Snooker: Players give Hunter time out to help his recovery By Phil Yates
PAUL HUNTER, a three-times Masters champion and one of the sport’s highest-profile figures, has been given the opportunity of a year’s sabbatical from competition as his battle with cancer continues. At a swiftly arranged extraordinary general meeting of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the sport’s governing body, in Sheffield yesterday, Hunter’s fellow players voted 19-5 in favour of a resolution that will allow his world ranking, No 34, to be frozen for the duration of the forthcoming season.
Unlike other individual professional sports, such as golf and tennis, snooker had no form of medical exemption until the vote, which required 75 per cent to be in favour, cleared the way for the association’s constitution to be amended.
With immediate effect, the WPBSA board of directors possesses the power to grant dispensations to players incapacitated by severe illness or injury. Hunter must officially request his release, but its granting is viewed as a formality.
Before the meeting, Hunter, 27, said: “Now it’s time to take action, time to say, ‘Can I take a year out and get myself better?’ I think they will say yes.” The only surprise from the secret ballot conducted at the English Institute of Sport was that five voters were in opposition. Hunter is popular and many top players have lobbied the WPBSA on his behalf.
Hunter revealed that he was suffering from neuro-endocrine tumours on the inner lining of his stomach in April last year. A month later, he finished the season at No 5 in the world rankings but returned from the tour’s traditional summer break looking drawn and weak from the combined effects of his condition and the chemotherapy aimed at beating it.
Low on stamina, robbed of vital feeling in his hands by the treatment and often in pain, Hunter won only one match in last season’s six ranking tournaments. Even though he was clearly struggling, the Yorkshireman even travelled to Malta and China in a vain attempt to collect points.
It soon became clear that Hunter would be relegated from the elite top 16 after an unbroken seven-year membership and his first-round defeat in the 888.com World Championship at the Crucible in April meant that he ended last season at No 34.
Hunter’s health remains a concern and, had it not been for yesterday’s vote, he could have slipped out of the top 64 in the rankings and, as a consequence, surrendered his place on the tour. However, Hunter will now be able to concentrate fully on recovery rather than have the distraction of practice and the frustration of being forced to compete.
As a precautionary measure, Hunter entered the season-opening Northern Ireland Trophy, but he will now be absent from the qualifying competition in Prestatyn this weekend.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has cleared his first hurdle in the North American Open 8-Ball Championship, the richest pool event in history, at the Venetian Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. O’Sullivan won two of his four matches and advanced to the next round-robin phase.
The Northern Ireland teenager, an 18-handicap player, was competing in the Peter Ebdon's Golf Classic at the Conning Tree Golf club in Northampton.
Allen, the former world amateur champion, scored his ace at the 140 yard, par three 15th.
But his team, which included World Snooker Academy directors Garry Baldrey and Keith Warren plus World Snooker tournament director Martin Clark, had to be content with second place despite amassing 92 points.
Ebdon's four ball were in mid-table from an entry of 40. The Classic raised £17,000 for the Sparks charity.
Former world champion Ebdon, meanwhile, has bred his first winner in horse racing. Two-year-old Sesmen came home at 20-1 in a 7 furlong dash on Kempton's all weather track.
This follows Tuesday’s announcement of a change to the WPBSA’s constitution which gives the board the capacity to freeze the ranking of a player suffering from an illness or injury that will incapacitate him for a whole season.
Hunter, the three times Masters champion from Leeds, was diagnosed last year with neuroendocrine tumours, a rare form of cancer. He intends to focus fully on his treatment over the coming months.
The 27-year-old finished last season at No 34 on the official ranking list. He will have the option to rejoin the list at the same position at the start of the 2007/08 season with the 6,800 points he earned in the 2005/06 campaign.
Hunter’s withdrawal has created an extra place on the World Snooker Tour, which has been awarded to Patrick Einsle, a promising 19-year-old from Germany who reached the semi-finals of the 2006 European Under-19 Championship.
Einsle has been entered into the qualifying rounds of the Northern Ireland Trophy, the first ranking event of the season, and will play Kidderminster’s Lee Page in his professional debut at Prestatyn on Saturday.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is happy and he isn't sure exactly why. It could be the Nevada sunshine, though he hasn't seen much of that in the past three days, playing eight-ball pool from 10 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night, stuck inside The Venetian, a windowless self- contained town that calls itself a hotel in this bit of Las Vegas. It could be the thrill of learning a newish sport, though it didn't seem to be thrilling him too much on Tuesday when, frustrated at some pretty miserable play, he broke his cue over his knee in anger.
It could be the chance to get away from the UK for a bit, away from the recognition, the pressure, the expectation that comes with being the best at a sport that people still care about despite itself. But actually he thrives off that, he says. And anyway, he misses his girlfriend Jo and their five-month-old child Lily too much to be really enjoying the break. Maybe, ironically in a town that celebrates fakery and escapism so joyously, the real reason Ronnie is happy here is that Ronnie feels he is able to just be Ronnie. "I'm not allowed to be that person back home," he said, sipping a bottle of iced water beside The Venetian's fourth-floor swimming pool on Friday, after failing to get through to the last 36 of the world's richest eight-ball event, the $2m (Ј1.1m) IPT North American Open, and taking home a mere $10,000. "When I broke the cue over my knee I thought I'd be in trouble. I thought, 'They don't need me coming over here and giving them bad press.'
But Jon [Denny, the executive director of the American pool tour] just said, 'Hey, we want Ronnie to be Ronnie. Dude, if you want to snap the cue on your knee just go ahead. It looks great on TV.' Normally I'm not allowed to be like this."
The cue was borrowed anyway - O'Sullivan hasn't bought one for himself yet because he says he doesn't know a good one from a bad one. He hadn't even played eight-ball pool until a week before this tournament.
So how did he end up here? "I was reading a snooker magazine - I'll read everything about snooker: clubs, juniors, leagues - and right at the back of the magazine is this advert about a million-dollar tournament. I thought they must be having a laugh but I rang them up. I said, 'I'm Ronnie O'Sullivan. Could I please speak to Kevin Trudeau [whose $14m is paying the prize money and bills for this first year of the tour] about the pool.' He rang back about five minutes later, we talked, boom, boom boom, and here I am."
So is he thoroughly sick of snooker and about to defect? "No. I've been telling people for 13 years that I'm sick of snooker but people still keep thinking that me saying it is interesting. The thing with me is that when I'm up it's obvious and when I'm down it's obvious. But that's just the way I am. Snooker is the guv'nor, the king of cue sports."
