Higgins wins 2010 Welsh Open in dominant fashion

John Higgins (Scotland) won the 2010 totesport.com Welsh Open.

The final against defending champion Allister Carter (England) was an impressive display of scoring power. He made breaks of 137, 101, 95, 81, 76, 72 (twice), 71, 59 and 54 in the 9-4 win.

The Scot received £35,000 for the victory and runner-up Carter got £17,500.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) and Stephen Maguire (Scotland) lost out in the semifinals.

Higgins also had the highest break of the event, a 138 which earned him £2,000.

This was the second Welsh Open title for Higgins and his 21st ranking title. He also won the event in 2000.

The win strengthens Higgins' lead in the provisional rankings. The next two also remain the same, with O'Sullivan in second and Neil Robertson (Australia) in third.

The event took place at the Newport Center, Newport, Wales 25-31 January, 2010. Next up on the snooker calendar is the Sanyuan Foods China Open which starts 29 March 2010.

See also:

• Welsh Open 2010 (World Snooker)
• John Higgins beats Ali Carter to lift Welsh Open title (BBC)
• Higgins claims Welsh title (Eurosport)
• Welsh Open Glory for John Higgins (Sporting Life)
• 2010 Welsh Open (Global Snooker)
• 2010 Welsh Open (Wikipedia)
• Classy Higgins Captures Welsh Open Title (Pro Snooker Blog)
• John Higgins: Simply the Best (Snooker Scene Blog)
• SnookerManager: Welsh Open 2010
• Welsh Open (Wikipedia)
• John Higgins (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Stephen Lee wins Welsh crown (2006 Welsh Open)
• Neil Robertson wins Welsh Open (2007 Welsh Open)
• Mark Selby wins Welsh Open after impressive comeback (2008 Welsh Open)
• Allister Carter bags first ranking win in the 2009 Welsh Open (2009 Welsh Open)
• O'Sullivan pockets 2009 Shanghai Masters (2009 Main Tour)
• It's four from four as Robertson nicks 2009 Grand Prix (2009 Main Tour)
• Ding Junhui captures 2009 UK Championship (2009 Main Tour)
• John Higgins captures Grand Prix (2009 Main Tour)
• Selby takes 2010 Masters with impressive comeback (2009 Main Tour)

Shameless plugs:

• Event Prediction: Welsh Open 2010
• WWW Snooker: totesport.com Welsh Open 2010

Allister Carter bags first ranking win in the 2009 Welsh Open

England's Allister Carter won the 2009 Welsh Open.

His opponent Joe Swail (N.Ireland) took the early lead with 5-2 before Carter stormed back with seven frames on the trot to win 9-5.

Anthony Hamilton (England) and Neil Robertson (Australia) lost out in the semifinals.

Carter received £35,000 for the victory and Swail got £17,500 for his runner-up spot.

Marco Fu (Hong Kong) had the highest break of the tournament with a 142. That earnt him £2,000.

Defending champion Mark Selby (England) lost 5-3 to Hamilton in the quarterfinals.

This was the first ranking title for Carter. Swail was also looking for his first title. The popular Irishman will be happy to finally have reached a final though. This was his 10th(!) semi-final appearance.

Carter improves from fourth to third in the provisional rankings. Swail jumps eight places, from 28th to 20th. The top two remain the same. Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) stays on top, followed by Stephen Maguire (Scotland).

The event took place at the Newport Centre, Newport, Wales 16-22 February, 2009. It was the sixth ranking tournament of eight on the 2008/2009 Main Tour. Next up on the snooker calendar is the Honghe Industrial China Open which starts 30th March 2009.

