Pontin’s Autumn Festival Round-up

Following on from my post from Wednesday, the final matches in the various events taking place at Pontin’s this week have been completed with some surprising results. Full results and frame scores can be accessed here at GCS.

Pontin’s Open

The main event at the festival was surprisingly taken by Bolton’s Craig Steadman who played brilliantly on the final day to win his final two matches without losing a single frame. Having beaten some talented players earlier on such as World U-21 finalist Anthony McGill and former main tour player Gary Wison, he produced the performance of the week to thrash world number 35 Ricky Walden 4-0 in the first semi-final.

In the final he came up against another quality player in Leo Fernandez who himself had played some good snooker to reach the final. He had no answer for Steadman whoever who won the match 5-0 win some style, highlighted by a well taken break of 95.

What about Stephen Craigie I hear you ask? Well his run surprisingly came to an end at the last 16 stage when he lost out to Andy Rogers 3-1. Indeed Rogers recorded another impressive result in taking out young Michael White (who had not lost a frame up until that point), in his next match before running out of of steam against Fernandez in his semi-final. White did at least make two centuries in the tournament, including the highest break of the competition of 123.

Under 20’s

Although White could not make it past Fernandez in the main event, he again made a century in the U-20 event which he went on to win in some style with a 3-0 win over Accrington’s Farakh Ajaib. Again the Craigie brothers fell short of the final, though Sam played well to make the quarter-finals before losing out to Ajaib. Stephen meanwhile lost out a round earlier to Otterbourne’s Nick Jennings.

Pontin’s 20-40’s

This event was won by Wallsend’s Gary Wilson who certainly had to earn his trophy having survived a number of close matches throughout the event. Arguably the best of these was his semi-final victory over Leo Frenandez who again managed to perform well up until this point. With Wilson winning 3-2 however, it was he who would go into the final to play Eastleigh’s Mike Finn in what proved to be a high quality match. Although Finn recovered from losing the first two frames to make it 2-1 however, Wilson finished off the match in fine style with a break of 102 to take the title.

Pontin’s Masters

The senior event was won by Colin Norton who won a close contest with Steve Meakin 3-2, taking the last frame by just nine points. Having beaten former Masters finalist and PIOS player Mike Hallett in the previous match, it is safe to say that his victory was fully deserved one.

Pontin’s Plate

The fifth and final event of the festival was to be won by another ex-tour player, Wallasey’s Robbie Williams who beat Stuart Mann from Essex in the final. The highlight of the final came in the second frame when Williams made a break of 105 to move 2-0 ahead and although Mann got one back, Williams was to run out a 3-1 winner.

Belgian Open 2008: Draw and playing times

So today marks the start of the Belgian Open 2008 and here is a link to the draw for the tournament. Note that the top two from each group will progress to the last 32 stage which will begin tomorrow.

Also available for the tournament is a list of playing times for each of the players involved in the group stage. To view that please click here.

And once again to learn about how to watch the event online, please click here for my previous post on the tournament.

I imagine that the Global Snooker Centre will be the first place to provide live scores so keep checking back there to see what is going on. The most interesting story from the first morning appears that Mark Selby was close to a maximum break early on in his first match, what a start to the event that would have been!

Since that point, Neil Robertson has knocked in a 142 to make what I believe to be the highest break of the day so far.

Having trouble finding the full results and latest tables so it’s probably best to keep an eye on GSC for now…

PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker: Night Two Review

Match One: Higgins steals unlikely point

In what was a scrappy first match of the evening, Scotland’s John Higgins managed to snatch a point from his match against Ding Junhui despite having been 3-0 down at one stage.

Indeed the match was a disjointed affair from the very start, both players missing several chances to take the frame before Ding eventually wrapped it up on the final blue. The second frame was a similar affair with Higgins being the first in with a break of 47 before being unfortunate to end up in a tough position having gone into the reds. One missed brown and later Ding was in to steal it for 2-0, though both frames could have gone either way.

The run of missed opportunities from Higgins was to continue into frame three where despite having several chances to win the frame, he failed to take them and allowed Ding to secure the frame with a break of 76. This guaranteed him his first point of the campaign and left him needing just one for the win.

Fightback

Higgins however had other ideas as although having played nothing like he can up until this point, he was not in the mood to give up and soon showed why he is a double world champion.

The fightback begun in the fourth frame where Ding looked in good position before seemingly being distracted by the bleeps in the arena as the shot clock counted down and missing a routine yellow. This time it was Higgins’ time to steal a frame with a break of 57 to make it 3-1.

