stuartbingham.com

Coventry clashes were good preparation for Llandudno

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date March 1, 2017

STUART BINGHAM says his solid showing in the Championship League over the past week was the ideal preparation heading into this month’s Players Championship in Llandudno (March 6-12).

Ballrun progressed from Group 6 with three wins from six in Coventry and then won six out of six in Group 7 to move into a semi-final with Mark Selby.

And although he missed out on a final with John Higgins and the chance to secure a place in the Winners’ Group after a 3-2 defeat to the world No 1, Bingham was happy to get some solid match practice.

He said: “I’ve gone through the group stage yesterday with six out of six and played some good stuff and against Selby it just came down to one error in the decider and he cleared up.

Tags Players Championship

News & Events

Welsh win felt almost as good as the worlds

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date February 20, 2017

STUART BINGHAM said his Welsh Open win felt almost as sweet as becoming world champion after taking his first title for two years with a nail-biting victory over Judd Trump in the final in Cardiff.

Ballrun was 4-0 up but trailed 8-7 heading into an epic finale before steeling himself to level with a brilliant clearance which concluded with a gutsy double on the pink and a celebratory fist-pump (pictured below).

The Basildon star, 40, then kept his nerve with a match-winning clearance in the decider to add the coveted Home Nations title to his 2011 Australian Goldfields Open crown, the 2014 Shanghai Masters title and, of course, his fairytale 2015 World Championship triumph at the Crucible.

It was a sweet moment for Bingham, whose wife Michelle had surprised him by traveling up to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff with their new baby girl Marnie to see him win the £70,000 prize.

Tags Welsh Open

News & Events

Hamilton success is richly deserved

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date February 6, 2017

STUART BINGHAM was thrilled to see Anthony Hamilton win his maiden ranking title – despite a grueling semi-final defeat to his friend at the German Masters.

Ballrun was out of sorts in the 6-4 loss in Berlin and the Sherriff of Pottingham, 45, went on to claim a memorable comeback win over Ali Carter in the following day’s final.

World No 2 Bingham was not at his best but put in a solid week with wins over Alfie Burden (5-2), Yu Delu (5-3), Zhang Yong (5-3), David Gilbert (5-4) and the highly-rated Yan Bingtao (5-2) to reach the last four.

But after fighting back to 5-4 from 5-1 down against Hamilton, a mistake in his break-off in the tenth frame – when Bingham hit the blue – gave Hamilton a chance to close the match out.

Bingham said: “Beforehand I was in the toilets with Anthony as we were putting on our bow ties and I said, ‘I hope you are as nervous as me?’. He said, ‘Yeah, I’m twitching big time at the moment!’.

“Obviously playing in front of 2,500 people, and waiting around all day to play, made it hard to enjoy when it finally started.

“I was gutted with my own performance and put on Twitter that I was very disappointed. But I texted Anthony late last night to say I was well chuffed for him.

Tags German Masters

News & Events

Bingham hopes to take charge in Wattana clash

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date January 24, 2017

STUART BINGHAM says he will be looking to take charge of his match with veteran James Wattana this week at the China Open Qualifiers.

Ballrun’s clash with one-time world No 3 Wattana, 46, is scheduled to get underway at 2.30pm on Thursday (January 26) at the Guild Hall.

The China Open will be in Beijing between March 27 and April 2 and is the last counting tournament before seeding for the World Championship is determined.

Thailand’s Wattana, a three-time ranking title winner and a pioneer for Asians in the elite snooker game, now gets wildcard places at events on the World Snooker Tour.

Bingham said: “I’m not sure how active he is now on the Tour but I’ve seen he has picked up a few results in recent years so I’ll give him every respect.

Tags China Open

News & Events

Baby Marnie’s arrival means I’m ready for the Masters, Bingham

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date January 15, 2017

STUART BINGHAM says the birth of his daughter this weekend has given him a great boost and refreshing perspective heading into his Masters opener against Joe Perry on Monday evening.

Snooker’s world No 2 and wife Michelle welcomed 8lb 2oz Marnie Rose Bingham into the world at Basildon Hospital at 5.26pm on Saturday. Mum and baby are doing well and due to be back home in Basildon early on Sunday evening.

