Ronnie beat Michael White by 6-1 to reach the last 16 of the UK Championship in York.
Ronnie wasn’t at his best, but, despite some signs of frustration at times, he stayed patient, played good safeties throughout the match and did the job. He also hit a great 132, century n° 909 if I’m not mistaken.
Five-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan celebrated his 42nd birthday with a 6-1 win over Welshman Michael White in the third round of the UK Championship.
O’Sullivan is seeking to match Steve Davis’ record haul of six titles and was dominant early on, scoring a stunning 132 on his way to a 4-1 lead against an off-colour White.
An error-strewn sixth frame also went O’Sullivan’s way.
He eventually finished the match in style with a fine break of 65.
World number 26 White struggled throughout the match, with his highest break of 51 coming in frame two to level things.
O’Sullivan then pulled clear, making his third century of the tournament and adding a further three 50 plus breaks to ease into the last 16.
“He struggled and I scrambled a bit better than he did,” the world number four said.
“I wasn’t brilliant but some people scramble better than others when they need to and I was able to do that.
“You could see Michael struggling out there and the more you miss the harder it gets. I kind of felt for him. He’s a good lad and he loves the game and it was frustrating for him.”
White was scathing about his performance, saying he didn’t even turn up. “I was absolutely awful. It’s so frustrating. I didn’t even play half-decent,” he said.
A sixth title for O’Sullivan would also see him draw level with Stephen Hendry’s 18 ‘Triple Crown’ triumphs, having won the World Championship five times and the Masters on seven occasions.
With nine seeds having already lost in York – including the world’s top three Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Ding Junhui – O’Sullivan’s hopes are looking increasingly strong.
But his performance against White was so unconvincing as to almost seem disinterested.
O’Sullivan showed flashes of his fluent best early on but his margin of victory was as much down to White’s struggles as his own efforts.
“I want to play well and do well but if I don’t, I don’t care,” O’Sullivan added. “I have other more important stuff to do.”
He will play either Barry Hawkins or Thailand’s Akani Songsermsawad in round four.
Frankly, I was never under the impression that Ronnie was disinterested, frustrated surely, but disinterested? No, the way he stayed focused on doing the job despite the errors certainly doesn’t support that “disinterested” assessment.
Ronnie O’Sullivan compared himself to Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods after thrashing Michael White 6-1 to reach the last 16 of the Betway UK Championship.
The answer to life, the universe and everything: O’Sullivan turns 42 today
O’Sullivan has lost just five frames in his three matches so far in York and will now face Barry Hawkins or Sunny Akani in round four. He is chasing his sixth UK title and third ranking event of the season having won the English Open and Shanghai Masters.
World number four O’Sullivan, the highest ranked player left in the tournament, was not at his best today but capitalised on a series of mistakes from Welshman White. The first two frames were shared, then O’Sullivan took three in a row with breaks of 132, 64 and 71.
Frame six was a scrappy affair and came down to the colours, O’Sullivan converting a thin cut on the blue to a centre pocket to go 5-1 ahead. And he sealed the result in the next with a run of 65.
“This game is like golf – if you’re not set up right or you’re not in line it can affect everything,” said O’Sullivan. “We all go through that and some of us can go through that a little bit better than others, like Seve Ballesteros or Tiger Woods. They’re able to get it round sometimes and that’s what I was able to do today.
“It’s part of the art of the game, some people can do it and some can’t. I’ve won a lot of my matches and tournaments having to do that. It’s great to play fluently but that’s not always the case. Mark Williams, Judd Trump and Luca Brecel are shot makers and so is Mark Selby – he’s able to scramble it round probably better than anyone else. There’s a yin and yang with everything though – with the more robotic players, when they’re really ‘on’ they tend not to make any mistakes.
“Michael didn’t play well today, he was struggling out there and the more you miss, the harder it gets. He got loads of bad luck as well and I felt for him because I like him and he loves the game. It can be frustrating out there and I wasn’t brilliant, but I think I scrambled a bit better out there.”
White said: “I was absolutely awful, so frustrated with myself. It’s just bitterly disappointing. I need to get to grips with dealing with the pressure over events that last a long period of time otherwise the same thing is going to keep happening. He was far from his best but I just couldn’t do anything in the end. In the final frame I didn’t really want to be there at all. I knew my mind had completely gone.”
Is there a curse of the poster? None of the guys up there are in the tournament anymore.
Indeed both Judd Trump and Neil Robertson lost yesterday in the last 32. They were joined by Mark Williams, Marco Fu and Liang Wenbo. The only top 16 player to survive the first day of the last 32 was Mark Allen.
