Haikou World Open 2012 (Day 3) - Pistol Allen starts shooting, while Robbo takes revenge

18:31:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Pistol Allen on the run
With the same crack-crack floor the World Open tournament saw its Day 3 matches taking place in a venue where humidity it's at its best and on the same slower-than-normal tables.

Still, that didn't seem to stop Mark Allen from hammering his pink comrade Jimmy Robertson 5-1, nor Mark Selby to eliminate the second wildcard player who was still in the race, Lu Ning 5-3, or Neil Robertson to take revenge with a 5-3 scoreline in front of the Scotsman who beat him so cruelly during the recently ended Welsh Open, Stephen Hendry.

The proud of Northern Ireland and runner-up of last year UK Championship, Mark Allen (though never fondly of the Chinese venue or the playing conditions as he honestly said it on his private Twitter account) did his best and obtained a well deserved victory of 5-1 in front of another member of the Pink Army, Jimmy Robertson.

Allen used a top break of 61 to cash the first three frames of the match, right before the interval Robertson managing to win his first with a brilliant 49 clearance. Unfortunately for last year’s Crucible debutant that was going to remain his first and last frame cashed, after the mini-break Allen shooting a 37 and a 36 to win the next couple of frames and land safely in the Last 16 round where he's meeting with the man who beat him in the UK Championship final, Judd Trump.

A bit of a struggle for Selby to win over China's Ning
Mark Selby, though far from his best, saw himself being lead 2-0 by the Chinese player Lu Ning, before he started to wake up and smell the cruel reality. 

However, just as the mid-session interval was about to kick off he managed to draw level with s set of 108 and 36 and though Ning put his nose back in front after the break with a 41, world number one didn't give up.

Runs of 24, 29, 47, 45 and 50 were enough to draw level for 3-3, but also to get Selby the leading position and a real burst for the near victory. Final scoreline 5-3.

At table number one, Mark King was ruling over the green baize, his opponent, Mark Williams finding it hard to put his nickname of "Welsh Potting Machine" to work.

King ruled over the green baize
The first session saw King winning no less than three consecutive frames, while Williams just managed to steal one on the black with a 30 clearance. One would think that winning that last frame would have given him a bit more fluency for playing after the 15-minute break, but sadly it just wasn’t to be his day.

King would win the 5h frame on the black (déjà vu?), while the next frame was secured with a 71 break. Williams was hammered, 5-1.

At the opposite corner, Joe Perry and Matthew Stevens seemed to be having the time of their life consuming all the possible frames for their snooker encounter.

It was a very balanced match with the Welshman being always the one in the leading position up until the scoreline froze at 4-4. That was the crucial moment when Perry knew he needed to get in quickly and make the most of any chance he got. And after runs of 51 and 42 it was crystal clear the "Gentleman" was prevailed in front of the Welsh Dragon by 5-4.

Williams not in a very potting mood lately
If two weeks ago Neil Robertson was almost crushed by a very determined Stephen Hendry during the Welsh Open tournament, now it was the time to take revenge.

Though the Aussie wasn't at his best and the match could have easily gone either way, Robbo was the one to take better advantage of the opportunities life and sometimes Hendry gave to him.

When the scoreboard was announcing a 4-1 scoreline in favour of Robertson very few people imagined Hendry will try and make a comeback. But he did. And he almost succeeded.

Breaks of 66 and 69 got the Scotsman two frames on a row before Robertson would close the deal at 5-3 after winning a scrappy last frame.

After the match the lads kept talking a bit about the way the table was moving, the floor not being build on concrete (thus making that horrible sound when the players move across the table) and this interfering with the cue action quality of both of them.

Robbo and hendry taking about the table
Another very balanced match was going on between Martin Gould and Jamie Cope, the boys going all the way until the decider, although in this case, Gould could have wrapped things up when he was leading 4-2.

But Cope didn’t give up and knew when to make the comeback that would force the decider, decider that he took with a top break of just 35 points.

Robert Milkins joined the rest of the gang in the Last 16 round after he beat Stephen Maguire 5-3, a victory that for some was an amazing thing, although Maguire has kind of lost his form after being defeated in the German Masters final by O'Sullivan.

The Scot was in command of the match leading Milking 3-1, but the Pink Army member pulled back a couple of frames to draw level and even put his nose in front at 4-3 with a 62. From this point on it was just a matter a time to win the battle of cues, a break of 58 sealing the victory for the Englishman.

