Preview Of Inaugural Australian Goldfields Open
The inaugural Australian Goldfields Open will be held in Bendigo from July 18 to 24. World Snooker announced that the event will be held in Australia for each of the next three years at Bendigo Stadium.
The tournament will be broadcast to 66 countries as part of the World Snooker Tour. The tournament will feature 32 of the world’s best players, with three in the top 10 already confirmed to participate. Including John Higgins, Ding Junhiu and Shaun Murphy, the world’s top snooker players are confirmed to play in the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo in July.
To make up four of the world’s top 10 players to play at the open, Victorian Neil Robertson, the 2010 World Champion, joins Higgins, Junhiu and Murphy.
While IMG Media will produce and distribute worldwide television coverage of the tournament to a global audience as well as it will act as the promoter of the event.
Fox Sports, which has provided coverage of several leading snooker events such as the Grand Prix Snooker, Premier League Snooker, Snooker Masters and the UK Championship, will also broadcast the Australian Goldfields Open.
The tournament is expected to inject about $500,000 into Bendigo’s economy. The good news is that footage advertising Bendigo and the Goldfields region will be broadcast during breaks in the tournament. With clubs hoping the event will translate into more people taking an interest in the sport hosting a world class tournament will no doubt give snooker a big boost in Bendigo.
2011 World Snooker Q School Round One Recap
2011 World Snooker Q School is being held at the World Snooker Academy, Sheffield. Stephen Groves was defeated by 30-year-old, Andrew Norman by a frame score of 4-1 in the best of seven frames Round 1 match.
After turning professional in 2002 Norman was dropped off tour in 2010. He has cleared his first hurdle pretty successfully with a 4-1 win over his opponent as he has started his campaign with a hope to regain a tour card with a win. Between both players, the final score line was 5-82 (Norman 44), 52-62 (Norman 42), 89-26 (Groves 45), 47-60 and 20-68.
In both frames respectively, Norman stormed into a 2-0 lead with modest breaks of 44 and 42. Even though this time it was Groves who forced a chance from his opponent and fired a classy break of 45 to come within one frame at 2-1, in the third, a few chances were exchanged.
Among the players a bout of safety play was seen as the fourth and fifth was inconsistent affairs. It was Norman who came on the top with his flawless safety skills and sealed victory in the end though.
By losing to Neil Robertson and Michael Holt, Bristol based Norman reached the last 16 of the Grand Prix in 2005 and 2006. Reaching the last 16 in Gloucester at the end of October, he played in all of the Players Tour Championship events in 2010 though. Before throwing away a 3-0 lead against eventual winner Stephen Lee in the last 16, he recorded fantastic victories against Ding Junhui and Mark Allen.
An Overview Of 2011 World Snooker Championship Quarterfinal
The 2011 World Snooker Championship quarter final matches are underway at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
Mark J Williams, the former two times World Champion is leading the Pistol, Mark Allen, on table two with the same score line. Between these two players the opening frame was also wary. Before Williams forced a chance from his opponent, to claim the frame 1-0, both players dug deep into the safety battle. In the second Allen had a frame winning chance although he lost his nerves, breaking down on 51 and when the chance presented itself, Williams cleared the table very efficiently to lead 2-0.
Though Allen, the World Number eleven bounced back with a classy break of 78 in the third frame to reduce the deficit at 3-1, he lost the fourth again, as the World Number two, Williams, restored his two frames lead with a dazzling break of 125.
Having beaten his earlier opponents Ryan Day and Jamie Cope in comfortable fashion, the Welsh potting machine is in great form. The real action starts in the second week in the World Snooker Championship what the 36 year old knows very well. Even though he’s excited to get back into the fray of things he admits he’s been watching on the sidelines the last couple of years.
Williams has returned to form winning the 2010 China Open and finishing runner up in this year’s UK Championship after falling all the way down to 47th in the world. To have a shot at another World Championship title he will have to get by the winner of John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
24 year old Northern Ireland player Mark Allen who has no major tournament wins to his name is his opponent. Followed by a 13-12 comeback victory against Barry Hawkins, he barely made it to this stage through a 10-9 victory over Matthew Stevens in first round. In online sportsbook, Williams to win odds is 1/7 while Mark Allen to win is priced at 9/2.
Orcullo Advances to Round of 32 in Philippine Open
Ronnie Alcano, former world double champion was not believed to play the role of his unheralded Korean opponent, rather the role of a teacher.
In the second day of the 2011 Philippine Open Pool Championships, Hwang Yong made the clutch shots to power him to a 9-7 win over the Filipino hotshot at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall. It was a revelation for Alcano and everybody was startled.
The former 2006 World 9-Ball and 2007 World 8-Ball champion, Alcano was thrown into the loser’s bracket after the loss. Now, to stay in contention, he needs to be triumphant twice in a row. Alcano won five of the next six racks to forge a 7-all deadlock before falling in the end even though he trailed 6-2 halfway into the match. In the loser’s bracket, he will face either Abdullah Al-Yousif or Chan Keng Kwang of Singapore.
