Baird’s Work Here Is Dunn
The amazing run of non-tour professional, Sam Baird at this year’s Betfred.com world championship came to a dramatic end as he was edged out by Mike Dunn by ten-frames-to-nine on the final black at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The 22-year-old had won four matches to reach this stage and displayed huge potential with heavy scoring and a tactical game belying his years.
Dunn, though is one of the steadiest players on Tour and is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance in his 20th year as a professional.
He is currently just inside the top 40 in the latest world rankings and after surviving Baird’s challenge, he keeps alive his chance of claiming a top-32 place.
It was the Devonian who made the brighter start by winning the first frame with a couple of 30=lous breaks but it was Dunn who despite not making a break over 30, took a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.
Baird responded well on their return with a break of 77 and although Dunn regained his two frame advantage with a highest break of 28, it was the youngster who finished strongly with an impressive string of breaks of 125, 57 and 74 to lead at the midway stage.
The seasoned campaigner, who knocked John Higgins out of the Shoot-Out, found his scoring shoes in the evening making a break of 88 in the tenth and 101 in the twelfth and added a scrappy eleventh in between to turn a single frame deficit into a one frame advantage.
Baird battled hard in the next to keep him in touch and with the help of a 41 break took the last before the interval to trail by just one.
Dunn looked like going further ahead in frame 14 but broke down on 53, allowing his opponent to steal in with a 33 clearance to bring the scores level once again.
Dunn took frame 15 in comfort but when the former England International took the next two with breaks of 62 and 60, it looked like the incredible run might continue.
Needing just a single frame to leave himself just one victory from a date at the Crucible, Baird looked cool on his way to a break of 40 early in the next. However, when the break ended, Dunn made his experience count with a frame clinching break of 87 to force the decider.
It was Baird who got in first, this time making 32 before handing the initiative back to Dunn.
Breaks of 27 and 36 appeared to take the Middlesbrough-man over the line with Baird needing three snookers on the brown.
Baird potted the brown, laid a snooker on each of the blue and pink, both of which Dunn failed to escape from putting a Baird victory back on the cards.
He potted the pink but failed to knock in the black, which Dunn eventually sank to claim a hard-fought win in eight minutes shy of seven hours.
He now faces Andrew Higginson for a place at the Crucible.
