2014 World Championship - The cue action this week

The blog has been a bit quiet this week since I had a genuine hectic time at work and I was unable to write more, but don't worry for I've always got one eye for snooker and with the Crucible madness on, clearly I have no escape from this colourful cue sport.

So, with no further ado, let's see what happened on a daily basis this week, shall we?

Tuesday 22nd of April - McManus and Walden book their place in 2nd round

Forth-time world champion John Higgins was sent home by his country-man, Alan McManus and his tartan trousers that have caused quite a spectacle around the world (I'm ashamed to say how badly people from my country have treated this subject), with a final scoreline of 10-7.

Alan was already in the lead at 6-3, when the lads returned into the arena, him being the one to continue cruising towards victory a top break of 88 bringing him the first two frames of the second session.

But when he missed a red with the rest, while being on a 42 break, Higgins made the most of it and cleared the table with a 54 to pull back a frame. Still, he was led 8-4, so a lot more work had to be done.

A strategic 61 break landed when needed for McManus, who was now just one away from victory, while Higgins raised from the dead and actually started playing.

Breaks of 111, 67 and 94 were bringing him no less than three consecutive frames, before Alan won the 17th frame clearing up until the pink for a brilliant 10-7 victory.

Also finished on a 10-7 final scoreline was the match played between Ricky Walden and Kyren Wilson, interestingly enough the scoreline of the first session being, as before, 6-3.

As soon as referee Brendan Moore announced the start of the second session, Walden stormed in to take the 10th frame with a break of 64, his opponent battling with a 61, to restore the three-frame lead.

Ricky Walden moved even further and with a break of 63 went 8-4 up, when Kyren fired up in runs of 59 and 62 to win two consecutive frames and continued with grabbing one more, just for the sake of it! It was 8-7.

Walden managed to create a bigger gap, but winning the 16th frame before the lads got involved into was seemed to be the longest frame ever played at the Crucible. In the end though, it "only" lasted 73 minutes, not 75 as the one played by King and Maguire back in 2009, Ricky winning it for a final 10-7 final result and a place in the second round.

Marco Fu and Martin Gould began their cue-crossings, their first session ending with the Hong Kong man in the lead, at 6-3, lead sustained by breaks of 124, 83, 88 and 64, while Gouldie only managed to score in runs of 63 and 92.

Last year Crucible runner-up, Barry Hawkins met with David Gilbert on their first match and what a match that was!

Gilbert used just a top break of 77 to obtain a perfect 3-1 lead, before Barry could have his saying and started rocking around the snooker table.

Heavy breaks of 72, 72, 115 and 69 were not only helping Barry draw level, but also put him in front, the first session ending on a 5-4 partial result.

Judd Trump and Tom Ford finished their first session with the "Ace in the Pack" in charge at 6-2 (their last frame was cut short).

Judd used runs of 49 and 62 to win the first two frames and although the mid-session interval saw the boys being on a tie (2-2), the Bristol-lad won no less than two consecutive frames on the black, one one the pink and hit a 40 break to assure his leadership at 6-2.

The last match of the day saw the likes of Mark Allen and Michael Holt, with the North Irishman taking a slightest lead of 5-4 at the end of the first session.

A rain of breaks (72, 70, 61, 54, 61, 42, 52 and 65) helped Allen to put his nose in front, while Michael used just a top break of 98 and two frames clinched on the back to catch up with his opponent.

Wednesday 23rd of April - Allen and Hawkins storm into next round

Wednesday concluded four cue-battles, the first of them being the one featuring the names of Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert, with the first named one leading by 5-4 after the first session.

There isn't much to be told, other than the fact that "The Hawk" flew directly towards victory by firing in breaks of 93, 50, 71 and 53, for a well-deserved 10-4 scoreline.

Much the same was the situation in the evening, when Mark Allen (although suffering from a severe food poisoning) ended the affair with Michael Holt on the same scoreline.

The lads finished their first session with Mark in the lead, 5-4, the last meeting beginning with "The Pistol" taking on three scrappy frames on the colours and hitting just a top break of 65 to seal his victory and set up a snooker meeting with Robertson v. R.Williams match winner.

