Stephen Hendry snooker blog
Posts tagged Stephen Maguire
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.
To tie or not to tie, that’s the question
0901 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
The topic of dress code in snooker is definitely a hot potato. Snooker is still seen as a gentleman’s sport and people who are pro keeping the strict dress code argue that snooker fans truly want a sport without blood, dirt and unnecessary exposure of skin. The waistcoats and the bow ties are part of the image of snooker and is one of the first things that new viewers and prospective fans will notice. People who watch snooker for the first time will immediately spot how neatly dressed the players all are while a seasoned fan won’t even notice the clothing anymore.
There are also people who are against players having to wear this kind of formal outfit year in, year out. They claim that snooker will instead attract fewer fans because the dress code is too old fashioned. There’s another aspect as well – it’s uncomfortable. Some players, like Stephen Maguire, even get skin problems from bow ties. Players who have suffered from a cold have had trouble breathing. Is it really worth it?
As in any business, you have to take a look at the target group, even the potential one. This is not an easy task since there’s a huge, ever-growing fan base in Asia. What do they want? Will they really be the in the majority as far as the audience goes in the future? It’s hard to tell.
Maybe this still isn’t a matter of black or white. We might not have to choose between today’s outfit and t-shirt and jeans. If the snooker dress code is about to be changed it might not have to be as casual as the one associated with pool. If this really is an issue, maybe some minor changes could be applied just to see the response.
This kind of thinking has already been implemented in the Premier League where players wear open neck shirts, no waistcoats and no bow ties. Suggestions have been made that this more casual outfit should be worn in the morning and afternoon sessions while the traditional dress code should be obligatory in the evening sessions. That way both the old school fans and the more “modern “ audience would get it the way they want. It is also possible that this kind of thinking would attract a broader range of sponsors.
Grand Prix – will there be Scottish victory once again?
0963 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
A long time has passed since Ray Reardon, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s former coach, won the first Grand Prix held in 1982 – the year when some of today’s heroes like Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy were born.
This year’s tournament starts on Saturday October 3rd. Top 16 players are automatically qualified for the event, and will play matches against qualifiers outside of the group. Make sure you don’t miss the matches of the Grand Prix qualifiers running between September 21st and 24th.
The question on everyone’s minds right now is whether John Higgins will retain his title from last year’s tournament. Being the World Championship title holder at the moment, the Wizard of Wishaw has a lot to live up to.
This year’s Grand Prix will be held in Glasgow, not too far away from the town where Higgins was born. Another Scottish talent, Stephen Maguire, will get a perfect opportunity to test his new eyes as he had laser surgery a few weeks ago. He hopes this will give him a great boost in the right direction and that it will finally put an end to his eyesight problems.
Last year Maguire lost in the first round against Jamie Cope and was terribly disappointed, yet this has made him even more motivated to do better this time around.
October 3rd is approaching with giant steps. Who will qualify? Will there be Scottish victory in Glasgow just like last year? Get ready for an always exciting tournament.
Are they guilty of the most unsportsmanlike deed?
0993 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
In December 2008, professional snooker players Jamie Burnett (ranked 40) and Stephen Maguire (ranked two) were suspected of match fixing. The incident happened during the 2008 UK Championship when a lot of bookmakers noticed heavy bets being placed on a 9-3 win for Maguire. New accounts betting on 9-3 were opened in Glasgow very far ahead of the match and bookies started getting suspicious. At first, odds were lowered but when that didn’t help, betting was completely suspended.
Investigators are especially concerned about the crucial black ball that Burnett completely missed. But both players knew what was going on before the match was played and claimed that it might have affected them to create a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hard punishments are usually given to match fixers. Australian player Quinten Hann was found guilty of match fixing a few years ago after having intentionally lost a match against Ken Doherty in China Open. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association banned Hann for eight years thus possibly ending his career.
Several months after the incident involving Burnett and Maguire, investigations have been taken up again. Hour long police inquirings have recently been held and the players still deny any wrongdoing.
There’s no question that this is a tough case. Involvement in fixed snooker matches can be extremely hard to prove. In the case of Quinten Hann, the accused was set up by undercover journalists that made him confess, something that is quite unlikely to happen again.
Both Maguire and Burnett make a living from snooker, from match winnings as well as sponsorship, and being found guilty of the above would probably be the end of their career.
Investigators work with video tapes of the match to determine if it can be used as evidence. Especially Burnett’s miss on the black ball that cost him the match is being thoroughly examined. It can’t be easy to form an opinion as hundreds of similar misses are made on the professional tour every year. Snooker is a sport where you have to be 100 percent focused throughout the entire match. Any player can lose concentration and miss an easy ball.
If a snooker player was to be found guilty of this incredibly unsportsmanlike behavior, a lifetime ban might only sound fair, but then investigators would have to be absolutely certain beyond a reasonable doubt that he is in fact guilty.