Gdynia Snooker Open Glory For Selby

Mark Selby won his first title of the season by beating Martin Gould 4-1 in the final of the Gdynia Open in Poland, the final event of the 2015/16 Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour series.

Gould had been going for his second title of the month having won the German Masters three weeks ago, but he was outplayed in the final by world number one Selby, who captured the trophy and 25,000 Euro top prize.

Until now it had been a barren campaign for Leicester’s Selby, his best runs taking him to the semi-finals of the International Championship and UK Championship. Today’s victory gives him a shot of confidence going into the crucial last few months of the season.

There was a significant consolation for Gould as his run to the final earned him a place in next month’s Ladbrokes Players Championship.

Londoner Gould won the opening frame of the final before Selby hit back to win four in a row with breaks of 92, 69, 51 and 62.

“It’s nice to get a win under my belt,” said 2014 World Champion Selby. “I rode my luck a bit in this event, I should have lost to Luca Brecel in the last 32 when I was 3-0 down and came back to win 4-3. But it’s rare to have a tournament where you steam-roller everyone, when you win a title you often get through a match you should lose. I will go into the next event with a lot more confidence.”

The tournament was the final qualifying event for both the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix and the Ladbrokes Players Championship, two ranking events to take place in March.

Gould started the event in 73rd place on the Kreativ Dental Clinic European Order of Merit but his final run saw him leap into the top 24 and gain a place at the Ladbrokes Players Championship, which will take place at Event City in Manchester from March 22 to 27.

The line up (subject to entries) will comprise the top 24 from the European Order of Merit, plus two from the Asian Tour and six more from a combination of the two Order of Merits. Matthew Selt was the player squeezed out by Gould.

The Ladbrokes World Grand Prix runs from March 8 to 13 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. The top 32 players on a ranking list running from the start of the season to the Gdynia Open have qualified. Stephen Maguire clung on to the 32nd and last spot throughout the event in Poland. Andrew Higginson could have knocked him out by winning the tournament but lost 4-2 in the semi-finals to Selby.

The full lists of players who have qualified for each event are below, and the draws will be announced shortly. Tickets for both events are ON SALE NOW – for details see http://www.worldsnooker.com/tickets

Ladbrokes World Grand Prix:

John Higgins
Neil Robertson
Kyren Wilson
Martin Gould
Liang Wenbo
Mark Allen
Mark Selby
David Gilbert
Judd Trump
Marco Fu
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Luca Brecel
Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy
Ben Woollaston
Matt Selt
Ryan Day
Ding Junhui
Michael White
Barry Hawkins
Ali Carter
Michael Holt
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Mark Williams
Stuart Bingham
David Grace
Graeme Dott
Tom Ford
Jamie Jones
Tian Pengfei
Peter Ebdon
Stephen Maguire

Ladbrokes Players Championship:

Barry Hawkins
Marco Fu
Mark Allen
Rory McLeod
Ali Carter
Shaun Murphy
Ding Junhui
Mark King
Ryan Day
Tom Ford
Michael White
Tian Pengfei
Mark Selby
Mark Williams
Ben Woollaston
Ricky Walden
Mike Dunn
Liang Wenbo
Martin Gould
Dominic Dale
Andrew Higginson
Michael Holt
Kyren Wilson
Judd Trump
Jimmy Robertson
Alan McManus
David Gilbert
Sam Baird
Luca Brecel
Graeme Dott
Robert Milkins
Mark Davis

Mark Selby

The Gdynia Open was also vital for players battling to earn new World Snooker Tour cards if they finish the season outside the top 64 on the main ranking list. Malaysia’s Thor Chuan Leong secured his place with a run to the last 16 while Mitchell Mann, Scott Donaldson and Anthony Hamilton also won vital matches to earn spots in the current list of eight players:

Thor Chuan Leong
Ian Burns
Lee Walker
Mitchell Mann
Aditya Mehta
Scott Donaldson
Hammad Miah
Anthony Hamilton

Higgins To Be Seeded At Champion of Champions

With the penultimate qualifying event – the International Championship – concluding this weekend in China, Matchroom Sport can announce that the final seeded player for the Champion of Champion will be Scotland’s John Higgins.

