Ricky will be in action against Jamie Jones on Saturday 14th of April, 10 am and 7 pm for a spot at The Crucible …
Jamie Jones 10-2 Ricky Walden
A very heavy defeat for Ricky. Jamie played very well and Ricky never got going. Ricky who had been poorly already a few days before the match is devastated obviously but those things happen unfortunately. Not much else to say…
Here is wishing Ricky a full recovery and a good summer rest before the next season.
It starts today but Ricky will not be in action before Wednesday.
He starts with a difficult opponent as he will play Mark Allen in the afternoon session (morning in UK and Europe)
Good luck Rick. You can do this!
28.03.2012 Update
Ricky Walden 5-2 Mark Allen
The match wasn't on television so it's hard to know exactly how it went but this is a very good win for Ricky. Well done! He will play Stephen Maguire tomorrow.
29.03.2012 Update
Stephen Maguire 5-4 Ricky. Going by the live scores this was a marathon, scrappy, hard fought match. Unfortunately for Ricky, it was Stephen Maguire who took his chance in the decider and sealed the win with a big break…
Snooker: Ricky Walden pushes Stephen Maguire to limit in China Open
Apr 5 2012 by Alec Doyle, Flintshire Chronicle
RICKY Walden was narrowly beaten in the last 16 of the China Open by friend and eventual finalist Stephen Maguire.
The Bagillt Bullet pushed former UK champion Maguire all the way in a 5-4 encounter in Beijing which lasted almost three-and-a-half hours.
Having previously beaten Mark Allen 5-2 in the opening round, Walden’s top break was 86 while Maguire knocked 79, 132 and 68 to book a match with Ronnie O’Suillivan in the next round.
Afterwards Maguire said: “It was a tough old struggle.
“I don’t know if it’s because me and Ricky are good friends, we grew up together. After the first four frames, it was just whoever stood up the longest, it was a pretty poor match, but I'm just glad to get through it.”
Maguire saw off O’Sullivan 5-4 in a black-ball final frame and also dispatched Stephen Lee 6-2 before losing out in an epic seven-and-a-half hour final 10-9 to Peter Ebdon.
Walden is currently ranked 15th in the world but his return to the world’s top 16 came too late to afford him automatic qualification for the main draw of this year’s World Championships.
Instead he will play in the final qualifying match at the English Institute of Sport on Saturday, April 14 before the main draw is made to earn his spot at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the championships, which begin on Friday, April 27.
The PTC Grand Finals will run from 14 to 18 th of March in Galway, Ireland.
Ricky's first match will be on Wednesday, March 14, at 7:30 pm against Matthew Stevens.
The winner will play Ronnie O'Sullivan on Friday evening…
Last 24:
Ricky 4-0 Matthew Stevens
Ricky beat Matthew Stevens in about 50 minutes by 4-0. The first frame started a bit slowly but Ricky clinched it with a 66 break. After that it was a scoring fest: breaks of 130, 95 and 131 gave Ricky the victory in no time!
His reward is a clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan on Friday evening! Listen to Ricky's press conference after his win over Matthew Stevens
Following Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrawal, Ricky got straight to the quarters.
He's playing Stephen Maguire.
I've added pictures of this match in the photo album.
Stephen Maguire 4-3 Ricky Walden
Ricky fought hard to foce a decider from 1-3 down but couldn't clinch it eventually. Excellent match though. Pictures from Ricky in action in this event are available here
I will add more pictures in this album for each of Ricky's matches.
Ricky played today his last 32 match against Shaun Murphy. Unfortunately he was beaten 3-5. The match was very close for the first 6 frames, but not of the highest quality as both players missed some unexpected balls. The conditions though were not ideal as the atmosphere was very wet and the table played squite heavy. Afterwards though it was Shaun who settled best and won the last 2 frames and the match.
The qualifiers for the China Open will run from February 21 to 24 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield. The draw, format and schedule are available here: China Open 2012 draw, format and schedule
Ricky will be in action on Friday, February 24, at 2:30 pm (UK time)
Ricky 5-3 Sam Craigie
Ricky booked his place in the China open but not without a little scare. Sam Craigie gave him a very good game.
The qualifiers rounds for the 2012 Welsh Open start today in the Academy in Sheffield.
Steve Davis 4-3 Ricky Walden
Ricky looked out of sorts for a big part of the match and was not able to overcome Steve Davis. This means that, unfortunately, Ricky will have to qualify for the World Championship in Sheffield as this was the last tournament before the crucial cut-off.
Feb 9 2012
by Alec Doyle, Flintshire Chronicle
RICKY Walden is in line to face six-time world champion Steve Davis in the final qualifying round for the Welsh Open at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield on Saturday.
The snooker legend will set up a meeting with Bagillt’s world number 18 Walden if he wins his third qualifying round match tomorrow.
Walden will go into the seven-frame clash on the back of a 5-2 second-round defeat to world number six Shaun Murphy in the last 16 of the German Masters in Berlin on Thursday night.
If Walden comes through Saturday’s challenge, he will go into the Welsh Open next week for the final tournament before the seeding cut-off for the World Championships.
If Walden can deliver his best at the Welsh Open, he could nail a top 16 place before the cut-off, guaranteeing his place in the main draw for the World Championships in April without needing to enter the qualifiers, as only those outside the top 16 are required to battle for their place.
After the Welsh Championships, Walden will head to Haikou for the China Open.
It wasn't a great two days for Ricky in Crondon Park as he won only one match out of six and finished bottom of the group. This means that his run in this tournament ends there.
Only consolation for Ricky, he made the highest break of the leg: 142.
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