World Snooker Shoot-Out - Day 2 (part 2)

One more day of the beautiful and crazy Shoot-Out is over and with it, the first and the second round are due to send 16 players further in the competition. What can I say? Only that yesterday being the second day, the players were in their element and the atmosphere was quite magical, I might add. It was great fun to see them smile and being more casual then ever, it was great to see the crowd so excited about the new format and it was great to see Michaela Tabb telling them to keep it down while a player takes a shot. Brilliant stuff from Michaela there! She knows her business and she’s not afraid to make it public. Girls Power, baby! :-))
As you might already know (if you read the first part of this article) the first round is over, 16 players making it all the way through the second one. But what happened in the second battle of the evening, you all going to ask me...well, hold your horses, for here I go!

Nigel Bond just seconds away after the victory

The first match of the evening was the one between Nigel Bond and Stephen Lee, a match that ended just like that poff - with a marvelous 91 break hit by the "James" Bond of snooker. Stephen Lee couldn’t say or do anything about it, the foul that he commited at the beginning of the frame causing the 007 snooker agent sprint :-) Final score 94-0.
Soon after this match ended another one followed (like dhaaa!) the one between Mark Davis and the 2010 EPTC 1 winner Judd Trump. Unlike the previous match this was a very tight one, so tight that the final score was 30-31, in favor of the Juddernaut (as friends call Trump). And here it is ... look how a point and a limited playing time make all the difference in this "strange" tournament.


Perhaps one of the most beautiful matches of the evening was the one that had Rory McLeod and Tony Drago highlighted. First of all because Tony is one of the fastest players on the circuit and Rory isn’t and second of all because...well, let me tell you why: Tony started pretty good with a break of 35, but missed a black, this giving the chance to Rory to come to the table ... but what do you know? Rory committed a foul, so Drago succeeded in hitting an 18 break. A couple of safety shots were played, but Tony fouled, Rory coming to the table for a 42 break - he was in desperate need of all the colors, but he only succeeded in potting them until the blue (included). 

Rory McLeod - the luckiest guy in town

The Maltese knight was given yet another chance, but he couldn’t pot anything, leaving Rory with the pink and the black still on the table. McLeod took his chances with the pink and he potted it, but missed the black. That was all he needed! The black! With only 30 seconds left, Tony tried to cash that black, but he doesn’t succeed, Rory being left with a "non-position" cue ball on the table. And when the time is running out, what can you do? When you are being lead 57-54, what can you? You try to fluke the ball...and sometimes you also pot it ... and Rory did it! He potted the black to win 61-57 to Tony Drago. What an amazing match! What a final! Best so far!


I was telling you that Mike Dunn has had and amazingly good run during this event and last night he proved once again that, the fact that he won his first match was no coincidence. He and Alfie Burden fought like lions for a place in the Last 16 round. Alfie made a good start by hitting a 31 break, but Mike responded with a 39 one; still Burden didn’t give up and hit a 28 break. Dunn potted an incredible yellow to bring the score at 44-59 in favor of his opponent and after both players took turns at potting the brown, Mike put it in its place (aka. the pocket) and closed the match with a blue and a pink. Final score 48-59! Top class snooker!

Mike Dunn has continued his good run

"The Wizard of Wishaw" was taking on Peter Lines, in what was one of the funniest matches of this competition. Peter took the lead by hitting in runs of 12 and 42, while John didn’t seem to get "in the zone". They took turns at the table, until the score was 54 to 25 in favor of Peter, John being in the position of running out of time and of points - so he started to practically run around the table and pot one ball after another hoping he will catch up his opponent and maybe even beat him. Unfortunately the clock was ticking as he potted one last red, a 22 break being insufficient for cashing the victory. Still, it was great to see John and Peter have so much fun in the arena.


A similar match but with a different result was the one between Alan McManus and Neil Robertson. Both players started the match by committing fouls and giving one to another the chance to take the lead, but only Alan succeeded in doing so. He hit in runs of 13 and 23, while Robbo only had a tiny and lonely 13 break on his side. But the match wasn’t over yet! Aussie seemed to wake up from the dead and he also started to run around the table trying to pot as many balls as possible and beat Alan. He made an incredible 39 break, a break that also meant a final score of 50-49! Robbo succeeded in hitting the last ball he needed just before the clock stopped, so the point he got by potting the ball added to his score, made him the winner. It doesn’t get better than this! :-))

King has crashed poor Steve Davis

One of the last matches of the evening was the clash between Mark King and Steve Davis, a match where King performed his second whitewash of the competition as he beat Steve 112-0. The funny thing is that Mark didn’t clear the table so Steve told the ref he didn’t take a shot, so that should count as a foul and that Mark should get 5 points and another shot at the table. Of course that Steve was joking in his own personal way saying that King performed like a... king :-)


The rest of the results:


Today snooker programme starts at 2:00 pm (UK time) for the first session and at 7:00 pm (UK time) for the second one, the draw being available from 2:00 pm, as the random draw will be performed, so pay me a visit later, ok ?:-)

Last 16 players:


The event is covered by SkySports 2, so don’t miss the chance to see who’ll win this Shoot-Out event premiere! :-)