Judd Trump beat Mark Allen by 6-4 yesterday evening, to book his place in the final today. He will face Neil Robertson over best of 19.

Here is the official report:

TRUMP TO MEET ROBERTSON FOR MANBETX CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS TITLE

Semi-Final
Judd Trump 6–4 Mark Allen
67-8 (52), 89-0 (61), 95-0 (67), 24-70 (56), 0-140 (140), 0-114 (106), 0-69 (69), 93-35 (82), 80-43, 98-0 (98)

Judd Trump will face Neil Robertson in the final of the ManBetX Champion of Champions after the World No.1 defeated Mark Allen 6-4 in their semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Trump took a 3-0 lead in the match and looked on-course to be four up at the mid-session interval, but a kick with 24 on the board handed control to Allen. From there it was 45 minutes until the World Champion would score again.

Allen made 393 points without reply to go from 3-0 down to 4-3 up with breaks including a 106 and the tournament’s highest so far, a 140. Trump responded with an 82 and with the help of a fluked red regained his lead in the ninth frame. A perfect split early in the tenth presented Trump the opportunity to seal victory, which he did with a break of 98.

“At 4-3 down he was looking in complete control,” said Trump. “I was unlucky not to go 4-0 up, I got quite a bad kick but the same happened to him when he could have gone 5-3 up. The game turned a little bit on a few bits of luck either way. I looked out of it; he didn’t look like missing from where I was sat. He looked in complete control but I managed to pot a few crucial balls at crucial times, I got a bit of luck to go 5-4 up and made a good break in the last.

“Over the last few years Neil has really come back to form, the same as me. He had a massive win over Ronnie from what I saw last night. They were both playing well so he will take a lot of confidence from that but my record against him is pretty good so I go in fancying my chances.”

I think the Judd Trump was a bit lucky that Mark Allen got off to a very slow start. Judd missed his fair share of long pots in this match, but for the first three frames and a bit, Mark Allen looked completely out of sorts. When Mark was coming back at him, Judd didn’t look at all confident sat in his chair. If Mark had been competing right from the start, the match could have been very different. Also, the fluke in frame eight was massive.

Why Mark was so out of sorts, I’m not sure. There were quite a bit of “Go Mark” shouting in the crowd at the start of the match, and, in the past, Mark has been known for not coping really well with those situations where he has a lot of supporters in the audience. His record in his home tournament, the Northern Ireland Open is far from great; last year he lost to Niu Zhang in the first round, the previous year he had lost in round 2. So, maybe – only maybe – that’s what happened again here.

So, who will win today? Well, if both play like they played in the semi finals, there is only one winner and that’s Neil Robertson. But, of course, today is another day, another match, and nothing guaranties that either of them will come to the table with their SF form…

Neil Robertson beat Ronnie by 6-5 to book his place in the Final, where he will play either Mark Allen or Judd Trump. It’s the first time in six appereances in the tournament that Ronnie doesn’t reach the final.

Here is the official report:

ROBERTSON THUNDERS INTO MANBETX CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS FINAL

Semi-Final
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5–6 Neil Robertson
73-7 (66), 40-67, 1-71 (62), 81-7 (81), 0-108 (108), 81-55, 45-87 (87), 86-0 (86), 60-57, 0-135 (135), 6-104 (90)

Neil Robertson beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-5 in one of the standout matches of the season so far to book his place in the final of the ManBetX Champion of Champions at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

It is the second time 2015 champion Robertson has reached the tournament final but the first time in six appearances that O’Sullivan hasn’t.

In a gripping match played in front of a sold out crowd, both players were leading at stages but neither ever by more than one frame. At 4-4 the ninth went down to the final black and a brilliant shot sent O’Sullivan one up with two to play.

Robertson, however, responded in style with the tournament’s highest break so far, a fine 135 made under pressure. In the decider, O’Sullivan missed a safety as the cue stopped short of the pack, leaving a red on for Robertson, who duly began a clearance of 90 to win a compelling match of the highest standard.

“I was extremely determined today, concentrated on my own game and made sure I was going to be very aggressive, as he has been all week as well,” said Robertson, who will face either Judd Trump or Mark Allen – who meet tomorrow evening – in Sunday’s best-of-19 final.

“We have a huge amount of respect for each other. Ronnie has got the better of me the last few times we have played, and in a couple of big finals obviously. You don’t want to make a habit of losing to somebody, even though a few of the times I have lost to him he has played fantastic stuff.

