Shanghai Masters 2011 Draw

The next major ranking event after Australian Goldfields Open last week will be Shanghai Masters 2011, which will run from 5-11 Septemeber in Shanghai, China.

Updated: Shanghai Masters 2011 Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Shanghai Masters was used to be the first ranking event in the new season but it is now replaced by Australian Goldfields Open.

Ali Carter - Shanghai Masters 2010 Winner

Ali Carter beaten qualifier Jamie Burnett in the last year's final by 10-7 to capture his second ranking title (after Welsh Open 2010) in his career. He is the defending champion of the tournament this year.

The main draw of Shanghai Masters 2011 was just released:

Shanghai Masters 2011, 5-11 September stages in Shanghai

Though the ranking tournament will be staged in September but the qualifying rounds starts this Sunday. Click here for the qualifying rounds draw and match schedule.

Judd Trump may meet John Higgins in the Round 2 if they both get through, that makes a repeat final of World Championship in May; The Defending Champion did not get a really good draw because he may play Peter Ebdon in the Round 2, who defeated him on first round of Masters this year.

Potential John Higgins v Judd Trump in Round 2

The current World Number 1 Mark Williams may crash with his best friend, Stephen Hendry in the Round 2. Besides, there is a potential Mark Williams v the Local Hero Ding Junhui match in the quarter-final. Will be an intense match!

Hard to say if Ronnie O'Sullivan will pull out of another oversea tournament. Best of luck to his health condition. Don't let the Chinese fans down.

The Qualifying rounds will begin very soon - Will blog about news of it next week! :)

Australian Goldfields Open - Bingham's First Ranking Triumph in Oz

This might be the biggest victory in Stuart Bingham's 16-year career. Bingham completed a dramatic fightback from 5-8 down to win 9-8 over Mark Williams. Australian Goldfields Open is also his first ranking title, big congratulations!

Bingham won his first ranking title in Australia

Stuart Bingham had a narrow win. Bingham started off quite well which was 3-1 up before Williams went 4-3 up on him. It was all square 4-4 before second session started.

I'm Happy for him & Michelle! :)

Bingham had a poor performance in the beginning of second session. Having lost three frames in a row to be 4-7 behind, Bingham started to chase after Williams. Bingham saved 3 match points to force a decider with 69, 76.

Bingham did not slip the chance to hit 47, despite the cueball is off. Mark Williams lost his direction under huge pressure. Bingham locked a 9-8 victory - his first ranking title at 35 age.

"This is without doubt the best week of my life - it's just an unbelievable feeling,""I don't care what anyone says. I have this for the rest of my life and no one can take this title away from me."I've been knocking on the door but now the door is open and I've walked through it and grabbed the trophy with both hands." 

The Ballrun triumph in Oz

Stuart said: "This proves the depth in the standard of snooker and shows anyone on the tour can win a tournament if they knuckle down and put the hard work in, that's all I've done. - This is very true. 


Every player has the chance to win if you put your effort in. Look at Judd Trump success over China in April; Ricky Walden beaten O'Sullivan in Shanghai 2009 - You could 
be the next one to win. 


Stuart beaten Ding Junhui, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy and  Mark Williams on his way to trump - very convincing win.


Bingham showed he has got the bottle to overcome the pressure. He showed his mental at the end and it's not too late. He played relaxingly after 5-8 down. Well deserved winner.


For the runner-up of Australian Goldfields Open, Mark Williams ended his hope on his 19th ranking title. World Number 1 Williams suffered a similar defeat last year in UK Championship, losing to John Higgins 9-10 despite being led 9-5. 

Mark Williams suffered another heartbreaking defeat...

Williams did not play bad at the end of the match. Overall, he played pretty good snooker with some good breaks. Williams admitted: "I had him perfectly at 8-5 but from then on he played well and deserved to win.''


Good luck to Mark for the new season. I wish he will forget this sad defeat and win more titles. 

Who will be the next Australian Goldfields Open Champion?

It was a good final and indeed a good tournament. The Aussie Crowds are enthusiastic, they provided an exciting atmosphere to the players. Moreover, players are delighted with the tables, they played enjoyable snooker to the audience.


I look forward to next year's Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo.

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Australian Goldfields Open Day 6 - Bingham will play Williams in his First Ranking Final

Australian Goldfields Open Final will be performed by Stuart Bingham and Mark Williams tomorrow at Bendigo Stadium, Victoria.

Bingham is through to his first ranking final in Australia

Stuart Bingham sailed to the final by beating Shaun Murphy 6-2. Being a first-time semi-finalist in ranking events, he stepped further to through to his first ranking final. He hailed the achievement as the finest of his career.

