Stephen Hendry snooker blog
Posts tagged Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson trounces Ronnie O’Sullivan in World Open final
0602 days
by Ismail Vedat
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.
Players have say on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 147 that nearly wasn’t
0607 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Following Ronnie O’Sullivan’s refusal to pot the final black to make a 147 maximum break on Monday at the snooker World Open, other players have voiced their opinions on the situation.
O’Sullivan had asked referee Jan Verhaas what the prize-money would be for making a 147, but when he was told there wasn’t any, only just £4,000 for making the highest break, he continued up until the final pink.
He shook hands with Mark King to wrap up a 3-0 win, but Verhaas persuaded him to complete the 147 and pot the black. In doing so, he smashed the black in to make a record 10th maximum of his career.
O’Sullivan insists his refusal wasn’t down to the money, instead saying he was just having “a bit of fun” and wanting to “ruffle a few feathers to get everyone on their toes.”
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson thinks it was great that O’Sullivan had cheekily asked the question in the first place. “To pot one red and black and then ask the referee if there’s a 147 prize is pure genius, no other player would have done that,” said the Australian. “He knew there wasn’t a prize, he was just setting it up. No one is bigger than the sport but he does make it more attractive when he does something like that,” Robertson added.
Mark Williams also had his say on the 147 madness. “I said when he was on 24 I thought he’d make a maximum,” he said.
“Ronnie’s break should stand at 140 because he’d shaken hands [with his opponent, King] before he potted the last black. He should have potted the black without messing around or played safe [if he wanted to make a point]. But that’s why people come to watch him, to see what he’s going to do,” said Williams.
Every time the Rocket plays, he always gets everyone talking.
World champion Neil Robertson into last 16
0607 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson booked his place in the last 16 of the snooker World Open in Glasgow by beating David Morris 3-1.
After overcoming Graeme Dott in the previous round in a repeat of the world championship final last Saturday, the Australian showed his experience by taking the opening frame after Morris missed a difficult blue to the bottom-left pocket. Both players seemed to lose their concentration in the second frame, but it was Morris who took it to level the match after snookering Robertson on the final red.
It was expected to be a one-sided affair as Morris was playing in his first televised match, but the Irishman held his own for a while.
However, Robertson went 2-1 up after making a half-century break in the third frame, and he sealed the match despite not playing at his very best, something that only world champions can do.
Snooker World Open contenders
0612 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
The World Open starts this weekend, and there are a number of players who stand a great chance of winning the event.
The usual suspects will be competing for the £100,000 top-prize and the favourite, as he is heading into every tournament, is Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Rocket missed the first ranking tournament of the season at the Shanghai Masters for personal reasons and was unable to defend his crown. He will be playing Mark King in the first round. Last season was one to forget for O’Sullivan, as he only won one ranking event, and by his standards, he should have done better. He lost in the Masters final to Mark Selby at Wembley after throwing away a 9-6 lead, and suffered at the hands of Selby once again in the quarter-finals of the world championship.
Two semi-final appearances at the UK Championship and Welsh Open were the best he could manage in ranking events other than his Shanghai win, and on both occasions he lost to John Higgins. Another defeat in a final, this time in the Premier League – where he was champion for five consecutive years – to Shaun Murphy came along as well.
O’Sullivan at times can be his own worst enemy, but if he is in the right frame of mind, then he will definitely be the one to beat. This season he has played twice in the Premier League, and has failed to win in both of them, drawing with Marco Fu and Ding Junhui.
Selby won the Masters for the second time in three years in last season, and he begins his campaign against Barry Hawkins. He has made a solid start to this season, winning a six-red tournament in Thailand and one of the new Players Tour Championship events as well. The Jester from Leicester is capable of going all the way to add to the Welsh Open -the only ranking event title of his career so far.
Reigning world champion Neil Robertson is certainly another contender for the World Open. The Australian began and ended last season with event wins – winning the Grand Prix at the start and becoming world champion at the end at the Crucible. The quick-fire format of the World Open – where matches are the first to three up until the final – will suit Robertson’s game. As world champion as well, he’ll have a lot to prove, and over the last few seasons he has become one of the more flamboyant players on the table.
