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Ssb - when 16 becomes 8
Neil Robertson's sensational display of break building last night was a joy to behold- unless, of course, you were Andrew Higginson.
Completely in the zone, Robertson continued to play in the fashion that has seen him ascend to the twin peaks of snooker achievement: world champion and world no.1.
Yes, Higginson let him in several times but he didn't make the breaks for him. They were all Robertson, who is expending minimum mental energy in coasting to the quarter-finals.
In cricket parlance he is winning by an innings. (These are strange times we live in when Australia is rubbish at cricket but brilliant at snooker.)
A few people got rather excited by Ronnie O'Sullivan's capture of the Premier League ten days ago but, as he himself said afterwards, the UK Championship is a different ball game completely.
While they may have been fillips off the table, neither the League nor the release of his father had any beneficial effect on O'Sullivan in the arena as he lost to Stuart Bingham.
Why? Because, love him or loathe him, Ronnie is not going to change. He will remain what he has always been: a complex mix of instinctive brilliance, inspiration and talent but also prone to maddening bouts of frustration and petulance.
That's the man and that's also why he's the biggest draw in the game.
Credit should go to Bingham who took the game to O'Sullivan in the opening session and put him under pressure in the second.
Ballrun is a player who actively seeks out snooker competitions and has a terrific record in pro-ams. He hasn't really done himself justice much on TV but maybe this will be his week to shine.
His defeat of O'Sullivan is his best win since he beat Stephen Hendry in the first round of the World Championship a decade ago.
Stephen Hendry was embarrassed by his performance against Jimmy White. He knows a vast improvement is required if he is to stay with Mark Williams.
Shaun Murphy played as well as he had to in defeating Patrick Wallace and is now up against Ryan Day, who came through 9-8 on the black against Mark King, a result which could revive his flagging fortunes.
John Higgins and Graeme Dott played a high quality first session to be poised at 4-4 coming back this afternoon.
Mark Allen leads defending champion Ding Junhui 6-2 in a match not favoured by the cameras.
Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby were also unlucky not to get a TV table. Maguire, who has a solid record in this event, leads there 5-3 as another no doubt dramatic day gets underway.
More...
Completely in the zone, Robertson continued to play in the fashion that has seen him ascend to the twin peaks of snooker achievement: world champion and world no.1.
Yes, Higginson let him in several times but he didn't make the breaks for him. They were all Robertson, who is expending minimum mental energy in coasting to the quarter-finals.
In cricket parlance he is winning by an innings. (These are strange times we live in when Australia is rubbish at cricket but brilliant at snooker.)
A few people got rather excited by Ronnie O'Sullivan's capture of the Premier League ten days ago but, as he himself said afterwards, the UK Championship is a different ball game completely.
While they may have been fillips off the table, neither the League nor the release of his father had any beneficial effect on O'Sullivan in the arena as he lost to Stuart Bingham.
Why? Because, love him or loathe him, Ronnie is not going to change. He will remain what he has always been: a complex mix of instinctive brilliance, inspiration and talent but also prone to maddening bouts of frustration and petulance.
That's the man and that's also why he's the biggest draw in the game.
Credit should go to Bingham who took the game to O'Sullivan in the opening session and put him under pressure in the second.
Ballrun is a player who actively seeks out snooker competitions and has a terrific record in pro-ams. He hasn't really done himself justice much on TV but maybe this will be his week to shine.
His defeat of O'Sullivan is his best win since he beat Stephen Hendry in the first round of the World Championship a decade ago.
Stephen Hendry was embarrassed by his performance against Jimmy White. He knows a vast improvement is required if he is to stay with Mark Williams.
Shaun Murphy played as well as he had to in defeating Patrick Wallace and is now up against Ryan Day, who came through 9-8 on the black against Mark King, a result which could revive his flagging fortunes.
John Higgins and Graeme Dott played a high quality first session to be poised at 4-4 coming back this afternoon.
Mark Allen leads defending champion Ding Junhui 6-2 in a match not favoured by the cameras.
Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby were also unlucky not to get a TV table. Maguire, who has a solid record in this event, leads there 5-3 as another no doubt dramatic day gets underway.
More...