Wuxi Classic - June 23 - 29

[robertmac]

Gould takes it after potting the last red on a long
shot and clearing the table to win on the black.

[SnookerFan]

What are Martin Gould's chances of winning the whole tournament? Discuss.

[robertmac]

Robertson vs Hawkins and Perry vs Gould.

What a finish this is turning out to be.

Hawkins has been fairly steady and Robertson has
had to come from behind and hasnt been particularly
steady at all.
Perry has played exceptionally and Gould is in form
as well.
Its a tough one to pick the finalists however I will go
with Robertson and Perry.

[Odrl]

I'm quite happy with the semi-final lineup as well, should be a great weekend of snooker. :smile:

Robertson and Hawkins were the two favourites on paper in the top half, so it's no surprise that they've made it through. But it is somewhat surprising that they've only met a couple of times in the major events, so it isn't really a pairing we are used to. Robertson is the bigger name, and indeed the better player, but Hawkins is not really a big underdog against anyone anymore. He has been among the six best players in the world over the last year and a half, and he seems to be playing close to his best snooker here. He came through a high-quality match against Fu in the semi-finals, with an excellent break under pressure in the decider. Robertson made a good clearance against Murphy himself, but he was a ball away from losing, and he mainly has Murphy to thank for still being here. There is no doubt that he is off his game a little, which is a credit to him in a way, because his B-game was still good enough to get him through. He is also very good at raising his game at the business end of tournaments, so I suspect most people will see him as the favourite here. But I have a feeling Hawkins will prevail. Robertson is just missing too many balls, and I think it will cost him here, because Hawkins is not making many mistakes. But Hawkins also struggles to win comfortably at times, so I will got for a close 6-4 win for him. :wink:

Perry and Gould are certainly more of a surprise at this stage, but not really a shock. Perry in particular was a constant presence in quarter-finals and semi-finals last season, but this is a rare situation where he finds himself as the favourite, at least on paper. He has had a couple of little wobbles this week, but only little ones, and he has only dropped a couple of frames so far. He is not going to play perfect snooker, but he doesn't really have a weakness either when he is in this sort of form. The only problem could be the pressure of the occasion here, as he hasn't been in a ranking final for a long time, and this is a great chance... On the other hand, Gould is appearing in his first-ever semi-final in this type of tournament. I think he will be under pressure as well, because he isn't playing a Selby or a Robertson here, he will see his opponent as someone he could quite realistically beat. I've criticized his pressure play a lot in the past, but he did very well against Maguire in the semi-finals, coming from behind to win the decider with an excellent clearance. Maguire was playing very well himself, but Gould was still able to trade big breaks with him, so there is no reason why he shouldn't do the same against Perry. It's bound to be a close match, 6-5 either way hopefully, but I would give Perry a slight edge. :wink:

Looking forward to the morning... :smile:

[robertmac]

Yes Hawkins has come a long way in improving his
play and he is no easy opponent and he does make
few mistakes. I enjoy watching him play. Robertson
does need to bring his A game to win I believe.
Gould and Perry is perhaps as you say a game of
who is less nervous and makes fewer mistakes
however Perry seems to be in great form and is
the favourite in this match.
Tough to pick a winner in either really and its
great to have some exciting snooker to watch.

[Odrl]

Lovely start from Neil Robertson, he knocks a long red in on his first shot and makes a total clearance of 128. That's how you stamp your authority on a match!

[Odrl]

Another good break from Robertson, followed by a big break from Hawkins. One-visit stuff at the moment. :smile:

[Odrl]

Still a pretty high quality match, six frames and the interval in the less than two hours, that's very fast. 3-3 at the moment, so it should be a great conclusion. :smile:

[Vic Flange]

Empty venues. Poor etiquette from the audience.
The future of snooker is NOT in China.

[Odrl]

The last two frames were a bit of a struggle, but they could turn out to be the key frames of the match. Robertson on the verge on winning now, he doesn't often lose from these positions...

[robertmac]

What a finish. Set the alarm to watch it all and
slept thru the alarm and woke it was 4-3 for
Robertson.

Some great snooker tho and am looking forward
to the next match.

[Odrl]

What a finish. Set the alarm to watch it all and
slept thru the alarm and woke it was 4-3 for
Robertson.

Some great snooker tho and am looking forward
to the next match.

I am glad you enjoyed it, but I thought the first part of the match was even better. The first six frames put together took about as long as the last three, very fast stuff, and both players scored really well. It went a bit scrappy after that, but Robertson showed good fighting qualities to come through. That's a combination that will make him very hard to beat in the final in any case. :smile:

[robertmac]

Hawkins did well to almost win the frame after
Robertson missed a fairly easy red. Both players
had their chances and Robertson made a nice
pot on the pink to win it.

Gould or Perry? Hopefully an exciting match.

[cyberheater]

I was really hoping the Hawk would win but Neil just seemed a bit stronger in at safeties at the end and Hawkins made too many errors.

Looking forward to the Gould match.

[DeanH]

slow, hesitant start by both Perry and Gould