So this is it, just one more event to go before the seedings for the 2013 World Championship are finalised and following the PTC Grand Finals in Galway last week, the position is now somewhat clearer, though much can still change.
Click below for a summary of who has to do what in Beijing, as well as a preview of how the seeds would be placed in the Crucible draw, if it were to be made today…
The last 16 line-up is now taking shape at the Welsh Open and the big story today is that Mark Selby’s surprise whitewash at the hands of Joe Perry, combined with a comeback victory for Judd Trump, means that the latter will return to the top of the world rankings after this event. Click below for a round-up of the action from Newport so far…
Whilst writing my Masters preview just over a week ago, I described the world’s current top four of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, John Higgins and Neil Robertson as being as close to a ‘big four’ as snooker has seen since that which we saw towards the end of the 1990’s, a comment which sparked a bit of debate on Twitter over the course of the last week.
It was a comment not made lightly, but under closer scrutiny, does the comparison hold up? I decided to do a bit of good old fashioned research to try and come to some conclusions…
Once, twice, three times a Master – Mark Selby has tonight defeated Neil Robertson 10-6 to win the Masters title for the third time in his career. Taking the £175,000 first prize, the world number one joins Steve Davis, Cliff Thorburn and the late Paul Hunter as a three-time Masters champion and continues his impressive run of late…
So after an opening session which saw Mark Selby lead both 3-0 and 5-1, Neil Robertson fought back well to stay in contention at 3-5 by the mid-way point of the match.
With a possible eleven frames still to play however, there could be a late night in store, with the evening session set to get underway at 8pm UK time.
Click below to chat during the second session, however please note that unfortunately, since the chat software changed last year so that the chat is now restricted to just 100 clicks per month without me being required to pay a monthly subscription, I am not sure how long this will last tonight!
So while the final round of the 2013 China Open qualifiers is played out in Sheffield today, tomorrow sees the start of the year’s first major, as the 2013 Masters kicks off at the Alexandra Palace in London. Click below for my thoughts ahead of the tournament…
Having won the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany earlier this season, world number one Mark Selby has made it a German double tonight with a 4-3 victory against Graeme Dott to capture the ET6 title in Munich…
Having considered what was the best match played during 2012, today I turn to the matter of who has been the best player, a category which for me is very difficult to call this year. Click below for my thoughts and to vote in the poll…