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Post by Panda on Jan 19, 2021 22:34:32 GMT 1
Kyren Wilson and Sunny Akani progress on day 2 of the Pro Series.
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Post by Panda on Jan 20, 2021 22:23:08 GMT 1
Martin O'Donnell and Lu Ning qualify from today's Pro Series group.
Gary Wilson is the first of the top seeds to be eliminated, though he did make a 147.
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Post by suedehead on Jan 20, 2021 23:19:55 GMT 1
Meanwhile, the Pro Series got underway today. It consists of 16 groups of 8 players, playing a round robin with best-of-3 frames matches. The top 2 in each group progress to the next round with 4 groups of 8 and the top 2 there go through to the final group. It's not something I'm particularly excited by as it's effectively a glorified Championship League with ranking points on offer. 8 groups are being played this week, then 8 more in March, followed by the latter stages. Stephen Hendry intended on making his comeback in this event but only if he was drawn in one of the March groups so he could get some playing time under his belt beforehand. He wasn't, so he withdrew and is now looking at the Welsh Open as his possible comeback ahead of taking part in the World Championship qualifiers. Joe Perry and Xiao Guodong were the two qualifiers from today's group. With contests only over three frames, it sounds more like a Champions League with penalty shoot-outs instead of matches.
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Post by Panda on Jan 22, 2021 2:17:19 GMT 1
Stuart Bingham and Sam Craigie qualified from Thursday's Pro Series group. Bingham won all seven of his matches without losing a frame.
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Post by Panda on Jan 23, 2021 23:35:04 GMT 1
Zhao Xintong and Dominic Dale were the qualifiers from yesterday's Pro Series group. Today, Shaun Murphy and Louis Heathcote made it through.
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Post by Panda on Jan 26, 2021 16:04:43 GMT 1
Last 4 qualifiers from the first lot of Pro Series groups: Luo Honghao, Zhou Yuelong, Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel.
Meanwhile, we will finally have a tournament away from Milton Keynes next month with the news the Welsh Open will take place at Celtic Manor. The resort hosted several bio-secure golf tournaments last year.
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Post by Panda on Jan 27, 2021 4:12:00 GMT 1
The German Masters starts on Wednesday in Milton Keynes. Qualifying took place back in November so we're at the last 32 stage, though John Higgins is out after testing positive for Covid 19.
Draw: Judd Trump v Mark Davis Duane Jones v Joe Perry Kacper Filipiak v Ding Junhui Dominic Dale v Stephen Maguire Shaun Murphy v Jamie O'Neill Jordan Brown v Graeme Dott Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day Liang Wenbo v Jak Jones Fergal O'Brien v Michael White Mark Joyce v Joe O'Connor Tom Ford v Yuan Sijun Stuart Carrington w/o John Higgins Pang Junxu v Robbie Williams Stuart Bingham v Zhou Yuelong Louis Heathcote v Jack Lisowski Luca Brecel v Noppon Saengkham
Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams and Mark Allen were among those who failed to qualify. Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't enter.
With Higgins' withdrawal, only six of the current top 16 will be taking part.
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Post by oasisbobo on Jan 27, 2021 22:53:49 GMT 1
Could be a surprise winner this week or Judd.
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Post by suedehead on Jan 27, 2021 23:46:02 GMT 1
Last 4 qualifiers from the first lot of Pro Series groups: Luo Honghao, Zhou Yuelong, Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel. Meanwhile, we will finally have a tournament away from Milton Keynes next month with the news the Welsh Open will take place at Celtic Manor. The resort hosted several bio-secure golf tournaments last year. Outdoor snooker? That could be interesting in February
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Post by Panda on Jan 29, 2021 23:24:55 GMT 1
Semi-finals in the German Masters:
Judd Trump v Barry Hawkins Tom Ford v Jack Lisowski
Ford and Lisowski both looking for their first ranking title. Hawkins looking for his 4th, Trump looking for his 21st.
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Post by Panda on Jan 30, 2021 23:15:27 GMT 1
Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski will meet in the final of the second ranking event in a row after reaching the German Masters final.
Trump came from 5-1 down to beat Barry Hawkins 6-5. Lisowski beat Tom Ford 6-2. A win for Lisowski would move him into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time. Defeat would mean he comes the outright holder of the record for most ranking finals without winning one, which he currently shares with David Gilbert.
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Post by Panda on Feb 1, 2021 5:21:20 GMT 1
Judd Trump won the German Masters, beating Jack Lisowski 9-2 in the final. It's his fourth ranking title of the season as he closes in on last season's record tally of six. There are seven ranking events left this season, though only six opportunities for Trump, as he hasn't entered the Shoot-Out, which starts on Thursday.
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Post by Panda on Feb 7, 2021 22:02:39 GMT 1
Down to the last 8 at the Shoot-Out:
David Gilbert v Ryan Day Robert Milkins v Mark Selby Louis Heathcote v Craig Steadman Martin O'Donnell v Mark Williams
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Post by Panda on Feb 8, 2021 0:11:27 GMT 1
Ryan Day wins the Shoot-Out, beating Mark Selby in the final. It's his first title for three years and the £50,000 prize money moves him up to 32 in the rankings.
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Post by Panda on Feb 14, 2021 23:03:29 GMT 1
Former Masters and UK champion and World Championship runner-up Doug Mountjoy has died.
From BBC Sport:
Doug Mountjoy, one of Wales' greatest ever snooker players, has died at the age of 78.
He was a World Championship runner-up in 1981, one of only six Welshmen to reach snooker's biggest contest.
The former coal miner might have won even more tournaments, but did not turn professional until he was 34.
Mountjoy began his professional career by winning the 1977 Masters tournament and is also one of only four Welsh players to win the UK Championship.
Mountjoy was born in Tir-y-Berth near Caerphilly on 8 June 1942, and was brought up just outside Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent.
In his formative years, Mountjoy was a well-known amateur snooker player around the clubs, but the sport could not be his full focus because of his career as a miner.
Mountjoy won many amateur tournaments and was twice Welsh amateur champion before taking the ultimate accolade, the 1976 world amateur title with a 11-1 thrashing of Paul Mifsud.
He turned professional a year later and after a late call-up for the 1977 Masters as a replacement, Mountjoy announced himself in the pro ranks with a stunning 7-6 win over reigning world champion Ray Reardon in the final.
Further success would arrive in 1978 when he became UK champion, beating David Taylor 15-9 in the final.
In 1980 Mountjoy won the champions of champions tournament, beating John Virgo 10-8 in the final, while he also partnered with Terry Griffiths and Reardon to win the first two snooker World Cups for Wales in 1979 and 1980.
A run in the 1981 World Championship saw Mountjoy reach the final at in Sheffield, but he was defeated 18-12 by a young Steve Davis, who won the first of his six Crucible titles.
Mountjoy dropped out of the world's top 16 as titles dried up for a spell, but he revitalised his game and career in the late 1980s after working with renowned coach Frank Callan.
Mountjoy was the surprise winner of the 1988 UK Championship at the age of 46, beating future seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry 16-12 in the final.
Diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993, he made his last appearance in the final stages of the World Championship that year. He beat Alain Robidoux 10-6 in the first round a few weeks before an operation to remove his left lung.
He recovered and stayed on the circuit until 1997 before turning to coaching.
One of Mountjoy's friends and a playing contemporary Cliff Thorburn said: "So sad to hear of Doug Mountjoy's passing today.
"He was a true champion and gentleman. He had all the shots and the heart of a lion. You knew he was in the room by his laughter and I spent many a happy time with Doug!
"My sympathies to his family and friends."
Another former world champion, Dennis Taylor, said: "Just heard the sad news of the passing of one of our legends.
"Doug Mountjoy a very special Welsh man. RIP my dear friend."
In a joint statement, World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn and World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson said: "Doug was first and foremost a lovely man, who had great friendships with many players on the tour throughout the 1970s and onwards.
"He had a fantastic dedication to our sport, he simply loved the game and was always willing to help others to improve, both as a player and later as a coach.
"On the table he was a fierce competitor and a fine champion who won a multitude of tournaments.
"His revival late in his career to win two events including the UK Championship was an incredible achievement.
"Doug will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him, and our sincere condolences go to his family."
Tributes to Mountjoy also came some of the sport's leading figures were posted on social media with Jimmy White among them.
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Post by Panda on Feb 19, 2021 1:15:42 GMT 1
The Welsh Open is taking place at the moment and it's a pretty strong quarter-final line-up:
Shaun Murphy v Stephen Maguire Mark Selby v Jordan Brown Mark Williams v Tom Ford Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan
Judd Trump lost in the last 32 to Iran's Hossein Vafaei. It ended his run of 28 consecutive victories in best-of-7 matches.
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Post by Panda on Feb 20, 2021 2:04:33 GMT 1
Welsh Open quarter-finals: Shaun Murphy 4-5 Stephen Maguire Mark Selby 4-5 Jordan Brown Mark Williams 5-4 Tom Ford Ali Carter v Ronnie O'Sullivan - walkover for O'Sullivan, Carter withdrew due to illness
Semi-finals: Stephen Maguire v Jordan Brown Mark Williams v Ronnie O'Sullivan
Brown is in his first ranking semi-final. This is the first time since the 2010 UK Championship that the semi-finals of a ranking event are comprised of an Englishman, a Scotsman, a Welshman and a Northern Irishman.
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Post by Panda on Feb 21, 2021 23:15:13 GMT 1
Jordan Brown has won the Welsh Open, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 in the final. He is the lowest ranked player to win a ranking title since Dave Harold won the Asian Open in 1993. Brown was 750/1 at the start of the week. Five years ago he was working in a petrol station and close to giving up the game.
His performances this week mean he moves from 81 to 45 in the world rankings. He moves up to 7th on the one-year list, meaning he qualifies for the Players Championship, which starts tomorrow. He also earns a spot in next season's Champion of Champions.
He is only the fourth Northern Irish player to win a ranking event after Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor and Mark Allen.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was already guaranteed to move up to 2nd in the rankings after Neil Robertson withdrew from the Welsh Open. He's £830,000 behind Judd Trump but Trump will be defending £500,000 from the 2019 World Championship in a couple of months.
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Post by Panda on Feb 22, 2021 20:03:26 GMT 1
World rankings after the Welsh Open:
(ranking at the end of last season in brackets)
* = player on first year of a two-year tour card
1(1) Judd Trump 2(2) Ronnie O'Sullivan 3(3) Neil Robertson 4(4) Mark Selby 5(6) Kyren Wilson 6(7) John Higgins 7(8) Shaun Murphy 8(9) Stephen Maguire 9(12) Ding Junhui 10(5) Mark Allen 11(14) Jack Lisowski 12(15) Yan Bingtao 13(10) Mark Williams 14(13) Stuart Bingham 15(11) David Gilbert 16(22) Anthony McGill 17(17) Barry Hawkins 17(25) Zhou Yuelong 19(16) Joe Perry 20(18) Gary Wilson 21(20) Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 22(21) Graeme Dott 23(23) Scott Donaldson 24(19) Ali Carter 25(26) Matthew Selt 26(24) Tom Ford 27(27) Kurt Maflin 28(30) Michael Holt 29(35) Liang Wenbo 30(29) Zhao Xintong 31(53) Martin Gould 32(37) Ryan Day 33(51) Lu Ning 34(44) Li Hang 35(42) Ben Woollaston 36(38) Luca Brecel 37(46) Ricky Walden 38(41) Hossein Vafaei 39(33) Matthew Stevens 40(31) Xiao Guodong 41(43) Lu Haotian 42(49) Robert Milkins 43(32) Noppon Saengkham 44(48) Alan McManus 45(69) Jordan Brown * 45(36) Mark King 47(34) Martin O'Donnell 48(40) Anthony Hamilton 49(60) Elliot Slessor 49(39) Mark Davis 51(62) Joe O'Connor 52(58) Sam Craigie 53(63) Liam Highfield 54(59) Andrew Higginson 55(64) Mark Joyce 56(52) Sunny Akani 57(54) Tian Pengfei 58(46) Stuart Carrington 59(84) David Grace 60(28) Jimmy Robertson 61(79) Alexander Ursenbacher 62(57) Chris Wakelin 63(45) Yuan Sijun 64(61) Luo Honghao ----------------------------- 65(55) Mei Xiwen 66(86) Dominic Dale 67(83) Nigel Bond 68(78) Ian Burns 69(56) Daniel Wells 69(82) Louis Heathcote 71(-) Jamie Jones * 72(50) Marco Fu 73(90) Jackson Page 74(67) Jak Jones * 75(88) Eden Sharav 75(91) Gerard Greene 77(103) Chang Bingyu 78(-) Pang Junxu * 79(65) Robbie Williams * 80(114) Jamie O'Neill 81(110) Xu Si 82(105) Chen Zifan 83(108) Igor Figueiredo 84(91) Mitchell Mann 85(110) Jimmy White 86(121) Andy Hicks 87(100) Barry Pinches 88(101) Kacper Filipiak 89(108) James Cahill 89(102) Si Jiahui 91(116) Duane Jones 92(76) Jamie Clarke * 93(77) Ashley Carty * 94(68) Ken Doherty * 94(107) Rod Lawler 94(112) Simon Lichtenberg * 97(106) Soheil Vahedi 98(118) David Lilley 99(117) Peter Lines 100(119) Brandon Sargeant 101(124) Lei Peifan 102(87) Oliver Lines * 103(-) Aaron Hill * 103(-) Allan Taylor * 103(-) Gao Yang * 103(-) Zhao Jianbo * 107(-) Peter Devlin * 108(114) Billy Joe Castle 109(120) Fraser Patrick 110(-) Steven Hallworth * 111(-) Rory McLeod * 112(121) Bai Langning 112(66) Fergal O'Brien * 112(-) Lukas Kleckers * 112(-) Zak Surety * 116(123) Amine Amiri 117(-) Ashley Hugill * 118(126) Riley Parsons 119(125) Alex Borg 119(-) Ben Hancorn * 121(-) James Wilson * 122(-) Farakh Ajaib * 123(85) Lee Walker * 124(96) Fan Zhengyi * 124(-) Sean Maddocks * 126(-) Iulian Boiko * 127(-) Stephen Hendry * 127(126) Steve Mifsud
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Post by Panda on Feb 22, 2021 20:06:36 GMT 1
Draw for the Players Championship, which starts tonight:
(position on one-year ranking list in brackets)
Judd Trump (1) v Stuart Bingham (16) Zhou Yuelong (8) v Barry Hawkins (9) Jack Lisowski (5) v Martin Gould (12) Ronnie O'Sullivan (4) v Ding Junhui (13) Neil Robertson (3) v Lu Ning (14) Kyren Wilson (6) v Ryan Day (11) Jordan Brown (7) v John Higgins (10) Mark Selby (2) v Mark Williams (15)
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