One very "bored" as he himself described to be (at least towards the end of the match) Judd Trump, beat Tom Ford by 10-8, after closing their first session on a 6-2 lead.

Although Ford took the first three frames of the last session (the highlights consisting in a 65 clearance), Trump won the 12th frame and even when his opponent grabbed the next one, the 2011 World Championship runner-up didn't give in a hit with a 71 break of a 8-6 lead.

Still, Ford didn't give in either and found the chance to draw level, before Trump could capitalise on his mistakes and end the match at 10-8.

On a similar note Marco Fu crushed Martin Gould's Crucible dream, the lads setting their final meeting after their first one ended with the Hong Kong-man in the lead, at 6-3.
 
Even though Gould managed to hit s 63 break to pull back a frame, Fu responded with a set composed from breaks of 88 and 116 to go 8-4 up and even when the Englishman forced his way in back into the match and got two consecutive frames in his pocket, Fu didn't settle for less than a victory.

The 15th frame was won by Marco, Gould taking the chance with the very next one, before a deadly 80 break from the 2013 Australian Open champion, ended the match at 10-7.

Two more matches took place, Neil Robertson meeting Crucible-debutant Robbie Williams in a cue-crossing that saw the player from Down Under flying high at 7-2 (breaks of 52,77,132,55,63 and 103 included in the package), the same happening for Dominica Dale who used breaks of 56, 71, 69 and 87 to lead Mark Davis by the same scoreline.

Thursday 24th of April - Robbo keeps Australian dream alive

A very important and historic day for Dominic Dale, the Welshman managing to win his first Crucible match in 14 years! Dominic ended his first session on a 7-2 lead over Mark Davis, but what happened next was pure delight!

Dale took the first frame of the session in the colours and nicked the one after it as well, before Davis hits in breaks of 69 and 61 to keep the match alive.

A re-spotted black was enough for Davis to trail 9-5, but Dale closed the deal in the 15th frame with a top break of 57. What a victory for the Welshman who is set to meet with the man who ejected Ding Junhui from the tournament and he's also his practicing partner, Michael Wasley.

Crucible-debutant, Robbie Williams saw his dream crushed by an amazing Neil Robertson who led by 7-2 after their first confrontation and ended the snooker affair in just 44 minutes after firing in breaks of 61, 140 (the biggest of the tournament, so far) and 102, for a splendid 10-2 victory.

Today also marked the start of the second round, Mark Selby ending his first session with Ali Carter, on a 5-3 scoreline.

The Jester used runs of 84, 50, 58, while Carter piloted with breaks of 102, 44 and 110, in order to catch up with his opponent.

The reigning champ, Ronnie O'Sullivan met with Joe Perry, who was in a brilliant form and made use of every chance to leave the Essex man behind, first at 3-1 (breaks of 4257 and 82) and then at 5-3 (breaks of 55 and 99).


Friday 25th of April - Jester takes down Carter for QFs place

The first player to step in the QFs is Mark Selby, the Englishman beating Ali Carter by 13-9. The lads ended their first session with the Jester having a pretty comfortable lead of 5-3, the second one evolving on the same note and ending on 9-7, the players taking turns on winning frames.

When the last session started, Selby stormed in to take three consecutive frames, one of the colours, followed by a scrappy affair and concluded with a 68 clearance, for a 12-7 lead.

Carter fought back and managed to win two frames with a top break of 57, before Selby ended the match after frame 22.

O'Sullivan and Perry continued their cue-battle following the same pattern (aka. having Joe in the leading position).

After holding a 5-3 advantage over Ronnie, Perry used runs of 68, 48, 88 and 73 to retain the same 2-frame lead, while breaks of 93 and 66 were setting O'Sullivan to trail 9-7.

Game on for Barry Hawkins and Ricky Walden who ended their first session on a draw, 4-4, only to see the Chester player detaching himself at 9-7 at the end of the second session, by using beautifully cued breaks of 109, 81 and 112.

The veterans' match between Alan McManus and Ken Doherty saw its first session ending with the Scotsman in the lead at 4-3 (breaks of 69, 102 and 71), as the match was cut short, due to the fact that the lads took their time potting.

