Ding suffers early exit

Judd Trump through after Andrew Higginson whitewash

Ding Junhui crashed out of the Haikou World Open in sensational circumstances as he was thrashed 5-1 by wildcard Jin Long.

Jin, the 30-year-old from Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, took full advantage of a below-par Ding, growing in confidence as the match progressed.

Jin won some close frames in the early stages and reached the interval with a 3-1 lead. A break of 76 gave him the fifth frame and two visits in the sixth secured him a famous victory over the player who had won the Welsh Open just nine days earlier.

"I made some mistakes but had a little more luck and Ding didn't grab his chances," said Jin. "He was feeling the pressure as I led at the interval and I tried to take it easy and try my best. Ding is a great player and hard to beat so I am very happy indeed with the victory." - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Catalano Wins Connie Gough Again

WORLD number one Maria Catalano ended a marathon 13-hour day on the women's snooker circuit as champion of her "special tournament" for the fourth time.

Five days after turning 30, Catalano swept past Hong Kong star Jaique Ip Wan In to claim the Connie Gough Memorial trophy at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon. Her 3-0 victory avenged a last-16 defeat in last month's Southern Classic.

It was her third title this season on the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association tour and an eighth in total. But it's the Connie Gough, which she also won three times between 2006 and 2008, that she holds dear to her heart.

There was no easy return to the circuit for seven-time world champion Reanne Evans, who had been laid low with pleurisy. The Connie Gough champion for the last three years came up against Catalano in the preliminary round and lost 3-2. Catalano, from Dudley, West Midlands, said: "It's always good to play Reanne. We've had some good matches over the years.

Ip Wan In, also a beaten finalist at the Southern Classic, accounted for world number eight Katie Henrick 3-2 in the last-four. In the second semi, Catalano overcame Ip Wan In's compatriot Ng On Yee 3-0. Ng had beaten Southern Classic champion Emma Bonney 3-0 in the last-16. Evans, who had slipped to joint third in the rankings with pregnant Vicky Carter, did return to winning ways in the Plate.

The 26-year-old from Dudley, West Midlands, compiled a 91 break against the home club's Jodie Symes and rounded off eight winning frames with a 2-0 victory over Tina Owen-Sevilton (Somerset) in the final. Jan Hughes (St Neots, Cambs) picked up her first Seniors (40+) trophy of the season, beating Gaye Jones (Melksham, Wilts) in the final. And Hampshire's Suzie Opacic defeated Symes to collect the Shield (under-40) trophy. The sixth and final leg of the 2011/12 WLBSA tour is the Greene King World Championships in Bury St Edmunds in April. - http://www.worldsnooker.com/

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Hendry Earns China Spot

Stephen Hendry thrashed Yu Delu 5-1 in the final qualifying round of the China Open to book his place in the televised stages of the event next month.

The seven-time World Champion easily saw off his Chinese opponent with a top break of 54.

Marcus Campbell beat Ken Doherty 5-2 with a top run of 70 while Peter Ebdon finished with a 101 in a 5-0 whitewash of Liang Wenbo.

Li Yan was one of four Chinese players to lose in the final qualifying round as he let slip a 4-2 lead against Fergal O'Brien and lost 5-4.

Hong Kong's Marco Fu fell 5-1 to Jamie Jones, who knocked in breaks of 95, 102, 51 and 50.

The final stages of the event run from March 26 to April 1 in Beijing. - http://www.worldsnooker.com/

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Doherty Fight Floors White

Ken Doherty came from 4-1 down to beat Michael White 5-4 and reach the final qualifying round of the China Open.

Last November, Doherty recovered a 4-0 deficit to beat Sam Craigie 5-4 in the German Masters qualifiers, and once again the Irishman showed his capacity to fight back from unpromising positions.

Welshman White knocked in breaks of 86 and 57 in building a 4-1 lead, but 1997 World Champion Doherty got back to 4-4 with a top run of 84 then took the decider 60-0.

Jimmy White beat Liam Highfield 5-3 thanks to breaks of 97 and 67 in the last two frames, while David Grace came from 4-2 down to beat Matthew Selt 5-4, making a superb 61 clearance to win the last frame on the black.

China's Li Yan beat Mike Dunn 5-4, winning the decider 68-31, while Michael Holt thrashed Peter Lines 5-1 with a high score of 98.

Today's winners need to get through one more round on Friday to earn a seat on the flight to Beijing at the end of March. - http://www.worldsnooker.com/

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Brecel Wins With Brilliant Finish

Belgian teenager Luca Brecel finished with two superb breaks to beat Andrew Pagett 5-4 as the China Open qualifiers got underway in Sheffield.

The 16-year-old who is making his debut on the pro tour this season needs three more wins to get to the final stages in Beijing next month.

Brecel went 3-1 up with a top break of 52 before Welshman Pagett won the next three frames with a top run of 84 to lead 4-3. But Brecel made an 81 to force the decider then fired in a tremendous 115 to set up a second round match with Andy Hicks.

Irishman David Morris also made a century in the last frame, his 119 enough to beat Paul Davison 5-4. He now plays Peter Lines.

Yorkshireman David Grace knocked in breaks of 52, 60, 64, 89 and 66 to beat Daniel Wells 5-1, while Andrew Norman saw off Stuart Carrington 5-3 with top runs of 97 and 112.

Adam Wicheard failed to build on his fine run to the venue stage of the 888真人 Welsh Open as he lost 5-3 to Sam Craigie. - http://www.worldsnooker.com/

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ROCKET STRUCK DOWN BY ILLNESS

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been forced to withdraw from next week's Haikou World Open because of glandular fever.

The 'Rocket' has been back to his best in recent weeks, winning the German Masters and only defeat to world number one Mark Selby denied him a place in the Welsh Open final. But, having played in those tournaments against his doctor's advice, fatigue has caught up with the three-time world champion.

The 36-year-old said: "I am very sorry. Despite my illness I have been competing well in recent weeks and was greatly looking forward to taking part in the World Open and meeting my fans in China.

"However, I have to listen to my body sometimes and I have decided that I will be in better shape for the climax of the season and the World Championships if I listen to my doctor and spend the next few weeks resting. "I hope I can make it to Ireland and China in March and look forward to seeing you all soon". O'Sullivan fell one place to 14th in the latest rankings but has still avoided the World Championship qualifiers after his efforts in Newport kept him in the top-16. - http://www.sportinglife.com/

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Ding rules in Wales

Chinese star defeats Selby to land Newport title

Ding Junhui landed his first ranking title of the season with a 9-6 victory over Mark Selby in the final of the 888 Welsh Open in Newport.

The 24-year-old from China put a largely disappointing campaign behind him in impressive fashion to pocket the £30,000 first prize on Sunday night.Ding, a World Championship semi-finalist last season, trailed 2-1 early on but hit back to see off 'The Jester from Leicester'.He said afterwards: "Mark missed a chance to go 3-1 up but he's very good and I'm very happy to win."The Chinese player maintained the momentum after the break, with a knock of 130 moving him to within a frame of victory at 8-5.


Selby was not finished though, with a total clearance of 145 giving him the highest break of the tournament - and a £1,000 prize to accompany it. The final frame was a cagey affair but Ding prevailed to land the fifth ranking title of his career.Selby told the post-match interviews, televised on British Eurosport: "I missed too many balls. I had my chances but every credit to Ding - he deserves it."I probably let him off the hook in the first session, I should have been in front but was 5-3 behind."But I was one ball away from going out in the first round (to Sam Baird), so every game after that is a bonus. I'm delighted to get to the final."On the consolation of the highest break, the 28-year-old added: "I was over the moon and was told it was £1,000 - I was expecting it to be about £10,000!" - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Rocket rumbled in Newport

'Jester from Leicester' to face Ding in Welsh Open final

Mark Selby wore down Ronnie O'Sullivan in a gruelling encounter to reach the final of the 888 Welsh Open in Newport.

The Leicester potter won 6-2 and will play Ding Junhui, a victor by the same margin over Shaun Murphy earlier in the day, in Sunday's best-of-17-frames final. O'Sullivan was the man in form heading into tonight's semi-final, fresh from winning the German Masters, his first major ranking title since September 2009, and from knocking out Judd Trump in the Newport quarter-finals yesterday. Selby, though, has done enough over the past two years to be ranked the world number one. Although O'Sullivan started as favourite, it was easy to make the case for his opponent who delivered a safety-first performance - the clever way to play against O'Sullivan - to advance to the meeting with Ding. After a scratchy start from both players, Selby did enough to take the opening frame. O'Sullivan did not make a pot, but it had still been slow going and it came as some relief when a fluent 80 from the three-time former world champion made it 1-1. - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Welsh hopes dashed in Newport

Williams and Stevens both fall in second round of home tournament

Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens crashed out in the last 16 of the 888 Welsh Open to end home interest in the Newport event. 

