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Ssb - ronnie's rankings fight
Ronnie O'Sullivan enters the German Masters fray in something of a hole: 18th in the provisional rankings and thus not guaranteed a top 16 seeding for the World Championship.
He needs points in Berlin and at the Welsh Open to stave off this relegation but it will also of course depend on the fortunes of those players around him in the rankings.
There was good and bad news for Ronnie yesterday. Mark Davis (17th) lost but Stuart Bingham (15th) and Ricky Walden (16th) both won.
O'Sullivan's plight has been largely put down to missing tournaments. This certainly hasn't helped but neither has been a disappointing run of results.
Since reaching the World Open final in September 2010 he has appeared in just one ranking event quarter-final.
But throughout his career he has responded well when his back has been firmly to the wall. He has often won tournaments after moments of controversy. Expect him to come out fighting against Andrew Higginson today.
Having to qualify for the World Championship would be an annoyance for O'Sullivan, maybe even an embarrassment, but how many players ranked 33 down would you back to beat him over 19 frames in a match of great importance?
I think we'll see him at the Crucible.
It's an embarrassment of riches in the morning session with Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Graeme Dott all in action.
It would be nice to think that at some point a webcam could be put on some of these outside tables because TV viewers don't get to pick the matches they watch: they get what they're given, and as everyone has their favourites it obviously follows that some will be disappointed by the choices (in this case Ding v Yu Delu).
Craig Steadman was the only wildcard winner yesterday when he beat Mike Dunn, highlighting the essential unfairness of the wildcard system.
Steadman is a very good player, not some kid gaining experience. Dunn qualified fair and square so could count himself unlucky to be playing someone clearly much better than the other wildcards.
Such is the pace of this event that the second round starts tonight. There's an all Scottish clash featuring John Higgins and Stephen Maguire while Walden faces Shaun Murphy, who was close to elimination yesterday before producing a classy finish to see off Barry Hawkins.
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He needs points in Berlin and at the Welsh Open to stave off this relegation but it will also of course depend on the fortunes of those players around him in the rankings.
There was good and bad news for Ronnie yesterday. Mark Davis (17th) lost but Stuart Bingham (15th) and Ricky Walden (16th) both won.
O'Sullivan's plight has been largely put down to missing tournaments. This certainly hasn't helped but neither has been a disappointing run of results.
Since reaching the World Open final in September 2010 he has appeared in just one ranking event quarter-final.
But throughout his career he has responded well when his back has been firmly to the wall. He has often won tournaments after moments of controversy. Expect him to come out fighting against Andrew Higginson today.
Having to qualify for the World Championship would be an annoyance for O'Sullivan, maybe even an embarrassment, but how many players ranked 33 down would you back to beat him over 19 frames in a match of great importance?
I think we'll see him at the Crucible.
It's an embarrassment of riches in the morning session with Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Graeme Dott all in action.
It would be nice to think that at some point a webcam could be put on some of these outside tables because TV viewers don't get to pick the matches they watch: they get what they're given, and as everyone has their favourites it obviously follows that some will be disappointed by the choices (in this case Ding v Yu Delu).
Craig Steadman was the only wildcard winner yesterday when he beat Mike Dunn, highlighting the essential unfairness of the wildcard system.
Steadman is a very good player, not some kid gaining experience. Dunn qualified fair and square so could count himself unlucky to be playing someone clearly much better than the other wildcards.
Such is the pace of this event that the second round starts tonight. There's an all Scottish clash featuring John Higgins and Stephen Maguire while Walden faces Shaun Murphy, who was close to elimination yesterday before producing a classy finish to see off Barry Hawkins.
More...
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