Archive for World Snooker

Masters Snooker Predictions – Wow!

January 18, 2012 / The_Teach / No comments

As you will be well aware it is the Masters Snooker this week from Alexandra Palace and as part of a preview article I wrote for Cuesport News I had a go at making a prediction of the winner and runner-up.

Well, before this on a piece of paper just randomly thrown onto my desk I had a go at predicting who would get through every match, how would I be able to predict an overall winner without first plotting their path through the event right?

I cannot believe the run I have had so far, with only two first round matches left today I have so far predicted the winner in 6 out of 6 of the matches that have been played.

To get a first round clean sweep I need both Graeme Dott and Mark Selby to win today. Coupled with this yesterday I also got the correct score in the Robertson v Allen game when I said in a tweet it would be 6-3.

Now I didn’t have a bet (wish I had!) but I am thinking of playing Euromillions this week!

Right, so it is available for the world to see here are my predictions (based on wins for Dott and Selby) for the remainder of the tournament.

Quarter Finals

Ronnie O’Sullivan to beat Judd Trump

Neil Robertson to beat Mark Williams

Mark Selby to beat Shaun Murphy

John Higgins to beat Graeme Dott

Semi Finals

Neil Robertson to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby to beat John Higgins

Final

Neil Robertson to beat Mark Selby

So, I have had my say, it would be good to read your own predictions in the comments below.

Category: General Snooker, World Snooker / Tags: , ,

2011 World Snooker Championship Draw

March 21, 2011 / The_Teach / No comments

Mark Selby v Jimmy Robertson

Marco Fu v Martin Gould

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Dominic Dale

Mark Allen v Matthew Stevens

Neil Robertson v Judd Trump

Graeme Dott v Mark King

Ali Carter v Dave Harold

Ding Junhui v Jamie Burnett

Peter Ebdon v Stuart Bingham

Stephen Hendry v Joe Perry

Mark Williams v Ryan Day

Jamie Cope v Andrew Pagett

Stephen Maguire v Barry Hawkins

Shaun Murphy v Marcus Campbell

Ricky Walden v Rory Mcleod

John Higgins v Stephen Lee

*not necessarily in draw order as was having it relayed to me from someone in a Betfred shop!

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , ,

Thoughts on the Snooker Shootout

January 31, 2011 / The_Teach / 7 comments

The inaugural World Snooker Shootout has come and gone, but what about the event as a concept? Does it have enough to become snooker’s Twenty-20?

I was actually glued to the event from start-to-finish, it was a great deal of fun and made for great TV viewing with some exciting finishes, however, I think that it should only be treated as that – fun!

This event as a concept is never going to replace snooker in ranking events, but is perfect for bringing a lot of relatively unknown players into the limelight and is also excellent for these players to earn some considerable income.

Positives

The shot clock – I liked the way it changed from 20 seconds down to 15 seconds after 5 minutes

Crowd Interaction – Although quite boisterous at times the interaction with the crowd was excellent and you could see that the players were enjoying it.

Ball in hand – for a fast paced format this was the ideal punishment for a foul, not only did you have to play fast and think fast but you also had to choose safety shots much faster than normal, any error was quite costly

Open Draw – The ‘FA Cup’ style draw was excellent, especially with the players in the arena, anyone could play anyone which meant seedings and ranking positions went out of the window. Two players outside the top 32 reached the final afterall.

The Fun Factor – Something I have already alluded to, the event was great fun both for players and fans and this makes it very interesting as an overall concept.

The lottery – One frame of snooker is a bit of a lottery really and in a number of matches one visit was enough to get through, going against the usual form book is a good thing in my opinion.

Negatives

The Annoying Voiceover – Have to say I hated the voiceover announcing the players, the shot clock and ‘you are through to the next round…’ Too much of a gimmick in my opinion.

I’ll get back to you – As I’m writing I am finding it hard to think of any more negatives, perhaps you could offer your opinions in the comments below?

Conclusion

A great concept that I am sure we will see again next year, fast-paced and fun snooker that will never replace ranking events.

For a report on the event visit: Bond Shoots Out the Competition

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , ,

Snooker’s Big Day

December 2, 2009 / The_Teach / No comments

Reports are suggesting that Sir Rodney Walker has failed in his efforts to remain as Chairman of the WPBSA. Also leaving are Jim McMahon and Mike Dunn. Walker lost 32-24 in the voting so interesting that some players have finally seen light and backed snooker for a future.

It has been heavily publicised recently that Barry Hearn would be interested in the job but I imagine that it is more than a formality.

More information as I find it.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,

Drago Returns to Main Snooker Tour

June 4, 2009 / The_Teach / No comments
Drago wins EBSA Main Tour Playoff

Drago wins EBSA Main Tour Playoff

Tony Drago yesterday won the EBSA Pro Tour playoff to put himself back into the World Snooker Main Tour for the 2009/10 season.

He beat Roy Stolk 5-4 after trailing 4-3 so has also showed he still has a bit of fighting spirit.

It is great to see Tony back into the highest echelons of snooker and I know from talking to him in January this year how much he still loves the game of snooker.

He said to me at the time that he would, “…never give up snooker for pool.” This was in reference to the success he has been having on the professional pool ciruit, the pool may now take a backburner again as he tries to re-establish himself amongst snooker’s professionals.

