Category: Snooker

LLANDUDNO: The Australian cueist Neil Robertson has beaten his Scottish counterpart John Higgins 10-9 to win the Tour Championship 2022 title, here on Sunday.

Robertson pulled off an astonishing comeback to beat Higgins 10-9 and win the Tour Championship for the second year in a row.

Despite being 9-4 down in the final against Higgins, Robertson miraculously managed to defend the title he won a year earlier.

In the opening frame, Robertson pulled ahead after managing to win a thrilling 50-minute frame 78-77. The scottish cueist then extended the lead to 3-0 after compiling 136 and 126 in the next two frames.

Robertson, on the other hand, also scored a century-plus clearance to find a response at the conclusion of the first interval to take the score to 3-1.

The Australian cueist fought back in the second session, winning the next two frames to level the scores at 3-3, only for Higgings to win the next two frames and take a two-frame lead, 5-3.

Higgins then carried on his positive momentum and won the next six out of the seven frames to go one frame away from the title (9-4).

Robertson, on the other hand, produced a comeback of his lifetime as he won all the remaining six frames to win the Tour Championship 2022 title 10-9.

It’s worth noting that with this triumph, Robertson has now won his 23rd ranking title.

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LLANDUDNO: The Australian cueist Neil Robertson has beaten his English counterpart Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 to qualify for the Tour Championship final, here on Friday.

In an epic semi-final between the two experienced cueist, Robertson sealed the victory in the final frame; beating O’Sullivan by 10-9.

In the opening frame, Robertson pulled ahead with a break of 115, but O’Sullivan managed to claim the next three frames and took a 3-1 lead at the conclusion of the first session. The English cueist shone with successive breaks of 125, 90, and 106 to take control.

In the afternoon session, O’Sullivan carried on his wonderful run and extended his lead to 4-1 after a brilliant break of 128 in the fifth frame. Robertson, on the other hand, bounced back quickly and claimed the next three frames including successive breaks of 85 and 95 to level the scores at 4-4.

The next session followed the same pattern with O’Sullivan claiming the first frame only for Robertson to claim the next three to extend his lead to 7-5 at the interval.

After O’Sullivan cut the lead to a single frame, Robertson fired a 117 to pull within two frames of victory, only for O’Sullivan to react with a spectacular 100 clearance.

O’Sullivan then battled back from a 37-point deficit to level the match at 8-8 before closing in on a stunning victory with his fifth century of the match.

Robertson dominated the 18th frame with an 88-8 score to come one frame closer to the victory, before repeating the feat in the last to secure the final berth.

READ: Bowlers shine as Pakistan bowl out Australia for 210 in the third ODI

ANTALYA: World number three Judd Trump outclassed world number 31 Matthew Selt in the final of the inaugural Turkish Masters by 10-4 to claim his 24th ranking title, here on Sunday.

Selt, who upset Trump 6-3 when they last met in the third round of the UK Championship in November, went into a 2-1 lead in the first three frames.

Trump, however, was soon to respond as the world number three levelled the score with the help of a magnificent break of 120.

Trump subsequently grabbed control of the match, winning three of the next four frames before claiming a bizarre frame to go up 6-3.

Despite giving up 60 points in fouls, the 2019 world champion – Trump – won the bizarre frame 113-76 with an 88-point clearance. The total of 189 points was just three points short of the frame record of 192.

The former world champion then scored a maximum (147) in the 10th frame before winning the 11th to go up 8-3.

Selt, on the other hand, won a bitty 12th frame to pull one back and make it 8-4 to head into the interval, but Trump secured victory with breaks of 82 and 114.

With this victory, Trump has ended a barren run in ranking events lasting over a year.

READ: Khawaja, Labuschagne stand firm as Australia extend their lead to 489

DOHA: Pakistan’s young cueist Ahsan Ramzan defeated Iran’s Amir Sarkosh 6-5 to win the IBSF Under 21 World Snooker Championship 2022, here on Friday.

The final of the world championship comprises a total of 11 frames, saw a see-saw battle between the two cueists with Ahsan pulling ahead and Amir levelling.

Ahsan, was off to flying as the young cueist managed to seal a 2-0 lead in the first two frames, while Amir bounced back quickly to level the scores at 2-2 in the next two frames.

The Iranian cueist then further extended his lead to 4-2; pulling two next frames by 68-28 and 66-27 respectively.

The next two frames, saw a see-saw battle between the two cueist as Ahsan bounced back by securing his third frame, while Amir won his fifth to keep the lead intact.

In the ninth frame, Ahsan completely outclassed his Iranian opponent, winning the frame 69-0. The former then carried the momentum into the 10th frame and went on to level the scores at 5-5.

In the 11th and the deciding frame of the final, Ahsan dominated and took the lead in his control thus forcing his opponent in search of snooker in the closing minutes. However, Amir then decided to concede the match with only a maximum of 18 points left on the table and Ahsan emerged victorious by beating Amir 67-25 in the final frame.

