Snooker News

[pinki]

Sa avem si un thread de unde sa aflam noutatile :) va invit pe toti sa postati noutati daca aveti si sa le dezbatem impreuna! :ok:

prima stire, despre welsh open:

WELSH DRAGON STEVENS FINDING FORM

Matthew Stevens believes he is getting back to tournament-winning ways as he looks forward to next month's Welsh Open.

The Welsh Dragon has slipped to No 21 in the provisional world rankings and faces a battle to keep his place in the official elite top 16.

But the 29-year-old from Carmarthen is confident is can recapture the form which gave him the Masters and UK titles as well as five Crucible semi-finals since 2000.

“I’m hitting the ball a lot better and I don’t think it will be long before I’m winning tournaments again,” said Stevens, who looked sharp at last week’s SAGA Insurance Masters where he beat Jimmy White 6-1 before losing a high-quality clash with Stephen Hendry 6-5.

“I’m not looking too closely at the rankings, I just want to get some good results and then my place in the rankings will follow.”

The Welsh Open runs from February 12 to 18 at the Newport Centre and features the top 32 players in the world plus 16 qualifiers.

“I haven’t got the best record in the tournament,” added Stevens, who has reached the quarter-finals of the event just once. “But the Newport Centre is a great venue and it’s always nice for the Welsh boys like myself, Mark Williams and Ryan Day to get some local support. It’s a tournament I’d love to win.”

Stephen Lee will be defending the title against the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Ken Doherty, Steve Davis, Ding Junhui and 888.com World Champion Graeme Dott.



Sa vedem daca stevens isi revine ;)

[dumy84]

Astazi au debutat calificarile pentru China Open. Mai multe amanunte pot fi aflate de aici: http://www.worldsnooker.com/tournament_latest_drawsheet-75.htm

[pinki]

dumy, apreciez prezenta ta :D

cat despre china open, sunt unii in calificari de care n-am auzit in viata mea :D (mai toti)

[Zabriskie]

nici macar de aia din turul 3, 4 sau 5 ? :P

[pinki]

hai ca stii ce vroiam sa spun ;)

[Geografu]

Astazi 5 februarie ora 12:00 s-a publicat noul clasament mondial provizoriu dupa disputarea ultimului turneu ( ranking ) : Malta Cup ! Iata top 10 :

1.Ken Doherty
2.Graeme Dott
3.JOHN HIGGINS :yeah:
4.Peter Ebdon
5.Shaun Murphy !
6.Stephen Hendry
7.Ding Junhui :o:
8.Mark J.Williams
9.Ronnie O'Sullivan :evil:
10.Stephen Lee :confused:

Bafta !! :)

[pinki]

:angry:

ce cauta kendo pe 1??????????
dott pe 2??????????
ebdon pe 4??????????
murphy in top 10???????????

si ronnie de ce e batut in cap? :D pe 9? sa puna mana sa castige CM :D

[pinki]

O'Sullivan unhappy after victory

O'Sullivan is without a world ranking title since the 2005 Irish Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan breezed into the last 16 of the Welsh Open in Newport, and then vowed to overhaul his game.

A break of 109 put O'Sullivan 3-1 up against Ian McCulloch and a 64 clearance gave him the next frame on the black as he eased to a 5-1 win.

"I'm not being big-headed but I can win events playing at 60%," he said. "I can cover up problems with instinctive snooker but that's no good to me.

"Over the next 18 months I'm going to rip my game apart."

O'Sullivan overhauled his game after he lost to David Gray in the first round of the 2000 World Championship.

"I can't accept carrying on playing so badly.

"Unless I reach the standard I know I'm capable of I just don't enjoy the game at all. I don't know about other players but titles, trophies and money mean nothing to me.

"This is something that's got to be done and that's why I'm working with someone to get it done. If I mess my game up and can't pot a ball so be it. In my mind I've got nothing to lose.

"I need to be more machine-like and that's why I'm concentrating on my technique. I want something to fall back on if things go wrong."

da, asa cum ne-am obisnuit deja :D

[bmm]

nu-mi place noul clasament mondial, fie el si el provizoriu; auzi pe locul 9 ronnie;

[pinki]

mdeah, ronnie sa puna mana sa castige puncte :D

[pinki]

Robertson wins epic Welsh final

Robertson has been a model of consistency this week.

Australia's Neil Robertson withstood a superb fightback from Andrew Higginson to win the Welsh Open final 9-8.

Robertson went into the match as a heavy favourite against the unranked Englishman and raced into a 6-2 lead.

But Higginson hit back with a series of big breaks to move to 8-6 ahead and within sight of a stunning win.

However, Grand Prix winner Robertson held his nerve with breaks of 92 and 59 to force a deciding frame and took it with two visits to the table.

"I can't grumble, the week has been beyond my wildest dreams" says Andrew Higginson.

"At 6-2 Andrew's arm was loose," said Robertson afterwards. "He probably thought he had nothing to lose and the way he played in the next six frames was breathtaking.

"He was incredible and when he did miss the odd ball he seemed to get away with it. I knew I just had to remain patient and believe in myself.

"I wasn't super-panicky but of course I was getting a little anxious. It was just a matter of getting a chance and thankfully I got it."

Higginson - who turned professional in 1996 - was not too downhearted after becoming the first unranked player since Terry Griffiths in the 1979 World Championship to appear in the final of a ranking event.

"I've really enjoyed this and it is an experience I'll never forget," he said. "I can't grumble, the week has been beyond my wildest dreams."

