2008 888.com World Championship

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Ladder - QUALIFYING RESULTS  - CRUCIBLE RESULTS  - INFORMATION - MATCH NOTES - PLAYER CUEFACTS

GALLERIES: No. 1 Preliminary Rounds - No. 2 Qualifying Rounds

ALI CARTER

v

BARRY HAWKINS

Round One - Match 10

(Best of 19 frames)

Saturday 19 April 19.00

Sunday 20 April 14.30

 

Match Notes

Good evening and welcome to the opening nine frames of the match between two of snooker's young guns...

Barry Hawkins slots home the first of many long reds, he's nicely on the black so a good chance for him to settle into the match quickly... only 16 for Hawkins, however Carter misses the red that's left and Hawkins gets back to the table again.. and he's moved nicely on to 38 already but there the break ends, although Hawkins does lead 55-0 and another visit to the table gives him enough points to secure the frame... and a nice 51 clearance to the pink keeps Carter scoreless so far... and it's a good start in the second for Hawkins and he's moved on to 64 with a rest shot, just the black needed for the frame... down it goes, he leads 71 with 67 on... the next red eludes him but Carter concedes...

At last Carter gets to the table and now he can settle into the match, a good opening here and he's made 32 so far... a good recovery shot, a double,  keeps him at the table, onto 49 and the chance to split the reds, but he's gone gently into them and not really opened them... awkward cueing hampers him there, he's missed the red so a good 56, but there's mileage in the frame still... Hawkins gets a red, no position so he lays a tight snooker... Carter has found a red but gets a kick on frame ball black which doesn't even reach the pocket... he leads 64-32 on the last red... Hawkins promptly lays a snooker on the last red... Carter hits it and leaves it on... no reason why Hawkins can't clear brown to black to pinch the frame and a 3-0 lead... and he does... Have you ever thought being a professional snooker player would be your dream job? But then you wake up in the morning and you're job-hunting. Well look no further as GCS has teamed up with Spectrum Personnel who offer a wide range of jobs... just click on the banner at the top of the page to check through all the opportunities available... a few twists and turns already in this frame, both players have had chances, Hawkins fails there as a pink refuses to drop, he leads 41-31 but Carter is on a red.. it's hard for him to get on the last red so a good safety needed and that wasn't it! This time he gets a good last red,  and lays a snooker on the yellow.. that's an odd choice of shot to put the pink safe, as Carter will need that to win the frame... Carter gets yellow to blue but can't dislodge the pink he put safe... Carter gets the pink and his first frame and will feel a bit better at the interval... The players return from their break and Carter gets the first opening... he only makes 15... they've got a bit bogged down at the moment, but here's a chance now for Hawkins... he doesn't make anything of that but gets another opening... Carter led 62-32 but he's gone in off and Hawkins can now win the frame with one snooker... How unlucky is that for Hawkins, he gets the snooker but flukes the green and now he's got to get out of his own snooker on the brown... a good escape and he gets the brown safe, so he still needs one snooker... Carter overcuts the blue, Hawkins still tries to get the one snooker he needs... at last Carter gets the blue and Hawkins concedes and his lead is being eroded now... Carter opens frame six with 24, but neither player seems to be able to grab hold of this match at the moment... it's not pretty snooker but it's beginning to prove effective for Carter who's chipped away at Hawkins' lead, he's 56-14 ahead in this frame, one more to level the match...

Onto frame seven and this safety exchange is sending reds up to the baulk end... and now they're playing tip tap into the pack, we're heading for stalemate... a re-rack looks like the best option here... Hawkins breaks the deadlock... but that's an easy red he's missed there and he's left a long red to the yellow pocket for Carter who is unlucky to go in off after a good pot... and Hawkins compounds it with a fluke, and now he's unlucky as he knocks the blue in when splitting the pack... after all that there are 4 reds left, Hawkins leads 35-13 and Carter has an easy starter... he makes 30 but fails to get on the yellow, so Hawkins has an 8 point lead as the safety resumes on the colours... Carter gets the blue and he will take the lead for the first time in the match unless Hawkins can get a snooker... Carter opens frame eight with 21 before running out of position, but he's nailed the white to the baulk cushion... this match is not following the expected pattern at all... Carter, normally free-scoring has won all his frames following protracted broken play... Carter gained a 35 point lead but Hawkins has eroded that now and is still at the table... he's missed that mid-range red so 37-35 to Hawkins and no red left for Carter... the safety continues and Carter's got Hawkins in trouble here with a tough snooker... Hawkins can't escape and now the last five reds, all in baulk are on for Carter to clear up... and if he does it will be five frames on the spin... and he's mopped up the reds and slotted home frame ball green to lead 5-3... but he's gone in off the blue so just a glimmer of hope for Hawkins who needs two snookers.... Hawkins produces a millimetre precision shot to get the white in behind the black but he's left an edge of the blue sticking out for Carter to hit... Carter clinches the frame and there's one more left tonight, which Hawkins needs to win... frame nine is following the pattern of the last few, the reds have all gone to ne side of the table, the baulk colours have cuddled up together, black and pink are covering each other and the blue looks rather lonely on its spot... this could be another long frame, but a very important one, particularly for Hawkins... Carter has found a plant and opened a 50 point lead now with five reds left... and there goes the red he needs to leave Hawkins needing snookers and Hawkins concedes so that's the end of an excellent night's work by Carter who leads 6-3.

Good afternoon, welcome back... Can Carter build on his run of six of the best last night, or can Hawkins come back at him...

