Stephen Hendry snooker blog
Posts tagged Shaun Murphy
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.
Williams edges past Murphy into Masters semis
0857 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Mark Williams produced his second impressive Masters performance last night with a 6-4 win over Shaun Murphy to advance to the semi-finals.
The left-handed Welshman looked confident and assured throughout – despite the minor car crash which left him with whiplash on Monday night – and will now play Ronnie O’Sullivan on Saturday afternoon for a place in the final.
It’s the first time Williams has progressed to the Masters semi-finals since he won the event seven years ago – based on his last two convincing performances, this could well prove a good omen.
Displaying some of the vintage snooker which has allowed him to win this tournament on two previous occasions, Williams sunk numerous long pots and racked up several big breaks during the match, and is now eagerly-anticipating his semi-final clash against the Rocket.
“I’m going to be playing the best player in the world in the second biggest tournament, I’m over the moon. We both played well and it was a good game,” the 34-year-old said.
“The big arenas, the best players, it’s what we play for. I know what I’m capable of and looking forward to a good game.”
Williams lost the opening frame as his opponent looked the better player in the opening stages of the match. However, the Welshman recovered with a break of 76 in the second frame to level proceedings.
He then went 2-1 up after two breaks of 53 and 56; and in the third, yet another fifty from the two-time world champion put added daylight between the two competitors.
Another high break, 62 this time, earned Williams his fourth consecutive frame and a seemingly unassailable 4-1 lead.
But the only three figure break of the match came from Murphy in the sixth frame. A 100-0 scoreline offered the 2005 world champion a glimpse of hope, but this began to fade almost immediately as Williams hit back with a total of 68 to take a tense seventh frame.
5-2 and now with victory in sight, Murphy so nearly achieved the unthinkable as he pulled the next two frames back in emphatic fashion.
The high-quality match was drawing to a close, though, and Williams survived an incredibly nervy final frame to book his place in the first of Saturday’s two semi-finals.
Rob Swan
The Force not strong enough for rampant Rocket
0858 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Ronnie O’Sullivan survived a mid-session blip against Peter Ebdon to seal his place in the Masters semi-finals.
The Rocket stormed to a 4-0 lead, producing some of his best snooker along the way, but became sloppy in the fifth and sixth frames – letting Ebdon back into the match.
A superb snooker in the sixth allowed the Force to pull the score back to 4-2 – without it, there’s little doubt that O’Sullivan would have cruised to victory even quicker – and for a short time, an unlikely comeback suddenly didn’t appear entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
But just as he did in his first round match against Neil Robertson, O’Sullivan refused to panic – or look even remotely flustered for that matter – remained typically cool and extended the deficit to three frames by sealing the seventh.
With the match slipping away from Ebdon’s grasp – the score now at 5-2 – he needed something special to keep himself in the match, and achieved it by winning the frame 65-1.
Unfortunately for Ebdon, his opponent – and the crowd favourite – found his best form again by the end of the match, just as he did against Robertson.
And the inevitable soon followed. The Rocket gave the fans inside Wembley Arena a real show in the ninth and final frame – hitting a break of 106 to win the match and advance to his ninth Masters semi-finals.
He will now play the winner of this evening’s second quarter-final between Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy, on Saturday afternoon at 1pm.
Rob Swan
Delighted Murphy advances to quarters at Hendry’s expense
0860 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
Stephen Hendry was knocked out of the Masters yesterday evening in the second round of the tournament, losing a pulsating 6-4 match against Shaun Murphy at Wembley Arena.
The Scot already had six Masters titles to his name before taking to the table last night, but was bidding to make it seven with another victory this winter.
A truly dominant force in this competition at the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, Hendry was competing for his first Masters trophy victory since 1996.
But his opponent, Murphy, looking to progress past the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time, held his nerve in a tense duel inside Wembley to seal his place in the next round at Hendry’s expense.
It could have been an entirely different outcome had Hendry not missed a simple green in the final frame – a decisive error which the Scot would have inevitably replayed over in his head last night.
“There is no excuse for missing a green like that. It was part twitch and part changing my mind,” the world No. 10 said.
“I was down on the shot thinking, ‘Should I stun it off the cushion?’ but in the end I didn’t do what I wanted.
“It’s frustrating as I played quite well. To lose like that was hard to take because Shaun looked a bit nervous.
“If it had gone to the last frame I’d have had a good chance.”
Both competitors played their part in this match unfolding as a thrilling contest. Hendry, whose record of five consecutive Masters titles between 1989 and 1994 remains unequalled, hit a 114 in frame two to level the match, and then took the lead in the third frame after another impressive run of 79.
However, this merely spurred on Murphy, who admitted after the match that the crowd’s shouts of support for Hendry provided “free inspiration” for him.
