Results came thick and fast yesterday as the end of the first round is near. Indeed only two first round matches are still unfinished whilst two second round matches will start today. Also there will be no morning session today as the tables will be recovered which means that the four players whose first round match is still underway will face conditions that may be significantly different from what they experienced during their first session.
Here are WST reports on the matches that finished yesterday
Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
WILSON TIPPED FOR TITLE AFTER CRUSHING DALE
Kyren Wilson scored the biggest first round win at the Cazoo World Championship in three years, beating Dominic Dale 10-1 before being tipped as a title contender by his opponent.
With the most emphatic first round Crucible scoreline since Mark Selby beat Kurt Maflin 10-1 in 2021, Wilson played the best snooker of this year’s Championship so far as he strolled into a second round tie with Joe O’Connor. World number 12 Wilson made a century and eight more breaks over 50 as he reached the last 16 for the ninth consecutive year. Runner-up in 2020, the Kettering cueman has appeared in the semi-finals on two other occasions.
Dale said: “Kyren’s game is in wonderful shape, I witnessed it from my chair and his focus and attention to detail never wavered. He is a contender for the title because he’s playing fantastic snooker.”
Wilson is yet to reach a ranking final this season, but looked in fine fettle as he ratted in breaks of 52, 75, 123, 96, 50, 77 and 73 in taking an 8-1 lead in the first session. He made a 65 in the opening frame this morning to extend his lead. In frame 11 he was on target for a 147 which would have made him the first player to score Crucible maximums in back-to-back years, but the last few reds were awkwardly placed and he missed the 12th on 88.
“It was strange coming back at 8-1 but I tried to keep doing all the right things in terms of what time I got up this morning and making sure I practised before the session,” said 32-year-old Wilson, who won the last of his five ranking titles at the 2022 European Masters. “I scored heavily throughout the match and that is an asset for me. Even though I haven’t had the results I wanted this season, my scoring stats are still good (only Judd Trump has made more centuries).
“Some players are suited to the Crucible environment and I would like to think I’m in that mould. If I continue like that then someone will have to play very well to stop me. Joe O’Connor will be a very tough test, I wasn’t that surprised when he beat Mark Selby because I know how good he is. He is also well suited to the Crucible, he has an all-round game and doesn’t get fazed easily.”
At 52, Dale was the oldest player to compete at the Crucible since Steve Davis in 2010. Determined to enjoy the occasion and an extra few minutes on the famous stage, before the session started the charismatic Welshman took the microphone from MC Rob Walker to address the crowd, and spoke German phrases to a group of fans from Vienna he had met in his hotel.
“I just feel lucky to have played here again at my age,” said Dale. “Who knows whether I will get back here? I hope so, I’ll be trying next season. I hadn’t played here for ten years and I was battling the occasion because it’s so different to other venues. I never settled into the match, even when I made a century in the fourth frame. I was a fish out of water and Kyren annihilated me. In a way I would rather lose 10-1 than 10-9 on the black, because I was never in it.”
I can’t comment as i didn’t watch any of it.
Jack Lisowski 10-9 Ding Junhui
LISOWSKI BEATS DING IN CRUCIBLE THRILLER
Ding Junhui became the seventh seed to lose in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship as Jack Lisowski scored a dramatic 10-9 victory to reach the last 16 for the fourth year in a row.
Lisowski is appearing at the Theatre of Dreams as a qualifier for the first time since 2018, after a disappointing season saw him drop out of the world’s top 16.
The supremely talented Gloucester cueman has admitted to taking his focus away from the baize in recent months to enjoy himself. However, he believes that has been a necessary step to reinvigorate his enthusiasm for the sport.
Today’s clash with Ding had looked to be slipping away from Lisowski when he was dragged into a deciding frame. The 32-year-old spurned a blue to middle when leading 9-7 and Ding pounced to pull within one. The Chinese number one followed that up with a stunning 131 in the 18th to make it 9-9.
The final frame saw Lisowski fire in two stunning long range reds to power his way to victory. The first saw him gain a foothold with a run of 38, which was ended after he snookered himself behind a red. He retained his composure from that setback to crack in another red from distance and blast over the line with a further run of 46.
It was another thrilling climax for a drama laden opening round at the Crucible, which has now already seen four deciding frames.
Defeat for Ding means he has exited the World Championship in the first round in each of the last four years. The 14-time ranking event winner has only won four matches at the Crucible since making the semi-finals in 2017.
Lisowski will be relieved to have converted his winning position this morning. He came into the session 5-4 up and crafted breaks of 52, 63 and 72 on the way to his 9-7 lead. After wrapping up a pulsating victory, Lisowski can now look forward to a second round clash with 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham.
“It was an amazing game. He is such a great player. I had to be so on it just to stick with him. To finish it off the way I did was a very special feeling. It proves a lot to myself that my game is in great shape and that I can do it when it really matters.”
Jack Lisowski
Six-time Ranking Event Finalist
Lisowski added: “The blue was a tough shot. If I lost, I would probably have looked back on it and thought it was my chance. I made sure it wasn’t like that and took my chances in the last frame. I think I really stepped up.
“It is the way I play. If I get negative and keep playing safeties, it isn’t going to work against anyone. It is tough to do, but I hit two really sweet long shots in the last frame. I played some good positional shots as well and it was a fantastic feeling making the breaks.
“Stuart is the first player I ever beat on TV and the first player I ever beat here. I have good memories against him, but he is a fantastic player and a former World Champion. I am going to have to keep up the good stuff and he is going to make it really tough for me. It is the World Championship, I’m enjoying my snooker and being here. I’m really looking forward to the match.”
This was indeed a fantastic match played in great spirit by two attacking players giving it all. It was fast, attacking, high quality, very entertaining and enthralling. Thank you Jack and Ding.