But can it really be a buzz to be a born-again journeyman, to go from top dog to enthusiastic puppy, back in L plates, learning his trade again, among the middle-rankers of a sport that has, up to now, clung to the small-time, smoke-and-grime feel that snooker has spent 30 years trying to scrub off its fingernails?
"It's not about winning for me, I get the buzz being out there knowing that I'm entertaining people. I don't need the cash, I invested my snooker money well, I have a nice portfolio of property. But I need the buzz. I started feeling it again here the other night when I got knocked out, I started feeling, 'This is my arena.' Like Alex Higgins, when he walked into a room, you couldn't take your eyes off him. I felt like that on Thursday. There was an atmosphere in the room, an air of danger."
And, he's too loyal to say it, the only danger in a snooker tournament nowadays is that you might catch something from all that coughing. He loves it, but sometimes, like a family, it drives you mad.
O'Sullivan doesn't want to talk about his mum and dad. Every single one of the people around him and around the IPT make it clear that I am not expected to talk about them. And it wasn't my intention to. But it's impossible to understand why he might feed off that sort of dark electricity without thinking about his dad's Soho sex shop business, the murder that put him in jail and the tax-evasion charges that put his mum inside, too. It can't have been a childhood without its share of shadows.
And under O'Sullivan's very real contentment there's still a granite-hard street kid egging Ronnie on. While we were chatting in the cafe of the well-appointed spa, sipping banana smoothies among women in white gowns, a couple of drunken American college boys came and sat down at the table next to us, to join a couple of girls. It got noisy. Ronnie, quietly, asked if we could go somewhere else where we could hear ourselves talk.
One of the idiot college kids heard him and said something along the lines of "Eat your food or get the hell out of here" to Ronnie and me. I pretended not to hear him because I'm a thoroughly middle-class wimpy grammar-school boy who has never started a fight in his life. O'Sullivan, however, isn't. As we left, Ronnie lurched towards the college kid but didn't actually touch him. The kid shouted abuse as we moved away. Ronnie shouted some back. We walked away. Nothing happened really but, two minutes later, Ronnie was angry at himself for even thinking about getting into a situation.
Despite not talking about his mum and dad, family does obviously mean a lot to O'Sullivan. He is, after all, a dad himself now and he thinks that his daughter and girlfriend's influence have changed the way he approaches life and sport. "I'm the first to admit I was the most selfish man on earth, totally with the blinkers on. Nothing would ever have got in the way of work. I wanted to be tops, don't even talk to me about slowing down. At first after Lily was born I tried to carry on like that and I soon found out that it didn't work. Now I try to be there whenever I can, not be out at my mates' house drinking cups of tea. Now I just have to look at Lily's photo and I crumble."
All of which makes you wonder why he doesn't just pack it all in and build the house in the country with the swimming pool, horses and tennis court that he has already promised himself on Lily's behalf. In the end maybe it's all about being the best at something for even longer, keeping the buzz going as best he can despite being pulled in other directions as well.
"I've got maybe another five or six years at the top in snooker. But the guy to beat here is Efren Reyes and he's 51. You aren't going to have 51-year-olds as the guys to beat in snooker. I can have a longer career here if this ITP tour succeeds. But I won't be playing pool in minor tournaments over here if it doesn't."
And when O'Sullivan talks about what he has to learn to get better at pool you can see the passion he has for the sport, hands waving, words spilling out, you can see the kick that not being the best has given him. "I phoned Jo up on Thursday and I told her that I lost. She said that I sounded happy. She knows what I'm like when I've come home from tournaments having lost. I said I was happy, because I thought I was starting to get to grips with the game.
"I told her I'd got that old fire back, that I could feel the warrior back in me. It's what I miss. Two days ago I thought it would take me two years to conquer this sport. Now I think I can do it in six months."
Stars of the snooker world are to appear at the Hawth on September 28 as part of the Betfred Premier League Snooker Tournament 2006. World No.11 Steve Davis will take on China's Ding Jun-Hui and fan's favourite Jimmy White will play World No.2 Ken Doherty. Also taking part in the league format competition are the world's number one and three ranked players, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Graeme Dott completes the league. The event is to be sponsored by the Crawley Observer and matches are set to start at 7.30pm Full story in the Crawley Observer
www.crawleytoday.co.uk 02 August 2006
Riba
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Отправлено: 02.08.06 20:52. Заголовок: Re:
Snooker star in the clear after drugs probe By Craig Evry
Stephen Lee
POLICE have dropped the case against snooker star Stephen Lee, who was being investigated on suspicion of conspiracy to supply drugs.
Lee, 31, was arrested after a police swoop on his home in Albany Close, Trowbridge, earlier this year.
Lee was interviewed and bailed so inquiries could continue, but the world number 10 was informed by letter that police would be taking no further action at this time. A spokesman for Wiltshire Police confirmed the letter had been sent and the case had been dropped.
continued... 1:05pm today
shual007
Леди Йага
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Отправлено: 04.08.06 15:06. Заголовок: Re:
Новости с Ворлдснукера....
AT THE WATERFRONT 04 Aug 2006 10:48:00
Ken Doherty and Joe Swail were at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Thursday to promote the Northern Ireland Trophy.
The first ranking tournament of the new season gets underway in just nine days time. World No 2 Doherty and local favourite Swail will be joined by the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Graeme Dott and Steve Davis for the first ranking event ever to be staged in Northern Ireland.
The new season brings a fresh start for Doherty; the Dubliner has a new house, new practice base and a new dog.
But he has the same old smile and infectious laugh that makes him such a popular player with his fellow professionals and snooker watchers.
Mention though last season’s 888.com World Snooker Championship and the grin briefly leaves his face.
"That was a real disappointment after the season that had gone before it," agrees the reigning Malta Cup champion.
"After beating Matthew Stevens in the second round I thought I had a really good chance.
"But even though Marco Fu played well to beat me in the quarters, it was a lost opportunity to get my title back," agreed the 1997 champion.
"But I’ll be back next year and I hope before I retire I will win at least one more world title."
Doherty’s form last term, including his success over John Higgins in the Mediterranean, helped him rise to second in the world rankings.
On the one year list he’s at the top looking down on everyone else.
But the 36-year-old from Ranelagh won’t be resting on his laurels. Indeed, he’s got plenty of goals for the new campaign, starting with the Northern Ireland Trophy which runs from August 13 to 20.
