Jan 26 2012
by Alec Doyle, Flintshire Chronicle
AS the second World Snooker Shoot Out gets underway tomorrow, Ricky Walden will be enjoying the raucous atmosphere generated by the boisterous crowd.
The event, hosted at the Circus Arena at Blackpool Tower, is billed as snooker’s equivalent of Twenty20 cricket. Games last one frame, have a 10 minute time limit and there is a 20 second shot clock in operation for added excitement.
But last year Walden didn’t get to experience much of the new tournament as he suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Joe Perry.
This time around he it treating the event as a fun change of scene before he heads out to the World Open in China next month.
“It’s just a little bit of fun,” said the Bagillt potter. “You can’t take it too seriously or change your practice or preparation as it’s just one frame.
“If the balls don’t fall for you, you are out before you know it and there’s little you can do.”
That said world number 18 Walden is still keen to do well.
Since reaching the semi-finals of the UK Championship in December he has carried his good form into 2012, coming from behind to secure his place in the World Open in Haikou.
“Of course I want to do well, because there is a prize and it is good to keep the momentum,” he said. “So I would like to stay in the competition for as long as possible but I’m not going to get too wound up if it all ends suddenly because there are plenty of other events coming up.”
Those events however are not quite like the shoot out. Devised by snooker and darts supremo Barry Hearn, the shoot out encourages cheering and chanting and creates an atmosphere not found at any other snooker event, where the crowd participation is often more sombre and reserved.
“I think there is a great buzz at the shoot out,” said Walden. “The crowd is fantastic and just to be around that for a few days is a really enjoyable.
“They are just so different and all the players love it.”
After Blackpool, the serious business begins again for Walden as he gears up for the World Open.
“There is a lot going on in the far east in snooker terms at the moment,” he said.
“It’s a long haul getting there but the people are so enthusiastic about the sport, they absolutely love it and China in particular has been a good place for me to play in the past.”
It was in China that Walden won his first ranking title, the 2008 Shanghai Masters, and although he will be taking on some of the best players in the world next month he will make sure that he takes in some of the sights and sounds of the Orient.
“Different players do different things,” he said. “They all have routines. I always think that we are very lucky to be able to go to these places and I always make sure I go out and experience the country a little bit, otherwise what is the point?”
The World Snooker Shoot Out will be televised live on Sky Sports 1 and 2, check listings for sessions. On Sunday the Shoot Out will be on Sky 3D.
Feb 2 2012
by Paul Wheelock, Flintshire Chronicle
RICKY Walden went one round further in this year’s World Snooker Shoout-Out than he did 12 months ago.
But the Bagillt potter’s run at the one-frame knockout event in Blackpool still ended early.
The world number 18, who crashed out of last year’s inaugural Shoot-Out without potting a ball, suffered a last-32 defeat to world number 15 Stephen Lee.
Walden set up the clash by beating Liu Chang 122-3 with a run of 92.
But his hopes of progressing into the third round were dashed after Lee fired in a 121 break on his way to a 121-6 victory.
Walden, who was treating the event as ‘fun’, is this week in Berlin to compete in the German Masters.
The Haiku World Open is - in a way - the successor of the Grand Prix although it has a totally different format. It's a classic "best of 9" tournament with 7000 points at stake for the winner and it will be held in Haiku, on Hainan island (China) for the next five years.
More info here WSA article - Haikou To Stage World Open
The qualifiers start today and Ricky will be in action on next Saturday (January 14) at 7 pm (UK time). He will play Kurt Maflin, Mark Joyce or Gerard Greene.
Full information on draw, schedule and match list can be found here Haiku World Open playing information
Last 48 result: Ricky 5-4 Gerard Greene
Ricky started strongly leading 2-0 in no time. Gerard then responded by winning the next frame in basically one visit. Ricky had the opportunity to go to the interval 3-1 but missed a black off its spot and it went 2-2.
The momentum of the match shifted and Gerard won the next two frames. At 4-2 for Gerard, with his back against the wall, Ricky battled hard and managed to make it 4-3, then 4-4 before winning the decider confidently. He's bound to Haiku …
RICKY Walden battled back from the brink to pocket a place at the World Open.
The world number 18 from Bagillt came from 4-2 down to beat world number 36 Gerard Greene 5-4 in the final round of qualifying in Sheffield on Saturday.
This year’s World Open will take place in Haikou, the capital city of the Chinese province of Hainan, from February 27 to March 4.
Before that, the Bagillt Bullet will head for the Circus Arena at Blackpool Tower for the second ever Snooker Shoot Out.
The quick-fire three-day tournament starts on January 27 with single-frame 10-minute matches and a 20-second shot clock for the players.
Dec 22 2011
by Paul Wheelock, Chester Chronicle
RICKY Walden will start the new year as one of the most in-form players in world snooker after he continued his storming end to 2011.
Fresh from reaching the semi-finals of the UK Championship, the Chester-born player continued his hot streak with strong showings in the latest rounds of the Players Tour Championship (PTC).
The 29-year-old reached the quarter-finals of PTC 11 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield – the venue where he hit the first 147 break of his career last month – by beating Barry Hawkins 4-0, Ian McCulloch 4-2 and Sam Craigie 4-2.
But Walden, who is up four places to 18 in the world rankings, saw his run come to an end on Monday when he lost 4-1 to 2006 world champion Graeme Dott.
Walden’s first event of 2012 will be the conclusion of the 12th and final round of the PTC series.
Sixteen players will go head-to-head in Munich from January 6-8 – and the former Shanghai Masters champion will be among them after he came through last week’s qualifiers in Sheffield.
