Day 1 in Ally Pally didn’t exactly bring the results most people expected.

Those were the previews…

Luca Brecel beat Mark Allen, the defending champion, by 6-5 in an overall excellent match. From what I had seen from Luca in the CLS, I knew he was playing well, although, of course the Masters environment is a different it possibly could be from the CLS. I thought that Mark Allen could suffer under pressure, but, TBH, there was no evidence of that this time. Maybe what did make the difference was that Luca took the offer to have a bit of practice on the match table, and Mark declined. As the pundits explained, this isn’t really about practice, it’s about getting a feeling of the table, its pace, the cushions reaction etc…  Luca made the better start, he led 3-1 at MSI and, maybe, this is because he came there knowing what to expect from the conditions.

Anyway, here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Sunday 13 Jan 2019 04:36PM

Mark Allen’s defence of his Dafabet Masters title was short lived as he lost 6-5 to Luca Brecel in the opening match of the tournament.

A full house of 2,000 fans at Alexandra Palace witnessed a tremendous contest, with two centuries and eight more breaks over 50 in the 11 frames. Belgium’s Brecel was never behind and eventually secured victory in a tense deciding frame. He goes through to the quarter-finals to face Ding Junhui or Jack Lisowski on Thursday evening.

Allen won his first Triple Crown title here 12 months ago, and went on to enjoy the best year of his career in 2018. He has won two ranking events this season but couldn’t get the better of a determined opponent today.

Brecel took the opening frame with a break of 75 then Allen levelled with a 67. A run of 50 saw Brecel regain the lead and he got the better of frame four to make it 3-1 at the interval.

World number six Allen fought back with 96 and 136 for 3-3. Brecel then made a 140, an early contender for the £10,000 high break prize. The superb scoring continued as Allen made 83 and 99, sandwiching an 88 from Brecel, to leave the score at 5-5.

Early in the decider, world number 14 Brecel was faced with a tough safety, and decided attack was the best form of defence, lashing in a fabulous long red. That set up a break of 58 to give him control. Allen had an opportunity to counter and after potting one red, he clipped a thin cut on the brown into a centre pocket but was unlucky to see the cue ball glance off the green and into the opposite centre. That proved his only chance.

Last year, the same two players met in the first round and Brecel bizarrely took two cues into the arena, having lost his preferred cue a few months earlier and struggled to find a replacement.  “This has to be my best win because of the year I’ve had. Last year was so tough,” admitted the 23-year-old.

“There were even times where I was almost looking for another job, everything was going against me on and off the table. It was really tough mentally and to win today was incredible. I had cue issues, a shoulder issue and then players would play unbelievable against me. I’m not a negative person but it was unbelievable at times. Today was a game to shake all of that off.

“I was telling my family that I was confident to beat the top players again. It’s good for your belief because that’s what you need to beat these guys.”

For the first time, players were allowed to practise for ten minutes on the match table before the start. Brecel took up the option but Allen didn’t. “It helped me settle,” Brecel added. “When I got my chance in the first frame I made a good break. It helped.  Anytime I get a chance to do that I will do it. I’m surprised Mark didn’t.”

Allen said: “I’m very disappointed to lose. I definitely didn’t want to give my crown up as easily as I did in round one. But I’ve got no complaints. Luca played very well to beat me. I didn’t miss many pots but my long game wasn’t there today.

“I just hung in with some breaks and I just didn’t get a chance in the last.  His long potting was better than mine. Luca has shown he’s a top 16 player all day long. He’s been on a bad run but I think that’s behind him now because he played some very good stuff.”

Despite the disappointment, Mark Allen took time to sign goods and have photos taken with the fans. Every credit for that.

The second match of the day, was very different: it was rather scrappy and lacked fluency for most of it. John Higgins made only one break over 50, just. Ryan Day was by far the better scorer, but the last, and deciding, frame was the only one where he got in early and finished in one visit.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Sunday 13 Jan 2019 11:44PM

Ryan Day made a century in the deciding frame to beat John Higgins 6-5 in the first round of the Dafabet Masters – setting up a possible quarter-final with Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Both matches on the opening day at Alexandra Palace went to a deciding frame, with Luca Brecel beating Mark Allen 6-5 earlier. And two of the top five seeds have crashed out early.

Scotland’s Higgins was making his 25th consecutive appearance in a tournament which has tended to bring him feast or famine over that quarter-century. He has won the title twice but has also suffered 13 first round exits.

