GLOBAL SNOOKER NEWS

Gary Wilson Wilson sailed through the last 32 with a thumping 5-0 win over Scotland’s Mark Owens. Breaks of 85, 70, 43, 65 and a 117 flowed from the Englishman’s cue and there was nothing Owens could do but sit back and watch.

That set up a last sixteen match against IBSF World Champion Pankaj Advani, who also won 5-0, against Thailand’s Jessada Posukarn.

Palajin came through an exciting match against Australia’s Ben Nunan 5-3. Nunan opened the match in style with a 141 total clearance, his best career break. Palajin levelled with 77, but fell behind to 57 from Nunan. Palajin then won four out of the next five frames to ensure his win.

Palajin’s team mate Pramual Janthad wasn’t quite so lucky. Drawn against thirteen year old Michael White, on paper Janthad was red hot favourite, and when he opened a 3-0 lead looked all over the winner. But White had other ideas.

He took the fourth to keep in the match, but feel 4-1 behind to a clearance of 86 from Janthad, after white had opened with 53. Still undeterred the youngster battled through the next three frames to draw level and then, amidst roars of support he produced a match-winning 52 for an unlikely victory.

Reanne Evans’ campaign came to an end in a low-key 5-3 defeat by Wales’ Aled Brothers.

Mark Allen also bowed out, beaten 5-4 by Aditya Mehta. Allen trailed 2-4 but drew level with breaks of 101 and 69, but Mehta held on to clinch victory on the colours in the decider.

Irish supporters were delighted as John Connors secured a 5-3 win over Malaysia’s John Loh Ei Loong, and David Morris ran in breaks of 79 and 67 to beat Hong Kong’s Lam Ho Yin 5-1. Jonathan Grant boosted Irish representation with a thrilling 5-4 win over Germany’s Sasche Lippe, and Brendan Byrne beat Xiao Guo Dong 5-2.

Northern Ireland gained two last 16 places through Clifford Carson, who stroked in a break of 100 and completed a black ball 5-4 win over Moh Keen Ho, and Raymond Fry, who beat China’s Tian Pengfei 5-1.

Judd Trump ended Australia’s hopes of taking the trophy home again, beating Shannon Dixon 5-1, thumping in breaks of 104 and 72 twice.

John Connors was the only Irishman to survive the last 16 round. Ireland’s were assured at least one quarter finalist as Connors was matched against his countryman Jonathan Grant and he showed no mercy, galloping to a comfortable 5-0 win, with a break of 108 in the fourth frame. Connors was well on course for a 135 clearance but went in off the yellow.

Fry bowed out 5-1 to Palajin. He lost the first on the black. Having opened with 53, he gave Palajin a glimmer of a chance and the Thai player cleared up with 49. A run of 46 brought Fry level, but breaks of 85, 72 and 64 helped Palajin put the match beyond doubt.

Carson was on the receiving end of a scoring blitz by China’s Liang Wenbo. Breaks of 65 and 133 gave Wenbo a 2-0 lead. Carson responded with 55, but then had to sit out 120 and 40 to trail 4-1. He gamely ran in 76 to stay in the match, but 51 from Wenbo put matters beyond doubt.

Aditya Mehta ended Brendan Byrne’s run in a low scoring match, which went to the Indian 5-0.

Jamie Jones and David Morris dished up a thriller. A huge crowd packed into the Ivy Rooms to cheers on the Irishman, but in the end the applause rang out for both players. Jones edged the opener but fell 2-1 down to runs of 46 twice from Morris. The Welshman drew level with a colours win in the third. A run of 50 from Morris and 88 from Jones saw the next two frames shared. Morris went ahead once more, but with his back to the wall Jones produced his best snooker. First he ran in a 133 total clearance to send the match into a nail-biting decider and then he fired in a long red from Morris’ safety leave and compiling a match winning 53 break.

Gary Wilson ended Advani’s hope of a double IBSF triumph, winning 5-2. Wilson constructed breaks of 54, 73, 79, 47, 52 and 48 to keep Advani on the back foot throughout.

Judd Trump gained England’s second place in the quarter finals, beating his team mate Lee Page 5-3 in a match that could have gone either way. Page opened a 3-1 lead but then lost two close frames on the black to lose the initiative. Trump took the seventh to lead for the first time and with the momentum in his favour, thumped in 109 to clinch victory.

