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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Monday, November 24, 2008

Sánchez powers to World Cup win in Egypt

Two-time world champion Daniel Sánchez from Spain won the World Cup event in Egypt for his first title of the season.

Sánchez hammered Belgian Eddy Merckx 3-0. The frame scores were 15-1, 15-5 and 15-12. Tying for third were Peter de Bakker (Belgium) and Jean Paul de Bruijn from Netherlands.

Recent world champion Marco Zanetti (Italy) had the highest general average of 1.797 and the highest single match average of 2.600. Andreas Efler (Austia) had the highest run with a perfect 15.

Defending champion Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden) lost 3-2 to Jozef Philipoom (Belgium) in the last 16. Tour leader Dick Jaspers from Netherlands also went out in this round, 3-1 to Zanetti.

This was the Spaniard's second win in Egypt. He also captured the title in 2006.

The win takes Sánchez to second place in the World Cup Ranking. Jaspers stays on top and Frédéric Caudron (Belgium) drops one place to third.

Sánchez moves from fourth to second in the World Players Ranking. Merckx improves fom 13th to 10th. Jaspers holds on to the lead and Caudron sits in third place. Blomdahl falls from second to fourth, but is only 18 points behind Sánches.

The event took place 16-22 November 2008 at the Sunrise Garden Beach Resort, Hurghada, Egypt. It was the fifth of six events in the 2008 World Cup. The last event is in Alcala de Guadaira, Spain, 15-21 December.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Webb takes down WPBA Championship title

2008 WBPA ChampionshipMonica Webb from USA won the season-ending WPBA Championship.

In the final she beat Tour leader Kelly Fisher (England) 7-4.

The semifinals saw Webb beat form player Vivian Villareal (USA) 7-5 while Fisher dominated Sarah Rousey (USA) 7-1.

This was Webb's first Classic Tour victory from her first final. She played her first pro event in 1995 and turned pro in 1999.

Two-time defending champion Allison Fisher from England bowed out in the last 16 to Sarah Rousey (USA).

Fisher can take consolation in the fact that she finished top of the rankings for the 2008 Classic Tour. Karen Corr (Ireland) and Xiaoting Pan (China) finished second and third respectively. Webb's win took her from 10th to tied fourth. Last year's winner, Allison Fisher, finished in a disappointing sixth place.

The event took place from November 12-16 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Hollywood, Florida, USA. It was the last of seven events this season on the Classic Tour.

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

It's three out of three for Neil Robertson with Bahrain Championship win

Bahrain Championship 2008Neil Robertson from Australia won the inaugural 2008 Bahrain Championship.

The final against Welshman Matthew Stevens started very well for the Australian. He swept the first three frames with breaks of 129, 117 and 96, before Stevens came back strong to lead 7-6. Robertson managed to take the last three frames though to win 9-7.

Stephen Hendry (Scotland) and Mark Allen (Northern Ireland) lost out in the semi-finals. This was Hendry's 82nd ranking event semifinal. In contrast it was Allen's second.

Robertson received £48,000 for the victory. Stevens got £22,500 for his runner-up spot.

Marcus Campbell had the highest TV stage break of the tournament with the 147 maximum he made against Ahmed Al Khusaibi (Oman) in the wildcard round. Chinese Liang Wenbo made a 147 in the qualifiers for the event.

This was the third ranking title for Robertson. He's yet to lose a final. Stevens was looking for his second title in ranking events.

The tournament was plagued by the withdrawals of John Higgins (Scotland), Ding Junhui (China) and Mark Selby (England) caused by the clash in dates with the Snooker Premier League. In addition Englishmen Ronnie O'Sullivan and Steve Davis dropped out for health reasons.

Robertson moves from 21st to 14th in the provisional rankings. Stevens advances 11 places, from 33rd to 22nd. There are no changes in the top five. O'Sullivan keeps his lead, in front of Stephen Maguire (Scotland), Ryan Day (Wales), Selby and Allister Carter (England).

Robertson jumps from 18th to 11th in the ELO Ratings. Stevens advances 15 places, from 27th to 12th. No changes in the top three here either. O'Sullivan is still the clear frontrunner, followed by Higgins and Maguire.

The event took place at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain 8-15 November, 2008. It was the fourth ranking tournament of eight on the 2008/2009 Main Tour. Next up on the snooker calendar is the Maplin UK Championship which starts 13th December.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Un-Nooh and Evans on top in the IBSF Snooker World Championship

Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Reanne Evans from England won gold medals at the 2008 IBSF World Snooker Championships.

Un-Nooh beat Ireland's Colm Gilcreest 11-7 in the men's final while Evans bested former champ Wendy Jans (Belgium) 5-3.

Soheil Vahedi (Iran) and Xiao Guodong (China) finished joint third in the men's event. Emma Bonney (England) and Ching Ching Yu (Hong Kong) reached the same positions among the ladies.

This was Un-Nooh's first world title. Evans has won twice before, in 2004 and 2007. She is also a four-time defending champion of the World Ladies Snooker Championship, organized by the World Ladies Snooker & Billiards Association.

The victory means Un-Nooh is set to be nominated for a place on the Main Tour in the 2008/2009 season.

Former pro Dene O'Kane (New Zealand) won the Masters (Over 40s). He beat India's former billiards world champ Geet Sethi 5-1 in the final. The defending champion Darren Morgan from Wales played in the men's event this year, where he was knocked out in the last 16.

All the three champs also secured the highest break in their respective divisions. Un-Nooh had a 143, Evans made a 80 O'Kane managed a 109.

The event was held 27 October - 8 November 2008 in Wels, Austria. Next year the championship will be contested in Hyderabad, India.

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