Shaun Murphy

35-year-old opened with 114 in the first frame and went 3-1 up on Murphy. Murphy was not in form today which led Bingham extended his lead to 4-1. Bingham reached the match point 5-2 but he faced some pressure on winning. Eventually he ended the match 6-2 which stopped Murphy from further move closer.

"All the hard work and dedication has finally paid off," said an emotional Bingham. "At one stage I nearly dropped off the tour and lost ten matches on the trot. I was about 76th in the rankings when there were only 90 players."As the years went on you start doubting yourself."

Stuart Bingham - ranking finalist

Bingham also credits the influence of regular sessions with shot alignment specialist Stephen Feeney at SightRight as being a major factor in the improvement in his game. "It has been a good couple of years and it's good to get myself back to where I think I belong. I've got my fiancé (Michelle) and am just more happy off the table."

Big Congrats to Bingham who moved to the ranking final for the first time. Once again - he allows his snooker to speak for himself. He needs to handle the winning pressure otherwise it will hinder him.

Some silly misses from Bing appeared at the end of the match. Bingham needs to hold his nerve before heading a victory. Anyway good luck to Stuart! 

Murphy's defeat won't do much harm to him. I believe Murphy will go further in the future ranking events.

Before Bingham trying to get his ranking title, he needs to overcome Mark Williams. 'The Welsh Potting Machine' secured a 6-2 win over Ken Doherty, which was a repeat final of 2003 World Championship. 

Williams entered another ranking final

The Welshman made two centuries 110 and 106, 56, 53, 49, 47, 48 to continue his hope on winning his 19th ranking title. Williams sped 3-1 smoothly before mid session but he started to struggle a little bit afterwards. Unfortunately the same happened on Doherty. Williams recovered soon to win 6-2.

Williams won it again

"It was a tough game and Ken didn't miss a lot," said Williams. "It's not easy to get to the final so I'm just going to enjoy it. I probably haven't got many more finals in me left." 

"It's just nice to see Ken back playing and getting to the latter stages. This could be the springboard he needs to get back up the rankings.''

Ken Doherty lost in semi-finals

Doherty was disappointed with his lost but he admitted that he had a good run: "Every day is difference and you have to push yourself on but I've had a good week and it's been a good way to start the season."


Williams had an amazing record in overseas ranking events. Will Australian Open become his second ranking title this year apart from German Masters in February? He did not encounter many troubles today. It maybe too easy for Mark. He needs to aware Stuart tomorrow, raise his game to the form when he is playing Dale because he wants it badly.

It's really nice to see Ken climbing up on the rankings and appear in later stage of ranking tournament. Good start for him in the new season.  

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Australian Goldfields Open Day 5 - Bingham Proved To Allen by His Cracking Victory

Eight boys were in action today to compete for four seats in semi-finals.

Yesterday a war of words started  between Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham ( For Reference: Day 4 - War of Words set between Allen & Bingham Before QF ). Today they tried to solve their rival by their quarter-final match today.

Handshake before the match

Stuart Bingham proved to Allen he was wrong, by winning the match 5-3. Bingham created his best ranking results today by first moved to the semi-finals. Bingham was motivated by Allen's words and had runs of 118, 112, 96 and 66 from 2-1 down.
Some post-match quotes of two players are as followed:

Bingham: "It didn't upset me, it just gave me more drive,"

"Mark is a great snooker player and you don't get to be in the top 16 for five years for nothing. Snooker player wise he is up there with the best, but off the table it's another thing.

"It fired me up 1,000 per cent and maybe that hindered me a bit. Once I calmed down I got into the scoring mode and you can see the result.

Bingham entered SF for the first time in his career

"At the end he said 'well played' and said 'shot' when I made good shots but he didn't get it back. I just got on with my job.

"I know I'm playing well enough to do some damage and I'm fighting away and in the semis.

"I thought I would be punching the air but I tried to let the snooker do the talking and I can't wait until tomorrow.

Allen: "Stuart deserved to win, he played better and scored heavily," said Allen. "I lost it in the first four frames and could've been 3-1 up but Stuart could've made four centuries and that's hard to live with.

"It didn't surprise me because I know what he's capable of. I never said he's not a good player, I just know he's not good under pressure.

"One quarter-final win is probably a good return for someone of his bottle but today he didn't have to rely on his bottle as he just outplayed me.

Allen lost 3-5 to Bingham

"It was not as if I made any lies. I said what other people think but they're too scared to say it.

