PTC1 2011/12: Mad Monday

It’s going to be a late one in Sheffield. The third round of this first PTC event of 2011/12 began at 9am this morning and at the time of writing (11pm), the action continues. Click below for selected highlights from the day’s action.

Note that due to time constraints (and the lateness of the results), my projected seedings page will be updated at the conclusion of the event.

Back in March this year David Gilbert found himself relegated from the tour following defeat to Judd Trump in the final qualifying round of the World Championship. Fast forward three months and he is back on the circuit following an arduous Q School campaign which saw him lose in the final round of the first two events before making it through the third, and today he gained his revenge over Judd with a 4-1 win. Since then David has added the scalp of Jamie Cope with a 4-2 success and at the time of writing leads Jimmy White 2-0.

Some might be surprised by the result but as I had indicated during a recent article, having no doubt enjoyed himself following his breakthrough finish to last season, I had not really expected that much from Judd against an opponent relatively match-sharp. I am sure that he will be a different animal come Australia and especially the events beyond.

While Jimmy might be up against it in his current match with Gilbert, it has already been a dramatic day for the Whirlwind, having first come through 4-3 against David Morris before recovering from 3-1 down to triumph by the same scoreline against fellow veteran Alan McManus. Could he stage another comeback late tonight?

Who else has starred today? One who you may not have heard of is 19-year-old Scotsman Eden Sharav but with emphatic victories against Liang Wenbo and Adam Duffy today, he has certainly raised a few eyebrows. Similarly Thailand’s Dechawat Poomjaeng also caused a stir earlier on by defeating the world’s best player John Higgins 4-3 to announce himself on the pro tour. A further victory against Justin Astley has seen him through to a late night clash with another Scot, Marcus Campbell.

It has also been a memorable day for Stephen Maguire who having trailed Matthew Day 2-0 and 3-2 early in the morning, came back to win before adding the scalps of Jack Lisowski and then Mark Selby to get some more solid ranking points on the board.

Falling down the projected seedings list, some wondered whether Ronnie O’Sullivan would show at the Academy today and he duly did for an eye-catching tie with Mike Hallett. Early on it looked as though there might be a shock in store as Mike raced into a 2-0 lead but Ronnie was not to be denied, coming back to win 4-2 before later seeing off Andy Hicks and Bjorn Haneveer to book his place in the next round.

Elsewhere, Nigel Bond is having a good run, wins over Ben Woollaston (some news on him to follow later this week incidentally), and Sam Craigie setting up a tie with Martin Gould which he currently leads 3-0. It has also been a good day for Stuart Bingham, a 4-3 victory against Mark Davis this evening sealing a place in the last 16.

Again, it’s going to be a late one…

For all the results, please click here.