This means that Neil Robertson will not be at the Masters come January 2018. Despite this Neil was positive on twitter after his defeat, saying that after going through a difficult period with his family, he is enjoying the game again.
Graeme Dott reeled off six frames in a row to score a 6-2 win over Judd Trump at the Betway UK Championship.
Trump joins Mark Selby and Ding Junhui as the top three players in the world to exit the tournament at the York Barbican before the last 16 stage. Ronnie O’Sullivan, world number four, is now the top ranked player in the field.
Dott, the 2006 World Champion, produced one of his best performances in recent years to set up a fourth round meeting with fellow Scot Stephen Maguire.
Trump started well with breaks of 93 and 78 to win the first two frames, then Dott replied with 86 and 93 for 2-2. In the crucial fifth frame, world number 30 Dott cleared with 47 to pinch it on the black. And that gave him the momentum to take the last three frames with runs of 64, 72 and 67.
“You’ve got to try and attack Judd and is what I did at every chance,” said world number 30 Dott, who reached the semi-finals in York in 2006. “I just felt so comfortable out there, it’s nice to be back playing on TV.
“I get asked the same questions like ‘are you still playing snooker?’ by people like the delivery men and I say ‘yeah I’m still playing, still trying.’ So it’s nice to show people that I can actually play the game. I know I’m playing better, it’s the best I’ve played for a couple of years.”
Trump, UK Champion in 2011, said: “It all changed at 2-0 when I potted a good red but knocked the black in. It all changed after that. I kind of threw the frame away to go 3-2. Graeme probably won’t get the credit that he deserves, if someone else played like that it would be an unbelievable performance. Sometimes you just go through spells where you tend to overthink stuff and I’m going through that at the moment.”
Maguire trailed Liang Wenbo 4-3 when he made a 117 in the eighth frame. The next two were shared then 2004 UK Champion Maguire took the decider with a 67 to win 6-5.
Ryan Day won an exciting Welsh derby with Mark Williams 6-5. Northern Ireland Open champion Williams built a 4-1 lead with a top break of 102 before Day made 76 and 65 in recovering to 4-4. The next two were shared then Williams had first chance in the decider but made just 4 before missing a red to a top corner. Day compiled a run of 68 which proved enough.
Day remains ahead of Neil Robertson in the race to the Masters, while defeat for Liang could leave him in danger of being leap-frogged by both players.
“I stayed confident and patient at 4-1 down and the game then changed,” said Day. “I could sense that Mark didn’t feel too comfortable, I know he’s put a new tip on. After the interval it looked as if he’d sanded it down a bit because it literally looked like there was a Fruit Pastille on the end of his cue.
“It’s a good comeback for me and a good win. Mark’s one of the best players to have played the game and he was full of confidence after winning in Northern Ireland last week. I know I’m playing well, I’m putting plenty of work in and I’m feeling more settled every time.
“The Masters race is there in the back of the mind, but the UK Championship is one of the biggest events so that is incentive enough.”
Up and coming Chinese cueman Lyu Haotian scored one of his best career wins with a 6-4 defeat of Marco Fu. Lyu, 19, reached the Northern Ireland Open semi-finals last month and continued to show his potential as he fired breaks of 121, 85, 85 and 80 in beating world number seven Fu.
Graeme Dott despite being a former World Champion tends to be badly underrated. He’s also got a reputation of being slow and boring which is totally undeserved. It came from his and Peter Ebdon performance in the 2006 final at the World Championship, when, with maximum pressure on the two of them, absolutely knackered, struggled badly to close the match. “Dotty” is naturally attacking and not slow at all.
Judd Trump might have whitewashed his two previous opponents, those who had watched the matches with open eyes and alert mind, knew he was vulnerable. And yesterday he was found out… again. He crumbled mentally. I believe that he needs some form of help both with his frame of mind and his attitude during matches.
Neil Robertson suffered a 6-5 reverse against Mark Joyce at the Betway UK Championship, which means he’ll drop out of the world’s top 16 at the end of the tournament.
Former World, UK and Masters champion Robertson made eight centuries in his three matches in York, but couldn’t shake off his opponent tonight and eventually lost in a tense finish.
The result means that Australia’s Robertson remains in 17th place in the race to the Masters, with the seeding cut off to fall at the end of this event. Assuming the 16 players ahead of him enter, he will miss snooker’s biggest invitation event for the first time since 2006.
Walsall’s Joyce, the world number 42, goes through to a last 16 meeting with Lyu Haotian.
