Experience vs. Youth! Masters Final 2021 – Shorts Thoughts

Yan Bingtao didn’t have the easiest journey to the Masters final. Not only due to overcoming three deciding frames against players with vastly more experience than him (including the defending champion), but also as a 20 year old debutant in the invitational, where he would come up against one of the greatest match players in John Higgins.

During this final (and the tournament, in general) Bingtao displayed an impressive, well-rounded skillset and temperament to follow. The prime example of this was at, what I thought was, the turning point in the match. The opening frame of the evening session turned out to be pivotal as Higgins established a 67 point lead, falling on a thin-cut black.

Many wouldn’t have expected a steal at this point however, Bingtao produced one of his best ever clearances of 59 (plus 8 more earlier) with a series of stellar pots, particularly on the black as well as a final pink which would have stopped anyone in their tracks. Bingtao was able to keep cool as he changed the course of the match at this point.

Despite being on the back foot in the match (even after this steal), Bingtao was able to capitalise on Higgin’s increasing mistakes towards the end of the final, turning 7-5 into a 10-8 victory. The deal was sealed with an eventual 64 break in the final frame as Bingtao was searching for any opportunity for the ball that would get him over the line.

You’re going to be hearing plenty of references to Bingtao’s age going forward when regarding this victory, and rightly so. It’s easy to forget (despite the consistent mentioning from commentators) that he is just 20 years old. And has just won the Masters. The last time someone so young won a significant event was back in the 1990s. In fact, Bingtao became the youngest person to win since Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1995 at the age of 19 (free Fact of the Week).

And this sweet victory could have been denied for Bingtao at any moment considering he had to fight through three deciders to reach this momentous occasion. Whether you or your opponent forced a deciding frame, a player really needs to compose themselves when they reach this point in a match. Bingtao had to deal with this throughout the whole event as he showcased his ice-cold demeanour and talent to get to the final.

This tournament win is a testament to Bingtao’s work ethic and vastly improving skillset. Things seemed a little quiet for the young prodigy since turning professional a few seasons ago. He had only reached the final of one event back in 2017 against Mark Williams, where he almost became the youngest ranking event winner.

Since then, things only really picked up last season as he claimed his first trophy and ventured deep in a considerable number of tournaments. Fast forward to now, and he’s just lifted his first major title, beating the player who was accomplishing comparable milestones to him almost thirty years prior.

This now throws an exciting spanner in the works for the likes of Trump, Robertson, Selby and Wilson as they find themselves with a potential new contender to the throne. The rest of this season is certainly one to keep your eyes peeled for.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: The First of Many? World Grand Prix Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

The First of Many? World Grand Prix Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

Two players with endless talent at different stages of their careers. Two friends and practice partners that know each other’s strengths and weaknesses on the snooker table. Two players that would meet in a final for the very first time. And hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last. Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski battled through the Top 32 in order to reach the final of the World Grand Prix, and it turned out to be quite a show.

Breakdown

Okay, for the first half of the match it may not have seemed this way. In fact, the proceedings were playing out in a way some would have predicted. And that is Trump’s match-play and dominance taking centre stage over his practice rival. Trump established a 3-1 lead, aided by breaks of 75 and 122 in Frames 1 and 4, while taking advantage of Lisowski’s misfortunes in the following frames.

Lisowski was still showing some nerves for the remainder of the afternoon session as Trump was able to double the score-line to lead 6-2 going into the evening session. Lisowski did have his chances in the afternoon session to pinch some of these frames, but couldn’t capitalise in the manner that Trump did against him. This was worsened by Lisowski losing the cue ball on a break of 53, and then Trump coming on the table to steal the frame to extend the lead to 7-2.

At this point, many were thinking this was going to be a 10-2 finish, which is what made the following even more joyous to watch. Lisowski rallied to put the pressure on Trump in a way which hasn’t been done to him since his rise to dominance. Lisowski hit Trump with a four frame blitz, reeling off 99, 112, 87 and 95 in the subsequent frames – with ease. Neil Foulds said it best on commentary: ‘before, Lisowski was playing in a final and now he is just playing snooker.’ Or something along those lines.