Here are Day 3 list or results:

24 Mark Selby 5-3 Lu Ning
17 Mark Williams 1-5 Mark King
19 Mark Allen 5-1 Jimmy Robertson
22 Matthew Stevens 4-5 Joe Perry

12 Stephen Maguire 3-5 Robert Milkins
16 Neil Robertson 5-3 Stephen Hendry
10 Martin Gould 4-5 Jamie Cope

Tomorrow the action continues with:

6.30am
29 Mark King v. Tom Ford
32 Michael Holt v. Mark Selby
30 Mark Allen v. Judd Trump
31 Shaun Murphy v. Joe Perry

11.30am
26 Jin Long v. Robert Milkins
25 John Higgins v. Jamie Cope
27 Graeme Dott v. Marcus Campbell
28 Stephen Lee v. Neil Robertson
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:30 - 09:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
11:30 - 14: 30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:05 British EuroSport

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Haikou World Open 2012 (Day 2) - Jin longs and obtains victory over Ding

17:13:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Jin Long makes another victim
The second day of this year's edition of World Open tournament saw the actual battles of cues starting. 

No more wildcards, just good old fashioned professional snooker. Still, that didn't stop amateur Jin Long from hammering the winner of the recently ended Welsh Open tournament, Ding Junhui by 5-1.

Judd Trump, Michael Holt and Stephen Lee ended their first day of cue action with a perfect 5-0 scoreline, Graeme Dott showed himself to be merciless in front of Barry Hawkins who suffered a 5-2 defeat, while John Higgins and Shaun Murphy ended their opponents' run, Marco Fu and Ricky Walden respectively with a 5-3 scoreline.

Do you remember the game "Chinese Checkers"? Is a board game that's played ironically, also with balls, but with smaller ones than the snooker balls, the objective being to get from one side of the board to the opposite one, before your rival gets to your "home" (the place you started from) first.

A very defeated, Dign Junhui
The entire game is based on how well a player can place the little round pieces on the table, hopping with one ball at the time over the other ones. Anyway, if you have played the game you know what I'm talking about, and if not, then get one, because it's very fun.

The thing here is that's exactly what happened with Jin Long and Ding Junhui. While Jin found no difficulty whatsoever to get around the table and direct the balls into one of the six available pockets, Ding was stuck. Literally, he was stuck.

With far less time table than his opponent, Ding only managed to win a frame as the interval was kicking off, while Jin already had three in his bag, obtained with breaks of 66, 63 and 39.

After the mid-session interval, the wildcard player that send home Sam Baird the other day, cleared the table with a great 76 break to get closer to the finish line, while runs of 46 and 34 were sealing a 5-1 victory.
Almost stuffed in his seat, Ding seemed to have given up on the fight a couple of frames before the inevitable happened and he lost.

Trump takes a great start
Three matches ended on a 5-0 scoreline, Judd Trump being the one who "started the new trend" after he crashed poor Andrew Higginson. Although for many, Trump's victory is not a shock, if you are to think about the fact that the match as a whole was not a fluent one and it only contained a 111 break, then you start getting the facts.

The player from Bristol broke the ice by taking a pretty scrappy opener, but Higginson seemed to level after a 74 break. Trump was in need of two snookers, but the UK Champion got them both, plus a free ball and cleared for a final 75-74 scoreline. That was the moment that would change the entire match. 

It was impossible not to see Higginson huge disappointment, while Trump found the strength to build himself breaks after breaks and get the next three frames on broad for a place in the Last 16.

Higgins wins his first match
A few minutes later Michael Holt was heading towards the same direction as Trump after he crashed Stuart Bingham 5-0 using breaks of 58, 54, 45, 33 and 61, closely followed by Big Bear Stephen Lee who saw off Dominic Dale after hitting in runs of 54, 38, 47, 32 and 49.

Though far from his best, the current world champion, John Higgins prevailed the battle against Marco Fu by 5-3, after he initially lead the Hong-Kong-born-player 3-0. 
Fu fought back right before the interval started with a top break of 49 to pull back a frame, but Higgins retuned after the 15-minute break a bit revived and used a 71 to remake the three-frames gap at 4-1, this time.

Murphy know when to play the winner card
A series of 28, 40 and a clearance of 63 points were putting a bit of a pressure over Higgins, as his opponent was now just one point behind him at 3-4, but the Scotsman ended the deal the very next frame with a 77.

A very determined Graeme Dott kneeled down Barry Hawkins 5-2, although the match didn't produce fireworks, while Shaun Murphy and Ricky Walden engaged in what seemed to be a pretty tense battle of cues.

Walden, forced to go home.
The lads were separated only by a frame, Walden being the one who would always put his nose in front. That until the scoreline became 3-3. From that point on, Murphy broke the pattern with a bit of help from runs of 17, 13 and 20 and continued to impose his dominance with a great 115 clearance that was giving him a free ticket to the Last 16 round.


Below you can check Day 2 list of results:

9 John Higgins 5-3 Marco Fu
21 Shaun Murphy 5-3 Ricky Walden
13 Graeme Dott 5-2 Barry Hawkins

11 Ding Junhui 1-5 Jin Long
20 Judd Trump 5-0 Andrew Higginson
23 Stuart Bingham 0-5 Michael Holt
15 Stephen Lee 5-0 Dominic Dale

Tomorrow the action restarts with:

6.30am
24 Mark Selby v. Lu Ning
17 Mark Williams v. Mark King
19 Mark Allen v. Jimmy Robertson
22 Matthew Stevens v. Joe Perry

11.30am
12 Stephen Maguire v. Robert Milkins
16 Neil Robertson v. Stephen Hendry
10 Martin Gould v. Jamie Cope
*all hours are UK time

TV coevareg:
07:30 - 09:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
14:45 - 16:00 British EuroSport
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2


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The Snooker Balkaniada: Serbia on snooker's map

12:33:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


For the past couple of years we've been seeing how snooker is becoming more and more popular and loved on the European continent. 

