Ronnie hadn’t played competitive snooker since his defeat to Ali Carter at the Crucible last April. Meeting Neil Robertson, who won the Riga Masters end July, was a very tough challenge, all the more so as he is the Defending Champion, but Ronnie stood to it. He beat Neil by 6-3 in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters in today’s only evening match (afternoon in Europe).

It was a high-quality match as the scores show:

I didn’t know what to expect TBH and Ronnie’s “performance” in the coaching exhibition had me a bit worried. But he played quite well. The main weakness remains his break-off, leaving a long red at his opponent mercy more often than not…

Here is the report on Worldsnooker

Wednesday 12 Sep 2018 04:15PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan secured victory in his first appearance of the World Snooker Tour season, defeating Neil Robertson 6-3 at the Shanghai Masters.

Defending champion O’Sullivan enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns of his career in 2017/18, winning five ranking titles in a single season for the first time and securing a sixth UK Championship title.

He picked up silverware here in Shanghai last year thanks to a 10-3 demolition of Judd Trump in the final.

The Rocket showed no signs of rust in the early stages this evening and came storming out of the blocks. A break of 97 gave him the opener, before he controlled the second to go 2-0 ahead. There was then a dramatic third frame, which O’Sullivan eventually claimed on the black.

Robertson did take the last frame before the mid-session to trail just 3-1. However, O’Sullivan managed the game and they traded frames until he emerged the 6-3 victor.

“Neil can play better. I can play better. It wasn’t the worst match,” said O’Sullivan. “When you haven’t played a match for four months you lose the feeling of when to go for a shot and when not to. I’ve just been doing exhibitions and practising and if you miss you don’t get punished. This is the first good player I have played in four months. You need to adjust a bit.”

Next for Ronnie is Stuart Bingham: they will play tomorrow afternoon (morning in Europe).

Meanwhile here are a few images: big thanks to Tai Chengzhe

Here is the match … enjoy!

The two remaining first round matches were played in the morning, then we had four last 16 matches.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Tuesday 11 Sep 2018 04:31PM

A sublime performance from Ding Junhui saw him defeat Mark Allen 6-3 at the Shanghai Masters.

There was a passionate sold-out crowd to witness the Chinese number one competing this evening. Ding returned to action at last week’s Six Red World Championship following the recent birth of his baby girl and after reaching the final in Bangkok, he looks to be continuing his momentum in Shanghai.

Ding trailed this clash 3-1, but from there he produced a blistering surge to the finish post. The 13-time ranking event winner strung together five frames in a row with breaks of 138, 90, 88 and 75 to claim victory.

The win sets up a repeat of the 2016 World Championship final, where Ding lost out against Mark Selby.

Ding said: “I played well in the second half of the match and played a very aggressive game. I created chances with my long potting and put pressure on my opponent. It was one visit snooker. I wasn’t thinking during the match so I managed to keep a quick rhythm. I’m happy with the win, but it has been a while away from my daughter and I miss her a lot.

“I can’t figure out what strategy to use against Mark Selby. It is always him using strategy against everyone else.”

Selby was on the verge of an early exit, but came through a nerve jangling encounter with young Chinese star Zhou Yuelong 6-5.

The world number one trailed 5-3, but crucially snatched three frames in a row to edge into the next round.

Kyren Wilson won a repeat of the 2015 Shanghai Masters final, downing Judd Trump 6-2. Incredibly, that was the Warrior’s 18^th win in a row after picking up consecutive titles at the Paul Hunter Classic and Six Red World Championship.

Anthony McGill put on an impressive display to defeat Chinese sensation Yan Bingtao 6-2. While Ryan Day defeated Chang Bingyu by the same scoreline.

Barry Hawkins clinched his spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-3 defeat of Scotland’s Stephen Maguire.

I have little to add to this report. Anthony Mc Gill played indeed very well, much better than he did at the Crucible last May. If he can keep it at that level, he’s certainly a contender for the title. That said Yan didn’t put him under any pressure for what I’ve seen. Kyren Wilson is the man in form, and full of confidence. There were no signs of feeling the pressure for Ding, at least in the second half of the match (I didn’t see the first). Maybe becoming a father has put some things in perspective and winning or losing at snooker isn’t the alpha and omega of his life anymore. That will make him even more dangerous. Mark Selby was poor but still found a way to win … déjà vu!

Tomorrow we will have John Higgins v Ryan Day, Mark Williams v Anthony McGill in the afternoon, and Ronnie v Neil Robertson in the evening. It’s a very tough opening match for Ronnie, and, TBH, I’m not too confident.

Six matches were scheduled on day 1 of this year’s Shanghai Masters, each featuring a top 16 player and a Chinese player. All but one were won by the top 16 seed, the only exception being Luca Brecel’s defeat to Zhou Yuelong.

Stuart Bingham has now a bye to the quater finals as Shaun Murphy has withdrawn. Shaun’s newborn daughter Molly is in hospital and she is, rightly, Shaun’s main priority. I want to wish little Molly and Shaun’s family all the best. I hope all will be well soon.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Monday 10 Sep 2018 05:58PM

Kyren Wilson extended his hot streak of form with a 6-3 win over Liang Wenbo on day one of the 2018 Shanghai Masters.

Wilson came into this week having won back-to-back titles at the Paul Hunter Classic and the Six Red World Championship. The Warrior claimed the Six Red world crown just two days ago in Bangkok, thanks to an 8-4 defeat of Ding Junhui in the final.

That means Wilson has now won 17 matches on the bounce and is undoubtedly the form player in the field.

The timely nature of the Englishman’s run of form is emphasised by the fact that the new look Shanghai Masters, is now the most lucrative invitational event of all time. The winner will earn £200,000 with there being a total prize fund of £725,000. The elite 24-man field includes all of the world’s top 16 players.

