International Championship 2012 - Day 3

Ding Junhui breaks the bad luck chain

The third day of cue-crossings held in China's Chengdu saw local star Ding Junhui putting his bad luck when-playing-at-home aside as he recorded a great 6-1 victory against fellow countryman Zhou Yuelong, at the same time Mark Davis sending home one of the favourites to win the title, Mark Williams with a 6-4 scoreline.

It's no longer a secret the fact that when Ding Junhui plays on home ground things get ugly. Maybe is the pressure of knowing so many people are watching you, maybe are the nerves of performing in front of your home crowd. But the result is the same, Ding hasn't been able to record any notable victories in China, in recent times.

Still, there seems to be signs of improvement, as the reigning Welsh Open champion recorded a 6-1 victory by playing fellow country man Zhou Yuelong, two tons of 128 and 103 reassuring his dominance thought the match. He now faces Shaun Murphy in his quest for a place in the quarter-finals.

A brilliant day of Mark Davis, as the OnQ Promotion "pink soldier" managed no only to erase the name of Mark Williams from the Last 16 line-up, but also to secure himself a place next to "la crème de la crème" (aka. TOP 16), right after the cut-off point due to take place at the ending of the International Championship.

Although Williams has cashed marvellous winnings in Asia and he's known for being a playing-abroad lover, today wasn't his day and he suffered an early exit after a 6-4 scoreline.

Mark Davis put his cue to work early in the game and flew easily at 3-0 up, Williams trying his best to catch up with him. He got closer at 4-2 down, but Davis continued to cruise towards victory and even when he missed the green that was going to end the match at 6-3, he didn't let his guard down.

Aditya Mehta - the player to watch out for

A beautiful 138 clearance was the way he wanted to end the snooker encounter, as the scoreboard was pointing him the winner of the Welsh-English clash.

History has a funny way of repeating itself and after Mark Allen's undoubtedly victory of 6-2 obtained by playing Robert Milkins, he's due to face the player he didn't have a lot of good things to say about after losing to him in the first round of the World Championship back in May, the Chinese Cao Yupeng.

In a similar situation is Scotland’s Stephen Maguire who after beating his friend and fellow countryman Jamie Burnett 6-3, is facing an old time rival Peter Ebdon, in a re-make of this year's China Open final. One thing is for sure, Maguire will do all he can to change the final result.

Martin Gould and Marco Fu got together in a thrilling battle of cues that saw both players putting their hearts and soul on the table. The circumstances and the motives were all there, so it was no surprise to see the lads going all the way until the last frame, with Fu in the winner's role.

Also involved in a game that compressed a lot of energy and terrific shots, were Ricky Walden and China's wild card Lu Ning, a match that ended in favour of the first named one, at 6-4.

Judd Trump assured his place in the Last 16 round by defeating Fergal O'Brien 6-3, while India's Aditya Mehta put on another spectacular show and beat Stuart Bingham 6-4 to set up a snooker meeting with no other than ... Judd Trump.

Tomorrow's match schedule looks something like:

6.30am
25 Lu Haotian v Dominic Dale
26 Matthew Stevens v Neil Robertson
28 Marco Fu v Mark Davis
31 Stephen Maguire v Peter Ebdon

11.30am
27 Shaun Murphy v Ding Junhui
29 Judd Trump v Aditya Mehta
30 Mark Allen v Cao Yupeng
32 Ricky Walden v Mark Selby
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
06:30 - 09:30 British EuroSport 2
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport 2
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport 
16:30 - 17:00 British EuroSport 2
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2

International Championship 2012 - Wrapping up the first two days of cue action

Murphy opens with a perfect scoreline

Two days passed since the biggest ranking snooker event in the history of China had started and with the World Seniors Championship taking place at the same time, I haven't been able to write a proper report about what happened on the green baize from Asia.

So, without any further ado, let's see (divided on days), how did the snooker gladiators started their journey in the quest of the "holy Grail from China".

