Month: October 2020

2020 English Open – Day 6 – SF

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The final today will be contested between Judd Trump, the World number one, and Neil Robertson, the World number three.

Neil, yesterday afternoon, got the better of the defending champion, Mark Selby.

Here is how (WST report):

Robertson Beats Selby In Classic Semi-Final

Neil Robertson reached his 30th ranking event final thanks to an excellent break of 92 in the deciding frame of a 6-5 win over Mark Selby at the Matchroom.Live English Open.

Australia’s Robertson goes through to Sunday’s final to face Judd Trump or John Higgins over 17 frames for the £70,000 top prize and the Steve Davis Trophy. He is aiming for his 19th ranking title and victory would also make him the first player to win three Home Nations events.

For the first time ever in a ranking event, all four semi-finalists have completed the Triple Crown, and they have also all held the world number one position. The quartet have 83 ranking titles between them. Fittingly, the first semi-final lived up to its billing as Selby and Robertson served up an enthralling contest.

It started in cagey fashion, Robertson taking two scrappy frames, then the heavy scoring began as defending champion Selby rattled in breaks of 117, 58 and 73 for 2-2. World number three Robertson hit back with 58 and 134 to lead 4-2 then Selby, ranked fourth, took frame seven with a run of 70.

Robertson’s 129 put him 5-3 ahead and he could have crossed the finish line in frame nine but ran out of position on the last red. Selby got the better of a safety battle on the green and halved his deficit. Early in frame ten Robertson had another opportunity but made only 19 before missing the blue to a centre pocket, and his opponent’s 51 made it 5-5.

A slice of fortune went Robertson’s way in the decider as he missed a long red but left the balls safe. He later slotted in a long red then potted a risky brown to a centre pocket, and went on to make his match winning break.

“It was a fantastic match,” said 38-year-old Robertson. “Mark was as tenacious as ever. I had most of the run of the ball, we had a joke about it at the end. But you have to take advantage when it goes your way. I was lucky in the last frame when I missed the long red and didn’t leave Mark anything.

“Then he had a chance but he rolled up to the yellow to snooker me. When I had a similar chance I went for the brown because I’d rather lose a match going for a pot than playing safe.

“It will be a great final tomorrow. Judd and John are equally difficult opponents but present different challenges. Judd is more aggressive while John is very crafty. I’ll just try to play to my strengths.”

Selby, who lost the chance to become the first player in 30 years to win the first two ranking events of the season, said: “It just felt as though no matter what I did today, the Gods were against me. Neil played well and got the run of the ball. I was probably destined not to win – everything I did just seemed to go wrong, and everything Neil did seemed to go right.

“I don’t feel like I played fantastic this week. I’ve dug in and grafted. The good thing is I’m not playing well and still winning matches, which I wasn’t doing a couple of years ago.”

I have put one sentence in bold, because I believe it’s the key, not just of this match, but in modern sport in general: you lose more than you win if you play/compete defensively. You have to create your own chances, and then take them. If you don’t, your opponent will. It certainly is this way in tennis and table tennis as well.

In the evening, Judd Trump beat John Higgins by 6-4 (WST report):

Trump Sets Up Robertson Final

World number one Judd Trump remained on course for his first title since March as he came from 4-3 down to beat John Higgins 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Matchroom.Live English Open.

Trump will face Neil Robertson over a possible 17 frames on Sunday, with the winner to bank £70,000 and take home the Steve Davis Trophy. The champion will also become the first player to win three Home Nations titles.

Bristol’s 31-year-old Trump will be playing in his 27th ranking event final and aiming for his 18th title, which would bring him level with both Robertson and Mark Selby on the all-time list.

After winning a record six ranking events last season, Trump has had a dip in form since the tour returned from lockdown in June. He is still not at his free-flowing best but has developed the very useful habit of finding other ways to win matches.

Higgins led on four occasions tonight, making the better breaks with 50, 52, 133 and 107, while Trump’s best effort was a 102 in frame four.

In frame eight, Scotland’s Higgins missed a tricky red to a baulk corner when he trailed 31-19, letting his opponent in for a run of 49 which made it 4-4. Four-time World Champion Higgins had two chances in the ninth, but first went in-off in potting a red, then got a kick on a black off its spot. Trump punished the latter error to go ahead for the first time.

And another mistake from Higgins in frame ten proved costly as he touched a red with his cue when bridging awkwardly to pot another red. That was his last moment at the table as Trump’s 73 sealed his sixth consecutive win over Higgins.

“I felt I was outplayed, John scored heavier than me,” admitted Trump. “I was just winning the scrappy frames to hang on. If I had gone two frames behind I probably would have lost. He missed a couple of balls from 4-3 and in the last frame he was unlucky to finish in an awkward spot, then he showed great sportsmanship to own up to the foul.

“I felt like a million dollars out there, I was very relaxed and I enjoyed it. I’m very pleased to have had a good start to the season without playing my best. Sometimes my B or C game is enough to compete, and that’s something Mark Selby has done over the years. It gives me extreme confidence to know that under the cosh I can dig in and deliver under pressure.

“I love playing Neil, he is on form and he wins tournaments every year. It should be a great final.”

Higgins, who is still waiting for his first ranking title since the 2018 Welsh Open, said: “I’m disappointed – I missed my chances at the end there. I had a good chance to go 5-3 up and messed it up, and I just got weaker and Judd got stronger.

“I was enjoying it – the conditions were beautiful. It’s tough with no crowd but I was enjoying the buzz of playing, but I just faltered at the end and you can’t afford to do that with Judd.

“There’s shoots of recovery – I’m hitting it a bit better, so I’ve got to try and take the positives. Obviously right now I’m gutted but if I reflect on it in a couple of days, I’ve played better stuff and hopefully I’ll take it on for the rest of the season.”

Over the last two years, Judd and Neil played two finals and won one each, they also played two semi-finals and won one each. Based on those results, the outcome of today’s match is hard to predict, although, from what we have seen this week, Neil is probably favourite but not by much.

 

Ronnie fan? Here is stuff to listen to, to watch and, maybe, to vote for.

Monique Interview, Radio or Television Show ,

On several occasions in recent articles, Phil Haigh referred to the third podcast Ronnie did with Peter Cohen. 

Peter, who is a life coach, has been Ronnie’s friend for nearly twenty years, and has been at his side in many difficult moments. Here is how he introduces this podcast:

072 Interview With 6x Snooker World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan

In 2002 I recorded a podcast with (then) two-times World Snooker Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan, recording a second one the following year. Now, eighteen years on, Ronnie and I recorded a third podcast together reflecting on what has changed and what has stayed the same.

In this fascinating interview Ronnie will explain how he has changed from being the young and hungry young player to one of the sport’s senior players – more interested in his own improvement and development of the game over winning competitions and prizes. Together we explore what drives him today both within the game and, more importantly, outside it along with the challenges of being a celebrity and the distraction that trying to meet the expectations of others can present.
As well as his frank reflections on addiction and his ongoing commitment to personal development, Ronnie will also share his views on mastery and how practice is important but not as important as building habits of the right things and doing things in the right way.

From a life in the spotlight since the age of seventeens, Ronnie O’Sullivan is now living life on his own terms.

It’s a very nice, positive interview, an one that shows how getting perspective in life has helped Ronnie to find a better balance and peace.

Ronnie has also been speaking to Colin Murray about his six World Titles, and the program “The Joy of Six” was shown on British Eurosport yesterday evening. I’m told by Buzás Gábor, you works for Eurosport in Hugary, that a shortened version of that program will be shown on International Eurosport on November 22, 2020. So that’s good news. But meanwhile an audio version has been published on “The Break” .

Click on the picture below to listen, it’s well worth it. 

JoyofSixRonnie

And here is the broadcast:

Finally Eurosport have started their campaign to get Ronnie a SPOTY recognition.

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN FOR SPOTY: WHY AWARDS MUST FINALLY DO RIGHT THING BY SNOOKER GOAT

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s sixth World Championship triumph will surely see him selected among the final six for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, writes Desmond Kane. And snooker’s greatest player finally has a serious shot at winning the award on a public vote.

RonniePensive-2.png

BY DESMOND KANE

It has taken a global pandemic for snooker to be considered worthy enough, but there is no surely no way to avoid the stark truth confronting SPOTY with as much menace as Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins blowing the top off a few cold ones back in the golden years: Ronnie O’Sullivan will finally make it onto the public ballot paper after years of refusal.

With no Wimbledon, Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games in a sporting calendar decimated by the ongoing health crisis, snooker suddenly has its big break this time after being blackballed by the committee of judges more times than blacks have been sunk at the Crucible Theatre.

The only snooker player to win the gong since its inception in 1954 was Steve Davis in 1988 with fellow world champion Stephen Hendry finishing second behind Paul Gascoigne in 1990 when the green baize was still considered trendy enough for a podium spot in the yearly bash. Higgins himself finished second behind decathlete Daley Thompson after his second world title in 1982.

The road to Damascus has been a long one, but if Paul the Apostle rather than Gazza was converted in the end, there seems to be several doubting Thomases on the judging panel in failing to appreciate what snooker brings to the table. Especially when Joe Wicks has enjoyed a productive few months on Zoom.

