Ronnie reached the final of the Champion of Champion for the fourth time, in four participations, by beating Anthony Hamilton by 6-2, from 2-0 down. He also made his 900th competitive century in frame 5 of the match. The match was played in very good spirit. When Anthony made a bizarre foul whilst breaking off, Ronnie very sportively offered him the opportunity to break off again, both were all smiles during the incident. And when Ronnie knocked in century n° 900, Anthony came to him to congratulate him. Ronnie admitted afterward that he felt tense at the start of the match. They know each other, practice together and that doesn’t make it easier, especially for Ronnie who had all the weight of expectations on his shoulders.

Ronnie had prepared seriously for the match … lauding the food on twitter as well!

Here is the report on the Champion of Champions website:

O’SULLIVAN REACHES FOURTH 188BET CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS FINAL

SEMI-FINAL
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6–2 Anthony Hamilton
69-71 (O’Sullivan 57), 52-68, 128-0 (O’Sullivan 124), 88-0 (O’Sullivan 74), 109-5 (O’Sullivan 109), 102-6 (O’Sullivan 52), 75-37 (O’Sullivan 68), 78-16 (O’Sullivan 78)

 

Ronnie O’Sullivan recorded his 900th career century break en-route to reaching the 188BET Champion of Champions final for a fourth time with a 6-2 semi-final success over Anthony Hamilton at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

The only time O’Sullivan hasn’t made the final of this tournament was in 2015, when he did not participate, and his only defeat here was in last season’s showpiece against John Higgins.

Having beaten Neil Robertson and Higgins in the group stage, O’Sullivan found himself 2-0 down in the early stages of his semi-final as Hamilton twice took advantage of ‘The Rocket’ accidentally knocking in a colour. O’Sullivan hit back in the third with a 124, his 899th career century and drew level in time for the mid-session interval with a 74.

When the players returned O’Sullivan marked his latest career milestone with a 109 break to take the lead for the first time in the match, and he didn’t look back from there. A 68 break in the seventh put him one frame from the final, and

“It will be my fourth final in four visits, two wins and one loss last year,” said O’Sullivan. “Of course it would be nice to win, but I just want to enjoy it. I think I play best when I am relaxed and sometimes you get a bit tense and tight out there and you lose the flow, so the more relaxed you are the stronger your flow.

“To reach 900 centuries is a big milestone and the crowd enjoyed it. I will be trying to get to the 1,000 as quickly as possible.

“Luca and Shaun Murphy are both fantastic players and I would pay to watch that game tomorrow because they are both great, attacking players.

“I will go home tonight, have a day at home, come back tomorrow night and on Sunday go out and have faith in my own game and hopefully come in and have spells where I have spells where I am strong in the match and try and dominate, and when I am not so strong try and limit the damage.”

O’Sullivan will face either Shaun Murphy or Luca Brecel in Sunday’s best-of-19 final, with his opponent to be determined on Saturday evening.

Broadcast on ITV4 in the UK and on networks around the world, the 188BET Champion of Champions carries a £370,000 prize fund with the winner taking home £100,000.

Videos of interest:

Ronnie vs Anthony Hamilton SF preview (including part 2 of Ronnie’s interview with Stephen Hendry

Ronnie vs Anthony SF – the match

2017 CoC: MSI of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Anthony Hamilton match

Ronnie vs Anthony Hamilton SF review with Ronnie in the studio

There was also an announcement by Worldsnooker regarding the future of the Champion of Champions:

Friday 10 Nov 2017 04:22PM

Matchroom Multi Sport are delighted to announce a new three-year agreement which will see snooker’s prestigious Champion of Champions remain at Ricoh Arena, Coventry until 2020 with tickets for 2018 on sale on Monday, November 13 2017.

Since its inaugural running in 2013, the Champion of Champions has gone from strength to strength with players and fans united in seeing the tournament as one of the highlights of the snooker calendar.

Broadcast live on ITV4 and on networks around the world, the Champion of Champions brings together 16 players, all World Snooker Tour winners over the previous 12 months, and has been won  by some of the sport’s biggest names – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2013, 2014), Neil Robertson (2015) and John Higgins (2016).

The 2018 Champion of Champions will be staged from Monday, November 5 until Sunday, November 11.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn commented: “The Ricoh Arena is a great venue for snooker and I am thrilled that our excellent relationship with the venue will continue for at least a further three years.

“Since the first Champion of Champions in 2013 we have seen a year-on-year rise in attendance as the tournament has cemented itself as one of the major events of the snooker calendar. The people of Coventry come out in force to support snooker’s best players every November and we’re pleased they will be able to continue to do so.

“With record crowds, record TV numbers and 16 of the very best players in the world, I have no doubt that the Champion of Champions will continue to be a must-see. It’s a tournament all players are desperate to compete in and we look forward to seeing the best of the best at the Ricoh Arena for a further three years.”

Stuart Cain, commercial director for Wasps and the Ricoh Arena, added: “The growing success of Champion of Champions is testament to the Ricoh Arena’s ability of being able to host world-class sporting events, and we are delighted to have secured the tournament for the next three years.

“To have 16 of the world’s best snooker players performing on our doorstep is something both the Ricoh Arena and the wider region should be proud of.”

Tickets for the 2018 Champion of Champions will go on sale this Monday, November 13 from www.championofchampionssnooker.co.uk

Ronnie won group 4, the “group of death”, yesterday in Coventry to complete the semi-finals line-up. He beat both Neil Robertson and John Higgins soundly.

Here is the report on the Champion of Champions website

O’SULLIVAN ROCKETS INTO LAST FOUR OF 188BET CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

GROUP FOUR RESULTS
GROUP FINAL
John Higgins 0–6 Ronnie O’Sullivan
41-85, 48-80, 0-81 (O’Sullivan 81), 1-93, 34-101 (O’Sullivan 101), 130-0 (O’Sullivan 138)

GROUP SEMI FINALS
John Higgins 4-0 Anthony McGill
83-33 (Higgins 50), 78-41 (Higgins 75), 80-29 (Higgins 78), 101-23 (Higgins 85)
Ronnie 4-1 Neil Robertson
88-0, 29-66, 78-44 (O’Sullivan 70), 72-9 (O’Sullivan 72), 134-0 (O’Sullivan 134)

Ronnie O’Sullivan fired himself into the semi-finals of the 188BET Champion of Champions, sweeping John Higgins aside in a 6-0 drubbing, having beaten Neil Robertson 4-1 earlier in the day.

‘The Rocket’ is a two-time Champion of Champions winner and his only defeat at the tournament came in last year’s final against Higgins. He beat Robertson in less than 90 minutes in his group semi-final, with a 134 to end the match.

In the group final he met Higgins, a match many expected to go down to the wire. But O’Sullivan stormed to a 4-0 lead at the mid-session, his best break at that stage an 81 to win the third frame in just 6 minutes 47 seconds.

The Masters champion continued where he left off after the break, a 101 clearance seeing him move to a 5-0 lead before recording the tournament’s highest break so far, 138, for a place in the last four.

“I felt like I was in control of my game today,” said O’Sullivan. “Just enjoying playing, enjoying competing and knowing that if I stay focussed and give every shot 100 percent I will have impacts in parts of the game where I can dominate and pull away.

“The only way you beat Higgins 6-0 is if he has played poorly because if he plays well, no matter how well you play, he will have an impact on the game. The scoreline was more to do with John not being anywhere near where he is capable of being, and I punished him and stayed professional and disciplined and did a job.”

O’Sullivan will face German Masters winner Anthony Hamilton over 11 frames in Friday evening’s semi-final, knowing victory will see him through to the 188BET Champion of Champions final for the fourth time in four visits to the tournament.

“Anthony had a great season last season with the semi-final in Belfast and winning the German Masters. It was a fantastic story and he has earnt his right to be in this tournament. To come through any of these groups you have to play well, so there are four players in the semi-finals who are obviously playing alright.”

In his group semi-final Higgins had beaten fellow Anthony McGill 4-0 to set up the clash with O’Sullivan.

The 188BET Champion of Champions semi-final line-up is now complete. O’Sullivan will meet Group One winner Anthony Hamilton on Friday evening, before Saturday sees Shaun Murphy up against Luca Brecel. Both semi-finals are a best of 11, with Sunday’s final a best of 19 played over two sessions.

Broadcast on ITV4 in the UK and on networks around the world, the 188BET Champion of Champions carries a £370,000 prize fund with the winner taking home £100,000.

Videos of interest:

Ronnie vs Neil Robertson preview

Ronnie vs Neil Robertson, the match

Ronnie vs Neil Robertson review

Ronnie vs John Higgins preview + Stephen Hendry interview Ronnie (part 1)

Ronnie vs John Higgins, the match

2017 CoC: MSI of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match

Ronnie vs John Higgins review with Ronnie in the studio

So Ronnie loves a “Numpty free zone” tournament … who would have thought?

Tonight Ronnie will face Anthony Hamilton for a place in the final. It would be a huge mistake to underestimate Anthony and I would be surprised if Ronnie did. He practiced with Anthony in the past and has the uttermost respect for his ability. Anthony when relaxed is a deadly break builder and I expect him to be relaxed. He has nothing to lose, all the expectations will be on Ronnie’s shoulders.

Luca Brecel was impressive yesterday in beating Judd Trump by 4-0 in about 50 minutes, then knocking out the World Champion by 6-4 in the evening. Mark Selby was visibly extremely tired and did well to go that far actually. Once again he showed his battling qualities.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Thursday 9 Nov 2017 09:39AM

Luca Brecel played some scintillating snooker as he dumped Judd Trump and Mark Selby out of the 188BET Champion of Champions on Wednesday.

China Championship winner Brecel won Group Three to set up a semi-final clash with Shaun Murphy on Saturday evening at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. In perhaps the best performances the tournament has seen so far, the Belgian defeated Trump 4-0 in less than 50 minutes in the group semi-final before fending off a Selby fight back to take the group final 6-4.

World No 1 Selby won the International Championship in Daqing on Sunday evening and had only arrived back in the UK on Tuesday afternoon. He beat Liang Wenbo 4-3 in his semi-final and made a brisk 125 in the opening frame of the group final in the evening.

Brecel hit back with breaks of 57 and 70 en route to a 3-1 mid-session lead. Selby took the fifth frame before the ‘Belgian Bullet’ extended his advantage to 5-2. A 76 break kept the World Champion’s hopes alive and he closed the gap to one by taking the ninth frame.

But when finally given a clear-cut chance in the 10^th, Brecel was faultless and claimed his second scalp of the day.

“When I saw the draw I knew it would be very tough, especially not playing with my own cue,” he said. “It was a big test for me but I succeeded. I felt so confident after the first frame against Trump and to beat Judd like that is amazing.

“I was using a different cue because I lost mine in the airport in Beijing. I won’t have my cue back for Saturday – I ordered a new one so maybe I will have it after Shanghai.

“When you get in front against Mark you know it will be tough but I have had good experiences in close games this season, so I was confident of winning. The final clearance, from brown to black I was shaking – it has been a long time since I have been shaking like that.

“This is a beautiful tournament. There is a nice crowd, the table is unbelievable and it is a nice arena. It is a very special tournament.

“I have played Shaun a lot over the last few years, we have four wins each, so it will be a tough game and I think it will be an aggressive game as well on Saturday.”

Selby, who beat Liang Wenbo 4-3 in his group-semi final, added: “Luca played well all match. I missed a blue to go 2-2 at the interval, and if I pot that it could be a different game. He scored well when he got in more times than not, and he made a great clearance at the end.

“He has had a great season so far and he is showing the potential everybody has been talking about for many years.”

Thursday sees Group Four action at the 188BET Champion of Champions. Masters Winner Ronnie O’Sullivan faces Neil Robertson before John Higgins gets his tournament defence underway against fellow Scot, Anthony McGill.

Featuring tournament winners from the last 12 months including Higgins, Selby and O’Sullivan, the 188BET Champion of Champions marks its fifth year as players go head to head for the prestigious title and the £100,000 winner’s prize.

The 16-player field is split into four groups of four players with each group comprising two semi-finals played over seven frames in the afternoon session, followed by a final in the evening played over 11 frames.

The four group winners proceed to the best of 11 semi-finals, with the Group One winner facing the Group Four winner on Friday, November 10 and the players emerging from Groups Two and Three up against each other on the evening of Saturday, November 11.

The 19-frame final will be played over two sessions on Sunday, November 12.

Group Three Results
GROUP FINAL
Mark Selby 4–6 Luca Brecel
125-8 (Selby 125), 8-81 (Brecel 57), 0-87 (Brecel 70), 44-51, 75-8, 31-72 (Brecel 50), 4-79 (Brecel 53), 76-20 (Selby 76), 58-19, 62-65 (Selby 61, Brecel 55)

 GROUP SEMI-FINALS
Mark Selby 4-3 Liang Wenbo
25-71, 79-39, 18-82 (Wenbo 53), 129-0 (Selby 112), 83-36, 46-81, 76-11 (Selby 50)

Judd Trump 0-4 Luca Brecel
10-78, 4-103 (Brecel 103), 12-117 (Brecel 105), 36-87 (Brecel 87)

Of the three semi finalists already known, Luca is the only one who qualified for the Shanghai Masters. Today we have two players, Ronnie and John Higgins, who DID qualify for the Shanghai Masters – a ranking event carrying lots of points – facing two players, Neil Robertson and Anthony McGill, who did not qualify. Whoever plays in the final week-end will inevitably be very tired coming to China; jet lag is a reality as we have seen with Mark Selby yesterday. The schedule is such that it’s humanly impossible to perform well in all events. I wonder how Ronnie and John will handle the situation. I’m NOT suggesting that either may throw the match deliberately. Both are very competitive animals. However they might deep down have mixed priorities, as winning here might jeopardise their chances in Shanghai, whilst their opponents will be 100% focused on this event.

Shaun Murphy is the second man through to the semi finals.

Read here the report on Worldsnooker

Wednesday 8 Nov 2017 08:13AM

Shaun Murphy progressed to the semi-finals of the 188BET Champion of Champions for the first time, winning Group Two with victories over Mark King and Michael White at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on Tuesday.

‘The Magician’ had never before won a match at this tournament, but he showed both his class and his ability to grind it out in progressing to the last four.

Paul Hunter Classic winner White had taken the opening frame of the Group Two final but a run of three consecutive centuries from Murphy saw the Gibraltar Open champion take a 3-1 lead at the interval.

‘The Magician’ had broken his 188BET Champion of Champions hoodoo earlier in the day. Having lost in the first round in each of the last four years, he overcame King in a gritty group semi-final to set up the clash with White.

The Welshman was unfazed by his opponent’s fluid and rapid move to a 3-1 lead and hit back immediately after the mid-session with back-to-back frames to level the match. The pair shared the following two frames before a 93 break put Murphy on the brink and he closed out the win in the following frame.

“My record here couldn’t have been any worse so to come here today and make it to the last four, I am over the moon,” said Murphy. “I can’t wait to come back on Saturday and get stuck in.

“The semi-final should have been 3-3 going into the final frame but I got my chance and stood up and took the balls, which is what I needed to do.

“The way I play snooker – aggressive, going for my shots, long pots, big breaks – I have to be getting them because my B-game, C-game doesn’t really exist. I never have been a really good safety player and I have accepted now that if I am going to win, I have to win like that. In the group final I had three centuries, a 78 and a 93.

“At the mid-session I was feeling fantastic and would have given anything to carry on. I was really in the rhythm but then I had some bad luck and I am sat there thinking nothing is going right. I am relieved, happy and thrilled to be going forward to Saturday.”

Earlier in the day White had defeated Scottish Open champion Marco Fu 4-3 with a 102 in the deciding frame. The Welshman had taken a two frame lead but Fu pegged him back to 2-2 and then 3-3 before his first century of the tournament came at just the right time to take White through to the group final.

Murphy only had a 30-minute turnaround after beating English Open winner Mark King in his semi-final. ‘The Magician’ registered a 4-2 victory in a match timed at 2hours 50minutes. He first took the lead at 3-2 having twice trailed, and the match looked to be heading for a decider when King’s break broke down on 53, allowing Murphy in to steal with a 69 clearance to win the match.

The 188BET Champion of Champions continues with Group Three on Wednesday. Mark Selby – who won four ranking titles including the World Championship to qualify for the tournament – takes on Liang Wenbo in the first group semi-final, followed by Judd Trump against Luca Brecel.

Featuring tournament winners from the last 12 months including John Higgins, Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan, the 188BET Champion of Champions marks its fifth year as players go head to head for the prestigious title and the £100,000 winner’s prize.

The 16-player field is split into four groups of four players with each group comprising two semi-finals played over seven frames in the afternoon session, followed by a final in the evening played over 11 frames.

The four group winners proceed to the best of 11 semi-finals, with the Group One winner facing the Group Four winner on Friday, November 10 and the players emerging from Groups Two and Three up against each other on the evening of Saturday, November 11.

The 19-frame final will be played over two sessions on Sunday, November 12.

