Performance of the Week

I think you would agree that great performances come from winners. Over the past week there have been many near misses. Bury for example going 3-0 up away from home and looking to inflict on Aldershot what would have been their first home defeat of the season. With half an hour remaining the Shot's came back and drew 3-3 ina real game of two halfs. Newcastle United can also find themselves unfortunete not to have picked up this week award. Coming back from 2-0 down to nick a point at Everton was some achievement, but they didn't win the game did they. For the record Steven Taylor the captain on the day would have picked up the award if the magpies hadn't been denied by a Leighton Baines clearance.

This weeks performance of the week goes to someone who I'm sure not many of you would have heard of, to be honest I hadn't till this weekend. And as a result of his victory ha shot himself into snooker stardom.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is one of those sportsman who once he is on a role he is hard to stop. This season has been no different victories at the World Championships in Sheffield and then at the Northern Ireland Open had him as the undisputed Number 1.

He went into the Shanghai Masters looking to become the first player for 15 years to win three ranking tournaments in a year. And in all honesty no-one looked like stopping him. After defeating Joe Perry and then old adversary Mark Williams to get to the semi-final stage the Rocket looked on fire.

The semi-final with Steven Maguire was a tight tense affair, the sort that usually unsettles O'Sullivan, but not on this occasion has he came through a 6-5 winner.

After beating Maguire the Rocket must have been tasting his third major of the season, especially when he saw young English qualifier Ricky Walden. Walden himself has had a long road to the final.

He beat what could be debated as five of the best players in the world right now Stephen Hendry, Neil Robertson, Steve Davis and Mark Selby to gt to his first ever ranking final. he even played a qualifying match at the beginning of the tournament against Anda Zhang.

He went into the final with no fear and battled against O'Sullivan who wasn't allowed out of the grasp of the rookie. Walden even went into a 3-1 lead at the mid session interval before O'Sullivan came back to lead the first session 6-5, hardly the dominated performance we were all expecting.

Into the second session and Walden won 3 of the first four games to open up an 8-7 lead. The players then exchanged frames as the World Champion looked for a way back into a match he could suddenly see himself loosing.

Then with the match poised at 9-8 O'Sullivan missed a crucial red and Walden was in. he cleared up and made a magnificent break of 105 to take his first ever ranking title.

The victory is significant in two ways. Firstly beating the World Champion in form is some feat for any player, for a rookie player who is ranked at 35 in the world it is amazing. Secondly this is Walden's break onto the World stage. This win will open so many doors for him.

Now up to his world best ranking of 17 he is just outside the coveted top 16 that every player so desperately wants. If the boy can kick on and keep working at his game then a top 16 birth is possible and an appearance at the World Championships next year is guaranteed. You heard the name of Ricky Walden here first, and with any luck it won't be the last time.