“There was a lot of high scoring, some great potting, a couple of close frames. The crowd were great and I am sure they really enjoyed the match. It was an awesome match to be a part of. We were both extremely aggressive, neither of us backed down and that’s what makes it most pleasing; I beat him my own way, playing my natural style.

“Judd and Mark are both brilliant players, I have had some wonderful matches with them and it will be two lefties in the final. I can’t wait to get out there and play in another final.”

Despite the defeat, there is a lot of positives to be drawn from this match. Ronnie was calm, collected and played extremely well himself. He was aggressive, without being reckless. His shot time was his usual … and certainly nothing even close to the 10 seconds he was – allegedly – targeting when interviewed on Thursday.  What probably made the difference is the long potting. That has always been one of Neil’s strongest weapons, and, yesterday, he was deadly. Ronnie wasn’t too bad himself, he got quite a number of long pots too, but, when he needs to play those shots with power, he tends to lose some accuracy. That of course is an issue.

It was an excellent match, one that every fan of the sport will appreciate, even if, we, as Ronnie fans, would have preferred a different result.

Many thanks to Tai Chengzhe for those great pictures

Ronnie booked his place in the semi finals, where he will play Neil Robertson tonight, but not without a scare …

Here is the official report:

Jimmy White came to this event, driven and determined to play his very best snooker. Ahead of his match he was interviewed by Hector Nunns:

Jimmy White knows emotional Ronnie O’Sullivan clash could be final time they ever meet

Two of snookers legendary figures meet in Coventry on Thursday knowing it will be the final time they could meet

Jimmy White knows his emotional clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan could be the last time they meet on the big stage.

The Whirlwind knew he had seen a special talent when being blown away 5-1 by a then 16-year-old tour rookie 27 years ago.

Kindred snooker spirits with a need to entertain the crowd, White’s desire for playing to the gallery cost him titles.

But five-time world champion O’Sullivan, 43, has managed both – breaking almost all the game’s major records.

The mantle of ‘People’s Champion’ inherited by White, now 57, from the late and great Alex Higgins was duly passed on to O’Sullivan.

And a sell-out crowd will turn up today at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena to salute their heroes at a Champion of Champions last-16 meeting.

White, in the field thanks to his World Seniors win, famously lost all six of his world championship finals – but that overshadowed a glittering career with many titles.

He said: “You never know how many more of these really big occasions against Ronnie there could be in a major tournament.

“I am lucky I get to play him in exhibitions – but this is different. This is the big time again, and why I still practice. To be able to enjoy and absorb that atmosphere.

“I always fancied I would be drawn against Ronnie, it just seemed like fate might take a hand.

“I was watching the video of my ‘This Is Your Life’ the other day with some people. And I spotted Ronnie on the stage at 17 maybe, I had forgotten he was there.

“That was a nice memory. I have always been his biggest fan, but he knows I will be really trying to win on Thursday.

“I remember vividly him beating me 5-1 in Blackpool just after he turned pro. I said to my driver on the way home ‘That is an absolute breath of fresh air for snooker’.

“We earned any fans with the way we play. And I hope there will be a few mums and dads telling their kids ‘Jimmy White can play a bit too – Ronnie’s no certainty’!

“I hope I helped Ronnie. I know sometimes I played to the crowd, and it did cost me. I told him at an early age that to win you can’t always do that.

“But he has a naturally crowd-pleasing style anyway, allied to a real will to win that isn’t always highlighted.”

O’Sullivan will be the hot favourite, and holds an incredible record at the event with three titles and two more final appearances.

He has often struggled with the tour treadmill, and so is in awe of White’s continued enthusiasm and lack of bitterness over his career setbacks.

O’Sullivan said: “He is just a very optimistic guy and I wish I could keep that sort of attitude in the future because if I could, I would play a lot longer than I expect to.

“He is not bitter about whatever scars he has and blows the sport has dealt him. He just gets on with it. And that is all about a genuine love for the game.

“I remember so many of both the games between us – he beat me a couple of times at the Masters – and his other big Crucible finals.

“The match that left me gobsmacked as a kid was his Mercantile Credit Classic 1986 final against Cliff Thorburn, I was only 10.

“It was 12-12, he needed a snooker on pink in the decider, got it, then potted pink and black and lifted the trophy. What a way to win.

“I am surprised he is still playing if I am honest – but he just loves it still, doesn’t he? Not me, I’d have been out the door a long time ago in his position.”

