I’ve reviewed all the first round matches and previewed the upcoming 2nd round tussles. I’ll update this page as the final first round results come in.
Mark Selby v Anthony McGill
Both players will be glad to have had a few days off after going the distance in their opening round matches. Defending Champion Selby was pushed to the limit by Kurt Maflin, it was Selby’s excellent match play and bottle under the harshest of pressure that got him through. While young Anthony McGill saw off a Stephen Maguire fight back in some style by knocking in a quite brilliant century in the deciding frame, a repeat of his final qualifier against Mark King.
While I predicted that I thought Anthony was a good match up against Maguire I think Selby is possibly the worst. There games are similar, not the most naturally gifted but both have bottle and are excellent match players. Selby however is at the top of his game and Anthony is still honing his craft, it will be an excellent learning curve for the Scot but I can’t see him winning.
Prediction Selby 13- 8
Perry v Murphy/Hull
Awaiting winner of Murphy/Hull
Barry Hawkins v Mark Allen
This is a match I’m looking forward to; I was impressed by Barry in his first round. He didn’t look like a player who has been struggling for the majority of the season. After an excellent comeback from Matthew Selt he stayed calm and won the decider in a single visit. After the match Barry admitted his UK Championship exit played on his mind – where he lost 6-5 after leading Nigel Bond 5-0.
Mark Allen’s performance was harder to judge, after trailing 1-3 he won the next nine frames as his opponent Ryan Day wilted in the heat of the Crucible. Allen was offered numerous chances and took them fluently. I’ve spoken before on the blog of my admiration for Allen’s game, I think he has the X-Factor that great champions have and his relatively quiet career so far has been disappointing. I’m backing him to win this match though, although I think it will be a lot tougher than his opening match.
Prediction Allen 13-9
Allister Carter v Neil Robertson
There weren’t many more determined looking players in the opening round of the tournament than Ali Carter. Determined to prove he is deserving of his ranking exemption and remind people he is still a class player he defeated Alan McManus rather comfortably in the opening round. I thought Ali looked quite sharp in the balls but his overall game wasn’t quite up to the standard I believe he will need to defeat Robertson.
Jamie Jones couldn’t put up much of a fight against the clinical Neil Robertson and was swept aside 10-2. All aspects of Neil’s game are looking sharp and ready to mount a serious challenge. I fancy he will win quite comfortably in this 2nd round tie.
Prediction Robertson 13-5
Ding Junhui v John Higgins
The battle these two had at the China Open a few weeks ago was a thrilling encounter, now over a best of 25 format we could be in for a classic. Both showed good form in patches in their opening round, I thought Higgins performance was the more positive though. Without a loss of concentration at the end of the first session he would’ve won more comfortably. In recent months Higgins has been starting matches brilliantly then tailing off as the session progresses, it will be interesting to see if he can keep up his initial form for three straight sessions – if he can I see him winning this match.
#Careless was the talk of Twitter yesterday after Ding didn’t realise after 13 Red & Blacks that he was on a maximum. With the table at his mercy he screwed back for the Blue on 96 and after a gasp from the crowd realised the error of his ways, he attempted an extremely difficult black and sadly missed. It must be nice to be so used to clearing up you forget you’re on a maximum.
Prediction Higgins 13-10
Marco Fu v Trump/Carrington
Judd looked very promising in his 10-6 win over the spirited debutant Stuart Carrington – who’s technique reminded me of a young Matthew Stevens. Trailing 7-2 over night Carrington’s nerves settled on day two and he shared out the frames. I was impressed by Stuart, he’s a player I’ve not seen a lot of but his technique looked very solid and that is platform from which he can build from.
Marco Fu looked good in his first round match, I had wrongly predicted that he might lose to Jimmy Robertson – a player I think is very talented – but it was Fu who prevailed.
Fu and Trump’s head to head is 2-2 in matches that are at least best of 9. I think Trump’s scoring will be far too much for Fu, I also think his tactical play is now up in the top 4 in the World. I’m not predicting that Fu will have much luck and I expect a reasonably comfortable victory for Trump.
