World Snooker Championship 2011 - Day 11 - QFs are under way!

26.4.2011 Day 11

Four QFs start today! :-)

Morning Session

QF1 - Judd Trump v Graeme Dott

Poor Dotty :-(

Trump takes the first two frames. Dott struggules at the beginning, he misses a chance to get his first frame, he is 0-3 down on Trump.

Dott steals the frame from Trump, Trump still leads 3-1 before mid session. Trump extends his lead to 7-1 with 86, 64, 58, 69 at the end of first session.

Dott has a terrible session, still a long way to go for him at the second session...

QF3 - Mark Williams v Mark Allen

It already shows some tension in the first frame between Marks, Williams forces a respot black while he needs one snooker. Williams wins the respotted black and enjoy a good start, 1-0. Mark Allen missed the tricky red to the middle, he was punished by losing another frame. Allen pulls one back with 78. Williams is 3-1 ahead of Allen with 119 before mid session. Williams leads 4-1 with another 78. Allen misses frame balls in key moments, he starts to misbelief himself. Williams steals another frame from Allen. 5-1. Allen comes through from the shawdow, winning the last two frames with 100, 102. Williams leads Allen 5-3 after the first session. A high quality session :-) Really enjoy it!

Afternoon Session

QF2 - Mark Selby v Ding Junhui

Where is the Selby we saw yesterday?

Selby starts off the match with 124, he takes the first frame 1-0 up on Ding. Ding takes a 3-1 lead over Selby before mid session. Selby made several mistakes in safety which is not seldomly seen from him, he feels pressure competiting with top players. Ding takes advantage in both safety and scoring. Ding goes 5-2 with 77 before last frame in the session comes. Selby wins the last frame of the session and trails 3-5 on Ding Junhui.

QF4 - John Higgins v Ronnie O'Sullivan

 

A classic just started

 Higgins takes the opening frame after a safety battle, follows with the second. Ronnie pulls one back with table clearance. Ronnie levels the match before mid-session, long pots of Ronnie are improved today. Higgins steals the frame from Ronnie, back into lead 3-2. Higgins hit a 121 to extend his lead 4-2. Ronnie catches a mistake by Higgins, plays black out of position and pulls one back with 89. Ronnie successfully levels the match before mid session. All square for the first session, 4-4.

Evening Session

QF1 - Judd Trump v Graeme Dott

In the last session, Dott was not in the match and Trump leads 7-1. Trump moves forward to lead 10-2 with 50, 104, 79 before mid session. I guess Dott is about to cry... After mid session, Dott really makes a comeback. He takes three in a row after Trump takes another frame. In the last three frames, his scorings are really heavy, 72, 120, 122. He missed the maximum in the 15th frame, running out of position when he plays the last black, fail to go on with the yello. Dott trials 5-11 behind Judd Trump. Dotty needs eight frames tomorrow to win while Trump only needs two more.

QF3 - Mark Williams v Mark Allen

Williams looks relaxed

Williams has two frames advantage before the second session starts. Williams takes the opening frame with 80 to lead 6-3. Allen wins a scrappy frame but then Williams wins the other two before mid session. Williams enjoys a 7-4 lead before mid session.

Allen takes the first frame after mid-session, Williams does not leave any chance for Allen anymore. He extends his lead to 11-5 with 104, 113 at the end of second session. Williams is unstoppable and not far away from a semi-final seat tomorrow...

Match Schedule for Day 12, Wednesday April 27

10am

QF2 - Mark Selby v Ding Junhui       (Second Session, Ding leads 5-3)
QF3 - Mark Williams v Mark Allen     (Last Session, Williams leads 11-5)

2.30pm

QF1 - Judd Trump v Graeme Dott          (Last Session, Trump leads 11-5)

QF4 - Ronnie O'Sullivan v John Higgins  (Second Session, level at 4-4)

7pm

QF2 - Mark Selby v Ding Junhui               (Last session)
QF4 - Ronnie O'Sullivan v John Higgins   (Last session)

A great day today... Loads of brilliant snooker :-) We will know which four of them can play on the one table manner by the end of tomorrow...

QF Scores are updated in Drawsheet...

