Congratulations to China’s Ding Junhui who has tonight defeated world number one Mark Selby 9-6 to win the Welsh Open title for the first time. His fifth ranking event success in total, the win sees him rise to seventh in the rankings at the crucial World Championship cut-off…
So then, it’s final day as Mark Selby takes on Ding Junhui in what promises to be a tightly contested final in Newport. Chat below from 1pm and from 7pm…
The final of the 2012 Welsh Open will be contested between 2008 Newport champion Mark Selby and Ding Junhui, looking for his first ranking event title since the 2009 UK Championship, after the pair both came through their semi-finals as 6-2 winners today…
This afternoon saw Ding Junhui progress to his first Welsh Open final with a 6-2 victory against 2006 finalist Shaun Murphy, but who will join him? Chat below from 7pm GMT as Mark Selby takes on Ronnie O’Sullivan for a place in the final:
Quarter-finals day in Wales and what a dramatic day it proved to be, two deciders, as well as two other close matches that could have gone either way seeing us down to four players heading into the weekend…
Thursday in Newport and we are down to the last eight following the conclusion of the six remaining last 16 ties today. Click below for a round-up…
A short post this evening to round-up a few matters arising from the last couple of days, starting with Masters champion Neil Robertson who has today rounded off a memorable period by taking victory in Group Three of the 2012 Championship League, defeating Mark Selby 3-2 in the group final. He now joins Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump in what is shaping up to be a tasty looking winners group already.
Elsewhere, interesting news from Snooker Scene Blog where it has been confirmed that next season there will be no fewer than five full ranking events to be held in China, with the upgraded Wuxi Classic and a further event in October joining the three staged this season.
Interestingly it is reported that the new October event will carry a top prize of £125,000, a figure topped only by the World Championship and Masters tournaments. Given the mooted move to a money-based ranking list at some point in the future, compared to the sums currently being offered by some of the other ranking tournaments on the calendar, the importance of the Chinese events is plain to see.
Finally, the WPBSA have also released a statement today concerning unusual betting patterns ahead of the match between Matt Selt and Joe Jogia at this weekend’s Shootout tournament. Click here to read the statement in full.
While the first snooker of 2012 will come in Munich as the PTC12 event draws to a conclusion, hot on its heels comes the return of the Matchroom Championship League, back for its fifth outing as the players bid for a place in next season’s Premier League. Read on for the dates and format details…