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NEWPORT: World number 42 Joe Perry stunned world number three Judd Trump in the final of the Welsh Open by 9-5 to claim his second ranking title, here on Sunday.

Perry, who last won a ranking title back in 2015, clinched his second by securing an emphatic victory over the world number three Trump.

The match comprises a total of 19 frames, saw a see-saw battle between the two English cueists with Perry pulling ahead and Trump levelling and vice-versa.

In the last frame of the afternoon session, Perry levelled the scores at 4-4 as Trump missed the opportunity to go 5-3 up by missing an uncharacteristic pink.

Perry then had a dream start to the evening session; scoring a 108 break, which was the first century of the final.

In the 10th frame, Trump then made the most of a fluke which assisted him to level the scores 5-5.

At the mid-session interval, Perry then took the lead by two frames after Trump misses a black at 17 points in the prior frame and Perry then produced a hard-won 68 break to strengthen his position.

In the 13th frame, Perry missed a long black and Trump looked to close the gap, but the latter made even more mistakes. As a result, Perry took advantage and extended his lead to 8-5.

With the momentum firmly in his favour, Perry then scored a 70 points break to clinch his second ranking title.

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MILTON KEYNES: Chinese young cueist Fan Zhengyi defeated six-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 to win the European Masters Title, here on Sunday.

Fan, who was playing his first ranking title led 8-6 before Ronnie claimed two next frames and leveled at 8-8.

Fan then won the next frame to regain his lead 9-8,  only for his illustrious rival to win the next frame and send the final into a decider.

The final comprising of 19 frames, followed the same pattern before the decider, with Fan pulling ahead and O’Sullivan leveling the scores.

In the decider, however, Ronnie missed on a long-red and as a result, Fan went on to compile a 92 break to win his first ranking title.

According to the BBC, Fan remarked competing against Ronnie in a final as ‘a dream come true’, while also revealing that the 46-years-old is ‘very generous’.

“I think it’s like a dream come true to play the final against Ronnie O’ Sullivan. He is always so generous to the Chinese players and [helps] them all the time,” Fan said.

Ronnie, on the other hand, playing in his 60th ranking final, called his opponent a “fantastic player”.

“Fan is a fantastic player. He played some great safety, great break building, amazing pots, and good under pressure,” Ronnie said.

“He was the better player all day and I just tried to hang on to him. He deserved his victory,” he concluded.

READ: Blind Cricket: Pakistan beat South Africa by 249 runs in first ODI

WOLVERHAMPTON: The Australian former world champion and former top-ranked cueist – Neil Robertson has defeated his English counterpart – Barry Hawkins in the Players Championship 2022 final by 10-5.

Robertson, who was looking to build on his recent Masters and English Open triumphs, dominated Hawkins in the final, right from the start; winning the match by 10-5.

The final of the mega event, comprising of a total of 19 frames, was led by Robertson throughout the face-off with Hawkins managing to take the lead only once.

With the score at 5-7 at the midway, England’s Hawkins continued to battle, but Robertson regained a three-frame lead with a score of 116, two frames away from victory and his 22nd career ranking tournament victory.

The Aussie then pulled off scintillating 91 and 69 points breaks in the next two frames respectively and secured the victory. With this title victory, Robertson has now claimed 22nd career ranking tournament win.

Karachi: Experienced Mohammad Sajjad has won the 46th National Snooker Championship by defeating Ahsan Ramzan in the final.

Sajjad claimed a thrilling win after a great contest with Ahsan. The winner was decided in the 13th and final frame. Sajjad won by a 7-6 margin.

It must be noted that Ahsan is the youngest ever to play in the final of the National Snooker Championship. Ahsan, 16, hails from Lahore and has won many championships at the junior level.

Read:  ‘Not even own a house despite winning medals for Pakistan’ Babar Masih

KARACHI: Cueist Mohammad Sajjad registered a record of 147 breaks in the ongoing National Snooker Championship here at Karachi Gymkhana. 

Sajjad locked horns with Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir in the championship’s quarter-final on Saturday. He took the game away from Qadir without giving him a chance to score.

After the triumph, Sajjad became the only cueist to do so in the national event.

READ: Pakistan to start IBF Super World Cup’s campaign tomorrow

Karachi: Top Pakistan cueist Babar Masih has lamented over the lack of financial support from the government despite winning so many medals and championships for the country.

Babar, who hails from Rawalpindi, told ARY News that they are respected so much outside Pakistan and opponents have a fear of them while facing.

“We don’t have any identity in our own country after winnings so many medals. There has been no financial support from stakeholders,” he said.

Babar talked about India’s Pankaj Advani, who has earned crores and the world knows him. “Pankaj has earned 40-50 crores and I can’t explain their level. Our level is so low that we still travel on Rickshaws, lives in a rented house while they roam around in luxurious cars,” he added.

Babar revealed that he doesn’t own a house and I might get back to where I started if I don’t prize money from championships.

It must be noted that last month, Babar lost to Pankaj to manage silver medal in IBSF 6 Red World Cup.