"The world championship is the big one but I’d also like to get to number one as I’ve never been there before. "Basically, though I just want to go out there and enjoy it and win as many trophies as I can along the way."
Doherty has kept busy since his Crucible exit last April, including appearances in the Pontin’s Pro-Am events at Prestatyn, North Wales.
He’s also been on holiday to India, played some golf in Spain and flies out to Sweden shortly for another Pro-Am golf event.
Most of his practice has been done at his new base at the Radisson Hotel in the Stillorgan district of Dublin.
"They’ve put a new snooker room in there for me and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s called Jason’s snooker room.
"The guy who used to own the old club, owns the hotel as well and he’s set everything up for me.
"It’s a new chapter in my life. I moved into a new house last February but only got chance to finish it off over the summer.
"And my wife Sarah and I bought this new dog. It’s a King Charles Cavalier spaniel called Toffee. I wanted to call it Marty because it’s got funny Marty Feldman type eyes. But she wasn’t too keen."
Статья сопровождается морем фоток микроскопических размеров , фотки кладу в *Фотоальбом*
09 August 2006 Belfast may be the first port of call for the world's best snooker players next week but it was Carrick that was uppermost in the thoughts of Ken Doherty.
No, not that one, the one that has been occupying the thoughts of most Manchester United fans in recent times - Michael.
At number two he in occupying the loftiest perch he has held in snooker's world rankings you get the feeling that he's been even happier pulling on a pair of boots and swapping the green baize for the lush green turf of Old Trafford.
He certainly talks a good game. Well, several games, to be precise. Snooker, soccer, even gaelic football, the Dub can wax lyrical about happy times spent at the Crucible, the Stretford End or on Hill 16.
He deals with questions on the merits of Sir Alex Ferguson's latest expensive dip of the toe into the transfer pool as assuredly as the graceful ease with which he glides around the snooker table.
In his prime there is no better sight than Doherty's break-building. Silky-smooth, unflustered and making the game seem ridiculously easy, he is nearing that prime again.
This season will mark the 10th anniversary of his World Championship success at the Crucible. He still pinches himself to this day, especially fulfilling a boyhood dream by parading the trophy in front of the faithful at Old Trafford.
Despite that success he has never been No.1 in the world, but he holds that position provisionally ahead of Sunday's season opener, the Northern Ireland Trophy.
In Belfast last week to help promote the first ranking tournament of the season, he couldn't exactly be described as a bundle of nerves, as ice cool as the iceberg lettuce in the sandwich he chomped down as he discussed the merits of snooker, and more importantly, United's new signing.
"It's a bit of a strange one, isn't it, considering he was only about three million a couple of years ago," he said. "I would say it was a very inflated price for a guy who couldn't even get into the England team. Is he Roy Keane? I don't think so.
"I think that's the problem. There's not enough players out there. I don't know why he (Ferguson) didn't go to Europe to look for a player he might have got a lot cheaper. But he must see something in him. He was always good. I remember watching him playing for West Ham years ago when he and Joe Cole were only kids, and he was up and coming then.
"I think Ferguson is fantastic. He sees something in him and you can't question someone like Ferguson's judgement. How can you? He's brought so much success to the club and signed so many good players and brought so many through the ranks, so who are we to question him?"
Oh yes, the snooker.
Malta wouldn't strike most people as a snooker hotbed. It's certainly hot, but for Doherty his epic win over John Higgins in the Malta Open ignited his season and started his rapid rise up the rankings.
"I had a very consistent year last year but the win in Malta was the pivotal point for me," he explained. "This time last year I was struggling to stay in the top 16 and that was my priority because if I'd had to go back to doing those qualifiers I'd have ended up in the psychiatric unit of the CFH in Dublin!
"I turned my whole season around, and my game around. It's about confidence, I won a few games, got a bit more consistency and Malta was the turning point."
While he nibbled contentedly at his sarnie there is obviously something still gnawing away at him - his early exit from the World Championships.
"I was disappointed because I thought I had a really good chance to win the World Championships," he confessed. "There was nobody there who I feared, and I know Marco Fu played well, but I didn't reach the heights I could have.
"But if you look at the season as a whole, I got up to No.2, provisionally at No.1, and had I beaten Marco I would have been No.1. I'm doing okay though, I'm looking forward to this season and I'm in a lot better position than I was."
The ideal scenario for the new season then is simple.
"United win the Champions' League, I win the World Championship and Dublin win the All-Ireland," he laughed.
"Dublin still have a chance and I'll be at Croker to watch them.
"I won't be on the hill though. The last time I was there I nearly got squashed and it was a running battle, so I'll have the comforts of the Paddy Power corporate box."
Whether he will be in the boxseat come next Sunday and the end of the season remains to be seen.
Riba
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Отправлено: 10.08.06 11:35. Заголовок: Re:
ARNIE WELCOMES SNOOKER TO USA 07 Aug 2006 10:31:00
Hollywood film star and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has sent a message of welcome to competitors in the IBSF World Snooker Team Championship, which starts next week.
The event will be staged in San Jose from August 16-26 and is the first major international snooker tournament to be held in the USA.
Schwarzenegger, the former Mr Universe and star of films such as Conan the Barbarian, Terminator and Raw Deal, released a statement to say:
"I am pleased to offer warm greetings to the participants and supporters of the World Snooker Team Championship. This event brings together accomplished snooker players to compete in the beautiful city of San Jose.
"This year's contenders have demonstrated a serious commitment to achieving excellence in their sport. As a former professional athlete, I can appreciate the perseverence and dedication required to be successful in competitions.
"I would also like to commend the organsiers and sponsors of this event for their hard work and dedication. Please accept my best wishes for a wonderful event and every future success."
To be held at the Gateway Ballroom, the tournament will comprise an initial group phase with the leading teams going through to the quarter-finals.
The England team of David Lilley, Michael Rhodes and David Craggs is in Group A alongside Hong Kong, India, UAE, Sweden, the Isle of Man and two American teams. Former world amateur champion Pankaj Advani features in the Indian team while UAE include Main Tour pro Mohammed Shehab.
Thailand look to be the favourites in Group B with a team of Atthasit Mahitthi, Kobkit Palajin and Phaithoon Phonbun. They are up against Japan, South Africa, India B, USA C, Australia, an International team and the Scotland outfit of Bobby Cruickshanks, Alan Hall and David Qadir.
