Snooker: Cope crashes out in Shanghai
JAMIE Cope's Shanghai Masters title challenge was ended in emphatic fashion in the Far East yesterday.
Longton potter Cope dumped out world number one Mark Selby in the first round with an impressive display.
But the world number 25 was well off the pace in his last 16 clash as he was thumped 5-1 by Londoner Stuart Bingham with a quarter-final place up for grabs.
Bingham needed just 89 minutes to book his place in the next round as breaks of 78, 44 and 80 did the bulk of the damage.
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A frustrated Cope spent most of the afternoon glued to his seat and mustered a top break of just 25 in the entire match.
"I just didn't turn up, I don't know why," said the 27-year-old. "It's disappointing because I thought I'd get better as the tournament went on. But I didn't play great."
Bingham pinched a scrappy opening frame before pocketing a break of 78 to double his early advantage.
Cope rallied and hit back by winning the third frame, which was also a scrappy affair.
But Bingham, last season's Australian Open champion, compiled a break of 44 to lead 3-1 at the interval.
The first frame following the resumption was fragmented, but Bingham edged it and then knocked in a break of 89 to complete a deserved victory.
"I had a chance to win the first frame and if I'd have got back to 2-2 then it could have been a different story," admitted two-time ranking event runner-up Cope.
"But Stuart fed off my mistakes and did enough to win the match."
However, despite defeat Cope still earned himself £7,500 in prize money.
A delighted Bingham said: "I knew it was going to be tough against Jamie, but I didn't expect to win as easily as that. He didn't play his best in the match.
"A lot of players don't practice early in the season whereas I play all the year round. That's really helped me.
"I might have a couple of weeks off after the World Championship just to stay fresh, but otherwise I play all the time.
"Maybe that's why I tend to do well at the start of the season, while other players are not yet in shape."
NEIL GOULDING
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