Last night saw the penultimate round of the league phase take place in this season’s Premier League take place and I was there in a very windy Grimsby to see the line-up for the finals weekend all-but decided. Click below for a few thoughts and photos…
As regulars will know, normally when I attend a live snooker event I like to post a detailed report but on this occasion there is not a great deal to say as I was running late and had to run straight into the venue before leaving straight away to get to home as I had to be up early today to get to work!
I did though see each and every ball potted last night as in the first match Shaun Murphy took on Mark Williams in a match that both players really had to win in order to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the fast-approaching finals weekend. As noted by regular host Andy Goldstein at the start, the bookies could not split the pair, although personally I did tend to favour Williams, notwithstanding Shaun’s status as defending champion.
From a very early stage in the match however it did not take long for me to revise my opinion as it appeared to me as though Shaun appeared to be far more comfortable under the shot clock conditions. Mark on the other hand, while not sprinting around the table did to me at least appear to be rushing a little more than usual, with the result that he was taking his shots with 15 seconds to go which was in reality earlier than he really needed to. I also thought that Mark was conserving time-outs unnecessarily, incurring a five point penalty on his very first shot of the match as he let the timer tick over 25 seconds whilst also using the old-fashioned long rest down the side of the table in order to save time.
To begin with though the standard was high, Shaun capitalising on a missed black from Mark in the first frame to steal it from behind before embarking on a great 147 attempt, a feat not yet achieved under the shot clock format. For a while I really thought that he would do it but as the break approached around 80 he began to run out of position and ultimately this was to cost him as he missed the black when attempting to go in and out of baulk to finish on a red close to the bottom cushion. Still, there is nothing in my opinion as tense as a 147 attempt in snooker and I remember thinking to myself that whatever happened from there, I had at least got my money’s worth tonight!
Unfortunately while that was the case, the match soon became very scrappy as both players, but in particular Mark began to miss a lot of balls that you would not expect them to miss. I remember glancing at my watch as Mark broke off at the start of four and noticing that we had not yet had 50 minutes of play but looking an hour later, we were only into the middle of frame five.
Eventually the match was won by Murphy, a result which following the second match of the night was enough to book his place in the final four. He did not play particularly well but watching him live in Grimsby, as I had done the previous year as he demolished Marco Fu, it was noticeable to me that he was more comfortable playing under the shot clock than his opponent.
Mark meanwhile made a few nice shots but they tended to be followed by poor ones shortly after as his hopes of making the last four were all but ended.
In the second match meanwhile, world champion Neil Robertson took on tournament favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan in what on paper at least looked like being a thrilling match.
Unfortunately from Robertson’s point of view however, it was not to be as he struggled to find his game once again under shot clock conditions and as commentator Neal Foulds predicted prior to the start of the match, could do nothing to stop O’Sullivan booking his place in the final four with another win.
If the contrast between how comfortable Mark and Shaun there was noticeable however, that between Neil and Ronnie was huge as Ronnie, as he does, looked entirely natural and at ease while Neil looked to be hurried. Perhaps the difference was emphasised by the fact that the last time I saw Neil in action was during the World Championship final but in any case I could understand why Neil has won just three matches from 17 in the competition despite being at present the world’s best player.
Still, to blame the result entirely on Neil not being comfortable with the format would be unfair as O’Sullivan looked to be in very good shape indeed. While some plays you almost expect to miss, O’Sullivan at times can make the game look ridiculously easy and last night was one of those times as he took a 5-1 win to qualify with a match to spare.
Shaun Murphy may well be the defending champion, but I can’t imagine there are two many people out there who can look past O’Sullivan for the title this year. We shall soon see!