But the reigning world 8-ball titlist Dennis Orcullo, the other supported Phl ace posted a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Kuwait-based Pinoy Allan Cuartero, dodged the upset axe for his second win in the meet and a Last-32 berth.
Lee Van Corteza, Jundel Mazon, Renemar David and Antonio Lining are the four others Phl bets, who guaranteed themselves of Round of 32 places. Mazon edged compatriot Marlon “Marvelous” Manalo, 9-4, while Lining ousted Muhammad Zulfikri of Indonesia, 9-1.
In other results, Chang Jung-lin of Chinese-Taipei squeezed out Vincent Facquet of France, 9-2, former RP junior star Renemar “Revo” David defeated Pinoy Oliver Medenilla, 9-4, Takhti Zarekani of Iran downed Filipino Jericho Banares, 9-5 and Liu Haitao of China routed Nguyen Phuc Long of Vietnam, 9-4.
Dublin Crown Claimed by Shaun Murphy
Shaun Murphy whitewashed finalist Martin Gould in Dublin by winning the introductory Players Tour Championship title. As he beat Gould 4-0 to cap his outstanding season on the PTC, the all-English final went the way of the 2005 world title holder.
After playing in all 12 small-scale tournaments, Murphy headed the order of merit. He has shown the merit of buying into World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn’s vision for the new competition by capping his promotion with accomplishment at the Grand finals.
In Barry Hearn’s 12-tournament competition, Ronnie O’Sullivan failed to get entirely involved, making him and some players disqualified for the weeklong final in Dublin.
Murphy took home a cheque of £60,000 for his troubles, with Gould earning £25,000 as runner-up, although he played in all 12 and having won through to the final with another 4-0 victory, over Matthew Stevens at lunchtime.
After playing in all 12 small tournaments, Murphy was at the top of the order of merit while Ronnie O’Sullivan, who was the potential favorite and many other notable players were not present for parts of the competition and as a result were disqualified.
Shaun Murphy thoroughly deserved to win the PTC Grand final in Dublin, although after having crushing the likes of Mark Selby on the way to the final, Gould will be disheartened for not having made a better account of him in the final.
Murphy said that he is privileged to win the first PTC Grand Finals and he added that winning any tournament is incredible. After being presented with the trophy by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, he said that he is thrilled to win the first PTC and he is looking forward to the event’s second season.
Morro Outperforms Kiamco – US Bar Table 8-Ball Championship
John Morra took the title from Warren Kiamco in the finals of the 8-ball division of the U.S. Bar Table Championships. Morra came back from a late loss. Prior to this week, Kiamco triumphed in the 9-ball division, bolstered his position as the event’s all-around winner. He earned a bonus of $2,000. Terrible’s Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV, hosted the $25,250 event.
At the Sands Regency Hotel in Reno, Nevada Sunday, to stay on track for the 14th Annual US Bar Table Championship Ball Division crown, Warren Kiamco overpowered Amar Kang of the US. In-group play, Kiamco drew a bye and disposed of Jerry Matchin, Sylver Ochoa, Mark Estes and Stan Tourangeau to make it to the concluding phase.
In the double elimination format, the ace Filipino cue master before squeezing out Kang for the first final berth thrashed Brandon Ashcraft. Kiamco was eyeing a back-to-back victory after he succeeded in last week’s 14th Annual US Bar Table Championship 9-Ball Division tournament. Then in the finals, he thrashed American Leron Nevel. In the 10-Ball event, Morra had settled for runner-up honors to Pagulayan.
In the double-elimination finals, Morra, who was fully charged, went after Kiamco. For Morra, the first set was another double-hill match. With a 5-4 success, he leveled the field for the final players. In the second set, Morra pressed for his advantage, which he ended promptly with a 5-2 final score.
The first position was held by John Morra, who won $5,000, Warren Kiamco with $3,000 came second, and third place was secured by Amar Kang for $2,000, while Josh O’Neal and Brandon Ashcraft came fourth and fifth, with $1,000 and $800 respectively.
Maguire Defeats Williams in Welsh Open
In the quarterfinals of the Welsh Open, Stephen Maguire’s brilliant shots defeated home favorite Mark William at the Newport centre. Williams had captured the German Masters title recently and was the favorite to win the Welsh Open title for the third time.
The Welshman was knocked out 5-3, as Scot Maguire came down from 3-2 in the best-of-nine last eight showdown. By 4-0, Williams won first two matches and was looking to grab a 3-1 interval lead but Maguire had some other intentions. He it 2-2 and sealed his fourth win in five matches against the Welshman. In the previous year, the same thing had happened. Williams was eliminated by Maguire at the same stage of the tournament. The break of 45 was responsible for the early advantage.
When Maguire rallied to 2-2, Williams came back strongly with a 54. The left-hander kept the home crowd entertained with a 3-2 lead, with a neat plant that resulted in a break of 63. The mach came into life once again when Maguire leveled the match with a superb 105 clearance. Williams failed to make hay while the sun shined by missing a straightforward red and the Scot made use of this golden opportunity to get past and move ahead of a 68.
