Players Tour Championship Event 12 - Hendry and Gould advance to semis

Joe Perry get a semis place

If the first day of the PTC 12 was a glorious one, the second one could only be better. The crowd came to support their favourite players, the players did their best to entertain them and in the end the four spots for the semis were occupied after some pretty bloody battles of cues.

The day started with the last two matches of the Last 16 round, Martin Gould winning 4-3 over David Grace, while Stephen Maguire hammered David Gilbert 4-1, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Minutes after, the brand new set of quarter-finals matches began.

The first to get through was Joe Perry who had to face Ricky Walden. It was a pretty scrappy affair, but with a top break of 81 "The Fen Potter" got a 2-0 lead over the 2008 Shanghai Masters champion.

Bye-bye Top 16 for now, for Walden

Understandably the next frame was a crucial one, Ricky needing it badly. Luckily for him Perry missed frame ball as he was on a 59 break, Walden taking advantage to take it under his belt. Sadly for Ricky it was going to be the first and the last frame of the match that was going his way.

The next two frames were cashed by Joe, this meaning not only that he got a place in the semis, but also that Walden can kiss a place in the Top 16 bye-bye.

Next, Mark Allen and Martin Gould took their places in the arena. The battle was yet to begin and everyone was buzzing with excitement to see these two snooker gladiators at work.

The one who broke the ice was Martin, but Mark used a perfect 105 to respond and take the second frame. "The Pinner Potter" tried his luck again, this time with a series of 56 and 22 for a 2-1 lead, but the Northern-Ireland's man drew level with the first chance he got.

Gould keeps going

The pattern was followed flawless as Gould's 63 made the scoreline turn into 3-2, Allen using a 75 to force the decider. But the funny thing is that the pattern I was telling you about was followed until the very end of the match, for the one who always got the lead in the match was also the one who won it, Gould booking himself a place in the semis by doing so.

After beating Marco Fu the other day, Stephen Hendry was due to meet the PTC 10 winner, Michael Holt. 
A series of 31, 38 and another 38 spiced with a bit of luck made the Scotsman fly 2-0 up over the Nottingham man, but his dominancy was soon over when his opponent fought back.

UK Championship runner-up, M. Allen going home

A top break of 63 was used to draw level at 2-2, while a re-spotted black brought Holty the leading position for the first time since the beginning of the match.

But Hendry didn't give up. A break of 56 was guaranteeing him to stay for the last frame of the cues' battle, while a tactical 81 was sealing his victory and his spot in the semis. What a victory for the seven-time world champion!

You (still) don't mess with the Master

Hendry is meeting a fellow-country in tomorrow's semi-final, Stephen Maguire who whitewashed PTC 5 champion Andrew Higginson just before Hendry started the snooker dispute with Holt.

It's going to be a hard task for Hendry to beat him, their last two encounters seeing the last named one win. During the 2011 Welsh Open, Maguire won 4-2 over Hendry, while the 2011 UK Championship saw Hendry lose 6-3 to the same determined Scotsman. But can the man who dominated the 90s break this pattern and defeat him now? We'll just have to wait and see.

Below you can check today's results:

Last 16



The quarter-finals





Tomorrow's match schedule: