The week-end has been extremely busy at the snooker tables, and this girl has been very busy herself, hence the lack of post over the last two days.

So then … here is what happened.

Neil Robertson won the Riga Masters, the first ranker of the season.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker

Sunday 29 Jul 2018 09:57PM

Neil Robertson won the first ranking title of the 2018/19 season by beating Jack Lisowski 5-2 in the final of the Kaspersky Riga Masters.

Australia’s 36-year-old Robertson collected the trophy and a cheque for £50,000 after winning six matches in the Latvian capital.

World number ten Robertson brings his career tally of ranking titles to 14, joining Mark Selby in joint-sixth place on the all-time list.

Last month Robertson revealed he was full of optimism for the new season, having changed cue for the first time in 20 years, and he couldn’t have made a better start to the campaign. He becomes the first player to win the title in Riga twice, having lifted the trophy in 2016.

Lisowski made it to the final of a ranking event for the first time in his career, notably beating Graeme Dott 4-0 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Maguire 5-1 in the semis earlier in the day. But the 27-year-old from Gloucestershire was no match for Robertson in the final.

Former World Champion Robertson won the first two scrappy frames, then made a superb break of 117 to go 3-0 ahead. Lisowski pulled one back and had chances in frame five, but Robertson cleared from the last red for 4-1.

The sixth went to Lisowski and again he had chances in frame seven, but Robertson got the better of a safety exchange on the last red and went on to seal victory.

”It was a tough final, we both played fantastic to get there but then we struggled tonight because the balls ran awkward,” said Robertson, who has won at least one tournament in every year since 2006. “I really had to use my experience. Jack will learn a lot from this, he will win many titles because he is such a talented player and it’s good to see his game coming on.

”I want to build on this and win multiple tournaments this season. I’m really enjoying playing at the moment.”

Lisowski said: “It’s a step in the right direction for me. I’m just disappointed to put on a display like that in the final. It was the first time I had played on the match table and I couldn’t adapt to it.

“I scored very heavily all week and barely missed a ball. Then in the final I missed a straight pink in the first frame and that unsettled me straight away.”

Earlier in the semis, Robertson scored a 5-0 win over Stuart Carrington, who reached the last four of a ranking event for the first time.

The next tournament is the Yushan World Open in China, running from August 6-12.

This was Jack Lisowski first ever final, and Stuart Carrington also excelled himself by reaching his first semi final.  Despite a somewhat depleted field, it was a good tournament. Zhao Xintong and Zhan Yong also did well reaching the last 16; Zhao took Shaun Murphy’s scalp. Graeme Dott, Liang Wenbo and Ricky Walden are both clearly returning to form as well , which is good to see.

The heartbreak of the tournament … has to be awarded to Liang Wenbo!

Detailed results on Cuetracker

Barry Pinches won the Challenge Tour Event 3

Image Worldsnooker

Here is the report on Worldsnooker

Saturday 28 Jul 2018 10:01AM

Veteran Barry Pinches won the third event on the new Challenge Tour series by beating Jackson Page 3-2 in the final in Latvia.

Former pro Pinches, age 48, beat a player 32 years younger in the final to take the £2,000 top prize.

Norwich cueman Pinches, a former UK Championship quarter-finalist, moves up to fourth place in the Challenge Tour rankings, with the top two at the end of the ten-event series to be promoted to the World Snooker Tour.

Results

Round one
Mitchell Mann 3-0 James McArdle
James Cahill 0-3 Charlie Walters
Jamie Curtis-Barrett 3-2 Andreas Ploner
John Foster 2-3 Steven Hallworth
Jackson Page 3-0 Felix Frede
Kevin van Hove 3-1 Dylan Emery
Jake Nicholson 3-1 Lucky Vatnani
Sean Maddocks 3-1 Daniel Womersley
Callum Lloyd 2-3 Brandon Sargeant

Round two
Saqib Nasir 0-3 Mitchell Mann
Barry Pinches 3-0 Charlie Walters
David Grace 0-3 Jamie Curtis-Barrett
Luke Simmonds v Steven Hallworth
Jackson Page 3-2 Kevin van Hove
Jamie O’Neill 3-2 Jake Nicholson
Joshua Cooper 3-2 Daniel Womersley
Patrick Whelan 2-3 Brandon Sargeant

Quarter-finals

Pinches 3-0 Mann
Curtis-Barrett 3-2 Hallworth
Page 3-2 O’Neill
Sargeant 3-0 Cooper

Semi-finals

Pinches 3-2 Curtis-Barrett
Page 3-2 Sargeant

Final

Pinches 3-2 Page

Barry Pinches is a lovely man who loves his snooker with a passion despite never really making it through to the top; he never got past the QF in any ranking event, but DID win a PTC, beating Ronnie in the final! He just loves to play and I’m sure he’d love nothing more than getting back on the tour.