Never underestimate the ability of whoever comes up with the final list of nominees to abdicate their sense of responsibility in continually overlooking snooker’s greatest player of all time for whatever reasons they refuse to disclose. Even a closed shop would find room for the Rocket Man this time. Either that, or let’s call the whole thing off.

Whether or not they like O’Sullivan’s persona or prefer his sport, is neither here nor there. Some people enjoy marmite, some recoil in horror at the very thought of it, but personal opinion should not be allowed to spread fake gospel. Which it certainly seems to have done in previous incarnations of a curious selection process which seems to have less rhyme or reason than refusing the final black on 140, which O’Sullivan contemplated doing for fun back in 2010 before referee Jan Verhaas intervened.

In such a respect, O’Sullivan has given snooker credibility, a narrative and a serene sense of chaos beyond the darkened environs of his sport by conjuring up a consistent level of magic and mayhem that has rarely been witnessed in any professional arena, far less one that involves a bloke in a bow tie brandishing a cue and a lump of chalk on a 12ft table.

It would be interesting to hear why O’Sullivan has been continually ignored since he won the UK Championship as a 17-year-old in 1993 because the reasons are about as credible as attempting to outrun the virus in a camper van. It appears to be a curious piece of nonsense riddled in class bias and snobbery against the working class roots of snooker and a refusal to recognise the pristine levels that it takes to master the most imposing of all cue sports.

It is a hoary repetitive old tale made even more remarkable when the BBC have given the grandiose title of triple crown to three events it covers on terrestrial TV – the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. You can forget all the hyperbole about snooker majors, a new phenomenon allowed to slip into general discourse without any historical fact, there is only one major and it is back in the clutches of the game’s ultimate entertainer.

More engrossingly, at the age of 44 and playing well within himself, O’Sullivan conquered the Crucible by playing in fits and starts in a quite august August. The concentration levels and class to win such a tournament should not be underestimated even without a frazzled crowd due to the Covid conundrum.

The three frames he played against Mark Selby to recover from 16-14 behind in running out a 17-16 winner in the semi-finals with breaks of 138, 71 and 64 was arguably up there with the best combination of bone shakers world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury unearthed to floor Deontay Wilder in February.

It was three of the most poignant frames O’Sullivan has played in his 28-year career as he discusses on the exclusive hour-long special ‘Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Joy of Six’ on Friday 16 October at 10pm on Eurosport 1.

“I think the sixth one was more enjoyable, in many ways, than any of them,” said O’Sullivan in reflecting on his 18-8 filleting of Kyren Wilson in the final.

“Not because of the way I played, but because there was no pressure on me because I don’t feel like anyone expected me to go all the way this year whereas in previous years it’s always been ‘it’s Ronnie’s to lose’.”

Phil Taylor – a 16-times world champion darts player with a better aim than Dirty Harry – made it onto the list of nominees a decade ago and finished runner-up to Champion Jockey Tony McCoy. Do not underestimate snooker’s popularity if O’Sullivan is finally granted due respect with the ceremony due to take place on 20 December in Manchester.

He took a year off between his fourth and fifth victories at the World Championship yet was astonishingly not nominated in 2013. Seven years later, the BBC have the chance to make up for years of refusal by doing the right thing by O’Sullivan this time.

Anything else would amount to an abject dereliction of duty.

Desmond Kane

LEADING SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS

Lewis Hamilton (Formula One)
Marcus Rashford (Football)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (Snooker)
Tyson Fury (Boxing)

2020 English Open – Day 5 – QFs

Monique Snooker

The 2020 English Open semi-finals line-up features the World numbers 1,3,4 and 7 … that’s the “lottery” of the short formats for you.

Here are the WST reports about how we got there:

Afternoon session

Selby And Higgins Into Semis

Mark Selby remains on course to become the first player in 30 years to win the first two ranking titles of the season as he beat Zhou Yuelong 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Matchroom.Live English Open.

John Higgins, chasing his first ranking title in 31 months, also eased into the last four as he saw off Jak Jones 5-1

Not since Stephen Hendry landed the first four ranking titles of the 1990/91 season has any player taken the first two. Having won last month’s BetVictor European Masters, Selby is the man in form and is just two wins away from another trophy. He will face Neil Robertson or Robbie Williams in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The Leicester cueman had won his previous three matches in Milton Keynes by a 4-3 scoreline, but today’s victory was more comfortable.

After sharing the first two frames, China’s Zhou made an excellent 51 clearance to lead 2-1. World number four Selby dominated the next two frames, making breaks of 72, 52 and 48 to lead 3-2.

Zhou had a chance to win frame six but missed a short range brown, from a tight angle, to a centre pocket when he trailed 43-34. He later played a loose safety on the brown and Selby punished him to go 4-2 ahead. The Englishman sealed the result in frame seven with a run of 56.