He added: "I don't want to be a one-hit wonder. The tournament has really opened my eyes to what I can achieve.

"I thought it was my time but Neil did really well to catch me in the end."



O finala la care nu se prea astepta multa lume... imi pare rau ca a pierdut higginson... :(

[Geografu]

Astazi 19 februarie ora 15.00 s-a publicat noul clasament mondial provizoriu dupa disputarea ultimului turneu ( ranking ) : Welsh Open ! Iata top 10 ;) :

1 Ken Doherty
2 Graeme Dott
3 John Higgins :yeah:
4 Peter Ebdon
5 Shaun Murphy
6 Stephen Hendry
7 Neil Robertson
8 Ding Junhui
9 Ronnie O'Sullivan
10 Mark J. Williams

Iata ca Neill a urcat in top 10 dupa cum era si normal dupa succesul din Tara Galilor.A zburat Stephen Lee,in timp ce Ding si Mark au coborat : chinezul una iar galezul doua pozitii in clasamentul mondial prov.In rest topul a ramas neschimbat dupa cel facut dupa Malta Cup !

GO HIGGINS !! :evil:

[pinki]

nu-mi place clasamentul asta, nu sunt de acord cu el :cry:

[pinki]

White misses out on Crucible spot

Jimmy White was left "devastated" after missing out on this year's World Championship after losing to Scotland's Jamie Burnett in the qualifying event.

White, a six-time runner-up at the Crucible, lost 10-4 in the penultimate qualifying round in Prestatyn.

"There were quite a few close frames but I didn't perform at all," said 44-year-old White, who had led 3-2.

"It will be hard to watch but it's just a game of snooker. I've lost before and I'll be back to try again."

White trailed 6-3 after the first session and only managed to win one more frame in the second as Burnett moved through.

"It was hard for me because I'm a Jimmy White fan but I had a job to do.", says Jamie Burnett.

"I'm just devastated that I couldn't produce the form I've been showing in practice," said White.

"I was 3-2 up and had two good chances in the balls but lost position and Jamie played quite well after that. He punished me but I struggled all day. It's very disappointing."

Burnett, who now faces former finalist Nigel Bond for a place in Sheffield, said: "It was hard for me because I'm a Jimmy White fan but I had a job to do."

It will be only the second time in 26 years that White has missed snooker's showpiece event, having also missed out in 2001.

White dropped out of the world top 32 after his first-round defeat at the Crucible in 2006.

He has lost in the preliminary round in five of the season's six ranking events.

John Parrott, who beat White 18-11 in the 1991 world final, reached the final qualifying round with a 10-7 defeat of fellow Englishman James Leadbetter.

The 42-year-old must now beat David Gray on 12 March to secure his 23rd appearance at the Crucible.



Asta da veste trista :( :( saracu' jimmy :(

[pinki]

White straight into China last 16

White had failed to win a knock-out match in any other ranking event
Jimmy White defeated Zheng Peng 5-2 at the China Open in Beijing to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time since 2005.

The 44-year-old failed to qualify for next month's world championships but saw his luck change in China.

After coming beating Peng, White went straight into the last 16 after Stephen Lee withdrew for personal reasons.

Elsewhere, Chinese favourite Ding Junhui reached the last 32 with a 5-3 victory over England's Adrian Gunnell.

And Liu Chuang, a 16-year-old from the Liaoning Province, set up a dream tie with Ronnie O'Sullivan by beating Devon left-hander Andy Hicks 5-4.

Ulsterman Joe Swail defeated Jin Long 5-4 and Stoke's Jamie Cope saw off Yang Qintian 5-1.

White said after his match: "At my age you can play well one day, then badly the next.

"I've got three days now to practise at the hotel and make sure I play well on Thursday. I still love this game and I'll keep playing as long as I enjoy it."




Uhu!! era si timpul sa mai castige si jimmy ceva :D

[pinki]

Lee pulls out of China Open event

Lee won the 2006 Welsh Open
World number 10 Stephen Lee has withdrawn from the China Open in Beijing for personal reasons.

Lee, from Trowbridge, will not travel to the world ranking event, which starts on Monday.

His withdrawal means that the winner of Monday's match between Jimmy White and Chinese wild card Zheng Peng will progress straight into the last 16.

The tournament is the last one before the World Championship, which starts in Sheffield on 21 April.



Da, cred ca nu i-a picat bine mancarea chinezeasca :drak:

[pinki]

Mark Williams....

Meanwhile, defending champion Mark Williams also exited in the opening round after losing 5-1 to Jamie Cope.

The former world number one, who has just celebrated the birth of his second child, has dropped to 10th in the provisional rankings.

In the tournaments up to the China Open, Williams had gained 6,725 ranking points, comfortably the lowest of the players in the provisional top 16.

He now faces a fight to hang on to his place among the elite next season.

Speaking before the start of the tournament, Williams admitted his practice regime had slipped since he became a father.

"I'm looking to get a few wins," he said.

"I'm still practising, but not as much as I used to. Things change when you have a family, I have different priorities in my life.

"But I still love snooker. I've got lots of fond memories of last season when I won the China Open - it was nice to win a tournament for a change."

Cope looked on course to a maximum break in the fifth frame of his win over Williams, but missed the 14th read to settle for a 104.

He said: "If I keep playing like that I can beat anyone, so maybe I could be the champion.

"That's the best game I've played for a long time. Whenever I was in the balls I felt like potting them, and that's what I did.

"Mark looked to be playing okay when he was in the balls but I didn't give him many chances. I didn't expect it to be easy but it was in the end because I played very well."