Group Two Results
GROUP FINAL
Shaun Murphy 6-4 Michael White
12-82 (White 52), 108-6 (Murphy 101), 125-0 (Murphy 121), 123-7 (Murphy 123), 0-81 (White 58), 41-83, 78-0 (Murphy 78), 22-86, 93-0 (Murphy 93), 88-30

GROUP SEMI-FINALS
Marco Fu 3-4 Michael White
2-99 (White 70), 1-83 (White 60), 110-1 (Fu 91), 84-7 (Fu 77), 22-69 (White 45), 100-28 (Fu 100), 12-106 (White 102)

Shaun Murphy 4-2 Mark King
31-75, 123-5 (Murphy 78), 55-66, 81-44 (Murphy 50), 86-0, 69-63 (Murphy 69, King 53)

…

The Champion of Champions 2017 started yesterday, in the always nice setup, with a relatively “easy” group: Ding Hamilton, Day and Hawkins. Most fans – and the bookies – fancied Ding to come out the winner at the end of the day. Not so, it was Hamilton, probably the unlikeliest of the four who booked his spot in the semi-finals.

Here is the report on the Champion of Champions website

HAMILTON BOOKS PLACE IN 188BET CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS SEMI-FINALS

Anthony Hamilton became the first man through to the semi-finals of the 188BET Champion of Champions, beating Ryan Day 6-4 in the Group One final at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

Hamilton, who qualified for the 188BET Champion of Champions when he won the first ranking title of his 26-year career at the German Masters in February, trailed 2-0 in the early stages of the group final but drew level at 2-2 by the mid-session interval.

Day soon regained his two-frame advantage in the best of 11 clash with the help of a 133 break in the fifth, but Hamilton again fought back to tie the match at 4-4, before pulling ahead and taking what became the final frame 62-56 to secure his place in the last four.

“I beat two good players today,” said Hamilton, who will play the winner of Thursday’s Group Four over 11 frames on Friday evening.

“They were both hard matches for me because I was struggling with my game – I have had a few weeks off, so I was a bit rusty. I am proud that I dug and kept punching away – look what can happen if you don’t stop punching.

“I am 46, I have to make the most of these opportunities, so I just kept punching. I am either good or bad at the moment – I can be world class or really bad. Whether I make a 140 or miss four blacks off the spot, I am trying to be the same.

“I will play the winner of the group that includes Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins. I’d love to play either of them. I don’t mind if I get pumped – it could be my last time to play one of the gods in a great venue. It would be perfect.”

Earlier in the day Hamilton had beaten Ding Junhui 4-2 in the day’s first group semi-final. The match was locked at 2-2 with three to play, but Hamilton managed to pull clear in a scrappy encounter, sealing the victory with a 75 clearance.

Day booked his place in the evening’s final with a 4-2 success over Barry Hawkins. Both players scored centuries as that match too reached 2-2, but breaks of 79 in the fifth frame and then 71 in the sixth saw the Welshman to the final.

The 188BET Champion of Champions continues with Group Two on Tuesday. Marco Fu plays Michael White at 1pm, followed by Shaun Murphy vs. Mark King.

Featuring tournament winners from the last 12 months including John Higgins, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan, the 188BET Champion of Champions marks its fifth year as players go head to head for the prestigious title and the £100,000 winner’s prize.

The 16-player field is split into four groups of four players with each group comprising two semi-finals played over seven frames in the afternoon session, followed by a final in the evening played over 11 frames.

The four group winners proceed to the best of 11 semi-finals, with the Group One winner facing the Group Four winner on Friday, November 10 and the players emerging from Groups Two and Three up against each other on the evening of Saturday, November 11.

The 19-frame final will be played over two sessions on Sunday, November 12.

And watch here is the postmatch discussion

Worldsnooker has now published the draw and format for

The Northern Ireland Open 2017

Monday 6 Nov 2017 09:09PM

The field of top stars for this month’s Northern Ireland Open world ranking event has now been confirmed.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The tournament runs from November 20 to 26 at the Belfast Waterfront and it’s the second in the season’s Home Nations series.

Matches to look out for in the first round include:

Mark Allen v Sanderson Lam – Monday November 20 not before 7pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Lukas Kleckers – Tuesday November 21 not before 7pm

Judd Trump v Stuart Carrington – Tuesday November 21 at 1pm

John Higgins v Nigel Bond – Tuesday November 21 afternoon session

Shaun Murphy v Chen Zifan – Monday November 20 afternoon session

Other top stars competing include Neil Robertson, Joe Swail, Jimmy White and defending champion Mark King.

Tickets for the event are still available and start at just £10 – incredible value for the chance to see the world’s top stars. For details CLICK HERE

A bit surprisingly, Mark Selby hasn’t entered this one… but then he doesn’t need to and, probably prefers to concentrate on his preparation for the UK Championship where he is the defending champion.

