Mark Williams vs. Jamie Cope: World Snooker Championship 2011 – Second round preview
Welshman Mark Williams and England’s Jamie Cope will meet at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for their second-round clash of the World Snooker Championship 2011 on Thursday, April 21.
The match-up will be a total thriller as both cuemen are in great from and are confident after their first round wins against Ryan Day and Andrew Pagett respectively.
The former two-time world champion Mark Williams defeated compatriot Ryan Day with a convincing score of 10-5 in the first round. Williams moved within a three-frame lead over Day at 6-3 after he pocketed some brilliant knocks of 71, 137 and 84 along with a couple of decent small breaks at the end of the first session.
The ‘Welsh Potting Machine,’ Williams, began the second session with a stunning half century break of 55 in the 10th frame to extend his lead to 7-3. However, it did not shake Day at all as he replied with a 66 knock in the 11th frame followed by the 12th frame win at 45-56 to take the score at 7-5.
After that, the 36-year-old Williams stumbled upon the table and swept it swiftly in the next three frames to shatter his opponent completely and ensure his second-round spot against Jamie Cope. He potted three superb breaks of 89, 70 and 66 to clinch the last three frames consecutively.
On the other hand, the Englishman Jamie Cope made a convincing win over the qualifier Andrew Pagett at 10-7. However, he faced quite a solid resistance from the Welshman in the first session as both players finished at 5-4 before the mid-session interval.
Pagett could clinch only three frames after the interval while Cope stole the game with relative ease after grabbing the 17th frame with 57-47. The match was quite a thrill to watch and gave the spectators a good entertaining display.
Odds and statistics
The world number two Mark Williams is known for his single-ball potting and his long potting skills are second to none. He is believed to be one of the superb long potters in the game and his ability to grab scrappy frames with his tactical play distinguishes him from other cuemen.
His performance in the current season has been outstanding so far as he clinched a couple of important titles including the German Masters and Players Tour Championship. He has a terrific match-winning rate of 72.4 per cent with 42 match wins out of 58 while he has grabbed 239 frame wins out of 389 during the season with a winning rate of 61.4 per cent.
The world number 14 Jamie Cope plays with a unique style in which he pockets the balls with pace. He likes to play fast just like Ronnie O’Sullivan and has been nicknamed ‘Shotgun’ for his unique playing style.
Jamie Cope has been convincing in the current season with 27 match wins out of 45 with a 60 per cent match-winning ratio. His frame winning percentage is 52.2 as he grabbed 144 frames out of 276.
Head-to-head
Williams and Cope have gone head-to-head four times before in the season and in all four clashes, Williams has been victorious so the odds here favour him to clinch the match.
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