Jimmy played extremely well in the first three frames and a very big upset looked to be on the cards. Ronnie was all over the place and his long potting was non-existent. In frame three though, the game became closer. From then on, Ronnie started playing better – without actually playing well – and Jimmy started to look edgy. It was a very strange match overall. It was, as expected, played in front of a big crowd and both players got a lot of support. Ronnie, despite the obvious struggle, continued to attack. Here it is:

And some great images by Tai Chengzhe

The next match was a bit strange as well. John Higgins started very well. He looked really sharp. However, as the match unfolded, errors crept in both players game.

Nevertheless, at the end of the afternoon, I had very little hope that Ronnie could win the group. I was wrong.

John again had the best start, but, again, his standard dropped a bit as the match unfolded. Ronnie, on the contrary, started to slot the long ones in. He played fast, furious and ultra attacking. It worked a treat. It was spectacular, entertaining,  edge of the seat stuff … and the crowd loved it!

If Ronnie plays tonigh like he did against John, he has every chance to make it to the final again. But will he? It’s hard to tell. He seemed to be in high mood, yesterday, upbeat and a bit restless. He said again that he doesn’t care, but his expression, his body language and the way he played to come back at Jimmy, tell me he did care, at least a bit, even if, maybe, it was only pride driving him.

And once again, big thanks to Tai Chengzhe for these

Judd Trump is the one who emerged from yesterdays group. He will play Mark Allen on Saturday evening.

This is the official report

TRUMP BLASTS PAST UN-NOOH TO SET UP ALLEN SEMI

Group 2 Final
Judd Trump 6–3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
73-37, 64-43 (60), 114-16 (114), 132-0 (128), 6-113 (73), 93-0 (89), 33-73 (61), 27-93 (66), 81-0 (71)

Group Semi-Finals
Judd Trump 4-0 Stephen Maguire
101-0 (76), 102-4 (102), 69-57, 75 (68)-31

Kyren Wilson 3-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
82-19 (62), 47-63 (63), 0-81 (51), 7-94 (90), 103-24 (102), 102-0 (98), 8-69 (69)

Judd Trump defeated Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3 in the ManBetX Champion of Champions Group 2 Final to set up a semi-final clash with Mark Allen at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

Trump had earlier beaten Stephen Maguire 4-0 in his group semi-final and was the same score ahead of Un-Nooh at the mid-session interval in their best-of-11 group final.

The match was a repeat of Sunday’s final of the Yushan World Open, which Trump won 10-5, the sixth tournament he had won in the last 12 months.

The World No.1 made a flying start but after the break Un-Nooh fought back. A 73 reduced the deficit, but Trump looked on the verge when he took the sixth with a 89 to go 5-1 up. His Thai opponent, though, wasn’t going out without a fight and closed the gap to 5-3 before Trump completed the victory with a 71 break in the ninth.

“I felt good towards the end of the match,” said Trump. “I had a big lead at the interval and a couple of things didn’t go my way towards the end, but I always felt if I had a chance I would take it.

“Recently I have been getting off to good starts and putting opponents under pressure and that was the same today. He was missing a few more than he normally does and I was able to pounce on his mistakes.

“I stayed pretty confident. If it had gone 5-5 I would have been under pressure but I knew I would get another chance and I had the belief I would take it. I have a lot of confidence from the win in Yushan and I am bringing that into this event.

“I saw a little bit of Mark Allen’s match last night. He is an attacking player, I think the table will suit him because it is very, very fast out there and with his cue action that will suit him. It will be a tough semi-final and I’ll have to improve my game from how I played today.”

The group phase of the ManBetX Champion of Champions concludes on Thursday as Ronnie O’Sullivan faces Jimmy White before John Higgins takes on Stuart Bingham.

Judd Trump played well and Theppy, far from his best, was unable to apply much pressure. He fought with all he had though. Both players must still have been jet-lagged – they only arrived back in the UK on Tuesday – but Thepchaiya looked the more affected of the two. It’s maybe not surprising as he already felt tiredness in China. He had told the press that the excitement and the stress of the latter stages were preventing him from sleeping and eating properly. He said that he had lost weight … hopefully he will get back to normal soon or he will disappear altogether!

Regarding the schedule … there was again a discussion on twitter yesterday, starting with one person claiming that the schedule was disgusting and that “surely” the Yushan finalists should have been playing today instead. That immediately evolved into a Ronnie slagging-off party, some suggesting that he had requested to play today, others that WS was “pampering” him, sparing him traveling or spending more time in Coventry … The whole thing was totally unfounded. Ronnie was ALWAYS due to play the last qualifier. At the time Worldsnooker and Matchroom published the schedule, there were still players in the draw in Yushan that had not yet qualified, notably Michael Holt. If one of those had won the World Open they would have been Ronnie’s opponent. They, of course, would have been playing in the Final in Yushan, and, moreover, they would have had to make the necessary arrangements for their travel and stay in Coventry. They couldn’t have done it before they actually qualified. So it was perfectly logical to schedule that group last.