Sit back as we await the arrival of the players back into the arena... Hawkins slots home the first red and he bids to get back into the match...

not at that visit, only six points accrued.. Carter's back at the table on a run of 19... He's broken down but now leads 45-6... Hawkins has a another bite at the cherry now...

trailing 51-11... he's closed the gap to 51-30... Hawkins forces a foul from Carter and he's got another chance here... Carter's back in, and he's nicked the frame now to go further ahead in the match... that was a crucial frame, a two frame swing in Carter's favour... Hawkins opens up with 28 in frame eleven... he hasn't been able to clinch a one visit frame since he made 71 in the second frame last night... Hawkins carves out another chance... but it's not happening for him, a 47 point lead but he's let Ali back in... but Ali falters and Hawkins hang on to clinch the frame... Barry's opened the next with 34 and immediately gets another chance to build on his lead... and he does and he's pulled another frame back.

Carter's opened a 52 point lead but Hawkins is fighting back again, on 39 now and now up to 60... and that's a brilliant 71 clearance, he's right back in it now and Carter will have plenty to think about at the interval. Hawkins is back at the table after the interval... it's down to the line now and this match could now swing either way.. Carter leads 23-11 at the moment in frame fourteen... Carter opens a 60-25 lead but he's not over the line in the frame yet, it's all about the blue and Hawkins needs blue to black, while Carter needs the blue. Carter lays a good snooker and Hawkins misses the blue and it's going back again... Hawkins leaves it on and it's 8-6 to Carter now... Carter is going well in the next frame, already on a run of 38.. and he's turned this into a frame winner, onto 80, now 9-6 up just one frame from the winning line... with that superb 128 total clearance.

Hawkins isn't going to roll over just yet, he's made 28 in the next, before leaving an opening for Carter... there's not much on at the moment... it's a tight frame... Hawkins did have a 3 point lead but he's skimmed past a red so Carter has a one point lead with 3 reds left and Carter has put Hawkins in trouble behind the brown... down to two reds and it's very cagey, a good escape there by Hawkins to lay on the reds... and he leads by 2 points now... Carter gets a red and lays the snooker again, more trouble for Hawkins... he leaves a free ball and this is a chance for Carter to close out the match... he misses the black, Hawkins gets a good yellow, a nice kiss and smack on the green... Hawkins clears to pink to save the match ... the drama will continue... Hawkins sets out with 20 before missing and there's an opening red on offer for Carter... he's over hit that shot and landed too close to the next red, end of break at 29... Hawkins takes a red and glues Carter behind the brown... this is bruising stuff now, real hard match play... and a good red from Hawkins into a blind pocket, a chance now to get ahead in the frame... another excellent shot by Hawkins to pot the blue and split the reds off the top cushion... 41-29 to Hawkins on the last red, he's got Carter in a tough snooker, one miss and back it goes again... Carter hits it, leaves it, Hawkins pots it, so he needs up to the green to pull another frame back... ooh he's landed very close to the green, but he can just nick it in... with time marching on, there's a possibility of them over-running into the next session if the match were to go to a decider, that will pose a problem to Mike Ganley the Tournament Director... can you possibly pull the match off if it goes 9-9... we shall see... so Hawkins gets the green to lead 56-29 on the brown... and he smacks that brown in and it's 9-8 now... Carter opens the frame with a superb red, dead weight into the middle pocket, he's on the black, an early chance for him... nerves of steel here by Carter, another great red up into the yellow pocket and he's on to 33... the break ends at 40 as the pack doesn't split for him... a fluked red enables Hawkins to roll up tight behind the black, the reds are loose now and an error could be very costly... Hawkins gets the chance, and moves along to 35, he's still got open reds... up to 56 and on the last red... it's been decreed that the match will be pulled off if it goes 9-9, wrong decision in my opinion and probably of the players and fans also...

Hawkins gets a kick, the frame isn't in the bag yet... good shot with the rest, he's on the yellow and 20 ahead... ooh after all that hard work he's missed the yellow...

the yellow has run safe... Ali tries to lay a snooker, fails and Barry does lay the snooker... foul, a miss but no free ball... back it goes... how cruel is this now on the players, the tension is nearly unbearable... Carter flukes a snooker with his escape... Hawkins just needs the yellow, but first he's got to hit it... and misses it by a micron... so the lead shrinks to 20 and Hawkins needs yellow and green... good safety from both players, at this rate this frame will run over the 19.00 start time of the evening session... there's a quite brilliant shot by Hawkins, he's glued the white behind the black... equally good shot by Carter to hit the yellow and no easy pot left... another good shot as Hawkins drops in the yellow, just the green to the middle needed and he gets it - it's going 9-9, what a match, a true Crucible drama this...

this match will resume in a few minutes now that Swail v Lee has finished... Here we go then... first chance falls to Carter... and he makes 28 before playing safe, well not quite safe, there's a shot on for Hawkins... he's got a red but no easy colour to get to the next red... good safety by Carter and an equally good response by Hawkins... Carter's gone full-bloodied for a red and left it on for Barry... and Hawkins now takes the lead, 46-28, he's got three reds left, all of them on or near a cushion... he fails at 42 with a red along the rail... and it's hanging over the pocket for Carter... so Carter is three points ahead now on the yellow... and he's done it, what a match, heart-breaking for Barry who's given everything and more in the match and relief for Carter

FRAME SCORES

1. 0-106(39,51)

2. 0-71(71)

3. 64(56)-65(33)

4. 59-41

5. 67-43

6. 72(46)-43

7. 61-37

8. 69-47

9. 59(43)-1

FRAME SCORES

10. 71-41

11. 13-52

12. 2-60

13. 52-71(71)

14. 76-49

15. 128(128)-0

16. 49-58

17. 29-60

18. 44(40-84(56)

19. 69(41)-46(42)

FRAME SCORES

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

QUOTES

WINNER

ALI CARTER

QUOTES