It will be Mark Selby v Jack Lisowski in the final today. 

We had two very different matches yesterday to get there.

Mark Selby completely dominated the afternoon match. He played well, but not at his very best. It was more than enough. The first two frames were puzzling because both players were basically playing like club players, over-hitting or under-hitting every shot. They seemed to have no control over the cueball. After two frames of struggle, they asked for the cueball to be changed … and that changed the match completely as Mark Selby promptly returned to his normal self and started scoring heavily when in. I’m not too sure what Gilbert needs to cope better with those pressure matches, but he needs something.

Jack Lisowski played marvellously well to beat Mark Allen. He had 6 breaks over 50 in the 6 frames he won. He’s really entertaining to watch, and quite unique. Mark Allen though stubbornly refused to go away, and the match went to a decider. At that stage, I expected Mark to win, because Jack in the past tended to become overly attacking  in trying to force results. This time though he went for a  rather crazy shot, got it, made 95 from it … and won.

The final today will be a clash of styles and personalities. Mark Selby is more than capable to play the attacking game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he played on Jack psychology, sticking to a rather conservative approach, letting Jack take the risks and picking up the pieces … but, then, if Jack plays like he did yesterday, there might not be too many pieces to pick. Given his experience, I expect Mark to win but I’d love to see Jack lift his first trophy. Whoever wins, I hope for a good match, and both players are there on merit.

Afternoon: Mark Selby 6-1 David Gilbert (Worldsnooker)

Saturday 14 Dec 2019 05:57PM

Mark Selby put on an imperious display to sweep David Gilbert aside 6-1 and reach the 19.com Scottish Open final in Glasgow.

The match charted a similar course to Selby and Gilbert’s recent meeting in the 19.com English Open final. On that occasion three-time World Champion Selby missed just seven balls in blitzing to a 9-1 win. The Jester from Leicester is now one match away from becoming the first player to win two Home Nations titles in a season.

Gilbert’s wait for a maiden ranking title will now be prolonged. The 38-year-old Tamworth cueman has reached six ranking semi-finals, including four finals, but is yet to secure his first silverware.

Selby will now face the winner of tonight’s second semi-final between defending Mark Allen and Jack Lisowski. The victor in Sunday’s best of 17 final will pick up £70,000 and the Stephen Hendry Trophy.

This afternoon’s encounter got off to a sluggish start, with both Selby and Gilbert struggling to get out of the blocks. However, it was Selby who established a 2-0 lead. The players then both requested a change of cue ball and from there it was 36-year-old Selby who took complete control

Breaks of 76 and 84 helped Selby into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval. Contributions of 64 and 66 saw Gilbert get a frame on the board when they returned. However, Selby surged to the line with a break of 132, followed up by 69 to emerge a 6-1 winner.

Selby said: “He is a great lad and a great player. We have practised together a lot over the last few seasons. I know what he is capable of. I was always on my guard out there. I tried to keep it tight and not give him too many chances as he could easily have done what I did to him to me.

“It would be fantastic to win here. I have the Steve Davis Trophy at home and if I win tomorrow I will add the Stephen Hendry Trophy. I have a tough test whether I am against Mark or against Jack. I just have to rest up and go again.”

Gilbert said: “I didn’t expect anything from this week. However, after beating Judd Trump 5-2 last night I thought I would turn up and play like that again. I’m not saying I expected to win, but I felt I’d play well.

“I’m looking forward to playing in the Masters in January. I haven’t been there before, everyone tells me how mental it is. There are a lot of people there watching so it will be different from anything I have experienced. Hopefully I do myself justice.”

Evening: Jack Lisowski 6-5 Mark Allen

Sunday 15 Dec 2019 12:16AM

Jack Lisowski is through to the final of the 19.com Scottish Open after a thrilling semi-final clash with defending champion Mark Allen, which he won 6-5 in Glasgow.

Gloucester cueman Lisowski will face Mark Selby tomorrow over the best of 17 frames for the Stephen Hendry Trophy and £70,000.

It will be Lisowski’s third appearance in a ranking final, where he will be aiming to capture a maiden title. His previous two finals were defeats at the 2018 Riga Masters and 2019 China Open, both at the hands of Neil Robertson.

Allen picked up this title last year with a 9-7 defeat of close friend Shaun Murphy in the final. However, he will have to settle for the £20,000 prize attached to reaching the semi-finals this year.

Lisowski immediately imposed himself on proceedings this evening, a stunning break of 135 saw him take the opening frame. Allen then restored parity, before a contribution of 82 saw Lisowski regain the lead at 2-1.

Northern Ireland’s Allen refused to wilt under the relentless pressure exerted by the aggressive Lisowski and composed a run of 77 to make it 2-2 at the mid-session.

The Pistol then took the lead for the first time when they returned. However, three frames on the bounce for Lisowski, including a sublime 118, saw him move one from victory at 5-3.

Allen dug deep to claim two in a row to force a decider, but it was Lisowski who produced a steely 95 break to reach his first ranking final on UK soil.

Lisowski said: “It was a really good break to win it at the end. I wouldn’t say I was panicking, because I knew I was playing well. If I had lost that frame I could have said I’d given my all. It was a bit confusing how Mark was staying with me. I was potting everything, but it just shows what a great player he is, so all credit to him.

“It would mean everything to win tomorrow. It is what I have personally been working towards for the last few years. One of the biggest goals in my life at the moment is to win that first tournament.

“I’m just going to try and stay as calm as I can. In the past I’ve definitely got too excited. I’m going to try not to think about it too much, stay relaxed and get a good night’s sleep.”

Allen said: “I just kept hanging on and hanging on with grit and determination. Even though I didn’t have my best form I always back myself in a decider. I just didn’t really get a shot in it.

“He is brilliant to watch. He is a nightmare to play against. You just don’t know what he is going to do next. The long red he potted in the decider, nobody else goes for that. He is crazily talented, but maybe just going for one too many is what is stopping him winning tournaments.”

….

Quarter Finals day in Glasgow saw Ronnie and Judd Trump exit the tournament, although, in my view, in very different ways. The defending champion, Mark Allen is through to the semi finals, as well as Mark Selby, Jack Lisowski and David Gilbert. Jack and David are bidding for a first ranking title this week-end.

Here is the report by Worldsnooker:

Friday 13 Dec 2019 10:31PM

Selby Wins Classic Contest

Mark Selby won a thrilling encounter with Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 to reach the semi-finals of the 19.com Scottish Open in Glasgow.

Selby is aiming to become the first player to win more than one Home Nations event in a single season. The three-time World Champion produced a sublime display to crush David Gilbert 9-1 and win the English Open title back in October.

Selby and O’Sullivan have been facing each other on the World Snooker Tour since they first met at the 2002 China Open. Selby won on that occasion and their subsequent battles have seen the fixture become one of snooker’s greatest rivalries.

Despite today’s victory for the Jester from Leicester, it’s the Rocket who holds a 14-10 lead in their head-to-head record.

This afternoon’s match saw both players fire from the start. Selby got off the mark in the opening frame with a sublime break of 120 to move 1-0 up. O’Sullivan hit back immediately with an equally impressive break of 123 to restore parity.

Selby took a scrappy third, before O’Sullivan fired in a century run of 113 to make it 2-2 at the mid-session.

When they returned O’Sullivan composed his third century of the tie with a break of 111 to take the lead for the first time at 3-2. They traded frames, until Selby forced a decider with a run of 56. He then composed a break of 63 to secure victory. Next up he faces a repeat of his English Open final with Gilbert.

“I’m over the moon. To play Ronnie in any tournament is a great feeling and to come out with a win is even better,” said Selby. “At one stage there were four centuries in five frames, which was incredible. After that I didn’t really score as well, but I didn’t miss too many easy pots. I thought my safety was quite good.”

Gilbert And Lisowski Power Through

David Gilbert and Jack Lisowski secured quickfire victories in a stunning evening session.

Gilbert defeated Judd Trump 5-2, with Lisowski beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-3. Both matches were played simultaneously and completed within an hour and a half, producing a pulsating spectacle at the Emirates Arena.

Lisowski composed the highest break of the event so far, a run of 143, on his way to victory and will now face defending champion Mark Allen for a place in the final.

Tamworth cueman Gilbert is seeking his maiden ranking title, having already appeared in four ranking finals. Despite expressing his desire to get over the line in a ranking event, he was keen not to get too far ahead of himself.

Gilbert said: “It would be the best Christmas present I have ever had if I could finally pull it off. The obsession of doing that isn’t in my head at the moment though. I am just enjoying playing and I haven’t been able to do that in the past couple of months. It is just one game at a time.”