“I didn’t play great today but I’m happy to win,” said 37-year-old Selby. “The bit of luck you need seems to be with me this week. It would great to win the first two ranking events this season, the fact that it hasn’t been  done for 30 years shows how tough snooker is.”

Higgins ‘Desperate’ To End Drought

Four-time World Champion Higgins was far too strong for Jones, who was competing in the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time. World number seven Higgins now meets Judd Trump or Kyren Wilson.

Ferrule animal: Higgins recently switched from brass to titanium

Scotland’s Higgins won his 30th and most recent ranking title at the 2018 Welsh Open – though he has reached the World Championship final twice since then. Swapping to a titanium ferrule and a different brand of chalk has given him a fresh dose of enthusiasm and he has dropped just five frames in five matches so far this week.

“Jak struggled today and I picked up the pieces,”  said 45-year-old Higgins, through to his 74th ranking event semi-final. “I am desperate to win a tournament because for the last couple of years I’ve watched other players taking the trophies. I feel good about my game. If the ball is going where you want it to go, that’s half the battle.”

It’s astonishing really that it’s been 30 years since a player won the first two ranking events of a season, Actually Ronnie came close to it in 2008/09, when, as the reigning World Champion, he won the last instaltment of the Northern Ireland Trophy, beating Dave Harold in the final, then lost to Ricky Walden in the Shanghai Masters final.

Ronnie was in the ES “studio” and made a few interesting points.

Asked if Jak Jones stood any chance, he answered that he doubted it, not because of Jak lack of ability, but because it would be the first time for him on the main table. He explained that the main table, under the television lights plays very differently to the side tables. It’s hotter under the lights and the cloth plays faster. The lightimg is stronger, which requires some adjustement when aiming if you aren’t used to it. He said that those players who have next to none opportunity to play in those conditions, should be given the opportunity to get a couple of hours of practice on the main table before their match.

Evening session

Three-Ton Thunder Storms Into Last Four

Neil Robertson blasted three centuries as he beat Robbie Williams 5-2 to take his place in a fabulous semi-final line-up at the Matchroom.Live English Open.

Robertson will take on Mark Selby on Saturday afternoon, then in the evening John Higgins will meet world number one Judd Trump, who saw off Kyren Wilson 5-1. The four remaining players in Milton Keynes have 83 ranking titles between them, and they have all completed the Triple Crown.

After losing the opening frame tonight, Australia’s Robertson picked up the pace with breaks of 56, 87 and 140 to lead 3-1 at the interval. His opponent took frame five on the pink, but world number three Robertson rattled in 100 and 133 to finish in style.

“That was awesome, it’s so enjoyable to play like that,” said Robertson. “I lost a tight frame to go 3-2 and that could have been a turning point but then it was a great way to finish. It was also nice to go ahead of Joe Perry for the (£5,000) high break prize because he’d had a 139 – he texted me at the interval but I can’t say what he wrote!

“It’s an unbelievable semi-final line-up because we have all won a lot of tournaments in recent years. It will be an amazing day for the fans watching on TV.”

World number one Trump was far from his best tonight but scored a 5-1 win over an out-of-sorts Wilson. It was a small measure of revenge for Bristol’s Trump who lost to the same opponent in the quarter-finals at the Crucible in August.

Bristol’s Trump made 56 and 53 in taking a 2-0 lead before Wilson pulled one back with an 84. A run of 112 put Trump 3-1 ahead and he got the better of a safety battle on the last red in frame five to extend his lead. The sixth lasted just eight minutes as Trump fired a break of 101.

“It was a strange game, I made some good breaks but I felt edgy,” admitted Trump. “Kyren gave it to me really, he was well below his usual level and he missed more long pots than he would usually miss in a season. I went into my shell a bit, I got too negative waiting for chances. I’ll have to be more positive tomorrow and play better because John is close to his best.

“Kyren has got the dedication, determination and hunger to be around for a long time so we’re going to play beach other a lot. We both enjoy the challenge, there’s a bit of rivalry and we both want to win badly. The next time we play he’ll be trying to turn it up a notch and beat me.”

It may be just a feeling, but it seems to me that most players have displayed little consistency all week. We have had the odd brilliant performance, but for most of it, they have not been at their best. That’s probably because of the Covid-19 crisis, they are not able to stick to their usual practice regimen and routine. Practice opportunities at the venue have been limited.

 

2020 English Open – Day 4

Monique Professional snooker tournament

Yesterday was “moving day” at the 2020 English Open, with two rounds played to completion: the last 32 in the morning and afternoon, the last 16 in the evening.

If I’m honest, I’ve had better days as a fan…

Anyway, here are the reports by WST:

Last 32:

The big talking point was, of course, Ronnie’s defeat to Matthew Stevens and you can read more about that by following this link.