"I speak my mind and I know it gets me in trouble with the rest of the players but we're not all friends, we're competitors.

"I've not really lifted my cue to practice so I've probably done better than I deserved.

"It was good to get some money in Bangkok, that takes the pressure off. With ranking points here winning a couple of matches doesn't do me any harm.

"I enjoyed this game more and hopefully that's me getting the bug back for practicing more. When I do I know I won't be losing again to people like Stuart."   

(Allen wrote on his Facebook after the match: How'd I lose to this ugly f**ker??)

Okay this rival will never be solved. I believe Mark will become more mature and  mind his words in the future. Just let the snooker do the talking!

Bingham now plays Shaun Murphy in his next match. Murphy ended Matthew Selt's magnificent run on Australian Goldfields Open today. Murphy stormed into semi-finals by a 5-3 win despite Selt hit a 137, the highest break of the tournament so far before Williams knocked 142 later today.

Selt was happy with his run: "It's been a great tournament for me and I can take a lot of positives but it would've been nice to carry on. Beating John was massive for me and this week's been good experience." 


The current World Number 1 Mark Williams knocked highest break of the tournament so far on his way to semi-finals. He rewrote the highest break twice in the match, 118 and 140 to level 2-2 before 142 in the decider. Williams edged Dominic Dale by 5-4.

Williams was satisfied with his form: "I potted well tonight. The last two matches have been a massive improvement from the first one which was awful. By the time I get used to the jet lag it will be time to fly home.'' "I'm just excited to be in the semi-finals. I haven't played out here for 20 years and it's been excellent to be back, hopefully I can go all the way."

Williams will not have an easy one in the semi-finals because he is Ken Doherty. It's Ken's first semi-finals since 2006 China Open. They will perform a repeat match of the final on 2003 World Championship - of course Ken won't want the same results.

Repeat Final of World Championship 2003 - Who will win this time?

Doherty went 4-1 up with good breaks before Selby dragged to 3-4. The Jester led 58-1 in the eighth frame with 59 on the table. Ken made 59 to win 5-3. Ken revealed he nearly quit the game two years ago.

Ken bounced back

"I felt like packing it in at one stage when I never qualified for the Crucible (in 2009), I was in qualifying tournaments and only won one match all season and I thought it was the end of the road.'' "Now I have a bit more self confidence and I know I can compete ok but I'm not as consistent as I was.''


41-year-old Doherty admitted Williams's U-Turn in his career motivated himself. "Against Mark Williams it's going to be very difficult and there have been a lot of good matches between us.


I have done an interview with Ken last month before PTC1. And now Ken is in the semi-finals with his Australian family support. I wish for Ken continue his marvellous run on Australian Open!  

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Australian Goldfields Open Day 4 - War of Words set between Allen & Bingham Before QF

Down to the final day of Last 16 today, all the QF line-up will be revealed very soon.

Mark Allen

Mark Allen sets up a rival with Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals. Allen won over Marcus Campbell, who defeated Ali Carter in the previous round by 5-1. Allen had a fine performance today. He presented two centuries 101 and 100, 71, 67, 63 today.

Bingham whitewashed Tom Ford with runs of 94, 94 and three half-centuries. Allen and Bingham will meet in the quarter-finals  and he had rival before. They dislike each other after Allen making some harsh post-match comments on Bingham on UK Championship in December last year. Here are the quotes they said today:

Allen: "He (Bingham) said about getting revenge on Ding for his Crucible defeat but it would be nice to send him back where he belongs.
 
"He doesn't like me because I told the truth in a press conference that he has no bottle and as he threw away a match at the World Championships after leading 12-9 I think that showed it.
 
"It was great he did because that let the legend that is Stephen Hendry stay in the top 16 and I would rather see Hendry in the top 16 than Bingham."

Stuart Bingham & Mark Allen rival

Bingham: "I can't wait to play this match," "He (Allen) said a few words after the UK Championship which were a bit out of order and I've been waiting for this match for a while.
 
"He said I've got no bottle and he thought he was never going to lose to me. I will definitely be up for it.
 
"I don't know what happened. With the game at the UK I was gutted I lost as I would've got into the semi-finals. I remember I shook his hand and didn't say anything. He took that to heart.
 
"But I don't care what he thinks. We're here to do a job and hopefully I will win. It will give me more pleasure to beat him.
 
"It's all mind games and I'm a better player now than I was."

Their quarter-finals match tomorrow will be an awesome one. I am interested if they will shake hands before and after match! Will post the post-match quote tomorrow!

