ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
That's not a direct quote from Mark Allen but it probably sums up how he's feeling after he failed to make a 147 break at the Crucible this morning.
It was a great effort, consisting of some brave pots, but Allen was left with a cut-back yellow which meant he had to take the cue ball around the table.
Alas, he ended up snookered behind the green but still came close to potting it off the baulk cushion.
Allen still ended up 8-1 ahead despite a fraught build up. The volcanic ash scare that has grounded flights to and from the UK meant he had to get a ferry over and he arrived in Sheffield at 11.30pm last night.
You wouldn't have known. He played very well and turned Ford's Crucible debut into a nightmare.
It could easily have been 2-2 at the interval but Allen, a semi-finalist last year, cleared with 59 to pinch the first on the black and doubled the re-spot to clinch the fourth.
Ford's only frame came courtesy of a run of 107 to prevent him becoming only the second player in Crucible history - after Eddie Charlton in 1992 - to be whitewashed, but this could prove to be his only consolation.
On the other table, defending champion John Higgins looked out of sorts but still only trails 5-4 to Barry Hawkins, who may reflect later that he could have put the new world no.1 away in the opening session.
17 comments:
Allen's concentration was broken by someone shouting in the crowd shortly before he played the shot that lost him position on the yellow.
Yes, he re-composed himself, but the break in concentration at such a time can't have helped.
If only.........
Finally started!
Anyone else notice the balls going in off the jaws?
2 pots hawkins must have thought he missed sliding in, seems to be easier than usual.
Hendry took on a crazy yellow at 4-1 up ,making my handicap bet for hendry in doubt, Arggg!!
There seems to be some confusion over Zhang Anda's (or Anda Zhang's) name? On the board behind his chair it says Zhang Anda, while the referee says "Anda Zhang".
Wikipedia has "Zhang Anda" whereas WorldSnooker has "Anda Zhang". According to Wikipedia, Zhang is his family name, and should therefore be written FIRST in his full name.
We don't see this mix-up with Ding Junhui's or Liang Wenbo's names, so why here? Can you enlighten us on this matter, Dave?
Is it true that former table tennis star Desmond Douglas has been co-opted onto the board of the WSA?
This seems a little leftfield to me.
His manager tells me it's Zhang Anda
Anyone know why Hendry is not wearing the 110 sport waistcoat. does this mean he is supporting Barry Hearn and not Lee Doyle?
Pockets look very generous. Lot of balls going in off the jaw.
Fancy the centuries record to be beaten this year
Pockets are total buckets. Very disappointing.
Just back from the Crucible. Quite a few empty seats around. I think it's about time the venue was changed, moving it around the country. I think having it in London will mean better crowds and more appreciative punters than in Yorkshire.
9.50
London crowds are like The Chinese. No decorum. They cant control themselves. Wouldn't suit the hush required for World champs.
Robinson and Murphy will be dangerous with those pockets
all sessions today were sold out - then world snooker released more seats but a number of paying spectators seemed more interested in the betting booth and the bar with the racing this afternoon. Thus they leave empty seats in the arena
Please drop the music intros at the crucible - I have nothing against them in theory and I am sure they can work in other venues- but they wrecked the atmosphere in the crucible today as you cannot hear the music clearly and you just have this loud 'noise' and confusion of flashing lights going on as the players enter. This causes a barrier between players and spectators as you cannot hear the applause and welcome from the crowd in appreciate of the players entry for the volume of unclear sound going on. Let the crucible crowd welcome Hendry, Davis and all in the way they know how to best without these artificial aids undermining it!
I speak as a regular spectator at hundreds of sessions since 1983.
Keep the music for the masters and the boxing and let us do our job.
Why was 'mighty mouse' introduced as 'the baby faced assassin' today?
The baby faced assassin was the nickname alan hughes gave to Fergal O'Brien who plays later this week.
9:50 how come you didn't stay for the last couple of frames of the Selby v Doherty match?
1221
the nicknames arent decided by mark kings dad, who 'gave' zhang the mighty mouse nickname.
Desmond Douglas?
Good table tennis player.
0950 - I've been every day and it's virtually to capacity every session. Are you sure you went to the right place?
And the only problem with the music is that they start the songs from the start so by the time the player is in the arena the song intro has only just finished and by the time you reach the hook it's already been faded out. Pretty basic stuff really.
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