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

World Snooker Statement – Ronnie O’Sullivan
06th November 2012

World Snooker has been informed that Ronnie O’Sullivan does not intend to compete on the World Snooker Tour for the remainder of the 2012/13 season.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “I have spoken to Ronnie and he has decided to withdraw from any events he has entered, and he will not be playing for the rest of this season. He has some personal issues which he needs to resolve and we wish him all the best for the future.”

Oh! And, off the (snooker) table, Django of course is kicking everyone’s ass at table tennis…. make that three then!

I’m very sorry that I had to officially withdraw from the International Championship, due to ongoing health problems. I would have loved to be fit to compete in Chengdu but I have been advised by my doctor not to travel.I want to sincerely apologise to Worldsnooker, the sponsors and the fans for the disappointment caused. I look forward to see you all soon

First thing for the players: press conference …

Press conference in Poland.

Ronnie at the press conference

Jack with the Polish Silver medallist

The event

The event was well attended, as well over 1000 people watched Ronnie beat Ali by 2-0 in the final match of the day, with a 137 in the process. The players got a fantastic reception, from the organisers, the sponsors and the public and each of them produced some great entertaining snooker as the (long) day unfolded on the table. Big thank you to everyone involved and in particular to Marcin Nitschke, the main man behind the organisation and a great player.

Look here at the pictures taken on and off the table in Zielona Gora
Hot Shots Events’ Team press release

Ronnie, Jack and Wenbo come to Poland!
Watch here Video: Ronnie and Jack announce their exhibition in Poland and Video: Ronnie vs Ali Carter promotional video

On the 10th of November in Zielona Góra’s Sports&Recreation Center (Sulechowska 41 Street) an extraordinary snooker tournament will take place: the Hot Shot Masters 3.

The biggest star of this event will be four-time world champion, the most recognisable snooker player in the world – Ronnie O’Sullivan. Beside O’Sullivan competing in the tournament will be three other snooker stars – the current world vice-champion Allister Carter with the young and promising: Liang Wenbo and Jack Lisowski.

There are two main games planned in the schedule. First is a doubles mini tournament – every star will be paired with a player from Poland. Second will be a show game between O’Sullivan and Marcin Nitschke – current Polish snooker vice-champion – the mastermind behind the whole event. There will be also more one-frame show games.

Tickets for the Hot Shots tournament are now available via the ticketteam site : http://www.ticketteam.com.pl/en/home and in Empik stores. From 24th
September the tickets will be available also in Hot Shots Club in Zielona Góra (Sulechowska 27a Street).

The event is organized by Marcin Nitschke, MusicArt and Dynamicom. The tournament will be transmited by TVP Sport. The tournament websiteis www.hotshots.pl

Don’t miss it!

Ticket categories and prices:

Category 1- 100 złoty (25 Euro, closest to the table)
Sectors: all the R sectors, and E2, E3, E4, A1, J2

Category 2 – 60 złoty (15 Euro)
Sectors: A2, J1, E1, E5

VIP – 350 złoty (85 Euro, the VIP ticket includes an opportunity to meet the players and a full catering service).
Sector: V

Sectors for disabled persons – 60 złoty (15 Euro, the ticket includes
wheelchair space and a seat for the guardian)
Sectors: NP A1, NP J1

Friday 7th of September

Last 128

11am

Liang Wenbo 4-1 Eden Sharav
Eden is a very capable young amateur who plays a bit like Stephen Maguire and when he won the first frame with a 82 he gave a clear warning that he shouldn’t be taken lightly. But Wenbo responded well and took four frames on the trot to seal the win. All frames but the last were pretty much about big breaks from both…

Jack Lisowski 2-4 Zak Surety
Jack won the first two and looked set for a routine win over amateur Zak Surety. But Zak proved how good he is by winning all next four, scoring a half century+ in each. Well done.

Andrew Higginson 3-4 Chen Zhe
Sleepy was wide awake today! Breaks of 87 and 81 helped him to this very important win against the experienced and highly rated Andrew Higginson. It should boost his confidence as he starts to adjust to the Main Tour.

3pm

Anthony Hamilton 0-4 Zhang Anda
Another good win for the Grove team an Anda as he whitewashes Anthony Hamilton. Without seeing the match it’s hard to judge how it went exactly but “Ants” is usually a tough nut to crack.

Judd Trump 4-1 Anthony McGill
After a first frame where he seemed to be knocking the balls around and that he lost, Judd took a much more composed approach and totally dominated the match. In the last frame though he reverted to his usual flamboyant style which obviously pleased the audience.

Last 64

5 pm

Liang Wenbo 4-3 Michael White
Michael White is a very heavy scorer and has recently hit form, so this match was no gimme. Wenbo lead 2-0 but was pegged back to 2-2. He “stole” the next frame from way behind to make it 3-2, but Michael came back again to force a decider. Wenbo though held it together and took the match.

Chen Zhe 4-2 Ian Burns
Ian Burns is a very tough competitor and he proved it again when he came back from 0-3 down to make it 2-3. Sleepy though managed to win the scrappy and low scoring sixth frame for the match.

