PTC Grand Finals 2011 - the final

04:06:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Shaun Murphy, the first champion of the PTC Grand Finals
Shaun Murphy whitewashed Martin Gould 4-0 in the first edition of the PartyCasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals, staged in Helix Theatre from Dublin, Ireland. After winning a very close encounter with the powerful "Bulldog" of snooker Stephen Lee (in the quarter-finals) and crashing "The Welsh Dragon" Matthew Stevens (in the semi-final), Shaun "The Magician" Murphy proved that all these victories were no coincidence.


Although EuroSport was busy in showing us an important final for some tennis tournament, the boys of snooker started their battle unaware that the continent was crying to see them. Thank God that the live scoreboard was working properly and we were able to know what the boys were doing.

Martin Gould was the first to pot some balls but he only scored 18 points until the Smurf came to the table for a series of 23 and 43. Murphy was taking the opening frame of the final and that wasn’t going to be the only one.
Shaun hit a nice and steady 40 break, but Martin response came in the form of a 45 (brutally interrupted as Gould misses a tricky ball), this letting the 2005 world champion in to cash a tiny, but important 20 break and leave his opponent in need of a snooker. Unfortunately for Gould, he didn’t obtain it, so the score was now 2-0 for Murphy.


The runner-up Martin Gould giving an interviw to Ken Doherty
A very interesting third frame was coming our way, Martin starting with a 23 break, then Shaun continuing with a 53. "The Magician’s" break was stopped due to the fact that he missed the pink, this meaning a huge chance for Gould to get back in the game. But that stubborn pink ball wasn’t going to be Goldie’s friend either as he missed it as soon as he reached 20 of break. Shaun returned to the table to pot it, for he only needed "her" to make the score 3-0.

It was only normal to have a very tense and dramatic forth frame (also the last one), as both players were under pressure: Martin knew this was his last chance to win at least one frame, while Shaun knew this was the ultimate test that will bring him the victory. So it wasn’t a frame filled with amazing breaks, but it was one that saw both players’ nerves reaching high levels. However, in the end, Shaun Murphy was the one who clinched the frame and the whole match by doing so.


Shauny is happy with his victory
Although it was a very short final, it was a beautiful one and I think there isn’t a bigger reward for a player that took part in all 12 PTC/EPTC events, than to win the Grand Final. Murphy hasn’t been himself lately, but he is back in business for sure, after this.
On the other hand, for Martin Gould to reach the final of a televised event it was a huge deal. He played wonderfully during this event and if he keeps up the good work he will be a dangerous opponent during the China Open tournament and, of course, the World Championship.


My sincere congratulations go to both players as they delighted the Irish audience hungry for snooker and also millions of snooker fans` hearts all over the world. Well played, boys! ;-)

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