Walden edged out Liu Song 4-3 and Gerard Greene 4-2 before sweeping aside world number nine Ding Junhui 4-0 in the last 32 to set up a final-16 Munich showdown against Xiao Guodong.
Walden sits 13th in the PTC Order of Merit. The top 24 advance to the championship’s Grand Final in March.
In Munich
Ricky 4-2 Xiao Guodong
Ricky was breezing at the start of the match but after Xiao stole the second frame it turned into a very hard fought battle with safeties - good ones - aplenty from both. It was Ricky though who came out the winner and he will next face David Gilbert or Joe Perry.
Joe Perry 4-1 Ricky
The score doesn't reflect how hard fought the match was. Joe prevailed mainly helped by excellent safeties. Ricky's potting power let him down a bit and the fact that the balls ran awkward quite a few times didn't help.
This result means that Ricky will not make it into the top 16 at the next cut-off and will have to qualify for the Hainan World Open, the Welsh Open and the China Open. However he is in with a very good chance to get into the top 16 at the fourth cut-off point that will decide the seeding for the World Championship.
Jan 12 2012
by Paul Wheelock, Flintshire Chronicle
RICKY Walden was unable to knock Ronnie O’Sullivan out of the world’s top 16 in the final round of the Players Tour Championship.
The Bagillt potter, 29, needed to win the 12th round of the PTC series to replace the legendary Rocket.
But his hopes were dashed by Joe Perry at the Munich event.
His quarter-final exit means Walden remains 18th in the world rankings.
And that means, unlike O’Sullivan and the rest of the top 16, he will have to qualify for the Welsh Open, Haikou World Open and China Open.
Walden was one of 16 players competing in the conclusion of PTC 12 in Germany at the weekend.
He beat Xiao Guodong 4-2 in the fourth round to book his place in the last eight – but that is where his run came to an end as Perry recorded a 4-1 victory.
The world number 26 eventually went down 4-2 to Stephen Maguire in the final.
Walden, who on Saturday will attempt to qualify for the Haikou World Open in South China, finished 15th in the PTC Order of Merit.
As a result he will join the rest of the top 24 at the PTC Grand Finals in Galway, Ireland, in March.
Ricky played excellent snooker yesterday evening to earn his spot in the last 16 of the UK Championship in York. He beat Stephen Lee 6-3. He will play Mark Williams tomorrow.
QUALIFIER Ricky Walden is just one game away from the UK Championship final after he knocked out practice partner Shaun Murphy.
The 29-year-old, whose finest moment came when he won the Shanghai Masters three years ago, saw off the Magician 6-3 as the quarter-finals came to a close.
The first four frames were shared with a 70 break from Walden in the opener and 84 from Murphy in the second the highlights.
Walden took the first two after the break, with 67 and 55, and it was Murphy who was cracking under the pressure.
He had the chance to reduce the deficit in the next but missed a crucial green, allowing Walden, who has now knocked out two former world champions, to take a 5-2 lead.
Murphy managed to claw one back but Walden clinched the match in the ninth frame with a cool 71.
He will face Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen, who beat Hong Kong’s Marco Fu 6-5 in a match which went to a deciding frame late last night.
10.12.2011
Ricky is playing Mark Allen for a place in the final. He leads 5-3 at MSI.
Unfortunately Ricky couldn't get the better of Mark Allen in the evening. He lost 7-9 in what was a very high quality and entertaining match played in excellent spirit. Thanks to both players.
Dec 15 2011
Chester Chronicle
CHESTER’S Ricky Walden is still dealing with the disappointment of not reaching the final of the UK Championship.
The 29-year-old delivered his best performance in a major televised tournament before losing to Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen in the semi-finals.
In Saturday’s last-four match at York’s Barbican Theatre, Walden hit back from 3-1 down to lead 5-3 at the end of the first session. But the break came at the wrong time and Allen fought back in the next session to win 9-7.
Walden told The Chronicle: “I am disappointed, even now a few days later, that I didn’t get my hands on that trophy because I felt good and believed I had a chance.
“The break in the semi came at a bad time because I knew Allen would come out fighting and after the first session I barely got my hand on the table.
“I still had a big chance to keep the momentum at one stage but I missed a shot on the brown and that was it.”
Despite his semi-final exit, there were plenty of positives to take from his performances in York in front of the BBC cameras.
Walden hopes to carry his form into the Players Tour Championship, which starts today at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
“I have been trying to work on the small things that will improve my game,” said the former Shanghai Masters champion. “I know the fundamentals are there, I just need the consistency to get to the next level.”
Walden was born in Chester but grew up in Bagillt, Flintshire, and attended Flint High School before becoming a pro snooker player.
Until recently he was based at the Q Bar in Volunteer Street, Chester, but the snooker hall he co-owned with his manager closed, leaving him struggling for practice venues in the Chester area.
He said: “I am keeping my options but next year I may have to consider if relocating to somewhere with more practice venues is the best thing for my career.”
En route to the UK Championship semis, Walden knocked out Stephen Lee, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy before facing Allen, who lost to Judd Trump in Sunday’s final.
Ricky will be in action today at 2:20 pm, UK time against Liu Chuang in his bid to qualify for the German masters final stages that will be held in Berlin early February.
Good luck Ricky!
Ricky played really well today and defeated Liu Chuang by a score of 5-1.
74(67)-13, 97(89)-1, 18-82, 82(76)-40, 85(65)-9, 99(89)-5
He will play Martin Gould in Berlin. This should be a cracker.
The full draw and schedule for PTC 10 which is being played at the World Snooker Academy at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield from 27-30 November 2011 is available on WSA site.
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