Pistol Still Firing

Mark Allen kept the defence of his title going with a 5-1 defeat of the last remaining Scottish player in the tournament Scott Donaldson.

With the scores locked at 1-1, Allen reeled off four successive frames with breaks of 62, 81, 102 and 78 to emerge with victory.

You can read all about Mark Selby’s win over Ronnie here.

There was another “VAR” situation in this match, when Ronnie, 4-3 up, played a red very thin, hit it, but the referee didn’t see it and called a “foul and a miss”. Neither player reacted, either because they didn’t see it either or because they weren’t sure and trusted the referee. The commentators though saw the red move, and said so in commentary. This time though, the marker – who likely did hear the commentary – didn’t intervene. When Ronnie played the shot the second time, he played it thicker and stuck it up, leaving a long pot for his opponent who basically went on to win the frame. After Ronnie had played it the first time, the situation on the table was completely different and there was no pot available for Mark. If  you follow the link above, you will hear what the pundits in the studio had to say about it, after the match. Where they are definitely right is that Marcel Eckardt intervention in the Allen last 16 match has set a precedent, and that there should be consistency in the way those issues are dealt with.

The defending Champion Mark Allen won his match quite easily but was very critical of Worldsnooker/Eurosport regarding the scheduling of his matches. This is what he had to say about it as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.

Mark Allen blasts ‘disgraceful’ match schedule despite cruising into Scottish Open semi-final

December 13 2019 16:23 PM

The Antrim man smashed Scott Donaldson 5-1 in his quarter-final on Friday afternoon as he continues the defence of his title.

He will face either Jack Lisowski or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the semi-final on Saturday before Sunday’s decider.

It would be a busy end to what has been a hectic week.

Allen played twice on Thursday, with an early 10am start followed by a return to the table in the last session of the day as he beat Chris Wakelin to set up Friday’s quarter-final.

“The schedule for my matches this week has been disgraceful,” he told Eurosport.

“There have been some very, very strange decisions made here and no-one seems to want to take responsibility for it.

“As holder I expected to be first on on Monday but then I was scheduled for 10am on Wednesday and Thursday with no television coverage, and then last on Thursday night and first on Friday.”

When questioned about Allen’s complaints by the Belfast Telegraph, World Snooker replied: “We appreciate Mark’s views and we take his comments on board. Scheduling is always a challenge when there are so many top players in the field.”

Allen has dropped only six frames in his five matches so far and his run to the semi-final means the world number seven has reached the final four in six of his last nine tournaments.

David Gilbert played well to beat Judd Trump, who had not been at his best all week but hadn’t been really tested. And put under pressure we saw some of the old Trump back, playing rather reckless shots at full power. David Gilbert wasn’t intimidated. I wasn’t impressed.

I didn’t see anything of the Jack Lisowski v Thepchaiya Un-nooh so can’t comment.

Mark Selby beat Ronnie by 5-4 in a very high quality match. Here are the scores:

There were four centuries, three from Ronnie, one from Selby and there were outstanding safeties from both. There was never more than one frame between them.

There is no point dwelling too much on what could have been, but in the eighth frame this happened:

As you can see Ronnie did hit the red there, it moved. But the referee didn’t see it and called a foul and a miss. I can only suppose that neither player saw it move, or that they weren’t sure and trusted the referee. Mark Selby asked for the ball to be replaced. On the second attempt, Ronnie hit the red thicker and stuck it up, allowing Selby to take a long pot at it, which he got and basically won the frame from there. There is of course absolutely no guarantee that Ronnie would have won that frame had the miss not been called but fact is that Selby had no shot to go at after the first attempt.

In the last frame Ronnie got in first with a fantastic long red, tried to develop the pack from the black, spread the reds open, but ended on nothing. Subsequently, they engaged in a longish safety battle that Mark Selby won by forcing Ronnie to take a long red from tight on the cushion. He missed it and Mark made 63 from it. At that point Ronnie needed one four points penalty to tie. He got it. But then, playing a safety shot he was very unlucky when the last red, deflected by the green ended right over the top right pocket. Mark potted it and Ronnie conceded.

That’s two tournaments in a row where Ronne plays really well and still loses. That said, Mark Selby played really well also, and I’m wishing him the best in the rest of the tournament. I’d like to see him win it now.

Obviously, I would have preferred to see Ronnie win today, but I enjoyed the match, really did. It was snooker at its best, played in great spirit, by two fantastic players.

Here is the report by Worldsnooker:

Friday 13 Dec 2019 10:31PM

Selby Wins Classic Contest

Mark Selby won a thrilling encounter with Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 to reach the semi-finals of the 19.com Scottish Open in Glasgow.

Selby is aiming to become the first player to win more than one Home Nations event in a single season. The three-time World Champion produced a sublime display to crush David Gilbert 9-1 and win the English Open title back in October.

Selby and O’Sullivan have been facing each other on the World Snooker Tour since they first met at the 2002 China Open. Selby won on that occasion and their subsequent battles have seen the fixture become one of snooker’s greatest rivalries.

Despite today’s victory for the Jester from Leicester, it’s the Rocket who holds a 14-10 lead in their head-to-head record.

This afternoon’s match saw both players fire from the start. Selby got off the mark in the opening frame with a sublime break of 120 to move 1-0 up. O’Sullivan hit back immediately with an equally impressive break of 123 to restore parity.

Selby took a scrappy third, before O’Sullivan fired in a century run of 113 to make it 2-2 at the mid-session.

When they returned O’Sullivan composed his third century of the tie with a break of 111 to take the lead for the first time at 3-2. They traded frames, until Selby forced a decider with a run of 56. He then composed a break of 63 to secure victory. Next up he faces a repeat of his English Open final with Gilbert.

“I’m over the moon. To play Ronnie in any tournament is a great feeling and to come out with a win is even better,” said Selby. “At one stage there were four centuries in five frames, which was incredible. After that I didn’t really score as well, but I didn’t miss too many easy pots. I thought my safety was quite good.”

Big thanks to Tai Chengzhe for those great images.

Ronnie will now take a long break: he will not play until next February. He’s currently 17th on the one year list, surely safe to qualify for the World Grand Prix 2020. But he will need good results in that one, and in the Welsh Open 2020, to qualify for the Players Championship 2020, and unless he wins one of them, he probably won’t be able to defend his Tour Championship crown.

Coverage:

There weren’t any interviews with the players on ES after the session. Probably there wasn’t enough time for that before the evening session. But during the evening session preview, the pundits discussed the incident shown above, and how this was dealt with differently from the one involving Mark Allen earlier in the week.

And finally, the Ronnie postmatch interview was shared on twitter on the next day

and here is the review… thanks Kalacs!

The Thursaday at the Home Nations sees two rounds being played to completion, and, usually the demise of a few big names. Yesterday was no different as top 16 members Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, Joe Perry and Shaun Murphy exited the tournament.

Worldsnooker report is, as usual on moving day, minimalist and covering only the last 16 round.

Friday 13 Dec 2019 12:05AM

Lisowski Downs Home Hero Higgins

Jack Lisowski defeated home favourite John Higgins 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the 19.com Scottish Open in Glasgow.

World number 14 Lisowski will now face a mouth-watering clash with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in tomorrow’s quarters. The Thai whitewashed Neil Robertson 4-0 in a sparkling display to book his quarter-final place.

With Lisowski averaging 18.81 seconds per shot this season and Un-Nooh a staggering 16.82 seconds, a pulsating encounter is to be expected.

Higgins will have to wait another year to get his hands on the Stephen Hendry Trophy. The four-time Crucible king has enjoyed success in this event, having reached the final in 2016 and made a 147 in last year, but he is yet to claim a first Scottish Open title.

Breaks of 95 and 74 gave Lisowski a 2-0 lead this evening. However, Higgins did enjoy a landmark moment in the third frame, when a contribution of 109 saw him move clear of Stephen Hendry on 776 career centuries.

Lisowski replied with a break of 84 to regain a two-frame lead, before Higgins made it 3-2 with a run of 89. Lisowski wasn’t to be denied and he took the sixth frame to secure victory.

Lisowski said: “It was a really good atmosphere in there today. I got the good start that I needed and I was able to carry the momentum. I quite enjoyed it. I am very happy with how I played. I thought my safety was good and I scored heavily.”

Rocket Powers Past The Gentleman

Ronnie O’Sullivan came through an entertaining encounter with Joe Perry 4-2 to set up a blockbuster showdown with Mark Selby in the last eight.