7 pm
Zhang Anda 0-4 Judd Trump
The story of this match was this: Anda was getting in first, building a substantial lead, but wasn’t able to secure the frames before missing or running out of position. Judd usually won the safety batteles, helped by a superior long potting and tactical game, and snatched them…

Last 32

9 pm

Liang Wenbo 1-4 Ali Carter
Despite scoring a 98 in the only frame he won, Wenbo was outplayed by Ali, who was scoring well himself (90 and 74) and was winning the tactical ones.

Zak Surety 1-4 Chen Zhe
Sleepy quickly won the first two frames with 87 and 115, but then Zak pulled one back and the match went more tactical and scrappy. Crucially though this time Zhe was able to win those as well and was the first man to book his spot into the final day.

Judd Trump 4-2 Joe Swail
Joe won the scrappy first and it looked as if he could possibly upset Judd and repeat his Paul Hunter Classic exploits. Not so though as Judd then took control and breaks of 46, 100, 56 and 60 helped him to secure the win and his pass to the Final day.

Saturday 8th of September

Last 128

11am

Simon Bedford 4-3 Ronnie O’Sullivan
What to say about this match? Ronnie played it exhibition style, taking about everything remotely pottable, and clearly more eager to entertain than to win. So we got a mixed bag of some extraordinary shots and quite a few reckless ones that he missed. He lead 2-0 and 3-2 but Simon who was playing very professionally, forced a decider, taking advantage of Ronnie’s all-attack-no-safeties approach. In the decider, Simon made a very good break off, leaving Ronnie snookered. Ronnie played to nestle into the pack, which he managed to do but left a very difficult red to Simon who got it and made a 98 from there. Well done Simon, he deserved it.

Li Yan 0-4 Adam Duffy
Li Yan had a highest break of 19 in this match … very d-bad day in office it seems.

Stuart Bingham 4-0 David Gilbert
Stuart had a 125 in the last frame but other that he built his victory with thirty something breaks. Good match play, and fast as well.

1pm

Yu DeLu 4-2 Jimmy Robertson
Going by the frame scores, this must have been a hard matchplay type of game. Yu had only one break over 50, a 69, while Jimmy scored a 90 in frame five but still lost the match.

Last 64

5 pm

Neil Robertson 0-4 Stuart Bingham
A very one sided match except for frame 3 that was epic. Robertson was first in and managed to lead 71-4 in the frame with 67 on the table, so Stuart could still tie. Stuart started to grind his way back in the frame but crucially failed to pot a colour after a red meaning he needed snookers. It was 71-37 with 27 on the table. He got the two snookers he needed but failed to pot the green. Neil succeeded in potting the green which meant that Stuart needed snookers again. He managed to force a foul on the pink and from there cleared to steal the frame. That was the turning point as it became clear in the last frame that Neil had had enough.

7 pm

Yu Delu 3-4 Ding Junhui
Despite not playing great Yu took the first two frames as Ding was missing about everything and looked very frustrated. Ding managed to win frame three though and from there he started playing more fluently. He also took the next two before Yu forced a decider with a good one visit frame winning break. But that was it though, Ding dominated the decider and the outcome never looked in doubt.

Last 32

9 am

Stuart Bingham 4-3 Alan McManus
Alan lead 3-0 before Stuart came back to win four on the trot and the match. Both players had a couple of good breaks, Stuart hit the highest break of the match, a 85 – but as was to be expected when “Angles” is involved there was some good tactical hard fought matchplay as well.

Sunday 9th of September

10 pm Last 16

Ali Carter 4-2 Chen Zhe
Sleepy gave Ali Carter a really good game and despite losing this match he has a lot of positives to take from the week-end. He’ll be back for more soon, no doubts.

Robert Milkins 4-1 Judd Trump
Rob has a good record against Judd, and he proved it once again. Judd took the opener, with the help of two glaring mistakes from Rob. But after that it was Judd making the mistakes and leaving a by then fully focused Rob with chances. Ron punished those mistakes and excellent breaks of 106, 87, 48 and 76 sealed Judd’s fate and defeat.

Rod Lawler 4-3 Stuart Bingham
The longest match of the round – not unexpected when Rod is involved. It was hard fought and good match and Stuart did well to force a decider but then, Rod was first in and knocked in a 130 to take the match. Not much anyone can do about that.

“I have decided not to enter any tournaments for the time being including this year’s Premier League and forthcoming WPBSA ranking events.

“I have not signed the player’s contract as I feel the contract is too onerous and am in a stage of my career where I don’t wish to make this commitment.

“I still want to play snooker and visit those places around the world such as China where snooker is enthusiastically received and adored.

“I hope to remain involved in the sport in some way in the future.”

The nominations were announced, yesterday, 10 May 2012, in the Dorchester and here they are:

Snooker Writers Player of the Year: Ronnie O’Sullivan
Fans Player of the Year: Judd Trump
Rookie of the Year: Luca Brecel
Magic Moment of the Year: Stephen Hendry’s 147
Performance of the year: Stuart Bingham (for winning the Australian Open)
World Snooker Player of the Year: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Inducted into the Hall of Fame: Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan
Well done guys!