Saturday 26th of April - O'Sullivan turns table with Perry

Barry Hawkins managed to turn table against his opponent, Ricky Walden who had been in the lead after the second session, 9-7.

Although Ricky was the one to take the first frame, Hawkins won an amazing number of five consecutive frames, with just a top break of 104, not just to draw level, but also to put his nose in front, at 11-10.

Walden cleared with a 53 break to level up the match, but Hawkins was determined to win this, in less than 30 minutes winning the following two frames to win by 13-11 and get a place in the QFs.

Also turning tables was Ronnie O'Sullivan, who was although led by 9-7 managed to overcome the deficit and beat Joe Perry 13-11.

At the start of the last session the lads took turn in winning the first four frames, in the end, O'Sullivan still being led by two frames only that this time it was 11-9.

However, the reigning champion had other plans, heavy breaks of 48, 53, 52, 124 and 113 helping him advance into the next round where he'll meet the winner of Murphy v. Fu match.

"The Darling of Dublin" lost the battle against the magnificent Alan McManus, the Scotsman ending their second session in a 10-5 lead (carefully sustained by breaks of 65 and 54), while the third one was capitalised with runs of 67 and 83 for a final 13-8 scoreline.

Judd Trump has a comfortable lead of 6-2 over the Welshman Ryan Day, "The Ace in the Pack" hitting in runs of 70, 33, 76 and 78, on the similar situation being Dominic Dale, whose rain of breaks of 74, 37, 75, 59, 30, 40 and 106 gave him an amazing 7-1 lead over Michael Wasley.

2014 World Championship (Day 3) - Ding puts Crucible dream on hold

Dream over for Ding Junhui

The third day of this wonderful Crucible delight and the shockers are beginning to show - Ding Junhui, the one that we all have seen as the future Crucible king has left the competition defeated by the Crucible-debutant Michael Wasley after a tremendous cues-battle.

The lads ended their first session with Ding in charge at 6-3, but Wasley started the second one full of confidence firing in breaks of 135 (total clearance) and 44 to draw level at six apiece.

Ding fought back as usual and with runs of 73 and 64 re-took control of the match, at 8-6. This was getting interesting.

The 24-year old lad from Gloucester didn't give up so easily and pulled back two consecutive frames, for both of them his biggest break being a 41 one, in order to stay side by side with Ding.

Amazing Wasley

Minutes before the match would be suspended (the players took their time in finishing their final session and Selby v. White match had to start), Ding put his nose back in front by winning a tough encounter finished on the green and brown.

Late in the night, these two masters of the green baize returned to finish their rivalry, Wasley being the one to force the decider with an amazing 103 break!

The last frame was a very tough and close battle of cues that lasted over 40 minutes, in the end the one prevailing it being the youngster, Michael Wasley who won on a final result of 10-9.

Another interesting match that saw a lot of twist and turns was the one featuring the likes of Joe Perry and Jamie Burnett, who ended their first session with the Scotsman in the leading position, at 6-3.

Joe Perry to meet the Rocket

Joe started the battle at full speed, runs of 87 and 70 bringing hope for a complete comeback, although what happened next was a typical case of scrappiness.

With a top break of 35, Perry drew level at 6-6, while the next frame (won on the black) put in the lead for the first time since being 3-2.

Two more frames were added to Perry's account (which actually means a total of six consecutive frames!) the OnQ Promotion's player being now just one away from victory, when Burnett seemed to have woken up from the dead and hit a great 111 to pull back a frame!

But it was a bit too late for a comeback, Perry using a solid 81 break to seal his victory at 10-7 for a special meeting with the Rocket - Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round.

Selby is through to the next round

More drama to follow up next, as Mark Selby and Michael White decided to go hand in hand up until the last playable frame!

The morning session saw a very determined Selby who almost flew all the way to 3-0 (breaks of 88, 57 and 43 included) before White made room for him and his talent (although his biggest break was a 41 one), to end the snooker love affair by trailing 5-4.

As the last session began, Selby used breaks of 78, 68, 51 and 42 to go 8-4, before White could react and started his comeback.

And just like before, his comeback although not consisting in considerable breaks (he only recorded a 42 and a 62 clearance), was quite enough to put him on the same step as Selby, at 8-8.

Michael White put Selby in quite some trouble

The next two frames were shared, White being the one to force the decider, but Selby make the most of the given chance and scored a break of 57 to draw the line at 10-9, in his favour.

An out-of-form John Higgins met with his fellow-countryman and friend, Alan "The Angle" McManus, whose tartan trousers became all the range at the Crucible, their first session ending with Alan leading by 6-3.

Although Higgins proved to make the most of the first frame, his opponent made the most of the following SIX frames with top breaks of 87, 47, 32 and 74 to go 6-1 up!

Meanwhile, Higgins was all over the place, trying to make no less than two 147s and failing both times, his first attempt also costing the frame, as the Scotsman missed the black on 49.

Alan McManus and his tartan lucky trousers

However, as the session was coming to an end, Higgins managed to pull back two frames, with a bit of help from runs of 80 and 57, to trail 6-3.

Ricky Walden and Kyren Wilson ended their first session on the same 6-3 result, Kyren taking off by using breaks of 137, 81 and 50 to land on a 3-1 scoreline, before his opponent registered runs of 44, 48 and 74, not only to draw level, but also to take the lead, at 6-3.




Tuesday's full schedule:

10am
Marco Fu v. Martin Gould
John Higgins 3-6 Alan McManus (the winner with play against Ken Doherty)

2.30pm
Barry Hawkins v. David Gilbert
Judd Trump v. Tom Ford

7pm
Ricky Walden 6-3 Kyren Wilson 
Mark Allen v. Michael Holt

2014 World Championship (Day 2) - Doherty rolls back the years

Kenny - the happy bunny

Our second day at the Crucible has been full of surprises and thrilling matches, one of the biggest ones being the fact that "The Darling of Dublin", the man who conquered the world title in 1997, the one who's called the "pride of Ireland", Ken Doherty managed to beat Stuart Bingham by an incredible 10-5 scoreline.

Ken hasn't won a Crucible match since 2006, which makes this victory even more important, added to the fact that the Irishman won no less than six consecutive frames during the second session, to cross the finish line.

As we all know, the lads landed on a 5-4 scoreline after their first snooker encounter, Bingham having a slightest advantage and a better cue action. But things changed dramatically today, when the boys returned into the arena.

Bingham must put his Crucible dream on hold this year

One very happy chap, Ken entered on a traditional Irish song, clapping his hands like he was anticipating what was coming next.

Although the cues-battle had a very, very scrappy start, Ken managed to win the first frame and add a 55 break in order to take the lead for the first time in the match, at 6-5.

Runs of 60, 42, 37, 37 and 57 were helping him go just one away from victory, an out-of-sorts Bingham struggling to barely pot some balls.

The victory was completed by a 60 break and a heart-felt hand shake from Stu, who unfortunately had to end his Crucible run in the very first round.

Punching the air

An over-the-moon Doherty punched the air, showing to the entire planet how much does it mean to win in the home of snooker. Meanwhile, the online community was making sure he was trending on Twitter UK.

Also ending their snooker love affair were the Captain Ali Carter and the Crucible-debutant Xiao Guodong (5-4), who continued their match on a very close, though not very exciting note.

Xiao took initiative from the very first frame (aka. the 10^th one actually) and drew level, going even further and putting his nose in front at 6-5.

Captain Carter flies over Xiao right in the second round

However, the Captain had other plans and with a bit of help from breaks like 81 and 55 he turned the scoreline into his favour, at 7-6.

Xiao fought back and levelled up once more, but Carter stood his ground and regained control of the match quickly enough.

One more try was made by the merciful Chinese player, whose magnificent clearance of 69 points was bringing the balance on the scoreboard at 8-8, before Carter could wrap up the match by hitting a top break of 80, for a final and decisive 10-8 scoreline.

Stephen Maguire and Ryan Day had one of the most thrilling matches ever, especially since they've started (or better, re-started) their cues-crossing with Day having a dangerous 6-3 lead over the Scot.

Maguire's fire ignited a bit too late

Maguire had a poor start, but managed to pull back a frame as the second session kicked off, in response Day conquering no less than two consecutive frames, by using breaks of 35 and 69.

