Trump awaits White

 Mouth-watering clash on the cards in China

 

Judd Trump and Jimmy White could be set for a first-round meeting at the China Open.

Trump will meet White, formerly the people's champion, if the veteran can overcome Omar Alkojah in a qualifier.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been paired with Marcus Campbell, although the three-time world champion's participation could be in doubt due to his ongoing struggles with glandular fever.

O'Sullivan, who has often threatened to quit the sport for a number of reasons, withdrew from the final of the Players Tour Championship as a result of the illness.

PTC winner Stephen Lee faces Tom Ford, while other notable ties see Mark Selby against the winner of Michael Holt and Li Hang, and Martin Gould against Stephen Hendry. - http://www1.skysports.com

  

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Ford leads way

Tom Ford set a blistering pace on the opening day of Championship League Group Seven action, winning his four matches at Crondon Park.

 

The Leicester cueman - a late replacement for Marco Fu in Essex - saw off the challenges of Ryan Day, Ding Junhui, Marcus Campbell and Dominic Dale to put himself in pole position.


Campbell lies in second place after the opening day alongside Day and Dale, all three having posted two wins each.

Each Championship League group contains seven players who face each other on a round-robin basis. The top four advance to that group's semi-finals, with the two winners meeting in the final.

The winner of that match goes into the final group on March 21-22, when a place in the Premier League is at stake. - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/

 

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Lee ends title drought

Australian Robertson loses perfect record in televised finals

 

Stephen Lee won his first ranking event for six years by beating Neil Robertson 4-0 in the final of the Betfair Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway.

The 37-year-old from Trowbridge outplayed Masters champion Robertson at the Bailey Allen Hall to win the trophy and £70,000 top prize - the fifth ranking title of his career and first since the 2006 Welsh Open.

Lee dropped out of the world's top 16 in 2008 and appeared to be in freefall down the rankings. But he has found a second wind in his career and is now pushing for a place among the top eight.

Australia's Robertson saw his perfect record in televised finals broken as he lost for the first time in 10 attempts. The 30-year-old Cambridge-based potter had to settle for the runner-up prize of £35,000. - http://www1.skysports.com

 

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Robertson secures semi berth

Masters champion will now face Maguire

 

Neil Robertson progressed serenely to the semi-finals of the Betfair PTC Grand Finals in Galway after securing a 4-1 victory over Joe Perry.

Australian Robertson won the Masters two months ago and is closing in on the £70,000 top prize at the Bailey Allen Hall, with Stephen Maguire awaiting him in the last four.

A run of 131 that equalled Ricky Walden's highest break of the tournament gave Robertson the first frame of the contest.

Perry then levelled at 1-1 with a break of 100 which was helped by a fluke on the penultimate red.

Robertson claimed a scrappy third frame before a long pot on the last red proved crucial in helping him take the fourth before he sealed the win in the next with a run of 52.

"I felt fantastic tonight and if I hadn't missed three easy balls I could have had more centuries," Robertson told worldsnooker.com.

"I wasn't sure how I would feel because Joe and I are such good friends. He had chances in the third and fourth frames and if he had taken them it would have been different.

"My attitude to the PTCs this season was a lot better, I embraced them and played in as many events as I could. It's good prize money here and now I'm getting the rewards." - http://www1.skysports.com/

 

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Higgins humbled in Galway

World No.1 falls at first hurdle to Welshman Jones

 

Unheralded Jamie Jones claimed the biggest win of his career to eliminate John Higgins from the Betfair PTC Grand Finals. 

The 24-year-old Neath potter was 3-1 down to Higgins in Galway but turned the match around to triumph 4-3 and send the reigning world champion home after just one match.

Higgins took a tight opening frame and added breaks of 123 and 67 as he moved to just one frame away from victory, but Jones dug deep to draw level.

He then took full advantage of a poor safety from Higgins early in the deciding frame, when the Scot left him an easy red, and stayed composed to build a match-clinching break.

 

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Davis Cruises Past Ford

Mark Davis insisted that his failure to break into snooker's top 16 has not played on his mind after beating Tom Ford 4-1 at the Betfair Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway. 

The Sussex pro set up a last 16 match with Stephen Maguire by firing in breaks of 64, 84, 51 and 72 in a fine performance against Ford.  Davis has been on the fringes of the top 16 all season but has just missed out on a place among the elite for the first time in his career.

"It hasn't bothered me as much as people would think," said the 39-year-old. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to be in the top 16, but it's not as big as it used to be because of the way the rankings work now.  "I was one frame away from making it at one of the PTC events but lost 4-3 to Anthony Hamilton. I felt a bit more pressure in the last frame, but not bundles. I would have knocked Ronnie O'Sullivan out but I certainly wouldn't have been chirping about that because when you compare our careers, he should be the one in the top 16!

"It has been frustrating because it is a big milestone and once you get in the top 16, who knows what can happen. I'm further away from it now but it's not playing on my mind and I'm just trying to win matches. "I was really pleased by the way I played today, I scored well and didn't miss much. I've been working with Terry Griffiths and he has got me looking at things differently. If you are potting balls, it doesn't matter who is sitting in the other chair. "I like this venue and it's a knowledgeable crowd. I always enjoy playing in Ireland because the players are so friendly." - http://www.worldsnooker.com

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Pressure now off in-form Lee

World Open finalist Stephen Lee has said he is enjoying his snooker now the pressure is off as he prepares for the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway.

 

Lee, who has not won a tournament since the Welsh Open in 2006, has made sure of his top-16 place on the tour by reaching the semi-finals of the German Masters, Welsh Open quarter-finals and final on Hainan Island in China.

"I'm playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and I've taken pressure off myself by making sure of my top-16 place [although] I was disappointed to lose 10-1 in the final to Mark Allen in China," he said.

"I didn't sleep well before the match and I just couldn't get to grips with him.

"But when I look back to a couple of years ago when I was falling down the rankings, struggling with my game and felt like I had the world on my shoulders, I feel so much better now and I'm really enjoying the game."

Lee, 37, praised the Irish snooker fans ahead of the PTC Finals from March 14-18 at Bailey Allen Hall.

"I'm really looking forward to it because the fans in Ireland are second to none and they know what the game is all about," said the world No.11. "I remember playing in the old Irish Masters which was like nothing else.

"It's a great line-up of players in Galway next week and the best-of-four-frame format gives really fast flowing action."

World champion John Higgins, crowd favourites Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump, world No.1 Mark Selby and Irishman Fergal O'Brien are among the 24 players chasing the £70,000 first prize in Galway.

Lee faces Martin Gould in his opening match on Wednesday. - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

 

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