After a three day break the action resumes again at the EISS as the final round of the World Championship qualifiers gets underway. Click below for the latest…
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Results
10am
Jamie Cope 6-3 Paul Davies
60-34, 61-51, 57-47, 16-84(84), 71-48, 55-65, 98(98)-0, 9-62, 82(82)-8
Stuart Bingham 5-4 Alan McManus
40-62(55), 71(51)-0, 32-78(54), 75-43, 72-0, 5-73, 68-33, 62-48, 24-68(66)
Nigel Bond 4-5 Mike Dunn
26-66(53), 97-16, 1-84(78), 67-38, 1-93(93), 0-76, 28-87(63), 104-0, 114(114)-1
Matthew Stevens 3-6 Martin Gould
49(44)-71, 74-34, 70(55)-45, 30-108, 44-58, 70(69)-9, 66-68, 16-65, 7-114(113)
Michael Judge 3-6 Andrew Higginson
63-5, 44-76(52), 63-66, 0-83(54), 60-34, 10-71(69), 26-64, 61-36, 20-63
Dominic Dale 5-4 Michael Holt
67-74, 69-37, 77-42, 60-51, 93-38, 5-97, 28-145(79), 69-16, 32-79(61)
4pm
Jamie Cope 10-5 Paul Davies
60-34, 61-51, 57-47, 16-84(84), 71-48, 55-65, 98(98)-0, 9-62, 82(82)-8, 50-62, 58-48, 21-76, 73(40)-6, 103(103)-3, 54-11
Stuart Bingham 10-6 Alan McManus
40-62(55), 71(51)-0, 32-78(54), 75-43, 72-0, 5-73, 68-33, 62-48, 24-68(66)
Nigel Bond 10-7 Mike Dunn
26-66(53), 97-16, 1-84(78), 67-38, 1-93(93), 0-76, 28-87(63), 104-0, 114(114)-1, 105(85)-1
Matthew Stevens 4-10 Martin Gould
49(44)-71(70), 74(40)-34, 70(55)-45, 30-108(108), 44-58, 70(69)-9, 66(42)-68, 16-65, 7-114(113), 53-72(51), 49-58, 70-21, 32-73(72), 28-100(100)
Michael Judge 4-10 Andrew Higginson
63-5, 44-76(52), 63(41)-66(42), 0-83(54), 60-34, 10-71(69), 26-64, 61-36, 20-63, 0-78(77), 70(69)-9, 22-71(56), 33-86(56), 24-62
Dominic Dale 7-10 Michael Holt
67-74, 69-37, 77-42, 60-51, 93-38, 5-97, 28-145(79), 69-16, 32-79(61)
Observations
The match between Nigel Bond and Mike Dunn has so far turned out to be as tight as I suspected it might be, with Dunn holding a narrow lead going into the second session. He has certainly been in the better form this season and it showed early on as he moved 5-2 ahead, but it will not be easy to seal victory against someone as experienced as Nigel, as the former finalist showed by taking the final two frames with the help of an excellent 114 to stay in touch.
Jamie Cope meanwhile looks good for a second consecutive appearance at the Crucible as he leads Welshman Paul Davies 6-3 after the first session. Early on it was a tight match as the pair exchanged frames, but as time went on it was Jamie who showed his class and established a three frame lead. I would be surprised if Paul were to come back from this position but stranger things have happened, if he can take the first couple of frames this evening then he is right back in it…
Arguably the tie of the round was that between the 2000 and 2005 World finalist Matthew Stevens and the in-form world number 63 Martin Gould and it is Martin who holds the upper hand following the first session. I would not like to predict which way this will go tonight, on the one hand Martin is playing the best snooker of his career at the moment and has a sizeable lead, but on the other we all know how good Matthew tends to be over the longer frame matches. Also, Martin has against Rodney Goggins and Dave Gilbert twice held a big lead going into the second session only to struggle and see his opponent come back at him. If he comes out this evening and does the same against Stevens I just wonder whether he will be able to get away with it for a third time…
Michael Judge has it all to do if he is to avoid seeing both his chances of a return to the Crucible and of retaining a place in the top 32 come to an end this evening as he trails Andrew Higginson 6-3 after the first session. Since reaching the Welsh Open final a couple of years ago Andrew has found similar success hard to come by, but if he can complete victory today and book a first appearance at the Crucible Theatre, perhaps he could rediscover that inspirational form that nearly took him there.
The remaining two matches are delicately poised as Dominic Dale and Stuart Bingham lead Michael Holt and Alan McManus respectively by a scoreline of 5-4. On paper both matches looked impossible to call and I am no more certain now despite the higher seeds holding the advantage. If Michael Holt can demonstrate the improved mental strength that has served him well at times this season then I still think he has every chance, while if Alan McManus can hang in there then his tactical nous will always give him a chance when things get tough.
It is going to be a fascinating evening session…
Evening
Nigel Bond has got off to a terrific start this evening and has now taken four straight frames as he leads Mike Dunn 6-5. Can the man from Redcar recover or is he going to pay for not pushing on from 5-2 this morning?
Things are not getting any better for Matthew Stevens though as the excellent Martin Gould extends his lead to four frames at 7-3. If he is going to start a fightback then he can’t afford to wait much longer…and that’s 8-3… If Matthew were to go on to lose this then it would be the first time since 1997 that he has not appeared at the Crucible… You can read here on Snooker Scene Blog just how dramatic the session has been already.
The first match is complete and Andrew Higginson has completed an emphatic 10-4 win over Michael Judge and in doing so, ended Michael’s latest stay in the top 32 after just a season. This is an excellent result for Andrew though and he will now play at the Crucible Theatre for the first time in his career. Also through is Jamie Cope who will make his second appearance there after defeating Welshman Paul Davies 10-5. It was a close run thing early on as they were level at 2-2, but from then Jamie pulled clear and has now wrapped up a comfortable win.
And no slip-ups from Martin Gould who has completed another brilliant win, 10-4 against Matthew Stevens. I had suspected that Matthew would get back into it and at least draw to within a couple of frames but the fightback did not materialise. This means that it will indeed be the first time since 1997 that Stevens will not be involved at the Crucible Theatre, and well done to Martin Gould for making that happen.
Terrific stuff from Michael Holt, having fallen well behind early this evening he has fought back in style and is now level at 7-7. Would he have been capable of that a year ago? I’m not so sure. It will be interesting to see if he can handle the pressure now he is right back in it…
Stuart Bingham becomes today’s fourth winner, coming through a potentially tough clash with Scot Alan McManus to qualify for the Crucible once again. Could he yet move up into the top 16 for the first time?
Nigel Bond and Michael Holt have both completed excellent wins from behind, Michael in particular reeling off six straight frames at the end and leaving Dominic Dale with just no answer. For Nigel though it is an excellent win, he might have only won one match this season before this one but all that experience must count for something and so it proved. Importantly, both Holt and Bond should now remain in the top 32 for another season, a huge plus for both.
Really pleased for Michael too, I’ve said it a few times this year but mentally he has really gone up a level this season and fair play to him. Winning with a century break in the deciding frame in the last round and now this proves it…
9/3
I will be at the EISS tomorrow so will not be back with a report until Monday evening…
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6 comments
George McCauleyly says:
March 8, 2009 at 3:39 pm (UTC 0 )
Indeed an excellent first session for Martin Gould.
If he does beat stevens, and if he gets say into the 2nd round of the world, will he be near the top 32 place. I know it seems strange to say because he’s only just got into the top 48, but with double points up for grabs for the world championship, he can’t be miles off the top 32?
matt2745 says:
March 8, 2009 at 3:54 pm (UTC 0 )
Well what you have to bear in mind is that he’s 47th as it stands so is quite far away from the 32, indeed actually over 4,000 points. Also while it is double points, once they have won their first match the points don’t go up THAT much.
For example had Gould lost in his opening match he would have only taken 650, but winning secured 1,800 instead. Then his win over Gilbert took that up to 2,300 and a win over Stevens would make it 2,800, so a win today would only move him up one place above Mark Davis.
The increments do improve at the Crucible of course (3,800 for a last 16 spot), but to move into the 32 he would have to make the final or something
Still, any additional points that he does gain from the tournament will of course help him a lot next season, giving him an even stronger starting point on the provisional list…
dannyboy says:
March 8, 2009 at 9:21 pm (UTC 0 )
Great wins for Hitman and Nigel. Really pleased for Nigel who has come good towards this season when he was threatening to call it a day. Holty keeps on performing. Has been solid for several years now. Being in the top 32 will help him get on the cusp of the top 16 next season as he will now qualify for most venues with only having to win one match. No surprises, although Bingham seems to have gone off the boil this season, so by winning his match has at least given him a chance of making progress upwards having stagnated at around 20 ish in the rankings. Big day tomorrow for the 24 – 18 ranked players as Walden, Harold, Wenbo all have big matches. Lee has it all on v Judd too! If results fall right and Steve wins I can see someone breaking out of this group just behind the top 16 and overtaking the likes of Ebdon and Hendry come the end of the Worlds. There are going to be 4 qualifiers who will avoid the likes of ROS, Carter, Selby and Higgins who will battle the likes of Hendry, Ebdon and Ding at the Crucible. The door is therefore open for one of the qualifiers to get 6400 pts with 3 good wins at Sheffield. I think one of this week’s qualifiers will do just that and climb out of the 17 – 24. Alternatively the draw may fall into place for Williams to come good and cement his place near the top 8 again. So many possibililites and stories to be written – March 11th draw will help provide the headlines! Come on SD – I would love it if he gets through to play Hendry (to use KKs famous line!)
dannyboy says:
March 8, 2009 at 9:25 pm (UTC 0 )
Holty was 34th going into this season having missed out last year, so this win is massive for him. Great effort to pull out the win from a deficit. Being in the top 32 will propel him upwards for sure. Such an advantage to be the right side of that number 32!
GJTheaussiestud says:
March 8, 2009 at 11:34 pm (UTC 0 )
matt
is stevens going to drop out of the top 32 ?
matt2745 says:
March 8, 2009 at 11:37 pm (UTC 0 )
Unlikely I’d say, though in theory it could happen. I’d expect him to finish up around 29/30.