…

Houdini Trump Escapes Again

Judd Trump came from 3-1 down to win 4-3 for the third time in a row, beating Michael Holt. World number one Trump has scored 4-3 wins over Louis Heathcote, Yuan Sijun and Holt this week, each time taking the last three frames. He now meets Gary Wilson on Thursday night for a place in the quarter-finals.

Holt had several chances from 3-1 to land a major scalp but couldn’t take advantage and Trump recovered to 3-3 with breaks of 77 and 70, before taking the decider in three scoring visits.

“Michael played well at the start. He had chances to win and I was lucky that he made mistakes,” said Bristol’s Trump. “We both got twitchy in the end. I have struggled to get going this week but from now I will have to up my game. Gary Wilson is a very dangerous opponent.”

Selby Keeps Run Going

Defending champion Mark Selby snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Liang Wenbo, winning 4-3.

The key moment came in frame six when Liang, leading 3-2, was close to the winning line when he missed a tricky red along a side cushion on a break of 54. Selby made a brilliant 56 clearance to win the frame by a single point for 3-3, then took the decider with runs of 38 and 41.

World number four Selby has now won 19 consecutive best-of-seven frame matches in Home Nations events. He’ll aim to make that 20 on Thursday evening when he faces Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, who celebrated his 26th birthday with a 4-2 defeat of Jamie Clarke.

Round-up

China’s top player Ding Junhui has been in excellent form this week and he came from 2-0 down to beat Tom Ford 4-2 with top breaks of 50, 112 and 90. He now faces John Higgins who saw off Jimmy Robertson 4-1.

Neil Robertson’s scoring power was too much for Mark Davis as runs of 50, 119, 77 and 117 gave the Australian a 4-1 success.

Crucible finalist Kyren Wilson top scored with 100 in a 4-1 win over Xu Si. Anthony McGill hadn’t hit a ball until this morning, having received byes through the first and second round, but looked sharp as he beat Steven Hallworth 4-0 with top runs of 124 and 84.

Also through to the last 16 are Barry Hawkins, Ben Woollaston, Zhou Yuelong, Robbie Williams and Andrew Higginson.

There was little magic in Judd Trump escape, there was mainly Michael Holt unable to finish the match despite getting countless chances.

This was the situation at the table early in frame five:

Trump Holt table English Open 2020 R3

Michael had just potted a red… hard to get a better table isn’t it? And it’s just one example of the opportunities he got. Also he wasn’t the one who created it. This was the result of Judd Trump’s attempt at an extremely risky cut back that was always going to send the white into the pack at speed, whether he potted or missed the attempted red. He had missed. It was a huge gamble by Trump, and the kind of shot that, had it be played by Ronnie or Maguire, would have triggered comments about “throwing the match” on social media. More likely, it was an attempt to impose his own style, and maybe, to put more pressure on his opponent sending the message that he would go for everything. Whatever it was, it worked.

 

Last 16:

Strong Line Up For Last Eight

Five of the world’s top seven players – Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Kyren Wilson – are among a tremendous quarter-final line-up at the Matchroom.Live English Open.

Defending champion Selby came through a marathon last-16 battle with Hossein Vafaei by a 4-3 scoreline. In a contest lasting three hours and 39 minutes, Selby came from 3-1 down to 3-3 with breaks of 56 and 84. The decider came down to a tactical exchange on the final blue, and Selby pounced on a safety error from his opponent to pot blue and pink for victory.

Three-time World Champion Selby has now won a remarkable 20 consecutive best-of-seven frame matches in Home Nations events. “I don’t know why that it, I suppose it’s my never-say-die attitude,” said Selby, who won the BetVictor European Masters last month. “I was lucky today because Hossein and Liang Wenbo both had chances to beat me.”

Selby now meets Zhou Yuelong, who beat Andrew Higginson 4-0 with top breaks of 115 and 124.

World number one Trump eased into the last eight with a 4-1 defeat of Gary Wilson. A comfortable victory was welcome for Trump, who had won his previous three matches 4-3 from 3-1 down.

A break of 70 gave Trump the first frame before Wilson levelled with a 124. Trump regained the lead with an 89 then Wilson looked set to level again until he missed a tricky black on 63. That proved a turning point as Trump doubled a red to a centre pocket to set up a 66 clearance, before sealing victory in frame five with a 76.

“It was nice to play well. Gary put me under a bit of pressure but I didn’t miss a lot,” said Trump, whose last title came at the Gibraltar Open in March. “I didn’t play well in my first three matches but I feel I’m playing my way into the tournament.

“The double I went for in the fourth frame, I don’t know if I would have played that if there had been a crowd there. I’m so relaxed out there I don’t really care, I just go for everything. It feels a bit like playing an exhibition. I’m sure some of the others are playing for their life, but for me it just feels like practising.”

Trump now faces Kyren Wilson who beat Ben Woollaston 4-0 with a top break of 90.

Robertson top scored with 90 and 91 in a 4-2 defeat of Barry Hawkins. “It was a good match and I struck the ball very nicely,” said Robertson. “It’s fantastic for the tournament to have such a good quarter-final line up and the European Masters last month was similar. People must have wondered how the lack of crowds would affect the results, but the best players always rise to the top.”

The Australian now meets Robbie Williams, who reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the third time – and the first on UK soil – by beating Anthony McGill 4-1.

Four-time World Champion Higgins compiled breaks of 68, 66 and 67 as he beat Ding Junhui 4-1. His next opponent is Jak Jones who edged out Matthew Stevens 4-3 with a vital 33 clearance in the decider to reach his first ranking event quarter-final.

Friday’s quarter-final line-up

Mark Selby v Zhou Yuelong
Robbie Williams v Neil Robertson
Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson
John Higgins v Jak Jones

The fact that Matthew Stevens couldn’t back his victory over Ronnie with a win over the unheralded Jak Jones only added to my disappointment. That said, Jak Jones is not an easy opponent. He’s young but quite methodical. He can score heavily but didn’t in that match. His AST was over 34 seconds and he managed to dictate the pace: Matthew who had an AST of 22.7 seconds against Ronnie dropped to an AST of nearly 30 seconds against Jak. That, and the fact that beating Ronnie must have taken a lot out of him, without much time to recover, probably explain Matthew’s defeat. By the way, it’s not a “tactic” by Jak, it’s his natural pace. I remember watching him play at the SWSA as a young amateur more than ten years ago, and he played like that even then.

Ronnie was back in the ES studio right after his defeat…

BTW, Judd said in the studio that it can be tiring to play two matches in a day.

Ronnie looked tired yesterday. It was his first match of the day, but he had played in the evening the day before, then decided to drive home which is probably about one hour and a half away, and had to come back of course. Maybe that wasn’t a wise decision.

 

2020 English Open – Ronnie loses by 4-1 to Matthew Stevens in the last 32

Monique Professional snooker tournament

It was a disappointing afternoon for Ronnie as he was outplayed by Matthew Stevens in the last 32 round at the 2020 English open today.

Here are the scores:

EnglishOpen2020L32ROSScores

Ronnie didn’t play well, but even more importantly Matthew Stevens was outstanding as the scores show. His pot succes in that match was above 98%. The Eurosport pundits stated that he missed three pots all match. That’s very hard to beat at the best of times, nevermind when you have an off-day.

(no sound)

Ronnie missed a few, but he certainly tried hard. It was plain to see how frustrated and disappointed he was by his own poor performance.

This is what Matt Huart (WPBSA) tweeted rigth after the match:

EnglishOpen2020L32ROSMaffTweet

And here is the report by WST:

Matthew Stevens had a pot success rate of 98% as he scored a stunning 4-1 win over World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the third round of the Matchroom.Live English Open.

EnglishOpen2020L32ROS-1

O’Sullivan was outplayed by an inspired opponent as former UK and Masters champion Stevens stormed into the last 16 and a match with fellow Welshman Jak Jones.

Breaks of 58 and 73 gave Stevens the first two frames. O’Sullivan pulled one back but spent most of the rest of the match in his chair as his opponent compiled runs of 51, 54 and 116.

It has been a slow start to the season for O’Sullivan – he lost in the last 64 of the BetVictor European Masters to Aaron Hill and pulled out of the BetVictor Championship League. After today’s match he said: “Matthew played much better than me. He has won big tournaments and he’s still a great player. I didn’t deliver and I’m just disappointed with that because the bottom line is I just want to play well.”

As disappointed as I was to see Ronnie struggling and losing, I was happy for Matthew who is probably one of the biggest underachievers in snooker. He looked set for big things at the start of his career, but he only won one ranking title from seven finals, the 2003 UK Championship. He also won the Masters in 2000. He lost twice in the World Championship final, in 2000 and 2005, having been ahead both times.

The loss of his father and manager, Morrell, and then the loss of his close friend Paul Hunter affected him badly. Both his private life and his career derailed. But he has been working hard in recent months and he starting to reap the results. It would be nice to see him lift the trophy on Sunday.

2020 English Open – Day 3

Monique Professional snooker tournament

The last 64 round was played to a completion yesterday in Milton Keynes, and it produced a few surprises.

Let’s start with the WST reports:

Morning and afternoon sessions:

Trump Out Of Jail Again

For the second time inside 24 hours, Judd Trump came from 3-1 down to win 4-3 and keep alive his hopes of winning the Matchroom.Live English Open.

