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PETER Ebdon stunned Liang Wenbo with a five frame streak to book his place in the second round of the Grand Prix.
Wenbo, the runner up in the Shanghai Masters produced some impressive long potting- trouble was his shot selection bordered on the reckless. Ebdon meanwhile was steady when in among the balls but did not look like a potential winner of the tounament.
Ebdon too, showed a penchant to push the boat out from the start as he missed a long straig red by a mile and allowed Wenbo in with a easy red to the centre from which he made 38, breaking down after overscrewing the black. He only had seconds to wait for the opportunity to clinch the frame as a long straight red flew into the top corner pocket that saw him make 33.
Wenbo was first in in frame 2 only to break down on 28. But Ebdon's rash attempt on the yellow in reply sent the Englishman back to his seat and Wenbo 2-0 with the help of a 70 break. But Wenbo was to discover that you don't easily beat Peter Ebdon- you have to work hard for it- and Ebdon is not one to give in without making a grim fight of it.
As Wenbo relaxed- so his concentration slipped and that was all the encouragement Ebdon was to need as he capitalised on Wenbo's errant safety that left Peter in prime position in amongst the reds and Ebdon patiently compiled a break of 72 that settled his nerves and just manged to unerve his younger opponant.
And Wenbo was to betray his naivety when he attempted to power in a red and smash into the pack of reds. Not suprisingly it went very badly wrong as the reds scattered into pottable positions at the top end of the table - with the cue ball for company. Ebdon was at the table quicker than one of his racehorses as he put to gether a break of 44 to leave him in front 64-22. As Wenbo tried to get back to planet earth he managed to force a mistake on an Ebdon safety where Peter caught a red far too thinly and left Wenbo a chance to pinch the frame. Wenbo looked for all the world he was about to do just that until in clearing the colours he played a dreadful shot on the green-in potting it all he had to do was to screw gently over behind the brown. Instead he ended up thumping the side cushion and leaving the brown in an unpottable position. He was to regret that mistake and the liberty he took as Ebdon snookered him and cleared up to the pink to level at 2-2 and give Liang plenty to think about.
Growing in confidence Ebdon then put the boot into Wenbo by firing in an initial effort of 46 in frame five before missing a short range red. Left a cut to the corner Wenbo potted it - but them missed a simple pink that allowed Ebdon back to the table and a run of 27 was sufficient in giving the Dubai based Ebdon a 3-2 lead.
Wenbo's head was spinning in allowing a 2-0 lead to disintergrate into a 2-3 deficit. Fortunatley for him Ebdon started to think too much about what he was doing and missed a hatful of decent chances in frame six. To make matters worse he left Wenbo an easy starter of a red. Wenbo though could only score 38 points and really he can only blame himself for going 4-2 down when with the scores poised at 44-38 he double kissed the final red in escaping from an Ebdon snooker presenting Ebdon with the balls in realtively easy positions. The punisment from Ebdon was swift and decisive as the Englishman mopped up with 18 to put himself a frame from victory.
Wenbo's self belief had disappeared and with the score 43-0 Wenbo had one fleeting chance to get back into the match when EDbdon left a red sitting over the "green" pocket. Wenbo sank the red but could only make 27 when he missed the penultimate red to the corner at short range. That was that as Ebdon stepped in and cleared up with 32 to complete his fightback and claim a 5-2 victory.
Meanwhile Stephen Hendry avoided joining the casualty list of top 16 players with a confident performance against Essex qualifier Matthew Selt.
Hendry began in circumspect mode- turning down a few half chances as he elected to keep things tight and Selt under pressure. That pressure on Selt intensified as Hendry fired in an initial effort of 44 before breaking down. Selt countered with 35. With the frame poised at 45-40 it was down to the colours and it went the way of the Scotsman who cleared from green to pink to take the opener.
If it was safety first for Hendry the second frame was to be a direct contrast as Hendry capitalised on a missed black from Selt and in prime position promptly carved out the 736th century of his career with a 116 clearance. Hendry looking in decent touch and Selt needed to get his side of the scoreboard moving if the match was not to slip away from him very quickly.
Showing strong character Selt put together a break of 40 in the third frame but in missing a routine red he allowed Hendry the chance to counter attack. As Hendry rolled a red along the cushion into the top corner pocket Selt must have been resigning himself to going 3-0 down. But everyone is human as Hendry broke down on 40 and left Selt with a long straight red to the corner. Selt grabbed his chance and cleared to blue - meaning he had the frame barring a snooker. Trying to roll the blue in nearly cost him as the blue was left in the jaws of the pocket. Hendry potted the blue but still needed a snooker to pinch the frame. He got one when he left the cue ball hidden behind the black with the pink at the baulk end of the table. As Selt missed it looked as if he had blown his chance. But he was heaving a huge sigh of relief seconds later as Hendry's attempt on the pink failed and left Matthew with the pink sitting over the corner pocket- which Matthew sank for to reduce his deficit to 2-1.
Hendry though was quick to curtail any thoughts Selt had of levelling the match when a 58 proved decisive in sending the Scotsman into the interval with a 3-1 lead.
Selt though was far from ready to surrender as he captured the fifth frame after a tense battle on the colours. Hendry missed a long straight yellow and Selt pounced with a clearance from yellow to pink to signify to Stephen that he was more than ready to stay and fight for a place in the second round.
So was Stephen Hendry who aided by an early break of 25 combined that with a shot to nothing plant that carved out a clearance to put himself 4-2 up. Selt had it all to do.
A tense scrappy seventh frame saw the scores poised at 26-21 in Stephens's favour before Matthew was to make his final mistake. A full blooded affort on a long red to the corner was to end in disaster for the Essex man and Hendry in prime position in amongst the reds stroked in a decisive break of 47 that saw him over the finishing line and into the draw for the last sixteen.