Mark Williams

Mark Williams beaten David Gilbert by 5-2 with a much improved form today. His opponent in the quarter-finals will be either Neil Robertson or Dominic Dale. "I would probably prefer to play Neil as there would be a big crowd. All of the support would be on his side and I can handle that. It would be a good occasion to play in front of his home crowd.

However Williams's preference on Robertson to be his next round opponent could not turn into face. Neil Robertson suffered a dramatic defeat 4-5 by Dale, despite trailing 2-4 to a decider and passed the winning line in the decider. 

Dale needed one snooker to win the match after Robertson left him pink and black. Dale got the snooker he needed, potted the final pink and black to win the decider by 70-69. The local crowds are disappointed with the result.

Dominic Dale won over Neil Robertson in a thriller

"It was definitely the match of the tournament so far," said a dejected Robertson. "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.''

Dale believed the atmosphere, excitement and occasion made this victory one of his most memorable matches of his 19-year pro career.   "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.''

Ireland's Ken Doherty bounced back from 1-4 down to win 5-4 against Liang Wenbo to move into quarter-finals in 2 years' time since 2009 Shanghai Masters. 

Bounce back for Ken Doherty 

"I just dragged myself back into the game and hung in there. It's a great comeback.'' Doherty said. "I never throw in the towel but when things are going your way you can't see a way out.

Ken also apologized for the controversial complaint of Liang's bow-tie issue on World Cup last week in Thailand. "The next day I felt bad saying about his dicky-bow," "I hope it didn't cause any offence, if it did then I'm sorry.

Ken Doherty faces Mark Selby in the quarter-finals who defeated Mark Davis by 5-3 today.  Selby beleived that his winning of Wuxi Classic can boost his confidence.

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Australian Goldfields Open Day 3 - Bingham took Sweet Revenge on Ding

Day 3 of Australian Open continued and more seeds are crashed out but some buddies found their way out today!

Cause I know That revenge is sweet!

Stuart Bingham who lost to Ding Junhui in the Last 16 of World Championship this year, despite having led 12-9 up but eventually lost 12-13 made a sweet revenge today. Bingham failed to make his debut in the top 16 ranking at the end of the last season due to the defeat.

Early home for Ding Junhui

Ding Junhui is defeated 2-5 although he made two centuries out of two frames he won, 104 and 124 in the match. The Ballrun made 60 and 107 to be 4-1 up, followed by 86 to lock his victory in the final frame.

The Essex boy will enter top 16 for the first time. "It took me about five days to get over that defeat," said Bingham. "After I beat Michael Holt to qualify I went on my Twitter and Facebook pages and said revenge will be sweet - and it tastes nice.''

Ding's team mate on World Cup, his buddy Liang Wenbo had a totally different experience in Australia. Liang beaten Matthew Stevens in decider, 5-4 though he missed 147 after scoring 15 reds and 15 blacks to end at 120.

Liang Wenbo on World Cup

It was an exciting game for Stevens and Liang. Stevens knocked 63, 88 while Liang scored 120 (missed maximum), 111, 71, 51. Stevens believed Liang's win on World Cup has brought himself back with confidence. 

"Every time he got in he played well and took his chances.'' "Winning the World Cup has done him no harm. He had been struggling a bit but a win like that in Thailand has made him dangerous again.'' said Stevens.

 

Ken Doherty

Liang Wenbo is facing Ken Doherty in the next round - who scored a 5-2 victory over Scotland's Stephen Maguire today. Ken strugguled in Thailand while he was playing for Ireland but he turned his disappointment to motivation.

"I can't remember when it would've been but it wasn't last season. "But this is a good start for me, not just the win but the nature of it and that's what gives you the confidence. If you struggle to a win you don't feel so good but I won pretty well and closed it out well.''

Mark Selby bounced back from 0-3 down to Joe Perry to win 

5-3. Perry played extraordinary well in the first three frames and froze Selby.  The Jester said after his fightback: " I managed to grind myself back into it. The interval works both ways and for Joe it came at the wrong time but for me it came at the right time.''

Matthew Selt who won over John Higgins yesterday, killed another Scotland's World Champion today. Selt completed a 5-1 easy win over Stephen Hendry. Selt will challenge another former World Champion Shaun Murphy on his road in QF.

Mark Williams

Mark Williams did not give satisfactory performance but still claimed a 5-2 win over Barry Pinches. The match lasted for four hours. "It was really tough and the way I played was just awful, appalling and I don't know why it was so bad," said Williams.

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

Australian Goldfields Open Day 2 - Higgins and Carter are Shattered in the First Round

More seeds are out in the first round of Australian Goldfields Open on the second day. The victims today were John Higgins and Ali Carter.