The Pink Ribbon is down to the Pro stages

The biggest Charity Pro-Am is back again in SWSA in Gloucester. Because the clashes with the Riga Masters and the Challenge tour, one could fear that it would be a bit flat. Not at all. The Capital Venue was busy and buzzing all week-end. No tournament is more inclusive than this one: seniors and juniors, disabled and able-bodied,  pros, top amateurs and complete “non-players”, from UK, Ireland, Asia  and mainland Europe, all happily doing battle at the table for a great cause.

It continues today and tomorrow.

The best source to follow it, and have a look at the pictures is the SWSA Facebook Page

Be patient with results. With over 275 entries Clive Brown is a bit snowed under!

As for for Ronnie …

Those who follow his Instagram will know that he’s been in Sheffiled last week

Running and going back to training after a couple of lazy weeks …

Coooking on his boat …

AND practising! (at Vic Snooker Academy it seems)

And this came up on social media  …

Not sure what to make of this. Actually the poster only just shows all the winners of the event since its first edition in 2004. I wouldn’t take this as a sign that any of the players on the poster will be there. I would be surprised if Ronnie entered.

Adrian Thiess, the man who organised the snooker exhibitions in Romania with Ronnie, Stuart Bingham, Mark Williams, Mark Selby and more, a well as the first ranking tournament in Romania, the 2016 European Masters, paid tribute to Marius yesterday on his Facebook page:

Am gasit poza asta in telefon. Marius la prima vizita a lui Ronnie O’Sullivan in Romania. Noi la Isoletta. Am stat pana la 5 dimineata. Nu imi vine sa cred ca nu mai esti my friend… iti promit ca primul eveniment de snooker cu Ronnie iti va purta numele.

(automatic translation) I found this picture in the phone. Marius on Ronnie O ‘ Sullivan’s first visit to Romania. We at isoletta. I stayed until 5 in the morning. I can’t believe you’re not my friend anymore… I promise you the first snooker event with Ronnie will wear your name.

and yesterday this news came in the Romanian media

Sambata, 21 Iulie, 10:29

Marius Ancuța, unul dintre cei mai cunoscuți comentatori de snooker, a murit joi, la vârsta de 50 ani. Comentatorul celor mai importante evenimente din snooker pentru Eurosport a fost un pion important în popularizarea acestui sport în România.

La auzul veștii triste, Adrian Thiess, cel care a organizat mai multe turnee demonstrative de snooker la București și Cluj, dar și cel care a adus în România Campionatul European de snooker în 2017 și 2018, a luat decizia ca în cel mai scurt timp Capitala să găzduiască o nouă gală de snooker, care să poarte numele lui Ancuța și să-i fie dedicat fostului comentator.

Din informațiile GSP.RO, primul nume care a fost deja contactat pentru a participa la evenimentul de la București este campionul mondial Ronnie O’Sullivan, care și-a dat deja acordul să fie prezent la turneul organizat în memoria lui Marius Ancuța. Ronnie e de 5 ori campion mondial 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 și a fost unul dintre jucătorii pe care “Mario” îi aprecia cel mai mult.

De profesie medic stomatolog, Marius “Mario” Ancuţa a devenit în martie 2016 primul antrenor român de snooker acreditat de World Profesional Billiards and Snooker Association.

(google translate)

Marius Ancuţa, one of the most famous snooker commentators, died Thursday at the age of 50. The commentator of the most important snooker events for Eurosport has been an important step in popularizing this sport in Romania.

At the hearing of the sad news, Adrian Thiess, who organized several snooker demonstration tours in Bucharest and Cluj, but also the one who brought the European Snooker Championship to Romania in 2017 and 2018, made the decision that in the shortest time the capital to host a new snooker gala that bears the name of Ancuta and to be dedicated to the former commentator.

From the GSP.RO information, the first name that has already been contacted to attend the Bucharest event is World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has already agreed to be present at the tournament organized in memory of Marius Ancuta. Ronnie is 5 times world champion 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and was one of the players Mario liked most.

As a dentist, Marius “Mario” Ancuţa became the first Romanian snooker coach accredited by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in March 2016.

Now a word of caution about the news. I have no doubts about Adrian Thiess emotion or his intention to pay tribute to Marius but it would not be the first time that an exhibition is announced, and claims are made that Ronnie has agreed to it, but that eventually it doesn’t happen for various reasons. It would be nice and appropriate but let’s wait and see.

…