Returning after the success of last year is our inconspicuous snooker aficionado, Free Ball. Throughout the World Championship, this unnamed follower of our beloved sport will provide a few musings on some of the not so well documented happenings in Sheffield – mostly from the luxury of his/her own settee. The[Read More…]
Tag: Barry Hawkins
World Championship: Quarter-Final Preview
From 144, only eight remain in the hunt to claim the 2016 Betfred World Championship in Sheffield. It’s certainly not the octet that most people predicted to be featuring at this stage of proceedings at the Crucible Theatre. Several of the expected heavy hitters have fallen by the wayside but[Read More…]
Hawkins Holding Rocket at Bay
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump are struggling to stay in this year’s Betfred World Championship as both trail overnight in the second round in Sheffield. O’Sullivan has compiled three tons and four further breaks above 68 but finds himself 9-7 down to a resilient Barry Hawkins. Hawkins lost to the ‘Rocket’[Read More…]
Hitman Holt Knocks Out Robertson
Neil Robertson became the latest top seed to exit the 2016 Betfred World Championship after a 10-6 defeat to Michael Holt on Tuesday. The Australian was one of the favourites heading into the season-ending event but ran into a challenger who produced one of the performances of his career. The[Read More…]
Last Four in the Players Championship
Four top 16 players make up the final four in the Players Championship at Event City in Manchester. Shaun Murphy is bidding to become the first player since Ding Junhui to win consecutive ranking events after a 4-3 victory over Ben Woollaston. The Englishman will face Mark Allen for a[Read More…]
Ding and Murphy Surge into Last Eight
Ding Junhui looked to be approaching somewhere near his best as he whitewashed Michael White in the Players Championship on Thursday. The Chinese eleven-time ranking event winner has struggled for much of the last two seasons, a dip in form that has seen his ranking plummet from the world no.1[Read More…]
Allen and Hawkins Mount Manchester Challenge
Mark Allen and Barry Hawkins both won as the first round in the Players Championship came to a conclusion at Event City on Wednesday. 2015 runner-up Mark Williams is out, though, after falling in a decider to fellow Welshman Dominic Dale in Manchester. Williams, who perhaps would have fancied his[Read More…]
Thor Thunders Past Ding
Another hectic day in the Gdynia Open saw the last 16 line-up completed in this season’s final European Tour event in Poland. The action also had many implications concerning the various races in the rankings and order of merits for upcoming tournaments and tour survival. The Gdynia Open is the[Read More…]
O’Sullivan Still The Man
Ronnie O’Sullivan coasted to his sixth Masters title on Sunday evening after hammering Barry Hawkins 10-1 in London. The triumph brought the 40 year-old’s tally on a par with Stephen Hendry, who must be beginning to wonder what records he’ll have left by the time the ‘Rocket’ ends his career.[Read More…]
Masters Final: O’Sullivan vs Hawkins
The final of the 2016 Dafabet Masters will be contested between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Barry Hawkins on Sunday. Both men emerged victorious from their semi-final encounters at the Alexandra Palace to set up a repeat of their 2013 World Championship final showdown – which of course was won by the[Read More…]