Day One:

"No pain, no gain" is an expression that tends to get along these days, but when the pain you have is located on your ankle and you have to hop around the snooker table, things don't look very easy for you. Still, Michael White (for he is the man in question), tried his best to overcome the pain and got a great 5-2 lead in front of the 14-year-old lad from China, Lu Haotian.

Robbo in action

However, the situation changed dramatically when Haotian launched himself into a dangerous comeback that concluded not only with disputing a decider, but also with winning it at 6-5.

Some of that twist-and-turn was also detected in the match Irishman Ken Doherty had to play against Zhao Xintong. Only this time, Kenny was the one in need of a comeback as the Chinese player was one step away from a place in the next round.

Unfortunately for the 1997 world champion, his efforts didn't pay off and although he managed to draw level at five apiece, Xintong was sure to win the decider.

On a more positive note, Shaun Murphy took a great and very determined start by whitewashing Andrew Higginson 6-0, while Neil Robertson (putting aside his late-minute passport/VISA problems that almost provoked another withdrawal from the tournament after Ronnie's one) dominated the match against Welshman Ryan Day hitting no less that three century breaks (137, 118, 115) for a 6-3 scoreline and a meeting with (ironically) another Welshman, Matthew Stevens.

Fergal O'Brien moved pass wildcard Chen Feilong with a 6-3 scoreline, Jamie Burnett is to met fellow countryman Stephen Maguire after a perfect 6-0 result obtained din front of Niu Zhuang, while both Cao Yupeng and Aditya Mehta earned a spot in the next round after ending their match on the same 6-5 score, by facing Wang Yuchen and Zhu Yinghui respectively.

Day Two:

Higgins suffers an early exit

The second day of cue action brought with it the first major surprise of the tournament so far, when John Higgins lost the cue battle against Cao Yupeng by 6-3.

Just a few months ago Higgins was triumphing in Shanghai 10-9 (after being led by Judd Trump 7-2), but today wasn't his lucky day as the Scotsman was far from achieving a similar performance.

Breaks of 71 and 73 brought the four-time world champion the first two frames of the match, but a series of terrible mistakes here and there were easily punished by a very determined Cao Yupeng, who managed to win by very detached scoreline of 6-3 and is now facing the opportunity of meeting with Mark Allen (the same player he beat during this year's World Championship) in the next round.

Matthew Stevens found himself on the edge of getting kicked out early in the competition from a wild card, the same one that just a day before was sending Michael White packing.

The dangerous Cao Yupeng

Stevens had a 4-1 advantage, when Zhao Xintong put all his ambition into coming back into the match at 4-4 and pushing his opponent all the way until the last frame. Luckily for Stevens (and unfortunately for Zhao), he managed to wrapped up a 6-5 victory.

Mark Selby, although took a pretty slow start, succeeded into beating Ali Carter 6-3, scoreline also recorded by Dominic Dale in front of Scotland's Graeme Dott.

Barry Pinches' run into International Championship came to an end, unfortunately, as Lu Ning managed to prevail a five-hour match and win by 6-5.

Tomorrow, the action continues with:

6.30am
16) Mark Williams v Mark Davis
21) Stephen Maguire v Jamie Burnett
15) Martin Gould v Marco Fu
19) Mark Allen v Robert Milkins

11.30am
14) Ding Junhui v Zhou Yuelong
17) Judd Trump v Fergal O'Brien
18) Stuart Bingham v Aditya Mehta
23) Ricky Walden v Lu Ning
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
06:30 - 09:30 British EuroSport 2
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport 2
11:30 - 14:30 British EuroSport
19:00 - 21:00 British EuroSport 2

Nigel Bond wins World Seniors Championship

Nigel Bond proudly showing his new title

Snooker's 007 Agent, also known as Nigel Bond won 2-0 in front of Tony Chappel, in order to win the World Seniors Championship and with it the title of world champion. 

Although the Englishman was far from his best, he managed to record the performance of not losing one single frame throughout the entire event and was always one step ahead of his opponents.

One by one, Bond's opponents dropped life flies, the first one being the 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, followed by legend Tony Knowles and defending champion Darren Morgan, all of them being defeated with the same 2-0 scoreline.

