Tom Ford beats Martin Gould to win PTC 11 title at English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England
England’s Tom Ford has clinched Players Tour Championship (PTC) 11 title after ousting compatriot, Martin Gould, in a tussling final encounter at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England. The pair had a close match until they were 3-3 level but
after that, Ford made a superb move to nudge his opponent down by 4-3.
The Englishman showed some excellent snooker genius during his run in the tournament. He reached the final encounter of the penultimate PTC event after beating David Hogan 4-1 in Round 1, Ian Burns 4-2 in Round 2, Nigel Bond 4-2 in Round 3, Yu Delu 4-0 in
the fourth round, Judd Trump 4-1 in the quarter-finals and Graeme Dott 4-0 in the semi-final.
The final match-up began with Gould’s first frame victory by 57-66 to grab an early lead of 0-1. The Leicestershire potter, Ford, sprang back into the game brilliantly and replied Gould with stunning back-to-back fame wins by 83-9 and 61-31 after hitting
two outstanding knocks of 66 and 60, respectively. Ford moved one frame up at 2-1 and snatched the overall lead from Gould.
Gould did not accept Ford’s dominance and hit back with two consecutive frame victories to regain his lead at 2-3. He smashed a superb knock of 127 points in the fifth frame to grab the advantage. After that, it was a Ford-show all over the table, as the
28-year-old clinched the last two frames by the score line of 79-5 and 85-41 to finish the match 4-3 and lift the PTC 11 title.
Speaking to the local media at the conclusion of his final match, Ford said, “We were both shaky at first, but when we settled down we were winning frames in one visit. I made a good break in the last frame, particularly the last red along the top cushion
because I knew if I missed it I'd lose. I came here expecting nothing, but after winning my first match I got stronger.”
The Glen Parva-born added, “No disrespect to the players I beat to win a PTC event last year, but I count this one as a much better victory because of the players I've beaten. To beat the likes of Trump and Dott gives me a lot of confidence to go on and
do well in the big tournaments.”
Ford is now aiming to make his way to the top-16 by winning a couple of major events. He believes he is far away from his goal but the cueist is working hard to increase his level of play.
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