Michael Holt PTC10 Winner!

Michael Holt was crowned two times PTC champion in Sheffield as he beat Dominic Dale 4-2. Holt reportedly looked calm and comfortable in his snooker. When he knew he had won he was said to have bowed and waved to the 'pretend' audience, in the tiny cubicles at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.
  The 2000 ranking points that Holt will gain from tonight's win, will see him listed provisionally at 37; a big jump from his currant position at 45.

Mark Selby wins the Paul Hunter Classic

Photo by: Monique Limbos
Written by: Rachael Rodgers

Mark Selby won the Paul Hunter classic or PTC 4  4-0 beating Mark Davis, who had been a very strong contender until he faced Selby.  Audiences had thought Ronnie O'sullivan would walk away with his second PTC title of the year after he completed a fantastic 147,  before sitting down and looking very unbothered by the audiences reactions to what they had seen.
This win for Selby sees him listed at World number 2, his 2,000 ranking points means he has edged above John Higgins although Mark Williams is still at world number 1.  Runner up Mark Davis has also bagged himself a all time career high at 15 in the world, if he can keep his place before the next ranking up date he will no longer need to attend qualifying matches.

Ben Woolaston Wins first Pro title

Picture from World Snooker
 Written by Rachael Rodgers

Ben Woolaston world number 60 made his first professional title by beating Graeme Dott 4-2 in the PTC 3 event at the EIS Sheffield.
  It was no easy task for the 24 year as Dott had seen off the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry to book his place into the final.  Woolaston who has never made it into the last 32 before, won the first frame with a break of 70 but Dott soon came back in the second frame, with a much needed snooker to make it 1-1.
   The PTC's are a test of staminia, the matches maybe short but they are constant especially in the latter stages. Players may finish one match and the have less than 30 minutes minutes before the start of the next.
"I think this shows the strength in depth on the Tour, no result surprises me these days," said Woollaston after collecting a cheque for £10,000 and receiving 2,000 ranking points. "Hopefully I am starting to fulfil my potential now. I'm guaranteed to be in the PTC finals now and my target for the season is to get into the top 48 and qualify for a few venues.

"I didn't play a bad match in the tournament, the only time I was worried was in the quarter-finals when I was 2-0 down to Alan McManus. I came back to win that 4-3, and in the final against Graeme I did well to recover from 2-1 down."  Woolaston commented to World Snooker after he won.

The PTC has given Ben something else to celebrate along with his recent marriage to Tatiana, a referee from Belarus, and she is moving to England permanently tomorrow. Meaning thatthe couple can officially start their married lives together.

  Fast and Furious Snooker wish them all the best and a big congratulations to Ben on his PTC win!

Judd Trump wins PTC2

Written by Rachael Rodgers- picture by Maximum Snooker

Judd Trump was crowned the second PTC Champion at the South West Snooker Academy
in Gloucester.
  Judd faced a shorter rematch of the World Championship Semi final match against Ding Junhui, and once again Judd came out the winner, pocketing £10,000 and 3000 ranking points, which in a ever moving Ranking system those points are worth more than money. Next PTC starts in Sheffield 19th August

Barry Hearn not happy about Brazil

Written by Rachael Rodgers
Barry Hearn World Snooker Ltd Chairman, has today released a angry letter naming and shaming players who have gone against his wishes and have pulled out of the Brazilian Masters which will take place soon after the Shanghai Masters.  His statement read....

"The fact that Mark Williams, John Higgins, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Matthew Stevens have all declined their invitation to the Brazilian Masters is very, very disappointing.

“A year ago all these players were moaning about lack of tournaments and yet now I am getting excuses ranging from “I think I’m worth a few more bob” to “I do not want to be away from the wife and children!”

“It is time for all players and in particular the top players, who have so much to gain, to understand that snooker is a sport not a hobby and they are professional sportsmen not part timers.

“This tournament could open up the whole of South America and it needed the support of all the top players to get us a major ranking event next year. Frankly, the commitment is just not good enough.

“I know it is a long trip coming so soon after Shanghai but they were the only dates available so we had no alternative. Nevertheless, it is time some players realised their responsibilities to the sport if they want to share in the future success.

“So let us start by behaving like professionals please – there is a massive amount of effort going into revitalising snooker and it is very demotivating to see that the support from the so-called “stars” is not really there."


