6.11.11

HIGGINS V TRUMP IN SKY SHOOTOUT

John Higgins v Judd Trump is the pick of the matches in the first round of the Sky Shootout, the draw for which was made today.

Higgins and Trump of course clashed over 35 frames in their Crucible final last season but their meeting in Blackpool next January will last a maximum of ten minutes.

Other standout ties include Mark Williams v Steve Davis, Neil Robertson v Jamie Cope, Stephen Hendry v Jack Lisowski and, in a repeat of last season's final, defending champion Nigel Bond v Robert Milkins.

The one surprise is that Ronnie O'Sullivan, the best player under the shot clock format, has not entered.

It may be that with his top 16 position under threat, Ronnie is concentrating on the ranking events, although this is merely my own speculation. Players don't have to enter tournaments if they don't want to.

FULL DRAW:
Mark Selby v Joe Perry
Mark Williams v Steve Davis
John Higgins v Judd Trump
Neil Robertson v Jamie Cope
Ding Junhui v Barry Hawkins
Shaun Murphy v Fergal O’Brien
Ali Carter v Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire v Anthony McGill
Graeme Dott v Alan McManus
Stuart Bingham v Liu Song
Mark Allen v Rory McLeod
Stephen Lee v Peter Lines
Martin Gould v Peter Ebdon
Mark Davis v Mark Joyce
Andrew Higginson v Liang Wenbo
Stephen Hendry v Jack Lisowski
Ricky Walden v Liu Chuang
Marcus Campbell v Xiao Guodong
Mark King v Dominic Dale
Marco Fu v Barry Pinches
Ryan Day v Joe Swail
Tom Ford v Jimmy Robertson
Ken Doherty v Michael Holt
Anthony Hamilton v Jimmy White
Robert Milkins v Nigel Bond
Gerard Greene v Jamie Burnett
Matthew Selt v Joe Jogia
Mike Dunn v Michael White
Jamie Jones v Adrian Gunnell
Dave Harold v James Wattana
Tony Drago v Andy Hicks
Ben Woollaston v Alfie Burden

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe hes in a huff cos he never won it last time?

wonder how many ronnie fans will be saying the draw is fixed wrt higgins v trump....

looking forward to it. was great last year.

Anonymous said...

wonder how many ronnie fans will be saying the draw is

Mark Selby v Joe Perry
tough

Mark Williams v Steve Davis
greay

John Higgins v Judd Trump
crsy

Neil Robertson v Jamie Cope
super

Ding Junhui v Barry Hawkins
briliant

Shaun Murphy v Fergal O’Brien
stuff

Ali Carter v Matthew Stevens
cool

Stephen Maguire v Anthony McGill
superb

Graeme Dott v Alan McManus
brilluant

Stuart Bingham v Liu Song
good

Mark Allen v Rory McLeod
funn

Stephen Lee v Peter Lines
interesting

Martin Gould v Peter Ebdon

Mark Davis v Mark Joyce
two marks

Andrew Higginson v Liang Wenbo
great

Stephen Hendry v Jack Lisowski
superb

Ricky Walden v Liu Chuang
E v Ch

Marcus Campbell v Xiao Guodong
E v Ch

Mark King v Dominic Dale
the funn

Marco Fu v Barry Pinches


Ryan Day v Joe Swail


Tom Ford v Jimmy Robertson
the man

Ken Doherty v Michael Holt
they are

Anthony Hamilton v Jimmy White
he is

Robert Milkins v Nigel Bond
who is

Gerard Greene v Jamie Burnett
is he

Matthew Selt v Joe Jogia
are they

Mike Dunn v Michael White
a question

Jamie Jones v Adrian Gunnell
the question

Dave Harold v James Wattana
schook


Tony Drago v Andy Hicks
3'32""


Ben Woollaston v Alfie Burden
two profs?

Anonymous said...

i hate gimmicky tourneaments like power snooker and im not a big fan of the PL, mainly becuase its a select few who are in it and its got a shot clock (and its once again changed format) and despite this some fans keep a record of what players do in it towards their career tally and also consider winning it (when sometimes there are only 6 other players) as a BIG major win.

having said that, i loved the shootout. if the format stays close to what it was last year it will be excellent.

it is a bit of fun, mainly, with good money on offer for a weekend. it also gives the chance to see players in a much more relaxed mood. it has loads of players in it, which keeps it fresh. the PL is stale and power snooker is just plain daft.

