Saturday, December 27, 2008

Shaun Murphy wins 2008 UK Championship

Maplin UK Championship 2008England's Shaun Murphy won the 2008 Maplin UK Championship.

The final against Hong Kong's Marco Fu went back and forth until Murphy won 10-9 after having fluked the pink in the deciding frame.

Stephen Maguire (Scotland) and Allister Carter (England) lost out in the semi-finals.

Murphy received £100,000 for the victory and Fu got £46,000 for his runner-up spot.

Ding Junhui had the highest break of the tournament with the 147 maximum he made in his last 16 loss to John Higgins (Scotland). It was Junhui's second career maximum.

This was the third ranking title for Murphy. He's previously won the 2005 World Championship and the 2007 Malta Cup. Fu was looking for his second win in ranking events.

Murphy is the 10th player to win both the World Championship and the UK Championship.

Murphy moves from sixth to third in the provisional rankings. Fu advances three places, from ninth to sixth. The top two remain the same. Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) stays on top, followed by Stephen Maguire (Scotland).

Murphy jumps from 10th to fifth in the ELO Ratings. Fu advances nine places, from 15th to sixth. No changes in the top three. O'Sullivan is still the clear frontrunner, followed by John Higgins (Scotland) and Maguire.

The event took place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England 13-21 December, 2008. It was the fifth ranking tournament of eight on the 2008/2009 Main Tour. Next up on the snooker calendar is the Masters which starts 11th January 2009.

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Dick Jaspers wins World Cup in Spain to earn season honours

Dick Jaspers from Netherlands secured the World Cup title for 2008 by capturing the World Cup event in Spain.

Jaspers soundly defeated Sweden's Torbjörn Blomdahl 3-1 in the final, with an impressive average of 2.809. The frame scores were 15-6, 14-15, 15-4 and 15-7.

Tying for third were Martin Horn (Germany) and former world champion Daniel Sánchez from Spain.

Ramon Rodriguez from Peru had the highest general average of 1.851. Sánchez had the highest single match average of 3.000. Current world champion Marco Zanetti (Italy) scored the highest run with a perfect 15.

This was the Dutchman's fourth win of the season. He also captured the titles in Portugal, Mexico and South Korea.

The win secured Jaspers' victory in the 2008 World Cup Ranking. Sánchez and Frédéric Caudron (Belgium) stayed in second and third place respectively. Last year's winner Blomdahl, got fourth this time around.

Jaspers also sits atop the World Players Ranking. There are no changes in the next three places, with Sánchez, Caudron and Blomdahl occupying the same spots as in the World Cup rankings.

The event took place 15-21 December 2008 at the Hotel Hacienda La Boticara, Alcala de Guadaira, Spain. It was the sixth and final event of the 2008 World Cup. The 2009 World Cup kicks off in Sluiskil, Netherlands 19 January.

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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Europe retains Mosconi Cup

Mosconi Cup 2008Europe won the 2008 Mosconi Cup with a 11-5 thrashing of the US team.

The European team was in front all the way, leading 3-1 after the opening day, 5-3 after the second and 9-5 after the third. On Sunday Finland's Mika Immonen sealed the deal by defeating Shane Van Boening 5-3.

Immonen was named MVP of the event after single wins against Jeremy Jones, Earl Strickland, Jones again and finally Van Boening. The victory was especially sweet for the Finn as he missed match ball in their 2006 loss to the Americans.

This was the first time in Mosconi Cup history that Europe have managed to successfully defend the title. USA still leads the event with 11-4 though. Their last win came in 2006.

The teams:

  • Europe

    • Alex Lely (non-playing captain, Netherlands)
    • Tony Drago (Malta)
    • Niels Feijen (Netherlands)
    • Mark Gray (England)
    • Mika Immonen (Finland)
    • Ralf Souquet (Germany)
  • USA

    • Nick Varner (non-playing captain)
    • Johnny Archer
    • Jeremy Jones
    • Rodney Morris
    • Earl Strickland
    • Shane Van Boening

The event took place from December 11-14 at the Hilton Hotel, Portomaso, Malta. Matches were singles, scotch doubles and scotch quintuples with alternate break. Next year's Cup will be held in Las Vegas, USA.

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Sunday, December 07, 2008

Feijen wins Costa del Sol Open, Souquet takes 2008 Euro Tour title

Niels Feijen from Netherlands captured the 2008 Costa del Sol Open.

The current straight pool world champion defeated Sweden's Marcus Chamat 9-4 in the final. The victory was worth €6000. Chamat got €3800 for second place.

In the semi-finals Feijen ousted Mosconi team mate Tony Drago (Malta) 9-4. Chamat beat Hungary's Sandor Tot by the same score.

This was Feijen's first win in the Costa del Sol Open and fourth Euro Tour win overall, from nine finals. His last win came all the way back in the 2005 Netherlands Open. Since then he's had seven semi-final appearances.

Defending champion Bruno Muratore (Italy) lost 9-8 to Hubert Lopotko (Poland) in the last 16.

The win took Feijen from third to second in the final Euro Tour Ranking. Losing finalist Chamat moved from 17th to 10th.

Ralf Souquet (Gemany) held on to the lead to claim his fourth Tour title. He also picked up the trophy in 1995, 1999 and 2001. Feijen's countryman Nick van den Berg improved from fourth to third. Last year's winner, England's Mark Gray, finished in a respectable sixth place after having led most of the season.

The tournament was played 4-6 December at the Torrequebrada Hotel and Casino, Malaga, Spain. It was the final event of seven on the 2008 Euro Tour. The first event of next season is the French Open which runs from February 11-14 2009.
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