Day two of the championship saw two further seeded plays lose out as the run of matches going against form (or at least out of kilter of world rankings continued). Firs to fall was former world champion, and last year’s finalist, Shaun Murphy. Murphy, seeded 3, lost a closely fought match by 10 frames to 8 against Anthony McGill.
McGill, who is ranked 30th in the world, was behind during the early stages of the match, at 3-5 and 4-6. A lively opening session saw Murphy, who is one the most fluent players in the game, stand one frame ahead at 5-4. During this session Murphy cued very smoothly and compiled breaks of 61, 93, 76, 109 and 55. McGill’s main contribution was a run of 119 in the second frame, where he just failed to make a total clearance.
The second session, however, saw a different pattern. From losing the first frame to Murphy’s second century (a break of 105), McGill proceeded to play far better and win four successive frames. Murphy won two more, but McGill was by this time far more fluent and confident, as he closed out the match with his second century – 117 – and he almost made a third, clinching the last with a break of 97. This was only McGill’s second appearance at the main stages of the championship.
A somewhat slower match was being played to a finish on the other table. Here Alan McManus, for so many years a top ten player, overturned the seeding by beating Stephen McGuire 10-7. McGuire had a relatively poor season and his lack of confidence was apparent.
After moving to 3-1, McGuire’s game seemed to unravel as McManus, a solid player with an eye for solid safety player, wore him down. The match did not produce a century break. McGuire’s best was a 97, whereas McManus recorded two breaks over 70 – runs of 77 and 78.
The other matches from day two are at the halfway stage. The spotlight match saw Ronnie O’Sullivan hold a 6-3 lead over Dave Gilbert. O’Sullivan was solid but appeared a little rusty, reflective of his lack of match practice this season. While he was good among the balls, O’Sullivan’s long potting lacked a little edge and he was not knocking in the long shots with his regularity of old. Gilbert made the day’s only century break. I expect O’Sullivan to play better on day three.
In the other games, Mark Williams, twice a champion, looks set for the second round ending the first session 7-2 up on former world champion Graeme Dott. In this match, Williams has made six breaks over 50. Sam Baird is 5-4 up on Michael White, after making a break of 108 in the final frame of the session; and Robbie Williams holds a similar one frame lead over Ricky Walden, in a so far mediocre match.