Robertson led 4-3 having made breaks of 128, 79, 105 and 84. Joyce took the next two frames with 50 and 80 then Robertson compiled a run of 90 to make it 5-5.
In the 41-minute decider, Robertson built a 53-14 lead but couldn’t finish the job, and a long red from Joyce set him up for an excellent 42 clearance.
“I’m not quite sure how I managed to hold myself together there at the end in the decider,” said Joyce, who reached the quarter-finals of this event in 2010. “I’m absolutely thrilled. Neil was massive favourite when he was 30-odd in front with four reds left but slowly I managed to get the reds out and obviously when I got the chance they were there to be taken.
“This result is certainly up there with the best of my career, especially given how well Neil played in his first two matches.
“I’m just taking one match at a time, I’m just happy to still be in the tournament. It’s a great tournament and a lovely city and I’m delighted to be here for another couple of days.”
Robertson said: “Mark played a fantastic match. I fired in a lot of breaks and possibly playing against a higher ranked player that might have applied more pressure, but you could see out there that he was really enjoying it and he almost had nothing to lose.
“I’m not disappointed in the way I played at all. I’ve just got to congratulate him on a really great win with a good clearance at the end. I had a couple of really good chances in the decider but I ran out of position on the first and on the second chance I missed a tricky red.
“I’ve just got to keep putting in the hard work which I’m able to do more so now, so that’s a part that I’m really looking forward to.”
Mark Allen, runner-up in York in 2011, scored a 6-4 win over Peter Lines. Northern Ireland’s Allen went 3-0 up with a top break of 57 then Yorkshireman Lines won four of the next six frames with breaks of 80, 62 and 68. But world number nine Allen finished the match in style with a 119.
“I’m very happy with that win although I maybe didn’t play my best,” said Allen. “I competed well and played well in the safety department but every time I came to the table the balls were a bit awkward, it wasn’t free flowing snooker .
“I feel like I’ve been working on the right things and it’s starting to reflect not so much on my results but certainly on my performances. It’s been one of my better seasons for scoring heavily but it’s the other aspects of the game that I’m more pleased with.
“I felt so relaxed playing out there today, usually with TV there’s a few more nerves than playing on the outside tables but I didn’t really get that today.”
Allen will now face Joe Perry, who enjoyed a 6-3 win over Kurt Maflin. Perry went 4-0 up with a top break of 128, and finished the job in frame nine after Maflin had fought back to 5-3.
Scott Donaldson couldn’t build on his second-round victory over Mark Selby as he lost 6-1 to China’s Li Hang, whose top break was 134.
Today this is what we have in store:
All remaining top 16 players involved face a tricky match, except, maybe, Shaun Murphy. Don’t get me wrong, Jimmy Robertson is a very heavy scorer when on form but, until now, he rarely performs at his best on television. Yan Bingtao has beaten John Higgins in the International Championship a few weeks ago over the same best of 11 format and he relishes the limelight. Michael White is also a heavy scorer and one who is very capable to give Ronnie a hard time, especially if Ronnie’s long potting is not at its best.
An ‘Iranian Revolution’ would usually conjure up images of the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini. These days, however, you might even hear it used about snooker in the country, thanks to the fiercely determined efforts of Hossein Vafaei.
Vafaei has had to fight every inch of the way in his short, 23-year-old life merely for the right to play the game he loves. A huge talent – confirmed when he won the World Amateur title six years ago –has been suppressed at every turn, mainly through a visa impasse when diplomatic ties between the UK and Iran were cut following the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran in 2011.
But that does not begin to tell the whole story of the boy who grew up in the oil-rich city of Abadan, and who is known to his family as the ‘Miracle Kid’ after his father recovered from a coma having been initially pronounced dead years before he was born.
Vafaei celebrates winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Bangalore (Getty)
Snooker was brought to Iran in the days of the Shah mainly by British BP workers, but the clubs then all fell into a state of total disrepair after the sport was banned for over 20 years by the Islamist government for its gambling associations. That was overturned in 2000.
Abadan, on the border with Iraq and close to Basra, was badly bombed during the 1980s war between the two countries. And so it was on a dusty table with a ripped cloth using a warped cue on a street still strewn with the detritus of armed conflict that Vafaei first hit a ball at the age of six.
From that moment Vafaei’s natural ability shone through, and it has been solely a burning need to fulfil that talent that has carried him over some towering obstacles, including a home Iran federation that initially wanted him to stay as an amateur for national glory, to trips all round the world – often unsuccessful – to try and secure visas for professional tournaments.
