World Championship - Rocket Ronnie captures fifth title

23:31:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The champ Ronnie O'Sullivan and his son
It's not a déjà-vu and you are certainly not dreaming! The miracle (if we might call it that way), had happen and Ronnie O'Sullivan has captured his fifth world title by beating Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the 2013 World Championship Final.

"Blink and you'll miss him!" said Rob Walker's in his intro for the Rocket and boy was he right. The man practically flew towards the victory and although The Hawk put an enormous pressure on him, Ronnie still managed to keep his head straight and go on to win his fifth world title, thus getting a cosy place next to stars like Stephen Hendry (7 world titles), Steve Davis or Ray Reardon (both with 6 titles each).

Barry Hawkins getting his silver medal from Barry Hearn
The last two sessions that were played today only came to reconfirm the fact that O'Sullivan was in the mood for winning, not letting anyone to stand between him and his dream. 

Not even a very talented and eager-to-win Barry Hawkins who reached the final of the World Championship for the first time in his career and who, although didn't succeed to win the title, made a marvellous impression on the audience and on the millions of viewers from home.

The third session ended on a 15-10 scoreline, Hawkins being punished for each and every miss he committed, but the story seemed to change when the last session kicked off and with it, the Hawk's fury.

The finalists: The Hawk and the Rocket
A superb 127 clearance and a 66 break were helping Barry pull back two frames on a row and give a little bit of hope for his fans; than he can do the impossible and get back into the match.

But it wasn't to be, as O'Sullivan used breaks of 77, 88 and another 88 to get on an 18-12 victory and lift the most precious trophy snooker possess.

Fist in the air, a huge smile, sharing this magical experience with his son, Ronnie Jr, emotional interview with Hazel Irwin, trophy raised - that's how 17-day of snooker ended and that's how Ronnie O'Sullivan stunned us again.

Stating that he's here to stay, although he might just play in small events, and that snooker is still part of his life, Ronnie congratulated his opponent, Barry Hawkins, for a tremendous job and for putting  pressure on him.

Fist in the air - Ronnie's done it again!
Little glittery things seems to be poring from the sealing, the hungry flash-lights of the cameras sought the best angle possible, but all I could hear was Queen's song:" [...] I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars on a collision course/I am a satellite/ I'm out of control [...]" because that's the best possible way to describe Ronnie O'Sullivan.

So peeps this is it! Another 17-days of cue-crossings finished and although it probably wasn't one of the most memorable World Championships, the final was a great one - so, well played Barry Hawkins (for whom I see a great season ahead) and well played Ronnie O'Sullivan (you're not getting anything from me here, the man is too unpredictable!)

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World Championship (the final) - Flying Rocket

00:55:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


The Rocket takes off
Told yaa this was going to be an interesting final! After two sessions the boys made the unthinkable and switched from dramatic moments, to sublime snooker, from some cracking pots to some really brilliant safety shots exchange and from being led to being the leader.

And although Barry Hawkins' performance was absolutely spectacular giving the circumstances and the magnitude of this event, the best man at the end of the day was still, the Rocket.
O'Sullivan ended both sessions in the leading position the first one at 5-3 and the second at 10-7.

Two breaks of 74 and 92 were opening the final of this year's World Championship, O'Sullivan putting his foot down from the very beginning. 

But Hawkins wasn’t going to let the four-time world champion get to him, so he fought back with a tremendous set of breaks (88 and 81) to draw level and added runs of 45 and 50 for a 3-2 lead. Who would have thought? The Rocket was being led for the first time since the kick off of the tournament.

Still, by the end of the first session things went Ronnie's way thanks to breaks of 76, 113 and 100 for a 5-3 scoreline. The man looked unbeatable.

The Hawk is right behind him
The evening session and the lads re-entered into the arena closely supervised by the ref in charge Jan Verhaas.

Hawkins was the first to break the ice and narrowed the gap at just one point (4-5), but the Rocket reverted the situation with just a break of 46 that came after Barry called a foul upon himself, thus the scoreline re-opened the two-frame gap (6-4).