Then came what was arguably the most important point of the match with Ding well ahead in frame five before taking on a risky blue, against the advice of Sky commentator Neal Foulds who advocated putting a colour safe. Indeed this was to come back to haunt Ding as Higgins got back to the table and managed to steal the frame

With the pressure now right on Ding in the decider, Higgins gave him little chance and for the first time tonight played like he can, making an excellent break of 78 to snatch a point that didn’t look likely at 0-3.

On balance this was a fair result as neither player really showed their best form, though given how the match unfolded Higgins will obviously be much the happier of the two. Having played in both of the first two weeks that will be the last we will see of John in this competition before the end of October when he faces old rival Stephen Hendry in Sheffield.

It doesn’t get any easier for Ding however as next up for him is tournament favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan on October 9th in Great Malvern. Having led his first two matches 2-0 and 3-0 he will be very disappointed to have only take one point so far and needs to get his season up and running sooner rather than later.

Quotes from SkySports:

John Higgins:

“I had good chances in the first three frames and didn’t do anything. Then I was fearing the worst,” Higgins told Sky Sports.

“At 3-0 then I thought Ding would get a bit of confidence and run away with it. Luckily for me I won the last three.

“I’d have loved to have won the match, but I’ve played Ronnie and I’ve played Ding, two of the best players that play this sort of format, so I’m delighted with two points.”

Match Two: Perry edges over the line for dream start

For the second week in a row the Premier League witnessed a stunning debut performance, this time from Championship League winner Joe Perry who managed to defeat the four times defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 in the second match of the night.

The match was an intriguing one from the start, first O’Sullivan getting in before Perry was presented with a chance to score heavily. Initially he looked to have got on top of his nerves from the off, cuing well until he missed a simple pink to the left centre. From this point it looked for all the world that O’Sullivan would clear up to take the frame but remarkably he missed a straightforward final pink that allowed Perry to move 1-0 ahead.

This miss appeared to unsettle O’Sullivan who when given a chance early in the second, again made an uncharacteristic error and although Perry needed two chances, breaks of 50 and 55 doubled his advantage.

Frame three was the one where SkySports presenter Andy Goldstein has predicted that O’Sullivan would make a 147 but it turned out to be Perry who would be the one to shine. A very well taken break of 103 not only earned him a £1,000 bonus but had guaranteed his first ever point in the Premier League

Tense finale

Much like Higgins previously though, O’Sullivan was not going to give in easily. In frame four and he capitalised on a mistake from Perry who was looking good until that point before again taking advantage in the next frame with a break of 58 to bring the score back to 3-2.

The deciding frame was to be full of drama however as Perry struggled to close out the match. He was given several frame-winning opportunities but as he has done in the past, he just couldn’t seem to pot the final ball that he needed. But then just as the match appeared to be heading a draw, with just five balls remaining and the white tight against the bottom cushion, Perry managed to pot a simply stunning long green which prompted the immediate concession from O’Sullivan.

His first career victory against Ronnie, that is a great result for Perry, especially given that it was his first match in the competition. Hopefully he will be able to take great confidence from it and perform to the same standard in the upcoming weeks, starting with his next match against Steve Davis next week in Derby.

O’Sullivan meanwhile won’t be unduly concerned, indeed he lost his first two matches last season. That said however, he will be hoping to get his first win of the season under his belt when he meets Ding Junhui on October 9th.

Quotes from Matchroom Sport:

Joe Perry:

“I’m really pleased with that and I didn’t know what to expect from the match,” said Perry.

“Once I won the first frame I started to relax until at the end and I got a bit twitchy. It’s hard to beat Ronnie and this is the first time I’ve ever beaten him in anything but it was hard to get over the line.

“I was a bit nervous in the first frame and got a bit lucky but then went on from there.”

September 18 – The Anvil, Basingstoke

£3,000 – John Higgins 3-3 Ding Junhui – £3,000
43-64, 47(47)-68(39), 46-82(76), 59(57)-15, 68(50c)-58(50), 78(78)-4
£2,000 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-4 Joe Perry – £5,000
44-59(40), 6-105(50,55), 0-103(103), 63(38)-47, 90(58)-0, 28-64

For a list of centuries, money earned and the league table, please click here.

To read my tournament preview, please click here.

To read my week one review, please click here.

 

Malta Cup to return?

According to the most recent post on Snooker Scene blog the Malta Cup is set to return as a ranking event later this season which is fantastic news, bringing the amount of tournaments on the tour to nine.

It was disappointing to see the event downgraded to an invitational event last year as I understand that it was one of the most enjoyable to attend as a fan in previous years, as well as the fact that the amount of ranking tournaments in existence was low enough as it was.

With this development and the recently announced Bahrain tournament however, it does indeed appear that the hard work behind the scenes is paying off and a strong calendar is beginning to take shape at last.

