Casino Royale Performance from Bond…Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond emerged as the surprise winner of the first Caesarscasino.com Snooker Shoot-Out by beating Robert Milkins in the final by one-frame-to-nil.
Bond, who is one of the oldest players still competing on the professional circuit won his first title since 1997 winning by 58-points-to-24 at the Circus Arena in Blackpool .
"It's amazing to be a champion again after all these years," said the player who lost to Stephen Hendry in the 1995 World Championship final and beat John Higgins to win the British Open the following year. "This event is not for the feint-hearted, but I proved I can still pot the balls under pressure when it matters.
"With the shot clock you've got no time to think, you just go for the first ball you see and knock it in the hole. It stops you thinking about what can go wrong. It's been a fantastic event, a great atmosphere with full crowds every day."
The Shoot-Out held over three days saw 63 one-frame matches played featuring the top 64 ranked players in the world. A ten-minute limit was imposed per frame with players restricted to twenty second s per shot in the first half, reducing to just15 seconds for the remaining five minutes.
Despite some early scepticism from many of the sport’s leading names, the radical format seemed to receive a general thumbs up after some nail-biting finishes in which players literally had to run around the table to outscore their opponent in the allotted time.
World champion Neil Robertson trailed Alan McManus by 30 points with just 46 seconds on the clock but managed to pot the last four balls in just 14 seconds and snatch victory despite the black going into the pocket after the time had run-out.
The rules were clear even if all the layers were not familiar with them and as Robertson had struck the cue-ball within the time his one point victory stood, much to the annoyance of McManus supporters.
Elsewhere, Rory McLeod fluked the final black against Tony Drago after a last second “hit’n’hope”. In the last 16 McLeod should have ended Bond’s title hopes after stealing a lead with less than a minute remaing. A hurried safety shot proved his down fall as he allowed the eventual winner a chance at a long red which he took and moved into the quarter finals.
As many pundits would predict, the star of the show was Ronnie O’Sullivan. The former world number one renowned for his natural fast scoring style of play would be ideally suited to this event. In the first round he made a century break against Hong Kong’s Marco Fu and followed with a 129 break against Mark Selby and 90 against Mike Dunn before eventually falling to Milkins in the semi-finals.
Other players to shine included Alfie Burden with a century in his opening match and a 50-plus break in round two. Romford’s Mark King continued his recent run of good forma making the event’s only other century break, a superb 112.
Dunn made a name for himself after tight finishes against Matthew Stevens and Burden en route to the last eight.
Few would have predicted the winner at the start of the tournament, with many of Sky Sports pundits confused over whether a “quick-player” or “quick-thinker” might do well. There is also the possibility that they were unsure of the difference between the two.
There were a few phrases repeated during players interviews across the three days; “I’m really enjoying it”, “It’s a bit of fun”, and “Anyone can win it”.
Jimmy White tried to get this point across by stating that he “wouldn’t fancy a bet”. However, sponsors Caesarcasino.com would probably have preferred the Whirlwind to word it slightly differently.