The event in Brazil maybe deeply exciting for the organisers and for World Snooker but it offers no ranking points, this may prove that money does not control all sport and that the players are more concerned about improving their ranking position, the top 100, all desperately seek a position in the top 16. Those is the top 16 have to fight hard to stay there, slipping out of the top 16 means that the players have to qualify for events, meaning they are away from home more and most soon becomes tight with travelling around the country and staying in hotels.


It is sad for the game that top players will not appear in Brazil but the future calendar needs to be looked at and structured more carefully so to not have so many events outside of the UK so close together.

 This is however the first year with more events and you can only make it better by learning for you're mistakes. Barry Hearn is a treasure to Snooker he cares and loves the sport I am sure he will make all run smoothly.

Ronnie causes outrage

Written by Rachael Rodgers

Some have said that as great as it is, that snooker players have twitter and talk to fans on a regular basis. However when it comes to Ronnie O'Sullivan it is considered he maybe shouldn't be allowed to have twitter.
  Last night Ronnie caused a mass debate on whether or not players should be made to wear the shirt, bow tie and waistcoat at the PTC events. World Snooker have ruled that since live streaming is now available on two tables that any player on those tables has to be fully dressed in the attire you expect to see a player be wearing. Players on none life streaming tables do not have to wear a bow tie.
  Ronnie stated that for PTC events players should be allowed to wear polo shirts and smart trousers, to be more relaxed. Most fans and players agreed with him but he didn't stop there.  When told by Janie Watkins who works are the South West Snooker Academy that air conditing will keep the rooms cool. to which ronnie replied.

"@weewelshwitch f*ck the air con, part of the fun on the ptc is that it's casual"

Ronnie that stated that he will wear his dress suit as the rules state, but he shall roll around in shit before hand which could be a rather stinky arrive for O'Sullivan, who seems prepared to actually turn up for the event tomorrow. 

  In further attempt to put bum's on seats just to see if Ronnie will do as promised he stated by tweet "I might even even play with my nob out, hows that"

It appears that in the past few weeks players have recieved guidlines on how to deal with social media, obviously Ronnie failed to read that piece of post and seems intent on flauting the rules set my world snooker.  Rumour has it that Ronnie maybe after his expected ban before Shanghai.  Ronnie's thoughts are however a showing of personality and devloping the character that Barry Hearn says is missing from snooker.  Personally i think it is unfair to limit the players to what they can say, yes someone will always be offended by something they say, but really its real life.
  And with Ronnie you never know what side of serious he sits upon

A year since the Hurricane past

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
Alex 'Sandy' Gordon Higgins died a year ago today, the man who emcompassed everything a legend should be. He was a loveable rogue and a serious character in the snooker world. He played massive ranking events three sheets to the wind but still managed to win them. Along with his drink he smoked heavily, he was known for hating the structure of World Snooker and head butting referees. Though today that may make for a great news paper spread, would without doubt make a heavy cut between fans and disprovers.
  But no one could deny that Alex was temprementle as he was, was loved equally by fans, friends, family and players.  It was at the World Championships when Alex made the word see his sensitive side, after winning the title, he sobbed and asked for his daughter to be brought to him, she was and he hugged her crying as he did, an image etched in everyone's memories of the great Alex Higgins.

Alex Higgins was a legend for his snooker playing and his bad boy antics, his addictions to drink and drugs made him edey and he lost his career due to it, he became disillisuioned by the game that he loved and he didn't know how to respond to it. As he aged he developed cancer his teeth rotted and he couldn't eat anything but baby food. The bad boy came back to snooker looking frail and nothing like his younger self, but as ill as he was he still perfomed well in an event World Snooker set you for the hero's of Snooker's past The Legends tour.  The People's champion was back and still as much loved as he ever was.  His illness was beyond treament and the snooker world lost a great, a player everyone knew of no matter how they were.

Rest in peace Alex Higgins Gone but never forgotten.

First major ranking event of the season and the match of the season!

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
It was the match everyone wanted to see, especially in Australia with it involving Melbourne's golden boy Neil Robertson against the Welshman who had already but the end to one Aussie's hopes Dominic Dale.

