Ford Edges Lisowski In Thriller – Snooker Freaks

Credit: Andy Chubb

Tom Ford survived a nerve jangling final frame to beat Jack Lisowski 6-5 and reach the BetVictor German Masters final in Berlin.

A 2,000 strong Tempodrom crowd watched on as Lisowski rallied to force a decider from 5-3 down. He had the first opportunity to win and composed a break of 52 to give himself a healthy lead. That was made all the better by leaving Ford tight behind the brown ball at the end of his visit.

Ford threw his arm at it in the hope of some good fortune. He left Lisowski on a red, but the world number 12 spurned his opportunity and Leicester’s Ford stepped in with a nerveless match winning clearance of 63.

His reward is a best of 19 clash against Ali Carter in tomorrow’s final, with a top prize of £80,000 and the Brandon Parker Trophy up for grabs. After 20 seasons as a professional, Ford is hunting a maiden ranking crown. Essex’s four-time ranking event winner Carter is looking for his first victory since the 2016 World Open.

Tomorrow will only be Ford’s second ever appearance in a ranking event final. The first came at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic, where he was pipped to the first prize by Mark Selby.

Defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Lisowski, who’s wait for a maiden ranking title goes on. The six-time ranking event finalist has been knocking on the door this season, having also made the semis at the UK Championship, as well as the invitational Masters. However, the 31-year-old leaves Berlin disappointed to not have claimed his first piece of silverware.

Ford looked impressive in taking the opening two frames this evening to open up an early 2-0 advantage. Lisowski responded emphatically and breaks of 102 and 84 helped him to restore parity heading into the mid-session interval.

When play resumed it was Ford who surged in front. Contributions of 70, 104 and 89 helped him to take three of the next four frames and move one from the win at 5-3. Lisowski showed great character to stay in contention by taking the next two frames to force a decider. However, it was Ford who prevailed to earn his place in tomorrow’s title match.

Ford said: “I was lucky in the last, because when I was behind the brown I just had to have a hit and hope. I couldn’t land on a red. I left him one and he missed it, so he is going to be kicking himself. I felt good towards the end. Normally when the matches go longer you don’t feel as good. I actually fancied clearing up when I got in.

“It is a brilliant atmosphere out there. I think I had about four people wanting me to win though. They were all Jack Lisowski fans! The crowd was really good. When we both walked out we had a really good applause.

“It would be great to win tomorrow. I didn’t start the season, well then I managed to get to the UK Championship semi-finals. I gave Ding a 5-0 start and started playing. Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow and take the trophy home for my little one.”