There was only ever going to be one winner of the all-Welsh clash. Still on a high after his dramatic victory over Janthad, Michael White overpowered his club mate Aled Brothers 5-1 in a fast and furious match. The referee struggled to keep up as White whistled round the table and even racked up the balls between frames. The teenager took the first with a break of 57, the second with a 47 clearance and the third with a colours clearance. He nicked the fourth on the black, before Brothers belatedly got his name on the board with a colours victory in frame five. That brief blipped barely slowed White who them smashed in 57 to seal a very quick win.

By now the audience and players had taken White to their hearts and they packed the arena to watch his quarter final match against China’s seventeen year old Liang Wenbo.

And what a treat they witnessed. The match had everything – high breaks, a swing in fortunes and the ultimate drama of a final frame going to a re-spotted black.

White flew into a 3-0 lead with breaks of 55 and 50, before a run of 100 gave Wenbo a toe-hold in the match. The Welshman constructed a run of 62 to take the fifth and lead 4-1. But Wenbo wasn’t content to be a mere spectator and he dominated the next three frames, with breaks of 78, 84, and 81 to draw level.

The crucial ninth frame went to Wenbo with a 58 clearance, after White had opened with 61 before missing a long red. Despite the mounting pressure White bounced back to level the match with a run of 68 and he opened the decider with a break of 48, but missed a long red with the rest to give Wenbo a chance. Wenbo clawed his way back into contention, but let White back to the table and the Welshman set about clearing up. He took yellow and green to lead by twenty-two points but couldn’t gain decent position on the brown on the side rail. His attempted rattled and stayed out and Wenbo cleared the colours to force a re-spot.

The players held themselves together remarkably well amidst the tension and calmly exchanged safety shots, to oohs and aahs from a very nervous audience. An attempted long pot from Wenbo ran safe and White’s attempted end to end safety got a double kiss. A huge groan went round the arena as the balls rebounded to leave Wenbo with an unmissable black. The crowd rose to both players to give them a deserved standing ovation. White, despite the disappointment of the day, will take home the knowledge that at the tender age of thirteen, he still has seven more chances to lift the World Junior title, and that he can already give the big boys a real run for their money.

Everything else paled into insignificance after the drama. Palajin powered into a 5-1 lead over Jamie Jones, who then fought back to 5-4 with runs of 78, 67 and 51, but couldn’t maintain his recovery and went down 6-4.

Judd Trump ended Irish hopes with a 6-4 defeat of John Connors. In an entertaining match Trump contributed breaks of 40, 54, 61, 51, 41 and 45 while Connors constructed 42 and 61.

Thailand’s Kobkit Palajin ended the hopes of fourteen year old Judd Trump, the English Open Champion, from adding the World Under 21 trophy to his array of titles, clinching a close fought semi-final in the deciding frame.

The pair swooped frames until Trump opened a 6-4 lead. But he still couldn’t shake off a determined Palajin, who won the next two to draw level and then took the lead for the first time in the match. Trump drew level, leaving Palajin to control the deciding frame. Trump set out with breaks of 52 and a 47 clearance in the first, added 61 in the third, 72 in the fifth and 48 in the seventh. Breaks of 55 and 90 helped him open a two frame gap and a crucial 53 sent the match into the decider. In the alternate frames Palajin ran in 45 in the fourth, an 81 clearance in the sixth, 48 in the eighth, and then a burst of 46, 52 and 40 in taking a 7-6 lead. Trump, naturally, was bitterly disappointed to lose, but at only fourteen the precocious talent still has time on his side.

For Gary Wilson it was his last chance to compete before joining the Main professional tour and he eventually overcame stubborn resistance from Liang Wenbo, booking his place in the final with an 8-6 victory. Wenbo led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 thanks to breaks of 77 and 61, but thereafter he was playing catch up all the time.

Wilson thundered in breaks of 73, 45, 42 and 76 in the first four frames, then added 104, 47 and 58 to open a 5-3 lead. A run of 79 in frame ten took him 6-4 in front and he maintained the gap with 71 in frame twelve. Wenbo countered with a superb 98 in the thirteenth, but Wilson powered in a run of 70 to complete his win.

RESULTS:

RESOURCES: PHOTO FILE - RESULTS