The match has been described as epic and to be fair it wasn't far off, Dominic had the game from the start making his presence felt from the off.  Leading 3-1 to the interval when they came back Neil pulled it in a little to 3-2 but in the sixth frame Dominic stepped ever closer by make it 4-2, it was frame 7 and 8 that increased the nail biting and conversations on twitter about the size of players conkers. (Don't ask!)

 It was into a deciding frame that to be fair could have gone either way, both players played exceptionally and when it came to snookers Dominic was the winner. His final snooker on Neil left him with the 4 points he desperately needed and control over the pink and black.
 Of which he stayed cool, calm and collected for and potted them with confidence and ease to win the favoured Australian by 1 point.  After the match  Neil Robertson said:

"It was definitely the match of the tournament so far," said a dejected Robertson. "It's just one of those disappointing things. He made a great snooker with the pink and black left on the table.

"I thought I played good in the match but had a bad patch - it's just one of those things and in sport sometimes you get bad breaks. You have to hand it to Dominic and he played very well. When I was getting in the balls I was scoring well. The crowd were absolutely terrific and they gave me a great ovation. I'm really disappointed for them."

Dominic commented that the atmosphere was magical and the occasion was possibly one on the best of his 19 year career. And was even gracious enough to praise his opponent for his quarter final match.

"It's up there as one of the best matches I've ever played in for drama and excitement," said Dale, who now meets countryman Mark Williams in the quarter-finals. "You just live for matches like that and I loved the excitement. This is a big win for me and to hold myself together was quite tough. I've had a few great matches with Neil and this was definitely one of them. I will go to bed thinking I'm lucky to still be in it. I played some very good safety but also some shockers and maybe I was a bit too cautious.

"Mark is an unbelievable player and the world number one. He dropped down in the 40s and just decided to dedicate himself practising eight or ten hours a day and it's one of the finest sports feats ever across any sport."

Dominic Dale Progresses in Australia

Dominic Dale progresses to the next round in Australia, beating Steve Difsud 5-2 after a challenging match, more of a challenge than the scores would have you believe. Dale is still suffering jet lag and is failing to get more than 3 hours sleep a night.  He now goes on the play Neil Robertson on Thursday, who today was also suffering from Jet lag after flying from Bangkok to Australia in the early hours of yesterday morning.  Not wishing to be biased but as a player I feel Dominic offers more as a player of excitement. He has worked hard to pull himself back up the rankings and even though I like Neil Robertson, I will be hoping Dominic gets through!

China wins the world Cup

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
Liang Wenbo and Ding Junhui were the happy winner of the World Cup which took place in Bangkok, the win over Northern Ireland after some controversy was caused in the quarter finals.  When Republic of Ireland complained that China should lose a frame when Liang Wenbo took part in his frame without correct outfit.  Unfortunately the Referee did not realise until half way through the frame that Liang Wenbo was not wearing a bow tie. 
  World Snooker will look into the case issue a warning and fine, World Snooker said that docking Liang a frame would be too drastic for forgetting his bow tie.  Fans have said that the comments made by the Republic of Ireland was pure sour grapes over their loss.
   In the End the China team lifted the trophy, which is a good prospect for Liang Wenbo who hasn't had much form in recent years failing to qualify for many events let alone win them. So winning this event will be a great boost to his confidence and promises good things from him.

Ronnie O'Sullivan pulls out of the Goldfields Open

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
He made it half way to Australia, but it seems the second player struggling with back and neck problems while on a flight to the Australia has pulled out. Ronnie got to Bangkok before deciding the pain was too bad to continue and decided to return home for treatment.
  O'Sullivan was supposed to play Dominic Dale on Monday, now Dominic will play Wild Card Steve Misfud and Matthew Selt will see his walk through to the last 32 to play John Higgins.

Graeme Dott pulls out of Austrailian open

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
Graeme Dott has pulled out the Australian open as he has suffered with neck pain, throughout his time at the Wuxi Classic in China. He would have flown to Australia soon after the Wuxi finished but has decided instead to return to Scotland for treatment on his neck injury. His opponent either David Gilbert or James Misfud in Australia will get a Bye to the last 16.

Mark Selby Wuxi winner

Written by Rachael Rodgers

Mark Selby was last night crown the Wuxi Classic winner, after his tremendous match against Ali Carter, which when the match drawn all level at 4-4 at the end of the first round, but when play commenced in the second session, Mark took control and won 9-7.   The win is a welcome come for Selby who last year made it to two amazing finals both in ther German masters and the China Open, losing to Judd Trump and Mark Williams. The win will supply extra confidence to Selby who plays as a team with Ali Carter in the World Cup in Bangkok.


