Shaun Murphy’s capture of the inaugural Players Tour Championship Grand Finals tonight was just rewards for a player for whom playing snooker is never a chore.
Murphy topped the PTC order of merit. He played in some events even after it was clear he had qualified for Dublin.
I like to see those who make the effort to show up, even when they don’t have to, receiving the spoils. Murphy fully deserves his £60,000 winner’s cheque.
His best performance in the tournament came at the quarter-final stage when he recovered from 3-1 down to beat Stephen Lee 4-3.
These were three world class frames from Murphy. He played superbly and did not lose a frame thereafter.
Bad luck to Martin Gould but a career best cheque for £25,000 will be some consolation.
Gould will be back in action on Monday morning in another Barry Hearn promotion, the Championship League (I’m guessing Martin won’t be calling for any future EGMs).
And so the first ever PTC series is over. The final was watched by a huge crowd in Dublin and clearly it is here to stay, presumably with a few tweaks here and there.
At the end of the day it’s more snooker, and that is to be welcomed...Championship League, China and then the Crucible, the next few weeks are full of green baize action.
9 comments:
i think im right in saying gould and holt were anti hearn .ignorant players now earning money when they would probably be looking for work.
Was at The Helix all week. Atmosphere was fantastic for the final day and in particular the final itself. Great to have snooker back in Ireland.
Congratulations again to Shaun Murphy.
And congratulations to you too Dave Hendon on an immaculate and informative blog.
Michael Holt certainly wasn't anti-Hearn. Quite the opposite in fact.
The fans deserved a longer final but that will have to wait until next year. This is undoubtedly the last time 4 frames secures a ranking title.
I echo Dave Caulfields comments...the atmosphere during the weekend matches and particularly the final (where the balconies at the venue were opened to spectators due to the overwhelming demand for tickets) was really fantastic. I think it was nice that the crowd got behind Gould. I had a word with him after the final when he was signing autographs and even after losing he seemed to take the positives - I really hope he goes from strength to strength after this.
During the week I was really impressed with the overall attitude of the players and indeed the refs. I'm sure being constantly asked for autographs and photos can become a pain in the neck after a while, but every one of them were very accommodating. Dominic Dale stood out as a real nice bloke - I saw him chatting for nearly an hour with fans at the World Snooker stall on one of the days. Michaela Tabb has a lot of fans in Dublin and I think she was genuinely taken aback by the rousing applause she received on being introduced at the start of the final. I think there were more people waiting for her autograph than the actual players!
I sincerely hope that we wont be waiting another six years for a ranking event in Ireland. I think a five day event like this one is perfect - it doesn't outstay it's welcome and I'm sure the Irish fans would lap it up once again.
Good quality stuff over the last few days. One remark: please make the semis and final the best of 9 at least...
Great performance from Shaun (and the casino-guy)!
I guess the semis had to be short so they could have the final on the same day. It wouldn't have hurt to make the final a best of 9/11 though; if the final had an interval it would have given Gould some time to regroup.
Defo the final shud at least be a best of 9, they were playin for 60k afterall!! apart from that, i think it was a rousing success!
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