Judd Trump Books Masters 2009 Spot

Judd Trump has booked his place at January's Wembley Masters after beating Walsall's Mark Joyce 6-1 in the qualifying final in Sheffield.

The Bristol teenager earns a wild card into the invitation tournament for the world's top 16 players, and faces Mark King or Mark Allen in the first round.

Trump, 19, was too strong for Joyce - taking a 2-1 lead before winning four straight frames to triumph.

"I didn't play brilliantly but I did enough to win," Trump said.

"I've been playing with a lot of confidence all season so this will give me even more.

"I've never been to Wembley, even to watch a match, so it will be a great experience for me," the world number 41 told worldsnooker.com

Trump's win also gives him his first professional title, and comes after a successful start to the season that has seen him qualify for four ranking events and reach the semi-finals of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix.

The Wembley Masters takes place from 11-18 January 2009.

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Rodney Walker Re-Elected As WPBSA Chairman

Sir Rodney Walker has been re-elected as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

The vote happened at the Association's annual general meeting in Sheffield after he was required to retire from the position by rotation.

He was then re-elected by the sport's voting players.

Fellow board members Peter Ebdon, Lee Doyle, Sir David Richards and Dr Hamish McInnes were also re-elected, having been required to retire.

Sir Rodney took over as head of world snooker in 2004, having previously held senior positions with Leicester City FC, the Rugby Football League and UK Sport.

He was also chairman of the Wembley Stadium building project.

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2009 World Snooker Championship booking now

The 2009 World Snooker Championship booking form for postal applications is now available.

If you wish to receive a ticket booking form, please send a reply-paid envelope to World Snooker Box Office, The Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 1DA.

Telephone and online bookings will be operational from 14 February 2009.

Postal applications will be processed from early January 2009. Please be aware that often many sessions are sold out before the telephone lines are open. Although there is no guarantee you will receive the ticket(s) of your choice it is recommended that you apply for tickets by post using the ticket booking form.

Please be reminded that all tickets are non-transferable and not for resale, with the exception of those resold via the resale service offered by The Crucible Box Office.

The 2009 World Snooker Championship runs from April 18 to May 4.

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Provisional World Snooker Rankings

Provisional World Snooker Rankings following the UK Championship 2008.

1 Ronnie O´Sullivan 45375
2 Stephen Maguire 39850
3 Shaun Murphy 34175
4 Allister Carter 31825
5 Ryan Day 31775
6 Marco Fu 30350
7 Joe Perry 30075
8 John Higgins 29925
9 Mark Selby 28575
10 Mark Allen 25075
11 Stephen Hendry 24925
12 Mark Williams 24544
13 Neil Robertson 23725
14 Junhui Ding 23244
15 Barry Hawkins 23225
16 Peter Ebdon 22300
17 Dave Harold 22157
18 Stuart Bingham 21469
19 Jamie Cope 20857
20 Mark King 20700
21 Ricky Walden 20200
22 Matthew Stevens 20007
23 Steve Davis 19769
24 Wenbo Liang 18425
25 Stephen Lee 18413
26 Michael Holt 17875
27 Judd Trump 17751
28 Joe Swail 17519
29 Dominic Dale 17495
30 Ian McCulloch 16963
31 Fergal O'Brien 16845
32 Nigel Bond 16582

Snooker Welsh Open At Newport 2009

The world’s best snooker players will be back in Newport in February for the 2009 Welsh Open.

The world ranking tournament runs from February 16 to 22 at the Newport Centre and is set to feature star players such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, home favourite Ryan Day and defending champion Mark Selby.

Tickets, starting at just £6, are now on sale and can be bought by calling 01633 656 757.

All of the world’s top 16 players are guaranteed a place at the venue, while Welsh stars Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens and Dominic Dale will have their qualifying matches held over to Newport to give their fans the chance to see them in action.

The tournament has a reputation for producing exciting snooker, with six of the last ten finals going to a deciding frame. Last year, Selby came from 8-5 down to beat O’Sullivan 9-8 in a classic contest.