Riba
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WORLD SNOOKER LAUNCHES NEW CORPORATE IDENTITY 10 Aug 2006 09:28:00
World Snooker has a new look for a new era.
The change has been prompted by the desire to have a consistent brand, as World Snooker has, in recent times, used a variety of different marks.
With the expansion of the sport into new territories we are keen to create one cohesive design that will become instantly recognisable and synonymous with the World governing body.
The other key factor in the evolution of the brand was the establishment of World Snooker’s state of the art Academy, which opened its doors on July 1st and which will be officially opened on September 13th.
The logo keeps the central theme of a globe and a snooker ball but the typography and colour have evolved to a stronger position. In addition, the move to using one of the sport’s key colours, red, is designed to draw an instant affiliation with the game.
Fittingly with the growth of the sport in China, red and black mean prosperity and stability, two traits that World Snooker hope characterise the sport going forward, and which are particularly prevalent on the Academy logo.
11 August 2006 He may no longer figure on the ranking circuit but one man will always remain synonymous with snooker in this part of the world.
Alex Higgins was not just the fans' favourite though, his well-versed misdemeanours over the years adding even more colour to a kaleidoscopic character.
And two of his biggest fans will be competing at the Waterfront Hall next week as the Northern Ireland Trophy takes centre stage.
Ask Joe Swail and Ken Doherty who inspired them to pick up a cue and without a moment's hesitation the answer is Higgins.
Doherty was World Champion in 1997, a success that took him to Old Trafford to parade the trophy while an estimated crowd of 250,000 came onto the streets of Dublin to mark the return of the conquering hero.
But it is a trip to the Waterfront a decade ago in a testimonial game for Higgins that is one of his fondest memories of that hectic time.
"There were 22 or 23 hundred people standing on their feet, I came in with the trophy, he came in with the hat, the scarf, and it went 5-4," he remembered.
"Nights like that were unbelievable, a super crowd, and then, of course, he p***** off without signing autographs! But that was the true rock star Alex Higgins.
"But I still love him. He was great for the game and when he won the World Championships in the Seventies that inspired me to be a snooker player and I'll always be thankful for Alex Higgins and what he did for snooker.
"The ten years has gone so quickly, but there was 10 years between his World Championships, so maybe there's an omen there!"
It's the same for another Belfast boy, Joe Swail.
"I used to beg my mum to let me stay up and watch him when it was about 10 or 11 o'clock at night and I had school the next morning and she was saying 'no, you're not allowed up', but it was good.
"I remember him winning in 1982, he was a character and the reason I picked up a cue."
Doherty is no stranger to Belfast, having been a regular visitor here over the years but he is clearly impressed by how things have progressed.
"It's fantastic to see how Belfast has developed," he said.
"This whole area (around the Waterfront) reminds me of Dublin, and there has been such a change. Belfast has always been a beautiful city, and the thing about it is they have a great passion for sport, and snooker is steeped in history here because of Alex Higgins, so it's only fitting we come here with a world ranking event."
Clive Everton Saturday August 12, 2006 The Guardian
The Northern Ireland Trophy, inaugurated a year ago as an invitation tournament, returns to the Waterfront Hall, Belfast tomorrow as the first of the new season's seven world ranking events. Local support will be squarely behind Mark Allen, the 2004 world amateur champion, who beat Steve Davis and John Higgins at this venue last year and went on to achieve a ranking of 62nd at the end of his first professional season. It is very early in the year to hold a ranking event, a move dictated by Barry Hearn's Betfred Premier League occupying every Thursday except one from September until early December. After a summer more suitable for the golf course than sweltering on the practice table, some top players may not be as well prepared as those who have had to survive the qualifying competition at Prestatyn. Stephen Hendry and Davis, just back from playing in a poker tournament in Las Vegas, will make do with a week's practice while Ronnie O'Sullivan's concentration is currently divided between snooker and pool.
While O'Sullivan seems motivated by the lure of something new, others are looking for opportunities in pool to bulk up their snooker income. Although the world ranking circuit of seven events is worth £2.83m in comparison with last season's £2.34m for six, even this does not compare favourably with the previous three seasons, all with eight events, which offered, decreasingly, £5.19m, £4.89m and £2.95m. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association continues to find the sport's blossoming popularity difficult to translate into commercial affluence.
14 August 2006 Joe Swail predicted there would be shocks in the Northern Ireland Trophy and his words proved prophetic yesterday when he tumbled out of his home tournament.
Even with a partisan crowd on his side at the Waterfront Hall, the man provisionally ranked at No.13 in the world crashed out when hammered 5-1 by Gerard Greene.
Greene was steady, if unspectacular, notching up breaks of 55 and 42 to win the opener.
Runs of 48, 43 and 38 helped him jump into a 4-0 lead and staring down the barrel of a whitewash, Swail finally found his touch and a break of 67 got him on the board.
Greene, whose family lives in Northern Ireland, kept his cool though to win the sixth frame and book a second round date with Steve Davis.
"I played pretty well, but Joe didn't play as well as he can," said Greene.
"The home crowd were on Joe's side. He had a few more supporters, but I didn't let it bother me. It's the perfect start for me."
There was a shock too for Alan McManus, a semi-finalist at last season's Wembley Masters, who crashed out 5-2 in the first round to Preston potter Stuart Pettman.
McManus had breaks of 76 and 80, but with runs of 40, 42 and 92 Pettman made sure he went through.
Welshman Dominic Dale pocketed a century break in the opening frame of his first round match with Hong Kong's Marco Fu, before grinding out a 5-3 win to set up a meeting with last season's 888.com World Championship finalist Peter Ebdon.
In the morning session, David Gray lost 5-2 to Jamie Burnett, rattling in a 117 break along the way, while there was a thriller on the other table in the game between Mark Selby and Tony Drago.
The game was level no fewer than four times, but Selby finally edged past the Maltese cueist in a low scoring deciding frame.
All eyes today will focus on Mark Allen who begins his second season as a professional with a clash against Ryan Day this afternoon.
This time last year Allen shocked the snooker world with wins over Steve Davis and John Higgins, but with expectation now heaped on his young shoulders, he will be keen to show he is now a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.
Riba
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SNOOKER: McCulloch through without fuss
Lancashire's Ian McCulloch wasted little time in booking his place in the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy today. The Preston potter took just under two hours today to defeat Scunthorpe`s Matthew Couch at the Waterfront Hall, emerging a comfortable 5-1 victor in their best-of-nine-frames clash thanks to breaks of 82, 63, 54, 53, 47 and 47.
