used as a time to put on a show for the punters.
For those who are worried about this kind of format taking over from regular snooker, worry not, as it won’t catch on.
Ronnie O’Sullivan ends Mark Williams’ unbeaten run
0466 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Ronnie O’Sullivan finally got his first win in the snooker Premier League after beating Mark Williams convincingly, while Marco Fu stormed to the top of the table.
Joining the players at the Penrith Leisure Centre were a number of flies, and it looked like the games were being played in a heat wave instead of late October.
Heading into his crunch match with Williams, O’Sullivan was at the bottom of the league, having drawn all three of his previous matches. His attitude was spot-on last night and he played exceptionally well to record his first win of the competition with a 4-2 victory.
O’Sullivan began the game in trademark fashion, knocking in a break of 98 but missed out on the £1,000 bonus for a century. Williams didn’t score a point, and that continued in the second frame as O’Sullivan made a breaks of 44 and 78 to go two up.
Williams has played well on his return to the Premier League, and he halved the deficit as a 47 proved enough after O’Sullivan missed a red down the cushion to pinch the frame. A fly appeared to have put O’Sullivan off the shot. The Rocket looked in fine form as he made a 70 in the next frame to guarantee himself a point and maintain his unbeaten run.
If Williams wanted to stay unbeaten like O’Sullivan, he would have to win the last two frames, but efforts of 39 and 50 helped O’Sullivan secure the two points and the much-needed win. Even though he had lost the game, Williams softened the blow by taking the last frame with breaks of 34 and 40 and stay in second place and above O’Sullivan in the table.
“I played alright when I was in the balls and was relaxed and that was good to feel relaxed at the table,” said O’Sullivan, who now stands a good chance of reaching the semi-finals.
Over the past few years, O’Sullivan’s long-potting has declined, and there were several times where he was unable to knock one in. Even he admits this is a problem. “My long game wasn’t good though. I’ve not been able to pot long balls for last six or seven years so I’m relying on nouse around the table and on people not playing well for me to win but a win’s a win,” he said.
Earlier in the evening, Fu went to the top of the table to give him a strong chance of reaching the play-offs by beating Ding Junhui 5-1.
Ding, who has played all of his matches, is now out of the competition after suffering back-to-back defeats.
Last week, reigning world champion Neil Robertson inflicted a 6-0 defeat on Ding, and Fu nearly did the same.
Fu came firing out of the blocks as he knocked in breaks of 39 and 44, playing great positional shots and keeping good control of the cue ball. Like he did against Robertson, Ding was struggling once again to get a break going, and Fu seized his opportunity in the second frame with a 42 and a 39.
In no time at all, Fu ensured he would leave with a point by winning the third frame without Ding scoring a point. The UK champion was out of sorts, missing easy balls and playing poor safety shots. The win was there for the taking for Fu, and he made a 94 to take the maximum two points.
By this point, Fu had potted 100 balls compared to Ding’s 10, but Ding did manage to make his trip worthwhile by clinching the fifth frame and £1,000 with a quick-fire 71. Before the game, Fu was the only player not to have made a century break, but he changed that in the final frame with a beautifully constructed 107 to round off the match.
“Towards the end I was relaxed and made the century but I got the two points which was the most important thing. The 100 [century] was a bonus,” said table-topper Fu, who has one match remaining in the round-robin format.
“I played very well without making any big breaks in the early stages. I made some good pots and put him under pressure and he didn’t pot a ball till the third frame.
“Maybe he’s taking the game too easy but he’s too good a player not to do well. Ding is having a bad run but there are so many tournaments so he won’t be too disappointed,” added Fu.
Certainly there are no flies on Fu.
Power Snooker ready for switch on
0467 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Snooker has been undergoing a major transformation over the past few months, and the arrival of Power Snooker is the latest attempt to change the face of the game.
Since Barry Hearn gained control of World Snooker by becoming chairman last year, he has introduced more ranking tournaments and more prize money, and the players are much happier than they have been in recent years.
Viewing figures however have dropped over the last 20 years, and the creators of Power Snooker, Rod Gunner and Ed Simmons, believe their idea can be a success. Not since the epic 1985 world championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis that was decided on the black has snooker enjoyed such high viewing figures, that final pulling in 18.5million viewers.