Another contender is the in-form Ali Carter. He won the first ranking event of the season last week in Shanghai after beating Jamie Burnett in the final. Carter has been one of the most consistent players on the circuit over the last two seasons, which has seen him rise to No.2 in the world rankings.
Shaun Murphy is the reigning Premier League champion, and as that prestigious tournament is built on playing against the 25-second shot-clock, he should have no problems adapting to the best-of-five encounters here in Scotland.
A man who returned to form last season was Mark Williams, and last night he showed his true quality in the Premier League by coming back from 2-0 down to win 4-2. He won the China Open last season to end a run of four years without a ranking event win, and signs of the old Williams have been coming back. The Welshman is a dangerous opponent for anybody, and he could go far in this event.
With a tournament in Scotland, all eyes will be on a Scotsman winning the World Open at the end of the week. Stephen Maguire has won four ranking events in his career, but the last of them came in 2008 in China. At times he doesn’t play well, and this is his downfall, as he is not able to win the scrappy frames. Of the Scottish players – which also include Stephen Hendry, Graeme Dott, Alan McManus, Marcus Campbell and Jamie McBain – he is the most likely to reach the latter stages.
Snooker World Open preview
0612 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
The second ranking event of the snooker season begins tomorrow with a new tournament, the 12bet.com World Open in Glasgow.
At this stage of the season, the Grand Prix would usually be taking place, but the tournament has been rebranded as the World Open and offers a quick-fire and exciting format for the players.
All matches will be best-of-five frames up until the final, where it becomes the best-of-nine frames. All matches will also be played on just one table, and the event offers the prospect of the big names playing one another thanks to the random draw. It is being dubbed as the “FA Cup” of snooker and is something different for the players to get used to.
Some qualifying matches took place last month, with the Scottish trio of Marcus Campbell, Alan McManus and James McBain just some of the players already booking their places in the last-32, as amateurs from around the world had the chance to play against the professional players.
Eleven last-64 matches will take place to decide who will join them, and the random draw has produced some interesting ties. The stand-out tie is the clash between Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott in a repeat of the world championship final from last season, which saw Robertson become the first official world champion from Australia.
The Thunder from Down Under is anticipating another tough match against the Scot. “We all have good times and bad times, but Graeme has bounced back and I am expecting a very hard match. Mind you, at least it won’t go on until 1am in the morning again.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin his quest to become World Open champion against Mark King, and Jimmy White, a six-time world finalist, plays Paul Davison. Ding Junhui plays Adrian Gunnell, and reigning Masters champion Mark Selby takes on Barry Hawkins.
Selby believes the short format will be tricky for the established players. “There is added pressure when you are playing best of fives,” he said. “I think we might see some players who are not familiar faces doing well in the event, because the short matches will give the lower-ranked players a better chance. It will definitely be an exciting event to watch for the fans in the arena and viewers on TV.”
Steve Davis reached the quarter-finals of the world championship at the Crucible last season after a remarkable run that saw him defeat then-reigning world champion John Higgins. The six-time world champion plays Peter Ebdon in another fascinating tie. Stephen Hendry takes on Belgian Bjorn Haneveer, and the seven-time world champion is excited about the event. “It’s the one tournament we have in Scotland, and with the new format there’s no doubt it’s going to be exciting.”
Mark Williams, the China Open champion, plays Igor Figueiredo of Brazil. Ali Carter won the first ranking event of the season at the Shanghai Masters last week against Jamie Burnett, and he is on the lookout for his third ranking event title against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Current Premier League champion Shaun Murphy plays Dave Harold, and Stephen Maguire plays Stuart Pettman.
Maguire is delighted to be playing the event in his homeland, and is dreaming of winning it. “With it being in Glasgow, I would love to win it – only winning the World Championship would be better,” he said. “One of the greatest feelings in the world is picking up the trophy at the end of the week. I’ve not had it for over two years, so I’ve almost forgotten what feels like.”
Recently, snooker has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as one of Scotland’s finest Higgins was cleared of match-fixing after tabloid newspaper News of the World had footage of him and his manager Pat Mooney agreeing to throw frames for money.
Mooney was deemed to be solely responsible for the situation, while Higgins was found guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute and has been banned until November and fined £75,000. Higgins was also guilty of failing to report an approach from a would-be corruptor.