The UK Championship 2017

Monday 6 Nov 2017 09:19PM

The draw and format for the Betway UK Championship is now available.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The event runs from November 28 to December 10 at the York Barbican. Tickets for certain sessions are still available – for details CLICK HERE 

Ronnie will start his UK Championship campaign against Rhys Clark, on November 30, at 7:30 pm.

Mark Selby defended his title today in Daqing, beating Mark Allen by 10-7 in the Final.

Congratulations Mark Selby!

Here is the report on Worldsnooker

Sunday 5 Nov 2017 02:38PM

Mark Selby won his first title of the season by beating Mark Allen 10-7 in the final of the OPPO International Championship in Daqing, China.

World number one Selby won the prestigious title for the second consecutive year having beaten Ding Junhui 10-1 in the 2016 final.

This time the Leicester cueman was pushed much harder – especially when Allen came from 8-3 down to 9-7 – but Selby eventually got over the winning line to secure the £150,000 top prize. It’s the 13th ranking title of his career, bringing him level with Ding, joint-sixth on the all-time list.

Selby made a slow start to the current season, suffering a toe injury in June which caused him to miss the early stages of the campaign, and then failing to go beyond the quarter-finals of the next five ranking events.

But – as he does so often – he has risen to the occasion in one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar this week and will go home with the trophy. It’s Selby’s sixth ranking title in the last 16 months, a golden spell which has also seen him win his third World Championship and second UK Championship crowns.

The 34-year-old is now nearly £800,000 ahead of Ding at the top of the world rankings, while Allen’s £75,000 runner-up prize sees him jump from 11th to sixth.

Northern Irishman Allen missed the chance to win his fourth ranking title, but it’s still a welcome return to form for the 31-year-old from Antrim, who had not previously reached a ranking final since winning the Players Championship 20 months ago.

Selby won the opening frame with a break of 67 then Allen levelled with a 110. Runs of 50 and 61 helped put Selby 3-1 up, before Allen pulled one back with a 98. Selby then took control by winning three frames in a row with top breaks of 55, 60 and 61. Allen won the last frame of the opening session with a superb 137 to keep himself in touch at 6-3.

The early exchanges of the evening session went Selby’s way as he won two frames without his opponent scoring a point, making it 8-3. Frame 12 could have gone either way but Allen took it with a yellow-to-pink clearance, and he went on to make 78 in the next to close to 8-5 at the interval.

Selby’s run of 90 put him four up with five to play and he had chances to seal victory in frame 15, but couldn’t take one and his opponent won it on the colours. Allen got the better of a scrappy 16th as well to close to 9-7. But Selby took control of frame 17 with a run of 49 and later got back in to add 19 points to clinch the title.

“The standard of the final was very good,” said Selby. “I knew it would be tough. We both played at the top of our game and I’m happy to be on the winning side.

“Mark never knows when he’s beaten and he has a lot of bottle. It didn’t surprise me when he came back at me. I just had to stay calm and wait for my chance. To defend a big title like this is a great feeling. As long as I keep winning tournaments I can be world number one for a lot longer. The events come thick and fast over the next few weeks and as I’m playing well I prefer that.”

Allen said: “I never gave up, even at 8-3 down. At 9-7 I felt I was back in the match. But I was always hanging on to his coat tails, I missed too many chances and played too many careless safeties, and you can’t do that against the best player in the world. Overall I’m disappointed with the way I played.

“Mark is a so good in every department, he’s a great role-model for our sport and someone we all look up to. He’s just a bit better than everyone else. He’s definitely in the top five players of all-time now, along with Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Steve Davis. I need to go away and work hard and try to get better.”

The result means that Neil Robertson earns the 16th and final spot in the 188BET Champion of Champions which starts on Monday.

Other than the fact that it’s Neil Robertson who will be Ronnie’s first opponent next week, this result of course impacts the ranking and seeding lists. Regarding this event though you have to wonder how Ronnie and Higgins can be in the same group. You would expect the four top seeds to be the Defending Champion, the World Champion, the UK Champion and the Masters Champion. The fact that  the Defending Champion is in the same group as the Masters Champion is bizarre to say the least, especially considering that the World Champion and UK Champion are the same person, Mark Selby. The groups seem to be very uneven in strength.

Ronnie is currently 6th in the race to the Crucible, as well as in the provisional end of season rankings.