One more time Barry pushed the odds and with runs of 37 and 23 got closer to his opponent and just like before O'Sullivan preferred to get away from him at 7-5.

"Too much déjà-vu in this match", thought Hawkins, so he stormed in with a break of 83 and a marvellous 133 clearance to level up at seven apiece. Game on!

Nothing could be easier fro O'Sullivan though, who used a break of 103 and one of 106 to fly at 9-7. "Catch me if you can, Hawkie-boy!"

Ronnie is getting closer to winning his 5th world title
And Hawkins tried, tried his best and he almost succeeded, the last frame of the session being one hell of a cue-crossing! It had flukes, it has ridiculous pots, it had a free-ball, it had tension and it ... was finally won by O'Sullivan on the last black.

So it’s 10-7 and the lads have two more sessions to complete, at the end of them the Crucible arena and its spectators as well as the entire planet being able to witness the new world champion.

Does Hawkins have any chances at all to hold the Rocket down and fly above him? Can Ronnie win his fifth world title and get his name under Stephen Hendry (7 titles), Steve Davis/Ray Reardon (6 titles each)?

Many would be tempted to choose the second option and the truth is that the odds favourite Ronnie, but still, let's not forget that the worst thing one can do, is to underestimate one's opponent and if a cue and some snooker balls are part of the equation, than the saying fully applies.

But putting all that aside, I invite you all to follow both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins in their quest for the world title, on Monday from 2pm and 7pm. See yaa there, peeps!

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World Championship - O'Sullivan v. Hawkins final affair

01:21:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the final
We're having a O'Sullivan v. Hawkins final of our hands peeps! And it will surely be a very interesting clash of styles, experience, temperament and ... you fill the space.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, the well-known "black sheep" of snooker, the one who's actually in the posture of defending the title that he so full-deservedly won last year, beat one of the players who announces to carry on the legend of "speedy-naughty-out-of-the-ordinary" snooker, Judd Trump by 17-11.

How can that be possible? Well, it's simple: he really wanted to win the match. With Ronnie things are very easy, if he's enjoying playing snooker and he's not in some sort of "I'm done with this/I'm here just for the money/I just wanna the hell out of here" then he's set for the victory seat.

Trump's out of the Crucible equation
And that proved to be the truth today, as the Rocket started his last session (see the previous ones, here) at full speed, runs of 41 and 32 sending him just one step away from a place in the final, at 16-10.

Trump, who according to his own words said that: "I am here to win the tournament and nothing less than that will do for me", made an attempt to change the course of the match and with a break of 77 he cashed the 27th frame.

But it was a bit too late, as O'Sullivan ended the affair with just two breaks (31 and 33) to get a place in the final. And by his reaction (smile, fist in the air etc.)  he's ready to win his fifth world title .... well, at least at the end of the match that was his state of mind, could revert to a dark mood tomorrow ... you never know (hopefully not, though, it would be a shame).

One very-happy Hawk
On the other side of the Sheffield’s rainbow, Barry Hawkins did the unthinkable and got back into the match against Ricky Walden, after trailing 6-2 and 11-7.

The second session started with Walden in control of the match's faith at 9-7, control that was re-established at 11-7 with a bit of help from breaks like 20 and 62.

But, because there's always a but (and not that kind of but), Hawkins needed a change in his life. He practically got bored of being led, so he said to himself, why the hell aren't I doing something?

So with a beautiful break of 114 he won the 19th  frame, while Walden rushed in to take the following one just to restore the four-frame gap.

Hug time
However, that was the only serious contribution that Ricky made during session two, as Barry stormed in and hit in breaks of 104 and 43 to draw level and 12 apiece as the session was coming to an end.

Who would have thought that the OnQ Promotions lad will stop living in the past and prove he's in the semis for a reason?! Many, would be the proper answer, for he’s one hell of a player.

The third and last session continued on the same note, with the Hawk more aggressively than ever, runs of 50, 20, 24, 60 and 79 giving him a well-deserved 16-12 lead.

Devastated Walden loses his chance to reach the final
So not only was Barry the leader of the match for the first time since the beginning of the game, but he was also one frame away from reaching the final.