Selby whitewashed Jimmy Robertson 4-0 to progress to tomorrow’s quarter-finals, while the Rocket fired in breaks of 87, 84, 53, 69 and 106 on his way to victory over Perry.

O’Sullivan said: “I enjoyed the game. It was decent free flowing stuff. I am just pleased to be through to the next round.

“I won’t change my game in the quarter-finals. My main priority is to enjoy it and have fun and get the game going how I want it to go. If I can win playing like that great, if not I am not going to allow it to get bogged down. I would rather lose comfortably than lose painfully.”

Scott Flying the Flag

Scott Donaldson is Scotland’s last player remaining in the event after progressing to the quarter-finals with a 4-2 win over Zhang Jiankang.

Prior to this year Donaldson, who has reached four ranking event semi-finals, had never been beyond the second round of this tournament. He will now face defending champion Mark Allen in the last eight. The Northern Irishman booked his place with a 4-1 defeat of Chris Wakelin.

Donaldson top scored in this evening’s encounter with a break of 96 and was overjoyed to reach the two-table setup in his home tournament.

He said: “I’m buzzing. I’m going to really enjoy tomorrow. To be in the quarter-finals of my home event is amazing. I am going to take it in my stride and take things a ball at a time, but I am delighted.”

Trump and Gilbert Progress

World Champion Judd Trump defeated Scotland’s former Crucible king Graeme Dott 4-2 to reach the last eight.

The Ace in the Pack will now face world number 12 David Gilbert after the Tamworth cueman secured an impressive 4-2 defeat of Shaun Murphy.

I didn’t see much of the last 32 round, other than Ronnie’s match. Ronnie played well although, to be honest, Martin Gould wasn’t able to take any of the few chances he got.

You can read all about that match here

Other than that, Judd Trump v James Wattana was a right mismatch. James must have played better than that in the previous rounds, but, of course, consistency is often an issue as players get older. He was giving just a zillion occasions, that frankly Judd hardly needed! I’m not sure how he still got a frame as life had come in the way of snooker by the time the match reached that stage.

Ronnie didn’t play as well in the last 16, as he had before. Joe had his chances. This is a match that on a good day he could have won. Both players were making mistakes. Ronnie was the one who was able to punish them more often than not.

You can read all about the last 16 Ronnie v Perry match here

Again the only other match I watched, was Judd Trump v Graeme Dott. Here also I have to suppose that Graeme didn’t play quite as well has he had earlier on the day. Judd wasn’t unbeatable – far from it – but Graeme couldn’t take full advantage.

The truth is, two matches in a day, even short ones, with the waiting time in between, is probably taxing for everyone. Usually the last 16 in the Home nations isn’t the best round quality wise, although it oftens brings upsets and drama. It definitely did bring upsets yesterday.

Yesterday evening, Ronnie beat Joe Perry by 4-2 to reach the QF stage in Glasgow.

Ronnie wasn’t quite as strong as he had been in his two previous matches, but still scoring heavily when in the balls. Perry had his chances – he was in first in most frames – but he made too many mistakes, and, usually, one per frame was fatal as Ronnie punished him. Perry’s 139 is at this stage the tournament highest break.

Ronnie will now play Mark Selby in the quarter finals this afternoon.

Here is the report by Worldsnooker:

Rocket Powers Past The Gentleman

Ronnie O’Sullivan came through an entertaining encounter with Joe Perry 4-2 to set up a blockbuster showdown with Mark Selby in the last eight.

Selby whitewashed Jimmy Robertson 4-0 to progress to tomorrow’s quarter-finals, while the Rocket fired in breaks of 87, 84, 53, 69 and 106 on his way to victory over Perry.

O’Sullivan said: “I enjoyed the game. It was decent free flowing stuff. I am just pleased to be through to the next round.

“I won’t change my game in the quarter-finals. My main priority is to enjoy it and have fun and get the game going how I want it to go. If I can win playing like that great, if not I am not going to allow it to get bogged down. I would rather lose comfortably than lose painfully.”

Big thanks as ever to Tai Chengzhe for these great pictures

Coverage:

The session preview, with Ronnie’s interview:

The session review with Ronnie’s postmatch

Ronnie beat Martin Gould by 4-0 with two centuries to reach the last 16 of the 2019 Scottish Open. He will play Joe Perry later tonight. Ronnie played well and was totally professional.

more to come when available …

Great thanks to Tai Chengzhe for those lovely images

Coverage: