Click below to read up on all the action from that start of the 2009 Championship League from Crondon Park today…
First off, for all the details on the Championship League, please click here to view my post from last week which details the schedule and the calendar for the season ahead.
As for today though, play started at 11am GMT and for all the latest scores, please visit the Matchroom Sport website here. I will update the scores throughout the day myself on this page too but the Matchroom Sport link will probably be more up to date.
I can also report that the coverage of the event online seems to be working perfectly, Neal Foulds, David Hendon and Clive Everton providing the commentary and doing a very good job of it, though it is strange having just a single commentator rather than the usual two.
Again for details of how to watch, see my post from the other day. You will have to register with a betting site but it is free and you do not have to place any bets so there should be no problems.
Match commentary
The first two matches of the day between Mark Selby/Ali Carter, and Joe Perry/Ryan Day were quite scrappy affairs, both ending in draws as Selby in particular made a nice comeback from 2-0 down to secure a point.
The match between Hendry and Murphy has been an interesting one so far, Murphy taking the first with an excellent 69 break, despite some fine safety play from Hendry, before the Scot came back to win the next two. Frame three in particular was brilliant from Hendry as having trailed for much of the frame, he cleared the table from a Murphy error to guarantee what would eventually be a draw, as Murphy took the last.
Mark Selby made a terrific start against Ryan Day in his second match of the day by making his 99th career century break, a nicely taken 113. He went on to take the match 3-1 with a well-taken 74 in the fourth and final frame sealing victory.
It was deja vu for Ali Carter as again he let a 2-0 lead slip in his afternoon match, this time against Shaun Murphy who rallied well to secure his second draw of the day.
Stephen Hendry looked like moving 1-0 up against Ding Junhui early in their match but a poor shot which left him short on the pink led to an in-off and an eventual clearance to blue from Ding Junhui which turned things around. An 83 break in frame three turned out to be the only highlight for Stephen as Ding won the match 3-1.
After his earlier century, Mark Selby made it 100 career tons later on in his match against Joe Perry, becoming the 28th player in professional snooker to reach that milestone so far.
For the third time today Ali Carter goes 2-0 up, will it be third time lucky? Ding Junhui meanwhile leads Shaun Murphy 1-0 early on.
Murphy responding in great style with a 147 attempt though, the break currently stands at 65…and he misses the next ball, sorry Shaun. Ding now with a great chance to pinch the frame to rub it in and he does so with a clearance of 69, that has got to hurt Murphy who indeed loses the next frame and so will finish the day winless after three matches. Great start for Ding though, three wins from three leaves him almost certain to progress to the semi-finals.
Poor old Ali Carter though, it was not to be third time lucky as he draws yet again from 2-0 up! He plays Stephen Hendry next as he looks to finally win one.
Honours even after two frames as Ali takes the first with breaks of 50 and 75 before Hendry responds with an 82 the second. The other match between the two outstanding performers of the day, Ding Junhui and Mark Selby currently stands at 1-0 to Ding as he looks to make it four wins from four.
A 92 from Carter puts him 2-1 ahead now, can he finally get a win? The answer is no as a well-taken 91 from Hendry earns him his second draw of the day and probably leaves Carter wondering what he needs to do to get a win!
Mark Selby meanwhile has turned it around against Ding and now leads 2-1…
Results:
Mark Selby 2-2 Ding Junhui
Stephen Hendry 2-2 Ali Carter
Ryan Day 2-2 Ali Carter
Shaun Murphy 1-3 Ding Junhui
Ryan Day 1-3 Mark Selby
Ali Carter 2-2 Shaun Murphy
Stephen Hendry 1-3 Ding Junhui
Joe Perry 1-3 Mark Selby
Ryan Day 1-3 Mark Selby
Ali Carter 2-2 Shaun Murphy
Stephen Hendry 2-2 Shaun Murphy
Ali Carter 2-2 Mark Selby
Joe Perry 2-2 Ryan Day
Joe Perry 1-3 Ding Junhui