Malta Cup – Results and Discussions

[rivercard]

John Parrott v Tony Drago 5-4

Hardly a classic match, but to be honest Parrott deserved to win in the end, he had the more fluent breaks. Still a shame that Tony had to lose in the decider.. so annoying.

I might be alone with this, but I think it was nice to see Tony on TV again after a long time.

[linghuchong]

Ding has lost, wow...didnt expect that coming.

Is he still having a hang over from the shock lost of 10-3 to Ronnie in the masters final or what?

[Robert602]

Ding has lost, wow...didnt expect that coming.

Is he still having a hang over from the shock lost of 10-3 to Ronnie in the masters final or what?

Maguire was himself a Masters semi finalist remember and is a quality player just waiting to find some form, he may well have just outplayed Ding.

Or, it may be a case of Ding's vulnerability in the early rounds striking again. I remember in Northern Ireland (a tournament he of course went on to win) he was a ball away from losing to Paul Davies in the last 48.

Or it could be that he hasn't gotten over the masters loss yet .

[cap]

Maguire seems to have found some form albeit not consistently. So no real surprise there. Ding always takes time to find form in a match and in a tournament. That's one of his weaknesses.

[Ekphantos]

Hardly a classic match, but to be honest Parrott deserved to win in the end, he had the more fluent breaks. Still a shame that Tony had to lose in the decider.. so annoying.

i thought parrot was playing better than steve davis usually does (and i really like steve ), especially his long potting was better than i expected. i actually enjoyed the match, you don't see these two playing on tv too often nowadays and tony drago is rather entertaining.

[The Statman]

... I might be alone with this, but I think it was nice to see Tony on TV again after a long time.

Albeit that they had to rearrange the schedules for it to happen! Nevertheless, indeed.

[Sarmu]

Ding has lost, wow...didnt expect that coming.

Is he still having a hang over from the shock lost of 10-3 to Ronnie in the masters final or what?

I think there is a mental advantage for Maguire as well since Ding has never beat him

[rivercard]

i thought parrot was playing better than steve davis usually does (and i really like steve),

I agree, and I have no problem with Steve whatsoever.

i actually enjoyed the match, you don't see these two playing on tv too often nowadays and tony drago is rather entertaining.

I enjoyed the match as well, and it was great to see Tony again, but as a Drago fan it wasn't really the best to see him lose in a decider he could have won, if he hadn't played that insane off-the-cushion plant with an easy red hanging over the pocket... Not that I was surprised about that shot, you don't see anyone else playing shots like these, and that is why he's great to watch (even when he loses). Tony is often 'hit or miss' as they say..

[cap]

Williams has lost 4-5 to O'Brien after making a 51 break. Another big name out of the tournament.

[chrisdebag]

sad mark lost again

i hope he can have a good run in newport

[RaNeN]

WOW! I did see Ding going out......but Mark...no!

[elvaago]

I'm not doing as good as yesterday, 11 points out of 12 matches. Some big surprises there with Davis and Williams going out.

And BBC made another goof, they called Higginson a wildcard, when he's a qualifier.

[elvaago]

It's so strange. Just 3 years ago Jimmy was in the final with a good chance to win it, now he failed to even qualify for the event. Did anything happen shortly after he won the Players Championship in 2004 to cause this dramatic drop in form? Anyone have any idea?

[rambon]

Things to note from yesterday include:

Ding is clearly affected after The Masters, but Maguire is back to something like his best
Williams is a shadow of the player he was
Bad result for Davis, could he be struggling to stay in the Top 16 this season?

[elvaago]

I doubt Davis will drop out, considering his good results at the UK Championship two years in a row. Next year he'll struggle, I'm sure.