After all the hype, after all of the previews, day one of the 2014 World Championship is now well underway, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stuart Bingham having started their respective campaigns this morning.
Click below for day one of my now traditional Crucible Diary, which throughout the week will detail any stories of mine, together with bring you quotes from all of the post-match press conferences…
The three day gap between the conclusion of the final qualifying round for this year’s World Championship and the start of play tomorrow morning at the Crucible makes the job of previewing the tournament ever-more difficult.
But this year I am hopeful that I have been able to do the tournament justice, thanks to the help of former world number 3, turned highly respected snooker analyst Neal Foulds, who spoke with me this morning to help preview each of the 16 opening round matches and offer his thoughts as to who will be lifting the famous trophy on 5th May 2014…
Shaun Murphy has today defeated world number two Mark Selby 10-6 to win the 2014 Haikou World Open, his first full-ranking event title since the 2011 PTC Grand Finals and his second piece of silverware in recent weeks, following his success at the Gdynia Open.
Click below for a round-up of the final and some thoughts following the event in general…
Shaun Murphy ended a 29-month drought without a title by winning the Gdynia Open in Poland – and made a maximum 147 break in the process.
There were some 13 years between his first two competitive maximum breaks, but hot on the heels of his second effort at the Championship League last month, Shaun Murphy has today made his third career 147 break in the final frame of his 4-2 win against Jamie Jones at the Gdynia Open event in Poland.
Click here to view the updated 147’s list.
Ok so it’s not technically called a PTC any more, but it will very much be squeaky bum time at this weekend’s Gdynia Open event in Poland, with far more on the line for some than might appear at first sight.
Click below for my thoughts on the battles that will be decided this week and for some of the key matches to keep an eye on from the eighth and final event of the 2013/14 European Tour…
Ronnie O’Sullivan today booked his place in the semi-finals of the Masters in double quick time against Ricky Walden, completing a 6-0 victory in just 58 minutes at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Next up for him, will be Stephen Maguire, after the Scot too impressed in defeating 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson, while Mark Selby will face Shaun Murphy in the first semi-final tomorrow…
Four days and eight matches into the 2014 Masters, we are now down to the last eight in London, with the quarter-finals set to get underway tomorrow. Click below for a round-up of the results from the past couple of days…