"If Ali and I play as well next week then we have a great chance to win the World Cup. It's strange to think that today I was willing him to miss balls and next week I'll be willing him to pot everything. He's a great player and we'll be a strong team."

Selby flies to Bangkok with a cheque worth £20,000 and the hope he an Carter can beat the best Snooker players from across the country and do something the English football team fail to do and lift the world cup trophy. Good luck guys!

Rory Refusal causes outrage

 Written by Rachael Rodgers


As Rory McLeod qualified for the Australian Open, he left fellow players, Referees and supports shocked when he refused to shake the hand of Ivy Zhu, because she is female and it is against his Muslim belief to shake the hand of a woman.  He didn't want to disrespect his religion but showed disrespect to his sport.

Many on twitter called for McLeod to be fined for being rude and questioned whether or not if he had ever played a match with Michaela Tabb refereeing it. I have looked but cannot find anything stating she has.  Though I understand that religion is a big part of many people's lives but when it means you are disrespectful to the job you do, then there has to be some give and take.  More women are going into men's sports and on a personal level it feels almost sexist that he would happy shake the hand of a male ref but not a female.

Ivy is a new ref and she must have felt awful when he refused to shake her hand, it effects more people than Rory and it also doesn't help with his fan base either which suffers for his lengthy and widely quoted boring game play.

Mr Snookerbacker has today throught of a way over the hand shake, and that you could change it for an air kiss instead and if it isn't done correctly you get called a foul. I feel this wouldn't go down so well either but its still a light ending to s serious subject.

5/7/11- proof has been found in video footage that Rory has shaken hands with Michaela Tabb

(Footage from youtube)

Seen here at about 5 mins 20 secs, so the question still remains why did he not shake Ivy's hand?

GoldFields Open Qualifers

 Written by Rachael Rodgers

Well its been a very busy couple of days at the English Institute of Sport with players trying their hardest to make it to Australia, we can't blame them. But it is sad to say that none of the players listed 52-64 managed to break through the final rounds of qualifying.

I have to say I openly tipped Michael Holt, Jack Lisowski and Dominic Dale, one out of three I will pretend to be good odds, but I would have preferred it to have been two. Michael came up against a tough competitor in Stuart Bingham, who has had a slightly stronger past season after making it to the Crucible.
 Jack Lisowski, the one I always tip every time, maybe I am his bad luck sorry Jack! I do however think we should expect big things for Jack, he just has to gain more experience and keep it together when deciders happen. Tom Ford just has a few years more experience on Jack .

The one i tipped to get through to Australia was Dominic Dale and he got through! Dominic is a great player and showed that experience truly does win as he beat Liam Highfield 5-3. The Spaceman made his come back last season, playing well through out the PTC tournaments and met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the opening rounds of the World Championships, it had been the first time since 2004 that Dale had qualified for the World Championships.  Unfortunately for Dominic Ronnie found his love for the game again and won 10-2.

I comment on the Championships because Dominic's first round match in Australia will see him again facing Ronnie O'Sullivan, could be a grudge match although O'Sullivan is playing as well as he did in the 90's.

Snookerbackers Thursday thought is to Smart looking Snooker players

 Written by Rachael Rodgers

Snookerbacker is a big name in the world of Snooker news and his fun and easily accessible snooker reporting has spread to making sure our favourite Snooker players continue to look smart and dress like gentlemen.  Snookerbacker would like World Snooker to offer free ironing lessons to Snooker players in an attempt to keep our boys looking lovely.

"I feel that creases are indicative of 'shoddiness'. Snooker is a game for gentlemen (and ladies, let's not forget them) and whilst standards continue to slip outside of the baize, we should act as a beacon in the shirt/ironing/crispness world." Says Snookerbacker.