Thanks to a 56 break and a marvellous clearance of 134 Maguire was proving to the entire world that the fire within is still burning, thus reducing the gap at 8-6.

But when Day hit a strategic 60 break to go just one away from victory, Maguire unleashed his fury and started his comeback. Breaks of 58, 73 and 91 proved quite enough to level the scoreline and set the very first decider of this year's World Championship.

Day gets the best of the first decider

The last frame was pure thrill, both players having early chances to start building their road towards the finish line, but in the end it was Ryan Day and his great clearance of 92 that closed the snooker deal.

And once again, the snooker fans worked in their mysterious ways and made Ryan Day trend on Twitter. Snooker's getting quite popular, I must say.

At the near table, a similar situation was underway. Shaun "The Magician" Murphy and the very cool-as-cat Jamie Cope were disputing their second session, with Cope holding a tiny but important advantage of 5-4.

The Smurf is through the next round

Following the same pattern, Murphy took the 10^th frame with a great 75 clearance, Cope taking the next two, with runs of 44 and 32, for a 7-6 lead.

Murphy fought back and grabbed the following two frames, with a bit of help from breaks like 67 and 52, to draw level before his opponent put his nose back in front, this time at 8-7.

One again Murphy caught up with him, only that this time he also moved pass him after firing a 58 break.
I must say that he had a huge chance to end the match and avoid a painful decider, but he missed a red with the rest, Cope managing to close the gap and force the decider.

Things got very scrappy and although Cope seemed to be the most composed and cool player of the two, Murphy's experience with major tournaments and great venues, had its saying, the Magician crossing the winning-line with just a top break of 29, for a final and well-deserved 10-9 scoreline.

Jamie couldn't cope with the pressure

Ding Junhui meet with the Crucible-debutant Michael Wasley, their first session ending on a 6-3 result in favour of the Chinese player, while Jamie Burnett obtained the same scoreline by playing Joe Perry.

Things went pretty smooth between Ding and Michael, the interval finding the lads all square at two apiece, but after it Ding started hitting the ball and with runs of 136 and 65 he took charge of the match's faith with a 6-3 scoreline.

Played on the same note, Jamie and Joe went hand in hand up until 2-2 and then 3-3, afterwards Burnett firing in breaks of 61, 32 and 94 for a 6-3 considerable lead.

Monday's full schedule:

10am
Joe Perry 3-6 Jamie Burnett (the winner will play Ronnie O'Sullivan)
Mark Selby v. Michael White

2.30 pm
Ding Junhui 6-3 Michael Wasley
John Higgins v. Alan McManus

7pm
Ricky Walden v. Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby v. Michael White (the winner will play Ali Carter)

2014 World Championship (Day 1) - O'Sullivan finishes Hull

The Crucible arena

The most wonderful time of the year has come, and no, I'm not talking about Christmas. Not even about Easter, although it's Easter time. I'm talking about the marvellous World Championship, the event that we've all been waiting for an entire year.

The Crucible arena has been packed and the legend says that the cheering have reached Down Under. No wonder since the snooker virus causes permanent damage to those who are lucky enough to have caught it.

But back to business now! The first day saw the reigning champion, Mr Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on a player that hasn't stepped in the Crucible arena for 12 years, the Finnish Robin Hull.

The Rocket seemed very pleased to be back in Sheffield and started the journey to defend his world tile by hitting in runs of 45, 32, 124 and 69 to go 3-0 ahead before his opponent hit a great 102 in order to grab his first frame of the match.

Reigning champ in action

Needless to say that Twitter was on fire while Ronnie was playing, his name  as well as #snookerworldchampionship trending on Twitter UK. Pretty impressive stuff, if you ask me. Maybe it's not a shock to see O'Sullivan's name trending, but snooker? Well, that's a different story.

The lads returned to the table to finish their first session, this time Hull putting Ronnie in quite some trouble and letting the Essex-man in need of a snooker. However, this wasn't a hard task for the Englishman, who got his snooker and potted an amazing pink to clear the table with a 25 break, to which he added an 81 one during the next frame. The scoreline was 5-1.

Robin tried his best to recover from the Rocket's attack, a break of 60 bringing him a second frame, before Ronnie went on and closed the first session with runs of 45, 60 and 90 for a 7-2 scoreline.