All of a sudden, the 7-2 score drastically reduced to 7-6, and Trump had gone a substantial period of time without potting a ball. Although, if there’s something that Trump has become quite adept in, it’s closing out a match (case in point, all of his NI Open finals against O’Sullivan). He realised that he couldn’t allow Lisowski to draw level, which led to an incredible steal involving an excellent second-to-last red and an even better cannon on the final red (watch it).

Despite Lisowski’s best efforts, he was only able to secure one further frame as Trump showed his excellence once again in his ability to counter attack. Trump closed the match out and claimed his third ranking title of the season with a 10-7 victory.

Afterthoughts

Many thought that when the pandemic started and Trump got stopped in his winning tracks, he wouldn’t be able to replicate or even come close to reproducing that level of success. Trump has definitively shown why he is the best in the world, not only in his wins (which I imagine doesn’t stop here), but in the manner in which he does it. Frame 4 was the perfect example of how even a decent break off shot just isn’t enough to stop Trump from potting and clearing the table. In addition, his snooker knowledge has improved so vastly, particularly in his ability to pick out plants and escape snookers (both shown in Frame 5).

And this is where Lisowski is aiming to reach. In terms of potential and talent, Lisowski is right there with Trump. If anything, when it comes to cue ball control, I’d argue that Lisowski has a tighter rope on it over Trump, which makes watching him in rhythm, like he was in Frames 10-13, so enjoyable. And also irritating, given how easy he makes it look.

A lot of Lisowski’s errors come down to shot selection. In some circumstances, he tries to pot himself out of danger, which only works a certain number of times. But when it doesn’t, he often leaves the table on for his opponent. However, he’s getting better with time and experience, as he’s shown all of this week. His impressive revenge against Selby in the semi-final proved that he can withstand a comeback from any opponent. And his exhibition shots can perhaps match Trumps one day (watch his shot in Frame 13 – unreal).

Nevertheless, it was a stellar performance by Lisowski, and the kind of performance he would want to bring out against the best in the world. Not only would this help test where his standard sits, but also pulse on the radar of the other top level professionals that come across him going forward.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: O’Sullivan and Selby! Scottish Open Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

O’Sullivan and Selby! Scottish Open Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

The Scottish Open final has just concluded as Judd Trump was unable to continue his sweep of the Home Nations events. But that can be forgiven considering what he had just gone through the weekend prior (link at the bottom to read that). Instead, we were treated to a potential classic between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby as they come face-to-face for the first time since their semi-final epic at the World Championship.

Typically, when we reach the final of an event, we’re able to witness two players who have been performing the best over the course of the tournament, in the hopes that we’d see the two form players bring out the best in each other for a spectacle. Sadly, this wasn’t the case given that only one of the participating players was in this kind of zone. Selby has been flying throughout the Scottish Open and the final was no different as the Jester aimed to successfully defend his crown from last year.

O’Sullivan, on the other hand, had been struggling throughout the course of the week, including being 4-1 down in his semi-final match against Li Hang. Nevertheless, he was able to reach his second final of the season where he had the unfortunate task of playing an in-form Selby. And his struggles were evident throughout the final.

Selby was playing exceptionally well as he raced into a 3-1 and 6-2 lead over his opponent. This final was a clinical performance from the 3x World Champion as his long potting was as good as it was when he won his most recent title in 2017. It was a confident display of long potting and break-building where Selby didn’t really need to get too involved in the safety battle.

Although, he was getting help from O’Sullivan. Plenty of help. Simple misses, lapses in concentration and weak safety allowed O’Sullivan to only capture three frames in the entire final. And this was consistent during the whole contest. Even during positional play, where no one is better, O’Sullivan was struggling. One example of this was in Frame 10 where O’Sullivan played a screw shot on the black and over-worked it massively so that he was glued on the next red. There was a significant margin for error with that shot, yet he still managed to find it.