Thanks to the Players Tour Championship series we have been travelling from the hungry-for-snooker Germany to a very cosy and traditional Poland, from the dreamy Czech Republic to magical Belgium, but not forgetting to pay a visit to a dear friend that lives right next door - Ireland.

However, snooker is blooming not just in these countries, but also in one that many of us maybe overlooked to search for on the map: Serbia. In the beautiful capital Belgrade, in 2011, the Serbian Snooker Association was born at the initiative of Marko Vukovic (who's also the president and a certified IBSF coach) and his " snooker enthusiastic friends", as he likes to call them.

The start was a modest one, with a mini-private event and only nine participants, but this year the organization team has already put together a brand new snooker calendar that contains a series of no less than nine tournaments.

Thinking also about the amateur players, this spring the inaugural edition of "Belgrade Snooker Open" is taking plave from 13-15 of April, the event being opened not just for Serbian players, but also for any other of the green baize gladiators who will want to cross their cue in a "snooker inter-cultural exchange".


Starting from scratch

Marko Vukovic in action
When you hear the President Marko Vukovic talking about snooker and his passion for the game, it almost seems hard to believe that their National Association only has a year of activity. And still, they've achieved so much.

"The Serbian Snooker Association (SSA) was founded in November 2011, by me and a couple of my friends also snooker enthusiasts. We are a Billiards Federation of Serbia's (BSF) branch but we cover strictly snooker, as this is the only way we can get any success in making snooker more popular across our country. We have a contract with the BSF stating that we have our own money, sponsors etc. Basically full independence." says a very proud Marko who was also the initiator of the first mini-snooker-event in the country.

With their first snooker club being opened in November 2011, things couldn't go any better, so "without any support for the BSF", Marko and his team put together a private league of snooker that only had nine participants, but lasted for about four months. The ice was being broken.

This year things are getting serious though and the snooker calendar is going to see no less than nine ranking tournaments, at the end of them, Serbia making known to the entire planet its first national champion.
The Snooker League trophies

"Called "Serbian Masters" the series consists in eight qualifying events and one big tournament at the end of the year for the top 16 players. We have a nice prize money fund for this series of events.

"Our first tournament is going to be held from 25- 26 of February, and we already have over 30 players registered for it, which is far more that what we expected for the first official tournament in the history of Serbian snooker.", says Marko.

But the SSA takes interest in making the sport more inviting also by having a couple of open days each month, people from all around the capital or the near cities being able to attend coaching classes and ask questions about the sport.

Marko admits that “it is very nice to see that I have around 20 players on each of these open-day-events. Snooker is also getting quite popular with kids, and I’ve already seen several talented ones, so I am hoping that they are going to practice hard and become pros one day.”


The Belgrade Snooker Open

We all know that in order to become a professional snooker player one needs commitment, dedication, a lot of practice and most importantly a chance “to put on the table” what you’ve learnt.

This new event that the SSA is preparing this spring it certainly represents a huge chance for those who are talented and want to know what a real competition is all about.

Opened only for amateur players, the “Belgrade Snooker Open” is being held between 13 and 15 of April in hope of bringing together ambitious, talented and eager-to compete-snooker-performers from all corners of the planet, at the same time the Serbian audience being able to witness a live demonstration of inter-cultural snooker.

The idea of organising such an event occurred to Marko a couple of years ago, but now felt like the perfect moment to turn it into a reality, with the Association having already experienced a previous tournament and with a team of “positive and willing to work” people, as Marko Vukovic says.

“There are still many things to be organized but as I said we have a very capable group of people, we’ve received full support from everyone involved and with our positive attitude and great atmosphere, it’s not hard.

Where the Belgrade Snooker Open will take place
“It is actually enjoyable knowing that we are doing something that will be very important for Serbian snooker and a huge milestone to achieve after only a couple of months work. We are still seeking for sponsors and we are expecting to find someone in couple of week’s time, hopefully.

“Though we are aware that it is going to be a very demanding week with a lot of challenges, we are sure that we shall pass all the tests with flying colours.”, added the SSA president.

As for the tournament’s structure, fee payment and other important details Marko says:

“The tournament is limited to 128 players. They are going to be divided in groups of four players, the matches being played under the “best of 3” rule. At the end the first two players of each are going through the knockout stage.

“Closing date for participants is April 1st at the moment, but we have decided to allow players to pay the entry fee (€ 4o) once they get in Belgrade, if they are not comfortable with sending the money by bank transfer.

