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Bingham: Ronnie’s Masters class was no surprise

STUART BINGHAM said Ronnie O’Sullivan’s Masters win was no surprise to him, despite the Rocket’s lack of match play on this year’s tour.

World champion Bingham lost 6-3 in the semis at Alexandra Palace to O’Sullivan, who went on to blow away Barry Hawkins 10-1 in the final on Sunday evening.

It was O’Sullivan’s sixth Masters title and came on the back of a first half of a season in which he has only played a handful of times due to a back injury.

Bingham, who beat Ding Junhui and John Higgins to make the last four of snooker’s most prestigious invitational, said: “It was one of those matches for me against Ronnie where I could have been 3-1 up at the break instead of 3-1 down, but that is just how it goes against him.

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Bingham ready for Masters clash against formidable Higgins

STUART BINGHAM admits he will have to beat the “player of the year so far” to make the semi finals at the Dafabet Masters. 

Ball Run takes on four-time world champion John Higgins in a last-eight clash at 7pm at Alexandra Palace tonight (January 15).

Scot Higgins, who has claimed the Australian Goldfields Open and International Championship title so far this season, booked his quarter-final spot with three centuries in a 6-4 win over China’s Liang Wenbo.

Bingham, who progressed with a 6-4 win over Ding Junhui on Sunday, said: “John has won two tournaments already this season and is probably the player of the year so far.

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Bingham enjoys night at the darts ahead of his own Ally Pally date

STUART BINGHAM enjoyed a thrilling night at the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace ahead of his return to the iconic North London venue for the Masters in January.

Snooker’s world champion, who has been a big darts fan for over a decade, was in the crowd with his manager Gary Purkiss for Monday’s action from the oche.

Bingham started going to the annual event when it was staged at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, in 2004, and stays in touch with darts stars including Rod Harrington, Wayne Mardle and reigning world champion Gary Anderson.

And after front-row seats to see the flamboyant Peter Wright ease past Ronny Huybrechts with a 4-0 win, Bingham said: “I love the darts. It’s such a good night out and a great spectacle. Barry Hearn has done such a good job in raising its profile…

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Bingham left with mixed feelings after Gibraltar run

STUART BINGHAM admits he had mixed feelings about his run to the semi finals of last week’s Dafabet Gibraltar Open.

The world champion showed a return to form as he beat Craig Steadman, Ding Junhui, Thor Chuan Leong, Nigel Bond and Mark King before a 4-0 defeat to Micheal White in the last four.

White lost to Marco Fu in the final of the European Tour’s Event Five, but Bingham was left to reflect on his own ultimately limp exit.

Ball Run said: “If someone had told me I would get to the semis before the tournament I would have snatched their hand off after the form I have been in so far this season. But I cannot be happy with the way I played in that match with Michael White.

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Bingham frustrated by Ebdon defeat in York

STUART BINGHAM said he was frustrated by his last 32 defeat to Peter Ebdon at the UK Championship – but admitted his opponent deserved to win.

The world champion lost 6-3 to world No 34 Ebdon in York this week to end his encouraging start to one of the season’s biggest events.

Bingham said: “Peter got in first in most frames and I think that was crucial because he controlled the pace of the match.

“He spent a lot of time deliberating over his shots and my concentration was not as good as it should have been.

“There has been a lot of moaning about slow play this week but I will hold my hands up and say Peter played some great shots and just played better on the day. He deserved his win.”

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Bingham refreshed by ‘incredible’ Romania trip ahead of UK campaign

STUART BINGHAM says he feels refreshed and ready for the Betway UK Championship after taking part in an ‘incredible” exhibition event in Romania alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Ball Run warmed up with two nights of best-of-nine matches with the Rocket in Bucharest ahead of the first Triple Crown event of the season in York this week.

The BBC-televised tournament runs between November 24 and December 6 at the York Barbican and No 1 seed Bingham starts against Northern Ireland amateur Jordan Brown at 2.30pm on Thursday, November 26.

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Bingham looks to find lost focus ahead of UK Championship

STUART BINGHAM says he will draw on all of his experience to comeback from a testing start to the season as he continues to readjust to life as the world champion.

Ball-run has had a bad start to November with early exits at the Bulgarian Open in Sofia and the Champion of Champions in Coventry and admits he will be knuckling down on the practice table ahead of the Betway UK Championship later this month.

He said: “I think that defeat in the Champion of Champions means that I have now only won one decider out of six so far this season, and that sort of statistic is the difference between having a good run or a bad one.

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Bingham delight at BBC Sports Personality invite

STUART BINGHAM says it was a great honour to get an invite to this year’s star-studded BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in Belfast.

Athletics hero Jessica Ennis-Hill, newly-crowned Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and tennis world No 2 Andy Murray are among the favourites to win the coveted prize at the SSE Arena on Sunday, December 20.

But Bingham, whose fairytale world title win at the Crucible in May captured the imagination of the British sporting public, says he would love to be in the running for an award not won by a snooker pro since Steve Davis’ success 27 years ago.

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Bingham warms up for China with week of exhibitions

STUART BINGHAM warmed up for his latest challenge in China with a week of exhibitions in England.

The world champion entertained fans at the opening of a new private snooker room in Harlow on Thursday (Oct 15) before playing ex-pro John Astley in a swanky-do at the Marriott Hotel in Newcastle on Saturday evening.

Ball-run says he is now looking forward to jetting off for China on Monday on route to face 19-year-old Steven Hallworth in the opening round of the International Championship in Daqing on Sunday, November 1.

Hallworth, from Skellingthorpe, only turned pro last year and had to qualify but world No 2 Bingham says he will not be taking the teenager lightly at the third ranking tournament of the season where the winner will take home £125,000.

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Bingham delighted with McLeod success

STUART BINGHAM was thrilled to see his stablemate Rory McLeod claim his first ranking title – despite his own early exit from the tournament in Germany.

World No 61 McLeod, who is 44-years-old and snooker’s only black professional, beat China’s Tian Pengfei in the final of the Rhur Open on Sunday, October 12.

Bingham lost his opening match 4-3 against Ireland’s Fergal O’Brien but still had something to celebrate when McLeod (right), who also works with SightRight coach Stephen Feeney, triumphed at the European Tour event.