Hopefully there won’t be any date clashes between the event and the second season of the Championship League which is due to run early next year…

PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker 2008: Night Two Preview

 

Premier League Snooker – Night Two from Basingstoke, SkySports2, 7:30pm

John Higgins v Ding Junhui
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Joe Perry

Following on from last week’s terrific start to the new Premier League season, the circus now moves on the The Anvil in Basingstoke for the second set of matches.

Match One: John Higgins v Ding Junhui

Playing their second match of the tournament so far, both Higgins and Ding will be looking for their first win of the season in order to really get themselves in contention for a play off place.

Having failed to secure a single point in the last four frames of his 4-2 defeat to Mark Selby in Grimsby last week, Ding in particular will be keen to put that behind him and earn his first points of the campaign. In addition with his home tournament at the Shanghai Masters coming up next week, he will want to go into that full of confidence so a win tonight is perhaps even more important than usual.

Higgins meanwhile will be in good spirits following a very creditable 3-3 draw with the four times defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan last week and a semi-final in the Northern Ireland Trophy. Looking comfortable with the shot clock from the very start this season, he will be confident of strengthening his position in the top four and a win against Ding would do him no harm at all.

The match should be a close one as both players when at their best are right among the best in the sport sport today. On current form though you would have to make Higgins favourite to add to his points tally, but you never know with Ding who notched up 13 centuries in this competition last season…

Match Two: Ronnie O’Sullivan v Joe Perry

Having started his Premier League season with that draw with Higgins last week, O’Sullivan will be hot favourite to record his first win against debutant Joe Perry. Indeed this would be his second win of the season over Perry following his 5-3 win in their recent meeting in the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy earlier this month. As if things didn’t look tricky enough for Joe, he will be making his debut in the Premier League and so the conditions (which so far have suited O’Sullivan perfectly), may take some time to get used to.

So what chance has Perry got? He has definitely improved a lot as a player recently, winning the Championship League and reaching his first World semi-final this May. Although not particularly a household name, if he plays to his very best then he is certainly capable of giving O’Sullivan a game and taking a point or two.

Despite this, you cannot help but fancy O’Sullivan to win the match, given his current confidence levels and his liking of the event. Mark Selby showed last week though that a debutant can win straight away against top opposition and if Perry were to follow in his footsteps then it would really be an eye-opener.

 

2008 Pontin’s Autumn Festival Notes

With the Belgian Open coming up this weekend which will soon be followed by the Shanghai Masters, the week has been a relatively quiet one as far as snooker news goes which is the reason for the absence of posting yesterday. When not posting I will try to make some progress with the player profile pages though so hopefully the site can continue to grow over the coming weeks.

During this quiet period however, there has been an event taking place at Prestatyn, the 2008 Pontin’s Autumn Festival which runs until this Friday. Full information and results can be found here at GCS.

The meeting is made up of five events, the Open, the under 20’s, the 20-40’s, the Masters and the Pontin’s Plate, though little information appears to be present about this last event.

Pontin’s Open

A number of current and former main tour players are taking part across a number of events, notably the current world number 35 Ricky Walden who is the favourite to succeed Jamie Cope as the winner of the main Open competition. The other professionals still involved in the main event are the recent tour debutants David Grace and Stephen Craigie, the latter having come through 3-2 against Aaron McIntyre in his most recent match.

Other names that you may recognise include the young Michael White and Leo Fernandez, both of whom were on the main tour last season. White is looking particularly dangerous having beaten the experienced Mike Hallett 3-0 at the last 32 stage and with him and Fernandez joining Craigie in the bottom half of the draw, there could well be some excellent matches as the week draws to a close.

Under 20’s

Of those remaining in the draw, the biggest name is once again 18 year old Stephen Craigie who so far has eased into the last 16 having won his first three matches at the expense of just two frames. Anthony McGill however, the man Craigie beat in the final of the European under-19 Championship this year lost early on to Accrington’s Farakh Ajaib who has since joined Craigie in the last 16.

t is not just Stephen Craigie in action here though as he is joined by his younger brother Sam in this event. Sam is in the opposite half of the draw and is yet to drop a frame so it isn’t impossible that we could be seeing a final contested by brothers! Does anyone know if that has happened since the days of Joe and Fred Davis? With other talented players such as Michael White remaining in the draw this is by no means a formality though.

20-40’s

Like in the main Open event, Ricky Walden will be a heavy favourite to win here given his experience and current world ranking. That said, he is poised to come up against the talented 22 year old Robbie Williams in the quarter-finals in a match that could go either way given the short format.

Elsewhere in the draw, David Grace continues to make good progress, as does Leo Fernandez who recorded an excellent 3-0 win over current world number 57 Paul Davies.