“We are also going to present the players with accommodation choices at lower rates, and take care of the transportation from the airport to where they are staying and from there to where the club is situated, if necessary. We really want our guest to feel comfortable in our country.“


Aiming for the TOP

Marko playing at the EPTC 6 Event in 2010
To paraphrase Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” - “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a snooker player in possession of talent and ambition must be in want of playing on the Main Tour.” Nothing new under the sun there, but how to get a place for the dreamy Main Tour, now that’s a serious task for a player.

Marko Vukovic is no stranger for trying his luck with the Players Tour Championship series. Last season he even took part in one of the European events (EPTC 6) and faced the Englishman Mike Dunn.

However, snooker is a pricy sport that requires besides passion and hard work a lot of money. Still, Marko sees snooker heading towards the right direction and he’s very hopeful to see Serbian players taking part in the future PTC events.

With the provisional ranking including names like: Vladan Niskic, Sasa Stojanovic, Dragan Glisovic, Aleksandar Kuzmancevic and Marko Stoilkovic (not to mention the president himself), the future of Serbian’s snooker is looking pretty good.

“I am really delighted with the way snooker is evolving; I think that in couple of years time snooker will get very popular around the world, as it is fascinating game. I would love to see tournaments played each week, and also it would be great if the Main Tour could become opened for anyone in the coming years.

“I played in one of last years PTC’s events and I must say it was an amazing experience. I will be going again to PTC in the coming years, and I can say for sure that the number of Serbian players entering those tournaments will rise.

As for the future, Serbians are in for quite a snooker treat the SSA having some very interesting projects to put into action, according to their restless president:

“The Associations is doing its best for players to play in as many snooker events as possible, like the PTCs, IBSF and EBSA ones.

“There is a hope that we will get sponsors, which would help us to send our players around the world, and also to put the basis of a Serbian Snooker academy. We have huge plans (including snooker summer camp in August for players from around the world), and I will do my best to make them happen.”

For more information about the Belgrade Snooker Open and how you can get your place booked visit the official SSA web-site.

 Note: All photos are courtesy of SSA President Marko Vukovic.

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Haikou World Open 2012 (Day 1) - The wildcard round

00:50:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Busy, busy day here in the idyllic Hainan province at Haikou where the World Open tournament is taking place. 

The very much disputed wildcard round ended with the Asian players knocking down two of the snooker performers that travelled half across the globe after qualifying for the event, Sam Baird and Nigel Bond not being able to prevail the force of their opponents.

The 23-year-old lad from Uffculme, known to the large public by the name of Sam Baird, saw his Chinese dream being crushed right from the beginning, his opponent Jin Long taking care of that with a final 5-3 scoreline that implied breaks of 50 and 60.
So after winning no less than four matches to get a ticket to Haikou World Open, Baird is forced to pack his bags and head back home.

The same can be said about a more experienced player, Nigel Bond not managing to using his "007" contacts in China and getting beaten in a decider 5-4 by Lu Ning after a very hard-fought match.

On a more happier note though, Joe Perry succeed in performing the first whitewash of this tournament, Rouzi Maimaiti being his victim, after the Pink Army member made the most of each chance he got and each mistake his baize rival committed.

Perry performes the first whitewash of the tournament
Michael Holt seemed to have the match under control when he easily flew at 3-0 (breaks of 101 and 135 hit in the process) by playing Zhu Yinghui, when all of the sudden the Chinese player started his comeback. 

Holty put his nose in front once more at 4-3, but Zhu levelled with a 69 break.
However, the PTC 10 champion would use a brilliant 101 break during the next frame to close the deal at 5-4.

Using all the nine-frames-munitions, Tom Ford and Lu Haotian engaged in a  genuine battle of cues with the PTC 11 winner being initially lead 3-0. Still, he managed to fight against the Chinese player who has had his birth certificate for only 14 years and pulled back a frame just as the interval kicked off.

Maimaiti suffers an early exit
After the break he was careful enough to draw level and not give his hopes up when Lu took control of the match again, this time at 4-3. Ford turned the scoreline into a draw with an 80 break and forced a decider that he would win fair and square.

Other important victories were obtained by Robert Milkins who had to face the Thai Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon whom he beat by 5-3, but also by Mark King who applied a 5-2 treatment on Iran's Hossein Vafaei and Jimmy Robertson who saw off  Zhou Yuelong by the same scoreline.

