Author: bleu_ineffable

Inca o editie de CM de Snooker…. nu am urmarit finala – fara miza pt mine, doar evolutia scorului pe worldsnooker, deci stiu ca noul campion mondial este Neil Robertson – care, dupa recuperarea senzationala din meciul cu Gould, isi merita pe deplin titlul – care, poate, a venit tocmai bine, dupa ce la editia din acest an a China Open a reusit si primul break maxim al carierei.

Despre cazul lui John Higgins nu stiu ce sa cred…. sunt argumente pro si contra fiecarui scenariu, dar el stie mai bine daca a acceptat asa ceva si de ce.

Mda… s-a mai incheiat un sfert de finala: Ronnie cu Mark S. 11-13, in conditiile in care Ronnie conducea la un moment dat cu 11-9; deci Mark a castigat practic 4 frame-uri consecutiv.

Nu inteleg situatiile de genul, cum sa pierzi meciul cand mai ai un frame sau doua de castigat, mai ales cand miza este o finala, sau Campionatul Mondial… cum, cum, cum????

ali carter – shaun murphy –> 11-12, si la rezultatele de azi, te pomenesti ca va castiga dott sau murphy din nou… ufff, ce an!…

Avem deja numele jucatorilor calificati in cate o jumatate din semi-finalele CM 2010: Neil Robertson si Graeme Dott – fiecare venind dintr-un meci incheiat cu scoruri opuse ca rezultat: Neil Robertson l`a invins categoric pe Steve Davis 13-5, in timp ce scotianul a castigat in joc decisiv in meciul impotriva lui Mark Allen, care conducea la un moment dat cu 12-10, si care a ramas, pana acum, doar cu realizarea celui mai mare break al turneului – 146p, cu mentiunea ca un reprezinta primul break de 146p realizat la Crucible, si totodata o raritate in lumea snookerului.

“I didn’t get a clear cut chance. From 12-10, Graham played three perfect frames to win. I never felt comfortable in any of the sessions. I wasn’t timing the ball well and just happy the way in which I dig deep to win frames. Graeme will need to play better in the semis but he has got the guts and determination to go all the way.” (Mark Allen)

Deocamdata, rezultatele provizorii ale celorlalte doua meciuri sunt:

Ali Carter – Shaun Murphy, 9-9

Mark Selby – Ronnie O’Sullivan, 8-10.

John Higgins 11-13 Steve Davis

Neil Robertson 13-12 Martin Gould

Ali Carter 13-11 Joe Perry

Ding Junhui 10-13 Shaun Murphy

Stephen Maguire 6-13 Graeme Dott

Mark Allen 13-5 Mark Davis

Mark Selby 13-5 Stephen Hendry

Mark Williams 10-13 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Turul al doilea a avut cateva surprize: Steve Davis l-a eliminat pe campionul mondial John Higgins, cu un scor care ar fi putut fi mult mai surprinzator, dat fiind faptul ca la un moment dat englezul avea un avans de vreo 5 jocuri; desi condus cu vreo 11-5, Neil Robertson a reusit recupereze, si sa-l invinga pe Martin Gould in joc decisiv – si nu stiu daca nu cumva este cea mai spectaculoasa revenire din istoria CM.

In rest, Maguire, Mark Davis si Hendry au pierdut la diferente consistente, ceva gen 6-13, respectiv 5-13.

Meciul dintre Ronnie si Mark Williams a fost echilibrat, prima sesiune incheindu-se egal 8-8; cum s-a ajuns la 13-10 nu mai stiu; pentru mine este o intalnire in care nu tin cu niciunul, sau, mai bine spus, tin cu amandoi. Declaratii de dupa meci – Mark lauda jocul lui Ronnie pe care il vede ca pe viitorul campion mondial, iar Ronnie este deranjat de sintagma „my own harshest critic”:

“What can you do? You have to sit there and say, ‘Well done’. Everything about his game is spot on. The only person who can beat him in this World Championship is himself. You’ve got to take your hat off to him. Some of the clearances and shots he was pulling off was outstanding.” (Mark Williams)

“If someone says that to me again I’m going to stop the interview, because I’m fed up of hearing that. When you play poor snooker, you play poor snooker, so I’m not my own harshest critic – it’s just when you play pathetic shots you don’t want to play. I don’t listen to what everyone keeps saying that I’m my harshest critic because you don’t know what you’re talking about.

I managed to put a few decent frames together for a change. I knew I needed to find form but out of panic and desperation I got the cue through to pot a few balls and find a bit of form. It was nice to come through a tough match against a quality player.” (Ronnie O’Sullivan)

Sferturile de finala se (vor) disputa intre:

Steve Davis v Neil Robertson

Ali Carter v Shaun Murphy

Graeme Dott v Mark Allen

Mark Selby v Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Cu exceptia primului meci, unde scorul este deja 12-2 in favoarea australianului, celelalte trei par echilibrate, rezultatele partiale fiind :

Graeme Dott 8-8 Mark Allen

Allister Carter 3-5 Shaun Murphy

Mark Selby 4-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan.