The 2005 world champion took a 4-2 lead with an 81, but was immediately pegged back in the seventh frame following a mesmeric 104 by his opponent.
Not to be outdone, Murphy kept his cool and remained unmoved by the crowd favourite’s exploits, and then displayed his fighting spirit once again to hit a superb 106.
A tight, penultimate frame went to the Scot, which in turn set up a stirring finale. But missing that simple green in the tenth frame – with the score neatly poised at 54-32 – eventually sealed Hendry’s fate once again.
However, this wasn’t before one last kick in the teeth for the Masters legend. On what turned out to be the final shot of the match, Murphy played for safety but inadvertently ended up fluking the blue to seal his place in the quarter-finals, leaving Hendry with that all too familiar sinking feeling.
The world No. 3 will now face the winner of tonight’s match, either Ali Carter or Mark Williams, on Thursday evening, with a potential semi-final against Peter Ebdon, Ronnie O’Sullivan or Neil Robertson lined up if he can end his quarter-final hoodoo, and move a step closer to winning that first coveted Masters title.
“Any match against Stephen is a major event so I’m delighted to win,” a buoyant Murphy said.
“It was a high standard with big breaks and good safety. To win the biggest three events would be a boyhood dream come true. My record in this tournament isn’t great – I normally watch it from home so I’m not sure I want to break my routine! ”
Rob Swan
Ding pots UK Championship to end dramatic week
0889 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Ding Junhui has potted the title at the second biggest snooker tournament of the year, the UK Championship, in the final act of what has been a dramatic week in Telford to say the least.
Stars have come and left. Dreams have been crushed for some and realised for others. We have seen some spectacular matches and many surprises.
One of the biggest sensations in this year’s UK Championship was defending champion Shaun Murphy’s fall against Ding in the last 16. It was a tangible loss and took a while to digest. Another shock was Peter Lines’ (ranked 64th) victories over Ian McCulloch, Nigel Bond, Marco Fu and Mark Williams on the road to the quarter-finals. This year’s Grand Prix finalist, Liang Wenbo, had another great tournament with 9-3 and 9-2 wins over Ryan Day and Mark King, respectively. He has really shown that he’s a player to count on this season.
The biggest thriller of the tournament was the semi-final match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins.
Higgins had been playing his best snooker and it seemed impossible for O’Sullivan to outwit him. Higgins stole the fifth frame right out of O’Sullivan’s hands, even though a snooker was needed, which must have been discouraging. At one point O’Sullivan was trailing 8-2 and things were looking hopeless. But neither the fans nor O’Sullivan wanted to give up and he found his second wind, took six consecutive frames and the match went to the final 17th frame. The semi-final was eventually won by Higgins but the world’s two most popular players had created an instant classic.
After such a tough match Higgins must have been exhausted and even though he played very well his energy didn’t last to win the final. Ding, winner of the UK Championship in 2005 and this year’s other finalist, had the opportunity to rest on Saturday, which might very well have had an impact on the outcome of Sunday’s final. That said, Ding also played some incredible snooker. The safety play in particular was absolutely brilliant. Strong defence is something that is definitely needed against Higgins who is one of the cleverest players on the tour.
Ding has proved time and time again that he is a young player to count on and that it would be a big mistake to underestimate him. When is the next time The Dragon will set the snooker world on fire?
One-man show for O’Sullivan
0894 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Yesterday’s last 16 match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Peter Ebdon could have been a nail biter but instead turned into sort of a one man show. O’Sullivan took the lead early on and kept it up until the very end. He played very well and everything seemed to work for him, even the long pots that he’s had some trouble with lately. O’Sullivan didn’t have to give the match his all though as Ebdon’s form was quite bad. His long pot success rate was especially low and he failed to take his chances when he needed to. The match ended 9-3 and O’Sullivan now has a potentially tough encounter against Mark Selby ahead of him. Selby didn’t have too difficult a time beating Stephen Hendry 9-5, even though Hendry fought well.
Stephen Maguire’s victory over Stuart Bingham was very convincing and he will now face Peter Lines in the quarter finals. Lines success in the match against Mark Williams was of course a surprise considering his spot at 64, in the world rankings but Williams wouldn’t give up without a struggle and the match ended 9-8.
Not quite as surprising, but still something of a minor sensation was Liang Wenbo’s 9-2 victory over Mark King. Liang now has a tough match against John Higgins to look forward to. Speaking of Higgins, he was quite sure to win over Neil Robertson at 8-6 but Robertson gave a powerful effort to make Higgins sweat a little. For a while it looked like he was going to make it but Higgins refused to give in and won 9-8.
Premier League winner and defending champion Shaun Murphy is no longer in the tournament after a disappointing 9-3 loss against the 2005 champion, Ding Junhui.
Finally, Ali Carter beat Stephen Lee 9-5 and will meet Ding in the last eight. More exciting, high-quality snooker is coming up later today. There’s still a lot to look forward to.
