Martin Gould beats Ronnie O’Sullivan to win 2011 Power Snooker title at Trafford Centre, Manchester
After the conclusion of a nail-biting final encounter at the 2011 Power Snooker event, England’s Martin Gould was able to claim the title and add a first ranking title victory to his account. The Englishman defeated defending champion and one of the masters
of fast snooker, compatriot, Ronnie O’Sullivan, by the score line of 286-258 at Trafford Centre, in Manchester’s Event City.
Former croupier, Martin Gould, sprang back into the game when he was 234-138 down in the final clash against the champion of first ever Power Snooker event, to claim the title by 286-258. With the victory of his first major event title, Gould has pocketed
cash worth £25,000 in two days play while the runner-up, The Rocket, could grab a £12,000 consolation prize.
Speaking to local media at the end of championship, Gould said, “I couldn’t give a monkeys about the money. The trophy is more important because it’s my first major tournament win. But maybe I’ll be able to pay someone to come in a wash my pots and clean
up because the flat’s a real mess.”
The Pinner Potter added, “It’s the first time I’ve beaten Ronnie so it’s extra special. I thought he was going to win again but, fortunately for me, he missed a couple of Power Balls and I just managed to get back in the match. I've loved every minute of
it. It's a different game but at least I know I'm cueing well, which bodes well for the next few tournaments.”
On the other hand, the defending champion, O'Sullivan appreciated his opponent and admitted, “I missed a couple but Martin deserved to win. Good luck to him.”
The Power Snooker event was introduced by World Snooker chief, Barry Hearn, in order to provide snooker fans with more thrill and excitement. The format of Power Snooker is based on the idea of T20 cricket matches, where spectators enjoy a lot more than
they do in One-Day Internationals or Tests.
Matches in this format last just 30 minutes and each player has just a 20-second window to play his shot. The rack for this match consists of only nine reds, which includes a power ball, along with traditional six colours. The points are same as in snooker
but after the power ball is potted, a two-minute power play starts, in which points are doubled for each pot.
The purpose of introducing events like this is to attract more viewership to the game, especially the young generation, as it was believed that the game of snooker is watched more by aged people.
Overall Results:
Round one:
Mark Selby bt Matthew Stevens 243-196
Mark Allen bt John Higgins 255-177
Martin Gould bt Judd Trump 332-229
Stuart Bingham bt Shaun Murphy 376-112
Stephen Lee bt Mark Williams 228-211
Neil Robertson bt Stephen Maguire 238-174
Ronnie O'Sullivan bt Ali Carter 335-245
Graeme Dott bt Ding Junhui 288-182
Quarter-finals:
Selby bt Allen 398-56
Gould bt Bingham 247-180
Robertson bt Lee 271-125
O'Sullivan bt Dott 185-182
Semi-finals:
Gould bt Selby 253-246
O'Sullivan bt Robertson 519-157
Final:
Gould bt O'Sullivan 286-258
Tags: