Three days to go in Telford and today sees the first of the two semi-finals played to a conclusion as Ding Junhui bids to reach his second straight ranking event final, while 2004 UK Champion Stephen Maguire bids for a second title…
Both semi-finals look like the could go all the way but while much of the attention is quite rightly on Higgins v O’Sullivan, I am probably more excited about today’s match between Stephen Maguire and Ding Junhui as I find it very difficult to pick a winner.
First blood to Stephen Maguire as he takes an interesting opening frame which saw him knock in a number of fine long pots as well as play some strong safety play…
Ding however has turned the tables and now leads 2-1. Impressively Ding currently has a pot success percentage of 95% which compares favourably with Stephen’s 85% at the moment. He is in again first in frame four and with a few reds available has a chance to extend his lead to 3-1 at the break…
Unfortunately however he has run astray on 31 when attempting to bring some more reds into play and now Stephen has a chance to counter, already on 30 with 6 reds remaining. An excellent red from close to the cushion following a pink to the yellow pocket looks to have paved the way for a frame-winning break…and indeed has as Stephen clears the table for 2-2.
First chance in frame five falls to Ding after Maguire makes a mess of attempting to cut a red back into a corner pocket. Again though he cannot do enough to win the frame, a miscue ending the break on 36 and handing the initiative in the safety battle to his opponent…Ding though has got back to the table and eventually done enough to edge back into the lead at 3-2.
And Ding has finished the session with a 5-3 lead, apologies for the lack of updates from 3-2, unfortunately I had to dash out. Important for Maguire to win that last frame before the interval, the difference between 5-3 and 6-2 is huge…
Good start to the evening session, Ding spurning a golden chance to push 6-3 in front and now Stephen looks to have reduced the gap to just one frame barring a snooker. Well, well, well, Ding has forced the error and now Ding can win again. This could be a crucial moment even this early in the session…and it goes in favour of Maguire who pots a very good black into the yellow pocket following a misjudged effort from Ding. It was vital for Stephen to get that I feel…and now he is level having stolen another frame in which Ding was a heavy favourite. 5-5 and all is to play for…
As has been the case a few times today, Ding is in with the first chance in frame eleven, this time following an in-off from Stephen…and boy does he make it count with a flawless total clearance of 134!
Big frame now ahead of the interval – can Maguire go in level at 6-6 in a match that Ding has dominated or will the Chinese number one continue his march to the final? Again the first opportunity falls to Ding but he can only make 31 before missing a tough black off the spot. Can Maguire punish him?
The answer is no and Ding has restored the two frame cushion that he began the evening with…and after the break 7-5 has become 8-5. Stephen is looking just a little ragged at the moment and it is hard to see him come back now…
They have just shown the players respective safety success stats, Ding on 89% with Maguire way down on 77%. That ultimately I feel is the difference.
And Ding has pounced again to complete an excellent 9-5 victory to book his place in the UK Championship final for the second time in his career. He will have to play better than he did today if he is to win it but we know that he is capable.
Incidentally what just happened at the end of the match said a lot for me concerning my post yesterday. As Ding was about to leave the arena a few fans gathered at the side of the set for autographs and having signed one, he was hastily ushered backstage by a steward. Having met Ding on a number of occasions he has always come across well to me in terms of signing things for the fans and following that victory I suspect that he would have been more than happy to have signed a few more items. Just sends out the wrong message entirely to me, though to be clear I am not blaming Ding there, more the way these things are done.
Rant over!