Posts tagged final

Neil Robertson trounces Ronnie O’Sullivan in World Open final

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498 days
by in Uncategorized

Reigning world champion Neil Robertson hammered Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 in the snooker World Open final last night in Glasgow.

It is the sixth ranking title of the Australian’s career, and he continues to stun audiences with his attacking style of play and composure around the table. He also kept up his incredible 100% record in ranking event finals.

Having come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the semi-final to an in-form Mark Williams earlier in the day, Robertson showed his true class to destroy the most-naturally gifted player to in the game. O’Sullivan wasn’t at his best, and Robertson was clinical when he was presented with the chances.

The Thunder from Down Under went 2-0 up against O’Sullivan by making breaks of 43 and 107, leaving O’Sullivan with plenty of work to do. However, he responded in typical O’Sullivan fashion by knocking in a fantastic break of 72, which was better than the 147 maximum he made earlier in the week, as the balls were in difficult positions and required perfect positional play.

O’Sullivan might have been thinking he was going to square the match at the mid-session interval, but he missed a simple pink, and those thoughts vanished rapidly, as Robertson made a break of 59 to lead 3-1.

The next frame was crucial for O’Sullivan, and he was under huge pressure to deliver, and when he missed a red into the centre pocket, Robertson once again took his chance and swept into a 4-1 lead, making a break of 66.

Three down with four frames left to play, O’Sullivan now had his back to the wall. When it looked like Robertson would cross the finishing line, he missed a difficult blue on a run of 30. O’Sullivan made 44 in response but missed the second-to-last red, and when he played a terrible safety shot, going in-off with the cueball, the balls were at Robertson’s mercy, and he didn’t disappoint, clearing to finish O’Sullivan off and collect the winners’ cheque for £100,000.

“Ronnie’s still my idol, whenever I get knocked out of a tournament I hope he wins it,” said Robertson. “I put him under pressure tonight and made some good breaks out of nothing, particularly the century in the second frame. There were some texts flying around before the final saying that this would be the one I would lose, and that fired me up.

“I’d only had a week and a half of really good practice before this because I’ve been so busy. I didn’t expect to play well until the UK Championship. I’ve won four BBC tournaments now, so my goals are to win the UK and the Masters and to do better in China. Having a title under my belt early in the season gives me the confidence to go on and win more,” Robertson added.

O’Sullivan will have the 147 he made, or nearly didn’t make, against Mark King to take away from the event, as well as the £40,000 runners-up prize. He knew there was no prize-money for the maximum when he asked referee Jan Verhaas at the time, but he will be happy to take the money and use it wisely.

“I’m always critical of myself but I have to give Neil credit, I take my hat off to him,” said the Rocket. “He’s playing like a world champion and world No 1. He’s a consistently great cueist, he’s confident and good under pressure. When John Higgins comes back they will have a good rivalry.

“I knew someone playing half as well as that would beat me. I was there for the taking and I shouldn’t have got to the final. I hit so many bad shots and my good breaks are few and far between,” said O’Sullivan.

Robertson is now the official world No.1 thanks to the new rankings system, which now works as a two-year rolling list. “It means the list is much more up to date and rewards players who are winning tournaments and doing well,” said Robertson in approval of the structure.

“To be world champion and world No 1 at the same time is a dream come true,” added the Australian.

World champion, world No.1 and now the World Open champion. A fine year for Robertson continues.

Barry Pinches the win from Ronnie O’Sullivan

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539 days
by in Uncategorized

In snooker, many expect a Ronnie O’Sullivan win, but obviously Barry Pinches didn’t read the script.

The man from Norwich defeated O’Sullivan 4-3 in the final of the fourth event of the Players Tour Championship to collect the top prize of £10,000 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

O’Sullivan only dropped four frames and was the form player en route to the final, beating the likes of Dominic Dale, Marco Fu, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Ken Doherty and Ryan Day.

Pinches though enjoyed a fine win over Mark Williams in his semi-final clash and had a fairly easier passage to the final, overcoming Liu Song, Matthew Selt, Jak Jones and Chan Ze.

Three-time world champion O’Sullivan took the opening frame with a break of 60, but Pinches hit back immediately with a knock of 50 to level the match. O’Sullivan then took a 3-1 lead with contributions of 83 and 58, but Pinches claimed frames five and six to go only one behind.

Looking like he would take the victory, O’Sullivan broke down on a break of 47 when 26 points ahead, and Pinches held his nerve to clear the table and take the match to a deciding frame. Momentum fully with the 40-year-old, Pinches took the title with a match-winning clearance of 64 to upset the odds.

“I’m not usually very good in deciding frames so I was delighted to make a good break,” said the player, officially ranked 57 in the world.

“I’ve made a couple of technical changes this season, but the main reason my results have been good is that I’m enjoying the game, and practising hard because I’ve always got something to work towards. To come to these PTC events and play in terrific conditions against top-class opponents is just fantastic, I can’t praise these tournaments enough.”

Pinches earned less than £20,000 on the circuit last year, but already in these four events he has clocked up a total of over £17,000. “The money is very significant for me, and so are the ranking points,” he said.

The man who has never been beyond the quarter-final stages of a ranking event heaped praise on his opponent as well.

“I’m also really pleased to beat Ronnie as I’d lost all three matches we’d played before. It’s great to see him supporting these events, he doesn’t need the ranking points but he just gets a buzz from playing the game.”

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