Ronnie wins the World Championship 2013
The World Championship, was played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from April 20 till May 6, 2013. Ronnie is the defending champion. Jack was making his debut and Judd hoped to go one better than in 2011.
Jack lost to Barry Hawkins 3-10 in the last 32. Ronnie beat Judd by 17-11 in the semi finals.
Ronnie beat Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the final, winning his 5th World title .
Round 1 – Last 32
Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4 Marcus Campbell
Ronnie wasn’t at his best but he managed a rather comfortable win in the end. During the first session he took a 7-2 lead, winning several frames from way behind. He won the first two of the second session, with a century to make it better, but then had to face a mini comeback from Marcus that brought the match to the MSI. But after the MSI, Ronnie managed to clinch it, on the final colors.
Overall Ronnie was deadly as ever in the balls but was rusty in the safety and long game departments.
Nevertheless Ronnie made 82, 62, 71, 85, 86, 58, 102, 90 en route to victory! Not bad.
Ronnie is taking one match at a time and he plays again next Saturday.
Ronnie’s interview with WSA is on youtube. Watch here Ronnies interview with WSA after his R1 win
Barry Hawkins 10-3 Jack Lisowski
Despite two big breaks of 82 and 100, Jack has it all to do when the match resumes. Barry was in fine form and hit six 50+ breaks – including a century – in six frames he won. It didn’t go any better in the second session as Jack failed to win a single frame.
After the match he tried to find some positives, reflecting on the fact that he had a very good season, but he was very, very disappointed. He admitted that he struggled for concentration in the tiny Crucible arena. You can listen here to Jack’s postmatch conference
Judd Trump 10-5 Dominic Dale
Dominic made the best start winning the first frame with 60 but Judd responded immediately with 88 in the second. They were locked at 2-2 at MSI. When they resumed Judd clearly stepped up a gear and made it 6-2 with 142 – the highest break of the tournament so far – 82 and 50. Dominic managed to win the rather scrappy last one. Judd played even better in the second session as Dominic improved also. Dominic had 59 and 96 – a convincing maxi attempt – while Judd had 104, 73 and 61.
Listen here to Judd’s postmatch
Round 2 – Last 16
Judd Trump 13-7 Marco Fu
Judd looked in impressive form as he compiled three centuries in the session (109, 127, 112) as well as two other breaks over 60. It wasn’t that easy as it looked: Marco is a very good player himself and at MSI it was all 2-2. Also Judd tweeted that the table – that had been reclothed yesterday – wasn’t playing good and each point was a struggle. It didn’t stop him to win all remaining four frames and to finish the session with 92% pot success. The first two frames of the second session were shared with Judd hitting a 9′ and a 50 whilst Marco had a 83. After the MSI, Marco hit very hard, leaving Judd with a single pot for 3 full frames and getting 117 and 66 in the process. Crucially Judd managed to win the last frame of the session with a contribution of 63. Overall Judd didn’t play at his best and made a few really unexpected errors. He doesn’t come across as a morning guy. But the last session was completely different. Judd played brilliantly and won all remaining frames he needed – three of them basically in one visit with 50, 81 and 53 – clinching the match before the MSI. Listen to Judd’s press conference after the match
Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-8 Ali Carter
During the first session Ronnie was impressive in the balls but rustiness showed when it came to safeties and long potting. But he showed a good attitude, playing on for 3 or 4 snookers in two of the frames he lost. The highlight of the session was Ronnie’s excellent 125. It was Ali who won the last two frames of the session though giving Ronnie some food for thoughts. In the second session, Ali came out fighting and his potting was scary at times. Ronnie made some good breaks (86, 105, 61, 73 and 86), his safety was decent but his long game let him down big time and his frustration was apparent when he missed frame ball at 61 in frame 13 and allowed Ali to steal it. He was pegged back at 7-7 but crucially won the last two frames of the session, regaining his 2 frames cushion lead. He turned the style on in the third session which he won 4-1 with breaks of 88, 106 and 89 in the last three frames of the match.
