In another balanced match Allister Carter faces Mark Selby. The score is now 3-4 in Selby’s favor, the last freme being won with an 121 points break. We have seen Allister play though and it will certainly be difficult for Selby to secure the win.
It’s the 40th encounter of the two, Ronnie won 24 of the previous ones while John Higgins won only 15 of them. The matches between the two are always exciting as they are both excellent masters of the cue.
Both of them benefited the applause upon entering the arena as the public loves both of them dearly.
Higgins almost had the 100+ break in the first frame, it’s a spectacular start of the game, the ref also had dificulties positioning the pink between the reds but managed very well. The second frame begun and looks like he’s got his game dialed in as his long shots go in smoothly.
It’s a pretty balanced match, the score is tied at three. Ronnie’s long shots are not working properly but the safety shots helped him a lot during the match.
After eight frames the score is 4-4 in a perfectly balanced match.
In a difficult match against Mark Selby, Ebdon has a 147 in mind as the reds are in good position and he’s only played the black so far. Peter Ebdon doesn’t feel the pressure anymore as Mark is one frame away from victory while he would have to win another five in a row just to have a shot.
After potting 13 reds and 12 blacks he, sadly, misses the black and the break is over. Peter Ebdon does have to win a lot of frames in order to have a shot in this match, maybe this high break helped him, it would certainly have helped him more if it was a maximum…
Mark Selby is very close to victory, Peter Ebdon needed three snookers to win and got one of them out of luck. Peter needs another three snookers but isn’t in any luck as he didn’t manage to obtain a good snooker position. They are playing the last red in what is a really tense frame I must say.
The match ended between the two, as expected, but it was a nice one and Peter Ebdon played all his chances.
Jan Verhaas
Jan Verhaas became the first non-Briton to referee the World Championship final when he donned the white gloves at the Crucible Theatre in 2003.
The 40-year-old from Holland described the world final as “the pinnacle of a referee’s career.’’ Verhaas, whose suave demeanour earned him the nickname ‘James Bond’ from fans at 2002 China Open, first refereed in local tournaments and pro-ams at a club in Rotterdam.
Date of Birth: October 5, 1966
Born: Maassluis, Holland
Lives: Brielle, Holland
Highest break: 78 – never got near it before or since.
Qualified as Referee: Class 3 in 1990, Class 1 in 1995.
First Pro Match: Tony Drago v Steve Davis in 1993.
Most memorable match: Refereeing the three Paul Hunter Wembley Masters finals.
Most embarrassing moment: Oversleeping twice in one day before a Premier League match at Cleethorpes.
If you weren’t a referee what would you do: I’d probably still be working as a process operator for Shell Chemicals.
Which is the toughest rule to apply: The push shot is very difficult to judge. I normally go off the honesty of the players.
Which rule would you scrap: None, in particular.
What do you carry in your pockets: Two ball markers, pen and coin (two and half gilders).
Where do you get your gloves: From fellow referee Paul Collier. I would normally use six pairs per season.
Interests: Open water diving, watching football, playing and watching darts, poker.
Since the beginning of this session, Ronnie hasn’t won one frame and Neil Robertson caught up putting the game into a tie. As I’ve said earlier, another day, another luck for Ronnie O’Sullivan… Let’s hope he’ll get back into form soon enough…
Neil Robertson is now in the lead 9-8 against Ronnie, both of them play pretty good but the level of play isn’t really high, we don’t get to see 100+ breaks for now…
Ronnie replies with a 100+ break but Neil wins the next frame and is in the lead again. Ronnie shouldn’t have allowed Neil’s come-back earlier today, he might live to regret that.
Ronnie is back in the lead after stealing the frame away from Neil. Incredibly, Neil was a shot away from winning this frame but missed the last ball he needed to secure victory and Ronnie didn’t wait long to win the frame.
The match got pretty even but I bet Ronnie’s fans are not relaxed as Neil Robertson gained pretty easily the lead of the game. It’s not usual for Ronnie to tail behind, he should have ended this long time ago, would argue his fans.
