Romanian Snooker Masters (Day 2) - Trump & Higgins reach QFs



The second day of the Romanian Snooker Masters saw some very exciting matches being played at the Metropolitan Circus arena, Judd Trump performing the third whitewash of the tournament, while the recent Welsh Open champion, John Higgins booked his place in the QFs.

Thursday seemed to be "the day" for Ryan Day as the Welshman beat Barry Hawkins 4-2, after being led by 2-1. Although the opening frame bared his signature, the next two were brutally conquered by Hawkins with breaks of 72 and 61.

However, Day kept his composure and used just a top break of 76 to win three frames in a row and book his quarter-finals place.

Next in line were John Higgins and his fellow countryman Anthony McGill.

McGill broke the ice with a gracefully cued 64 break, but Higgins hit one of those special scares of his (82 and 94) to go 2-1. And although Ants caught up with him thanks to a 85 break, it was the 2018 Welsh Open champion who got the final say and ended the match 4-2.

The evening came and with it "The Ace in the Pack" with a full display of his snooker skills.

Judd Trump faced Belgium's Luca Brecel in a one-sided match, which he won by hitting a myriad of breaks (101, 118, 57 and 52) for a perfect 4-0 result.

Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen were the ones that closed the second day of the tournament (in a match refereed by the Romanian Alex Crisan), Kyren obtaining a much-wanted and fought-for victory of 4-2.

A top break of 77 was the one who helped Kyren cash the first two frames of the match, but Allen hit  back with a superb 130 to win his first one.

However, the Englishman didn't seem to mind and continued his good run with a break of 62, to which Allen responded with a 85 to go just one behind.

The 6th frame saw Wilson make a 66 break and Allen left with 2 snooker, which sadly enough he didn't manage to obtain.

Today order of play:

13:00 Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire
14:00 Liang Wenbo v Stuart Bingham
19:00 John Higgins v Ryan Day
20:00 Kyren Wilson v Judd Trump

*all hours are local time

Photo credit: Romanian Snooker Masters

Romanian Snooker Masters (Day 1): Robertson & Selby face early exit


The first day of the Romanian Snooker Masters recorded some pretty huge shocks, as both Neil Robertson and Mark Selby faced an early first-round exit.

Spring has come to Bucharest, Romania and so did snooker, this magnificent combination kicking off this Wednesday at the Metropolitan Circus with the likes of Ali Carter, Mark Williams, Mark King and Stephen Maguire.

Interestingly enough the first two matches of the day ended on the same result, Carter whitewashing Willo, 4-0 thanks to breaks of 74, 133 and 71, while Maguire "burnt" King with the same result, supported by top breaks of 109, 61, 108 and 74.

The evening came and with it the first match that saw all its frames being played: Neil Robertson v. Stuart Bingham.

The 2015 world champion opened the scoreline with a top break of 91 to take the first two frames of the match, but Robertson fought back not only to draw level, but also to put his nose in front.

It was 3-2, but Bingham had other plans. Plans that made him hit a beautiful 137 break (the highest of the tournament so far) and win two consecutive frame to get his place booked in the quarter-finals.

A very different match followed next, as Mark Selby and Liang Wenbo took the stage in a pretty low-standard confrontation of cues.

The lads got tangled in a pretty scrappy, 43-minute opening frame which went Wenbo's way thanks to a top break of 48, to which the Chinese player added a 47 to go 2-0 up.

Selby pulled one back by using half a century break, but the next one was cashed by Wenbo who was now just one away from victory.

The fifth frame saw Selby barely managing to add it to his collection, everything ending with Wenbo's runs of 31 and 41, for a final result of 4-2.

Today's order of play:

13:00 Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
14:00  John Higgins v Anthony McGill

 19:00 Judd Trump v Luca Brecel
20:00 Mark Allen v Kyren Wilson

Photo credit: Romanian Snooker Masters

6 world champions part of Romanian Snooker Masters


The Romanian Snooker Masters event, due to take place in Bucharest this Spring between 14-18 of March will become the stage for no less than six world champions, as the likes of Mark Selby, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter and Neil Robertson will grace us with their presence (but also snooker skills) at the Metropolitan Circus Arena.

Unfortunately, the Romanian public's darling, Ronnie O'Sullivan is not part of the deal (a fact that saddens us truly), but we are sure that snooker is appreciated and loved beyond that.

On a more positive note though, the draw is ready, so here is the match schedule for Round One:

Mark Selby  – Liang Wenbo
Stuart Bingham – Neil Robertson
Mark Williams  – Ali Carter 
Shaun Murphy  – Stephen Maguire 
John Higgins – Anthony McGill 
Barry Hawkins  – Ryan Day 
Mark Allen  – Kyren Wilson
Judd Trump – Luca Brecel 

The first two rounds will be played on the "Best of 7" (Wednesday to Friday), the semi-finals will be played on Saturday on a "Best of 9" rule, while the Grand Final will take place on Sunday on a "Best of 19".

The tickets are already on sale on Entertix and MyTicket.ro

Romania to stage Romanian Snooker Masters



Romania will have the honor and privilege to stage, yet again, a new snooker tournament - the Romanian Snooker Master - between 14-18 of March this year, at the Metropolitan Circus Arena from Bucharest.

The country is no stranger from presenting snooker events, back in October 2016, staging the first and only (to this date) snooker ranking tournament in its history: The European Masters which delighted the public with a thriller final starring Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump, with the last named one winning 9-8.

It's been a bit lonely to have a snooker-less 2017, so this year World Snooker along with McCann and McCann/Thiess Events are organizing the Romanian Snooker Masters, an invitational tournament which will present to a hungry audience 16 players ready to cross their cues in their quest for a total money prize of 200,000 Euros.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to add this event to our 2017/18 World Snooker Tour calendar. We know how popular snooker is in Romania so it’s fantastic to be heading back there for a tour event. The players who make it to Bucharest will enjoy a fabulous atmosphere in an amazing city.

“We now have 29 tournaments on our global calendar this season. Our sport is growing around the world in terms of popularity and prize money so each event added to the Tour is great news for the players and fans.”


Cosmin Hodor, Event Director, said: "Romania has a strong culture for sport and we are delighted we will feature Romanian Snooker Masters in 2018, the year of the country’s Great Union centennial. We made great efforts to make this event happen and to strengthen our relationship with World Snooker and the players. We are honoured to see the best snooker players in the world come to Bucharest for a spectacular event."

Adrian Thiess, Event Promoter, added: “We are excited to have this event in Romania and to continue our efforts in featuring a snooker sports tradition in Romania. It means a lot the relationship we have with Ronnie O’Sullivan and the fact that he is keen to play in Romania. During the spring of 2016 we made a partnership with World Snooker for three snooker events in Romania and we are committed to honour this partnership."

The tickets are already up for grabs on Entertix and MyTicket.ro, so be sure to buy them fast and secure your spot for a genuine snooker show!

Also, keep an eye on the blog for the latest news! ;)
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