It has been confirmed that the 2008 Belgian Open trophy has been won by world number 35 Ricky Walden who defeated 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott 4-0 in the final.
Belgian Open 2008: Semi-final results
So, the semi-finals have been completed and the final of the 2008 Belgian Open will be contested by Ricky Walden and Graeme Dott. Please click below for further details:
Belgian Open 2008: Quarter-Final Results
The quarter-final results are in from Belgium, please click below for further details:
Belgian Open 2008: Last 16 Results
So it’s the final day of the Belgian Open and the first matches of the day have now been completed. To view the results in full including frame scores, please click below:
White as determined as ever
Speaking candidly to The Scotsman, Jimmy White reflects on his career, his current situation and says why his love of snooker is still as strong as ever.
Belgian Open 2008: Last 16 confirmed
Day two of the Belgian Open is complete and here are the scores from the first of the knockout matches to be played today as stated here:
Last 48:
John Parrott MBE 3-0 Stein De Sterck
Danny Lathouwers 2-3 Dave Harold
Kevin Van Hove 1-3 Speltincx Mario Geudens
Johan D’Hondt 3-1 Nick Vanhee
Alain Vandersteen 3-1 Guy Hendrickx
Yannick Poulain 1-3 Ricky Walden
Tom Ford 3-1 Luca Brecel
Julius Grauls 3-1 Anthony Van Loocke
Stefan Mazrocis 3-0 Gregory Kopec
Steve Lemmens 3-0 Jurgen Van Roy
Andrew Higginson 1-3 Jamie Cope
Chris Henry 0-3 Michael Holt
Lasse Münstermann 3-1 Jurgen Van den Bossche
Yvan Van Velthoven 0-3 Gerard Greene
Dominic Dale 3-0 Tino De Witte
Kasra Khavaran 3-0 Marc Dierens
Last 32:
Mark Selby 3-0 John Parrott MBE
Barry Hawkins 1-3 Dave Harold
Mark Davis 3-0 Mario Geudens
Mark King 3-1 Johan D’Hondt
Neil Robertson 3-0 Alain Vandersteen
Bjorn Haneveer 0-3 Ricky Walden
Jimmy Michie 0-3 Tom Ford
Ryan Day 3-2 Julius Grauls
Stephen Maguire 3-0 Stefan Mazrocis
Matthew Stevens 3-0 Steve Lemmens
Ken Doherty 2-3 Jamie Cope
Joe Perry 3-0 Michael Holt
Graeme Dott 3-0 Lasse Münstermann
Stuart Bingham 2-3 Gerard Greene
Mark J Williams MBE 3-1 Dominic Dale
Shaun Murphy 3-2 Kasra Khavaran
With all of the local amateur players unfortunately now out of the tournament, this at least leaves a mouthwatering line-up in the last 16 tomorrow morning. With the lowest ranked player still in the tournament being the in-form world number 58 Mark Davis, the final day should be the best yet.
Last 16 lineup:
Mark Selby v Dave Harold
Mark Davis v Mark King
Neil Robertson v Ricky Walden
Stephen Maguire v Matthew Stevens
Jamie Cope v Joe Perry
Graeme Dott v Gerard Greene
Mark J Williams MBE v Shaun Murphy
As a side issue, the highest break of the tournament remains the 142 made by Australia’s Neil Robertson on day one.
Ebdon match under investigation by the Gambling Commission
As reported by Clive Everton in the Guardian today, Peter Ebdon’s recent 5-0 defeat to Liang Wenbo in the Northern Ireland Trophy is under investigation by the Gambling Commission following a series of substantial bets being placed on the match. The detail makes for very interesting reading with bookmakers such as William Hill, Stan James and Roar all reporting unusual betting patterns for what was a relatively minor first round match.
Having followed snooker for a number of years however, I find it very difficult to believe that Ebdon has been involved with anything untoward here. Although not the most popular of players with some people, he comes across as a classy guy with a will to win greater than most players on the tour. At 38 years of age and being a multi-millionaire now living out in Dubai, it is difficult to see why he would want to get involved with anything that would jeopardise the rest of his career like this. It is also true to say that his record in the best of nine frame matches over the last few years isn’t the best so although still a very surprising result, perhaps it was not a total shock to see Wenbo run out a comfortable winner.
Hopefully the investigations will not take too long and for the sake of snooker, that nothing irregular is shown to have taken place.
Belgian Open 2008: Last 48 Draw
Following the Saturday morning matches, the situation is now as follows:
Last 48 Draw from CueSport TV:
* S. Mazrocis v G. Kopec (winner plays S. Maguire)
* S. Lemmes v J. Van Roy (winner plays M. Stevens)
* A. Higginson v J. Cope (Winner plays K. Doherty)
* C. Henry v M. Holt (Winner plays J. Perry)
* L. Munstermann v J. Vanden Bossche (Winner plays G. Dott)
* Y. Van Velthoven v G. Greene (Winner plays S. Bingham)
* D. Dale v T. De Witte (Winner plays M. Williams)
* K. Khavaran v M. Dierens (Winner plays Shaun Murphy)
* P. Geysels v S. De Sterck (Winner plays M. Selby)
* D. Lathouwers v D Harold (Winner plays B. Hawkins)
* K. Van Hove-Speltincx v M. Geudens (Winner plays Mark Davis)
* J. D’Hondt v N. Vanhee (Winner plays M. King)
* A. Vandersteen v G. Hendrickx (Winner plays N. Robertson)
* P. Raes v R. Walden (Winner plays Bjorn Haneveer)
* T. Ford v L. Brecel (Winner plays J. Michie)
* J. Grauls v A. Van Loocke (Winner plays R. Day)