President of crisp clothes is Jack Lisowski who started the campaign by tweeting he was struggling to iron his shirt. Tomorrows campaign is increasing Peter Ebdon's fanbase as he plays against Rory Mcleod in OZ

PTC event 1 Sheffield

 Written by Rachael Rodgers

The first PTC of the season started on Friday, it had to be extended due to the amount of interest in taking part it was reported that it had an increase of at least 50%.
  Monday saw the start of the professional tour seeing the greats of Ronnie O'Sullivan who looked relaxed and happy to be in Sheffield and to be playing snooker again. This was a positive sign especially after last season that saw the Rocket drop down the ranking to number 9 in the world a position many would kill for but one that Ronnie hasn't seen for many years.  This was due to Ronnie's lack of love for the game last season and problems in his personal life.
   Ronnie's first round match was against a returning player Mike Hallett at first fans held their breath as it appeared that teh new confident and happy Ronnie had returned the mixed up and lost player of last season, as he slipped to 2-0 down thankfully the Rocket found his fight and came back to win 4-2. He then at 5 pm met Andy Hicks and saw him at 4-1, the rocket was back playing the same way he did in the 90's when he was the World Champion and World Number 1.  Ronnie finsihed off the late night which had seen game starting to over run by lunch time and had a knock on effect for every match following. Ronnie saw off Bjorn Haneever 4-0 to clami his place in Wednesdays Semi finals where he will meet Martin Gould, who made a impressive come back from 3-0 against Nigel Bond to win 4-3.
 "I don't know how I won to be fair, Nigel should have won 4-0 he deserved to, he lost the game from two blacks off there spot." Commented Martin Gould, his match ended at 12.30 am  he must be happy that he has a day off to settle into the idea of facing Ronnie at 10am.

One player who has captured a lot of attention through the first part of the PTC has to be David Gilbert, who has gone through Q School to join the professional tour, he has put the end to many long time professional players and showen that he more that deserves his place in the professional side of the game.
 David Gilbert put an end to Judd Trump's attempt at winning the PTC beating him 4-1, then seeing off Jamie Cope 4-2 and finally with an extremely late finish he put at end to Jimmy White 4-1.  Personally I think David Gilbert looks as though he is a force to be reckoned with and certainly a player to watch, this season.

Shock results have to be that the top sixteen players, have been booted out int he first rounds Shaun Murphy and John Higgins being the biggest names to suffer an early eviction from the PTC.

The shining star of the event had to be Ronnie O'Sullivan, who took the first event, putting behind him a tough season and being his first win in 6 months. We welcome back the Rocket and look forward to the up and coming events.

Dominic bids good night Vienna

(Taken from World Snooker)

Dominic Dale is moving back to the UK after four years in Vienna in order to cope with his busy snooker schedule.

The former Grand Prix and Roewe Shanghai Masters champion will leave the Austrian capital this weekend and live close to his practice base, the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.

Welshman Dale, age 39, had a fine season in 2009/10, winning a PTC event and climbing to No 31 in the world rankings, and hopes to continue that momentum in 2010/11.

"When I had a good look at the tournament calendar last month, I worked out that travelling to and fro from Vienna for the whole season was going to cost me around £15,000," said Dale. "Last season I was paying for flights and then staying in hotels in Gloucester where I practise and hotels in Sheffield for the PTC events and qualifiers.

"To be based anywhere other than the UK is prohibitively expensive because there are so many tournaments now. As the Americans say, it was a 'no-brainer' for me to move back to the UK.

"I will be sad to leave Vienna because I have a lot of friends there. I want to say thanks to the Koo 15 Reds snooker club for the support and friendship I had there. I love the culture in Vienna, the beautiful buildings, the opera house and the cosmopolitan nature of the city. I will miss it but I can still go back on holiday. I'm not a sentimental person so I'm not worried about the move.

"I had a good mindset last season and practising on my own in Vienna wasn't a problem, especially as I would come to the UK a few days before each event and play against other professionals. But I did get a bit jaded here and there from the travelling.

"I have to take an objective view of things because I am a professional sportsman and I want to do well. As a self-employed sportsman you have to consider yourself a business, and from a financial perspective it doesn't make sense any more to live outside the UK.

"The Academy in Gloucester is a great place to practise. The tables there are Championship standard and it's not often in my career that I've had the chance to play on tables like that every day. I still feel that I have another decade as a snooker player and this will help me get the best out of myself. It's up to me to make the best of this opportunity."

Dale is looking forward to the new season with enthusiasm and is particularly keen to qualify for the Australian Goldfields Open in July, which will be the first ranking event ever staged in Australia.

