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Frame 1.
The opening frame was a tense affair, with both players showing a touch of
nerves. Hunter had a chance to level the scores for a respotted
black, but missed the pink, which O'Brien promptly potted to take the lead
after a 30 minute struggle. Frame
2.
Hunter scored a 46 break but then broke down to let O'Brien in. They
were level with 3 balls left, Hunter then missed a simple blue into the
corner pocket which O'Brien potted, then added the pink to go 2 ahead. Frame
3.
Hunter claimed the 3rd frame to stop O'Brien moving further ahead, although
both men were wtill struggling to settle down. Hunter notched the
only decent break with 31, but it was enough to ensure he won this frame
inside 19 minutes. Frame
4.
Hunter broke down on 32 after he overcut a simple red, with the balls well
placed for a sizeable break. O'Brien seized his chance and knocked
in a break of 80, to take a 3 - 1 lead at the mid-session interval. Frame
5.
Hunter opened with 30, but made a mess of it, as the fluency of his semi
final win over Stephen Hendry, eluded him. O'Brien broke down on 43,
but got away with an over cut red which was covered by the black.
Hunter missed an attempt to pot it, as O'Brien went 4 - 1 ahead. Frame
6.
O'Brien snookered Hunter on the yellow with the frame in the balance,
which he fluked into the pocket, but a missed green let O'Brien back in to
extend his advantage. Frame
7.
Hunter finally found his touch and not a moment too soon, as the match was
slipping dangerously away from him. a much needed break of 51, put
the frame out of the Dublin mans sight, as Hunter reduced the deficit to 5
- 2. Frame
8.
Last of the session saw the yellow tucked in front of the black, hanging
on the edge of the pocket. O'Brien eventually potted it, and then
added the green to win the frame, when Hunter, needing a snooker, knocked
the black in, playing a shot off the brown. Frame
9.
Hunter made the perfect start to the evening session after O'Brien had
threatened to move further ahead. O'Brien knocked in a 49 and looked
set to increase his lead, but Hunter potted a superb long red, and sneaked
the frame on the black with a 52 clearance. Frame
10.
Hunter might have thought his luck had finally changed, as he held the
advantage going into the colours, but O'Brien had other ideas as he
cleared the table to pinch the frame on the final ball and move 7 - 3
ahead. Frame
11.
A scrappy frame with both players guilty of sloppy play. As the frame got
bogged down O'Brien missed an easy final red which was to prove
costly. Hunter then sank the yellow and cleared to the pink to keep
himself in touch. Frame
12.
Hunter finally started to show the fluency that had been lacking in the
final frame before the interval. He produced a superb clearance of
129 to put himself just 2 behind and give O'Brien something to think
about. Frame
13.
The Century break before the interval was the perfect tonic for Hunter as
he produced another, to the thunderous applause of the audience.
O'Brien had now lost 5 of the last 7 frames, and it really was "game
- on"! Frame
14.
O'Brien then displayed the gutsy qualities that had got him to the final
in the first place. A break of 88, stopped Hunter in his tracks as
the Irish man went 8 - 6 up, and showed what he had, was not about to
wilt. Frame
15.
The final had now developed into a gripping contest, with Hunter soom
picking up from where he left off in the 13th frame. He closed the
gap to 8 - 7 with a break of 75, and the contest had become a real
thriller as the tension mounted. Frame
16.
Hunter was in full flow now, and cueing like a man inspired, with the
crowd loving every minute of it. He produced a magnificent break of
136 to match the highest for the tournament with Jimmy White, and left the
match all square at 8 - 8. Frame
17.
Hunter seemed to be in overdrive as he produced his 4th century in 6
frames with a 132 clearance, to put himself within one frame of victory. Frame
18.
Hunter opened with a 44 but this time there was a further twist to a
fascinating encounter. O'Brien dug in and held his nerve to clinch
it on the pink and took the match to a deciding frame. Frame
19.
The tension was electric as the fate of the Masters rested on the colours,
with Hunter just ahead. O'Brien blew a chance to win it after
snookering Hunter on the green, as he misses a free ball to let Hunter in
to clear to the pink and win the match.
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