Carter wins Paul Hunter Classic 2015
Ali Carter beat Shaun
Murphy 4-3 to lift the crystalline Paul Hunter Classic trophy in Furth, Germany. The Captain had to face a revived Murphy who crawled back from being led 3-1 and dramatically won the 6th frame on the black.
This is actually the first ranking title that "The Captain" wins since the 2013 German Masters, but more importantly the first one since he got back on the Main Tour after defeating cancer (twice).
First one in the grand final, Carter hit in breaks of 61 and 33 to get the opener, to which Murphy replied with a top break of 72 to draw level.
Still, runs of 54 and 39
were guaranteeing the Essex-man to regain his leading position, while a
30-minutes and hard-fought 4th frame was leaving him just one away
from victory. The Captain was ready for take off as the scoreline went 3-1 in his favour.But as expected Murphy fought back and he did it in style by hitting a tremendous 83 break during frame five and winning the following one on the black after being 56-7 down.
However, his long potting just wasn't there when he needed it and that surely made a difference in the end.
Carter started the last frame by missing a red which left Murphy with a huge chance, but be broke down on 21, this allowing "The Captain" the opportunity to wrap it up. And with a sublime 95 clearance he did just that.
The players hugged
each-other, while an overexcited crowd gave the champion a standing ovation. An emotional Carter talked with Rolf Kalb about the fact that: "A year ago, I was trying to stay alive, really!"
"Today it was about the bigger picture, about what Paul suffered with and what I suffered with last year. It's bigger then me winning the tournament ... it's for everyone out there who's facing a battle like we did."
Alan, Paul Hunter's father was the one to hand Carter the crystal trophy while the audience acknowledged the magnitude of the moment and rewarded the winner and the runner-up with applause.
Later on, on his Twitter account, Ali wrote: "What do we all think of that then!!!? Can't believe I've won again after everything I've been through. #special"
Next tournament in the snooker calendar is of course the Six Red World Championship that will take place in Thailand between 07-12 September.
2 comments:
Hi Ramona. Would you mind if I use this story to help write my own?
Hi there! Sure, no problem as long as you don't copy it word by word. If you intend to publish it as it is, I would very much like to get a mention for it.
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