In the grand final the 2011 Shoot-Out champion met with Welshman Tony Chappel, whose performance through the entire competition was definitely a great one if we take into account that he hasn't played professional snooker in quite some time (more precisely since 2001, when he retired).

Tony Chappel in action

The first frame could have gone either way, as both player had plenty of chances and at one point, event similar breaks of 33, but in the end Nigel was the one who sunk the black and broke the ice for 1-0.

The same Nigel Bond was going to open the scoreline in the second (and last frame, for that matter), only that this time he was going to dominate clearly with runs of 33 and 28, for a clear 2-0 victory.

This is the second year when a player who needed to qualify for the event wins the title, the first one being Darren Morgan who amazed us all in 2011 with a 2-1 scoreline in front of "The Nugget" Steve Davis, to take the trophy.

The 007 Agent of snooker

And so, Nigel Bond sees himself with a not-too-shabby world champion title and a cheque of £18,000 after a weekend of playing with the stars.

His opponent, Welshman Tony Chappel is going home with £8,000 and with beautiful memories of crossing his cue with players like Tony Drago (2-1), Alan Robidoux (2-0) and Dene O'Kane (2-1).

Congratulations to all the players involved in this tournament and many thanks for reviving the golden era of snooker for two days.

World Seniors Championship - The golden boys at work

Darren Morgan - in the race for defending his crown

Yesterday saw the start of a very dear event to my heart and a dear one to many of you, I'm sure: the World Seniors Championship. 

For many it's been the perfect occasion to revive the moments when the golden boys ruled the green baize, while for others it was a time to acknowledge their value and talent and see how big and powerful their influence on snooker's development over the years has been.

And although the format seems more like a joke, with the matches being played under "the best of three" rule, with a shot-clock in action and with SkySports' eternal typing mistakes of writing "Premier League" on the screen, the fascination was still there and captured the minds of many snooker fans.

Darren Morgan and Joe Johnson before their cue-crossing

The first two to break the ice were Darren Morgan (as defending champion) and the one and only Joe Johnson (the 1986 world champion, who's retired from snooker and can now be heard commentating many snooker tournaments on British EuroSport).

As the year before, Darren proved to be one hell of a competitor and had no mercy on poor Joe (who openly and cheerfully declared he "practiced last year") and with a break of 75 took the first frame under his belt.

The next frame proved to be the last one, as the same Darren Morgan was hitting a 45 break and leaving his opponent in need of no less than eight snookers by the end of it. The shake-hand ritual came almost immediately, as the scoreline froze at 2-0.

Dennis met with the "007 Agent" of snooker, Nigel Bond

The same scoreline was registered by Nigel Bond, although far from being at his best, against the 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, but also by Dene O'Kane after playing Barry West.

Seen only by the privileged ones on the Red Button, the next match was given between "The Nugget" Steve Davis and “The Grinder" Cliff Thorburn, and was the first snooker encounter of the day that ended on a different scoreline, other than 2-0.

Cliff took the opener on the black, finishing at 62-54, but the next two frames were easily cashed by the still-acting-on-the-Main-Tour-player, Davis earning his spot in the quarter-finals after a 2-1 victory.

Tony Chappel defeated his namesake, Tony Drago

The second session of the day kicked off with the "Tonys" battle given between Tony Drago and Tony Chappel, the last named one overcoming a very nervous and out-of-form Drago with a 2-1 scoreline.

Successfully defeating throat cancer, Tony Knowles retuned to the green baize to amaze us all and get his feet wet once more. His opponent and also one of his biggest admires, Karl Townsend took a very good start, a consistent break of 86 heading him the first frame, but Tony was sure not only to make a comeback, but also to win the match at 2-1.

W. Thorne and A. Goldstein, sharing thoughts ab the event

The last two matches of the day both ended on a 2-0 scoreline Alan Robidoux beating Less Dodd, while "The Whirlwind" Jimmy White making sure he exits Mike Hallet from the competition in order to reach the quarter-final stages.

World Seniors Championship conclusion can be seen today on SkySports 3, as it follows:

1pm
Quarter-final:

Steve Davis v Darren Morgan
Dene O'Kane v Jimmy White
Alain Robidoux v Tony Chappel
Tony Knowles v Nigel Bond

7pm

Semi-finals
 
Final

Polish your cues for Gdynia!