The Scottish star will be disappointed not to be playing on home soil, but at least he will be breathing a whole lot easier after enduring the worst four months of his career.
At last, all the talk about snooker can be about what happens on the table rather than off it.
Ronnie O’Sullivan favourite for Premier League crown
0627 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
He’s always the favourite in every snooker tournament he enters.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is looking to win the Premier League for the seventh time in his career, and who would bet against him?
The Rocket takes off when he’s on the table, and because the Premier League format incorporates a shot-clock, it suits O’Sullivan right down to the wire. He was sent crashing down to earth in last year’s final, when Shaun Murphy denied him making it five triumphs on the spin. However, O’Sullivan enjoys playing in the Premier League, and he’ll want to get his hands back on the trophy once again.
If you take O’Sullivan out of the equation, then any one of the remaining six players can win the Premier League.
Mark Selby is the Masters champion, having won the tournament twice in the last three years. He could be the man to challenge O’Sullivan. They have played each other on many occasions on the biggest stages. Selby has beaten O’Sullivan recently in the last eight of the world championship and in the Masters final, and when they cross paths they always serve up a tremendous feast. Selby as a minimum will reach the semi-finals.
Don’t rule out the reigning world champion Neil Robertson. The Australian comes off the back of a fantastic season, as he kicked it off by winning the Grand Prix and ended it by becoming world champion. Like O’Sullivan, he likes to play at a quick tempo, and the format of the Premier League will see him be a force to be reckoned with.
The Welsh potting machine Mark Williams is another player who flies around the table. His relaxed-style of play along with good speed makes him a player to be aware of, and like Selby expect him to reach the semi-finals. Former world champion Murphy is looking to defend his title, but with O’Sullivan, Selby and Williams around, it will be a hard task for him. The added incentive of being reigning champion might get Murphy to the final, but definitely the semi-finals.
China’s Ding Junhui was the form player last season, winning the UK Championship and losing in two other ranking finals. He’ll be difficult to beat in the round-robin phase, but he might come up short in reaching the semis.
Marco Fu won the Premier League back in 2003. Repeating that feat again won’t happen, and the best Fu can hope for is not to finish bottom of the league.
Bank on O’Sullivan, Selby, Williams and Murphy to reach the last four, and out of the bunch, O’Sullivan is definitely the man to beat.
Premier League snooker returns
0628 days
by Ismail Vedat
in Uncategorized
Tomorrow night sees the return of the PartyCasino.com Premier League snooker, with reigning champion Shaun Murphy and six-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan both in action.
Now in its 25th year, the Premier League has been won by snooker’s greats, Stephen Hendry (six), O’Sullivan, (six), Steve Davis (four), Jimmy White (one) and John Higgins (one).
This year’s field is made up of seven players who have each won a major event during the 2009/10 season, and the competition is as tough as ever.
Murphy upset the odds in last year’s Premier League, beating Higgins in the semi-finals and defeating O’Sullivan, the man who won this trophy for five years on the spin, 7-3 in the final. The 2005 world champion begins the defence of his title against Ding Junhui, and is anticipating a great battle.
“Ding and I always have great matches,” he said.
“This year at the world championships I edged through and a few weeks ago I played him in a tournament in China and beat him in the final. Maybe I’ve inflicted a bit of mental scarring and it will be good to see how the season opener kicks off,” said Murphy.
Murphy scraped into the semi-finals after starting the tournament badly last year, and this year he knows he cannot repeat the feat as defending champion.“It’s going to be very difficult to win the title again but having said that Ronnie did it for five years so it can be done,” he said.
“I’m hoping to make a better start to the campaign than I did last year but if I finish it like I did last year then I’ll consider it a success. I had a really bad start and was nowhere after a few weeks as I was bottom and propping up the table. I just snuck into the play-offs but it doesn’t matter where you finish as long as you’re in the top four,” added Murphy.
Last season Ding won the UK Championship for the second time in his career and was unfortunate not to win more ranking events as he made it to the final of the Grand Prix and China Open. The 23-year-old came of age last campaign, and has fine-tuned his game and matured into a great competitor.