A mai trecut un an, ca-ntr-o clipire ; insusi Timpul pare ca devine din clipiri, Clipire… poate de aceea ‘clipa’ si ‘clipire’ sunt parte din aceasi familie.

Clipesti o data, si ti s-a dus Timpul…

S-a facut deja aproape o saptamana de Campionat Mondial, in care prima runda s-a incheiat previzibil – cu doua exceptii poate, iar cea de-a doua a inceput cu cateva surprize.

Asadar, in prima runda Stephen Hendry l-a invins in joc decisiv pe Zhang Anda, Ken Doherty a pierdut cu 4-10 in fata lui Mark Selby (ceea ce nu era de neasteptat, insa ceea ce ma surprinde este cum jucatorii care ies din top 16 se adapteaza cumva nivelului de joc al celorlalti, in loc sa-si-l imbunatateasca astfel incat cu greu reusesc sa-si recapete locul pierdut din clasament; vezi Matthew Stevens, KenDo, Jimmy White etc), iar Marco Fu a fost invins tot in decisiv de catre Martin Gould. Tot Martin Gould este si una dintre surprizele celei de-a doua runde, unde il conduce pe Neil Robertson cu 11-5, iar Steve Davis pe John Higgins cu 9-7; primul sfert-finalist este Mark Allen (13-5 cu Mark Davis), care a reusit deocamdata cel mai mare break al turneului, un break aproape de maxim, de 146p.

*****

Prima runda – cel mai bun din 19 frame-uri

John Higgins 10-6 Barry Hawkins

Mark King 9-10 Steve Davis

Neil Robertson 10-5 Fergal O’Brien

Marco Fu 9-10 Martin Gould

Ali Carter 10-4 Jamie Cope

Joe Perry 10-4 Michael Holt

Ding Junhui 10-1 Stuart Pettman

Shaun Murphy 10-7 Gerard Greene

Stephen Maguire 10-4 Stephen Lee

Peter Ebdon 5-10 Graeme Dott

Mark Allen 10-4 Tom Ford

Ryan Day 8-10 Mark Davis

Mark Selby 10-4 Ken Doherty

Stephen Hendry 10-9 Zhang Anda

Mark Williams 10-5 Marcus Campbell

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-7 Liang Wenbo

*****

Runda a doua – cel mai bun din 25 frame-uri

John Higgins v Steve Davis

Neil Robertson v Martin Gould

Ali Carter v Joe Perry

Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy

Stephen Maguire v Graeme Dott

Mark Allen 13-5 Mark Davis

Mark Selby v Stephen Hendry

Mark Williams v Ronnie O’Sullivan

*****

Acum ca am stabilit ce a fost, sa vedem ce va fi: cred ca vor fi meciuri echilibrate, valoarea jucatorilor ramasi in competitie fiind destul de apropiata (mark w vs ronnie; ali carter vs perry), meciuri cu victorii categorice (ding vs shaun murphy; mark selby vs hendry), si meciuri cu rezultat-surpriza (john vs steve davis); si este deja o editie de CM in care Martin Gould a intrat in istorie.

Si inca un an in care nu-i voi avea pe Mark si Ronnie in finala, in schimb un an in care am putea avea o finala cat 13 intre Steve Davis – Stephen Hendry…

Steve Davis si Dennis Taylor vor aniversa trecerea a 25 de ani de la finala de CM din 1985, printru-un meci de un frame la Sheffield.

Nord-irlandezul l-a invins pe Davis cu 18-17, intr-o finala care s-a hotarat in meci decisiv, la bila neagra, si care a adunat 18.5 milioane de telespectatori care au stat in fata micilor ecrane asteptand incheierea disputei mult pana dupa miezul noptii.

Meciul se va rejuca pe 29 aprilie, la Crucible, in timpul editiei de acest an a Campionatului Mondial.

Steve Davis s-a calificat in tabloul principal, particpand pentru a 30-a oara la un CM, in trimp ce Dennis Taylor s-a retras din circuitul profesionist in 2000, in prezent fiind parte din echipa de comentatori ai BBC TV.

(bbc.co.uk)

Daca semifinala Ronnie – Mark (Williams) a fost spectacol, finala dintre Ronnie – Mark Selby a fost memorabila: la 9-6, castigarea ultimului frame si a meciului de catre Ronnie parea sa fie o formalitate ; insa cum Ronnie este intotdeauna surprinzator, am avut parte de o amanare a finalului meciului pana in joc decisiv, castigat de… Mark Selby. A fost o finala intensa, asemenatoare finalelor de Masters dintre Ronnie si Paul Hunter, sau meciurilor dintre Ronnie si Stephen Maguire.

