Stephen Hendry snooker blog
Posts tagged Masters
Impressive Maguire knocks out hot-stepper King
0756 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Stephen Maguire advanced into the quarter-finals of the Masters last night with a 6-3 win against the tournament’s pre-match entertainer.
Maguire saw off the challenge of the man now dubbed in some quarters as “the hot-stepper”, Mark King, after his antics in Sunday’s wildcard round match against Jimmy White.
King once again entertained the crowd on his entrance last night – dancing to some rather untraditional, expletive-filled hip hop. But with the beeps in all the right places, none of the crowd appeared too offended by Ice Cube’s aggressive lyrics – or even King’s dodgy dance moves – and saw the funny side instead.
After a 6-2 victory against local hero White, King now faced a far tougher opponent in the form of “the Livewire”, but began the match where he left off against the recent I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! contestant by winning the first frame.
And in the second frame, things got even better for the 35-year-old as a run of 78 put him 2-0 ahead.
It was the next frame where Maguire finally began to gather some momentum and came out the other side of a scrap-fest with the first of his six frames on the board – a 63-18 scoreline pulling back a vital frame for the winner of last week’s Championship League Group A playoff final against Mark Selby.
Then, a brilliant break of 121 levelled the match for Maguire in the fourth. The Scot had well and truly arrived, but King remained defiant, taking the fifth frame 66-54 to take the lead for a second time.
Indeed, the match continued to be blighted by errors and silly mistakes by both players going into the last few frames. Whether it was a lack of concentration or a battle of nerves, neither player truly hit top gear at Wembley Arena last night.
Maguire took the sixth frame, though, with a narrow 59-56, and then took the lead for the first time in the match – taking the seventh frame following a break of 78.
In the final two frames, the 28-year-old Glaswegian racked up an 87 and an 82 in the eighth and ninth frames, respectively, to secure a place in the quarter-finals against either Ryan Day or Joe Perry.
So, the Masters waves goodbye to a man who lit-up the first two rounds with his inspired entrances; while Maguire moves a step closer to winning this prestigious non-ranking tournament for the first time.
Meanwhile, there were no surprises in the final first-round match between Mark Williams and Rory McLeod.
The Welshman reportedly drove through two feet of snow in a borrowed 4×4 from his sponsor, from his home community of Cwm all the way to London, and it proved well worth the treacherous journey as he sealed a 6-2 win over McLeod and his place in round two of the tournament.
The two-time Masters champion never really looked that convincing, and conceded that the match had been “scrappy all round”.
However, the wildcard-round victory means he will now face Ali Carter this evening for a place in the quarter-finals, where the winner will face the conqueror of Stephen Hendry, Shaun Murphy.
Rob Swan
White left feeling sick after Masters exit
0757 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Jimmy White conceded he was “sickened” after being knocked out of the Masters first round by Mark King last night.
The 47-year-old wildcard was determined to make a big impression following his stint in the Australian jungle for the ITV1 show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, but must have wished he’d stayed in Oz after his abject performance.
The likes of Rolling Stones superstar Ronnie Wood and King of the Jungle Gino D’Acampo had travelled to Wembley Arena to cheer on the Whirlwind; but the event itself proved a huge anti-climax for White’s supporters as he was comprehensively beaten 6-2.
The 1984 Masters champion entered the arena to Money for Nothing by Dire Straits (a reference to the £65,000 to £100,000 he reportedly picked up for entering the Australian jungle, perhaps) in front of a vocal crowd of 1,368 – the majority of whom were fully behind the snooker idol. However, it was his opponent who made the biggest impression on the night – if not for his performance, then certainly for his hugely entertaining, but slightly cringe worthy, entrance.
King’s chosen track, hip-hop anthem You Can Do It by Ice Cube, might not have gone down too well with one or two of the more old-fashioned spectators inside Wembley; but it appeared to rouse the 35-year-old, who came out dancing as if he were the Californian rapper himself – or rather, an embarrassing uncle at a wedding.
Once the laughter had died down, King soon began to believe Ice Cube’s words, and started the first frame strongly.
Despite the backing of the crowd, White never truly got going and struggled to keep control of the cue ball. Once King had racked up breaks of 56, 64 and 85 to seal five of the six frames needed to take victory, his opponent appeared to know his fate was all but sealed.
The current World No. 16, King, duly took the eighth frame to secure a comfortable 6-2 win, and White couldn’t hide his disappointment at the outcome once the match had ended.
“It was woeful. It was sickening to play like that,” a frustrated White told BBC Radio 5 live.
“It’s not like I didn’t have any chances – I had loads of chances, I had chances every game. But it was a great atmosphere, I think Barry Hearn will do great for the game.
“It’s just a bit frustrating to play like that with the way I’m playing in practice.”
A disappointing and premature exit from the prestigious tournament for White and his local supporters, then, but a great start in terms of entertainment value for a sport that is undergoing somewhat of an overhaul at present.
Rob Swan
Maguire into Championship League winners group
0762 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Stephen Maguire continued his Masters preparation with an impressive 3-0 victory over Mark Selby in the Group One final of the Championship League.
The Livewire was on top throughout, and won the opening frame after breaks of 33 and 59. The second was slightly less comprehensive for the Glasgow-born player, but Maguire still produced a break of 33 to put victory well within his reach.
He duly grabbed the opportunity with both hands in the third frame – a break of 71 sealing his place into the Championship League winners group.
Maguire sealed his passage into the play-off final in dramatic fashion. He lost the first two frames against his opponent, Ali Carter, in the semi-final but stormed back to win the match 3-2 – producing a quite brilliant 140 in frame three, in the process.
Meanwhile, Selby saw off the challenge of 2009′s champion Judd Trump with a 3-1 victory in the semis.
Trump, the defending champion, had levelled proceedings in the second frame, but a superb break of 128 by the Jester from Leicester in third turned the match on its head. And in the fourth and final frame, breaks of 33 and 43 earned Selby a place in the play-off final.
Although he was defeated, the 2008 Masters winner still amassed £1400 in prize money – the same amount as the Group One winner, Maguire.
The Scot will now play either Mark King or the legendary Jimmy White in Round 2 of the Masters next Monday, and will be hoping his Championship League form will continue into next week’s prestigious tournament, where he will be looking to build on last year’s quarter-final finish.
Rob Swan
Slimmed down White looks forward to Masters
0764 days
by admin
in Uncategorized
Snooker legend Jimmy White expects to enter the Masters in better physical shape than in recent years, all because of his stint in the Australian jungle for the ITV1 hit show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The 47-year-old has revealed that he lost weight during his three weeks on the programme, and expects to feel the benefits at next week’s prestigious tournament.
“I lost 22lb and that will be a real benefit to me in my snooker,” explained the 1984 Masters champion.
“Before there were some shots that I couldn’t reach.
“I’ve always been one of the best players with the rest but I’d rather be able to reach the shot without it.”
The Whirlwind was handed a wildcard for the event at Wembley Arena after missing the UK Championship as a result of his appearance on I’m a Celebrity… and admits that he missed the sport during his absence from Britain and can’t wait to return to action.
“I was thinking about snooker a lot and I was gutted to miss the UK,” White added.
“In one of the trials I had to do there was a snooker ball and that brought all the memories flooding back.”
He will meet world No. 16 Mark King in the opening round of the competition and is confident of beating his opponent if he finds his best form. Meanwhile, it’s expected that White’s appearance will generate a lively atmosphere inside the arena – something which the six-time World Championship finalist is very much looking forward to.
“I’ve always had great support from the crowds at Wembley so I’m looking forward to getting back there and enjoying that,” White said.
“King is a tough competitor but if my game is there I can beat him.”
White and King’s hotly anticipated match will take place on Sunday evening at 7pm. The winner will then advance to Round 2 of the tournament, where they will face the victor of the other Round 1 match between Mark Williams and Rory McLeod.
Rob Swan