The other match of the opening night pits O’Sullivan against Marco Fu – who qualified for the Premier League by beating Mark Allen to clinch the Championship League. O’Sullivan is out to avenge last year’s defeat to Murphy, and Fu, who won this event back in 2003, is aware of this.
“Ronnie is the man to beat and probably the favourite to win the tournament,” said Fu. “I had a good record against him but have lost the last four or five times we met so it’s going to be tough but hopefully I can perform well.”
O’Sullivan only won the Shanghai Masters last season, and by his standards had a poor season, but he always entertains gives the crowd their money’s worth when he turns up for the Premier League, and this year should be no different.
The other players in the Premier League are Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Mark Selby.
Robertson is the reigning world champion after conquering the Crucible back in May. The Australian enjoyed one of his best campaigns last season, winning the Grand Prix for the second time and going on to become the first official world champion from Down Under. He also climbed up to second in the rankings.
Williams returned to form last season by proving to be a hard nut to crack at the majority of tournaments, and won his first ranking title in four years by beating home favourite Ding to win the China Open. The two-time champion of the world and former world No.1 will be a difficult opponent to face in this competition, and the quick-fire format will suit his game.
Masters champion Selby is hoping to go one better in the Premier League after he lost the final to O’Sullivan in 2008 on his debut in the tournament. Selby won the Masters at Wembley Arena for the second time in three years, and beat O’Sullivan 10-9 in a thrilling final in January. His Masters triumph was the only highlight of an uneventful campaign for the Jester, despite reaching the world championship semi-finals.
The Premier League will be played in a round-robin format over a 10-week timeline, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals. Matches will be played over six frames, with players getting two points for a win and one for a 3-3 draw.
One man who will not be appearing in this year’s Premier League is Higgins. The three-time world champion will find out soon whether he is found guilty of match-fixing after Sunday newspaper News of the World caught Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney on tape agreeing to throw frames for £261,000. Although Higgins has denied any wrong-doing, he could be banned for a lengthy period of time should he be found guilty.
Higgins is currently suspended from all World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association tournaments, and sources close to the WPBSA say he will not be appearing at the first two ranking events of the season, the Shanghai Masters and the World Open. Even though the Premier League is not classed as a ranking tournament, Higgins still will not appear because of his current situation.
Carter marches on
0844 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
The reigning Welsh Open champion Ali Carter faced a stern test in the form of Neil Robertson at the Newport Centre yesterday, but once again proved his worth in this rankings tournament with a performance sure to make him a strong favourite for a place in Sunday’s final.
A comfortable 5-2 victory against the Australian was a clear indicator that Carter is on course to reach the tournament’s latter stages. However, he will now play another of the sport’s in-form players in the quarter-finals – the conqueror of Stephen Hendry – Ryan Day.
Carter’s match against Robertson was far from the classic many had anticipated before the first shot of the evening session, but the 30-year-old displayed the type of ruthlessness which champions are renowned for producing when it matters most.
A superb break of 115 at a pivotal time in the match put the 2009 Welsh Open winner firmly on course for a place in the last eight; and when Robertson missed a green in the seventh frame with the score at 46-35, Carter duly obliged in putting an end to the game by potting a final black.
Robertson, who won this rankings event in 2007, had been outclassed by a man on a mission to become the first player to win consecutive Welsh Open titles since Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2004 and ’05.
Meanwhile, the unfancied Day triumphed against Hendry in the last 16 to seal a quarter-final berth. Competing in his homeland, Day was largely written off because of his poor record against the Scottish legend – four defeats in as many matches for the Welshman – however, he sealed a brilliant 5-3 victory to send home a delighted crowd away from the Newport Centre.
The last of the first-round matches were also decided last night, with the second round set to be concluded by this evening.
Ding Junhui became yet another big-name Chinese casualty in the opening rounds of this competition – meaning that not one player from the country will feature in the tournament’s second round. The world No. 13 was beaten 5-3 by Jamie Cope despite some impressive breaks of his own – including a 127.
Cope will no doubt be buoyed by yesterday’s victory, but he will need to see off the challenge of the world’s best player this afternoon if he’s to reach the last eight. Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination and one which is extremely difficult to envisage him passing.
There were also first round wins for Welshman Mark Williams and 32-year-old Scot Graeme Dott, who has set up an intriguing last 16 match against his compatriot John Higgins.
