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| Image: World Snooker |
World number 70 Dechawat Poomjaeng created one of the biggest
upsets in recent Crucible history as he knocked out world number five Stephen
Maguire after a final frame decider. The Thai was already 5-3 up after
yesterday’s session but Maguire seemed intent on closing the gap, and hit three
consecutive breaks of 70, 91 and 93 to go 6-5 up. But this didn’t bother
Poomjaeng who won the next two, including a run of 74 in the next to go back in
front. Maguire then won two of the next three to draw level at 8-8 but a run of
54 put Poomjaeng within a frame of victory as the session was ended early for
risk of it overrunning. The Thai had a chance of winning 10-9 when they
returned in the evening but missed a final tricky brown allowing Maguire to
clear up to force a decider. Runs of 63 and 41 before missing the last blue
with his eyes closed gave Poomjane the victory and bring to an end a thrilling
first round match. He’ll face fellow debutant Michael White in the last 16.
Ali Carter dominated in his second session against ben
Woollaston, winning five frames in a row to cruise to a 5-4 win. Carter had
struggled in the early stages, originally trailing 4-1 but five frame wins,
including a 106, saw him into the last 16, where he will once again meet Ronnie
O’Sullivan who he faced in his two Crucible finals in 2008 and 2012.
After a disastrous Start to his match against world number 1
Mark Selby, Matt Selt will have been delighted to come out of the first session
only 6-3 down. The opening encounters were poor quality, although Selby won all
five whilst Selt’s higest break was only 14. However, he took three of the next
four frames to close the gap on the Jester from Leicester.
Judd Trump made an excellent start to his 2013 World
Championship and leads Dominic Dale 6-3 after the first session. Dale started
the match well, winning the opener on the final black but Trump quickly
responded with a run off 88 in the second. The Bristolian hit a break of 37 on
his way to winning the third but separate breaks of 25 and 26 saw Dale take a
35 minute frame before the interval. Trump returned after the break and looked
a whole lot more focussed, swiftly winning frame five with runs of 45 and 33. He
then staked his claim in the Betfair Golden Cue competition, making a 142 total
clearance, eclipsing the previous highest break of 140 set by Ricky Walden on
Saturday. Further breaks of 82 and 50 saw Trump win seven and eight to go 6-2
ahead. Dale took the final frame of the session on the final blue and pink to
ensure he Trump was not out of reach.
A solid session of snooker for Ding Junhui put him into a
commanding 7-2 lead over Alan McManus. It was McManus’ first appearance at the
Crucible since 2006 and he started well, winning the first frame with a top run
of 47. Ding responded in style though, making a break of 131 to draw level. McManus
re-took the lead with breaks of 46 and 40 in the third but Ding levelled again
with a 67 break. And the PTC Grand Finals winner looked even more dangerous
after the interval, dominating the next three with runs of 61, 129 and 51 to go
5-2 ahead. The eighth was a closer affair, with Ding nicking the frame on the
final black and he then knocked in an 81 to take the last frame of the session,
to secure a 7-2 lead.
The other morning session match saw Marco Fu seize a 6-3 lead
on Matthew Stevens, who was a Crucible semi-finalist last year. Fu won the
first three although Stevens pulled one back with a run of 83 in frame four. Fu
then took the fifth and sixth, the latter with a74 break. Stevens hit a break
of 74 to close the gap to 5-3 but his Hong Kong opponent ensured his healthy
lead by winning the last frame of the session.
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