Regardless, Selby finished strong as audiences didn’t have to stay up too late in order to watch the conclusion of this final. A decisive 9-3 victory meant that Selby was not only able to defend his Scottish Open title, but also win his 11th consecutive ranking final. Something he has not been beaten in since 2016. In this form, Selby would give Trump a great run for his money and I would love to see them contest a final where both are in this kind of top-level form.

As for O’Sullivan, he’ll just be pleased to reach another ranking final. It’s a bittersweet feeling if you’re an O’Sullivan fan (antics aside) because while you’ll be upset that he didn’t get the win, you’re also kind of elated that he’s still reaching finals to this day. It shows that it still takes the very upper echelon to be able to overthrow him. Another Home Nations trophy has slipped his grasp, but who knows what’ll happen in the remainder of the season.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: What An Ending! UK Championship Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

What An Ending! UK Championship Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

It may not have been the fireworks of a match many were hoping for in terms of consecutive centuries and big breaks, but the narrative of the match went exactly how one would expect a Neil Robertson/Judd Trump epic to go. And that was right down the wire, all the way to the very end. This is the UK Championship final, and what a fascinating late night ending we were treated to.

This isn’t going to follow the usual format of me providing a breakdown and then a separate afterthoughts, rather just combining the two into one and highlighting the key moments that occurred, particularly in the latter stages of the contest. The final played out closely fought as many would’ve expected, but neither player was firing on all cylinders. Rather, the match was primarily decided on a series of safety battles and lengthy frames.

It was level pegging throughout, where neither player was able to establish more than a one frame lead. However, it was during Frame 18 where things started to get theatrical. Requiring one frame for victory at 9-8 up, Trump was in seemingly good form as he was clearing his way through the table and towards his second UK title. Whilst on 48 – and the commentators praising Trump on how excellent he’s been over the past few years - a gentle split from the blue when slightly wrong, leaving him hampered to pot the next red.

A display of terrific potting and one of the best pressure brown balls you could ever hope to see led to Robertson countering with the best 72 clearance he has ever made. In a situation where Robertson could have rolled in behind a baulk colour, he showed his true character as he took on a pot most wouldn’t have dared. Thus, forcing the decider.

And it was a decider that took us into the next day. Taking over one hour long and coming down to the final colours saw an unbelievable series of events. Firstly, Trump potting a green with his right hand under these circumstances and screwing back perfectly to lay behind the brown. The score was 34-47 and Trump needed all remaining colours. The following brown was arguably the key behind what followed, given he didn’t get into the cue ball enough to land near the blue.

Nevertheless, Trump potted the blue well to leave himself with a pink that certainly wasn’t a sitter. However, it was still the kind of ball you’d expect Trump to knock in with his eyes closed. Make sense? Well, I’m sure you’ve seen what’s happened at this point. An overcut pink that would’ve sent shockwaves through the audience (had one been present) allowed the cue ball to travel up the table far enough for Robertson to attempt the pink where the balls were left.

And the rest is history. Robertson picked up his third UK title after a tremendous effort as he levels his ranking tally alongside his cohort at 19. It was a monumental undertaking for both players, and also the audience that stayed up to watch the match through to its conclusion. While it may seemed to have dragged on at certain points, all was forgotten once we arrived at the deciding frame and both players were just trying to get over the winning line.

Robertson showed true tenacity as he once again is able to turn a deficit on its head, very similar to last year’s Champion of Champions. And Trump is continuing to redefine the landscape of snooker with his superior potting and formidable match play. These two always bring out the best matches and they showed at the UK that the best matches don’t necessarily need to be all about the centuries.

Many like to mention pressure, ‘bottling’ or an assortment of other factors that led to the result of this final but to me personally, the difference maker was undoubtedly the green juice.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: Déjà Vu? Northern Ireland Open Final 2020 – Shorts Thoughts

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!