Ronnie plays today … and I just hope he plays better that he did in recent weeks.

Group 4 of the 2019 Champion of Champions was played yesterday, with Neil Robertson emerging as the winner. He will play the winner of Group 1 in the semi finals on Friday evening.

Here is the official report

ROBERTSON REACHES SEMIS AFTER EVANS FORCES MURPHY DECIDER

GROUP SEMI-FINALS
Neil Robertson 4-0 Martin Gould
62-35 (62), 77-10 (77), 68-67, 64-55

Shaun Murphy 4-3 Reanne Evans
74-1, 86-26, 65-44, 41-64, 38-75, 53-77 (Murphy 32, Evans 51), 134-0 (130)

GROUP FINAL
Neil Robertson 6–5 Shaun Murphy
46-72 (67), 1-98 (98), 75-86, 95 (95)-20, 121-3 (90), 100-30 (100), 17-101 (76), 64-53 (Robertson 64), 0-84, 89-19 (53), 74-17

Neil Robertson is through to the semi-finals of the ManBetX Champion of Champions thanks to a 6-5 victory over Shaun Murphy, who had earlier been taken to a deciding frame by World Women’s Snooker Champion Reanne Evans, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Robertson never led in the Group Four final but came from 3-0 down to draw level with Murphy before the match moved to a decider at 5-5. Looking on course for the victory at 46 ahead, The Thunder From Down Under missed a black to the middle but Murphy was unable to capitalise and Robertson eventually took to deciding frame for a place in Friday’s semi-final, where he’ll face the winner of Group One, which plays out on Thursday.

“The game had a bit of everything,” said the Australian. “I think the crowd really enjoyed it, there were a few close frames, a few 90s and a century. It was a bit of a scrappy start for me but once I settled in from 3-0 down I thought I played some decent stuff and was really pleased to get through to the semis.

“The semi-final will be a really tough one, whoever it is. Jimmy will be really up for playing Ronnie an John and Stuart are just as likely to beat each other. I am sure it will be a high quality group but whoever it is in the semi-finals, you will never get an easy match.”

Earlier in the day Murphy had also been 3-0 up against Evans, but the 12-time Women’s World Champion took advantage as the World No. 8 struggled and forced the best-of-7 match to a deciding frame. Murphy ultimately prevailed with a match-winning break of 130 to set up the group final with Robertson, who had earlier beaten Martin Gould 4-0 in his group semi-final.

China Championship winner Murphy quickly moved to a 3-0 lead in the group final but Robertson cut the deficit with a 95 before the mid-session interval. ‘The Thunder From Down Under’ took the fifth frame with a break of 90 and then drew level with the first century of the match – a break of exactly 100.

From there Murphy twice regained the lead and was twice pegged back as Robertson forced the decider.

Speaking after her semi-final defeat to Murphy, Evans said: “I went 3-0 down despite lots of chances but I couldn’t push the cue through, I was all over the place. When I knicked a frame it really settled me down and I played well in the next few frames and felt comfortable to take my chances.

“The women’s game is getting there and I hope things like today can inspire others to play and up their game a little bit, and practice more. Hopefully young female players can see that I have competed there and hopefully they can see themselves in my shoes in a few years time.”

Speaking after the match, Shaun Murphy was full of praise for his opponent

…

“It’s a funny world we live in. This woman here, she’s a 12-time champion of the world completely disregarded by the general British sporting public at large,” Murphy told ITV4.

“People are throwing MBEs and awards out at people left, right and centre – she’s got 12 world titles to her name and nothing after her name. It’s a disgrace.

“It was a tough game of snooker, she didn’t disgrace herself at all, and I really hope we see more of her on the main tour events.”

…

Reanne had one season on the main tour, in 2010, and couldn’t make much of it. That, however, was before newcomers on the tour were given a two years card, as it became clear that one year was not enough time for new professionals to really adjust and break through. At the time, she didn’t win a match, but since she has played in the World Championship qualifiers and proved that she can compete: in 2015, she pushed Ken Doherty very hard, eventualy losing by 10-8 and in 2017 she beat Robin Hull by the same score.

Regarding the matches, I only had the opportunity to watch the first one: Marin Gould v Neil Robertson. The sad truth is that Martin”s game seems to be in shambles really, or maybe it’s his confidence that is very low. Whatever, he played very badly. Neil himself wasn’t actually playing well: in the last two frames Martin had several very good chances and couldn’t take any of them.