Format and Schedule of China Open

[montoya10]

Feathering for a long time on every shot. But credit to him, he has battled hard to stay in the match, didn't let Robertson pull away. I think our Chinese friends are in for a midnight finish.

Yes, that's what I was thinking about, a midnight finish for local fans
Meanwhile, Ebdon moved into the lead for the very first time in the match, albeit at a very crucial point. Still, a decider is very much likely, in my opinion.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

apart from ding-ali match we had close and exciting matches which could have gone either way

3 of the 4 favs to win their todays matches went out

so for me ding is the fav to win

[Odrl]

Yes, that's what I was thinking about, a midnight finish for local fans

Once again it didn't happen, not that it would count anyway. It's amazing, I think there hasn't been a single midnight finish in 2012 yet. We've always had a few, but this year... Perhaps at the Crucible then.

Well played Peter Ebdon, his fourth Chinese victory over Robertson, and he certainly earned it. It will be difficult to beat Ding though, he has a very poor record against him.

Best day of the week so far, hoping for something similar tomorrow.

[FerruleFox]

Too be Honest he Took it on the Chin like a Man, But he should never have Lost that Match over Run the White 6-12inches on Final Red and went for Silly Cut Back to win Match should have PLAYED Safe and Snookerd Maguire as he was 33 behind with only 35 on Table!

To get a Re Spotted Black and Lose on a Fluke is Up setting but what can you do against Flukes!!....lol


Gaz.

WTF was Ronnie running the cueball off the rail like that???
Just stun the blue in and leave a straight pot on your game ball.

I couldn't believe it.

[paddybhoy30]

WTF was Ronnie running the cueball off the rail like that???
Just stun the blue in and leave a straight pot on your game ball.

I couldn't believe it.

I did say this earlier, don't understand what he was doing.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

WTF was Ronnie running the cueball off the rail like that???
Just stun the blue in and leave a straight pot on your game ball.

I couldn't believe it.

easier said than done, surely adrenalin rush and pressure got to him a little bit. Was never in front the whole match, and had an excellent chance to kill the match off after potting a fantastic opener. But to be fair, maguire is the deserved winner. he got his revenge for his German masters loss and ronnie has some rest. So both happy.

Ronnie wasn quite at his best during the competiton but even his d game is enough to trouble top players like maguire and williams. All in all Qf apperance not that bad as it looks.

[montoya10]

Once again it didn't happen, not that it would count anyway. It's amazing, I think there hasn't been a single midnight finish in 2012 yet. We've always had a few, but this year... Perhaps at the Crucible then.

Well played Peter Ebdon, his fourth Chinese victory over Robertson, and he certainly earned it. It will be difficult to beat Ding though, he has a very poor record against him.

Best day of the week so far, hoping for something similar tomorrow.

Midnight curse continues then, eh?
Looking forward to semis now. All players are players that I love watching, so, it's still a good week even with O'Sullivan and Williams out for me.

A local betting site here is still out of date for the Crucible, I guess. They have 101/1 for Stephen Lee's championship. That's certainly odd.
On the other hand, they have Ryan Day for 67/1, so, it's a couple of seasons out of date. Wow, although I'm not that much into betting, it still caught my attention.

[FOXMULDER]

a local betting site here is still out of date for the crucible, i guess. They have 101/1 for stephen lee's championship.

take that bet now!

[Luan]

i ve done that before haiku open

[Odrl]

So, who do we think will reach the final tomorrow?

Stephen Maguire v. Stephen Lee: A similar story for both players in recent months, a return to form. Lee's has been more impressive probably, as he has now reached the business end of five successive tournaments, and still looks as good as he did when his run started. Having won the PTC Final earlier in the month, he is probably under less pressure, because he has already capitalized on his good form. I am sure he will want further success, but he won't feel like he has wasted an opportunity if he doesn't get it now. On the other hand, Maguire has been waiting a long time for another title. You could say he had to wait a long time for this kind of form to come around, and it must be frustrating for him to see other players winning titles. I thought he played alright against O'Sullivan, not exactly the kind of standard that usually wins titles, but not bad either. If he can just raise his game a bit, he should be very hard to beat. He did waste a couple of easy chances, which must be a worrying sign, especially considering how well Lee has been punishing his opponents lately. You can also tell Lee is extremely high on confidence. He went 2-0 down against Trump, but replied with two big breaks to immediately get back into the match, and he dominated from then on. I can't remember any big match between these two players, it's not a particularly common pairing. But I can imagine it's going to be quite an open game, possibly some exchanges of one-visit frames. If Maguire can turn his title drought into an advantage, displaying some of his hunger and determination, I think he could prevail in a close match, 6-4 maybe.

Ding Junhui v. Peter Ebdon: Both very impressive today, but in a different way. Ding played his typical game when he's on form, nothing outrageous, just getting in with good potting and not wasting many chances. He is a very impressive scorer, so it's no surprise he played well against Carter, a player who likes an open game himself. Ebdon is a different opponent however. You won't find many impressive breaks from him looking at the stats, but a snooker match has to be seen if you really want to get the full story. Ebdon and Robertson really fought hard for every ball, a very fragmented match, but not exactly poor quality. There was a lot of good safety played, and a lot of good single shots. If the game against Ding develops like that, Ebdon will surely fancy his chances. Having said that, a lot of the frames went scrappy after Robertson broke down on a scoring chance. If Ding scores well, Ebdon won't be winning the match with "three-visit snooker". You wouldn't think a player like Ebdon would suit Ding particularly, but their past meetings say otherwise. Ding actually administered a couple of real thrashings, not least his 5-0 victory against Ebdon in this event, way back in 2005. Thinking about it, Ding probably never really had any fear of Ebdon, having known him and practiced against him from such a young age. If anything, it's the other way around. I have to go for a Ding victory here, 6-2 or 6-3.

Nine hours to go.

[montoya10]

take that bet now!

Lol, in an ideal man's world, it would be John Higgins at 101/1!

[montoya10]

Based on form shown so far, Lee could well be noted as the favourite for the title. I'm not so sure, though. I have had an odd feeling that Maguire will end up winning a title this season for some time, and if it that doesn't stand by this event, maybe he will have a shot at the Crucible, who knows..
By taking Trump out on an attacking game, Lee has proven his firepower. By taking O'Sullivan out on a re-spotted black, Maguire has proven his determination. A fascinating game, and a candidate for a close one.

On the other semi final, I guess Ebdon will be thinking he has nothing to lose at this stage of the tournament, with valuable ranking points already sealed. This may affect his game in a positive manner and he could find some fluency and improve his scoring, which could well be a must against Ding. Ding hasn't quite been impressive, but he played up to a solid standard. It's a meeting that I generally predict Ebdon to prevail and end up getting wrong. A bit mystifying, isn't it? Still, I'm sticking to old school style and predict an Ebdon win, possibly in a decider.

Good day of snooker ahead.

[Odrl]

A bit of a missed opportunity for Maguire in the first mini-session, he didn't take advantage of Lee's sleepy start. The match basically starts again now, but with Lee finding his rhythm, so it will be important for Maguire to raise his game after the interval.

[Erwan_BZH]

Come on Mags!!

[Odrl]

An he has raised his game, excellent clearance to go 5-2 in front. Lee would probably have got away with that miss in most matches, but not with the way Maguire is playing at the moment.