Williams was beaten 4-1 by the in-form Ronnie O'Sullivan, while Stevens fell to a 4-2 defeat to last year's finalist Stephen Maguire.Williams has failed to beat O'Sullivan in 10 years and that run was extended after the two-time world champion paid the price for errors in the fourth and fifth frames.The match got off to a fluent start as the players compiled a century apiece from the first two frames.

O'Sullivan, fresh from his 23rd ranking tournament victory in Germany earlier this month, made a sharp start as he forced Williams to spend the opening frame sat in his chair as he effortlessly compiled a break of 125 to take an early lead.

But Williams fought back instantly in front of his home crowd as he punished an early O'Sullivan error to put together a magnificent run of 133 and level.

O'Sullivan reclaimed the lead as a tremendous long shot helped him set up a 90-plus break, and Williams was left kicking himself as he fell 3-1 down after throwing away a winning position.

The Welshman had put together a break of 41 when he missed a red down the side cushion to allow O'Sullivan in for a clearance of 45. - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Williams holds off Hicks

Big win for Hendry as Selby struggles through

World number two Mark Williams squeezed past Andy Hicks 4-3 in the first round of the 888 Welsh Open in Newport.

The two-time world champion from Wales trailed three times to the Devon cueman, but the Englishman was unable to get over the line.
A break of 47 saw Hicks nick a scrappy first frame, but a knock of 64 was enough to get Williams back level. Hicks edged ahead again but once more Williams restored parity despite not looking on top form.
A 53 break put Hicks 3-2 up but Williams scraped back level and then a solid deciding frame saw him sneak into round two, where he will face Ronnie O'Sullivan or Marco Fu. - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Welsh Open (Best of 7 Frames) 2/14 9PM GMT+8

STEVE DAVIS DOES THE BUSINESS

Steve Davis rolled back the years at the 888 Welsh Open as he made two superb centuries to edge out Ali Carter 4-3.
Carter led three times in the all-Essex clash, but Davis' tactical mind remains sharp and he managed to ally it with a wonderful display of break-building.
Carter led 1-0 after a 68 and, after Davis responded with 61 to level the match, the world number 11 moved ahead once more.
Davis produced a vintage 121 clearance, though, to leave the players level at 2-2.
He had to come from behind again after Carter took frame five with an 83, but he levelled with 63 and then produced his second century clearance, 117, to take the match.
"I played with a certain amount of freedom and took my chances," Davis told worldsnooker.com.
"My dad, who is still my coach, said that I'm playing well enough in practice for it all to come together in a match, and that happened today.
"I don't like it when I lose, but when it goes right it's lovely and I have to enjoy the moment. My aim now is to keep my ranking lower than my age (he's currently No 43) and to see how long I can keep that going.
"You have to look at every match as, at best, the toss of a coin. I could keep winning or I could go out in the next round." - http://www.sportinglife.com/

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Ding Junhui VS Mark Davis 2/13 7PM GMT+8

Welsh Open (Best of 7 Frames) 12BET odds Ding Junhui VS Mark Davis 2/13 7PM GMT+8

Both players have had a good season so far, Ding winning the Masters and Marcus winning an EPTC event and getting back into the top 32. His place their is not 100% secure yet though and he will be under added pressure to win this match so he can guarantee only needing to win one match to reach the Crucible. This should be an easy win for Ding based on recent form also (4-1 to Ding).

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STAR TRIO HEAD TO NEWPORT

Former world champions Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Ken Doherty all successfully negotiated the final qualifying round of snooker's Welsh Open on Saturday.