A year ago it was a final 4-1 scoreline obtained in front of Ricky Walden, that was breaking Neil Robertson's curse of having a silverware-less period of time (the Australian had a pretty huge break from trophies from winning the 2010 Word Open) and the "miracle" happened during EPTC 6 Event that was held in Poland.

Snooker in October 2012

We have a brand new month ahead of us and snooker is going to keep us busy no matter what. Either we are talking about travelling high and low across the UK with the Premier League caravan or taking a small "holiday" abroad for the EPTCs, snooker is definitely part of the equation.

The month starts with a trip to Southampton for the another "fast and furious" Premier League cue crossings on October 4^th, the next three days being completely dedicated to flying to Poland's Gdynia for the second European Player Tour Championship.

On October 11 and a week after that we have two new Premier League stops, but from 18 until 21 we are going to see the world of snooker from Belgium, at Antwerp the EPTC 3 Event taking place.

Another Premier League series will take place on October 25, while from 27 until the 28 of the same month the snooker seniors inviting us to another brilliant encounter with legendary snooker as the third edition of the Seniors World Championship will kick off.

The month will end with the brand new International Championship tournament, the first edition taking place in Chengau, China from 28 of October until November 4^th.



When?: 4-7 October
Where?: Gdynia, Poland
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.
Prize money: winner (€12,000), runner-up (€6,000), losing semi-finalists (€3,000), losing quarter-finalists (€2,000), last 16 (€1,250), last 32 (€750) and the last 64 (€500). 
Ranking points: winner (2,000), runner-up (1,600), losing semi-finalists (1,280), losing quarter-finalists (1,000), last 16 (760), last 32 (560) and the last 64 (360).


When?: 11 October
Where?: Malvern Theatres, UK
Who's playing?: Mark Selby v Ding Junhui and John Higgins v Stephen Lee
Prize money: £1,000 for each frame won, £1,000 for each century break and £25,000 for a maximum break.
Ranking points: N/A


When?: 18 October
Where?: Penzance LC, Cornwall, UK
Who's playing?: Mark Allen v Stephen Lee and Neil Robertson v Stuart Bingham
Prize money: £1,000 for each frame won, £1,000 for each century break and £25,000 for a maximum break.
Ranking points: N/A


When?: 18-21 October
Where?: Antwerp, Belgium
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.
Prize money: winner (€12,000), runner-up (€6,000), losing semi-finalists (€3,000), losing quarter-finalists (€2,000), last 16 (€1,250), last 32 (€750) and the last 64 (€500). 
Ranking points: winner (2,000), runner-up (1,600), losing semi-finalists (1,280), losing quarter-finalists (1,000), last 16 (760), last 32 (560) and the last 64 (360).


When?: 25 October
Where?: Guildford Spectrum, UK
Who's playing?: Stuart Bingham v Mark Selby and Judd Trump v John Higgins
Prize money: £1,000 for each frame won, £1,000 for each century break and £25,000 for a maximum break.
Ranking points: N/A

7. Seniors World Championship

When?: 27-28
Where?: Portsmouth, UK
Who's playing?: click here for the draw
Prize money: update needed.
Ranking points: N/A

8. International Championship

When?: October 28- November 4
Where?: Chengau, China
Who's playing?: click here for the draw.
Prize money: winner (£125,000), runner-up (£62,500), losing semi-finalists (£30,000), losing quarter-finalists (£17,500), last 16 (£12,000), last 32 (£7,000), last 48 (£3,000) and the last 64 (£1,500). There will also be a prize money of £2,000 for the highest TV break and one of £500 for the highest non-TV break.
Ranking points: winner (8000), runner-up (6400), semi-finals (5120), quarter-finals (4000), Last 16 (3040), Last 32 (2240 and 1120*), Last 48 (1840 and 920*), Last 64 (1440 and 720*), Last 80 (1040 and 520*) and for the Last 96 (640 and 320*).
* seeded loser