The 20th frame has its sense of humor, the first points, on both sides have been gained through fouls. The first one by Ronnie, resulted in a break-up of the reds pack and if Neil Robertson would have called a replay the ref would have had a hard time putting the balls back in order. But Neil accepts the position and pots the red… together with the white.
Ronnie steals the frame away from Neil, he was one shot away from victory but misses that last ball he needed and Ronnie doesn’t loose the oportunity to gain back the lead of the game.
I’ve seen so many mistakes and missed shots in this match it’s not about who misses anymore, it’s about who can play decently enough to win, that’s how much the level of play has fallen. It’s funny to see spring-loaded Ronnie jump up from his seat with every miss of Neil Robertson’s.
Ronnie is now one frame away from victory and Neil Robertson is back in the hotseat as his chances don’t look so well…
If Ronnie is to win this last frame and the match he is heading on to play against John Higgins, the player with the greatest achievements in snooker next to Ronnie left in the competition in the quarter finals. A match fit for the finals if you ask me.
It’s the last frame and Ronnie doesn’t hesitate to show off his talent. He fluked one of the shots and apologised but the shots he pulls now are great, some of the pressure must be off his shoulders now that he has a comfortable lead as is as close to victory as ever. The points go up and Ronnie’s average shot time comes down as the “Rocket” picks up speed and secures victory in this match, he is going to the quarters for a shot against Higgins.
The match between Stephen Hendry and Allister Carter just ended. After winning another two frames Stephen Hendry lost with a score of 13-6 as Carter only needed one frame to win.
The match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil robertson continues now on TV. Ronnie looked like he was going to have another wasy win yesterday as we’ve seen the first two sessions unfold with Neil Robertson only winning two of the 8 frames played. But as we all know Ronnie, another day may mean another luck.
Stephen Hendry has a difficult match ahead, against Allister Carter. Carter is already in the lead with a score of 6-2. It’s not that Hendry played bad, he played really well but Allister Carter played excelellent. Allister Carter actually had a 99% success rate of the long-shots at one point in the morning session, at that rate there hardly is a player that would have stood up against him.
Depending on the score at this evening’s session, Handry may or may not have good chances of victory in this match. Maybe if he begins the session tomorrow at a score of 9-7 he could recover, but any bigger advantage to Carter will almost certainlty mean defeat for the great champion.
In the 10th frame the brown ball fools Allister Carter and the frame goes to Stephen Hendry, the score is 7-3 though and Hendry must focus better, he did make a few big mistakes in the last 2 frames and it was luck that kept Carter from winning them both.
The score is now 9-4 and Stephen Hendry looks less likely than ever to turn the score as Carter is about to win this frame, too. At the second table Higgins is also in the lead 11-4 against Fergal O’Brian. Thankfully, neither of the games is going to end this evening so the players have a good night sleep to put their game in order.
The evening session has ended, Allister Carter is in the lead with a score of 12-4. Stephen Hendry has the impossible job of winning 9 frames in a row.
Ronnie’s long expected match in the second round has just started. Ronnie is playing against Neil Robertson after easing past Ding Junhui. Neil Robertson has faced Ryan Day in the first round and defeated him 10-5.
Neil Robertson nails the first frame of the match but Ronnie takes the second. We are watching impressive breaks being achieved in what appears to become a very exciting match.
O’Sullivan wins the third and the fourth frames and is now in the lead by two, the score is 3-1 at the end of the first session of the match.
Ronnie is playing great these days at the Crucible, he is widening the lead between him and Robertson to 3 frames now and looks unstopable.
In the meantime the 5th frame of the match between Peter Ebdon and Mark Selby has ended, Mark Selby is in the lead by one. The score is 3-2.
“The Rocket” is up to speed and in the lead 5-1 against Neil Robertson. If Neil is going to allow Ronnie a 6 frames lead at the end of this session he’s only stepping in Dings footsteps towards defeat. If Neil wants to have any chances in winning this match he has to keep up with Ronnie.