If Wilson were to take the title this week he would become the first player since John Higgins in 2001, to win three tournaments in a row.

Wilson said: “Any win now is very tough. The tour is so good. If I could emulate someone like John Higgins that would be a dream come true.

“My career really kick started when I won this event in 2015. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself to go and win more events and maybe that is why I hesitated later on in tournaments after that.”

Stephen Maguire secured a hard fought 6-4 victory against the winner of the amateur Shanghai Masters event, Pu QingSong.

The Scot had trailed 26-year-old Pu 3-0, but he dug deep to claim six out of the next seven frames to progress.

“Not for one second did I take him lightly. I know how good the Chinese players are. Although, I didn’t expect him to be as good as he was,” said Maguire. “It is quite scary. It makes you feel old out there. I think because of the age, a little bit of experience helped in the end.”

Stuart Bingham recorded the only whitewash of the day, demolishing Fan Zhengyi 6-0. While Zhou Yuelong booked a last 16 clash with Mark Selby after defeating Luca Brecel 6-4.

The evening session saw Neil Robertson crush Guo Hua 6-1 and Mark Allen battle past Xiao Guodong 6-4.

You will also find the detailed results, and links to the videos, at snooker.org

Now this is interesting, and I’d like to get Lewis opinion on the subject: Fan Zhengyi, who is an “academy kid” and a hot prospect, was absolutely destroyed by Stuart Bingham. But the two “club players” Pu Qingsong and Guo Hua – who had been coached by Ronnie and Willo – gave a very good account of themselves. This was acknowledged by Stephen Maguire who had to work hard to beat Pu. The 6-1 score in the Neil Robertson v Guo is a bit misleading too. Guo played some great shots and was often first in, but never really got the pace of the table, which in turn prevented him to score heavily as he often ran out of position. Neil eventually managed a big break in most frames, but needed at least 3 or 4 chances before he got going. Had Guo been a bit more used to the conditions – the television Star table  plays very differently than a club table – the match would have been extremely close. So, why? Could it be that those club players, who certainly play in local leagues on a regular basis – have mental skills and hands-on experience that can’t be acquired in the “academy” context?

Anyway … if you wonder what coaching Pu and Guo got, here it is, thanks to Nicolay and Silvry

Congratulations to Kyren Wilson , the 2018 6-reds World Champion!

Saturday 8 Sep 2018 11:40AM

Kyren Wilson beat Ding Junhui 8-4 in the final to win the SangSom Six Red World Championship in Bangkok.

World number eight Wilson dominated the final in the Thai capital to win the title for the first time and take the top prize of 3.5 million Baht (around £82,000).

That made it back to back titles for Kettering’s 26-year-old Wilson as he also won the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany two weeks ago.

China’s Ding missed out on his second Six Red title having won the event in 2016. Victory would also have earned him a  place at the Champion of Champions in November.

Both players now head to China for the Shanghai Masters, which starts on Monday.

source: Worldsnooker

… and a few personal thoughts …

• Kyren earned over four times more prize money to win this invitational event than he did for winning the Paul Hunter Classic, his second ranking title. Is this right? Barry Hearn will tell you that it’s down to the sponsors to make sure that their event is attractive enough by offering the right prize money. Now, what are sponsors looking for when they decide to back an event? I’d say, it’s exposure, image, prestige. Exposure largely depends on how many channels, and which ones broadcast the event, it also depends on how easy and attractive it is for the fans to attend the event live. The latter may not be that important in a huge country like China though, as distances mean that the number of television viewers will always be much, much higher than on site viewers. But it certainly is in Europe. Image and prestige are driven by many factors, not just by the prize money on offer: the setup, the hospitality, the line-up and the cultural context all play a role. In Asian events, a real effort is put into those aspects: red carpet walk, launch dinner, opening and trophy ceremonies are all part of the hospitality feeling, and contribute to give the players the feeling that they are both welcome and important. This is something that Jason Francis has very successfully implemented in his Legends events, and now in the World Seniors Tour as well. Feeling welcome and valued certainly contributes to players motivation too. As does a proper setup. Goffs is seen by most players who competed in it as one of the best arenas in snooker history, probably second only to the Crucible one table setup. Why? It’s a round arena, it’s a bear pit that favours a gladiatorial atmosphere. The top players love that and thrive in it. The fact that there are spectators all around the table is essential: those who have been in York at the UK Championship will know how much the atmosphere changes when the setup goes from 4 tables in a line, to two tables with viewers on three sides. And it can be felt even on television. Finally there is the cultural context… I have said this already, the close association of snooker and betting industry is not helping in most countries in mainland Europe. For those in UK who don’t get it, ask yourself what the perception would be if a snooker was mainly sponsored by companies selling horse meat…
• There were again speculations about some players not giving it their best, and again, targeting mainly the Asian players, the Thai players in particular. Some suggested that James Wattana was not trying. There are many possible reasons why a player misses shots, pressure being one. James is almost a god in his country and, despite being well past his best, still has a very high expectations to cope with. Not easy that. All Thai players had them expectations to some extend BTW. Noppon Saengkham was criticised for some of his shot selections, notably for not moving a certain green off the rail during the final phase of a frame. Shot selection depends on how clearly you think, and it also depends on what you know about the conditions. The tournament was played on Shender tables, with pockets that are apparently much more welcoming than the Star tables ones, especially when shots are played along the rail. On the other hand nobody suggested that Mark Williams might not be trying when he lost to Mohammed Shehab, a seniors amateur. I’m not suggesting that Willo did anything wrong, nor am I underestimating Mohammed Shebab who I saw playing in Malta last spring and is very capable.  What annoys me is what I perceive as a bias based on player’s nationality.

… end of rant.