Victory has now left the two-time ranking event finalist facing the mouth-watering challenge of facing seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry in the next phase.
"He`s [Hendry] given me a few headaches in the past, but I can beat him," said the world number 26, who is aiming to break back into the top 16 in the elite standings this season.
"I like playing him and if I play like I did against Matthew, then I have a good chance.
"Matthew struggled out there and looked a bit nervous, but I played alright and took my chances.
"I`ve had a nice holiday in Tenerife this summer and I`m looking forward to the season. I want to get back into the top 16, and I`ll be trying my best to do that."
Couch, the world number 70, never found his feet in front of the television cameras, mustering a high break of just 52 in the fourth frame to reduce his arrears after left-hander McCulloch had raced into a 3-0 lead.
Couch, whose best performance at ranking event was a quarter-final appearance at the 1998 UK Championship, admitted he had found McCulloch in top form.
"Ian was just too good for me. I didn`t play very well," reflected the 32-year-old.
Meanwhile, in the only other morning match on the second day of this year`s eight-day event, Derbyshire`s David Roe dug deep to record an excellent 5-4 win over Basildon`s Stuart Bingham.
Riba
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Отправлено: 14.08.06 20:07. Заголовок: Re:
Snooker: Davies a threat to Ding progress Aug 14 2006
Chinese star Ding Junhui could face a handful tonight when he meets Welshman Paul Davies in the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast.
The reigning UK champion begins his 2006-07 campaign at the Waterfront Hall, pitted against Davies, a player who is experiencing a renaissance of form.
Cardiff’s Davies is back in the top 64 for the first time in five years and, despite being some 17 years older than his teenage prodigy, the former Dubai Classic and Asian Open semi-finalist is looking for a good run at this year’s eight-day event.
“I’ve had a purple patch in the last few weeks,” said Davies.
“I know I’m playing well. I’ve been working on the mental pressure side of the game for a couple of years, so it has not been an overnight success.”
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I WON'T MAKE IT EASY FOR MY MATE
By Alan Marshall GRAEME DOTT insists he'll forget about friendship when he clashes with practice partner Jamie Burnett at snooker's first ranking event of the season tomorrow.
The Scots meet in the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast after Burnett beat Londoner David Gray 5-2 yesterday, pocketing breaks of 117, 77 and 55.
Dott, who plays with Burnett at The Masters club in Glasgow, said: "It will be nice to play Jamie. He's a great player but whoever I play this season I want to make sure I perform.
"I want to have a good season as world champion. I'm sure being introduced as that before my match will be a very special feeling.
"You couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I won the world title. Now I want to start this season with a win. It has come round quickly and I want to enjoy it. I'm looking forward to playing in Belfast."
Burnett is also looking forward to battling it out with the world No. 6 for a place in the last 16. He said: "I don't think Graeme gets enough credit. He's a great player and very tough to beat but I have nothing to lose."
Burnett, ranked No.62 in the world, said: "Graeme has more guts and bottle than 99 per cent of the players so I was delighted for him when he won the world title. It was long overdue.
"He proved last year how good he is and I think he's the type of player who will buzz off being introduced as world champion before every match. I think it will help him."
But Burnett feels his game is in decent enough shape to give Dott a real test. He said: "I didn't really expect much against David because I've not had that much practice but I played well.
"It's really important to start the season well and to be honest David looked match shy. He missed balls that he usually wouldn't.
"The score could quite easily have been 5-2 the other way but you take your luck and now I have my match with Graeme to look forward too.
"I saw Graeme at the club the other week and told him I had a new tip. He joked with me that it didn't play well if we played each other. I hope it's a good match."
Preston potter Stuart Pettman made the perfect start to the new snooker season yesterday. The left-hander dispensed with former world No.6 Alan McManus to book his place in the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy at the Waterfront Hall.
And a 5-2 win was enough to earn the 31-year-old a mouth-watering second round tie with former world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
"I can't wait to play him," said a delighted Pettman, who compiled breaks of 92, 42 and 40 to progress. He joked: "I've obviously got an easy match in the next round!
"Ronnie's a great player, but I've got nothing to lose. I'm looking forward to the match.
"We've played a few times and I've been ahead in a couple of those matches and he's come back.
"Hopefully I can beat him for a change."
Pettman was forced to qualify for the first ranking event of the season, defeating Lee Page at the Pontin's Holiday Park in Prestatyn at the end of last month.
But with a couple of games under his belt he feels he could fair well in Belfast when many other players are 'coming in cold'.
"That's a great start to the season for me," added Pettman. "To be honest I've not really practised. Me and Shokat Ali have bought a snooker club in Lancashire, and my time has been spent working on the business.
"I had three hours' practice before my qualifying match in Prestatyn, and I played well.
"I think the pressure has lifted off me because I've been focusing on the business.
"I have adopted a carefree attitude.
"Maybe I should stick with it if I keep winning."
Fellow Prestonian Ian McCulloch opens his account against Scunthorpe's Matthew Couch.
The world No.26, twice a ranking event runner-up, will play seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry in the second round if he were to progress. 14 August 2006
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Свеженькие послематчевые с Ворлдснукера DOTT BACK TO WINNING WAYS 15 Aug 2006 13:54:00
World champion Graeme Dott made a winning start to the new snooker season at the Northern Ireland Trophy today.
The Pocket Dyanmo fought back from 3-2 behind to defeat fellow countryman Jamie Burnett 5-3 in their first round clash at the Waterfront Hall.
Larkhall's Dott, the world No 6, had breaks of 80, 50 and 67 to earn a second round showdown with Leicester's Mark Selby on Thursday morning.
"It's important to win your first match of the season, especially after winning the world title," said a relaxed Dott. "You want to get that first win under your belt."
Burnett had runs of 61, 83 and 97 to make life difficult for Dott, but the 29-year-old used every ounce of his 12 years experience as a professional to get over the winning line.
He forged a 2-0 lead, opening with an 80 break, before Burnett won three frames on the spin to edge 3-2 ahead. But Dott won the last three frames, fluking a red in the last frame.
"Jamie played three good frames to go ahead, but I played ok and started well," added Dott. "He potted a black ball and knocked in a red by accident. Otherwise it could have been 4-2, but it was cruel for him because a fluke in the last frame helped me win.