“That’s the best final I’ve ever been in. The atmosphere is great when Ronnie O’Sullivan plays. I just dug in and thought I would just scrap it out. I love the atmosphere and seem to thrive on it. Hopefully this will kick-start my season.”

(Mark Selby)

* Ronnie O’Sullivan 8-9 Mark Selby

(sursa foto: bbc.co.uk)

Prima semifinala a turneului a fost un meci-spectacol : in primul rand pentru ca nici unul dintre cei doi jucatori nu mai pierduse o semifinala de Masters – Ronnie castigase 8/8, iar Mark 3/3, apoi pentru ca a fost un meci terminat in joc decisiv (6-5 pt englez), si, in ultimul rand, pentru ca Ronnie a egalat recordul de 9 finale a lui Stephen Hendry ; in plus, pentru Ronnie este a sasea finala de Masters in sapte ani, si posibil al cincilea titlu, in timp ce Mark castigase doua finale din trei.

Meciul a inceput cu primele doua frame-uri castigate de galez, si egalate imediat de Ronnie, urmand apoi o serie de jocuri impartite in mod egal intre cei doi, pana in jocul decisiv, unde Mark a ratat o lovitura la o bila colorata – albastra mai precis, oprindu-se astfel din a ajunge si apoi depasi avantajul lui Ronnie care si-a si adjudecat frame-ul si meciul.

Declaratii de dupa meci:

“It felt alright to to involved in and I felt pleased that I made a bit of a game of it. When he started potting balls I thought this is going to be a right good hiding, I’m going to get absolutely smashed. I really just wanted to make a game of it. To feel as if I had a part to play in it because the atmosphere was so good.
A few balls started to go in and at 2-2 I felt the pressure was off a bit and gave him something to think about and not made a show of myself, so that was pleasing. Mark was the better player today, I think. He’s a different class to all the other players coming through who’ve won tournaments recently. We grew up together as juniors and I really respect his game.
I don’t know how I won that game. When I potted those last two reds when I fouled, I was gutted I thought what a way to lose, then I got a chance. On the brown I put everything into that shot. I apologized to Mark (for the fist pump) I hate that kind of thing and there is no need for it. I think it’s horrible but I couldn’t believe I had won. I was ultra relieved when the brown went in.
I said to Mark at the end, I don’t know how I beat him.”

(Ronnie O’Sullivan)

“I played well, I can’t grumble and say anything other than I played well, he played well. I made some great breaks but it all came down to the last frame and I missed a tricky red to the green pocket. I knew if I got it I couldn’t fail to win but if I missed I couldn’t fail to lose.
I couldn’t really play much better than that, I didn’t miss many pots and my safety was good.”

(Mark Williams)

Se pare noul presedinte al Snooker Association, Barry Hearn a remarcat in cursul acestei saptamai, ca Ronnie are o infatisare ‘nefericta’ la masa de joc. In acesta privinta, Ronnie a declarat:

“The reason I don’t like smiling is because I’m so unconfident when I go out there. I just don’t expect to play well these days.
I’m petrified going up the tunnel sometimes as I’m worried I’ll make a fool of myself and not give my opponent a game.
But once you get pushed about a bit by your opponent, your survival instinct kicks in. But I keep having to find something, and that is really hard.”

Cealalta finala s-a decis oarecum scurt: 6-3 pt Mark Selby; dupa un egal la 3, englezul castigand astfel al zecelea meci din 11, singurul pierdut fiind si cel mai important – finala de anul trecut, in fata – surpriza! – lui Ronnie O’Sullivan. Se anunta asadar o finala disputata…

xxx

Avem semi-finalistii acestei editii de Masters: Mark Selby il va intalni pe Stephen Maguire, dupa meciuri cu o desfasurare opusa : Mark Selby a ajuns in joc decisiv in meciul cu Mark Allen (dupa ce a condus cu 3-0), iar Maguire l-a invins categoric pe Ryan Day cu scorul de 6-1, dupa un meci destul de plicticos. Cealalta semifinala se disputa intre Ronnie O’Sullivan si Mark Williams, ambii castigand cu scoruri apropiate, si cred ca Ronnie tocmai a devenit cel mai mare cosmar al lui Peter Ebdon.

* Rezultatele sferturilor de finala:
Mark Selby 6-5 Mark Allen
Stephen Maguire 6-1 Ryan Day
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 Peter Ebdon
Mark Williams 6-4 Shaun Murphy.

Meciurile notabile din prima runda ar fi infrangerea lui John Higgins (3-6 cu Mark Allen), a lui Ding Junhui – care a reusit un rusinos 6-1 cu Mark Selby si a lui Stephen Hendry (6-4 cu Shaun Murphy), precum si victoria lui Ryan Day, care l-a invins la 0 (zero) pe Joe Perry.

