World Open - Day 3

140...ok, let`s make it 147!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see the last match to be disputed in the qualifying rounds. The one between Ronnie O`Sullivan and Mark King. And what a match that was! Everybody was talking about it....the whole day...like nothing else mattered. The truth is that this match overshadowed all the other matches of the day.


Rob Walker was the one who introduced the "lions into the arena" (Mark followed by Ronnie) and Jan Verhaas was the ref of the match. The first frame was easily won by Ronnie, but the second one was a little bit tight (57-49). Still in "The Rocket’s" favor who made the gap between him and Mark even bigger. The third frame and things will never be the same! Mark missed the red so Ronnie came to the table to pot it. Then he potted a black and a red and...and after that he asked the ref if there was any bonus for the maximum 147 break. Jan, didn’t know for sure so he asked his colleagues. Meanwhile Ronnie was potting ball after ball, making very clear the fact that he intend to hit the max. The answer arrived: “There is no prize money for 147, just the £ 4,000 for the highest break."

The Rocket on fire

At this point, Ronnie wasn’t very pleased, but he continued in potting the balls and he succeeded to make it until the black one. One more… the little black ball and the 147 break (the 10th 147 from his career) was going to become reality. But, he goes straight to Mark King to shake hands with him and was about to leave the arena, when the ref Verhaas asked him to pot the last ball. So he did! And he made his 147 break! What a beauty! The last ball was hit so hard and so furious that the boy holding the camera flinched and almost turned away, being afraid that the ball might hit him.
After the match, Ronnie gave a short interview in which he explained his bizarre behavior:


"I wasn't going to pot the black to be honest with you because I asked the ref and was told there was no break prize for a 147.My whole thing was I was going to make 140 and leave the black. What's the point of making a 147 if they're only going to give you four grand for it? I'm surprised. They're getting stingier. I thought Barry Hearn was supposed to be putting more money into the game, not taking it out. I’ve had loads of 147s so I don't really get excited by it and thought I needed to give myself something to go for. I just thought 'why not?", said Ronnie for the BBC.

An extraodinary match (O`Sullivan v. King)

Now, I really don’t want to comment too much on this subject. I mean, the guy makes a living from this game, so he is entitled to ask if there’s a prize money for the 147 break. Not to be blamed. Still, the fact that he had to be persuaded to pot the last ball...well, that was not very nice. I mean, yes there’s no bonus, yes you don’t agree with this matter and yes you’re frustrated by it, but still you had a beautiful position to pot the black. At the question: "What's the point of making a 147 if they're only going to give you four grand for it?", the correct answer would be " Out of respect for the sport that you used to adore so much and that made you known all around the world". I’m not saying that he doesn’t respect snooker, just that he didn’t quite show it yesterday. I’m just saying! Don’t throw rocks at me. I think he is a terrific snooker player and I adore to see him play but that doesn’t mean that I have to agree with him 100%.
On 110sport.tv the interview also contained this line: "I am still not enjoying playing and don’t think I will be around for much longer. I have various things going on in my personal life and my kids will always take priority over snooker." Not a very easy thing to swallow, for the millions of fans that love him. :(

Stevens out from the first match

The first "non-qualifying" match of the day was the one between the Welsh Matthew Stevens the Scot Alan McManus. Alan seemed to have the victory in his hand, for he was leading 2-0, when Matt fought back in breaks of 52, 45 and 48 and made the score 2-2. A decisive frame was in order and in the end Alan was the one who succeeded in winning 3-2.
The unfortunate Liu Song beat Joe Jorgia with an amazing 3-1 scoreline. Still, it seems like he will leave the circuit even if he would win the World Open trophy. So sad for the little Chinese.

Jamie CopeED with Harold

Another match, another surprise. Jamie Cope v. Dave Harold. A match with two powerful players and a lot of tension involved. A decisive frame at 2-2. This time, Harold wasn’t lucky enough and his road towards the last 16 ended when Jamie establish his victory 3-2.
The last match of the day, an the longest (many of us had given up and felt asleep :P) was the one between Mike Dunn and Marcus Campbell. Not the best match ever, but in the end Marcus won 3-1.


The century breaks of the day: Liu Song (107) and Ronnie O`Sullivan (147).


Today another 10 great names will try their luck to get a comfortable seat in the last 16 :


You can watch them play:


I leave you to enjoy Ronnie’s 147 break! ;)


00:40 – 02:40 (Extra)