century in Snooker !

India first played a limited overs match in 1974 and only in 1983 (that famous Prudential Cup game against Zimbabwe) came their first century – Kapil Dev 175*  - then after a lull, came Sachin Tendulkar who established a new record.  At the time of posting this, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – is still on top having made 49 centuries in 463 matches; next to him is Virat Kohli, most likely to break his record 43/262; Ricky Ponting 30/375;  Rohit Sharma 29/233; Hashim Amla 27/181; AB de Villiers 25/228; Chris Gayle 25/294; Kumara Sangakkara 25/404; Sourav Ganguly 22/311  - this post is on a different century !!

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each and six balls of different colours: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6), black (7).A player (or team) wins a frame (individual game) of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent(s), using the cue ball to pot the red and coloured balls. A player (or team) wins a match when they have achieved the best-of score from a pre-determined number of frames. The number of frames is always odd so as to prevent a tie or a draw.

To the uninformed like me – Billiards and Snooker confuses !!   Billiards is a cue sport that combines the aspects of carom billiards and pool. Two cue balls (one white and one yellow) and a red object ball are used. Each player or team uses a different cue ball. It is played on a billiards table with the same dimensions as one used for snooker and points are scored for cannons and pocketing the balls. 

Joe  Perry,  English professional snooker player from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Often referred to as "the Fen Potter" and also nicknamed "the Gentleman", is the new champion. In the Welsh Open held this year at the International Convention Centre Wales at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, he was crowned the new champion. The tournament was broadcast by BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Online, BBC Red Button, Quest and Eurosport domestically.

Jordan Brown was the defending champion, having defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–8 in the final of the 2021 event. However, Brown lost 3–4 in his held-over qualifying match against Mitchell Mann. Joe Perry defeated Judd Trump 9–5 in the final to capture his first Welsh Open title and the second ranking title of his career. Aged 47, Perry became the oldest player to win a ranking tournament since Ray Reardon in 1982. There were 52 century breaks made during the main venue stage of the event; the highest was a 142, made by Michael White in the second round. 

Trump and Perry contested the final as a best-of-17-frame match, held over two sessions. It was the sixth ranking final of Perry's professional career and  Trump's 34th ranking final - prior to the final, Trump had beaten Perry 9 times in their 12 encounters.

Trump made a break of 60 in the opener, but Perry recovered to contest the frame on the final black. After Trump played a safety shot that left the black on the baulk cushion, Perry won the frame with a long double into the bottom right corner pocket.  Trump took the second with a break of 45. Perry won the third with a 59, but missed a red with the rest in the fourth, allowing Trump to tie the scores at 2–2 at the midsession interval. Trump won the fifth frame after Perry missed a straightforward blue, but Perry won the next frame. After Perry missed a black in the seventh, Trump won it with a 73 break, his highest of the match. Perry won a scrappy eighth frame after Trump missed a close-range shot on a straight pink, tying the scores at 4–4 after the afternoon session. In the ninth frame, the first of the evening session, Perry made a 108 break, the only century of the final.

Michael White, the centurion, is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath, Glamorgan. Nicknamed ‘Lightning’ due to his fast playing style, White is a former top 16 player and two time ranking event winner.

In snooker, a century break (also century, a ton) is scoring  of 100 points or more, compiled in one visit to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a mark of the highest skill in snooker. Ronnie O'Sullivan has described a player's first century break as the "ultimate milestone for any snooker player".   O'Sullivan holds the record for the most career centuries and is the only player to have achieved 1,000 century breaks !! 

Interesting !

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
18^th Nov. 2022