Welshman Day has never been to the semi-finals of this event but he will make that breakthrough if he beats Ronnie O’Sullivan or Stuart Bingham on Thursday afternoon. Tickets for certain sessions still available – click here for details. 

World number four Higgins made a 25 clearance to take the opening frame then compiled a break of 65 to win the second. Day pulled one back then Higgins took the fourth on the colours to lead 3-1 at the interval.

Runs of 52, 111 and 83 saw Day win three in a row as he went 4-3 ahead. Higgins got the better of a scrappy eighth, but missed a crucial pink to a centre pocket at the end of a 35-minute ninth. Day slotted in the pink and black to lead 5-4. Back came Higgins with runs 49 and 28 of to set up the decider.

A cracking long red gave Day his chance and he showed his quality in a flawless 128 total clearance.

World number 13 Day, who won a trio of titles last season at the Riga Masters, Gibraltar Open and Romanian Masters, said: “It was great to finish the match with one hit like that in the deciding frame, and from 3-1 behind, I’m delighted to get the win. After the interval I had a burst of frames to get myself in front which was pretty good. It went a bit messy from there to 5-5 but it was a good way to finish.

“I have been playing with a sore arm and 20 minutes before the game today it was painful. But once the match started the adrenaline took over. I think it’s just ‘snooker shoulder’ – a bit of wear and tear.

“It would be massive to play Ronnie in a big tournament, a big arena. To pit myself against the greatest player would be something I’d look forward to. But he will have a tough game first against Stuart.”

Higgins said: “That’s twice he’s done that against me this year. At the Shanghai Masters it was 5-5, I broke off and Ryan knocked a long one in and cleared up. Every credit to him for doing that tonight under extreme pressure. It was the right result, he played a lot better than me tonight. I was pretty bad.”

Stephen Hendry – who was celebrating his 50th birthday yesterday – was in the BBC commentary box, and on twitter, showing incredible bias in favour of John Higgins, apparently saying something along the line “If they had to play ten frames in a row, any time, I would back John Higgins to win all ten”.  Ok, John has had a much more illustrious career than Ryan, and he’s Scottish, but still. I wish that commentator sometimes look at actual stats about the players. Since 2012, those two had played each other eight times (excluding CLS) and the head-to-head was 4-4 before yesterday’s match, they had four deciders and it was 2-2 also, Ryan winning the last one in Shanghai last September. I was expecting Ryan to win on current form and he did.

Anyway, happy belated birthday Stephen!

Other than that, BBC made this nice feature

And Ronnie was in the studio at the start of the evening, previewing John Higgins v Ryan Day. As always, he appeared to be a bit too much in awe of Higgins for my liking. But now, should Ronnie win this afternoon – which isn’t a gimme – he will not have to face him.

Previewing the Masters and discussing the first round matches

A bit surprisingly, they completely overlook the fact that Judd Trump has never won a match longer than best of 7 against Kyren Wilson, hasn’t beaten him for over two years and, more significantly has lost to him four times out of four matches  in 2018.

Yesterday night saw Stuart Bingham win Group 4 of the 2019 Championship League Snooker, beating Mark Selby by 3-1 in the final. So now, the Masters 2019 IS the next tournament and here is (an attempt at) a preview.

Mark Allen v Luca Brecel

Mark Allen, the defending champion, will open proceedings against Luca Brecel, the youngest player in the field. On paper there is only one winner of this match: Mark Allen. Indeed Allen is currently at the top of the one year list, and by some margin as well: he’s more than £130000 ahead of Ronnie who is n°2. He’s also the winner of the last ranking event in 2018, the Scottish Open. Luca Brecel on the other hand has been struggling badly and for quite some time as well: Luca is currently 37th in the one year list and has not qualified for the German Masters 2019. BUT, Mark Allen has been talking a lot to the media – and to Worldsnooker – about how he’s going to handle the pressure and how he sees himself as the best ever player coming out of Northern Ireland. I’m not sure this is wise. Mark has history of collapsing badly at his home event, the Northern Ireland Open, when playing in front of friend and family with huge expectations on his shoulders. Being the defending champion is pressure enough, adding to it by boasting to the media might be unwise under the circumstances. Luca has played very well in patches in the CLS, his form is there, his confidence not so much. However, if Luca gets off to a good start and wins the first couple of frames, this match could take a turn to the unexpected. If not, Mark Allen will win by some margin, probably by 6-1 or 6-2.

