Tag: Grand Prix

Ronnie O’Sullivan recovered from 6-3 down to beat Ali Carter 10-7 in the final at
Alexandra Palace and claim a record-extending eighth Masters crown; Carter was unhappy at some members of the crowd during his defeat

Ali Carter has criticised “some morons” in the Alexandra Palace crowd after squandering a three-frame lead to lose to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Masters final.

Carter looked set for a first Triple Crown title as he opened up a 5-3 lead after the first session and immediately extended his advantage when play resumed, only to lose seven out of the last eight frames to hand O’Sullivan a 10-7 victory.

O’Sullivan was the fans’ favourite on Sunday and a boisterous atmosphere led to the referee having to remind spectators about noise on multiple occasions when shots were being played, with Carter registering just 41 points from his final four frames.

Carter held a 6-3 lead before losing seven of the next eight frames

“It’s hard enough to beat [O’Sullivan]” Carter said. “But when you’ve got people shouting when you are on your shot and saying stupid things at important times because half of them haven’t got enough brains, it’s ridiculous.

“There are some morons in the crowd. It is just unbelievable really.”

Victory for O’Sullivan means he has now won 23 Triple Crown titles, five more than Stephen Hendry, and can complete a clean sweep of the game’s biggest events with an eighth World Championship title at the Crucible later this year.

“Obviously I’m gutted I lost,” Carter added. “It’s all about winning at the end of the day, but before I rocked up here last week I’d have taken the final so there’s a lot of good things to come for me.

“I’m heading in the right direction. Ronnie played very well there in the end. I tried my best and it just wasn’t good enough today.”

O’Sullivan shocked by Masters win

O’Sullivan reeled off three frames in a row to get back on level terms before recovering from falling 7-6 behind to win the next four and snatch victory, 29 years on from his first victory at the event.

“I don’t know how I’ve won this tournament, to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport. “I’ve just dug deep. I’ve tried to play with a bit of freedom and then tonight I just thought try to keep Ali honest and if he’s going to win it he’s going to have to scrape me off the table.

Ronnie O’Sullivan also won the UK Championship last month

“I just wanted to see if he had it at the end. Ali didn’t play great tonight, he played better this afternoon, but tonight he let me off the hook a few times.

“He was aggressive today but tonight he didn’t take on some of the balls I thought he might have and gave me a little bit of breathing space.”

O’Sullivan can become just the fourth player to win all three events in the Triple Crown in the same season

O’Sullivan’s victory sees him become the oldest winner in the tournament’s history, although the 48-year-old – who can complete a clean sweep of the game’s biggest events with an eighth World Championship title at the Crucible – insists he was better in his teens.

“I thought when I was 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 I was even better then than I was now to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “Technically I felt I was much better, more consistency. These days I’m a bit in and out and I search for it.

“It’s got better since 2001 and I’ve had to work on the technical side just to keep things as tight as I can.

Luca Brecel became the first player in Crucible history to erase a nine-frame deficit as he beat Si Jiahui 17-15 in a thrilling contest to reach the final of the World Snooker Championship; “To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief”

Luca Brecel produced the greatest-ever Crucible comeback as he won 11 frames in a row against Si Jiahui to book his place in the World Snooker Championship final.

The Belgian, who conquered Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, looked certain to be heading home as he trailed 14-5 in the race to 17 after a dominant opening by Si.

But he started his miraculous recovery by winning the final five frames of Friday’s night session and offered up more of the same on Saturday afternoon to complete a remarkable 17-15 victory.

In doing so Brecel became the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit as he booked his first final in Sheffield, having never previously got past the first round.

It was difficult not to feel some sympathy for Si, who at 20 years old looked set to become the youngest Crucible finalist in history, as he looked increasingly solemn in his chair as Brecel won frame after frame.

Brecel leans in disbelief after wrapping up his incredible comeback win

To his credit he stopped Brecel’s run of 11 in a row with a composed break of 91 and then had chances to send the match into a final-frame decider before a clipped red along the cushion allowed the Belgian to close out a famous victory.

Brecel told BBC Sport: “At 14-12, 14-13 I knew I had a chance, but I think 14-14 I was really believing it because I could see he was struggling and I was playing great stuff.

“But I knew I could have lost as well. To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking.

“The whole game I was expecting to lose, even with a session to spare, so to even have a chance to win was the craziest feeling ever in my body and I can’t believe I did it.

“I have never won a game here and now I am in the final, it is some story. It is going to take a while to sink in.”

Brecel and Si Jiahui embrace following their thrilling semi-final

Si hopes the punishing loss can help him become a better player.

“I was feeling kind of disappointed, but not very, he played nearly perfect snooker in the final two sessions and my safety let me down,” he said.

“I have realised there are flaws in my game, there are so many things I can still improve, so in the coming season I will be confident I can beat anyone.”

Brecel will play either Mark Allen or Mark Selby in the final, with their semi-final coming to a finish later on Saturday.

Allen won three of the final four frames of the morning session to reduce his deficit to 11-10.

Former champion Stephen Hendry accused the pair of casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible with their attritional play during a second session on Friday that was halted three frames early.

Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz is the new champion of the world after defeating Mohammad Soufi 13-10 in the World Pool Championship final in Kielce, Poland; the world No 1 will now head on to the Premier League Pool and World Pool Masters

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz won the nine-ball World Pool Championship, with the Spanish superstar defeating Syrian Mohammad Soufi in Sunday’s final.

Sanchez Ruiz, who was forced to come from behind against Mario He to reach the final, took a 6-4 lead in the race to 13 but a miss on the four in rack 11 brought Soufi in to cut the deficit back to one.

Just when it seemed the Syrian outsider would find momentum, a scratch on the break allowed his opponent to enter the fray and sweep in for an 8-7 lead.

Sanchez Ruiz took advantage of another Soufi mistake to take control of proceedings by establishing a two-rack buffer reaching double figures in the process and moving three away from the title.

The Spaniard appeared to have sussed the break and he soon reached the hill.

He pounced after Soufi’s break in the 23rd rack left the one and eight locked together to seal a memorable victory.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sanchez Ruiz pocketed the two off an incredible fluke at the World Pool Championship

Sanchez Ruiz now holds the US Open Pool Championship, World Cup of Pool, and World Pool Championship titles in the nine-ball arena.

He said: “It’s an amazing feeling. I have no voice. I felt the pressure. I had an unbelievable year last year but this is the first of this year and I cannot believe it.

“I didn’t play my best in the final but I fought for it and I got the end result.

“I knew I could lose a game with someone like Mohammad. He is very good and strong. I played my game though, I am so tired, I feel unbelievable, this is my biggest title for sure.”

Sanchez Ruiz hugs Mohammad Soufi after winning the World Pool Championship title

The world No 1 will now head on to the Premier League Pool and World Pool Masters.

“The last year when I won the big titles but when I won the Derby City Classic last year, everything changed in my mindset.

“I was playing good but I had never won a big title. When you win a big one, your confidence goes through the roof.

“There’s so much pressure in Matchroom events, you cannot compare it to any other.

“In the Mosconi Cup, I hadn’t felt something like that. When you play Mosconi, every tournament after, it feels like no pressure.”

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz wins the US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City to take home the $50,000 first place prize and become the first Spaniard to win one of pool’s oldest majors; next up on Sky Sports is the Mosconi Cup from November 30 to December 3

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz claimed victory at the US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City after beating Austria’s Max Lechner 13-10 to move to world No 1.

The Spaniard’s week in New Jersey ended with a memorable victory over Lechner – in front of a sell-out crowd – to break the $100,000 mark and overtake World Champion Shane Van Boening at the top of the rankings.

“It is unbelievable how it feels. I feel so happy. Congratulations to Max,” said Sanchez Ruiz. “Thank you to everyone for the support, I love you guys. It’s the biggest win in my career.

“There’s too many good feelings right now. I received the news of making the Mosconi Cup and it gave me so much. I want to say thank you to my team David Alcaide and Jose Alberto Delgado. It’s an unbelievable feeling, it really is.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz nailed a golden break as the Spaniard won the US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City

Sanchez Ruiz nailed a golden break to make it 3-3 before Lechner made it 6-6 in a tight opening to the contest.

Sanchez Ruiz then opened up a 10-6 advantage in the race to 13 but his momentum was halted as the Austrian came storming back to reduce the deficit to 11-10.

However, Lechner scratched off the break to allow the Spaniard to get to the hill first before sealing a memorable win with a break and run.

Ready for the Mosconi Cup?

Next up is the 2022 Mosconi Cup from November 30 to December 3 at Bally’s Las Vegas where Jeremy Jones’ USA side will be looking to regain the Mosconi Cup back from Alex Lely’s European side – live on Sky Sports.

Both Team USA and Europe have three spots each locked up from the Live Nineball World Rankings with Shane Van Boening joined by Skyler Woodward and Oscar Dominguez this week for the Americans whilst Joshua Filler was joined by Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and Albin Ouschan.

The skippers as set to confirm their two wild card picks each to complete their sides ahead of the battle commencing in pool’s biggest battle.