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Snooker Welsh Open Qualifiers 2009

Welsh Open 2009

Qualifying Format 3-6 February 2009

Pontin’s, Prestatyn Sands Holiday Centre, Prestatyn

Tuesday 3 February 2009

10am

Match 1 - Patrick Wallace v Liu Chuang

Match 2 - Kuldesh Johal v Vincent Muldoon

Match 3 - Matthew Couch v Stephen Craigie

Match 4 - Scott Mackenzie v Stefan Mazrocis

Match 5 - Jimmy White v David Grace

Match 6 - Simon Bedford v Wayne H Cooper

Match 7 - Lee Spick v Robert Stephen

Match 8 - Supoj Saenla v Jin Long

4pm

Match 9 - Peter Lines v Andrew Pagett

Match 10 - Paul S Davison v Atthasit Mahitthi

Match 11- James McBain v Aditya Mehta

Match 12- Matthew Selt v Michael Georgiou

Match 13 - Jamie Jones v Li Hang

Match 14 - Lewis Roberts v Declan Hughes

Match 15 - Rodney Goggins v Andy Lee

Match 16 - Daniel Wells v Chris McBreen

Wednesday 4 February 2009

10am

Match 17 - Paul Davies v Winner of match 1

Match 18 - David Roe v Winner of match 2

Match 19 - David Gray v Winner of match 3

Match 20 - Stuart Pettman v Winner of match 4

Match 21 - Rod Lawler v Winner of match 5

Match 22 - Robert Milkins v Winner of match 6

Match 23 - Joe Delaney v Winner of match 7

Match 24 - Barry Pinches v Winner of match 8

4pm

Match 25 - Ian Preece v Winner of match 9

Match 26 - Andy Hicks v Winner of match 10

Match 27 - Mark Davis v Winner of match 11

Match 28 - Martin Gould v Winner of match 12

Match 29 - Liu Song v Winner of match 13

Match 30 - Mark Joyce v Winner of match 14

Match 31 - David Morris v Winner of match 15

Match 32 - Andrew Norman v Winner of match 16

Thursday 5 February 2009

10am

Match 33 - Jimmy Michie v Winner of match 17

Match 34 - David Brown Gilbert v Winner of match 18

Match 35 - Michael Holt v Winner of match 19

Match 36 - Alan McManus v Winner of match 20

Match 37 - Rory McLeod v Winner of match 21

Match 38 - Mike Dunn v Winner of match 22

Match 39 - Gerard Greene v Winner of match 23

Match 40 - Judd Trump v Winner of match 24

4pm

Match 41 - Andrew Higginson v Winner of match 25

Match 42 - Adrian Gunnell v Winner of match 26

Match 43 - Marcus Campbell v Winner of match 27

Match 44 - John Parrott v Winner of match 28

Match 45 - Liang Wenbo v Winner of match 29

Match 46 - Jamie Burnett v Winner of match 30

Match 47 - Ricky Walden v Winner of match 31

Match 48 - Tom Ford v Winner of match 32

Friday 6 February 2009

10am

Match 49 - Barry Hawkins v Winner of match 33

Match 51 - Anthony Hamilton v Winner of match 35

Match 52 - Michael Judge v Winner of match 36

Match 53 - Ken Doherty v Winner of match 37

Match 54 -McCulloch v Winner of match 38

Match 55 - Dave Harold v Winner of match 39

Match 56- Jamie Cope v Winner of match 40

4pm

Match 57 - Stuart Bingham v Winner of match 41

Match 59 - Joe Swail v Winner of match 43

Match 60 - Nigel Bond v Winner of match 44

Match 62 - Stephen Lee v Winner of match 46

Match 63 - Fergal O’Brien v Winner of match 47

Match 64 - Steve Davis v Winner of match 48

All matches will be the best of 9 frames

NB: Matches 50, 58 and 61 to be played at the main event.

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The Masters Snooker Wembley 2009

Tickets are now on sale for the Masters, snooker’s most prestigious invitation event, which is to stay at Wembley Arena for the next three years.

Tickets start at just £10 and can be booked by calling 0844 815 0815 or logging on to www.wembleyarena.co.uk

The event has a rich 33-year-history and has been won by all of snooker’s great names including Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Paul Hunter and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Previously held at Wembley Conference Centre, the Masters moved to the Arena in 2007 and that has proved a fitting venue.

Last season’s tournament was won by Mark Selby, who beat Stephen Lee 10-3 in the final. “Winning the Masters was the highlight of my career so far. It’s one the tournaments all of the top players want to win the most,” said Leicester’s 25-year-old Selby.

“I love playing at Wembley Arena so I’m pleased it’s staying there. It’s a great venue with a superb atmosphere. London deserves to have a big tournament as the fans there love their snooker.”

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