Prediction Trump 13-6
Graeme Dott v Stuart Bingham
Graeme Dott exhibited all his gut and determination in beating Ricky Walden, never giving an inch his match play is so solid and proved too much for Walden. Pouncing on his opponents mistakes – which were all too often- he cleared up when required. For Walden this was a very disappointing tournament, while I expected him to lose I thought he would have made Graeme work harder for it. Stuart Bingham came past a spirited Robbie Williams, a lack of attacking intent from Williams cost him as I don’t think Stuart played too well. However he did what was required and is now in the tournament. I think the Dott rollercoaster will continue and he will progress by making less unforced errors than his opponent.
Prediction Dott 13-11
Matthew Stevens v Ronnie O’Sullivan
The most uncomfortable moment about Ronnie’s first round victory over Craig Steadman was his own footwear. His inner Chimp looked out of control as he took his shoes off and asked a member of the audience if they had a “spare pair of size Eights?”
The match was pretty much as expected with Steadman unfortunately unable to challenge Ronnie. It was hard to judge how Ronnie was playing. However we all know it’s more about Ronnie’s mental state than his match sharpness & that might be a little more worrying for O’Sullivan fans.
On paper the all Welsh opening round looked intriguing, a repeat of their World final 15 years before. It was a strange match, Williams was there in body but not a lot else. Succumbing to a disappointing 10-2 defeat. Maybe the months of going deep in tournaments had left Williams with nothing left to give; it’s only a few seasons since “Burnout” was the talk of the Crucible.
Matthew Stevens and Ronnie O’Sullivan have faced each other in a number of high profile matches over the years and O’Sullivan has the better of their head to head with 11 victories to Stevens 4. The most high profile matches being the 2012 World Semi Final and 2005 Irish Masters final which were both won by O’Sullivan.
I’m not sure this will be the best match, Stevens in his prime struggled to beat Ronnie and I would say Ronnie is a stronger player now. I can see the Rocket winning the first two sessions at least 5-3 and then strolling to a victory.
Prediction O’Sullivan 13-7
Both players will be glad to have had a few days off after going the distance in their opening round matches. Defending Champion Selby was pushed to the limit by Kurt Maflin, it was Selby’s excellent match play and bottle under the harshest of pressure that got him through. While young Anthony McGill saw off a Stephen Maguire fight back in some style by knocking in a quite brilliant century in the deciding frame, a repeat of his final qualifier against Mark King.
While I predicted that I thought Anthony was a good match up against Maguire I think Selby is possibly the worst. There games are similar, not the most naturally gifted but both have bottle and are excellent match players. Selby however is at the top of his game and Anthony is still honing his craft, it will be an excellent learning curve for the Scot but I can’t see him winning.
Prediction Selby 13- 8
Perry v Murphy/Hull
Awaiting winner of Murphy/Hull
Barry Hawkins v Mark Allen
This is a match I’m looking forward to; I was impressed by Barry in his first round. He didn’t look like a player who has been struggling for the majority of the season. After an excellent comeback from Matthew Selt he stayed calm and won the decider in a single visit. After the match Barry admitted his UK Championship exit played on his mind – where he lost 6-5 after leading Nigel Bond 5-0.
Mark Allen’s performance was harder to judge, after trailing 1-3 he won the next nine frames as his opponent Ryan Day wilted in the heat of the Crucible. Allen was offered numerous chances and took them fluently. I’ve spoken before on the blog of my admiration for Allen’s game, I think he has the X-Factor that great champions have and his relatively quiet career so far has been disappointing. I’m backing him to win this match though, although I think it will be a lot tougher than his opening match.
Prediction Allen 13-9
Allister Carter v Neil Robertson
There weren’t many more determined looking players in the opening round of the tournament than Ali Carter. Determined to prove he is deserving of his ranking exemption and remind people he is still a class player he defeated Alan McManus rather comfortably in the opening round. I thought Ali looked quite sharp in the balls but his overall game wasn’t quite up to the standard I believe he will need to defeat Robertson.
Jamie Jones couldn’t put up much of a fight against the clinical Neil Robertson and was swept aside 10-2. All aspects of Neil’s game are looking sharp and ready to mount a serious challenge. I fancy he will win quite comfortably in this 2nd round tie.