Power Snooker is hoped to do to snooker what Twenty20 has done for cricket, and the rules of the game are a change from the norm. Games will last 30 minutes and points will count rather than frames. There will be nine reds, rather than the usual 15, and they will be arranged in a diamond, not a rack.
The middle red will be the Power Ball, and when potted this will trigger a two-minute power play with any balls potted counting as double points. The players will also play against a 20-second shot clock.
The event will be full of glitz and glamour, and the players will also have a microphone attached to them so the audience can hear every word they say.
The format may not be to the liking of the traditionalists, but the quick-fire play that will be on show will suit one man. The Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The three-time world champion is one of eight players to be playing at London’s Indigo2 Arena on Saturday. O’Sullivan has a match against 15-year old Belgian champion Luca Brecel. The inclusion of the wonder-kid is what Gunner wants the competition to be all about. “Luca is a young precocious talent and the young generation adapts to new rules very quickly,” said Gunner. “I firmly believe that sport is entertainment. Snooker has been stagnating and young people today want energy and instant gratification.”
O’Sullivan is the favourite to land the £35,000 first prize, and he is looking forward to playing in it. “Hopefully, it suits my game better than the others,” he said. “It’s difficult to make predictions but it’s going to be an exciting event to watch. It will show snooker in a different light and the sport desperately needs that.”
In the other games, reigning world champion Neil Robertson takes on current Premier League champion Shaun Murphy. Masters champion Mark Selby takes on Shanghai Masters winner Ali Carter, and the Whirlwind Jimmy White is up against UK champion Ding Junhui.
Whether Power Snooker is a success or not, all eyes will be on O’Sullivan to deliver.
World champion Neil Robertson thumps Ding Junhui in Premier League
0473 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson whitewashed Ding Junhui 6-0 in the snooker Premier League to gain his first win, while Mark Williams and Marco Fu could only draw.
Robertson found himself at the bottom of the league after only playing two games, losing one and drawing the other. The Australian knew he couldn’t lose another game, and he came out all guns blazing to blow the UK champion away.
Robertson seized the initiative in the first frame after potting a red and opting to smash into the pack, opening them up and going on to make a break of 120, immediately pocketing the £1,000 bonus for a century break. Both players made mistakes in the second frame, but it was Robertson who managed to double his lead.
Ding hardly had any table time and was unable to capitalise, missing a red on a run of 43 in the third. Robertson replied with a break of 46 but ran out of position. However, Ding’s poor safety shot enabled Robertson to take a 3-0 lead.
Ding has a history of looking fed up when he’s not playing well, and once again he sat in his chair and was desperate to get out of the arena as Robertson made a break of 42 to race into a 4-0 lead and secure the win.
The world No.1 was not holding back, and he knocked in a fluid break of 87, refusing to let Ding have an opening. Robertson completed the rout by making another half-century break, this time a 51, and climbed up to fourth in the table.
Ding clearly wasn’t at his best and had no answer to what Robertson threw at him. Robertson was delighted with his performance. “I think the very first shot I played went into the pack and I knocked in a great blue and made a 120. It was a great start and probably the best I’ve played in the Premier League,” he said.
“I got here nice and early and practiced. Normally I just rock up and play so that’s something I may be doing more of.
“When I made the 120 though, I thought I was playing quite well and if I got chances I would score. When you’re 2-0 up, you think the worst result could be a draw and at 3-0 you know all you need is to win another frame for the two points,” Robertson added.
In the other match of the evening, two-time world champion Williams maintained his unbeaten record and went to the top of the Premier League table after sharing the points with Fu.
Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan are the only two players still unbeaten in the competition, but Williams’ record was under threat as Fu played well in a tight encounter.
Knowing that a win for either player would take them to first spot, it was Fu who got off the mark first, despite Williams making a break of 43. Both players had a difficult time in the second frame, with pink and black out of commission. Fu managed to get some points, but when he missed a red, Williams was able to level the tie.
The third frame was more like the Williams of old, as the Welshman knocked in a 104 to grab an extra £1,000 and go 2-1 in front. The next frame followed the pattern of the first two, but it was the man from Hong-Kong who made a 51 and make the score 2-2.
Runs of 43 and 78 in the next frame ensured Fu would get a point and favourite to take the maximum points, but when he broke off in the final frame, it was to be his last shot as Williams potted a fantastic opening red and went on to make his second century of the evening, a 122, to take a point and go top of the table.
While Williams finds himself at the top of the table, O’Sullivan surprisingly finds himself at the bottom, and when the Rocket plays next week, he has a cracking match against Williams awaiting him.