See also:

• Welsh Open 2009 (World Snooker)
• Carter storms to Welsh Open title (BBC)
• Carter seals first ranking event (Eurosport)
• Carter Comeback Sinks Swail (Sporting Life)
• Ali Carter clinches breakthrough victory after match of two halves (Times Online)
  
• Welsh Open 2009 (Global Snooker)
• Ali Carter: Welsh Open Champion (Snooker Scene blog)
  
• Welsh Open 2009: Captain Carter flies to Welsh glory (Pro Snooker Blog)
• Welsh Open - Newport (Fergal O'Brien)
• Welsh Open Qualifying (Fergal O'Brien)
• Cuefacts - Welsh Open 2009 (Global Snooker)
• SnookerManager: Welsh Open 2009
• Welsh Open 2009 (snooker) (Wikipedia)
• Ali Carter (Pro Snooker Blog)
• Allister Carter (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Stephen Lee wins Welsh crown (2006 Welsh Open)
• Neil Robertson wins Welsh Open (2007 Welsh Open)
• Mark Selby wins Welsh Open after impressive comeback (2008 Welsh Open)
• It's Ronnie again in the Northern Ireland Trophy (2008/2009 Main Tour)
• Walden strikes gold in Shanghai Masters (2008/2009 Main Tour)
• John Higgins captures Grand Prix (2008/2009 Main Tour)
• It's three out of three for Neil Robertson with Bahrain Championship win (2008/2009 Main Tour)
• Shaun Murphy wins 2008 UK Championship (2008/2009 Main Tour)
• O'Sullivan wins fourth Masters (2008/2009 Main Tour)

Shameless plugs:

• Event Prediction: Welsh Open 2009
• WWW Snooker: Welsh Open 2009

Mark Selby wins Welsh Open after impressive comeback

Mark Selby from England won the Welsh Open for his first ranking title.

Selby made a strong comeback from 8-5 down in the final to edge Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) 9-8. It must have been particularly sweet since he lost 9-8 to O'Sullivan in the recent UK Championship.

For the fourth straight ranking tournament 2006 world champion Shaun Murphy (England) lost out in the semi-finals. This time he was beaten 6-3 by O'Sullivan. Scotland's Stephen Hendry lost 6-4 to Selby in the other semi-final.

Defending champion Neil Robertson (Australia) was beaten 5-3 by England's Allister Carter in the third round.

Selby received £35,000 for the victory. It was his second major title, having also captured the Masters in January.

O'Sullivan won £17,500 as runner-up. He was looking for his second consecutive ranking win, having captured the UK Championship in December. In addition he won the £2,000 high break prize for his 143 against Murphy.

The win lifts Selby from fifth to fourth in the provisional rankings. O'Sullivan stays on top. Shaun Murphy is the new No.2 after swapping positions with Stephen Maguire (Scotland).

The event took place at the Newport Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales Feb 11-17, 2008. It was the fifth ranking tournament of seven on the 2007/2008 Main Tour. Next up on the snooker calendar is the China Open which starts 23rd March 2008.

See also:

• Welsh Open 2008 (World Snooker)
• Selby comeback stuns O'Sullivan (BBC)
• Selby stuns O'Sullivan (Eurosport)
• Selby Stuns O'Sullivan in Newport (Sporting Life)
• 2008 Welsh Open (Global Cue Sports Centre)
• Slow and steady Mark Selby comes back to stun Ronnie O’Sullivan (Times Online)
• Selby's First Ranking Title (greenbaize)
• Yes, Selby is Talented (Snooker Scene blog)
• Mark Selby fängt O’Sullivan ab (Snookerblog - German)
• Snooker Ranking - Welsh Open 2008 - Finals (Cuefactor)
• SnookerManager: Welsh Open 2008
• Mark Selby (Official page)

Related posts:

• Neil Robertson wins Welsh Open (2007)
• Dominic Dale on top in Shanghai Masters
• Fu tops Grand Prix for first ranking win
• Maguire triumphant in Northern Ireland Trophy
• Ronnie O'Sullivan wins fourth UK Championship
• Mark Selby wins Masters on debut
• Shaun Murphy retains Malta Cup trophy

Shameless plugs:

• Event Prediction: Welsh Open 2008
• WWW Snooker: Welsh Open 2008

Neil Robertson wins Welsh Open

Neil Robertson from Australia won the Welsh Open for his second ranking title of the season.

The final against surprise package Andrew Higginson (England) was a roller coaster affair. Robertson looked to be cruising to the title when he opened up a 6-2 lead. Then Higginson played brilliantly after the interval to go 8-6 ahead. Robertson refused to give up though and won the last three frames to claim his second major title. He also won the Grand Prix earlier in the season.

