Still be good to know which former champions are going to enter though. They would have to win 3 best of 19 frame matches to qualify so it's not going to be a case of them fluking 3 results on the bounce.
Kurt Maflin beating Shaun Murphy 5-4 was a bit of a surprise, but he's now in the semi finals where he will face..
.. Mark Selby, who overcame Robert Milkins 5-4. It was alternate frame wins till the final, and I suspect Milkins will have nightmares about a blue and a red that he missed in the eighth frame with the table really well laid out for him to make a match winning clearance. Selby's win guarantees him the world number 1 spot on money (he'd have been seeded 1 for the Crucible anyway, but nice to be number 1 by right too)
So Stephen Maguire can breathe easier - he's now guaranteed a Crucible spot, as for Milkins, it's three qualifers to face at Ponds Forge.
Looking at the projected seedings (cheers clarky323) if Ding beats John Higgins later, he'll climb from 4 to 3. If Higgins wins he still has the potential to go to at least to 12th seed and overtake Mark Allen, and potentially if he wins it to 10th.
Well that decider had a bit of everything - an in-off, a 'how did it not drop' jawed red, a critical fluked red from the acutest of angles, and ultimately a jawed green from Higgins allowing Ding to clear to pink to reach his first ranking SF since Shanghai last autumn
Was a great decider wasn't it! He'll play Gary Wilson in the semi finals!
Goes to show there is a lot of capable players out there, possibly the strongest the snooker tour has ever been in terms of strength in depth.
Going to make the World qualifiers a real test that is for sure.
With that win Ding also climbs up to 3 in the world rankings as well. It also does mean that if the first round of the Worlds went with the seeds, Ding would play Higgins in the second round..
Selby wins 6-3, great effort by Maflin though and closer than the scoreline suggests.
Hope it hasn't taken too much out of him with the world qualifiers starting imminently. Recall last year Mike Dunn made the semis in China and had nothing left in the tank upon his return to Ponds Forge.
Comments
Aye it was - doh!
Still be good to know which former champions are going to enter though. They would have to win 3 best of 19 frame matches to qualify so it's not going to be a case of them fluking 3 results on the bounce.
EDIT - I have an answer to my own question courtesy of fellow Hull snooker fan, Matt at Pro Snooker Blog
The top 64 are seeded/placed and the others drawn, randomly, against them
.. Mark Selby, who overcame Robert Milkins 5-4. It was alternate frame wins till the final, and I suspect Milkins will have nightmares about a blue and a red that he missed in the eighth frame with the table really well laid out for him to make a match winning clearance. Selby's win guarantees him the world number 1 spot on money (he'd have been seeded 1 for the Crucible anyway, but nice to be number 1 by right too)
So Stephen Maguire can breathe easier - he's now guaranteed a Crucible spot, as for Milkins, it's three qualifers to face at Ponds Forge.
Looking at the projected seedings (cheers clarky323) if Ding beats John Higgins later, he'll climb from 4 to 3. If Higgins wins he still has the potential to go to at least to 12th seed and overtake Mark Allen, and potentially if he wins it to 10th.
Goes to show there is a lot of capable players out there, possibly the strongest the snooker tour has ever been in terms of strength in depth.
Going to make the World qualifiers a real test that is for sure.
With that win Ding also climbs up to 3 in the world rankings as well. It also does mean that if the first round of the Worlds went with the seeds, Ding would play Higgins in the second round..
Perry v Murphy
Hawkins v Allen
Carter v Robertson
Ding v Higgins
Fu v Trump
Walden v Bingham
Williams v O'Sullivan
Is how the worlds last 16 would look if all the seeds progress.
thanks for that most interesting, highly unlikely they'll all march through the first round of course but you never know!
Heh no it'll never happen. Quarter 2 looks particularly non-bulletproof in my opinion.
soon as I say high quality they both start missing......:o
Got to say though if Kurt Maflin keeps playing like this he's going to be dangerous in the World qualifiers.
Hope it hasn't taken too much out of him with the world qualifiers starting imminently. Recall last year Mike Dunn made the semis in China and had nothing left in the tank upon his return to Ponds Forge.
Yep 4, Kurt Maflin got 6 in the China Open...the same as his total for the entire season before this event!
5-5