Premier League : The God of Thunder hits China`s dragon

A total victory for "The Thunder from Down Udner"

It was quite an evening in the town of Banbury. Snooker lovers were in for such a huge treat, as Neil Robertson whitewashed China’s Ding Junhui in a 6-0 match. And what a match that was! Such a thrill! Maybe it wasn’t filled with the best shots ever, but the result! I mean the result! :-)) Robertson wrote history, last evening when he won in such a wonderful way. The second part of the evening was covered by Marco Fu and Mark Williams in a more common match, but with great snooker involved.


So, as I said it before, yesterday’s big opening match was going to be the clash from “The Thunder from Down Under" and "The Chinese Sensation". But this time the sensation was own by Neil. Totally own!

It all started with Ding missing to pot a red ball, and the ball remaining very close to the pocket. Enough for Neil to hit a beautiful 120 break and win the first frame. The second round was to start with the same mistake, as Ding failed in potting an easy red in the same superior left pocket. Robbo came to the table but was only able to hit a small break of 21, as he lost the position after breaking the reds carambole. After some safety shots battles and a heavy foul committed by Neil (he potted the cue ball), the sun seemed to start shining for the little Chinese, as he was potting ball after ball. Still, he ended the break at 29, which meant another opportunity for Robertson to come to the table. So he hit another 21 break for a 2-0 score.

Ding Junhui - condamned to sit and watch

Ding was starting to get nervous and it’s pretty odd to see the guy like that for he is such an “ice figure”. So he opened the third frame with a very decisive 43, break, but Neil fought back with a 46 and a 26 to take the lead at 3-0. This was getting serious and a draw seemed like the next best thing for the Chinese. But it was not going to happen, as Robbo won the forth frame firing in breaks of 22, 29 and 42, the fifth with a 87 and the sixth with breaks of 51 and 22. Final score 6-0! Ding was covered in shame, but Neil was glowing like a star. I feel really sorry for the little guy, for he is such an amazing player, but last night was just not his night. He made some really dreadful mistakes and those mistakes meant plenty of opportunities for the current world champion.
For now, Robbo has 3 points and Ding 4. It’s not bad, but Ding has only one match left so he will need a victory to secure himself a place in the final stages of this tournament.

Mark Williams earned 5 precious points

The second match of the night was the one between "The Cue Man Fu" and "The Welsh Potting Machine". Not the best match in the history of snooker but not a bad one either. Still, you must consider the fact that after a 6-0 feast, any match will seem boring. :-))
The opening frame was won by Fu, although he brutally potted the cue ball at the beginning of the frame. He hit a 35 break, followed by a 40 one by Williams; still not enough for the Welsh to win the first frame. Not to worry, for he was to take "revenge" in the next frame. But that was no easy job, for the two players were practically unable to make even a tiny break. A lot of safety shots involved, a lot of crappy shots too :-P and the match ended up with only three reds on the table and the score something like this: 26-28 for Fu. What came next was pure madness, as both players were struggling to take the lead and dominate the frame. It all ended with a 54-45 scoreline in favor of Williams. A very tight frame!


Although the mighty Welshman started the third frame with some really bad shots, Fu did the same, so Mark could make a "recovery" by hitting a 104 break for a 2-1 scoreline. However, Fu was not worried. The little cue man from Hong Kong knows his business, so he hit a 51 break in the next frame for a 2-2 result.

Just a draw for Marco Fu

This "one frame apart" pattern continued until the end, for the next frame was won by Marco with a 78 break and the last one by Mark, with a 122 break. Ending covered in glory, that’s our Mark! :-)
At 3-3, each player gets one point, this meaning that at this moment Marco Fu has 3 points and Mark Williams 5.


But things are going to become even more interesting, for the Premier League is slowly approaching its final stages and the pressure is on. Next week, the town of Penrith will host the seventh round of prime snooker and there are some class matches to look forward to: Marco Fu v. Ding Junhui and Ronnie O`Sullivan v. Mark Williams. ;-)


But there is still time, and until next Thursday we have more snooker on the run. EPTC 3 started yesterday, so let’s see who’s going to lift the trophy this time. :-)