Anonymous said...

id say ronnie is concentrating on being the "face" of powersnooker and so has snubbed this tournament.

Paul said...

Whats power snooker got to do with this they are months apart

Trevorp said...

The premier league is now the 4th longest running event in snooker after the big 3. Do you also hate the masters which also invites a select few.

Anonymous said...

Paul

ronnie supports power snooker and snubs this one. both gimmicky shot clock tournaments over a day or two. my opinion is they are both in the same vein. if yours differs, fair enough.

Anonymous said...

TrevorP

I dont abuse the masters

its not got a shot clock

the 16 players that get invited EARN their ranking

thats a big FACTUAL difference in both events.

Trevorp said...

And the players who qualify for the league now also earn their place you have to win an event to earn an invite.hence why selby has to watch it on tv.

Anonymous said...

trevorp

with all due respect that is a load of nonsense

there was not criteria set out like:

win an event and your in the next PL

the players were hand picked that way to shoehorn jimmy in and the format rejigged cos there were more than 7.

dont kid yourself on or think youve guessed correctly, cos youre 100% wrong

does the pl site say all tournament winners from this season will be in the pl 2012?

as i said, the master doesnt have a shot clock.....you didnt have an answer for that cos that ones obviously spot on

the one you did have an answer for wasnt criteria set out, it was fashioned and isnt the standard procedure for picking entrants. PICKING entrants.

now, if you want to talk opinions, im here all day, but if youre wanting to try to pass off your opinions as fact, then theres no need.

Dave H said...

You're half correct. It is true that the criteria for next year's league has not yet been announced. If I were promoting it (with my own money) I would wait swell, because you would want the most attractive players in it.

However the new format was not conceived just to get Jimmy in. I was actually at Crondon Park when Matchroom were discussing changing the format because they thought the old one was a bit stale. My suggestion, for what it is worth, was two groups of five. I may even have suggested they could shoehorn Jimmy in. Anyway, they decided on the format that is currently running.

wild said...

dave

therefore Barry Hearn was a bit stupid using a criteria like all TV Winners in the league ?

why not just say i pick players like it or lump it.

Anonymous said...

i dont see what part was incorrect then dave

they changed the format...and they did not decide it was winners of "these 10 tournaments" before they happened.

that was my other point

and i know for a fact it isnt wrong.

youre not the only person who "is places"

Dave H said...

Sorry, the PL format was not changed specifically to get Jimmy White in the competition, although it was a happy side effect of the changes

Anonymous said...

i wasnt intimating it was done solely to do it.

he wanted him in

he said the tournament winners were chosen.

thats correct

my point was he didnt say that was the case until after theyd won and he knew hed be ok with them all in...and it shoehorned jimmy in

Dave H said...

That's certainly true

I'm just waiting to see who is going to break it to Darren that he won't be in it!

Anonymous said...

dave

that was my point all along

(ive been the same one posting, think you can check)

i wasnt saying he inveted the tournament winners just to get jimmy in....he could have just went with 7, picked 6 top good looking players + jimmy the people champ, but he didnt, then the criteria for who was in was released after theyd been picked

so, my two points were correct in reply to trevorp

maybe i worded the latter point badly.

and ive already mentioned about darren not being in next year.

sure he will know it anyway

and its barry and skys ball, so they can do what they want

they cant however pull the wool over my eyes...and many more fans

jimmy added nothing to this years pl

ive nowt against jimmy. great player once, and a nice guy. so its not that i dont like him.

truth sometimes hurts

Trevorp said...

For a start darren morgan will do well to play in the pl next year when he reckons he has no interest in joining the main tour again as stated on sunday evening year when he reckons he has no interest in joining the main tour again as stated on sunday evening

Anonymous said...

jimmy added nothing to this years pl

Except maybe an audience.

Anonymous said...

trevor

we are not saying he wants to be in it

we are saying he wont be, because like last year BH will decide who he wants and he may even make up a reason for their inclusion.

cant make it any clearer than that for you

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
jimmy added nothing to this years pl

Except maybe an audience.

12:28 PM
-------------
nonsense

theyre packed out regardless!

Anonymous said...

Barry Hearn is a man of his word if nothing else. If he was going to change the criteria he would have said before this season started, so players like Bingham, Selby and Moragn would'nt think there going to be in it and then find out there not.

Anonymous said...

140

just as well we are not saying that then eh?