Andrew Higginson had the best snooker week of his life. Not only did he reach the final. He also made a 147 in the earlier rounds. That earned him a £22,000 bonus. Not bad considering he'd won a total of £70,000 in the previous 12 years.

The win took the Aussie from 10th to seventh in the provisional rankings. Higginson improved from 63rd to 40th. Ken Doherty (Ireland) stays on top, followed by Scots Graeme Dott and John Higgins.

The event took place in Newport Centre, Wales Feb 11-18, 2007.

See also:

• Welsh Open tournament page (World Snooker)
• Robertson wins epic Welsh final (BBC)
• Robertson Rallies for Title (Sporting Life)
• The Two Winners in Wales (Snooker Scene Blog)
• 2007 Welsh Open (Global Snooker Centre)
• 2007 Welsh Open (Wheels in Motion)
• Higgins macht's spannend und verliert dennoch (Snookerblog - German)
• Welsh Open Snooker Ranking from Cuefactor
• SnookerManager: Welsh Open 2007
• Neil Robertson's official website

Related posts:

• Ding Junhui wins Northern Ireland Trophy
• Neil Robertson wins Grand Prix
• Peter Ebdon wins UK Championship
• Ronnie O'Sullivan wins Masters in style
• Shaun Murphy claims Malta trophy

Shameless plugs:

• Event Prediction: Welsh Open
• WWW Snooker: Welsh Open 2007

Philippines capture World Cup of Pool

The Philippines "Dream Team" of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante won the inaugural PartyPoker World Cup of Pool.

In the final they overwhelmed the American duo of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris 13-5. Germany and Vietnam shared third place.

The event took place from August 22-27 in the Newport Centre, Newport, Wales. First prize was $60,000. All matches were scotch doubles with alternate break.

See also:

• Philippines Take First Ever Partypoker.Com World Cup of Pool (AzBilliards)
• PartyPoker World Cup of Pool 2006 (American Pool Network)
• Philippines Billiards Team Capture World Cup of Pool Title (Inside Pool Magazine)
• You Guessed It: Filipinos Reign at First World Cup (Billiards Digest)
• The Champions Of The World (Pool Online)
• RP Duo wins pool World Cup (The Manila Times)
• DVD: World Cup of Pool 2006 (Matchroom Sport)
• World Cup of Pool (AzBilliards Forums)

Stephen Lee wins Welsh crown

In an all-English final in the Welsh Open, Stephen Lee downed current world champion Shaun Murphy 9-4. This was Lee's fourth ranking title.

See also:

• World Snooker
• Global Snooker Centre
• Sporting Life

Related post: "Ronnie favourite in Wales".

Michael White wins IBSF Grand Prix

By winning the IBSF Grand Prix Welshman Michael White has secured a place on the Main Tour.

There's just one problem. He's 14 years old! Last time I checked the age limit on the Tour was 16 years. Maybe they'll let him in once he gets old enough?

In the final he beat Mark Boyle (Scotland) 10-5. The highest break of the match was 102 by the eventual winner.

See also Sporting Life and World Snooker.

Related post: "IBSF Grand Prix"

IBSF Grand Prix

With the cancellation of the IBSF World Championship in Pakistan, the top amateurs lost an opportunity to qualify for the Main Tour. To alleviate this the IBSF Grand Prix is being staged. The winner of this event is awarded a place on the Main Tour. See also IBSF.org.

The group stage has already concluded and the knock out phase has begun. The final is March 3rd.

Related post: "Michael White wins IBSF Grand Prix"

Ronnie favourite in Wales

The Welsh Open is well underway. It's the fourth ranking tournament of the snooker season. John Higgins, Ding Junhui and Ken Doherty won the previous three.

... but Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan is once again the favourite. John Higgins and Stephen Hendry are possibly his toughest rivals.

As always you can find splendid coverage at Global Snooker Centre and Sporting Life.

Related post: "Stephen Lee wins Welsh crown"