Event Twelve - EPTC6/The Prague Classic

Holt Ends Higgins Run

www.worldsnooker.com

Michael Holt won the biggest title of his career so far by beating John Higgins 4-3 in the final of Euro Players Tour Championship event six in Prague.

The World No 42 from Nottingham, a pro for 14 years, ended a run of 13 consecutive victories for Higgins, who returned to competitive snooker in style last week by winning EPTC5 in Germany.

Holt, age 32, became the 12th different winner in 12 events on the PTC series and leapt from 96th place on the Order of Merit into the top 24, thereby qualifying for the Grand Finals in March. He goes home with 10,000 Euros and is 2,000 ranking points better off.

Holt won the first two frames with a top break of 64 and made 66 in the third before running out of position and missing a tricky red. Higgins hit back to win it on the last black, then compiled a run of 100 for 2-2.

Three-times World Champion Higgins added a scrappy third frame to take the lead, but Holt showed his mettle by dominating the last two frames without conceding a point, knocking in 74 and 65.

"I've always said that I can play the game and I'm good enough to win things. In fact I stopped saying it because people thought I was lying," said Holt, who has never been beyond the quarter-finals of a full ranking event. "I just needed some confidence and to be able to handle the situation when it mattered.

"I did that today - I didn't get nervous or twitch a ball in the final, I felt great. I couldn't have had a tougher draw as I had to beat Stephen Maguire, Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy to get to the final. It's definitely the best moment of my career and hopefully I can kick on now and get up the rankings."

Holt dedicated victory to his dad Mick, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered two months ago. "He's very poorly and it's going to take him a long time to get better," said Holt. "He'll dig in like I did today. I can't wait to take the trophy home and show it to him."

Murphy finished top of the Order of Merit despite losing 4-3 in the semi-finals to Holt, from 3-1 up.

The full list of the 24 qualifiers for the PTC Grand Finals will be announced shortly.

Table plan

EPTC Praha v3_Sparta Praha tables[3].pdf

Draw of the event

EPTC Event 6 – Prague Classic

19-21 November 2010
Arena Sparta, Podvinny Mlyn, Prague 9, Czech Republic

Players: please note that the dress code for this event is evening dress and waistcoat, however a bow tie is optional.

Matches are not necessarily played in numerical order

Friday, 19 November 2010
10,00
16 - Rory McLeod 4-3 Jamie Burnett
17 - Ali Carter x Mario Wehrmann w/o
18 - Andrew Higginson 4-0 Tomasz Skalski
19 - Anthony Hamilton x Issara Kachiwong w/o
20 - Nigel Bond 4-0 Jaromír Malanta
21 - Peter Ebdon 4-0 Andrew Norman
22 - Gerard Greene 4-0 Michael Heeger
23 - Peter Lines 4-0 Oliver Brown
32 - Alan McManus w/o Kuldesh Johal
33 - Marcus Campbell 4-0 Lukáš Křenek

11,30
34 - Allan Taylor w/o Andy Lee
35 - Michael White 4-1 Patrick Einsle
36 - Paul S. Davison 2-4 Ian Glover
37 - Joe Jogia 4-1 Tony Knowles
38 - Daniel Wells 3-4 Justin Astley
39 - Matt Couch 2-4 Rod Lawler

12,00
40 - Graeme Dott 4-1 Kevin Van Hove
41 - Jack Lisowski 4-3 Sam Harvey
42 - Jimmy White 4-2 Damian Wilks
43 - Matthew Stevens 4-0 Jindřich Prchal
44 - Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jan Klečka
45 - Barry Hawkins 4-0 David Singh

13,00
46 - Liu Chuang w/o Chris McBreene
47 - Joe Perry 4-0 Noppon Saengkham
48 - Stuart Bingham 4-1 Jurgen Kesseler
49 - Matthew Selt 4-2 Kurt Maflin
50 - Robert Milkins 4-0 Ronnie Beniesch

13,30
51 - Andrew Pagett w(o Stephen Hendry
52 - Mark Joyce 4-0 Dieter Meier
53 - Ben Woollaston 4-0 Jan Vimr
54 - Mike Dunn 4-0 Marco Vukovic
55 - Mark King 2-4 Ryan Day