Ronnie’s press conference after the match is here
Quarter Finals – Last 8
Judd Trump 13-12 Shaun Murphy
It’s fair to say that Judd had a very bad morning in office. The stats tell the story: pot success 78% – it was down to 74% at one point – long pot success 43%, highest break 40. Judd will need a very good second session to stay in this match because Shaun is playing well and will give him no quarters. In the second session the frames were shared before the MSI, Shaun leading then by 8-4. However after the MSI Judd came out all guns blazing, his long potting devastating. He managed to put Shaun under pressure and as a result Shaun’s game disintegrated as the session went by. Judd won all four frames after the MSI to get the score at 8-8 overnight.The only big breaks of the session were 93 and 118, both by Judd. The third session was one of the best ever at this stage of the Crucible, the players going toe to toe and bringing the match to a decider. Both showed great tactical nous and Judd eventually prevailed after more than 53 minutes of a very tense battle. Great advert for the sport. Thanks guys.
Listen to Judd’s press conference after the match
Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-4 Stuart Bingham
During the first session, Ronnie was simply sublime for 7 frames in a row, scoring 79, 54, 111, 60, 87, 133 and 78 with a pot success as high as 98%. All credit to Stuart, after such onslaught he managed to rescue the last frame, taking advantage of Ronnie’s poor break-off and rare mistakes, most probably caused by a slight dip in concentration on Ronnie’s side… Ronnie won all five first frames in the session to lead 12-1 resuming with a 104 after the MSI. Actually neither him or Stuart had been at their best and were making mistakes. On the brink on defeat Stuart seemed to relax and took the next two with 60 and 70, capitalizing on Ronnie’s mistakes. Ronnie should have won the last frame of the session but missed a black off the spot trying to free one of the two remaining reds that was tied with the pink. That black was actually match ball. Stuart duly took advantage. Ronnie will be annoyed with himself, not just because of the miss but also because he let impatience get the better of him towards the end and it showed in his shot selection. But he needed just 10 minutes to wrap up the match in the third session despite needing 3 chances…
Semi Finals – Last 4
Judd Trump 11-17 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Ronnie got to the better start and went to lead 4-1, scoring well when in the balls; he knocked in breaks of 65, 75 and 89 in the process. However Judd showed great patience and proved to be the strongest in the safety department which allowed him to come back all square. He was particularly impressive in stealing frame 7 from 0-56 down. The second session was a tense but overall high quality one. They were locked at 6-6 at MSI with Judd getting first in in most frames but Ronnie capitalizing better on his opponent mistakes. When they resumed, Ronnie built a 3 frames advantage but Judd crucially took the last after a long safety battle and a rare miss from Ronnie on the last green to stay in touch. Ronnie once again was the heavier scorer with 90, 93 and 60. Ronnie won the third session 5-3. It was a rather edgy session overall. The highlights of it were Judd’s 117 – the only century of the match at this stage – and Ronnie well constructed 89 to win the last frame of the session. Frame 23, won by Judd, was particularly scrappy with Ronnie showing clear signs of frustration, but he quickly refocused. The last session was short as Ronnie manage to get the three frames he needed before the MSI despite the fact that Judd was the only one to score a sizeable break, 77 in frame 27.
Youtube video: Ronnie talks to Worldsnooker after his semi finals win
The Final
Barry Hawkins 12-18 Ronnie O’Sullivan
The first session was pretty much one chance snooker, with both players scoring heavily and very reliable in the balls. Ronnie opened a 2-0 lead with 74 and 92, Barry then won three on the trot with 98, 81 and 50. For the first time in the tournament Ronnie was behind in a match. But he responded in style, taking the last three with 75, 113 and 100. His long game wasn’t up to scratch though. Ronnie won the second session despite struggling badly for the best part of it and looking on the verge of surrendering to frustration at times. But he didn’t and having been pegged back to 7-7 by a brilliant Barry (he made 83 and 133 from 5-7 down) he showed what he’s made of, taking all last three, with two tons, 103 and 106, and on the last black in the last frame of the session after some sublime safety. Ronnie won the third session with two more tons, 124 and 133. His break building was sublime at times. The 55 he made to steal frame 20 was phenomenal. In the fout-rth session Barry came out fighting and won the first two of the session. But that’s a far as it went Ronnie took the next three to seal victory, his fifth World title. Ronnie has now made 131 centuries at the Crucible, breaking Hendry’s record of 127. He’s also the first player to make 6 centuries in a World final.
Listen to Ronnie’s press conference after the match
Leave your response!