Alex Higgins International Trophy
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Alex Higgins International Trophy 2011 Players Tour Championship 2011/12 - Event 8 
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| Tournament type: | Minor ranking tournament |
| Attendees: | 180 |
| Venue: | Killarney Convention Center, Killarney , Ireland |
| Opening: | October 21, 2011 |
| Endgame: | October 23, 2011
|
| Winner: |
 Neil Robertson
|
| Finalist: |
 Judd Trump
|
| Highest Break: | 142 ( Ryan Day )
 |
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← Event 7
Event 9 →
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The Alex Higgins International Trophy 2011 was the eighth event of the Players Tour Championship 2011/12 . The snooker tournament was held from October 20-23, 2011 at the Killarney Convention Center in Killarney , Ireland . The tournament was in memory of the Northern Irish double world champion Alex Higgins , who had died the year before.
Although geographically located in the British Isles , the tournament was one of PTC's six “European” events. On the one hand, this was important because you had to take part in three UK and three European events to get a place in the overall ranking. On the other hand, only the Eurosport E-PTC tournaments are broadcast on television. 205 players had registered for the tournament, 51 of them from Ireland and another 16 from Northern Ireland. In addition to Ken Doherty and Fergal O'Brien , David Morris and David Hogan were also among the four Irish in the top 96 of the tournament, the Northern Irish top players were Mark Allen , Joe Swail , Gerard Greene and Joe Meara . All games were played in best-of-7 mode.
Preliminary round
109 players applied for the 32 free places in the main tournament. In two rounds that took place on October 20, 2011, the main round participants were determined.
19 players were already seeded for round 2, the remaining 90 players determined the 45 other participants in the second round. Altogether there were 64 candidates, who then played the 32 main round participants.
What was disappointing at the preliminary round was that a new high was reached with 19 rejections. So with the two Englishmen Mike Hallett and Mitchell Mann two players got through both preliminary rounds into the main tournament without having been at the snooker table. The biggest surprise was the defeat of former Main Tour player Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon against Northern Irishman Julian Logue, who then made it into the main tournament.
Round 1
The respective winners are marked in bold, small. means that the player has moved on to the next round without a fight (by not playing the opponent).
| game | Result | game | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ashley Wright
|
4 : 0 |
 Alan Cleary
|
24 |
 Jordan Brown
|
4 : 3 |
 Chen Zhe
|
|
| 2 |
Alastair Wilson
|
4 : 2 |
Daniel O'Regan
|
25th |
Mike Hallett
|
kl. |
 Najmur Khan
|
|
| 3 |
John Torpey
|
4 : 1 |
Ricky Norris
|
26th |
Paul Ennis
|
kl. |
Paul Currie
|
|
| 4th |
Tom O'Driscoll
|
kl. |
Patrick O'Rourke
|
27 |
Kieran McMahon
|
4 : 0 |
Robbie Walker
|
|
| 5 |
David Foran
|
0: 4 |
Ray Power
|
28 |
Nick Jennings
|
kl. |
Frank Sarsfield
|
|
| 6th |
Philip Browne
|
4 : 3 |
Paddy Murphy
|
29 |
Robert Murphy
|
kl. |
Tony Knowles
|
|
| 7th |
Gerard McAuley
|
4 : 2 |
Gary Crawford
|