Stevens fails to take his chances
0895 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Yesterday was an exciting day three of the UK Championship in Telford with many high-quality snooker matches. All the last 32 matches were completed and four of the last 16 matches kicked off.
Matthew Stevens didn’t manage to put up any real fight against Ronnie O’Sullivan in yesterday’s match. At 7-3 he could very well have taken the next frame as both players gave an excellent safety performance. But he failed to take his chances and missed too many easy shots and as always with O’Sullivan, you will be punished for that. The match ended 9-3 and O’Sullivan will now meet Peter Ebdon which should be a thrilling encounter. Will O’Sullivan be able to deal with Ebdon’s deliberate and tactical play without getting too restless?
Ali Carter had to fight hard for his victory over Rory McLeod who managed to take no less than seven frames. McLeod played very well and we haven’t seen the last of him. Having won the Masters qualifying event, he will be given a new chance to prove himself at the Wembley arena in January.
One of the last 16 matches that began yesterday was that between Mark Selby and Stephen Hendry. This first session ended 5-3 to Selby and while he was the better player, Hendry definitely still has a good chance of winning.
An uneven match to say the least took place between Liang Wenbo and Mark King. At 7-1 to Liang there’s not much hope on the horizon for King. Stephen Lee beat Mark Allen who unfortunately had severe cue problems.
Stephen Maguire leads Stuart Bingham 6-2. Maguire didn’t seem to have too much trouble focusing despite the fact that he missed his grandfather’s funeral due to the tournament.
John Higgins took the lead over Neil Robertson, 5-3, and Ding Junhui didn’t seem to have any trouble beating Mike Dunn 9-5 even though the latter lead 5-3 at one point. Defending champion Shaun Murphy awaits Ding in the last 16.
The biggest surprise of the day was Marco Fu’s match against Peter Lines, No. 64 in the world rankings, which ended 9-3 to the latter. Could it have been because of jetlag that Fu didn’t do better or was it just Lines who had found incredible form after years in the shadows of the big tournaments? Either way, Lines’s next match against Mark Williams should have him shaking in his boots.
Be sure not to miss today’s last 16 matches at 1:30pm. There should be a nail biter or two on the schedule.
Champion Murphy makes winning start
0896 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Most of the first UK Championship matches this weekend were quite predictable. The match between Stephen Maguire and Michael Holt was exciting for a while when Holt reduced 4-1 to 4-4, however, he was never really a threat to Maguire. The match finally ended 9-6.
Gerard Greene seemed to have a hard time with defending champion Shaun Murphy. For Murphy this match seemed to be a walk in the park and he calmly carried on his mission of defending the championship title, winning 9-5.
Mark King beat Anthony Hamilton to a pulp – 9-2. The match between Graeme Dott and Mark Williams ended with the same result in favour of Williams, though this was due to illness. Dott unfortunately had to withdraw at 6-2.
Steve Davis showed impressive form against Stephen Hendry and the match was quite exciting all the way until 6-6 but then Hendry suddenly found his second wind and took three consecutive frames.
Ricky Walden managed to put at least some pressure on world provisional number one John Higgins but in the end he didn’t have what it took and lost 9-7.
The match between Mark Selby and Jamie Cope was probably the most random this weekend. Cope lead 8-4 halfway through the match but Selby made an amazing comeback and won.
Neil Robertson beat Tom Ford 9-3, not very surprisingly.
Stuart Bingham’s match against Joe Perry appeared to be a breeze, ending 9-4.
Peter Ebdon beat Judd Trump 9-4 and Ryan Day almost made a maximum break but unfortunately he failed on the brown ball. He then went on to lose the match 9-3 to Liang Wenbo.
Mark Allen and Stephen Lee played an incredibly even match, chasing each other until the very last frame when Lee clinched the victory.
We’re eagerly awaiting today’s matches.
O’Sullivan out of time as Murphy takes Premier League
0902 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
The Premier League is a tournament that will particularly benefit fast players because of its shot clock format.
Once the ball has stopped from the previous shot the player only has 25 seconds to strike or else he’s given five penalty points. Yet, the record holder of the longest frame in the history of professional snooker, Shaun Murphy, became the new Premier League champion this Sunday. He thereby ended Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five-year winning streak.
Murphy proves time and time again that he is a worthy former world champion and has the capacity of a first-class player. The key to his victory was taking every chance he could get against O’Sullivan.
The match eventually ended 7-3. Murphy started off 3-0 and seemed quite confident. However, O’Sullivan replied by taking the next three frames giving Murphy a match and the audience some excitement. He couldn’t keep it up though and the next four frames went to Murphy.
The question on everyone’s lips now is: will Murphy be able to defend the UK Championship title? We’ll find out this weekend when this prestigious tournament kicks off.