John Higgins is defated dramactically

The Current World Champion suffered a dramatic defeat today! Higgins did not play too well today, far from unbeatable status but still once had a good outlook for the next round, leading 4-1 up on Matthew Selt. The turning point came in the sixth frame, Higgins started to lose his concentration and made some silly misses.

Selt started his great comeback plan, playing some amazing snooker - 56, 45 and 63 in three frames to drag a decider from 1-4 down.  The Wizard of Wishaw did not improve his performance, letting Selt potted plenty good long pots and 63 to complete the tremendous fightback. Selt will face Stephen Hendry in the Last 16.

26-year-old Matthew Selt

Selt after his victory over the 4-time World Champion: "I knew I could compete at this level and career wise beating John is a great achievement.

"I've just won my first match on tv and now I feel like a proper player. If I play well this week I can go all the way and this has given me the belief that I can do it.''

Higgins needs more practices!

John Higgins admitted he struggled in the new season. "I'm not tired but I just didn't get any rhythm in the World Cup and never felt I was hitting the ball well.'' "I'm disappointed but maybe it's because I haven't put in the hours practising since winning the World Championship.'' Higgins knows he needs to put more time on the table apart from spending his time with family. 

Carter - homesick after weeks of away

'The Captain' Ali Carter also needed to pack his back and go home. He lost to Marcus Campbell this morning by 3-5 though he knocked a 134 and 2-0 up early on the match.

The Captain became homesick after three weeks' competition oversea. "It's been a long time away and by the time I got here my heart wasn't in it and that showed in my performance. "If I had just come here and not done the other two then it would've been different."

Neil Robertson played in home country

Neil Robertson made his first appearance in Bendigo today. He had an easy win 5-2 over Nigel Bond with 3-1 up before mid session. Robertson had stable long potting today which helped a lot. He is going to meet Dominic Dale, another winner a match of Last 32 by beating Local Steve Mifsud today. 

Shaun Murphy and Rory McLeod finished their Round 2 match while others are still playing the Round 1 match. Murphy secured a 5-1 win and he believes him not playing in World Cup last week in Thailand could help him in this event.

"In a funny way not being at the World Cup could help me out as I'm in the right sleep pattern as I've been here for a week, while others may feel tired so I might be able to sneak through." He added, "I definitely want to be in the World Cup next year and represent my country so I must try harder."

Mark Allen who is the runner-up of World Cup last week, maintained a 5-3 victory over Wales' Ryan Day. 

Click here for Australian Goldfields Open Draw/Results, Format & TV/Match Schedule

New Rolling 147 Prize For Ranking Events

The Maximum break prize is back! This time it is in a new format - roll-over for ranking tournaments.

Ali Carter finished 2nd maximum break after O'Sullivan in the Crucible, 2008 World Championship

A £5,000 prize is applied for a TELEVISED maximum break on the final stage of all MAJOR ranking tournament. If there is no player make a 147 in the tournament, this £5,000 prize will roll over to the next TELEVISED ranking tournamnet until a player make a televisied 147 can get the accumulated prize .


The prize will be equally shared in case more than one player make 147 on the tournament.


Players will be awarded with £500 if they make 147 on PTC events and all non-televised matches in all MAJOR ranking tournaments. (same rolling principle)  

Bendigo Stadium, venue of Australian Goldfields Open

This new rolling 147 prize becomes effective in the current ranking tournament, Australian Goldfields Open.


Players like Ronnie O'Sullivan will sure welcome this rule. O'Sullivan who made his tenth maximum break in September Last year on World Open was an controversial  one. O'Sullivan was about to not potting the final break due to the cancellation of maximum prize started from 2010/2011 season. 

He said, "I wasn't going to pot the black to be honest with you because I asked the ref and was told there was no break prize for a 147,".

"Jan talked me into it [potting the black]. My whole thing was I was going to make 140 and leave the black What's the point of making a 147 if they're only going to give you four grand for it?

"I'm surprised. They're getting stingier. I thought Barry Hearn was supposed to be putting more money into the game, not taking it out.

Barry Hearn heard our views. He is bringing the prize back for the players.

It is a good news for the fans too because players will be motivated to produce maximum on TV. But there is a question - Will players tend to try 147 more in the later held tournaments if no player make 147 early in the season? The accumulated prize can be up to  £35,000 if no one takes it until the World Championship.


Will there be any 147 prize for non-ranking tournaments such as Masters? This new rule does not include non-ranking tournaments. This can be widely discussed. 


At least it is a new idea from World Snooker under its unstable financial status.