Ballrun said: “I’ve been waiting for the baby to arrive since the Scottish Open last month really, so things have been a bit up in the air.

“So it has been really handy having the snooker room at my home because it has meant I can look after Michelle and then pop out for some practice when I can.

“And although the baby was late, there were no complications and it was a very emotional and special day for me and our family.

Tags Masters

News & Events

Bingham all ready for a night at the darts

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date December 28, 2016

STUART BINGHAM is looking forward to one of his guilty pleasures today as he makes what has become an annual trip to the World Darts Championship.

Snooker’s world No 2, who has been a big fan of the arras for over a decade, will take a seat in the VIP section at Alley Pally to watch some of the game’s greats battle it out from the oche.

Ballrun, who started going to the event when it was staged at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet in 2004, said: “I was actually going to give it a miss this year and just watch it on the telly because my wife Michelle is heavily pregnant.

“But my manager Gary asked if I was going to contact them so I sent them an email and they were kind enough to offer me a ticket.

Tags General

News & Events

Bingham ready for tough Joyce test in Glasgow

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date December 11, 2016

STUART BINGHAM says he will not be underestimating Mark Joyce ahead of their opening match at the Coral Scottish Open tomorrow (December 12).

World No 2 Bingham is ranked 43 places above Joyce (pictured) but feels the Walsall-based potter, 33, will provide a tough start at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Bingham said: “Mark is a good guy and he has come and stayed and practised with me before, so I know he is well capable.

“He is one of those players just outside the top 32 who is perhaps a bit underrated so I won’t be underestimating him, as he is another dangerous player on the Tour.

Tags Scottish Open

News & Events

Bingham still ‘baffled’ by defeat to Yu

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date November 28, 2016

STUART BINGHAM admits he is still “baffled” as to why he suffered a shock 6-4 defeat to Yu Delu at the Betway UK Championship in York on Saturday.

World No 2 Bingham started with an opening round 6-0 win over Adam Stefanow and led world No 62 Yu 4-3 before the Chinese star (pictured) took the final three frames, closing with breaks of 66 and 70, for a place in the last 32.

Ballrun said: “I’m still a bit baffled by it really. I don’t know. I’ve been playing so well for six weeks or so, so maybe I was a due a bad game. You can’t keep riding the wave.

“The hardest thing is if I had lost 6-1 – then fine. But he played just as badly as me so that’s why it is even harder to take.

Tags UK Championship

News & Events

Bingham: Missing Belfast was tough – but I needed a break

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date November 15, 2016

STUART BINGHAM says it was a wrench to miss only his third tournament in five years this week – but admitted it was time to finally take a breather after a grueling couple of months on Tour.

Ballrun beat Neil Robertson (4-2) but lost his second match to Ding Junhui (6-4) at the Champion of Champions last week after driving to Coventry just 24 hours after arriving home from China.

And the world No 2, who had just lost to John Higgins in the China Championship final, admits the rigours of the Tour finally caught up with him against Ding and that is why he pulled out of this week’s Coral Northern Ireland Open.

He said: “The last event I missed was the China Open when my father-in-law passed away in 2014 and the one before that was the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany five years ago when my son was born. I really don’t miss many.

“But I realised at the Champion of Champions that I was just running on empty and needed to take a break so I took a week off completely and only started practicing again yesterday.

Tags Northern Ireland Open

News & Events

Jet-setting Bingham ready for Coventry

Post author By James Colasanti
Post date November 7, 2016

STUART BINGHAM says he will be raring to go in his Champion of Champions opener against Neil Robertson – despite only stepping off a plane from the Far East 24 hours earlier!

A run to Saturday’s final of the China Championship – and an eventual 10-7 defeat to John Higgins – meant Ballrun touched down in the UK yesterday and headed home to grab a night’s sleep before he has to get on the road to Coventry to face the Aussie on Tuesday.

The gruelling schedule has been the price of success for Basildon pro Bingham this season with two semi-finals and two final appearances in the last four events.

But the world No 2 says he would have it no other way and will be ready to be a serious contender again for the coveted Champion of Champions title.

He said: “By the time I start against Neil I will have literally been home for 24 hours. I got in today and turned the telly on and they’ve just started playing.

Tags China Championship