Prediction Robertson 13-5
Ding Junhui v John Higgins
The battle these two had at the China Open a few weeks ago was a thrilling encounter, now over a best of 25 format we could be in for a classic. Both showed good form in patches in their opening round, I thought Higgins performance was the more positive though. Without a loss of concentration at the end of the first session he would’ve won more comfortably. In recent months Higgins has been starting matches brilliantly then tailing off as the session progresses, it will be interesting to see if he can keep up his initial form for three straight sessions – if he can I see him winning this match.
#Careless was the talk of Twitter yesterday after Ding didn’t realise after 13 Red & Blacks that he was on a maximum. With the table at his mercy he screwed back for the Blue on 96 and after a gasp from the crowd realised the error of his ways, he attempted an extremely difficult black and sadly missed. It must be nice to be so used to clearing up you forget you’re on a maximum.
Prediction Higgins 13-10
Marco Fu v Trump/Carrington
Judd looked very promising in his 10-6 win over the spirited debutant Stuart Carrington – who’s technique reminded me of a young Matthew Stevens. Trailing 7-2 over night Carrington’s nerves settled on day two and he shared out the frames. I was impressed by Stuart, he’s a player I’ve not seen a lot of but his technique looked very solid and that is platform from which he can build from.
Marco Fu looked good in his first round match, I had wrongly predicted that he might lose to Jimmy Robertson – a player I think is very talented – but it was Fu who prevailed.
Fu and Trump’s head to head is 2-2 in matches that are at least best of 9. I think Trump’s scoring will be far too much for Fu, I also think his tactical play is now up in the top 4 in the World. I’m not predicting that Fu will have much luck and I expect a reasonably comfortable victory for Trump.
Prediction Trump 13-6
Graeme Dott v Stuart Bingham
Graeme Dott exhibited all his gut and determination in beating Ricky Walden, never giving an inch his match play is so solid and proved too much for Walden. Pouncing on his opponents mistakes – which were all too often- he cleared up when required. For Walden this was a very disappointing tournament, while I expected him to lose I thought he would have made Graeme work harder for it. Stuart Bingham came past a spirited Robbie Williams, a lack of attacking intent from Williams cost him as I don’t think Stuart played too well. However he did what was required and is now in the tournament. I think the Dott rollercoaster will continue and he will progress by making less unforced errors than his opponent.
Prediction Dott 13-11
Matthew Stevens v Ronnie O’Sullivan
The most uncomfortable moment about Ronnie’s first round victory over Craig Steadman was his own footwear. His inner Chimp looked out of control as he took his shoes off and asked a member of the audience if they had a “spare pair of size Eights?”
The match was pretty much as expected with Steadman unfortunately unable to challenge Ronnie. It was hard to judge how Ronnie was playing. However we all know it’s more about Ronnie’s mental state than his match sharpness & that might be a little more worrying for O’Sullivan fans.
On paper the all Welsh opening round looked intriguing, a repeat of their World final 15 years before. It was a strange match, Williams was there in body but not a lot else. Succumbing to a disappointing 10-2 defeat. Maybe the months of going deep in tournaments had left Williams with nothing left to give; it’s only a few seasons since “Burnout” was the talk of the Crucible.
Matthew Stevens and Ronnie O’Sullivan have faced each other in a number of high profile matches over the years and O’Sullivan has the better of their head to head with 11 victories to Stevens 4. The most high profile matches being the 2012 World Semi Final and 2005 Irish Masters final which were both won by O’Sullivan.
I’m not sure this will be the best match, Stevens in his prime struggled to beat Ronnie and I would say Ronnie is a stronger player now. I can see the Rocket winning the first two sessions at least 5-3 and then strolling to a victory.
Prediction O’Sullivan 13-7
My player of the round - Mark Selby
The first round has been good but not a classic, the best two matches of the first round happened in the opening two days. Since then there’s been a few too many one sided matches, however with only three seeds losing so far and it looking unlikely that Trump/Murphy will lose today we are in for a cracking final 12 days.
Performer of 1st Round – Mark Selby
Biggest Disappointment – Mark Williams
Performer of 1st Round – Mark Selby
Biggest Disappointment – Mark Williams