The current World No. 12 is the highest ranked player already qualified and will take his place in Group One alongside Joe Perry. Currently Ding Junhui is the 16th and final player in the Champion of Champions but that could all change if Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or David Gilbert were to win the International. Failing that eventuality, a new winner at next week’s Bulgarian Open could sneak in ahead of Ding.

The 2015 Champion of Champions takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry from 10th to 15th November and features previous winners of World Snooker-sanctioned events over the previous 12 months.

The eight seeded players are Stuart Bingham, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Joe Perry, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins. The unseeded players are Michael White, Stephen Maguire, Kyren Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Yan Bingtao, Ali Carter and Rory McLeod. They will be joined by Ding Junhui provided there is not a new winner at the International or Bulgarian Open.

Each seeded player will play an unseeded opponent in a best-of-seven group match in the afternoon session with the two winners clashing over 11 frames in the evening. The four group winners will proceed to the best-of-11 semi-finals on Saturday, November 14 before Sunday, November 15 sees a two-session final played over 19 frames.

Ali Carter

Group Fixtures

Tuesday November 10, Group 3 (first match at 1pm)
Stuart Bingham (3) v To Be Drawn
Judd Trump (6) v To Be Drawn

Wednesday, November 11, Group 1 (first match at 1pm)
John Higgins v To Be Drawn
Joe Perry (8) v To Be Drawn

Thursday, November 12, Group 4 (first match at 1pm)
Neil Robertson (4) v To Be Drawn
Shaun Murphy (5) v To Be Drawn

Friday, November 13, Group 2 (first match at 1pm)
Mark Selby (2) v To Be Drawn
Barry Hawkins (7) v To Be Drawn

Tickets for this year’s Champion of Champions are now on sale at The Ticket Factory from just £10. Standard priced tickets for the weekend sessions are now sold out, but in anticipation of extra seats being released a waiting list has been set up at http://www.championofchampionssnooker.co.uk/tickets/.

The participation of all players is subject to contract.

Rory Rules In Ruhr

Rory McLeod won a title carrying ranking points for the first time by beating Tian Pengfei 4-2 in the final of the Ruhr Open in Mülheim, Germany.

World number 61 McLeod beat 70th-ranked Pengfei in a surprise final at the season’s third Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour event.

Leicester-based 44-year-old McLeod, snooker’s only black professional, collected the 25,000 Euro top prize after winning seven matches. His only previous pro title came at the qualifying event for the Masters in 2009.

McLeod, who has never been past the last 16 of a full ranking event, went 2-0 up in the final with top breaks of 57 and 41. China’s Tian, playing in his first pro final, pulled one back with a run of 78.

Frame four went to McLeod thanks to a break of 58 then Tian hit back again with a superb 106. But McLeod was not to be denied as he sealed victory in frame six with a top run of 55.

“It feels great, it’s everything that I really wanted,” said McLeod. “In the final I just tried to stick in there, stay positive and not get ahead of myself. I just wanted to enjoy it because this is where I want to be.”

Earlier in the semi-finals, McLeod beat Mike Dunn 4-1 while Tian edged out David Gilbert 4-3.

The Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour is a series of six events across the continent, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship. The next event is the Bulgarian Open in Sofia from November 4-8.

Rory McLeod.

Results (last 16 onwards)

Last 16

Mark Davis 4-2 Luca Brecel
Rory McLeod 4-1 Ben Woollaston
Mark Williams 4-3 Mark Selby
Mike Dunn 4-1 Andrew Higginson
Tian Pengfei 4-1 Shaun Murphy
Alan McManus 4-0 Dominic Dale
David Gilbert 4-2 Peter Ebdon
Barry Hawkins 4-1 Mark Allen

Quarter-finals
McLeod 4-3 Davis
Dunn 4-1 Williams
Tian 4-3 McManus

Semi-finals
McLeod 4-1 Dunn
Tian 4-3 Gilbert

Final
McLeod 4-2 Tian