MNT was back up to the maximum 32 entrants today as a star-studded line-up showed up.  Ramma Jamma was back from his international tournaments, ready to reclaim his crown.  However, Rod’s been pretty dominant in Ram’s absence, and this was going to provide an extra edge to last night’s MNT.

Not forgetting the other contenders:  Martinho Correia has proven to be a classy opponent, Gabriel Vasilache was fresh off the back of a strong showing at GB9, Daria Siranchuk has been performing really well having come third in the Norway Open, and pre-tournament favourite, Dan “the Destroyer” Suh, was feeling confident having fared well at Total 9 Ball and beating Paz on Saturday by an unprecedented 3 sets to 0, winning all sets 5-0!  (I wasn’t allowed to mention it at the club yesterday). 

Moving into the first round, and there was one match that was full of quality and drama.  Two newbies to the ranks entertained the crowd with a display that showed that either player might well progress to the latter stages.  Michael Sagar from the Netherlands fought hard against Kuwaiti, Nasser Alomani, and in the end it was Nasser who ended up disappointed, losing 5-4.  Nasser told the press afterwards, “I’ll be back next Monday, and there’s no doubt I will win the tournament”.

Another significant match was how Daria turned up the heat on Mariusz with a 5-0 drubbing, demonstrating how well she’s been playing lately.

The second round saw one match go to hill-hill, and that was between the mighty Ciprian Dandu and Rod “the God” Altes.  Cip might not be playing as much, but he has the ability to put gods in their place, but Rod isn’t just a god, he’s “the God”.  Despite Cip’s efforts, Rod put his foot on the accelerator and held his nerve to progress to the quarter.

Other significant results saw Ahmad Jomaa get whitewashed by Gabriel, and the Destroyer get completely rinsed by Michael Sagar, who perhaps was fully focused on beating Tooting’s most intimidating opponent.    

The quarters saw two epic battles.  Firstly, the conqueror of the Destroyer came up against the silky Martinho.  This was a tense match, where both players had to really use their wits.  Some great tactical play from Michael and Martinho, but it was Martinho’s experience that finally shone through to win 5-4.  The other absolute monster battle was between Rod the God and Ramma Jamma.  Rod had been sufficiently wound up throughout the evening, as comments from the crowd could be heard by the local deity.  During the pre-match interview, Rod said “I keep hearing people saying that Ram’s my arch-nemesis, or my Achilles Heel, but that’s just not the case.  The media are hyping this whole thing up.  I’ll trust my game and show that there’s no such thing as an Achilles Heel.” 

5-4 to Rod.  No media hype.  Job done.  Just another win.  Onto the semi-finals.

In the other quarters, Gabriel continued to show fine form by beating Joe Granville 5-0, whilst Daria suffered a bit of a scare against Alexander Vilmanis, but her game is really getting good under pressure, and she went through to the semis with a 5-3 win.

The semi-final between Daria and Gabriel proved to be the most dramatic.  Both players playing well, both players determined to win, and the crowd were treated to a tight and tense affair.  Absolutely no surprise to see this one go to hill-hill, and Gabriel called upon his many years of experience to snatch the win at the death.

The other semi was between Rod and Martinho.  Rod was in the mood to put the pedal to the metal and ran out 5-2 winner.  The emphatic win brought us to the final, between two in-form players.  Gabriel “the Hitman” Vasilache, and Rod “the God” Altes.  This was going to be a battle of wills, but fired up from the media stories and crowd comments, Rod went to another level to earn another MNT win. 

In the press conference, Rod went on to say “to all those who doubted me and to all those claiming that the return of Ram would affect me, you have felt my wrath and power.  To everyone who made such false claims, you are forgiven.  Peace be with you.”

Strong words from the Tooting deity indeed, and proved his doubters wrong.  A massively deserved victory and a very high quality night of action at London Snooker Tooting.  Rod is fast-catching Ram, but the big question is whether Rod can overtake Ram before the end of the year, and claim top prize?