Still, Ricky prolonged the suspense and tried his best to make a dramatic comeback, that sadly enough ended on winning just two frames, the 31st one going straight into Barry's account for a 17-14 victory.

An overwhelmed Barry Hawkins got a huge hug from his opponent ( who by all means, played some cracking snooker) and he's not facing one hell of a task: to play against the Rocket. 

Will he make it? Though call. However, this is his first Crucible final appearance and he'll just have to enjoy it. Not ruling out a victory here, but we all know Ronnie and how he's been playing these past few weeks and more that that, how powerful he is when he gets his mind set on something.

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World Championship (semi-finals) - the clock is ticking

11:45:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments


The clock is ticking
One more day separates us from the grandiose 2013 World Championship final, a final that we've been waiting for an entire year. 

In Sheffield things are ready to explode, as the semi-finals are under way and the four players have a lot in common with the ancient gladiators that were fighting for their lives. Well, maybe they aren't fighting precisely for their own lives, but they sure are fighting for the final of their life, for this is what a final at the Crucible means.

On one side we have a pair of players that could easily be described as "the clash of the century" - Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump -  and on the other side we have two players, that sadly enough are performing under the shadow of the first two named ones. Not fair, I tell you, for Ricky Walden and Barry Hawkins's match it a genuinely thrilling one. These lads deserve more publicity.

Walden in control
So let's begin with them, shall we?

The cueists have completed two of their four sessions, at the end of the second one Walden taking a comfortable lead of 9-7 over his opponent.

However a more comfortable lead was the one he got after the first session, when runs of 91, 105, 60 and 119 brought him a 6-2 advantage over Hawkins.

The second session started with some very scrappy frames, the first two being cashed by Barry, who was now trailing 6-4.

Walden put his foot down and took the 12th frame, while his opponent stroke back and won the next one, thus creating a "I win the first frame, you the next one" playing pattern. 

A break of 106 was re-opening a three-frame gap between Walden and Hawkins, but this time the OnQ Promotions lad rushed in and took the next two frames with runs of 36, 30 and 47 to narrow the gap at 8-7.

The Hawk ready to upset things
The last frame was carefully conquered by Ricky (who's playing like a cool cat) and his 53 break, so today the players will start their third session from a 9-7 scoreline.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump have completed three sessions of cue-crossings and if after the first one the lads were all square at four apiece, by the end of the second session the Rocket was launching himself into space with a 9-7 lead, while after the third one his advantage is set at 14-10.

As expected, the clash of the century had a very foreseeable start: the players were separated by just one frame. Wroooooong! At least for the first part of the match.

Ronnie was the first to break the ice with a break of 65 and even though Trump drew level by taking the next frame, the Rocket fired back with breaks of 40, 34, 75 and 89 for a 4-1 lead.

It took Trump the rest of the remaining three frames of the first session to draw level at 4-4 and only from that point on, the lads started their "one frame apart" strategy.


O'Sullivan on his way of reaching the final
Things took a very different turn from frame 14, when an early miss from Judd brought Ronnie to the table, a break of 93 points giving him a 8-6 lead.


One more decisive 60 break and O'Sullivan was 9-6 up, with only one more frame to be played, frame that was in the end cashed by Trump, so the scoreline froze at 9-7.


The third session saw an eager-to-win O'Sullivan storming in and taking the first two frames (runs of 51, 22 and 28), Trump only managing to hit a beautiful ton and catch the 19th frame to trail 11-8.
Trump eyes his second World Championship final
Another couple of frames entered into Ronnie's account thanks to runs of 62 and 34, but this time Trump replayed by taking the next two also, for a 13-10 scoreline.

The last frame of the third session reverted to O'Sullivan who used a top break of 89 to get a four-frame advantage, 14-10.

So the clock is ticking and by the end of today we shall find out who's going to entertain us for this year's final. Will it be O'Sullivan? Will it be Trump? Will it be Walden, or will it be Hawkins?


But no matter who wins today, we are in for quite an interesting final, no double about that.



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