Wales’ hopes of winning 2012 Welsh Open end as Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens crash out
Only two local potters, Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens, were lined up in the initial draws and both of them surged into the second round of 2012 Welsh Open snooker contest but lost their respective matches at the hands of England’s Ronnie O’Sullivan and
Scotland’s Stephen Maguire.
With their defeat, Wales’ hopes of dominating the event and winning the title have lost.
Initially there were four Welsh potters in the event, two of them, Dominic Dale and Ryan Day, were placed in the qualifying session while Williams and Stevens were placed in Last 32. Unfortunately for Dale and Day, they lost in their respective qualifiers
against Sam Baird and Michael Holt. After their defeat, all Welsh eyes were on the former World Snooker Champion, Williams and the former Premier League Snooker winner, Stevens.
Williams started his Welsh event campaign with his first round clash against England’s Andy Hicks. Williams nearly survived a brutal defeat because the match ended in a decider frame. Williams’ performance in his first match raised questions but the Welsh
Potting machine finally managed to make it up to the expectation of Welsh viewers and surged into the second round.
Williams faced the former three-time World Snooker Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan in the second round. The match was quite tussling in the beginning as both players went neck and neck with some outstanding shots.
O’Sullivan stated his match run with a smashing 125 break while Williams replied him with a superb 133 to pull level at 1-1. After that, O’Sullivan took the next three frames and crushed the Welsh Wonder by the score line of 4-1.
Following Williams’ fall in the event, Stevens also lost his second match. Stevens faced the 2012 Snooker Shootout winner, England’s Barry Hawkins by the score line of 4-3 after a stunner. The Welsh Dragon finished his first encounter in the same fashion
Williams did.
In the second round, Stevens’ opponent was the 2012 German Masters finalist, Scotland’s Stephen Maguire. The second-round match was an easy victory for the Scotsman as he nudged Stevens two frames down at 4-2.
Now, both potters have gone home after crashing out of the 2012 Welsh Open leaving behind the goal to claim the Welsh title.
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