John Higgins v Ryan Day

John Higgins has got a rather nightmarish season so far although he did make the final at the China Open 2018. But, otherwise it’s largely been a season to forget and John has often appeared dispirited and unmotivated. John’s record in the Masters isn’t that great either. He’s won it twice, and was runner-up twice, both times losing to Ronnie, but he’s also been beaten in the first round 12 times in 24 appearances. Ryan Day hasn’t had as good a season as the two previous ones either, he’s yet to go past the QF in this campaign but he did beat John Higgins in the Shanghai Masters 2018, and beat him in a decider as well. So this match is hard to call. Basically anything could happen. I’ll go for Ryan winning by 6-4.

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stuart Bingham

Stuart has just won Group 4 of the CLS 2019, beating Mark Selby in the final. This is the only match from this group that I watched and it’s hard to take any conclusions based on it. Stuart didn’t play particularly well there, except in the last frame. It was scrappy and he needed several chances to finish frames, often losing position when in. Mark Selby was maybe tired – apparently he had dominated the group convincingly – but, in the final at least, having won the first frame he appeared to play rather casually, taking some careless/risky shots. So it’s hard to know exactly what form Stuart is in. He’s always hard to beat though. It’s even more difficult to know in what kind of form Ronnie is: he hasn’t played since winning the UK Championship mis December 2018. But Ronnie loves the Masters, he’s won it seven times. He’s been in the final 9 times, and won it 6 times since 2004, in 14 participations. It’s his home tournament, he can go home between matches, it suits him to bits. I’ll go for Ronnie winning 6-4.

Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski

Another one that’s hard to call. Ding hasn’t been convincing at all this season. He’s a young father, and his heart hasn’t really been in snooker, or at least that’s the impression he’s given most of the time when at the table. He’s even looked absolutely miserable at times. He’s lost matches he looked set to win. But, despite all this, there have been sparks of brilliance and his ability can’t be questioned. Jack on the other hand has been mega consistent over the last two seasons. He’s in great form having won Group 2 of the Championship League snooker only last week. He has however suffered some heavy defeats against the top players, especially in latter stages of tournaments, his 13-1 defeat to John Higgins at the Crucible probably the most spectacular of them. Jack isn’t quite at ease on the biggest scenes just yet, or so it seems. He’s the only debutant here and the crowds are always “lively”.  However Ding is likely to play an open game, which will suit Jack. Also – it might be only a detail – this match is scheduled on the Monday evening, at a time when most fans in China will be deep asleep and this maybe might affect Ding’s motivation negatively. Anyway, all considered, I’ll side with Jack Lisowski winning by 6-4.

Mark Willams v Neil Robertson

If Mark Williams is to be believed, he has been on a non-stop celebration mode since last May. This involved countless drinks, kebabs, holidays and getting in trouble in Dubai. It hasn’t stopped him from winning the World Open though and he’s fourth on the one year list. Plus, apparently, he’s been practicing for this event. Neil Robertson is fifth on the one year list, having also won an event this season already, the Riga Masters, and he too has been practicing. Last week he won Group 1 of the Championship League Snooker. One thing though is that Neil has lost three times this season to Mark Allen and once to Ronnie, so, maybe, he’s vulnerable against the very top players. Anyway, this is too close to call. I expect 6-5 either way.

Barry Hawkins v Shaun Murphy

Another difficult one to call, this time because both players have been struggling for results lately. Shaun has gone through difficult times privately early in the season, moving to Ireland, having a new baby daughter who suffered ill-health in her first weeks. He’s down to n° 31 in the one-year list. There were signs of improvement before Christmas, but he was still far from his best. Barry Hawkins is still ranked 13 in that list, mainly because he made it to the semi-finals in the World Open 2018, but that was back in August. He also made it to the final of the Shanghai Masters in September, but since it’s been a rather poor season for him. Again it’s too close to call. I expect 6-4 either way, after a rather scrappy long battle.

Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson

Two young players but very different styles. Judd Trump does have a good safety game, but is far more happy when playing an open game. Kyren Wilson is less of an extrovert, and a more cautious, methodical approach suits him best. Judd is in form, he’s the only player this season who beat Ronnie whilst he was playing well. However he has also lost matches that everyone expected him to win, and from being in front as well. More importantly maybe, their head-to-head – outside CLS – is heavily in favour of Kyren. Kyren has won 6 of their 9 encounters, including all four they played in 2018. Therefore I’ll go with Kyren Wilson winning by 6-4.