"I've not had much practice before this tournament, so it was always going to be a wee bit more of a struggle, but I played well and had some good breaks."
Looking ahead to his match with Dott, Selby, a 5-2 victor over Tiptree's Ali Carter, said: "Graeme's a great player, so I can't wait to play him.
"We've never played each other before, but you always look forward to playing the world champion."
Breaks of 77 and 76 were enough to see the 2003 Scottish Open runner-up triumph, while Carter failed to make a break over 50 in his first outing of the 2006/7 season.
"I'm playing better and feeling more confident," added Selby. "I've come here on a high having won the World 8-Ball Pool Championship in the summer.
"I had a tough match against Tony Drago, but the first match of the season is always difficult. I didn't play outstandingly well against Ali, but I feel happy about my game."
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WIZARD'S NEW WAND WEAVES MAGIC 15 Aug 2006 18:15:00
John Higgins used his new cue to fine effect as he progressed to the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy.
The Masters and Grand Prix champ recovered from a slow start to beat Robert Milkins 5-3 and set up a match with Anthony Hamilton or Ding Junhui at the Waterfront Hall.
Despite his success last season, reaching four major finals, Higgins starts the campaign afresh with a new cue.
"I’d been tinkering with the length of my old cue over the last few years," said the world No 4. "So I decided to forget about that and play with a new one. It took me a bit of time to adjust today but I’m very happy with it."
Wishaw’s Higgins won two of the first four frames with breaks of 73 and 78. Gloucester’s Milkins, a former Irish Masters semi-finalist, edged ahead after the interval with a 40 clearance in frame five.
But former world champion Higgins hit back with runs of 45, 47 and 40 to win the last three.
"It was looking very dodgy at the point and Robert had a chance to go 4-2 in front," added Higgins. "It was important I won that sixth frame to make it 3-3. Sometimes you begin to doubt yourself, but I played well enough."
The Scot has considered joining the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White in trying his hand at pool during the summer break but snooker is his first priority.
"I was talking to Ronnie about it today and he’s says it’s tough on the pool tour in America," said Higgins. "He said you can scrape through the first couple of rounds but if you are not an expert at the break-off shot you’ll soon get beaten by the top guys. Snooker's what I'm good at so I think I’ll stick to that."
Last season’s Crucible finalist Peter Ebdon had little to smile about as he suffered a 5-3 defeat against Welshman Dominic Dale.
Ebdon, the world No 7 and 2002 world champion, knocked in breaks of 128, 61 and 60. But Dale, sporting a bright pink shirt, was also in top form and, with runs of 104, 62, 59, 56, 52 and 45, secured his path into the last 16.
"Beating Peter is a big scalp for me, but I feel I’m back playing at a level I’m happy with," revealed former Grand Prix champion Dale, who missed the 14th red when on target for a 147 in the sixth frame.
"I’ve lacked a lot of self-belief in the past, but I’m a tremendous snooker player and why shouldn’t I believe in myself?
"I’ve won a major tournament and winning boosts your confidence. I won a couple of frames I shouldn’t have done in that match, but I’ve also made a couple of tremendous clearances."
Ryan Day built on his impressive win over Mark Allen with an emphatic 5-1 defeat of world No 12 Barry Hawkins.
The Pontycymmer potter crashed in breaks of 73, 70 and 89 to set up a match with Mark Williams or Andrew Norman.
TUESDAY 15/08/2006 13:48:46 SNOOKER:Dott wins at Belfast event
World champion Graeme Dott was forced to dig deep to book his place in the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast. Last season`s Crucible winner had to battle back from 3-2 down to triumph 5-3 against fellow countryman Jamie Burnett at the Waterfront Hall, pocketing breaks of 80, 50 and 67 to progress.
The world number six said after the success: "It`s important to win your first match of the season, especially after winning the world title.
"If you win things can happen quite quickly and infest. You want to get that first win under your belt."
Burnett had runs of 61, 83 and 97 to make life difficult for Larkhall`s Dott, but the 29-year-old used every ounce of his 12 years experience as a professional to get over the winning line.
He opened up a 2-0 lead, opening with an 80 break, before Burnett won three frames on the spin to edge 3-2 ahead.
But Dott won the last three frames of the pair`s best-of-nine clash, fluking a red in the last frame to help grab his first win of the season.
"Jamie played three good frames to go ahead, but I played okay and started well," added Dott, who now plays Leicester`s Mark Selby, winner of the World 8-Ball Pool Championship in Blackpool this summer.
"He potted a black ball and knocked in a red by accident. "If he`d got that it would have been 4-2, but it was cruel for him because a fluke in the last frame helped me win.
"I`ve not had much practice before this tournament, so it was always going to be a wee bit more of a struggle, but I played well and had some good breaks."
Meanwhile, Selby, who knocked out Maltese cueman Tony Drago in the first round, wasted little time in securing his place in the last 16 with a 5-2 victory over Tiptree`s Ali Carter.
Playing in the only other match of the morning session, world number 28 Selby, secured his second victory in Belfast this week - and is understandably looking to continue his fine form against Dott.
"I`m playing better and feeling more confident," said Selby, who went 3-0 ahead and had a chance to go 4-0 ahead in his clash with Carter.
"Graeme`s a great player, so I can`t wait to play him. "We`ve never played each other before, but you always look forward to playing the world champion."
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DUO CAN FLY FLAG FOR CHINA IN BELFAST
Chinese double act Ding Junhui and Tian Pengfei have the chance to make their mark at this week's Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast.
The teenagers are both through to the second round at the Waterfront Hall, although defending UK champion Ding was taken the distance in his opening match of the 2006/07 season.
Ding, also the 2005 China Open winner, was forced to fight back from 4-2 down to beat Welsh qualifier Paul Davies 5-4 in their best of nine frame clash.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Pengfei defeated Devon left-hander Andy Hicks 5-3 to make sure of his place in the next round.
Ding was understandably unimpressed with his display, but is happy to still be in the tournament, the first of this year's ranking events.
"I played badly and I was nervous," admitted Ding, who won the match on a final frame decider, sinking the remaining blue and pink balls to progress.
He added: "There's pressure on me now because I'm in the top 32.
"I got very few chances in the last frame, so I just had to concentrate.
"I'm very relieved to have won. I must play better in my next match."
A defeated Hicks believes the emerging Chinese players are here to stay on the world circuit.