30th |
Martin Ball
|
1: 4 |
Zhang Anda
|
|
| 8th |
Daniel Kirby
|
0: 4 |
Keith Sheldrick
|
31 |
Mickey Ryan
|
4 : 2 |
Sean McMonagle
|
|
| 9 |
Colm Gilcreest
|
4 : 1 |
David Cassidy
|
32 |
JP Kelly
|
4 : 2 |
Aiden O'Sullivan
|
|
| 10 |
Derek O'Neill
|
kl. |
Jonathan Nelson
|
33 |
 David Singh
|
4 : 1 |
Derry O'Sullivan
|
|
| 11 |
John Sutton
|
4 : 0 |
Phil O'Kane
|
34 |
Ryan Causton
|
4 : 1 |
Karl Busteed
|
|
| 12 |
Daniel Dempsey
|
kl. |
David Gray
|
35 |
Alex Davies
|
4 : 2 |
Matthew Day
|
|
| 13 |
Jamie Walker
|
4 : 2 |
Mark Tuite
|
36 |
Liam Monk
|
kl. |
Joe Delaney
|
|
| 14th |
Josh Boileau
|
4 : 3 |
Patrick Wallace
|
37 |
Greg Casey
|
2: 4 |
Jamie O'Neill
|
|
| 15th |
Jonathan Birch
|
2: 4 |
Robert Redmond
|
38 |
 Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
|
3: 4 |
Julian Logue
|
|
| 16 |
Clinton Franey
|
4 : 2 |
Martin O'Donnell
|
39 |
Philip Arnold
|
4 : 1 |
Benny O'Brien
|
|
| 17th |
Thomas Dowling
|
kl. |
Michael Mullen
|
40 |
Jonathan Williams
|
4 : 3 |
Mitchell Travis
|
|
| 18th |
Karl Fitzpatrick
|
kl. |
 Jonathan Fulcher
|
41 |
Stephen Byrne
|
2: 4 |
Alex Taubman
|
|
| 19th |
Anthony Cronin
|
kl. |
 Hans Blanckaert
|
42 |
Chris Hannigan
|
2: 4 |
Brian Milne
|
|
| 20th |
Declan Brennan
|
2: 4 |
Jonathan Friel
|
43 |
Ben Harrison
|
4 : 0 |
Kevin O'Leary
|
|
| 21st |
John Friel
|
2: 4 |
Ryan Cronin
|
44 |
Connell Doherty
|
kl. |
Stephen Craigie
|
|
| 22nd |
Anthony O'Connor
|
0: 4 |
Allan Taylor
|
45 |
James Welsh
|
kl. |
Mitchell Mann
|
|
| 23 |
Sydney Wilson
|
kl. |
Douglas Hogan
|
round 2
| game | Result | game | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 |
Reanne Evans
|
3: 4 |
Ashley Wright
|
62 |
Les Dodd
|
kl. |
Mike Hallett
|
|
| 47 |
Ian Burns
|
4 : 1 |
Alastair Wilson
|
63 |
Oliver Brown
|
4 : 1 |
Paul Ennis
|
|
| 48 |
John Torpey
|
4 : 2 |
Tom O'Driscoll
|
64 |
Kieran McMahon
|
2: 4 |
Nick Jennings
|
|
| 49 |
Michael Wasley
|
4 : 0 |
Ray Power
|
65 |
Sean O'Sullivan
|
kl. |
Robert Murphy
|
|
| 50 |
Philip Browne
|
4 : 3 |
Gerard McAuley
|
66 |
Jak Jones
|
kl. |
Zhang Anda
|
|
| 51 |
Keith Sheldrick
|
4 : 2 |
Colm Gilcreest
|
67 |
Mickey Ryan
|
1: 4 |
JP Kelly
|
|
| 52 |
Derek O'Neill
|
0: 4 |
John Sutton
|
68 |
Sam Harvey
|
4 : 2 |
David Singh
|
|
| 53 |
Gareth Allen
|
4 : 1 |
Daniel Dempsey
|
69 |
Ryan Causton
|
2: 4 |
Alex Davies
|
|
| 54 |
Jamie Walker
|
4 : 2 |
Josh Boileau
|
70 |
Kyren Wilson
|
4 : 2 |
Joe Delaney
|
|
| 55 |
Eden Sharav
|
kl. |
Robert Redmond
|
71 |
Chris Norbury
|
0: 4 |
Jamie O'Neill
|
|
| 56 |
Clinton Franey
|
4 : 0 |
Michael Mullen
|
72 |
Julian Logue
|
4 : 3 |
Philip Arnold
|
|
| 57 |
Gary Wilson
|
4 : 1 |
Karl Fitzpatrick
|
73 |
Ray Whelan
|
0: 4 |
Jonathan Williams
|
|
| 58 |
Dessie Sheehan
|
3: 4 |
Anthony Cronin
|
74 |
Alex Taubman
|
4 : 0 |
Brian Milne
|
|
| 59 |
Jonathan Friel
|
0: 4 |
Ryan Cronin
|
75 |
Craig Steadman
|
4 : 3 |
Ben Harrison
|
|
| 60 |
Robbie Williams
|
4 : 1 |
Allan Taylor
|
76 |
Bash Maqsood
|
0: 4 |
Stephen Craigie
|
|
| 61 |
Douglas Hogan
|
3: 4 |
Jordan Brown
|
77 |
Shane Castle
|
kl. |
Mitchell Mann
|
Finals
With the third round of the tournament, the main tournament began with 128 participants. The top half (Groups 1-4) of the seeding list played rounds 3 to 5 on Friday, October 21, the bottom half (Groups 5-8) were at the tables on Saturday. The last four rounds from the round of 16 to the final were carried out on the final Sunday.