Neil Robertson with work to do in the Premier League
0475 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson has a lot of catching up to do in the snooker Premier League as he looks to get off the bottom of the table in week six against Ding Junhui.
Having only played two games so far in the round-robin phase, Robertson has yet to win a match, losing to Mark Selby in his first game and drawing last week with Mark Williams.
Just days after his World Open triumph against Ronnie O’Sullivan, Robertson looked to be feeling the effects against Selby, but he returned to his normal self against Williams, trailing throughout but showing the qualities of a world champion to grab a point.
Tomorrow night, Robertson plays the current UK champion Ding, who is second in the table at the moment having played four times, winning once, drawing twice and losing once. Ding’s last Premier League outing was a 4-2 win over Selby, which could easily have been a 6-0 whitewash. Ding was too hot to handle for Selby, as he knocked in breaks of 54, 69, 78, 69 and 103. Another win for Ding will almost guarantee his place in the semi-finals, as he is tied on four points with table-topper Selby and Williams and will only have one game left to play.
As he has only played twice, Robertson will be in action in four of the last five weeks. The Australian cannot afford to lose and he has tough encounters lying ahead, with matches against Marco Fu, O’Sullivan and Premier League champion Shaun Murphy still to come.
The second game of the night pits the China Open champion Williams against Fu, who has been the dark horse in the competition so far. Fu has played three times and has filled all the columns, with one win, one defeat and one draw. He rattled Murphy in his 4-2 win and played a high-quality draw against O’Sullivan, but he was powerless against Selby last week, losing 5-1 and for the first time in the group phase being out-played.
Williams is one of two players still unbeaten in the Premier League, the other being O’Sullivan. The Welshman has one win and two draws, but both of his draws could and should have been wins. He led three times against Robertson last week, and surrendered a 2-0 and 3-2 lead to Ding in the third week.
Williams is making his return to the Premier League after a five-year absence, and is playing close to the form that propelled him to two world championships and 17-ranking titles. His return to form has also moved him to fifth in the world rankings, and he is no doubt a serious threat to winning this year’s Premier League.
Predictions: Robertson 4 Ding 2, Williams 4 Fu 2
World champion Neil Robertson in action in Premier League
0482 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Week five of the snooker Premier League sees reigning world champion and world No.1 Neil Robertson taking on Mark Williams, while Mark Selby plays Marco Fu.
Robertson didn’t get off to the best of starts in his first match in the Premier League, losing 4-2 to Selby in a tough encounter. Having just beaten Ronnie O’Sullivan in the World Open final, Robertson was unable to keep up the high standard against Selby, despite making decent breaks of 69 and 78.
The Australian will be hoping as world champion he can get off the mark, but it doesn’t get any easier for him from here. A match tomorrow against Williams is followed by games against Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Shaun Murphy and the Rocket O’Sullivan.
Williams is in form at the moment. The current China Open champion beat Selby on his return to the Premier League for the first time in five years, and played extremely well in the draw with Ding, knocking in breaks of 54, 73 and 49. The quick-fire format suits the Welshman’s game, and Robertson will need to adapt to the 25-second shot clock fast if he wants to take points from this game, and move away from the bottom of the table.
The last time Williams and Robertson played one another, it was in the semi-final of the World Open, where Robertson came from 2-0 down to win in the final frame. Williams was unlucky not to reach the final, and will be on the lookout for revenge against the Thunder from Down Under.
In the night’s other match, surprise package Fu plays reigning Masters champion Selby. Both players are experiencing different Premier League campaigns at the moment. Fu is unbeaten in the two games he has played, winning against reigning Premier League champion Murphy 4-2 and drawing to O’Sullivan in a high-quality battle.
Selby has lost two out of his first three games. He got hammered 4-2 by Ding last week, and was fortunate to even win a frame as it could well have been a whitewash. The Jester from Leicester will draw confidence from the fact he almost made a 147 maximum break in the final frame. The loss to Ding was also disappointing as he beat Robertson the week before. With only two points on the board, he needs to win more games if he is to stand a chance of reaching the play-offs.
Fu and Williams have the chance to overtake Ding at the top of the table if they win their games, and at the halfway point of the Premier League round-robin matches, it is critical at this stage to secure a top-four finish.
Predictions: Robertson 3 Williams 3, Fu 2 Selby 4