Just before the loss, Williams tried to be ambitious by attempting to plant into the centre pocket. This gave Maguire a break, which were only 26. Then again, in the bottom corner, he missed a routine brown. Maguire’s displayed perfect snooker while he was behind the green. Williams suffered a defeat, while he crashed into the black.
In the semi-final, Scot Maguire will now meet Englishman Mark Selby. Selby had won the 2008 Welsh Open title and he had been twice Masters Champion. Welsh title is his sole ranking title and he must be aiming to grab the title once again in 2011. As per various betting sites, the betting odds for the semifinals are Stephen Maguire 2.20 and Mark Selby 1.63.
Preview of World Snooker Shootout In Blackpool
This weekend the first Snooker Shootout tournament takes place in Blackpool. There are simple rules, pot as many balls as you can and as quickly as you can. With each frame limited to 10 minutes, the Snooker Shootout is contested on a one frame knockout basis.
The three day shootout will be televised on Sky Sports 1 from 6p.m tomorrow.
Snooker Shoot Out is a new event, and it is created by World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn. The three day tournament will see the best snooker players in the world compete in timed, one frame knockout games lasting no more than 10 minutes each. There’s also a shot clock to maintain continuous action; for the first 5 minutes, it’s 20 seconds, and for the last 5 minutes, it’s 15 seconds.
Players will go head to head in knockout games, as well as the winner of each match will go on to the next round where the prize money doubles. The overall winner will go home with a prize of £32,000.
For the Snooker Shootout in Blackpool, most of the world’s top players are turning up. O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Stephen Hendry are among the top players who will be taking part. The standout match of the Snooker Shootout is probably the Mark Williams vs. John Higgins game, which takes place on Friday 28th Jan at 21:40. Ricky Walden will go head to head with Joe Perry in the opening round of the World Snooker Shootout.
IBSF World Snooker Championships – Advani Shines
In the IBSF World snooker championships at Damascus on Monday, India’s Pankaj Advani scored a convincing 5-2 victory over Afghanistan’s Mohd Rais Sen Zahi to march into the quarterfinals. The championship is regarded as the most prestigious amateur snooker tournament in the world and more than 200 players are participating in the same.
The 2003 champion, who is unbeaten so far in the championship, oozed class as he conjured two century breaks before registering a comfortable 5-2 (60-40, 110 (109)-15, 114 (114)-0, 73-69, 0-73, 41-68, 68-21) pre-quarterfinal win.
Winning all the seven matches, Advani had topped his group earlier and in the knockout stage, he got the better of Mohammed Joker of the UAE 5-4. In China in 2003, Advani had won his first World Snooker Championship.
Advani won 60-40, 110(109)-15, 114(114)-0, 73-69, 0-73, 41-68, 68-21, in the billiards singles gold in Asian Games last month. Malaysian Moh Keen Hoo who defeated Duncan Bezzina of Malta 5-1 in another pre-quarterfinal match will be facing Advani in the quarterfinals.
Advani had topped Group E and in the knockout stage round of 32 matches, he then got the better of Mohammed Joaker of the UAE 5-4.
India’s Vidya Pillai beat compatriot Chitra Magimairaj by 4-0, in the women’s draw to move into the semifinal. She will face Ng On Yee. In the quarterfinals, Indian Anuja Chandra lost to Ng On Yee 4-2.
Anuja lost to Yee 07-65, 54-49, 06-77, 102(52)-19, 49-54, 75-40, 40-53, while Vidya beat Chitra 63-43, 73-02, 75-05, 60-40.
£2,400 For Higgins Apology Letter
Alex ‘Hurricane‘ Higgins’ letter of apology after he punched a press officer has been sold at auction for £2,400.
Higgins was a star player in Snooker. He was from south Belfast. He passed away at the age of 61, on 24 July.
Minutes before the former world champion appeared before a disciplinary panel, he wrote the apology letter. With Colin Randle who was working for the sport’s governing body at the time, it followed a bust-up.
The letter contains remarks from Higgins, written in upper and lower case, which reads, “I was very upset at the time in respect of personal and financial matters”.
The Crucible World Championship in Sheffield was officiated by Mr. Randle, of Findern in south Derbyshire on April 14, 1990.
To Steve James, Higgins had just crashed out of the world tournament and as he was moving to the media area for a post-match conference, he walloped Mr. Randle in the stomach.
Before the pair was eventually pulled apart, the response from the press officer was by pinning Higgins up against the wall. Higgins was suspended for a year as a result of the tussle and he docked so many points that his ranking fell to 120.
Three months after the incident, the letter was written by Higgins and it had been in a drawer for years.
The incident did not make Mr. Randle think badly of Higgins, who after a long battle with throat cancer passed away. Mr. Randle said that he remembered Higgins as “a truly brilliant snooker player”. Some of the proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research.
For Hansons auctioneers in Derby, a spokeswoman, who sold the letter said: “We had several telephone bids and there was an awful lot of interest.”