Below you can check Day 1 list or results:

1 Sam Baird 3-5 Jin Long
2 Robert Milkins 5-3 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
3 Mark King 5-2 Hossein Vafaei
4 Tom Ford 5-4 Lu Haotian

5 Jimmy Robertson 5-2 Zhou Yuelong
6 Joe Perry 5-0 Ruozi Maimaiti
7 Michael Holt 5-4 Zhu Yinghui
8 Nigel Bond 4-5 Lu Ning

The second day of the Haikou World Open means that the snooker stars are invading the arena, so you better clear your schedule because:

6.30am
9 John Higgins v. Marco Fu
21 Shaun Murphy v. Ricky Walden
13 Graeme Dott v. Barry Hawkins

11.30am
11 Ding Junhui v. Jin Long
20 Judd Trump v. Andrew Higginson
23 Stuart Bingham v. Michael Holt
15 Stephen Lee v. Dominic Dale
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
07:00 - 09:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
19:00 - 21:05 British EuroSport
21:30 - 23:30 British EuroSport 2


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Haikou World Open 2012: the Chinese paradise, the wildcards and snooker

18:12:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Just a few days ago we were witnessing the end of the China Open qualifying rounds and now, from tomorrow on we shall be in China for the next seven days for the Haikou World Open, the 2012 edition.

It's kind of strange competition because in theory the World Open is not a new tournament, but this is the first time it is being staged outside the UK. Everything started back in 1982 under the name of "Professional Players Tournament" but it only lasted until the very next year, from 1984 until 2000 running under the name of "Grand Prix".

From 2001 it changed its name into "LG Cup" (for obvious sponsorship reasons) but it returned to its previous one from 2004 and continued to called like that until 2009. However, from 2010 it has been simply known as "World Open".

Defending champ N.Robertson, M.King and J.Trump
Last year the tournament didn't feature on the snooker calendar causing a unexpected gap after 28 years of activity, but this year the event is being revived and sent to get a nice tan on China's luxurious Hainan province, at Haikou.

This is actually the third ranking event held in China after China Open and the Shanghai Masters this really strengthening China's role in making snooker popular outside the UK's borders. However, there's always that tiny little problem when an event takes place outside the UK: the wildcard round.

It has been a problem for many years and it certainly holds back players from giving their best in order to qualify for a snooker event. We all know it's nothing worse for a professional player than to get stuck in a cubicle for four days and play, and play, and play so he’ll grab one of the 16 places at the end of the race.

Higgins at the open ceremony
So after all that work to come and see you have to play against a wildcard who although is talented didn't go through any qualifying-nightmare, seems a bit unfair.

Far from trying to discredit the wild card players, for I know they work hard and they really want a chance to be noticed and get their game out there in front of their home-country crowd, but when one thinks about Sam Baird, for example, who had to win four matches in order to get a ticket for the Haikou World Open, or Jimmy Robertson who had to beat names like Andrew Norman, Ken Doherty and Rory McLeod to qualify, or Nigel Bond who also had to play two matches and many other players that are practically travelling around the planet to get to this event and have to face a wildcard in a bloody cubicle, that just feels wrong.

Still, all things aside, rules are rules and we must get along with them. So as Dave Hendon put it so beautifully in a recent article of his we are to witness "a seven day tournament which lasts six days."

The lads, S.Murphy and J.Trump
But let's not get too carried away here and try and enjoy the tournament for what it is: an exceptional exhibition of the green baize gladiators' skills. 

We won’t be seeing any "Rocket" taking off (since Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the event due to medical reasons), or "The Captain" safely landing on Chinese ground (Ali Carter pulling out from the event also), but we are still guaranteed one hell of a snooker show.

So, let's see how the first day of cue action looks like, shall we?

6.30am
1 Sam Baird v. Jin Long
2 Robert Milkins v. Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
3 Mark King v. Hossein Vafaei
4 Tom Ford v. Lu Haotian

11.30am
5 Jimmy Robertson v. Zhou Yuelong
6 Joe Perry v. Ruozi Maimaiti
7 Michael Holt v. Zhu Yinghui
8 Nigel Bond v. Lu Ning
*all hours are UK time
 
The matches are played on a "best of 9" frames rule and as you can easily observe we need to get up really early in the morning if we want to witness some action on the green baize LIVE from China's Haikou.

TV coverage:
07:30 - 09:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport (LIVE)
19:00 - 20:30 British EuroSport
21:30 - 23:00 British EuroSport 2

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China Open 2012 (the qualifiers) - Beijing, here we come!

01:55:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The Whirlwind is flying to China
We spent four glorious days in Sheffield with the China Open qualifiers, but now it's time to draw the conclusions and these are that ... we have 16 players that will need to check their VISA, passport and pack their bags, because at the end of March they are going to Beijing.

And if last tournament we saw the "legends gang" being proudly represented by Steve Davis, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry, now it's time for a name that hasn't been circulating too much lately. I'm taking about Jimmy White. 

"The Whirlwind" managed to beat Liam Highfield 5-3, but also Andrew Higginson (by the same scoreline) in order to book himself a place in the 2012 China Open. What a long waited victory for the people's champion, but I can't help on thinking about last year dreadful event when the "Whirlwind" had to withdrew because his VISA expired. "Champ, be sure to have all your documents in order, for your fans want to see you in China in the spring!"

Right by his side, another member of the "legends gang", Stephen Hendry is also going to fly to China after sending in a prior trip, to his home country, the player Yu Delu by 5-1. That's determination from the Scots' part.