The three snooker legends will appear in the televised stages of the world ranking event, which start on Monday at the Newport Centre.
Hendry, who dropped out of the world's top 16 earlier this season, scored a 4-0 win over Norway's Kurt Maflin despite a top break of just 49. He will meet BGC Masters champion Neil Robertson in Newport on Tuesday.
Davis, by far the oldest player on the main tour at 54, impressed in a 4-3 defeat of Ricky Walden. A break of 113 put Davis 3-2 ahead, and after Walden took the sixth frame with a 58 clearance, Davis won the decider with a run of 44 to earn a match with Ali Carter on Monday.
Doherty beat Jamie Cope with a top break of 77 and will now play Mark Allen on Wednesday.
Mark Davis kept alive his hopes of gaining a top 16 place by beating Jamie Burnett 4-2, while Marco Fu set up a meeting with Ronnie O'Sullivan on Wednesday thanks to a 4-2 defeat of Matthew Selt. - http://www.sportinglife.com/


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Win Trio For Allen

Mark Allen enjoyed a fine opening day in the latest group of Championship League Snooker.

Allen was the only player to win all his three matches as he defeated Mark King, Peter Ebdon and Jamie Cope, conceding only one frame in the process. Williamhill.com UK Championship finalist Allen is also leading the race for the £500 high break prize per group as he made 134 in his match against Ebdon. Whoever wins this group will advance to the winners' group where they will join Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Davis and Barry Hawkins and one other player where the overall champion will earn a spot in the 2012 Premier League Snooker in the autumn. The Championship League Snooker event is a venture between Matchroom Sport and Perform where 25 of the game's finest players compete with all matches broadcast on a host of betting websites. Each group features seven players with each man playing the other six once in a round-robin basis. Every match is the best of five and the winner gaining a point. At the end of the league phase the top four advances to that group's semi-finals where the two winners meet in the final. Players are awarded £100 per frame in the round robin stages, and this increases to £300 per frame for the play-offs. In addition, £3,000 goes to the play-off winner, £2,000 to the runner up and £1,000 each to the two semi-finalists. Each group winner then goes through to the final group on March 21st & 22nd where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs. The two bottom players are eliminated from the competition, while the remaining four move forward to Group Seven to be joined by three new players. Play continues on Thursday when the remaining nine group matches take place, followed by the play-offs. -  http://www.worldsnooker.com/


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Hawkins wins Group 5 marathon

Dartford’s Barry Hawkins continued on his good run of form as he outlasted a very tough group to carry off Championship League Snooker Group 5 to progress to the winners’ group next month.

Hawkins, who won the Shoot-Out event on Sky Sports a few weeks ago, got the better of Mark King in the final match, a run of 107 capping his victory.

Earlier both semi-finals had been long drawn out affairs with both going to deciders. King’s break of 57 got him over the line against Mark Allen, while Hawkins edged out Peter Ebdon in a war of attrition.

An incredible eight of the days 12 matches went all the way, ending 3-2 and that made for a long, tiring day for the players.

The Championship League Snooker event is a venture between Matchroom Sport and Perform where 25 of the game's finest players compete with all matches broadcast on a host of betting websites.Each group features seven players with each man playing the other six once in a round-robin basis. Every match is the best of five and the winner gaining a point. At the end of the league phase the top four advances to that group's semi-finals where the two winners meet in the final.

Players are awarded £100 per frame in the round robin stages, and this increases to £300 per frame for the play-offs. In addition, £3,000 goes to the play-off winner, £2,000 to the runner up and £1,000 each to the two semi-finalists.Each group winner then goes through to the final group on March 21st & 22nd where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs. The two bottom players are eliminated from the competition, while the remaining four move forward to the next group to be joined by three new players.Play continues tomorrow (Wednesday 8th) in Group 6 at 11.00am when Cope, Ebdon, Allen and King are joined by Dominic Dale, Marcus Campbell and Joe Perry, a winner of this event in 2008. - http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/

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Championship League Snooker (Best of 5 Frames) 2/7 7PM GMT+8

Premier League Snooker is a cue sport tournament played under a variation of the standard rules of snooker. It has been running since 1987. The tournament is played in a round-robin format over a number of weeks, normally from mid-September to early-December, around the other World Snooker events in various locations.All matches are shown live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and this coverage is syndicated to other networks around the world. The reigning champion is Ronnie O'Sullivan.