Almost the entire world elite came to the main tournament. Ding Junhui was the only top 16 player who did not report, the top-ranked failure was Anthony Hamilton .
Mark Williams got another false start . The world number two, who had been sixth in the PTC rating last year, lost for the fifth time in the first main round and never got beyond the round of 64 in this PTC series. Even Ali Carter had this season is not the best of luck with the tour and failed after the cancellation of his opening opponent in round 2 of Ken Doherty . He was the only Irishman to be among the last 16 at the home event. Ronnie O'Sullivan continued his unsteady performances this season. He had won a touring event twice and came to Killarney as the leader of the tour championship. This time the second main round was over: for the third time in the season. For Shaun Murphy , who last played in the quarterfinals twice, this time the tournament was over again in round 3. His Scottish opponent Alan McManus finished in the last eight, his best PTC result to date.
Round 3 to the round of 16
The respective winners are marked in bold, small. means that the player has moved on to the next round without a fight (by not playing the opponent).
Group 1
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Ronnie O'Sullivan
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4th | |||||||||||||||||
| Aditya Mehta
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0 | Ronnie O'Sullivan
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1 | |||||||||||||||
| Xiao Guodong
|
4th | Xiao Guodong
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Peter Ebdon
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3 | Xiao Guodong
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2 | |||||||||||||||
| Sam Craigie
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3 | Gerard Greene
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Gerard Greene
|
4th | Gerard Greene
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Fergal O'Brien
|
4th | Fergal O'Brien
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3 | |||||||||||||||
| Daniel Wells
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3 | Gerard Greene
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2 | |||||||||||||||
| Marcus Campbell
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0 | John Higgins
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4th | |||||||||||||||
| Ashley Wright
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4th | Ashley Wright
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4th | |||||||||||||||
| Passakorn Suwannawat
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4th | Passakorn Suwannawat
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1 | |||||||||||||||
| Barry Pinches
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3 | Ashley Wright |
2 | |||||||||||||||
| John Higgins
|
4th | John Higgins
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4th | |||||||||||||||
| Ian Burns
|
1 | John Higgins
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4th | |||||||||||||||
| Nigel Bond
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kl. | Nigel Bond
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2 | |||||||||||||||
| Ian McCulloch
|
- | |||||||||||||||||
Group 2
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Ryan Day
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| John Torpey |
2 | Ryan Day
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Simon Bedford
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3 | Liu Song
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Liu Song
|
4th | Ryan Day
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| James Wattana
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4th | Mark Joyce
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Mark Williams
|
2 | James Wattana
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2 | |||||||||||||||
| Mark Joyce
|
4th | Mark Joyce
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Michael Wasley
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0 | Ryan Day
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Mark Allen
|
4th | Mark Allen
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Paul Davison
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0 | Mark Allen
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Mike Dunn
|
kl. | Mike Dunn
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Anthony Hamilton
|
- | Mark Allen
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Peter Lines
|
3 | David Gilbert
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Philip Browne
|
4th | Philip Browne |
0 | |||||||||||||||
| David Gilbert
|
4th | David Gilbert
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Keith Sheldrick |
2 | |||||||||||||||||
Group 3
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Jamie Burnett
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| John Sutton |
1 | Jamie Burnett
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Martin Gould
|
4th | Martin Gould
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Gareth Allen
|
1 | Martin Gould
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Matthew Stevens
|
4th | Jamie Jones
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Jamie Walker |
0 | Matthew Stevens
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Jamie Jones
|
4th | Jamie Jones
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Robert Redmond |
0 | Martin Gould
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
 Tony Drago
|
4th | Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Clinton Franey |
1 | Tony Drago
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Neil Robertson
|
4th | Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Gary Wilson
|
1 | Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Joe Perry
|
4th | Joe Jogia
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Anthony Cronin |
0 | Joe Perry
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Joe Jogia
|
4th | Joe Jogia
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Joe Swail
|
1 | |||||||||||||||||
Group 4
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Dominic Dale
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| Cao Yupeng
|
3 | Dominic Dale
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Stephen Maguire
|
4th | Stephen Maguire
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Ryan Cronin |
2 | Stephen Maguire
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Stephen Hendry
|
4th | Dechawat Poomjaeng
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Robbie Williams
|
2 | Stephen Hendry
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Dechawat Poomjaeng
|
4th | Dechawat Poomjaeng
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Jordan Brown
|
3 | Dechawat Poomjaeng
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Tom Ford
|
4th | Ben Woollaston
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Liu Chuang
|
3 | Tom Ford
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Jamie Cope
|
4th | Jamie Cope
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Mike Hallett
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3 | Tom Ford
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Ben Woollaston
|
4th | Ben Woollaston
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Liang Wenbo
|
2 | Ben Woollaston
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Liam Highfield
|
4th | Liam Highfield
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Rod Lawler
|
1 | |||||||||||||||||
Group 5
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| Adam Wicheard
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3 | Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Andrew Pagett
|
3 | Andrew Norman
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Andrew Norman
|
4th | Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
 Marco Fu
|
4th | Marco Fu
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Oliver Brown |
0 | Marco Fu
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Michael White
|
4th | Michael White
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Matthew Couch
|
1 | Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Luca Brecel
|
4th | Stephen Lee
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Nick Jennings |
1 | Luca Brecel
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Anthony McGill
|
4th | Anthony McGill
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Sean O'Sullivan
|
1 | Luca Brecel
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Stephen Lee
|
4th | Stephen Lee
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Zhang Anda
|
0 | Stephen Lee
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Sam Baird
|
4th | Sam Baird
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| JP Kelly |
0 | |||||||||||||||||
Group 6
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| David Morris
|
1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sam Harvey
|
4th | Sam Harvey |
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Steve Davis
|
2 | Shaun Murphy
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Shaun Murphy
|
4th | Shaun Murphy
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Alan McManus
|
kl. | Alan McManus
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
 Robin Hull
|
- | Alan McManus
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Dave Harold
|
4th | Dave Harold
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Alex Davies
|
0 | Alan McManus
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Rory McLeod
|
4th | Ken Doherty
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson
|
2 | Rory McLeod
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Mark King
|
4th | Mark King
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Scott MacKenzie
|
3 | Rory McLeod
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Ken Doherty
|
4th | Ken Doherty
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Joe Meara
|
3 | Ken Doherty
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Ali Carter
|
kl. | Ali Carter
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Adrian Gunnell
|
- | |||||||||||||||||
Group 7
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Yu Delu
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| Jack Lisowski
|
0 | Yu Delu
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Andy Hicks
|
4th | Andy Hicks
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| David Grace
|
2 | Yu Delu
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Adam Duffy
|
4th | Adam Duffy
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Robert Milkins
|
1 | Adam Duffy
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Li Yan
|
4th | Li Yan
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Jamie O'Neill
|
1 | Yu Delu
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Ricky Walden
|
4th | Stuart Bingham
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Julian Logue |
1 | Ricky Walden
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Matthew Selt
|
4th | Matthew Selt
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Williams |
3 | Ricky Walden
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Jimmy White
|
4th | Stuart Bingham
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| David Hogan
|
2 | Jimmy White
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Stuart Bingham
|
4th | Stuart Bingham
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Alex Taubman |
0 | |||||||||||||||||
Group 8
| Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round of 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Barry Hawkins
|
4th | |||||||||||||||||
| Craig Steadman
|
1 | Barry Hawkins
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
 Kurt Maflin
|
4th | Kurt Maflin
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Stuart Carrington
|
2 | Barry Hawkins
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Michael Holt
|
1 | Andrew Higginson
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Stephen Craigie
|
4th | Stephen Craigie
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Andrew Higginson
|
kl. | Andrew Higginson
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Lucky Vatnani
|
- | Barry Hawkins
|
1 | |||||||||||||||
| Mark Davis
|
4th | Mark Selby
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Mitchell Mann
|
1 | Mark Davis
|
2 | |||||||||||||||
| Jimmy Robertson
|
4th | Jimmy Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Tian Pengfei
|
0 | Jimmy Robertson
|
3 | |||||||||||||||
| Graeme Dott
|
4th | Mark Selby
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
 Kacper Filipiak
|
0 | Graeme Dott
|
0 | |||||||||||||||
| Mark Selby
|
4th | Mark Selby
|
4th | |||||||||||||||
| Alfred Burden
|
1 | |||||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals to finals
Judd Trump , who came into the final day very confidently after a difficult start, ended Alan McManus' triumphant advance in his first Sunday game. Neil Robertson made it to the quarterfinals even more convincingly , he had only given two frames by then and Ben Woollaston also lost 4-0. There was a competitive quarter-final match between the world number three John Higgins and the last remaining participant from the Irish island of Mark Allen . The Northern Irish prevailed 4: 3 and then gave Robertson a tough fight, but lost the semifinals 3: 4 despite leading in the seventh frame. Stuart Bingham, who was particularly strong this season , was in the last eight with only three frame losses and also went the full distance against world number one Mark Selby . Ultimately, Selby won. In the semifinals against Judd Trump he was quickly 2-0 behind and could only win one frame before the young star, who got better and better after a mixed start to the season, won 4-1.
In the final there were two players who had already won a PTC event this season and it was already clear that there would be a second double winner on the tour after Ronnie O'Sullivan. The result was a hard-fought, high-class match in which both players were looking for quick beginners, but in part because of the many unclean ball contacts, there were hardly any high breaks. After a tight first frame that went to Neil Robertson, the two players shared the next two frames with clearer results. The fourth frame was again very close and was decided with the pink ball. Again the Australian had the better end for himself and Judd Trump was 1: 3 behind. In the fifth frame, a break of 65 points was enough for Robertson to complete the win and take the lead in the tour standings. It was his eighth victory in his eighth finals in a ranking tournament.
| Quarter finals | Semifinals | final | ||||||||
| Winner group 1/2 | ||||||||||
| John Higgins
|
3 | |||||||||
| Mark Allen
|
4th | |||||||||
| Mark Allen
|
3 | |||||||||
| Winner group 3/4 | ||||||||||
| Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||
| Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||
| Ben Woollaston
|
0 | |||||||||
| Neil Robertson
|
4th | |||||||||
| Winner group 5/6 | ||||||||||
| Judd Trump
|
1 | |||||||||
| Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||
| Alan McManus
|
2 | |||||||||
| Judd Trump
|
4th | |||||||||
| Winner group 7/8 | ||||||||||
| Mark Selby
|
1 | |||||||||
| Stuart Bingham
|
3 | |||||||||
| Mark Selby
|
4th | |||||||||
|
Final: October 23, 2011 Best of 7 frames |
||
|
Neil Robertson
|
4 : 1 |
Judd Trump
|
| Frame single results: 56 : 44, 9: 77 , 79 : 24 (76), 54 : 46, 66 : 1 (65) | ||
| - | Century Breaks | - |
| 2 | 50+ breaks | 0 |
Century breaks
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Web links
- official homepage
- Qualification schedule ( Memento from August 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 130 kB) / Main tournament ( Memento from August 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (worldsnooker.com; PDF; 220 kB)
- Results (at snooker.org)