The reigning champion of the Championship League, Judd Trump, couldn’t quite put enough pressure on the winner of this month’s prestigious Masters tournament, Mark Selby. Trump, who advanced to the winner’s group of this year’s Championship League just last week, lost 5-2 to the Jester from Leicester. Perhaps this tournament came slightly too earlier for the 20-year-old but there’s no doubt he will be a major threat in this rankings event and others like it in the forthcoming years.
The remaining six matches of the quarter-finals will be contested today over two separate sessions. The first one will begin at 1pm and will feature a wealth of snooker talent including Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stephens and the Rocket himself.
Into the evening session, and Andrew Higginson and Mark Williams will go head-to-head, as will Mark Selby and Mark King before the much-anticipated battle of the Scots – Dott v Higgins.
So, the rankings event is hotting up nicely with four days left to play. Is anyone capable of stopping Carter in his tracks in this competition?
Rob Swan
Sublime O’Sullivan seals dramatic comeback
0859 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Ronnie O’Sullivan produced a stunning comeback from 3-0 down in yesterday’s second-round Masters match against Neil Robertson to seal his place in the quarter-finals.
The Rocket was up against the in-form Australian, who enjoyed the best of the opening frames and appeared to be cruising towards a surprise win. However, O’Sullivan hit back in spectacular fashion in the fourth frame – displaying some of the vintage snooker which has fired him to stardom over the last two decades – found his best form and eventually won the match by six frames to four.
Looking overjoyed with his 3-0 lead, Robertson walked out of Wembley Arena for a brief interval having just punched the air in delight after amassing a seemingly unassailable advantage against a below-par O’Sullivan.
Perhaps the Australian took his foot off the gas, but a far more likely explanation for his eventual defeat was the resurrection of arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game.
Against any other competitor, Robertson would have expected to have seen this match off after the opening three frames.
But this was O’Sullivan; and a brilliant 114 roused the expectant crowd as the World No. 1 began to exert his dominance and take control of this second-round match.
Looking like an entirely different player, O’Sullivan’s brilliance soon began to unnerve his opponent, as the comeback looked increasingly inevitable with every passing shot.
The four-time Masters champion levelled the match in the sixth frame after an effortless 87, while a safety shot from Robertson failed to pay off in the seventh as O’Sullivan duly capitalised to take a 4-3 lead.
Many players would have been resigned to their fate at this stage, but Robertson must be commended for his never-say-die attitude, and sensationally hit back in the eighth frame with the highest break of the tournament so far – a wonderful 140 total clearance – to leave the game on a knife-edge.
With nothing to separate the two players at 4-4, it was impossible to call a favourite.
But O’Sullivan hasn’t earned the coveted, universal reputation as the best player of all time for no reason. And in what proved the penultimate round, another century – 106, this time – allowed the Rocket to place one foot inside the last eight of the tournament.
With victory in sight, the last frame saw O’Sullivan hit top gear, and his faultless potting and cue ball placing delighted the crowds and he stormed to a 80-8 tenth frame win.
Everyone packed inside Wembley had been treated to a masterclass from the three-time World Champion. The comeback was complete, and O’Sullivan will now face Peter Ebdon in the first quarter-final tomorrow afternoon.
In the aftermath of his comeback, the self-critical O’Sullivan played down the manner of his win, and revealed that he wasn’t surprised or particularly happy with the final result.
“I don’t want to have to rely on the occasion of being 3-0 down in front of a big crowd to salvage some pride. I can’t pot a ball in practice,” the Rocket admitted.
“My attitude will be the same in my next match – I won’t be surprised if I win or lose.”
O’Sullivan also revealed his concerns with his long potting and that he wouldn’t have been overly disappointed had he been eliminated from the tournament.
“I made just two out of 10 long pots, and I think Neil will be disappointed to have beaten someone making just two of 10 long pots.
“I’d give my long potting two out of 10. It’s hard to get excited.
“To make two or three centuries in a match is not a big deal, that’s how the modern game is. I would have accepted winning or losing today.”
Even if the man himself wasn’t in jovial mood after pulling the match back from the brink, everyone else with even a passing interest in the sport will be eagerly-anticipating another classic performance from the Magician tomorrow afternoon.
Rob Swan