2015 World Championship (Day 8) - Ding beats Higgins. Hawkins comes back for glory

Three more players have made their way to the quarter-finals of this year's World Championship, their names being: Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham and Barry Hawkins.

Ding Junhui took on an old rival of the green, green baize John Higgins and after losing the first session 5-3, he fought back and turned-tables at 9-7 to finally win it 13-9.

The second session started with shared frames, Ding being the first one in and grabbing the first two frames with runs of 49, 80 and 46, but Higgins was sure to restore his dominance with breaks of 55 and 68. 

However, from 7-5 down, Ding not only did manage to bring back the balance of the match, but also to trash it in the past and go 9-7 up at the end of the session by hitting in breaks of 66, 64, 92 and 59.

Truth be told, Higgins had a huge chance to pull back a frame just before the session ended but went on and missed a long red on 57, Ding clinching it on the black.

"The Chinese Sensation" had also a powerful start at the kick off of the final session when he rushed in to capture the first two frames with a top break of 63.

Higgins, which after the match declared he "lost his concentration", barely managed to reduce the gap by winning a frame, while a cruel 89 clearance was pushing Ding 12-8 up. Just one more needed.

As it happens, the Chinese player had to wait for one more frame, a dramatic one that Higgins won despite Ding's 54 break, in order to trail 12-9.

The victory didn't come easy as in the last frame John decided to play on even if he needed three snookers!!! The boys battled, but in the end Higgins managed to get them. Still, it was a bit too late, as Ding took his chances and speculated his opponent's mistakes to close the deal at 13-9.

Barry Hawkins and Mark Allen delighted our snooker hearts with a great spectacle of snooker, one of those classical shows at the end of which you wish for both players to win. The the one crossing over the line 13-11 was Hawkins.

Ever since the beginning of the match Allen put his foot down and was always in the leading position, either it was by just a frame, or by two. That's how the first session finished in his favour, 5-3.

When the players returned for their second session, things continued in the same manner: sharing frames, but with Allen having the upper hand, 11-9.

Still, despite all the great play that Mark performed and all the magnificent century breaks he manage to obtain, Hawkins kept his head straight and prepared a great comeback for the last session.

Breaks of 39 and 42 plus a great tactical battle proved enough to make the scoreline go 11-11, while a beautiful 102 clearance was putting "The Hawk" in front for the first time since the match started.

After losing four consecutive frames (one in the previous session and three this session), Allen's touch was sort of gone with the wind, so Barry took this opportunity to win a dramatic and somehow scrappy last frame to get a place in the quarter-finals.

The third lucky winner of a spot in the "bronze round" is Stuart Bingham who recorded a very important 13-5 victory of Scotland's Graeme Dott.

After leading 6-2 and 11-5, Bingham didn't lose too much time into winning the needed two frames with breaks of 49 and 104 to go happy as a little lamb running down the hills of glory.

 
The battle has just begun for Ali Carter and Neil Robertson, as the boys disputed their first session ended on a 6-2 scoreline in favour of the Aussie (breaks of 60, 58, 129, 51, 115, 31 and 26), but also for Matthew Stevens and Ronnie O'Sullivan, their session ending on 5-3 in favour of the Rocket (breaks of 100, 47, 63, 61 and 55).



More snooker to come our way this Sunday too, so be sure to clear you schedule and send the kids to playing outside (it's Spring, right?):

10am
Joe Perry v. Shaun Murphy
Marco Fu v. Judd Trump

2.30pm
Ali Carter v. Neil Robertson (2-6)
Matthew Stevens v. Ronnie O'Sullivan (3-5)

7pm
Joe Perry v. Shaun Murphy
Marco Fu v. Judd Trump

* all hours are UK time