Louis Heathcote couldn’t finish off the world number one on Tuesday night, and today it was China’s Yuan Sijun who let slip a two frame advantage. World number one Trump goes through to the last 32 to face Michael Holt or Lu Ning.

From 3-1 ahead, Yuan failed to score a point in the last three frames as Trump compiled breaks of 73, 83 and 67.

“Today was better from 3-1 down, I had to earn it,” said Trump. “I’m happy with the way I finished the game. It was nice to produce my best snooker under pressure. I always believe in myself. The form is there and hopefully it will click into gear tomorrow.”

Pistol Whipped

World number five Mark Allen became the highest ranked player to be knocked out as he suffered a surprise 4-0 defeat against Robbie Williams, who is ranked 102 places lower. Breaks of 80, 70 and 61 helped Williams to a fine victory.

“All credit to Robbie, he played very well and froze me out for most of the match,” said Allen. “He potted some good long balls to get in. I didn’t make too many mistakes. I’ll just have to get back to practice because there are no secret recipes. Hopefully I won’t have too many days like today.”

Round-up

Ding Junhui looked on top of his game as he beat Luca Brecel 4-1 with breaks of 97, 88 and 137. Equally impressive was Jamie Clarke’s 4-1 win over Liam Highfield as he fired runs of 99, 135 and 98.

China’s Xu Si came from 3-0 down to beat Matthew Selt 4-3 while David Grace also won the last four frames to edge out Andy Hicks 4-3.

Neil Robertson top scored with 102 in a 4-2 defeat of Mark Joyce while Kyren Wilson saw off Gao Yang 4-1 with a top run of 82.

Zhou Yuelong was let off the hook by former butcher Farakh Ajaib in a dramatic match which came down to the last two balls. Zhou got the better of a 72-minute decider after a long safety battle on the pink.

Tour rookie Ben Hancorn impressed a 4-2 defeat of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh while Steven Hallworth scored his best career win so far with a 4-3 defeat of Yan Bingtao.

If you wonder why the decider between Zhou and Ajaib was so long, well, they spent a long time on the last two balls…

english-open2020zhouajaibdecidersituatiom.png

And this is what Mark Allen had to tell the Northern Irish Press after his defeat:

…

“To be honest I just got completely outplayed,” the 34-year-old said. “He was very, very good from the very start so it didn’t feel like I got much of a chance until the last frame.

“I was frozen out for three and a half frames and I didn’t make the most of it but all credit to Robbie, he played very, very well.

“He potted some good long ones to get in and I was a bit unfortunate with a couple of safety shots.

“I think something I’ve always stood up to over the years is the pressure of the big occasion.

“It’s quite hard to put yourself in that position when there’s no crowd but it’s always nice to have that whenever you need it on the big occasion.

“It’s not a lot of fun but that’s absolutely no reason why I lost today, I just lost because he played much better.”

…

Evening session round-up:

…

Round-up

World number 91 David Lilley scored a shock 4-3 victory over eighth seed Shaun Murphy. From 2-0 down, Lilley made breaks of 119 and 116 in getting back to 3-3, then got the better of a scrappy decider to register the best win of his career.

Defending champion Mark Selby was pushed all the way by China’s up-and-coming Chang Bingyu. Selby trailed 2-0 and 3-2 but made breaks of 74 and 125 in the last two frames to win 4-3.

John Higgins eased to a 4-0 win over amateur Connor Benzey with a top break of 97.

I wouldn’t say that David Lilley’s win over Shaun Murphy is a “shock”. To his own admission, Shaun came to this tournament without adequate preparation and David Lilley has an excellent record in the amateur game. He’s also a mature, experienced player.

Other than Mark Allen, Yan Bingtao and Shaun Murphy, there were other “top 16 casualties”.

Stuart Bingham lost by 4-2 to Ben Woollaston yesterday, despite scoring a 136, the highest break of the match, and his second 136 in the tournament.

Jack Lisowski was beaten 4-3 by Jak Jones. Jak Jones is a very methodical player: his AST yesterday was over 33 seconds, that probably doesn’t suit Jack Lisowski. There were three breaks over 50 in the match, all by Lisowski, but they won him only three frames.

Worth noting as well are wins by Gary Wilson over Ricky Walden (4-3). Kurt Maflin over Jordan Brown (4-0), Hossein Vafaei over Joe Perry (4-3) and Mark Davis over Zhao Xintong (4-3).

And, of course, Ronnie beat Ryan Day by 4-1 at the start of the evening.

Today is “moving day”. Two rounds will be played today. The current 32 men field will be reduced to just 8 by tonight.

 

 

News about the snooker tour …

Monique Tour News

A few news came about the tour and related broadcasting.

According to Rudy Bauwens, commentator on Eurosport NL, “The Joy of Six”  will only be shown on British Eurosport, which is a shame. I hope we, non UK fans, can still watch it at some point as well.

WST has published some information about uocoming tournaments.

The Champion of Champions will be played behind closed doors.

Champion Of Champions To Be Played Behind Closed Doors

The 2020 Champion of Champions will be staged behind closed doors at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, from Monday, November 2 until Sunday, November 8, live on ITV4.

Matchroom Multi Sport had been hoping to be able to allow spectators to attend the event, however, given the current government guidelines around fans at sporting events, the decision has been taken to stage the event behind closed doors.

The Champion of Champions will remain at Marshall Arena, where a strict ‘event bubble’ will be employed. Matchroom Multi Sport have already successfully staged two editions of Championship League Snooker, including the event in June which marked the return of live sport in the UK after the lockdown.

Champion of Champions is one of snooker’s showpiece events, featuring WST champions from the last 12 months. Neil Robertson will defend the title he won in an epic final against Judd Trump last year, while World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and European Masters winner Mark Selby are also among the other stars who will battle it out to be crowned Champion of Champions.

All ticket holders will receive automatic refunds of their order via the original point of purchase. Ticket holders should allow up to 30 days for this to be processed. Anybody who purchased tickets for the 2020 Champion of Champions will automatically be entitled to purchase tickets for next year’s event during an exclusive priority ticket sales period before they go on general sale.

The Champion of Champions will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and on global broadcast partners including DAZN and matchroom.live. The tournament starts with a quartet of four-man groups played over four days from Monday, November 2 until Thursday, November 5. The winner of each group progresses to the semi-finals, with one played on Friday, November 5 and the other on Saturday, November 7. The final on Sunday, November 8 will be over 19 frames.

The Group Stage draw for the 2020 Champion of Champions will take place during BetVictor Championship League Snooker on Tuesday, October 27 and will be shown on Champion of Champions Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, and on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 2020 – QUALIFIED PLAYERS

Champions of Champions 2019 Neil Robertson
UK Championship 2019 Ding Junhui
The Masters 2020 Stuart Bingham
World Championship 2020 Ronnie O’Sullivan
European Masters 2020 Neil Robertson
German Masters 2020 Judd Trump
World Grand Prix 2020 Neil Robertson
Players Championship 2020 Judd Trump
Championship League Snooker 2019/20 Scott Donaldson
Championship League 2020 Luca Brecel
Tour Championship 2020 Stephen Maguire
European Masters 2020 (2) Mark Selby*
Championship League Snooker 2020 (2)
Northern Ireland Open 2019 Judd Trump
Scottish Open 2019 Mark Selby
Welsh Open 2020 Shaun Murphy
English Open 2020
World Championship Runner-up 2020 Kyren Wilson
Gibraltar Open 2020 Judd Trump
Shoot Out 2020 Michael Holt
World Seniors Championship 2020 Jimmy White

*As European Masters winner Mark Selby had already qualified for the Champion of Champions, Mark Allen will enter the event as the highest-ranked player not already qualified. Should the English Open and/or Championship League Snooker be won by players already qualified for the Champion of Champions, places will be awarded to the highest-ranked player(s) on the World Rankings after the English Open.

The part in bold may be bad news for us, Ronnie fans. Indeed the “strict event bubble” is the reason why Ronnie withdrew from the CLS. He usually loves the ITV events, but I’m not sure that he will want to enter this one if this is in operation. Also, I don’t understand why this is actually necessary whilst some events, like the current English Open, are played under a more relaxed approach despite involving a lot more players and officials, hence, posing more risks. In his post-match with Eurosport yesterday, Ronnie said he was going back home for the night.

Tour Championship tickets and news

Tour Championship Ticket Holders

Fans who had purchased tickets for the original dates of the 2020 Tour Championship in Llandudno (March 17th to 22nd, 2020) will soon receive a full refund from Venue Cymru.

WST has been in regular discussions with the venue, exploring the possibility of staging the 2021 Tour Championship in Llandudno.

Venue Cymru has been supporting Betsi Cadwaladr University Health board since March so that they can deliver essential medical services during the pandemic, and this support will continue until at least Spring 2021. This means that Venue Cymru will be closed and regrettably this will result in the rescheduling or cancellation of events, which means that Llandudno will not be able to host the Tour Championship in 2021.

Original bookings will be automatically refunded, so there is no need for fans to make contact with the box office. If fans have any questions regarding their original booking please email info@venuecymru.co.uk

WST still has a very strong and positive relationship with Venue Cymru and we hope to return to Llandudno again in the future.

The 2021 Tour Championship will run from March 22nd to 28th, with the venue to be announced in due course.