The winner of the Premier League Snooker competition collects £60,000, while the runner-up will receive £30,000. Both of the losing semi-finalists also pocket £20,000 each. Until 2011 there was also a bonus fund of £1,000 per frame won and £1,000 per century break during the league phase section making a total of £252,000 available. The £1,000 frame winning and £1,000 century bonus didn't apply during the semi-finals or final. In 2011 the highest break of the night is awarded with £1,000.

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O'Sullivan rules in Germany

Rocket ends title drought with battling Berlin triumph

Ronnie O'Sullivan came from behind to beat Stephen Maguire and win the German Masters in Berlin.

The former world number one, just one frame away from a first-round exit on Thursday, won Sunday's final 9-7 to land his first ranking title since September 2009.
Maguire fired three successive centuries on his way to a 5-3 lead at the Tempodrom and took the first frame of the evening session - but O'Sullivan finished strongest, rattling off five in a row to take control of the 30-year-old Scot.
Prior to this tournament, the penultimate event before the rankings cut-off point to decide which 16 players get automatic places at the World Championship, O'Sullivan was 16th and in danger of missing out on automatic qualification.  - http://www1.skysports.com/

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Ronnie O'Sullivan VS Stephen Maguire 12BET odds German Masters 2/5 9PM GMT+8

Ronnie O'Sullivan/Stephen Maguire in German Masters final



Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the final of the German Masters with a 6-4 semi-final win against Stephen Lee.
O'Sullivan began the week with his top-16 ranking and automatic place in the World Championships in doubt but defied glandular fever symptoms to thwart Lee.In Sunday's best-of-17 frame final he will play Stephen Maguire, who thrashed Masters runner-up Shaun Murphy 6-0.It was the Scot's second whitewash of the week, after his 5-0 win over World Champion John Higgins in round two.O'Sullivan, without a ranking title since the 2009 Shanghai Masters, revealed he had been suffering with the virus for two months.He needs to secure ranking points to avoid dropping out of the top 16 for the first time since he was a teenager.The Welsh Open, which starts on 13 February, is the last ranking event to count towards seeding for the World Championship.Failure to retain his place in the elite top-16 would leave the three-time world champion facing a series of qualifying rounds to make it to The Crucible in April.Before a full house of 2,500 at the Tempodrom in Berlin, O'Sullivan was not at his mesmeric best but a break of 73 put him 2-0 ahead.He missed a red into the centre pocket in frame three, which Lee secured with a 72, but O'Sullivan regained a two-frame cushion after a run of 59 in frame four.Lee, playing in his first ranking semi-final for six years, rolled in a 63 to reduce the deficit again, but O'Sullivan won a scrappy sixth after clearing from the green.An 82 saw O'Sullivan move within a frame of victory but Lee clawed back the next two and had chances to take the match to a deciding frame when The Rocket missed the green off the penultimate red.But after further misses by both players Lee left a thin cut on the pink in the jaws and a relieved O'Sullivan advanced to his first final since the 2010 World Open. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/



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O'Sullivan back from the brink

Higginson beaten from 4-0 up; Trump aces opening test


Ronnie O'Sullivan battled back from 4-0 down for a vital win over Andrew Higginson in the German Masters first round at the Berlin Tempodrom. 

O'Sullivan has fallen down the rankings to number 16 in the world and went into the tournament needing to pick up points to ensure he retains his automatic place in April's World Championship. 

He went into the mid-session interval facing the possibility of a whitewash and was within one ball of defeat in frame six, but dug deep to reach the second round with a 5-4 success.

Higginson led 2-0 after breaks of 67 and 80, the latter seeing him miss the 11th red of a 147 attempt.

He added the third frame and it was 4-0 at the interval after Higginson prevailed in a safety battle on the final pink. - http://www1.skysports.com/


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No Higgins favours for Rocket

'Rocket' in danger of losing place in world's elite top 16

John Higgins has ruled out doing any favours for Ronnie O'Sullivan at the German Masters this week.

At number 16 in the world rankings, O'Sullivan is clinging on to the last available ticket to the World Championships in Sheffield, where he has won three previous titles.

Mark Davis, Ricky Walden and Andrew Higginson, who will be O'Sullivan's first-round opponent on Thursday in the German capital, are his closest challengers.

Decent runs in Berlin or at the Welsh Open in mid-February could see any one of them leapfrog O'Sullivan, should he under-perform. - http://www1.skysports.com/

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