"There's quite a few good players coming out of China," said the world number 31.
"He (Tian) is a good player, but I gave him too many chances. The standard is so high these days that you can't afford to make many mistakes because you get punished."
Day three of this year's eight-day championship, with Ј200,000 worth of prize money up for grabs, sees world champion Graeme Dott take on fellow Scot Jamie Burnett in the first of the second round clashes.
Dott has been practising with John Higgins, last season's Masters and Grand Prix winner, at The Masters club in Glasgow.
And having tasted sweet success in winning the biggest prize in the game last May, the Larkhall potter is understandably looking to have a good year as the defending world champion.
"I want to have a good season as world champion," said Dott.
"I'm sure being introduced as the world champion before my match will be a very special feeling."
The second round also sees last season's 888.com World Championship runner-up Peter Ebdon open his account, as will world number four Higgins, two-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and Welsh big guns Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens.
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DALE DELIVERS EBDON KO
Last season's Crucible finalist Peter Ebdon had little to smile about on Tuesday afternoon after he was surprisingly dumped out of the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast.
Playing in his first competitive match of the 2006/7 season, the 888.com World Championship runner-up was beaten 5-3 by Welshman Dominic Dale at the Waterfront Hall despite some solid break-building.
Wellingborough potter Ebdon, the world No 7 and 2002 world champion, knocked in breaks of 128, 61 and 60.
But Dale, sporting a bright pink shirt, was also in top form and, with runs of 104, 62, 59, 56, 52 and 45 securing his path into the last 16.
"Beating Peter is a big scalp for me, but I feel I'm back playing at a level I'm happy with," revealed Dale, who has been working hard on his technique during the summer.
"I've been striking the ball really well and working hard in private. Against some players you feel very comfortable when you're 4-2 ahead, but against Peter you can never relax.
"I've lacked a lot of self-belief in the past, but I'm a tremendous snooker player and why shouldn't I believe in myself?
"I've won a major tournament and winning boosts your confidence. I've won a couple of frames I shouldn't have done in that match, but I've also made a couple of tremendous clearances."
Current Masters and Grand Prix champion John Higgins is also through to the last 16 after a far from routine victory over Gloucester's Robert Milkins.
The Wizard of Wishaw was forced to come back from 3-2, before snatching a 5-3 win.
And the Scot openly admitted his passage through to the next round had looked precarious after Milkins had gone close to going 4-2 ahead.
"It was looking very dodgy at the point and Robert had a chance to go 4-2 in front," revealed Higgins, the world No 4, who was playing with a new cue.
"It was important I won that sixth frame to make it 3-3. I'm playing with a new cue and it took me time to adjust out there.
"Sometimes you begin to doubt yourself, but I played well enough."
World No 4 Higgins had breaks of 73, 78, 45, 47 and 40 to keep his name in the hat for this year's crown, and will now play either Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui, the current UK champion, or Nottingham's Anthony Hamilton on Thursday evening.
"I thought I played ok and maybe I tried a bit harder here because this is a ranking event," added Higgins.
"Last year this wasn't a ranking event and when you are 3-1 down you are sometimes more inclined to throw the towel in.
"But I'm in the next round and looking forward to the season."
Welshman Ryan Day defeated last season's Grand Prix semi-finalist Barry Hawkins, 5-1 to go through, compiling breaks of 73, 70, 40, 43 and 89 on the way to victory.
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DRAGONS THROUGH IN BELFAST
The Welsh flag is flying high at the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast.
Four Welshman have reached the last 16 stage of this year's tournament at the Waterfront Hall.
And one of them is guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals after the top half of the draw pans out nicely for any one of three Welsh players.
Two-time world champion Mark Williams wasted little time in reaching the business end of the tournament with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Bristol's Andrew Norman.
But next up is a clash with fellow countryman Ryan Day, one of his practice partners.
Day, who has dropped just two frames in his first and second round matches, has revealed this week that the pair have had some "brilliant" practice matches.
So it is no wonder that the Bridgend potter believes he has every chance of booking a quarter-final birth if he can beat his good mate. Whoever wins, a Welshman is guaranteed a place in the last eight.
And the winner of that match will play either former World Championship runner-up Matthew Stevens, who faces Ronnie O'Sullivan in his next match after whitewashing Romford's Mark King in the second round.
The probability of a Welshman in the semis is high, but The Rocket stands in their way.
Perhaps the most surprising of the four players to progress is Dominic Dale.
Dale, a ranking event winner back at the 1997 Grand Prix, has impressed since his arrival in Belfast.
Victories over Hong Kong's Marco Fu, and yesterday an excellent 5-3 win against Peter Ebdon, last season's Crucible finalist, have deservedly given Dale the chance to continue sparkling at this year's tournament.
Next up will be a clash with either six-times world champion Steve Davis or Gerard Greene, the last standing local interest.
"I'm playing really well," said Dale. "I've got nothing to lose and I'll be giving it everything I've got to beat either Steve or Gerard. It's all about self-belief."
The fourth day of the event also sees seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry open his 2006/7 season account against Lancastrian left-hander Ian McCulloch, while former UK and European Open winner Stephen
Maguire takes on Cleveland qualifier Mike Dunn.
Other big names in action today are Davis, defending UK champion Ding Junhui, Aussie ace Neil Robertson, last season's Welsh Open winner Stephen Lee, 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy and former world champion and crowd favourite Ken Doherty.
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O'SULLIVAN SQUEEZES THROUGH
Ronnie O'Sullivan found it tough going on his way to reaching the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy tonight.
He fought back from 2-1 behind against Preston's Stuart Pettman to grab a 5-4 win at the Waterfront Hall, but laughed off any suggestion the match had been hard work.
"It was kind of tough, but I enjoyed it. I had a bit of fun," reflected O'Sullivan, a beaten finalist twice last season who now plays Welshman Matthew Stevens in the next round.
"It's good to be here. It was a good crowd."
Asked whether he is worried about ranking points this season having slipped to No 12 in the provisional rankings, O'Sullivan said: "If you start worrying about that you might as well be stacking shelves!"
Pettman was understandably downbeat that he had not won the match having made breaks of 56, 66 and 96.
But having led and then missed a glorious chance to edge 3-2 ahead, the Lancastrian qualifier was left to rue what might have been.
"I should have gone 3-2 ahead, but I missed an easy red which I should have potted. Ronnie's made a brilliant clearance to win the frame," said Pettman.