15,00 Plate
501 - Matt Yeadon w/o
502 - Jak Jones w/o
503 - Jimmy Michie 3-2 Reanne Evans
504 - Maurice Le Duc x Lasse Munstermann w/o
505 - Alex O'Donohgue w/o
506 - Simon Ceo w/o
507 - Chen Zhe w/o
508 - Jamie Jones w/o Liam Highfield

16,00 Plate
509 - Jamie Burnett w/o
510 - Thomasz Skalski w/o
511 - Jaromír Malanta 0-3 Sanjin Kusan
512 - Michael Heeger 3-1 Oliver Brown
513 - Stefan Schenk w/o
514 - Rune Kampe 3-1 Jan Prihoda
515 - Robert Drahn 0-3 Thanawat Thirapongpa
516 - Tomáš Kejla w/o

17,30
72 - Rory McLeod 4-2 Mario Wehrmann
73 - Andrew Higginson 3-4 Issara Kachiwong
74 - Nigel Bond 2-4 Peter Ebdon
75 - Gerard Greene 2-4 Peter Lines
80 - Alan McManus 3-4 Marcus Campbell
81 - Alan Taylor 2-4 Michael White
82 - Ian Gloer 1-4 Joe Jogia
83 - Justin Astley 4-3 Rod Lawler
84 - Graeme Dott 3-4 Jack Lisowski
85 - Jimmy White 2-4 Matthew Stevens

19,00
86 - Kyren Wilson 0-4 Barry Hawkins
87 - Liu Chuang 4-2 Joe Perry
88 - Stuart Bingham 4-1 Matt Selt
89 - Robert Milkins 0-4 Andrew Pagett
90 - Mark Joyce 1-4 Ben Woollaston
91 - Mike Dunn 3-4 Ryan Day

20,00 Plate
533 - Matt Yeadon 1-3 Jak Jones
534 - Jimmy Michie 0-3 Lasse Munstermann
535 - Alex O'Donoghue 3-1 Simon Ceo
536 - Chen Zhe x Jamie Jones w/o
537 - Jamie Burnett x Tomasz Skalski w/o
538 - Sanjin Kusan 0-3 Michael Heeger
539 - Stefan Schenk 0-3 Rune Kampe
540 - Thanawat Thirapongpa 3-0 Tomáš Kejla

21,00
100 - Rory McLeod 3-4 Issara Kachaiwong
101 - Peter Ebdon 4-0 Peter Lines
104 - Marcus Campbell 2-4 Michael White
105 - Joe Jogia 4-0 Justin Astley
106 - Jack Lisowski 3-4 Matthew Stevens
107 - Barry Hawkins 4-3 Liu Chuang
108 - Stuart Bingham 4-1 Andrew Pagett
109 - Ben Woollaston 2-4 Ryan Day

22,00 Plate
549 - Jak Jones 3-1 Lasse Munstermann
550 - Alex O'Donoghue 0-3 Jamie Jones
551 - Tomasz Skalski 2-3 Michael Heeger
552 - Rune Kampe 0-3 Thanawat Thirapongpa

Saturday, 20 November
10,00
1 - Bjorn Haneveer 4-0 Matt Yeadon
2 - Dominic Dale 4-1 Jak Jones
3 - Martin Gould w/o David Morris
4 - Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Jimmy Michie
5 - Neil Robertson 4-3 Reanne Evans
6 - Ricky Walden 4-0 Maurice Le Duc
7 - Dave Harold 4-2 Lasse Munstermann
8 - Liu Song w/o Danny Douane
9 - Jamie Cope 4-2 Alex O'Donoghue
10 - Igor Figueiredo 4-0 Simon Ceo

11,30
11 - Ian McCulloch x Zhang Anda w/o
12 - Stephen Maguire 4-1 Chen Zhe
13 - Tony Drago w/o Jamie O'Neil
14 - Jamie Jones 1-4 Joe Swail
15 - Liam Highfield 3-4 Michael Holt