Suzy Jardine
Wenbo, the runner up in the Shanghai Masters produced some impressive long potting- trouble was his shot selection bordered on the reckless. Ebdon meanwhile was steady when in among the balls but did not look like a potential winner of the tounament.
Ebdon too, showed a penchant to push the boat out from the start as he missed a long straig red by a mile and allowed Wenbo in with a easy red to the centre from which he made 38, breaking down after overscrewing the black. He only had seconds to wait for the opportunity to clinch the frame as a long straight red flew into the top corner pocket that saw him make 33.
Wenbo was first in in frame 2 only to break down on 28. But Ebdon's rash attempt on the yellow in reply sent the Englishman back to his seat and Wenbo 2-0 with the help of a 70 break. But Wenbo was to discover that you don't easily beat Peter Ebdon- you have to work hard for it- and Ebdon is not one to give in without making a grim fight of it.
As Wenbo relaxed- so his concentration slipped and that was all the encouragement Ebdon was to need as he capitalised on Wenbo's errant safety that left Peter in prime position in amongst the reds and Ebdon patiently compiled a break of 72 that settled his nerves and just manged to unerve his younger opponant.
And Wenbo was to betray his naivety when he attempted to power in a red and smash into the pack of reds. Not suprisingly it went very badly wrong as the reds scattered into pottable positions at the top end of the table - with the cue ball for company. Ebdon was at the table quicker than one of his racehorses as he put to gether a break of 44 to leave him in front 64-22. As Wenbo tried to get back to planet earth he managed to force a mistake on an Ebdon safety where Peter caught a red far too thinly and left Wenbo a chance to pinch the frame. Wenbo looked for all the world he was about to do just that until in clearing the colours he played a dreadful shot on the green-in potting it all he had to do was to screw gently over behind the brown. Instead he ended up thumping the side cushion and leaving the brown in an unpottable position. He was to regret that mistake and the liberty he took as Ebdon snookered him and cleared up to the pink to level at 2-2 and give Liang plenty to think about.
Growing in confidence Ebdon then put the boot into Wenbo by firing in an initial effort of 46 in frame five before missing a short range red. Left a cut to the corner Wenbo potted it - but them missed a simple pink that allowed Ebdon back to the table and a run of 27 was sufficient in giving the Dubai based Ebdon a 3-2 lead.
Wenbo's head was spinning in allowing a 2-0 lead to disintergrate into a 2-3 deficit. Fortunatley for him Ebdon started to think too much about what he was doing and missed a hatful of decent chances in frame six. To make matters worse he left Wenbo an easy starter of a red. Wenbo though could only score 38 points and really he can only blame himself for going 4-2 down when with the scores poised at 44-38 he double kissed the final red in escaping from an Ebdon snooker presenting Ebdon with the balls in realtively easy positions. The punisment from Ebdon was swift and decisive as the Englishman mopped up with 18 to put himself a frame from victory.
Wenbo's self belief had disappeared and with the score 43-0 Wenbo had one fleeting chance to get back into the match when EDbdon left a red sitting over the "green" pocket. Wenbo sank the red but could only make 27 when he missed the penultimate red to the corner at short range. That was that as Ebdon stepped in and cleared up with 32 to complete his fightback and claim a 5-2 victory.
Meanwhile Stephen Hendry avoided joining the casualty list of top 16 players with a confident performance against Essex qualifier Matthew Selt.
Hendry began in circumspect mode- turning down a few half chances as he elected to keep things tight and Selt under pressure. That pressure on Selt intensified as Hendry fired in an initial effort of 44 before breaking down. Selt countered with 35. With the frame poised at 45-40 it was down to the colours and it went the way of the Scotsman who cleared from green to pink to take the opener.
If it was safety first for Hendry the second frame was to be a direct contrast as Hendry capitalised on a missed black from Selt and in prime position promptly carved out the 736th century of his career with a 116 clearance. Hendry looking in decent touch and Selt needed to get his side of the scoreboard moving if the match was not to slip away from him very quickly.
Showing strong character Selt put together a break of 40 in the third frame but in missing a routine red he allowed Hendry the chance to counter attack. As Hendry rolled a red along the cushion into the top corner pocket Selt must have been resigning himself to going 3-0 down. But everyone is human as Hendry broke down on 40 and left Selt with a long straight red to the corner. Selt grabbed his chance and cleared to blue - meaning he had the frame barring a snooker. Trying to roll the blue in nearly cost him as the blue was left in the jaws of the pocket. Hendry potted the blue but still needed a snooker to pinch the frame. He got one when he left the cue ball hidden behind the black with the pink at the baulk end of the table. As Selt missed it looked as if he had blown his chance. But he was heaving a huge sigh of relief seconds later as Hendry's attempt on the pink failed and left Matthew with the pink sitting over the corner pocket- which Matthew sank for to reduce his deficit to 2-1.
Hendry though was quick to curtail any thoughts Selt had of levelling the match when a 58 proved decisive in sending the Scotsman into the interval with a 3-1 lead.
Selt though was far from ready to surrender as he captured the fifth frame after a tense battle on the colours. Hendry missed a long straight yellow and Selt pounced with a clearance from yellow to pink to signify to Stephen that he was more than ready to stay and fight for a place in the second round.
So was Stephen Hendry who aided by an early break of 25 combined that with a shot to nothing plant that carved out a clearance to put himself 4-2 up. Selt had it all to do.
A tense scrappy seventh frame saw the scores poised at 26-21 in Stephens's favour before Matthew was to make his final mistake. A full blooded affort on a long red to the corner was to end in disaster for the Essex man and Hendry in prime position in amongst the reds stroked in a decisive break of 47 that saw him over the finishing line and into the draw for the last sixteen.
Suzy Jardine
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