Mark Selby v Stephen Maguire

Mark Selby did win an event already this season, the China Championship, but otherwise it’s been a poor season by his standards. He has however shown some for in the Championship League Snooker Group 4 dominating the group, until the final where, having knocked in a nice 90 to win the first frame, he seemed to lose his way, taking some unexpectedly risky shots and losing all next three frames, having got countless opportunities in two of them. Maybe he was tired. Stephen Maguire on the other hand has got a reasonably good season by his standards, but he’s not won anything. Stephen on form is devastating, but he’s been guilty of impatience quite often through his career, and his temperament is … volatile. So, I really don’t know what to do with this one. I expect Mark Selby to care – it’s the Masters – and to try his hardest, which might involve the type of snooker likely to push Stephen Maguire over the edge: more balls on cushions than in open play, methodical pace, and generally awkward table. If that happens there is only one winner: Mark Selby by 6-3.

We are only on the third day of the year and already the first snooker event of the year is over. Indeed Neil Robertson beat Jack Lisowski by 3-0 in the final to win the Championship League Snooker Event 1.  Neil is through to the Winners Group. The overall winner of the event gets a spot in next season Champion of champions.

All results can be found on snooker.org. 

Action continues today in Coventry with the Championship League Snooker Event 2. This event will finish tomorrow night and you can follow it here on snooker.org 

Also, Worldsnooker has published the draw and format for the television stages of the German Masters.

Wednesday 2 Jan 2019 02:50PM

Here’s the updated draw and format for the final stages of the 2019 D88.com German Masters at the Tempodrom in Berlin, following the completion of the qualifying rounds.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The tournament runs from January 30 to February 3, with top stars including Mark Williams, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby battling for the title. Tickets for certain sessions are still available – for details click here

Despite the pre-Christmas qualifiers slot, we have a good line-up this time.However the winners of the last two events before the holidays break are missing. Neither Ronnie, nor Mark Allen entered. Ronnie though should be in Berlin as a pundit and commentator.

This event is important because it’s the last one counting  before the World Grand Prix, the first of the Coral Cup events.

Here is where things stand regarding that event (WPBSA)

The Cheltenham Race

2nd January 2019

There is just one event to be completed in the race to qualify for this season’s Coral World Grand Prix which will be staged at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse for the first time from 4-10 February 2019.

As in previous seasons, the event will see 32 players contest the title with a top prize of £100,000 to be won and the field is now almost set for the prestigious event won last year by Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The event is the first of the new ‘Coral Series’ tournaments, also comprising this season’s Coral Players Championship and the all-new Coral Tour Championship this spring.

Who will qualify?

As was the case last season, the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list will qualify to play at the World Grand Prix.

This differs from the official two-year rolling list as the one-year ranking list includes only prize money earned since the start of this season at the 2018 Riga Masters, through to and including the German Masters.

This covers a total of 11 counting events, 10 of which have now been completed following Mark Allen’s victory at the Scottish Open before Christmas.

The state of play

A year ago, £57,000 was enough to seal qualification for the tournament, but this time 32^nd placed Gary Wilson is currently poised to qualify with £48,600 heading into the final stages of the German Masters in Berlin.

However, with Wilson already having lost in the second qualifying round for that tournament, he could still be overtaken if any of up to 12 players below him on the one-year ranking list who have qualified for Germany are able to run deep at the Tempodrom.

Of the players currently ranked within the world’s top 32 on the official world ranking list, eight are set to miss out on qualification for Cheltenham as it stands, based on their prize money earned this season (current one-year positions including prize money earned at the German Masters qualifiers in brackets):

• Zhou Yuelong (33)
• Robert Milkins (34)
• Luca Brecel (37)
• Graeme Dott (39)
• Anthony Hamilton (40)
• Liang Wenbo (49)
• Martin Gould (65)
• Anthony McGill (72)

Of these players, only Zhou Yuelong and Robert Milkins have qualified for the final stages in Berlin and so can add to their tallies, each needing to win at least two matches to have any chance of qualification.

The eight lower-ranked players currently in position to qualify on the one-year list are:

• Martin O’Donnell (16)
• Noppon Saengkham (19)
• Mark Davis (21)
• Zhao Xintong (23)
• Matthew Stevens (25)
• Stuart Carrington (26)
• Yuan Sijun (28)
• Gary Wilson (32)

Of these players, almost all look well-placed to stay there, with only Gary Wilson sweating on other results as detailed above.

The Race to the World Grand Prix concludes with the start of the final stages of the 2019 German Masters on 30 January.