"It's important for snooker to be in Australia, particularly with Neil Robertson as their lynchpin at the moment," said Dale. "We have to look at the future of the game and realise that if it grows there then there could be more events with more prize money.

"If I qualify I won't mind flying economy, I've done it a few times before. You can get a flight for around £1,200 so the players who qualify will still make money, have a great time and get some ranking points. Some of the players sometimes expect too much or get a bit greedy and don't realise the importance of going to play in events like this."

As for his overall targets for the season, Dale added: "I just want to continue to improve. I believe that I'm good enough to beat anyone. I'm fit and dedicated and I feel like a 25-year-old. In terms of the rankings, obviously I want to stay in the top 32 and maybe have a go at the top 16, although the top 20 is more realistic."

World Championship review

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
As the world championship snooker, is mere weeks away from the crucible and as the draw, is announced there is excitement among the fans. Especially as the current World Champion Neil Robertson, returns to defend his title facing hot new comer Judd Trump who is snooker's wonder child.  Judd is at the moment with bookmakers at 7/4 that could be looked at either way does he stand a chance of beating the Australian or does he face being the looser against the world champion? Its a tough choice to make, Neil has played in most tournaments since winning the World Championships last year, but has only managed to win the 12bet.com world open in Glasgow, his winning streak came to an end as he attempted to win the UK Championship at the Telford Centre, in an attempt to win three BBC televised matches in one season, the title went to John Higgins. Neil could win the title again but he faces the curse of the crucible, which has never allowed the same player to win twice in a row.  Taking this into account Neil is 2/5 with the bookies for the first match.

  Seeded players have to be the favourites and not surprisingly John Higgins is the over all favourite for the competition, at a price of 5/1 with Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan in joint second place at 13/2.

 Mark looks a favourite and as had a slow build up in his career. He is a strong player and a talented cues man he stands a great chance of taking the title, if he can keep his mind on the table and not get distracted.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has had a strange year in snooker and has dropped down the rankings as a result. With the break down of his marriage and his father being released from prison, seems to have taken its turn on his thought process. Ronnie's performance in China was poor and let lower seeded player Ryan Day through, Ronnie played well but not well enough to beat the Welshman.  You can't however rule Ronnie out of anything, if he turns up with the determination to play and win, then he will. If not 200/1 shot Dominic Dale will be through to next round. 

For a long shot and a little of a dark horse has to be Pinner Potter Martin Gould, bookies have him at 80/1 to lift the trophy, which with the past year he has had, seems to be a large price for him and leaves him down on the suspected favourites lists. Martin however last year beat Marco Fu in the opening round at which point Martin was number 54 in the rankings, he went on to face Neil Robertson and almost beat the Aussie at the end of the first session he was 11-5, Neil came back to beat Martin 13-12. Martin didn't let the defeat effect him in a negative way and has gone on, to play throughout the summer in the PTC events, finding himself in more semi final matches than any other player.

  He has also qualified for most major tournaments through the season. His most notable match has to be the PTC grand final, in Dublin. He played and won against Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Michael Holt, to face Shaun Murphy who beat him 4-0. His Time in China started well but came a sudden end in a final frame decider, there is no word on what happened, but in those situations it’s a lottery and has nothing to do with skill or talent, but it has to hold him in good stead to do very well in the 17 day tournament.

John Higgins as you expect is the up most favourite of winning the event, though a favourite doesn't always win and he is beatable. His first round match in China was a close run game which could have gone either way, John just happened to push a head. There is more talent out there but most of the time at the crucible its experience that counts not talent, Higgins has oodles of experience.

 Speaking of experience, Shaun Murphy has to be a considerable contender for the trophy again, and his form has been undeniable, his win in Dublin was a joy to witness and his skill in China shows he is back to form.

Ding Junhui also has to be in line as a possible to lift the trophy, especially after his confident Master’s win and his ability in China coming back from 4-1 down to win 5-4 to the appreciation of a very loud Chinese audience who had all come to see their local hero.   Ding stands a good chance, maybe a little on the skirts at the moment, but of his time in China progresses then it would make him close to John Higgins, in the favourite list.

Who will win the World Championships, at the moment they all have a much chance as each other. Maybe a seeded player will win; maybe it will be a favourite. The crucible is the theatre of dreams, but whose dreams it will make is all down to fate.