De remarcat ar mai fi declaratia lui Ronnie de dupa meciul cu Neil Robertson:

I’m not the player I was when I was 15 or 16. A lot of the time I’m playing sub-standard shots. Now and then I catch hold of one and play a killer shot.
The only time I play a pure shot is left-handed. The last time I played a good tournament was the (2003) European Open in Torquay and the Irish Masters a couple of weeks later.
I don’t want to have to rely on the occasion of being 3-0 down in front of a big crowd to salvage some pride. I can’t pot a ball in practice.
My attitude will be the same in my next match – I won’t be surprised if I win or lose. I didn’t panic. You can’t panic, that’s rule number one, because if you panic it’s a disaster.
I made just two out of 10 long pots, and I think Neil will be disappointed to have beaten someone making just two of 10 long pots. I’d give my long potting two out of 10. It’s hard to get excited.
To make two or three centuries in a match is not a big deal, that’s how the modern game is. I would have accepted winning or losing.”

si faptul ca prezenta lui Mark Williams a fost incerta, dat fiind faptul ca orasul sau – Cwm din Tara Galilor, era izolat de zapada; interventia unuia dintre spsonsorii turneului, care i-a pus la dispozitie un jeep 4×4 a facut posibila evolutia la acest eveniment a galezului. Si drumul pana la Londra se pare ca a fost cu peripetii, masina in care se afla acesta fiind implicata intr-un accident, iar Mark Williams alegandu-se ca urmare cu dureri de gat, care l-au tinut cateva zile.

* Asadar rezultatele primei runde:
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-4 Neil Robertson
Marco Fu 2-6 Peter Ebdon
Allister Carter 3-6 Mark Williams
Shaun Murphy 6-4 Stephen Hendry
Stephen Maguire 6-3 Mark King
Ryan Day 6-0 Joe Perry
Mark Selby 6-1 Ding Junhui
John Higgins 3-6 Mark Allen.

Mai trebuie spus ca Jimmy White a primit un white-card din partea organizatorilor, care a starnit controverse in lumea snookerului la un momentul anuntarii, dat fiind faptul dupa evolutia din acest sezon Liang Wenbo ar fi fost o optiune evidenta; motivele organizatorilor au avut considerente publicitare si sentimentale, Jimmy fiind mereu preferat de publicul englez, iar acesta i-a recompensandu-i pe toti printr-o infrangere.

* In runda wild cardurilor s-au intalnit:
Mark King 6-2 Jimmy White
Mark Williams 6-2 Rory McLeod.

O inovatie la acest turneu, este prezentarea fiecarui jucator pe anumite teme muzicale, la alegere:
Jimmy White – Money for Nothing — Dire Straits
Mark King – You Can Do It (Put Your Back Into It) — Ice Cube
Mark Selby – Underdog — Kasabian
Ding Junhui – Eye of the Tiger — Survivor
Peter Ebdon – Can You Feel the Force? — The Real Thing
Marco Fu – I Gotta Feeling — Black Eyed Peas.

xxx

Ding Junhui a castigat penru a doua oara in cariera trofeul Pukka Pies UK Champioship, invingandu-l pe John Higgins cu 10-8, dupa un meci echilibrat, precaut si extrem de lung. Pana la 7-7 nu s-a inregistrat o diferenta mai mare de un joc intre cei doi – destul de exasperant, tinand cont de faptul ca amandoi sunt jucatori oarecum lenti (un singur frame a durat ceva mai mult de 45 de minute) si niciunul nu parea ca grabeste sfarsitul meciului, care a si cam durat 7-8 ore ; pana in jocul 15, cand John a gresit lovitura la ultima bila maro, iar Ding a trebuit doar sa inchida masa pentru a prelua din nou, si dupa cum se va dovedi, decisiv conducerea.

Nu stiu cum ar fi decurs meciul daca si John ar fi avut o zi de pauza inainte de finala, dar ma bucur pentru Ding, a carui poveste ma impresioneaza de fiecare data. In plus a si castigat greutatea sa in placinte Pukka, din partea sponsorului turneului Pukka Pies, pe care le-a donat unei asociatii caritabile din Sheffield – oras in care s-a si stabilit de ceva vreme. Si cel mai important, l-am vazut zambind.

(sursa foto: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com)

“It’s been a crazy week; I can’t believe it. It’s brilliant. I am concentrating more. I had some bad shot selections but I was telling myself not to be angry. […]

I’ve lived in Sheffield for the past few years and I love the city. The least I can do is try to help some of those less fortunate than me at Christmas by donating these pies – hopefully there are enough to stop people going hungry. ” (Ding Junhui)