"But when it went 4-4 I had a chance to win it. I had a half-chance on a red, but Ronnie showed his class to win the match.
"I can't take too many positives from the match because I've lost, but I played okay and played well in my first-round win over Alan McManus."
O'Sullivan won a scrappy opening frame, before Pettman went 2-1 ahead, the highlight of which was a 56 break in the second frame.
A 53 break and then O'Sullivan's 71 run saw him go 3-2 ahead, before Pettman rallied to level with a 96 break.
It went 4-4, O'Sullivan taking the next with a 113 break, only for Pettman to win a scrappy eighth.
However, victory was eventually O'Sullivan's when he sunk a 55 break to make sure of a place in the next round.
Meanwhile, Welsh wizards Mark Williams and Stevens safely secured their passages into the last 16, both players easing to comfortable second round wins.
Two-time world champion Williams had a 5-1 win over Bristol's Andrew Norman, compiling 108, 75, 46, 40 and 47 breaks for victory, while fellow countryman Stevens whitewashed Romford's Mark King.
Left-hander King mustered a high break of just 33 as Carmarthen's Stevens pocketed runs of 70, 61, 62, 73 and 51 to earn a showdown with O'Sullivan on Thursday afternoon.
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WEDNESDAY 16/08/2006 13:47:06 SNOOKER: Hendry marches on at Belfast event
The seven-times world champion disposed of Lancaster`s Ian McCulloch 5-3 in their second-round showdown at the Waterfront Hall.
But the all-conquering Scot did not have it all his own way and was forced to battle back from 2-0 behind after Preston potter McCulloch got off to a flyer.
"I`ve only been practising for 10 days, but I know I can play snooker. It`s all about getting your head right," said Hendry, who pocketed breaks of 46, 67, 112 and 46.
"I was 2-0 down and it could have been 3-0, but I hung in there and my form got better. I felt in control."
McCulloch opened with 60 and 40 breaks to give Hendry plenty to ponder, before Hendry found an extra gear to win the next four frames.
Hendry had runs of 46, 67 and 112 as he opened up a two-frame lead, before McCulloch, a two-time ranking event finalist, won the seventh frame with a break of 87 to reduce his arrears.
However, Hendry won the next to earn a last-16 clash with either Trowbridge`s Stephen Lee, last season`s Welsh Open winner, or Derbyshire`s David Roe.
"He got stronger and stronger," admitted McCulloch, who was left to rue a missed chanced to go 3-0 ahead when he ran out of position.
"I also chucked a frame away, but I`ve got some valuable ranking points from my first-round win. It`s a shame I lost because I fancied the job."
Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire, the former UK and European Open champion, made a solid start to the new season.
The world number nine defeated Cleveland qualifier Mike Dunn 5-2 in the only other match of the morning session.
But he too was forced to fight back from 2-0 behind, after breaks of 35 and 62 saw Dunn take an early lead.
However, it was one-way traffic from there on in as Maguire compiled breaks of 65, 57, 77 and 131 to win five frames on the spin, with Dunn collecting just 23 points from those frames.
"You could tell Mike had played a couple of matches because he was right in on the balls, but from 2-0 down I played brilliantly," said a delighted Maguire.
"I`ve practised hard for the new season and it`s nice to win a first-round match for a change.
"I think I`ve been a professional for seven or eight years now and I think I`ve only ever won three first-round matches."
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WEDNESDAY 16/08/2006 18:24:44 SNOOKER: Greene ends Davis hopes Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene has dumped six-time world champion Steve Davis out of the Northern Ireland Trophy. He defeated Davis 5-2 in their second round best-of-nine frame showdown at the Waterfront Hall this afternoon.
The Northern Irish man started in fine fashion, pocketing a 62 break before `The Nugget` stole a scrappy second frame to level matters.
Breaks of 75 and 48 helped Greene establish a 3-1 interval lead, before winning the first frame after the restart to go 4-1 ahead.
Davis, a beaten finalist in last season`s UK Championship in York, reduced his arrears to 4-2 thanks to a break of 52, but it was Greene who made sure of victory by winning the seventh and deciding frame.
"It`s about time that I beat Steve," said Greene, who was beaten 10-9 by Davis at the World Championship in Sheffield two seasons ago.
"That win doesn`t make up for the Crucible defeat, but I was happy with the way I played.
"If I`d have beaten him 10-0, then that would have made up for losing to him in Sheffield."
Spurred on by his watching family, including his father Gerard, uncles and aunties, Greene admitted the home support has been a big help.
"It`s nice to have a few people supporting me out there, especially my family," added Greene, who now plays Welshman Dominic Dale in the last 16.
"Dominic`s playing well, so it should be a good match. I beat him 5-0 a couple of years ago and I normally do well against him.
"It`s nice that I`m the last local player here. It would be great if I could get into the quarter-finals, and then even the final."
ASIA'S No1 ranked player Marco Fu of Hong Kong put the icing on the cake as he defeated Issara Kachaiwong 5-3 to win the SangSom-Hua Hin Thailand Masters 2006 top honours on Sunday.
World No.22 Fu ( Highland Spring / Betfred ) was rewarded with a cash prize of 100,000 baht and a glittering trophy that he received from the Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptaphanlop. Issara, a Chanthaburi native, received 50,000 baht for his second-place finish.
Fu once again impressed at the Hua Hin Grand Hotel Ballroom, packed to its capacity with local snooker fans, in a match that saw two players exact amazing pots, miss simple balls and trade punches in engrossing safety tussles.
The 110sport star led Issara, the reigning Asian champion, 3-1 at the mid-session interval, but Issara was not willing to give in easily and after a marathon clash in the fifth he stole the frame on the black ball to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Fu took the sixth, but then Issara hit back with a 56 point run to capture the seventh. Issara potted a difficult red, but the cue ball struck the blue, which, much to the chagrin of everyone at the venue, disappeared into the centre pocket. This paved the way for Fu cruise home successfully and seal the fate of the match.
A beaming Fu claimed later: "I didn't play as well as I had in the semifinals, but it still proved enough. Issara played very well and has the potential to do well on the professional tour.
"He missed a few balls here and there and that in fact enabled me to win today. I hope that I will be here again for another tournament next year." Final: Marco Fu ( Hong Kong ) beat Issara Kachaiwong 5-3 (61-48, 48-71, 74-8, 115(90)-0, 57-62, 85-22, 0-66(56), 61-38
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