Lisowski Downs 2015 Champion Bingham
Jack Lisowski put on a stunning display to defeat 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham 10-7 at the Betfred World Championship.
Lisowski, age 26, hadn’t appeared at the Crucible since his debut in 2013. On that occasion he succumbed to a 10-3 defeat against Barry Hawkins. However, Lisowski arrived at the World Championship this year off the back of a season where he has finally started reaching the levels of consistency which match his considerable talent.
He reached the semi-final stage of a ranking event for the first time at the Shanghai Masters, as well as making a further two quarter-finals and appearing in the last 16 five times. Jackpot has achieved this without abandoning his fast-paced aggressive brand of snooker. He’s the third fastest player on tour, averaging just 17.94 seconds per shot this season.
Bingham is the fifth seed to be knocked out at in this year’s tournament, adding credence to the argument that the qualification process adds match sharpness for those who come through it to reach the final stages.
Lisowski led 5-4 after a first session packed with big breaks, top scoring with a sublime 128. However, Bingham did claim the final two frames of the morning to set up a dramatic finale.
World number 30 Lisowski settled straight away this evening. He compiled a break of 60 to take the initiative in the opening frame and move 6-4 in front. The pair then traded frames before Bingham claimed a dramatic 13th. He made 56 after fluking a blue early on in the break. The 41-year-old then clinched the frame with a tremendous cut on the final black to make it 7-6.
That had no bearing on Lisowski’s approach. He hit immediately back with a break of 98 to move two from the win at 8-6. Again they traded frames as Lisowski went 9-7 up. He trailed 62-0 in frame 17 but clawed his way back and eventually cleared the colours to cross the winning line.
Lisowski said: “I had a century in the first frame and the noise was crazy, it’s nice to get a clap. Stuart and I are similar players who play fast and attacking snooker, none of the frames were scrappy or took too long. We both scored quite heavily, it’s our style to make breaks. I think we suit each other’s games, and the match didn’t get bogged down. It was good fun – a good game played in good spirits.
“It was a great win for me. Stuart’s won this tournament before and is one of the best players in the world, so to come here and win after five years ago being so disappointing, it shows that my game has improved. I felt I didn’t compete against Barry Hawkins in 2013. Today I was just looking to get comfortable in the game. It’s such a tough set-up to play in if you’re not used to it, but five years have passed and I was able to cope with it a lot better this time.”
Bingham remarked: “He’s riding a wave. He’s either got Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or John Higgins next. If John gets through, he won’t give him as many chances as I did today. If he goes for his shots and they all go in he’s going to be hard to stop, but I don’t think he can keep potting them. Obviously he did today.
“It was an entertaining game. The first session had three tons and a 50 in the first four frames. I had a half-chance for a maximum, every year I try and get one here but it wasn’t meant to be. It was a free-flowing game, but I’ve come out second best.”
Another seed is in danger of an early exit as Neil Robertson fell 6-3 behind against Robert Milkins. It’s a repeat of their first round clash in 2013 which Milkins won 10-8, arguably the best result of his career.
Breaks of 54 and 72 helped world number 37 Milkins go 2-0 up, then the next two were shared. Tenth seed Robertson won frame five and he led 52-0 in the sixth, only for his opponent to steal it with a 73 clearance to go 4-2 ahead.
Gloucester’s Milkins made a 91 in frame seven and took the next as well to lead 6-2. Australia’s Robertson, the 2010 Crucible king, won the last of the session by clearing the colours, but he still needs seven of the last ten frames when they return on Wednesday afternoon.