Ford Takes PTC11 Title

Tom Ford believes he has the confidence to beat snooker’s top players after edging out Martin Gould 4-3 in the final of PTC11 in Sheffield.

Leicester’s 28-year-old Ford won PTC3 last year and captured the second professional title of his career tonight with victory in this season’s penultimate short PTC event.

Gould won the first frame on the black before World No 31 Ford took the next two with breaks of 66 and 60. Back came Gould to 2-2 then he knocked in a 127 to take the lead. But Ford dominated the sixth frame for 3-3, then came from 41-8 down to win the decider with a calm 66 clearance.

“We were both shaky at first, but when we settled down we were winning frames in one visit,” said Ford after picking up the 10,000 Euro top prize. “I made a good break in the last frame, particularly the last red along the top cushion because I knew if I missed it I’d lose. I came here expecting nothing, but after winning my first match I got stronger.”

Ford stunned snooker’s man of the moment, Judd Trump, 4-1 in the quarter-finals, and also beat former World Champion Graeme Dott 4-0 in the semis.

“No disrespect to the players I beat to win a PTC event last year, but I count this one as a much better victory because of the players I’ve beaten,” added Ford. “To beat the likes of Trump and Dott gives me a lot of confidence to go on and do well in the big tournaments.

“Maybe last year I relaxed too much after winning the PTC, so this time I want to get my head down and keep going. I’m too far away from the top 16 to get in there this season, but I can get into the low 20s.”

The PTC is a series of 12 short events, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit going through to the Grand Final in March, providing they have played in at least three domestic events and three overseas. The 12th and last short event is in Munich, Germany, from January 6-8.

Results (last 16 onwards)

Last 16
Stephen Maguire 0-4 Mark Davis
Ding Junhui 3-4 Anthony Hamilton
Martin Gould 4-0 Simon Bedford
Michael Holt 4-1 Matthew Stevens
Mark Selby 0-4 Graeme Dott
Ricky Walden 4-2 Sam Craigie
Tom Ford 4-0 Yu Delu
Jamie Cope 0-4 Judd Trump

Quarter-finals
Mark Davis 3-4 Anthony Hamilton
Martin Gould 4-2 Michael Holt
Graeme Dott 4-1 Ricky Walden
Tom Ford 4-1 Judd Trump

Semi-finals
Anthony Hamilton 3-4 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 0-4 Tom Ford

Final
Martin Gould 3-4 Tom Ford