It will be great to see him back competing on the big tables.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , ,

Jiangsu Snooker Classic Starts Today

June 3, 2009 / The_Teach / One comment

Twelve high quality snooker players are in action from this morning, including four Chinese, in the 2009 Wuzhou International Group World Snooker Jiangsu Classic (that is the full title!)

Three former World Champions in Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon and Shaun Murphy are joined by defending Jiangsu Classic Champion and crowd favourite, Ding Junhui.

Completing the line up top 16 stars, Marco Fu, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, Joe Perry, Ali Carter and Ryan Day and two other Chinese players in Jin Long and Li Hang.

The invitational tournament was first held in 2008 and was won by Ding Junhui, he will be looking to lift the title on home soil once again but faces some very stern opposition from some of snooker best known players.

Two groups of six players play a round-robin format with each playing competing against every other player in their group over the best of 3 frames. The top two from each group step through to the best of 9 semi finals and the final will be a best of 11 affair to be played on Sunday 7th June.

The Groups:

GROUP 1

Ding Junhui
Ryan Day
Mark Allen
Peter Ebdon
Stephen Hendry
Li Hang (Wildcard)

GROUP 2

Shaun Murphy
Ali Carter
Joe Perry
Mark Selby
Marco Fu
Jin Long (Wildcard)

Updates to follow.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , , ,

John Higgins Voted Player of the Season

June 3, 2009 / The_Teach / No comments
John Higgins - Photo from WorldSnooker.com

John Higgins - Photo from WorldSnooker.com

World Snooker recently carried out a pool on Worldsnooker.com and from 600 respondents John Higgins was named fans player of the year for the 2008/09 season.

The ‘Wizard of Wishaw’ no doubt achieved the accolade through winning his third world title but he was the only player to lift two world ranking events in the season.

World number 1, Ronnie O’Sullivan, came in second after wins in the Northern Ireland Trophy and the Masters, but probably receives a lot of votes not for his achievements but for his popularity.

In third place was World Championships semi-finalist and Bahrain Championship winner, Neil Robertson.

The full results:

John Higgins 178
Ronnie O’Sullivan 109
Neil Robertson 90
Mark Selby 65
Mark Allen 41
Ali Carter 32
Stephen Hendry 22
Shaun Murphy 21
Judd Trump 8
Ricky Walden 7
Steve Davis 6
Graeme Dott 2
Michael Holt 2
Stephen Maguire 2
Marco Fu 1
Dominic Dale 1
Martin Gould 1
Liang Wenbo 1
Jimmy White 1
Ryan Day 1
Joe Perry 1
Matthew Stevens 1
Joe Swail 1
Mark Williams 1
Vincent Muldoon

Source: World Snooker

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,

Vote For Your Player of the Year

May 15, 2009 / The_Teach / 3 comments

World Snooker have launched a competition which will allow fans and enthusaists to vote for the 2008/09 Player of the Year. Voting has to be in by 29th May.

These would be my candidates:

  • Judd Trump (For winning spot in Masters & Premier League)
  • John Higgins (3rd World title)
  • Shaun Murphy (Winning the UK Championships)
  • Ricky Walden (For first ranking event victory, as a qualifier, in Shanghai)

You can vote for your Player of the Year by following this link:

http://www.worldsnooker.com/ws_championship_news-45905.htm?tid=124

Let me know your thoughts.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,

Higgins Wins Third World Snooker Title.

May 5, 2009 / The_Teach / One comment

John Higgins moved into the realms of the greats with his third World Snooker title.

In a final that by his own admission (and that of his opponent Shaun Murphy) was won in the second session on Sunday, John Higgins lifted the trophy ad picked up a cheque for £250,000 with an 18-9 winning margin.

Shaun Murphy had looked good throughout the whole tournament but lost his way in the second session of the final where some uncharacteristic misses allowed John Higgins to capitalise. He won that particular session 7-1 and Shaun was always going to find it hard to comeback from that scoreline.

There was a bit of a resurgence in Monday afternoon’s session which meant the crowd were treated to at least part of a final session, in the end though it proved too much for Murphy, who over the next few years will no doubt be back in the winners circle.

His third title puts John Higgins amongst snooker’s greats and at 33 he still has a few years of top level snooker ahead of him. If he can continue to perform at this level then I can see him reaching 5 world titles.

The season is now finished and the players can take a break until the return in August.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,

Higgins Takes Lead into Second Session

May 1, 2009 / The_Teach / No comments

The semi finals of the 2009 Betfred.com World Snooker Championships started yesterday afternoon with twice former World Champion, John Higgins against rising Northern Irish talent, Mark Allen.

Allen has been playing some of the best snooker of his career after already having dispatched Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ryan Day. This session started well, Allen winning the first frame, however Higgins came back and handn’t even looked as if he was playing at his best. He lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.

In the interval the players spoke to the tournament director about the less-than-adequate table conditions, aparantly caused by increased humidity. This led to a very hot iron and a complete change of balls at the halfway point in the session.

The table played better in the latter half and Higgins extended his lead to 6-2, this match continues this morning from 10.00.

Honours Even With Robertson and Murphy.

The other World Champion still in the draw, Shaun Murphy, had a very tight session against Australian Neil Robertson. The match will continue at 14.00 today with the score at 4-4. There were six breaks over 50 with Murphy winning this stat 4-2.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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