O'Sullivan pulls out of Berlin

(taken from Sky Sports news)

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been warned about his future conduct by World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn after withdrawing from the German Masters on the eve of the tournament.

The three-time world champion was due to face Dominic Dale in Berlin on Thursday, but has now cancelled his participation, believed to be on medical grounds.
O'Sullivan, who has been at the forefront of Hearn's attempts to freshen up the sport's image, last year withdrew from the Shanghai Masters, where he was the defending champion, and from 10 of the 12 new lower-ranking events.
But the Essex potter, whose attendance record has seen him fall to number 10 in the world, appeared to be at his mercurial best as he played Jimmy White in an online exhibition on Tuesday and at the inaugural Snooker Shoot-Out in Blackpool at the weekend.
"When I took over he was my flag-bearer but now he's dropped the flag," Hearn told the Guardian.

Disappointed

"I don't care if Ronnie doesn't play but what he can't do is enter and pull out at the last minute, without very good reason.
"It's his face on all the posters in Germany; it's a very important tournament for us as we try to develop the European market and an awful lot of people are going to be disappointed he's not there.
"This can't go on. Ronnie's very likeable when he wants to be but he should start considering his future in the game and his responsibilities to it."
Hearn's worries have been added to with the news that world champion Neil Robertson may not be in Germany either owing to a lost passport.
Wednesday's wild-card matches saw Shoot-Out winner Nigel Bond beat Stefan Kasper 5-2, Joe Swail hammer Hans Blanckaert 5-0 and Anthony Hamilton defeat Pavel Leyk 5-1, while there were also victories for Jack Lisowski and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon.

Ding is Masters Champ

Ding Junhui achieved what no other favourite in the Masters, could seem to grasp and won a positively strong Marco Fu 10-4 to win his first Masters competition.  This win makes five Major titles for the Chinese player originally from Jiangsu area in China, he now lives in Sheffield and his next attempt at success is the World Championships that will take place at The Crucible in Sheffield from the 16th April.
 Marco Fu believes that now Ding has won the Masters he is looking very strong at becoming the World Champion, and taking the title from the current World Champion Australian Neil Robertson. Is the next world Champion going to be from China? Only Ding and time can tell.

for more on Ding click here

History is Made at the Masters

History has been set, for the first ever all Asian Masters final, as Marco Fu of Hong Kong will face Ding Junhui of  China. Both players have worked hard in the past week, knocking out World greats to settle there place in the final. Both players have struggled in the past with their form, but this week has seen them, both looking confident, strong and unbeatable.

In both Semi Finals Ding and Marco looked as though they could face going out, especially as Marco was 3 frames behind Ireland's Mark Allen and then came back in straight sets to beat him 6-4.   Ding had an impressive game and beat Jamie cope 6-3.

With such talent and determination it is difficult to pick a winner, bookies favourite has to be Ding Junhui but i don't think Marco Fu will easily throw in the towel.

Let the battle commence

Aussie Hunk first favourite through the first round session at the masters

Neil Robertson, broke the bad karma of other favourites in the Masters by securring his place is the quarter finals of the Ladbroke's mobile Masters. The game has nothing exciting to report, the table is reportedly causing problems to game play, but it was the World Champion who stepped up and gave the balls and teh table hell to win Stephen Hendry 6-3.
  All other players in the quarter finals have been the under dog in matches,, but have achieved success over their counter part, this competition has had an odd story to it, with Selby the upmost favourite failing to play his best against struggling Mark King, Ali Carter has a shocking session in the balls against Peter Ebdon. Stephen Maguire showed his anger as the table failed the play nice against Marco Fu, Ronnie O'Sullivan looked as though the lights where on but no one was home as he was beaten by Mark Allen. One place remains will be be Shaun Murphy or Masters first timer Jamie Cope?

Higgins out of Master

Graeme Dott shocked world number one and fellow Scot John Higgins with a 6-4 win to secure only his second quarter-final spot at the Masters.

Dott, the 2006 world champion, led 2-0 with breaks of 115 and 65 but friend and playing partner Higgins levelled at 3-3 after breaks of 68, 55 and 73.
Higgins lost a massive seventh frame but hit back again before Dott kept his nerve to edge the next two for victory.

