Premier League caravan reaches Brentwood

The current city - Brentwood

The forth stop of the Premier League caravan will be in the lovely city of Brentwood, Essex. The town where many years ago the Saxons stood, is going to receive four terrific snooker players and a lot of fans from all around the country. Brentwood Leisure Centre will witness the coming of : "The Jester from Leicester", "The Chinese Sensation" , "The Rocket" and "The Magician" all being set up for one more battle.


The first match of the day will definitely be marked by " the fun and the sensational", for Mark Selby will play against Ding Junhui. Mark seemed to be in a poor shape, as he was defeated by his namesake Williams in the second round of the Premier League (4-2) and his performance showed no improvement during the main tournaments. But that was about to end when, last week, the "Shark" beneath that angelic face of his, rose and beat the current world champion and number 1, Neil Robertson 4-2. And since then, his confidence seems to be up, for during the EPTC 2 event he was at his best, although he only reached the last 16, being unexpectedly defeated by Ricky Walden 4-1.

Will the jester cope with China`s dragon?

Ding Junhui, although had a rough start at the Premier League, in his first match being crushed by Shaun Murphy 5-1, he soon recovered as he started to practice more and so in the second round of the Premier League, he ended the match with a draw (3-3), match he played against Ronnie O`Sullivan. In the third round he was to meet, his "mate" Mark Williams, for the second time in only a week (Mark beat him during the World Open quarter-finals). And it was quite a match, for Ding was being lead 2-0, but he made a comeback for 2-2. Still, the match ended on a draw (again for Ding) at 3-3.
Ding is the only player who was present in all the Premier League rounds until now, but he only has 2 points, so he is in a desperate need of a victory. If he will be able to defeat "The Jester from Leicester" we shall see!


The second match of the day will bring together Ronnie O`Sullivan and Shaun Murphy. It’s going to be a very interesting match, now more then ever! I’m sure is not "breaking news" the fact that Shaun criticized Ronnie’s behavior during the World Open tournament when he refused to pot the last ball to make the maximum break. Shaun said that Ronnie’s act was "unprofessional" and he is sick and tired of hearing this "Ronnie is Ronnie" and him getting away with this sorts of things, just because of that.
Well, I didn’t see that coming! Now, everyone is entitled to have their own opinion so I don’t want to make a comment on Shaun’s thoughts.. What I don’t understand is why now? I mean, the situation is "so last tournament" :-)) It’s pretty crazy to come out with this kind of declaration after all this time. If you have something to say, say it while the subject is still hot, right? It`s pretty strange that he gave an interview all based on this story! Really strange!

Science v. Magic - who will win this time?

Anyway, back to the Premier League. Shaun started this tournament with his right foot, as he won the first match, but he ended the third round with a major defeat. He was leading 2-1 in the match against the Hong Kong cue man, Marco Fu but he couldn’t hold on to that score and be consequent so he lost 4-2 in the end. However, a few days after this defeat he was kicking ass at the EPTC 2 event in Belgium, as he won the mini-tournament! So, who knows what will happen next!


Ronnie is in desperate need of a victory. He’s played two matches until now and both of them ended on a draw, which is not bad, but is definitely not good also. He has 2 points, but if he wants to regain his Premier League title, title that he won for five times on a row, he needs to do his best. I’m sure he can put himself together and get those engines started so he can win a match. Also, it would be great to win this one, considering Shaun’s latest statement. :-P


So, be sure to tune in on SkySports 3 (or thy this link here), today at 7:30 pm (UK time) and see the boys playing some great snooker! ;-)