Robin Hull

But interestingly enough when the boys returned to finish their snooker affair, Ronnie seemed quite unfocused and lost more than one chance to wrap up the match quicker than he did in the end.

Robin had an early chance to grab himself a new frame, but unfortunately he missed frame ball on 41, this giving Ronnie the chance to come and win the frame on the black with a 41 clearance.

However, Hull pulled back no less than two consecutive frames with solid breaks of 39, 52 and 68 to trail 8-4.

Although clearly far from his best, O'Sullivan still managed to hit three breaks of 31, 31 and 35 to go one away from victory, finishing off with runs of 41 and 54 for a final 10-4 scoreline.

Twitter trends: Ronnie and #snookerworldchampionship

A very interesting and quite intense match, Ronnie playing the role of the good boy who pots the black each time he has the chance (happened to clear the table no less than seven times during the match), not to mention the fact that John Virgo felt off his chair in the commentary box making The Nugget burst into laugh.

Stuart Bingham met with "The Darling of Dublin" for an equally interesting match, everything starting with Ken entering the arena and kissing the floor, as he usually does.

Stu had a very solid start, runs of 25 and 85 and a third frame won on the black, putting him in charge of the match's faith at 3-0 before Kenny could react and hit a 66 to break the ice and win himself a frame.

After the mid-session interval Doherty continued his good run and added one more frame to his poor collection with a bit of help from breaks of 39 and 34, Bingham responding immediately to restore the two-frame advantage (4-2).

Once again Ken tried to get closer to his opponent and thanks to a great 91 he managed to dangerously approach him at 4-3, but Stu used a scrappy 8^th frame to detach himself from his opponent at 5-3.

Kenny kisses the Crucible floor

However, the session ended with Doherty pushing himself to the line and managing to get another frame under his belt for a 5-4 scoreline. The match will resume Sunday from 10 am.

Ali Carter and the Crucible debutant Xiao Guodong have completed their first session also, and landed on the same 5-4 scoreline.

The lads have played intensely and the entire session could be described as a very close crossing of cues, the Captain using breaks like 39 and 45 to break the ice, followed by Xiao's 61 break that was levelling the scoreline at one a piece.

Breaks of 52, 33, 27 and 56 were helping the Captain to fly at 4-1, but the little Chinese fought back furiously and fired in runs of 59 and 73 to draw level at 4-4.

In the end though, Carter put his nose in front after winning a scrappy 9^th frame. Their matche will resume on Sunday from 2:30 pm.

Two more matches saw their first session finished: the first featuring the names of Stephen Maguire and Ryan Day, while Shaun Murphy and Jamie Cope took charge of the second one.

Crucible-debutant Xiao Guodong

Maguire took the opening frame with a break of 71, to which the Welshman responded with a brilliant 130 clearance the Scot getting his claws out and adding a 75 break to re-take control of the match. However, the interval was finding the lads all square at 2-2.

After the mini-break, Day's fury was unleashed as the Welshman hit in breaks of 65, 61 to which he added to scrappy frame to make the scoreline go 6-2, before the Scotsman could realise what has just happened and barely managing to pull back a frame and end the first session by trailing 6-3.

At the near table, Cope was the one who took the opening frame by using a top break of 71 points, Murphy answering with a 112 to draw level, before Jamie won a scrappy one and put his nose back in front.

But as in the previous match, the mid-session interval was finding the boys at two apiece, Murphy using a strategically built 70 break to ensure the balance of the match.

The rain of break continued after the interval, as the Smurf fired in runs of 87 and 70 to go 4-2 ahead, but Jamie seemed to cope very well with Murphy's plan, top breaks of 36 and 58 and a crappy frame turning the situation upside down and putting him in the lead, at 5-4.

Both these matches will be concluded Sunday from 7 pm.

Sunday's full programme:

10 am
Stuart Bingham 5-4 Ken Doherty
Joe Perry v. Jamie Burnett

2.30 pm
Ali Carter 5-4 Xiao Guodong
Ding Junhui v. Michael Wasley

7 pm
Stephen Maguire 3-6 Ryan Day
Shaun Murphy 4-5 Jamie Cope