The evening encounter had two gritty Scots, Higgins and Dott, renewing their battles at the baize and it was a match that had it all - great breaks, enthralling safety play, uncharacteristically swift break-building and no shortage of tension.
Higgins beat Dott 9-8 in the UK Championship second round en route to his memorable triumph in December, capping a highly successful comeback from a six-month ban.
Despite racking up 18 wins in 19 matches since returning to competition, Higgins revealed last week he felt "overawed by the Wembley atmosphere" and his opening two frames seemed to vindicate his concerns.
Dott knocked in breaks of 115 and 65 to lead 2-0 at lightning speed, but the three-time world champion finally sunk his first ball after 26 minutes on his way to a 68 break to pull a frame back.
The 33-year-old from Larkhall edged the next to lead 3-1, only to see Higgins, who last month recovered from 9-5 down to beat Mark Williams 10-9 to become UK champion, deliver more of the same fighting spirit after the interval with a 55 and 73 to level at 3-3.
As the free-flowing potting was replaced by more cautious safety play, it was Dott who came out on top after an almighty tussle in the seventh frame to get his nose in front at 4-3.
Back came the "Wizard of Wishaw" to bring the scores level at 4-4 but his recovery was surprisingly short-lived.
Dott came through the next frame, that lasted nearly half an hour, before a break of 62 proved enough to take him over the finish line after a three-hour battle.
While Dott avoided an eighth defeat in nine years at this first-round stage of the Masters, Higgins failed to make the quarter-finals for an incredible 10th time.
"I never feel comfortable here, it's such a vast arena and I feel edgy on every shot," Higgins told World Snooker. "It's terrible because it's such a great tournament."
Dott, runner-up in last year's World Championship, said: "In the Championship League last week I was worse than diabolical, so I practised day and night after that to work on a few things, and today I was much better technically."
It was another shock which saw Higgins join two-time winner Mark Selby, world number seven Ali Carter and world number three Mark Williams in making an early exit inside the first two days of competition.
Monday had kicked off with the Ding and Williams clash and it was the Chinese superstar who took the first frame with a stunning 89.
The Welshman deftly drew level, but his 23-year-old opponent took the next three as both players stumbled though as their potting percentages dipped below 90%.
UK championship runner-up Williams edged Ding in the sixth - and most compelling - frame of the match to recover at 4-2 but Ding quickly moved to 5-2.
Undeterred, left-hander Williams bravely wrapped up the next two frames to keep his hopes alive but Ding, despite occasional lapses in concentration, came back from 47-0 down to take the match.

'Careless' Ali Carter fouls yellow to lose frame

Ali Carter carelessly threw away a frame at the master when Michaela called that his arm had knocked the yellow ball as he went down to take a shot, not only has the touch of the yellow lost him a frame, but it appears to also have lost him his chance at the Masters, The unintended foul seems to have affected his game play since and the run of the balls have clearly not been on Ali's side. In the final frame decider a messy game was played by both players, but after being Snookered Ali gave 12 points to Ebdon in fould and misses, and then hit a red to hard to escape another snooker and potted the white, giving Ebdon the chance to clear up the rest of the table.

Selby Dethroned by King

World number 16 Mark King put in one of his best displays of recent times to knock out defending champion Mark Selby in the opening round of the Masters.

King recovered from 2-0 down to defeat Selby, the world number six, 6-4.
The Essex player got back into it with a 139 break and led 4-2 before Selby levelled at 4-4 with a break of 106.
King then led 5-4 and in a tense 10th frame the players agreed to a re-rack and, despite an error, King recovered to clinch victory.
Selby had previously lost just one match at Wembley in three years, and that in the 2009 final against Ronnie O'Sullivan, a result he avenged in the title match 12 months ago for his second title after also triumphing in 2008.
But King, who will face Shaun Murphy or Jamie Cope in the quarter-finals, revealed it was what he perceived as a somewhat premature celebration from Selby which inspired his performance.
"Mark is a fantastic player and this is like his back yard, but he won the second frame and put his cue up and it gave me the hump a bit," King said.
"He was pleased to win it on the black but I thought, 'Hang on, you're only 2-0 up'."
King also was pleased that the hard work he has put in over the winter is finally paying dividends.
"I am the worst break-builder there is in the top 16," added the 36-year-old.
"I don't make tons, I get in and make 30 or 20, but ever since the UK Championship I have been really working on it and I went to China with Stephen Hendry and got a little bit of advice from him."