Venue changes for Masters & UK Championship next season

Two of the biggest tournaments in the year, UK Championship and Masters will move to other venues start from the next season.

The Last man to win Masters in Wembley?

The biggest invitational non-ranking event on the calender, Masters may no longer called Wembley Masters next year. Because it will move to Alexandra Palace which is very near to London. Alexandra Palace is a bigger venue compare to Wembley Arena, hopefully it can attract more fans to witness the new being Masters Champion.

Ding Junhui is the defending Master Champion, possibly the last Masters champion trumped in Wembley Arena. Masters 2012 which only features world's elite top 16 players, will run from January 15 to 22, 2012. BBC and Eurosport will televise the biggest invitational event as usual. 

Snooker returns to York Barbican Centre

UK Championship which is currently hold in Telford, will return to stage in Barbican Centre, York. UK CHampionship was staged in Barbican Centre between 2001 to 2006, starts from 2007 it moves to Telford. It is a good news for both York Snooker Fans and players. It will run from December 3 to 11, 2011, wide live coverages by BBC and Eurosport.

China's Ding Junhui, who beat Steve Davis in the 2005 UK Championship final in York, added: 'I'm really pleased that we are going back to York for the UK Championship. It's one of our biggest tournaments and winning it in 2005 was one of the best moments of my career. I've got great memories of playing at the Barbican Centre as the atmosphere is special. While we played there I made a lot of friends in York, especially among the Chinese community, so I'm looking forward to meeting them again and hopefully having their support in the tournament.'
(Source: UK Championship to return to York Barbican on worldsnooker.com)

I am looking forward to see Masters move to a new venue and we are back to a familiar venue in York! :-)

World Snooker Championship 2011 - Quarter-Final Preview

After some late night drama yesterday, the four QF matches line-up are confirmed. It is a very strong line-up and hard to pick a winner among them...Every match can turn out to be a classic!

Upper half:

QF1 - Judd Trump v Graeme Dott

Trump continues his marvellous run after China Open; Graeme Dott won the tough match against Ali Carter. Trump is good at long pots while Dott is expereienced with safety and patient. But Trump will adjust his strategy in a match against different players. From the China Open Final, we know that Selby is very good at saftey, it maybe consider as a weakness of Trump. But Trump successfully won over Selby by his potting. Dott is a player similar to Selby, good at safety and comebacks. But I still fancy Trump to reach semi-final of WC this year.

Perdiction: Judd Trump  to win 13-10

QF2 - Ding Junhui v Mark Selby

The Jester

They met recently early this month with Selby wins the match 6-3. Ding proves us that he can make comebacks like what he did last night, he is now more mature to cope with pressure. Selby won comfortably in the two previous round, I will say Mark has not yet encountered the real opponent. However, Mark did really well in the previous two rounds, setting a new record in the Crucible - for making six centuires in a single match. I predict Mark to win the match as he is more experienced compare to Ding in WC.

Prediction: Mark Selby to win 13-9

Possilbe SF line-up in Upper Half Draw: Judd Trump v Mark Selby

Lower half:

QF3 - Mark Williams v Mark Allen

Two Marks meet in the QF, really looking forward to this match. Both Marks are good potters, I expect there is fewer safety battle and a fast match. Allen won another decider to come through to the QF while Williams nearly have a session to spare. I believe both players are really confident at the moment. Allen struggules in the early session of the previous matches, I think Williams can take advantage of it. I back Williams to reach the semi-final this year (13-9).

Prediction: Mark Williams to win 13-8

QF4 - Ronnie O'Sullivan v John Higgins

Blast Off!!

This maybe the most tasty QF match for fans among the four. Ronnie and John met in several tournament last year and John won most of them. The Rocket does not have a good record against The Wizard of Wishaw recently, can he win it this time? Ronnie shows his form in Round 1 but strugguled with his long pots in Round 2. Higgins does not play well in the last round against Rory McLeod, and he showed a little tired in the match. I hope Ronnie can do well with his long pots like in Round 1, meeting Williams in the semi-final.Can they creat another classic, e.g. 2009 UK semi-final?

Prediction: Ronnie O'Sullivan to win 13-12

Possilbe SF line-up in Lower Half Draw: Mark Williams v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Can't wait to watch the four QFs!! :-)