CRUCIBLE RECORD EQUALLED AS HAWK FALLS
Ryan Day came from 8-5 down to beat Barry Hawkins 10-8 in the opening round of the Cazoo World Championship, a result which means that the record for the most seeded players falling at the first hurdle has been equalled.
Back in 1980, eight seeds lost their opening match, and that tally was matched in 1992, 2012 and now in 2024. And the record could yet be broken, with John Higgins just 5-4 ahead of Jamie Jones overnight, while Ronnie O’Sullivan leads Jackson Page 8-1. Defeat for either Higgins or O’Sullivan would bring the total of top-16 ranked players knocked out to nine.
If world number one O’Sullivan gets through, he will meet Welshman Day, who is into the last 16 for the sixth time in his career. The 44-year-old hadn’t won a match at the Crucible since 2014, but finished strongly tonight as world number 15 Hawkins lost his way. Day has rarely played at his best since winning the British Open at the start of last season, but showed his battling qualities in a 10-9 win over Scott Donaldson in the final qualifying round, and again to knock out 2012 finalist Hawkins.
Momentum shift was the theme of the contest as Day took four frames in a row to lead 5-2, Hawkins won six on the spin to go 8-5 ahead, only for Day to win the last five. For Londoner Hawkins, it’s a painful end to a season which began so brightly with victory at the European Masters.
Hawkins took the first four frames today with top breaks of 92, 50 and 59 to lead 8-5. After the interval, Day hit back with 78 and 62 to close to 8-7. In frame 16, Hawkins led 33-15 when he ran out of position, and he later made a safety error which gifted Day the chance to make 68 to square the tie.
In a dramatic finish to frame 17, Hawkins trailed 39-37 when he failed to pot the final green to a top corner, then both players missed the same ball to the same pocket again. Eventually, Day converted a tremendous long pot with deep screw, gaining position on the brown which allowed him to clear for 9-8. Early in the 18th, trailing 15-0, Hawkins played another weak safety, and Day’s mid-range red set him up for a match-winning 61.
“It has been a long time since I won a match here,” said three-time quarter-finalist Day, who is working with coach Chris Henry. “At 8-5 I wasn’t in the game, but the interval changed things. I think so many seeds have gone out because the standard is so good all the way through the top 50 and this was probably the strongest set of qualifiers ever, even though Neil Robertson didn’t make it.
“If I play Ronnie next it will be a mountain to climb. I’ll go home for a couple of days now and hopefully be ready for it. His longevity is off the charts – to see how well he is playing at 48 gives me hope that I have a few more years left. My job will be just to focus on what I can control. I can’t wait to have a crack at him.“
Hawkins said: “I made too many mistakes, we both missed a lot of easy balls. I had the momentum at 8-5 but then lost confidence, and fair play to Ryan because he stood up. It’s a frustrating way for the season to end. The qualifiers are sharp and not scared of anything – most of them are good enough to be in the top 16.”
Ryan Day is a fantastic player. I have seen him play in exhibitions and he’s absolutely mesmerising to watch when in full flow. It’s the mental side of the game he’s often been struggling with and Chris Henry is probably the best coach a player like him can wish for.
Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
ALLEN RELIEVED TO JUMP FIRST HURDLE
Mark Allen, the highest ranked player in the field yet to win the title, fended off a late rally from Robbie Williams to win 10-6 in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship.
World number three Allen has been a prolific winner on the tour over the past two years and is on target to take over as world number one at the end of this season. By his own high standards, the Northern Irishman’s record at the Crucible is disappointing – his run to the semi-finals last year, where he lost narrowly 17-15 to Mark Selby, was only his second appearance in the one table set up.
Allen is fiercely determined to lift snooker’s most famous trophy – which would complete the Triple Crown as he has already won the UK Championship and the Masters. Making his 18th consecutive appearance at the Crucible, he is through to the second round for the 13th time and will face Jamie Jones or John Higgins next.
The 38-year-old, who has won three titles this season, was far from his best against Williams but did enough to avoid becoming the eighth seeded player to fall at the first hurdle. Breaks of 70 and 80 helped him build a 7-2 lead in Tuesday’s first session. World number 45 Williams, the lowest ranked player in the field, took the first frame today with a run of 77 and added the next for 7-4.
Allen took frame 12 then won a 49-minute 13th on the colours. After the interval, Williams continued to battle, making breaks of 53 and 86 to close to 9-6. But Allen eventually got the job done in the 16th with his highest break of the match, 114.
“You have to get this first match out of the way before you can settle into the tournament,” said the Pistol. “I played well yesterday and felt in control. My safety was good and I was getting the better of those battles. But today I made some mistakes and took my foot off the gas at 9-4. When it went 9-6 it was ‘game on’ because Robbie has beaten me 4-0 before. I had to switch back on and it was good to make a century to finish the match.
“I have been winning a lot of matches this season though I am not as confident as I want to be in my own game. Last year I got to the semi-finals and ran Mark Selby close despite being nowhere near my best. So I know I just have to hang in there and get the most out of my bad sessions.
“I would love to play John Higgins next because it would be great to be out there against one of the all time greats. I have played him five times already this season and I always enjoy it.“
I can’t comment on this match as I saw nothing of it …
As for Ronnie, he played his first session yesterday and is currently 8-1 up on Jackson Page. Ronnie played well but not outstandingly well. He didn’t need to. Jackson may have won just one frame but he won it in style with a wonderful 142, the highest break of the match so far. The match isn’t won yet, but it would take something really extraordinary1 for Ronnie to lose it as Jackson need to win the second session by 9-1 or better…
There were some very interesting announcements during Barry Hearn customary2 press conference
Ronnie O'Sullivan 