The Pink Army takes over Beijing
Sadly, we won’t see Steve Davis nor Ken Doherty, "The Nugget" being hammered 5-1 by Rory McLeod, while "The Darling of Dublin" faced Marcus Campbell's fury of 5-2.

I know the Chinese people like the colour red, but how about for some pink instead? We've started with Jimmy White, but now it's time for Dominic Dale, Joe Perry, Barry Hawkins and Jamie Jones.  These are the names of the four brave pink soldiers who are willing to entertain the Chinese crowd in March, for all of them have earned their right to play for the China Open.

Dominic Dale secured his trip to Beijing after a 5-2 scoreline obtained in front of Jack Lisowski, Joe Perry almost erased "The Sherriff of Pottingham" Anthony Hamilton, Barry Hawkins kneeled down Liu Chuang 5-0, while Jamie Jones cashed a tremendous victory of 5-1 in front of Marco Fu.

Tom Ford looks forward for the Asian battle
We also have some PTC champions on our Chinese list, the winner of the 11th edition, Tom Ford having to put quite a fight against David Grace to obtain his ticket to China, the match ending on a 5-4 result, but also the PTC 3 champion, Ben Woollaston who had the same faith as his predecessor, his baize rival being a very powerful and determined-to-win player, Ryan Day. Still, Ben prevailed the battle of cues by 5-4.

Although Sam Craigie took a beautiful start, beating Adam Whicheard 5-3, hammering Liu Song 5-1 and seeing off Gerard Greene 5-3, the youngster met his match in the person of Ricky Walden who put an end to his China dream with a 5-3 final result. Better luck for the Worlds little champ and well done Ricky!

You don't mess with the Ebdonator
Mark King is also going to be in China this year after winning 5-1 over Adrian Gunnell, as well as Michael Holt who stopped Mark Davis from qualifying after a tense battle that ended on a 5-4 scoreline and Peter Ebdon who denied local star Liang Wenbo the right to perform in front on his home audience with a perfect 5-0.

The second Jamie (after Jones, of course), Jamie Cope is returning to China after visiting this country during the 2011 Shanghai Masters. 

The Englishman and former Top 16 member beat Alan McManus 5-4 to book himself a ticket to Beijing, while the last to grab a spot to probably one of the most important snooker competitions in China, Fergal O'Brien squeezed pass Li Yan with a 5-4 result in order to write his name on the qualifiers list.

Final results: 

10am
43) Andrew Higginson 3-5 Jimmy White
45) Tom Ford 5-4 David Grace
46) Mark King 5-1 Adrian Gunnell
47) Barry Hawkins 5-0 Liu Chuang
53) Dominic Dale 5-2 Jack Lisowski
58) Rory McLeod 5-1 Steve Davis


2.30pm
44) Joe Perry 5-1 Anthony Hamilton
48) Ricky Walden 5-3 Sam Craigie
49) Marcus Campbell 5-2 Ken Doherty
51) Mark Davis 4-5 Michael Holt
52) Ryan Day 4-5 Ben Woollaston
56) Stephen Hendry 5-1 Yu Delu


7pm
50) Fergal O'Brien 5-4 Li Yan
54) Marco Fu 1-5 Jamie Jones
55) Jamie Cope 5-4 Alan McManus
57) Peter Ebdon 5-0 Liang Wenbo


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China Open 2012 (the qualifiers) - Wrapping up the first two days of cue action

01:22:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Brecel is in great form
Great cue action in Sheffield this week with the China Open qualifiers being underway as you read his lines. 

The first two days have been monopolised by a very, very revived Luca Brecel, the Belgium player managing to win no less than two matches against Andrew Pagett and Andy Hicks, the same happening for brave Sam Craigie who cashed victories in front of Adam Wiacheard and China's Liu Song.

As usual, Michael White made a nice and steady debut for the qualifying rounds crashing his first opponent David Gilbert by 5-0, while Yu Delu has proved to be a dangerous player for Poland's Kacper Filipiak and Mark Joyce.

Jus two days passed since the qualifying rounds for the China Open have started, but we have some pretty good snooker stories already with the green baize gladiators.

First stop is Belgium's Luca Brecel, the lad having a terrific start against a more experienced Andrew Pagett and Andy Hicks. The 16-year old player ended up on a tight 5-4 result against his first rival closing the deal with a brilliant 115 break to secure himself a place in the next round were Hicks became his second victim after a 5-3 scoreline.

Sam Craigie strikes again
Sam Craigie was also in the mood for winning, the 18-year old player from England beating Adam Wichead by 5-3 and hammering Liu Song 5-1 with a top break of 105. Ironically he is to meet another Pink Army member in his next match, Gerard Greene. Will the Englishman prevail another "pink attack"?

Yu Delu, the player that made quite a sensation from sending home Ding Junhui during the recently ended German Masters' first round cashed two important victories in front of Kacper Filipiak, whom he whitewashed 5-0 and Mark Joyce, whom he beat 5-2, while his fellow-country Cao Yupeng put an incredible show on the green baize beating Kurt Maflin 5-4 and the legendary Tony Drago 5-3, after practically firing in tons of 123, 118 and 107.