Things have done been easy for the young snooker sensation (Getty)
Finally, after losing four years of his early career at a crucial time of development, Vafaei – who can for the most part still only play events in the UK, China and India – started to get a fair crack of the whip in the 2015-16 season as diplomatic tension between the UK and Iran eased. And the results came for a player taken under his wing by Ronnie O’Sullivan, the five-time world champion.
Last season Vafaei reached the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open, before knocking out world No2 Judd Trump and making the semi-finals of the China Open. He looks poised to do some more damage this season and plays Martin Gould in the UK Championship for a place in the last 16 in York.
“Not being able to play in a lot of the events meant that I lost my confidence,” Vafaei said.
The 23-year-old wants to see more Iranians playing snooker (Getty)
“I’ve now said to myself this is your time, you have to take your chance. There are still problems with visas, mainly now about the time they take with events coming thick and fast.
“I was in a bad situation, but if I can win I won’t have problems anymore. Ronnie O’Sullivan and China’s Liang Wenbo are my best friends on tour. Ronnie has been helping me a lot, and given me plenty of advice.
“Snooker is very popular in Iran. We have more than 1,400 snooker clubs and it is very big over there. Success for me will make the profile of the sport will become even bigger, I can guarantee thousands of people in Iran will be looking for my score.
“I want to improve the game in my home country. It could be like China, if I can do well we could see more Iranians coming over here.
“My father introduced me to snooker by taking me to one of the local clubs. I saw the table and immediately asked what it was. He took my hand and started teaching me how to play. After a few months I couldn’t leave it alone.”
Vafaei’s father introduced him to the sport (Getty)
Vafaei’s former manager Amir Mazahery is a fellow Iranian but also a professional gambler now based in Ireland.
“There has been a lot of damage done to his career and he has been set back, but he is so talented there is time to repair it and put it all right,” said Mazahery.
“I wish we could have taken that boy who came off a huge amateur win at 15 and run with him without all the obstacles. I honestly believe if he had had a fair run at it like most 16-year-olds he would be in the top four by now.”
Robertson recognises how difficult it has been for Vafaei (Getty)
And the trials and tribulations have not been lost on Vafaei’s fellow professionals. Australia’s Neil Robertson, the 2010 world champion, has spoken often about the relative difficulties experienced by overseas players but recognises that the Iranian’s path has been far tougher than most.
“Hossein should have been on the tour years ago, but it has been crazy for him,” said Robertson. “It is tough and a real handicap for him, those years are important – but you can get it back and the time he has lost will not be permanent damage if the talent is there and his attitude is spot on from now.”
As for Ronnie this is how he spent (part of) his free day … cooking for the ES team:
Oh and …
Happy Birthday Ronnie !
Although Ronnie doesn’t like birthdays and the press will probably end up eating the cake.
According to Douglas Adams, author of the The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything . Let’s hope it will be the answer to today’s match then…
It was another long and eventful day in York. Mark King missed the pink for a maximum … away from the television cameras. Liam Highfield nearly sent Shaun Murphy packing, and probably should have: he led 5-4 and had plenty of chances in the last two frames but pressure and inexperience of similar situations were his undoings. John Higgins earned a chance to take revenge on Yan Bingtao but he will need to play better if he is to stand any chance to avoid another pasting instead. Michael White played very well and scored heavily; he set a new tournament High Break at 142. Playing Michael will be Ronnie’s birthday present tomorrow. (hum!). And the press had a field day about Ronnie going to “I’m a celebrity …” with loads of misleading titles out in the papers today.
Shaun Murphy almost followed Mark Selby and Ding Junhui out of the exit door at the Betway UK Championship but scraped a dramatic 6-5 victory over Liam Highfield.
Top two seeds Selby and Ding both lost before the last 32 stage and fifth seed Murphy stood on the brink of defeat against Highfield several times but eventually managed to make it through to a third round meeting with Jimmy Robertson.
Breaks of 50, 96 and 80 helped Murphy go 4-2 ahead then world number 69 Highfield took the next three frames to go 5-4 up. The Stoke cueman had chances to seal victory in frame ten but couldn’t take them and lost a safety battle on the final black as Murphy made it 5-5.
A tense 37-minute decider came down to the colours. Highfield ran out of position in potting the last red, and after a bout of safety had another chance but missed a tricky thin cut on the yellow. Murphy took yellow, green and brown which proved enough to get him over the winning line.
“It’s amazing how difficult simple decision making becomes under pressure,” said 2008 UK Champion Murphy. “It’s absolutely horrendous and of course that’s what sport is about and that’s why we all love it.