12,00
24 - Ronnie O'Sullivan x Jakub Rendla w/o
25 - Anthony McGill 4-0 Stefan Schenk
26 - Shaun Murphy 4-1 Rune Kampe
27 - Alfie Burden 4-0 Jan Prihoda
28 - Ken Doherty 4-0 Robert Drahn

13,00
29 - Xiao Guodong 4-3 Thanawat Thirapongpa
30 - Stephen Lee 4-0 Tomáš Kejla
31 - Judd Trump 2-4 Adam Wicheard
56 - Michael Wasley 4-3 Hans Blanckaert
57 - Andy Hicks 4-0 Karel Petráček
58 - Steve Davis 4-0 Jakub Koniar

13,30
59 - Mark Allen 4-0 Serge Dupraz
60 - Mark Davis 4-2 Jamie Walker
61 - Adrian Gunnell 4-0 Thomas Cesal
62 - Tom Ford 1-4 John Higgins
63 - Barry Pinches 4-1 Martin O'Donnell

15,00 Plate
517 - Lukáš Křenek w/o
518 - Patrick Einsle w/o
519 - Paul Davison 2-3 Tony Knowles
520 - Daniel Wells x Rod Lawler w/o
521 - Kevin van Hoven 2-3 Sam Harvey
522 - Damian Wilks 3-0 Jindřich Prchal
523 - Jan Klečka x David Singh w/o
524 - Noppon Saengham w/o

16,00 Plate
525 - Jürgen Kesseler 0-3 Kurt Maflin
526 - Ronni Beniesch w/o
527 - Dieter Meier 0-3 Jan Vimr
528 - Marko Vukovic 0-3 Mark King
529 - Hans Blanckaert 3-2 Karel Petráček
530 - Jakub Koniar 3-1 Serge Dupraz
531 - Jamie Walker 3-1 Thomas Cesal
532 - Tom Ford x Martin O'Donnell

17,30
64 - Mark Selby 4-1 Bjorn Haneveer
65 - Dominic Dale 4-0 Martin Gould
66 - Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Neil Robertson
67 - Ricky Walden 4-2 Dave Harold
68 - Liu Song 3-4 Jamie Cope
69 - Igor Figueiredo 2-4 Zhang Anda
70 - Stephen Maguire 4-1 Tony Drago
71 - Joe Swail 2-4 Michael Holt
76 - Jakub Rendla 0-4 Anthony McGill
77 - Shaun Murphy 4-1 Alfie Burden

19,00
78 - Ken Doherty w/o Xiao Guodong
79 - Stephen Lee w/o Adam Wicheard
92 - Michael Wasley 2-4 Andy Hicks
93 - Steve Davis 3-4 Mark Allen
94 - Mark Davis 3-4 Adrian Gunnell
95 - John Higgins w/o Barry Pinches

20,00 Plate
541 - Lukáš Křenek 0-3 Patrick Einsle
542 - Tony Knowles w/o
543 - Sam Harvey 3-0 Damian Wilks
544 - David Singh w/o Noppon Saengham
545 - Kurt Maflin w/o Ronni Beniesch
546 - Jan Vimr 0-3 Mark King
547 - Hans Blanckaert 3-0 Jakub Koniar
548 - Jamie Walker 0-3 Tom Ford

21,00
96 - Mark Selby 4-2 Dominic Dale
97 - Jimmy Robertson 0-4 Ricky Walden
98 - Jamie Cope 4-1 Zhang Anda
99 - Stephen Maguire 2-4 Michael Holt
102 - Anthony McGill 1-4 Shaun Murphy
103 - Ken Doherty 4-0 Stephen Lee
110 - Andy Hicks 1-4 Mark Allen
111 - Adrian Gunnell 1-4 John Higgins

22,00 Plate
553 - Patrick Einsle 3-2 Tony Knowles
554 - Sam Harvey 3-2 David Singh
555 - Kurt Maflin 3-0 Mark King
556 - Hans Blanckaet 0-3 Tom Ford

Sunday, 21 November
10,00
112 - Mark Selby 4-3 Ricky Walden
113 - Jamie Cope 2-4 Michael Holt
114 - Issara Kachaiwong 3-4 Peter Ebdon
115 - Shaun Murphy 4-2 Ken Doherty
116 - Michael White 3-4 Joe Jogia
117 - Matthew Stevens 4-0 Barry Hawkins
118 - Stuart Bingham 4-1 Ryan Day
119 - Mark Allen 1-4 John Higgins

13,30
QF1 - Mark Selby 2-4 Michael Holt
QF2 - Peter Ebdon 2-4 Shaun Murphy
QF3 - Joe Jogia 4-2 Matthew Stevens
QF4 - Stuart Bingham 1-4 John Higgins

Plate
Jak Jones 1-3 Jamie Jones
Michael Heeger 1-3 Thanawat Thirapongpa
Patrick Einsle 3-0 Sam Harvey
Kurt Maflin 2-3 Tom Ford

16,00
SF1 - Michael Holt 4-3 Shaun Murphy
SF2 - Joe Jogia 2-4 John Higgins

Plate
Jamie Jones 3-1 Thanawat Thirapongpa
Patrick Einsle 0-3 Tom Ford

19,30
Final
Michael Holt 4-3 John Higgins

Plate Jamie Jones 3-0 Tom Ford

All matches are the best of 7 frames, 10 table multi session

Travel and Accommodation : Please refer your queries to the event promoter Dragonstars Event Management.

Rory Roars To 147

www.worldsnooker.com

Rory McLeod became the latest member of snooker's 147 club with a maximum break at EPTC6 in Prague on Friday.

World No 40 McLeod achieved the magic number during his match against Issara Kachaiwong - though he eventually lost 4-3.

The Wellingborough-born player's previous top break was 145.

His 147 is the 76th in snooker history and fifth in the PTC series following maximums from Kurt Maflin, Barry Hawkins, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon and Mark Williams.

Czech Mates

www.worldsnooker.com

Andrew Higginson is looking forward to the last Euro Players Tour Championship in Prague this weekend having enjoyed the camaraderie on snooker’s travelling circuit this season.

The Widnes potter has thrived in the new PTC series, reaching two semi-finals and currently standing 20th in the Order of Merit. With the top 24 to go through to the Grand Finals March, he looks set to qualify barring an unlikely series of results in the Czech capital.

Those players who have contested all of the PTC events, in locations including Sheffield , Gloucester, Bruges and Hamm, have spent plenty of time in each other’s pockets, but 32-year-old Higginson insists they have kept in good spirits.

“I had a lot of friends on the tour before, but there are so many more tournaments now and the players tend to travel together and stay at the same hotels so I have made new friendships this season and really enjoyed the PTC events. We’ve been to some nice cities, although you don’t get much of a chance to look around them. We tend to pass the time between matches either watching snooker or playing cards. Marcus Campbell does me every time – although never for more than £10!

“I do miss home a bit sometimes, especially my own bed and my own food. But at the end of the day playing in these events is what we have to do, so we might as well do it with a smile. Sometimes when you’ve lost and you’re back in your hotel room you feel you might crack up, but that doesn’t last long.”

The 2007 Welsh Open finalist has also enjoyed a steady climb up the ranking list and currently stands 26th in the world. “I’m not far away from the top 16 and if I keep winning matches it’s not impossible for me to get in there this season,” he added. “I try not to look at the ranking list but people keep telling me where I am and what I have to do!”

Date

18 - 21 November 2010

Venue

Arena Sparta
Podvinny mlyn
Prague 9

www.arena-sparta.cz

Accommodation

Hotel Esprit - players hotel (please let it for players only)
Lihovarska Str. 1094/10
Prague 9

reservation category "Prague Classic 2010"
for reservation please use e-maill address:
esprit@login.cz
put "Prague Classic 2010/your name" in the subject field
don't forget to include term of accommodation, number of people and type of room + names, birthdays and passports numbers.

http://www.hotel-esprit.cz/

Hotel Arlington
Kurta Konrada Str. 22
Prague 9