Still, not all the Chinese players succeeded to win both of their battle of cues, Tiang Pengfei being one of them. Although he was responsible for crashing the one who was about to beat world number one Mark Selby a few days back during Welsh Open's first round match, Sam Braid by 5-0, Tian failed to overcome Ben Woollaston's cue force that kneeled him down with a 5-3 scoreline.

No one messes with Cao Yupeng
Great news for Q School Event One graduate, David Grace who took a solid start, winning 5-1 David Wells and 5-3 over Barry Pinches, but also for veteran Dave Harold who still rocks at handling his snooker disputes, a very good example being his 5-3 victory against Alfie Burden.

So, after two days of cues' battles let's see some scorelines, shall we?

Tuesday February 21

12pm
1) Andrew Pagett 4-5 Luca Brecel
2) David Grace 5-1 Daniel Wells
3) Andrew Norman 5-3 Stuart Carrington
4) Sam Craigie 5-3 Adam Wicheard
5) David Morris 5-4 Paul Davison

6pm
6) Tian Pengfei 5-0 Sam Baird
7) Kurt Maflin 4-5 Cao Yupeng
8) Passakorn Suwannawat 4-5 Aditya Mehta
9) Yu DeLu 5-0 Kacper Filipiak
10) Adam Duffy 5-0 Lucky Vatnani

Wednesday February 22

10am
11) James Wattana 2-5 Liam Highfield
12) Andy Hicks 3-5 Luca Brecel
13) Barry Pinches 3-5 David Grace
14) Adrian Gunnell 5-0 Joe Swail
15) Liu Chuang 5-2 Andrew Norman
16) Liu Song 1-5 Sam Craigie

2.30pm
17) Michael White 5-0 David Gilbert
18) Li Yan 5-4 Ian McCulloch
19) Peter Lines 5-1 David Morris
20) Ben Woollaston 5-3 Tian Pengfei
21) Dave Harold 5-3 Alfie Burden

7pm
22) Tony Drago 3-5 Cao Yupeng
23) Anthony McGill 3-5 Aditya Mehta
24) Mark Joyce 2-5 Yu Delu
25) Xiao Guodong 5-1 Adam Duffy
26) Jimmy Robertson 4-5 Rod Lawler

The action continues tomorrow with:

10am
27) Jimmy White v. Liam Highfield
28) Anthony Hamilton v. Luca Brecel
29) Matthew Selt v. David Grace
30) Joe Jogia v. Adrian Gunnell
31) Robert Milkins v. Liu Chuang
32) Gerard Greene v. Sam Craigie
 
2.30pm
33) Ken Doherty v. Michael White
34) Mike Dunn v. Li Yan
35) Michael Holt v. Peter Lines
36) Nigel Bond v. Ben Woollaston
37) Jack Lisowski v. Dave Harold


7pm
38) Jamie Jones v. Cao Yupeng
39) Alan McManus v. Adithya Mehta
40) Jamie Burnett v. Yu Delu
41) Liang Wenbo v. Xiao Guodong
42) Steve Davis v. Rod Lawler
 *all hours are UK time

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China Open 2012 (the qualifiers) - The snooker race never stops

01:12:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

What? Did you happen to think that just because we finished the Welsh Open on Sunday night, snooker is going though some kind of break, or something similar to that? No way, Jose! 

We are back in business in the city that breaths snooker - Sheffield - with the China Open qualifiers.

I think it comes without saying that China Open is one of the greatest snooker ranking events held abroad, last year final still being alive in the hearts of many snooker fans. 

It was Judd Trump's big breakthrough, so this year we are expecting to see another snooker show on the Asian land.
Still, there's a lot of work to be done, so here we go with the first step: the qualifiers.

Tomorrow, Round One is kicking off so let's wish the lads best of luck in their quest for "Chinese fame".

Day one match schedule:

12.00pm
Andrew Pagett v. Luca Brecel
David Grace v. Daniel Wells
Andrew Norman v. Stuart Carrington
Sam Craigie v. Adam Wicheard
David Morris v. Paul Davison

6pm
Tian Pengfei v. Sam Baird
Kurt Maflin v. Cao Yupeng
Passakorn Suwannawat v. Aditya Mehta
Yu Delu v. Kacper Filipiak
Adam Duffy v. Lucky Vatnani
*all hours are UK time

Each match is being played under the "best of 9" frames and each session is seeing two matches being broadcasted LIVE on www.sportlemon.tv

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Welsh Open 2012 (the final) - China's Ding victorious in Wales

00:06:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Ding Junhui, the 2012 Welsh Open champion
Ding Junhui beat Mark Selby by 9-6 to win his first ever Welsh Open title. 

The Chinese player ended the first session leading Selby 5-3 and continued to have an impeccable run during the second one to lift the rocky trophy.

It was 2009 when Ding was winning his second UK Championship title but since then, besides the 2011 Masters title it was all quiet for China's snooker star. All too quiet one must say, so after three years the player nicknamed "The Chinese Sensation" decided to took another ranking title under his belt.

As the second session started, Mark Selby used a great 73 break to reduce the gap at just one point and trail 5-4, but Ding wasn't very fond of it. So 83 points later the Chinese player was reinstalling the two-frame difference.

One more try from the Leicester player was materialised in a 91 break, but just like before Ding replayed with an 124 (his first century of the match actually) for a 7-5 lead.

A great 130 clearance was sending the Asian player just one away from victory, while Selby performed a superb 145 clearance to pull back a frame and hit the highest break of the tournament, overcoming Matthew Stevens' 141.

Mark Selby, the 2012 Welsh Open runner-up
Still, a big break doesn't win you a competition, not in this case at least, Ding taking his chances during the next frame to close the deal. It was a pretty long and tactical battle, only normal in this situation, that Ding prevailed with just a top break of 42.

"The Chinese Sensation" rose both of his fists up in the air, while his face was betraying him maybe for the first time in his career as a professional. He was very nervous and in a highly emotional state.

Ironically or not, Ding was actually the one who knocked down the defending champion of last year Welsh Open John Higgins but back then little did we know we will take his place.

A great victory that guarantees Ding a cheque of £30,000, no less than 5,000 ranking points and a lot of confidence in his playing for the next tournaments to come.


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Welsh Open 2012 (the final) - Ding leading Selby after first session

19:07:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Ding in the lead
After no less than eight frames played in Newport, China's Ding Junhui proved to be a bit too strong for Leicester's Mark Selby and took the lead 5-3.

The final battle of cues started with Selby performing a 103 clearance, to which Ding responded with a 64 break. 

During the next frame the 2008 Welsh Open champion made another clearance, this time of 126 points, Ding having to fight a lot in order to draw level 2-2 at the interval.

Although Selby was favourite to take a two frame advantage as the mid-session interval was kicking off, the Englishman missed to pot the last green, thus Ding returning to the table. However, his run was suddenly stopped by a missed pink. 

Selby was given a life-line but didn't make too much of it as he only potted the pink and failed to send the black into one of the six pockets. Ding returned to pot the last remaining ball and set the scoreline at 2-2.

After the mini-break, the little Chinese player decided to put his nose in front for the very first time, a top break of 40 getting him a 3-2 lead, while a strategic 90 was extending his domination by two points.

Selby needs a comeback
Selby fought back with a 66 to pull back one and when his opponent missed a black of its spot during the 8th frame it seemed like the first session will end on a draw. 

Still, 19 points later Selby was missing the blue, Ding closing the frame with a 51 break that was seeing the Englishman in need of three snooker.

Several minutes later, the blue surrender under Ding's precisely cue action, the scoreboard showing a 5-3 result as the first session was coming to an end.

The action returns from 7pm when the battle of cues will continue. First to cash nine frames will be crowned champion.


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Welsh Open 2012 (Day 6) - Selby to meet Ding in final

00:48:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Selby in the final
Mark Selby beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 in order to grab the last place left in this year's Welsh Open tournament final. 

The man from Leicester is meeting Ding Junhui next who beat Shaun Murphy in the previous semi-final by the same 6-2 scoreline.

Mark Selby managed to do the impossible and regain the form he needed in order to win. We saw it during the quarter-finals match he had with Stephen Maguire and we saw it in the semi-final he played against O'Sullivan. Although he started the competition not in a very blooming form, his cue action has improved as well as his way of bottling with pressure.

The snooker fight had a pretty nervy start, which was to be expected considering these two players’ history and what was at stake, but Selby managed to break the ice with an 84, while O'Sullivan responded with an 80 to level the scoreline at 1-1.

As the mid-session interval was kicking off, the lads were all squared up at two apiece, Selby using runs of 34 and 28 to win the third frame and O'Sullivan a set of 26 and 28 to cash the next one. Some pretty scrappy stuff was happening on the green baize from Newport.

Not a good day for the Rocket
After the 15-minute break the Jester put his nose in front once more, this time with a top break of 57 with the only difference that his opponent didn't manage to do the same.

And so after a 45 and a 24 Selby was extending his lead at 4-2, while runs of 21 and 23 were putting him just one frame away from victory.

A few minutes later and after a series of 22 and 21 Mark Selby was closing the deal with an overshadowed O'Sullivan at 6-2. 

So after six days of hard work the time has come to play one more match - the final. Ding Junhui and Mark Selby are starting their first session at 1pm, the second one kicking off at 7pm. First to cash nine frames is going to be declared the new Welsh Open champion.

TV coverage:
13:00 - 16:00 BBC Wales
17:00 - 19:00 British EuroSport 2
19:00 - 22:00 BBC Wales
19:00 - 22:00 British EuroSport

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