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Ssb - the last four
Peter Ebdon went from Force to Farce last night with his abject display against Marco Fu, who breezed through to the semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters a 6-0 winner after encountering little resistance.
While Ebdon struggled badly, Fu was fluent and will need to be again to beat Mark Allen, who has already knocked Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson out of the tournament.
Allen was not quite a year old when his compatriots Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins contested the 1987 Masters final.
The Antrim potter is the finest prospect Northern Ireland have had since. His amateur record included wins at every level and his professional career has been impressive. He reached the top 16 very quickly - proving it can be done - and has a number of wins over big names under his belt.
What Allen wants, though, is titles. He has already won the invitation Jiangsu Classic but has lost in five ranking event semi-finals.
His fearless style of play and ability to compete on the big stage means most of his fellow players regard him as a likely winner of a big title soon.
It could well be tomorrow at Wembley Arena, although Fu has played well this week and will be no pushover.
Ding Junhui endured an emotional meltdown at Wembley four years ago when he lost in the final to Ronnie O'Sullivan but that is all in the past now and his performance against Graeme Dott suggests he is in the right frame of mind.
Jamie Cope played poorly against Shaun Murphy but much better to beat Mark King and defeated Ding in the Shanghai Masters earlier this season.
A strange tournament doesn't mean it won't be an exciting weekend.
The Masters is one of snooker's showpiece events and the fight for the title over the next two days will be full of the usual twists and turns that make top level snooker so fascinating.
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While Ebdon struggled badly, Fu was fluent and will need to be again to beat Mark Allen, who has already knocked Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson out of the tournament.
Allen was not quite a year old when his compatriots Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins contested the 1987 Masters final.
The Antrim potter is the finest prospect Northern Ireland have had since. His amateur record included wins at every level and his professional career has been impressive. He reached the top 16 very quickly - proving it can be done - and has a number of wins over big names under his belt.
What Allen wants, though, is titles. He has already won the invitation Jiangsu Classic but has lost in five ranking event semi-finals.
His fearless style of play and ability to compete on the big stage means most of his fellow players regard him as a likely winner of a big title soon.
It could well be tomorrow at Wembley Arena, although Fu has played well this week and will be no pushover.
Ding Junhui endured an emotional meltdown at Wembley four years ago when he lost in the final to Ronnie O'Sullivan but that is all in the past now and his performance against Graeme Dott suggests he is in the right frame of mind.
Jamie Cope played poorly against Shaun Murphy but much better to beat Mark King and defeated Ding in the Shanghai Masters earlier this season.
A strange tournament doesn't mean it won't be an exciting weekend.
The Masters is one of snooker's showpiece events and the fight for the title over the next two days will be full of the usual twists and turns that make top level snooker so fascinating.
More...
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