“It’s difficult to be over elated when I made the mistakes I made in that match and won. Really, I know I need to look myself in the mirror tonight – if I’ve got any dreams of winning this tournament I will have to up my standard significantly. It’s back to the practice table. But you can’t win the tournament by sitting at home, you have to be here.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan had a far smoother passage to the third round as he beat Michael Georgiou 6-1 with top breaks of 57, 69, 68 and 82. The five-time UK Champion now plays Michael White or Matthew Selt.
“I’m happy to be through, it’s great to have an opportunity to play another match in this great tournament,” said the Rocket. “Michael can play better than that, so I was a little bit surprised how he struggled.”
O’Sullivan was asked whether he would one day be prepared to appear in the ITV show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here and he replied:
“Definitely. I was watching the jungle and thought ‘wow, I need to have a go at that.’ You get a chance to go to Australia, get the family out there for a nice little holiday. I am coming round to the idea of it if the price is right. Count me in.
“Amir Khan has been fantastic in the jungle. I love him, and Dennis Wise has been great too. I get approached all the time to do these shows.”
There were mixed emotions for Mark King as he beat Mike Dunn 6-4 but passed up the chance of a 147, missing the pink on 134.
Luca Brecel made breaks of 107 and 114 in the last two frames of a 6-3 win over Aditya Mehta. Jimmy Robertson came from 5-3 down to beat Alan McManus 6-5, winning the deciding frame by clearing from yellow to pink.
Ricky Walden came from 4-2 and 5-4 down to edge out Jamie Jones 6-5 while Kyren Wilson saw off Yu Delu 6-4. Northern Ireland Open finalist Yan Bingtao kept his fine form going as he beat Ben Woollaston 6-1 with a top run of 134.
John Higgins scored a 6-4 win over Cao Yupeng at the Betway UK Championship but revealed he needs a new tip on his cue before a tough third round meeting with Chinese prodigy Yan Bingtao.
Three-time UK Champion Higgins was well below his best against Cao; a 59 in the fifth frame was his only break over 50. The 42-year-old Scot now plays on Tuesday afternoon against Yan, who beat him 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the International Championship.
“I was rubbish tonight, I brought Cao down to my level,” said world number five Higgins. “I wasn’t happy with my cue tip and today when I was hitting balls it was gone. That can happen with tips sometimes.
“I’m going to drive up the road (to Glasgow) and ask Fraser Patrick to stick a new tip on for me. I can’t play any worse than that and if I went out with the same tip on Tuesday I would be lucky to win a frame.
“I think everyone rates Bingtao really highly, he could very well win the tournament this week so I’m going to have to play 100 times better to have a chance of beating him. He enjoys the big stage, he revels in it. He’s probably going to be on the big stage for the next 20 years. He believes that he can win and you don’t get that in a lot of young players.”
Iran’s top player Hossein Vafaei edged out Anthony McGill 6-5 in a match which finished at 12.30am. Scotland’s McGill came from 3-0 down to lead 4-3 but Vafaei rallied and eventually won the decider 74-28.
“It was a very tough match because we both respect each other a lot,” said world number 50 Vafaei. “It was a hard fight and I’m happy to win. It’s great to win matches in a such a big tournament and to make my country proud of me because a lot of people in Iran are following me.”
World number eight Barry Hawkins came from 2-0 down to beat Hammad Miah 6-2 with top runs of 96, 71 and 90. Martin Gould beat Robbie Williams by the same scoreline with a top break of 135.
Michael White set up a match with Ronnie O’Sullivan by beating Matthew Selt 6-1. Welshman White fired breaks of 56, 103, 51, 77 and a tournament-high 142.
It was a good night for Thailand as Noppon Saengkham saw off Leo Fernandez 6-0 with a top run of 109 while promising Sunny Akani scored an impressive 6-4 win over Michael Holt with high scores of 79 and 71.
China’s Xiao Guodong top scored with 95 in a 6-1 win over Tom Ford.
Reanne Evans joined Neal Foulds and Colin Murray in the Eurosport Studio. Nice addition to the ES team that.
There was a huge crowd today for the afternoon session as Ronnie took center stage.
And, just like last year, Ronnie did beat Michael Georgiou by 6-1, only it was last 32 at that time. Ronnie won’t be too pleased with his performance I think, but he did the job and it’s all that matters. Ronnie looked tired ou there, but he will have a day off before meeting Matt Selt or Michael White in the last 32.
Here is the match :
Ronnie’s interview with Hazel Irvine and Ken Doherty post-match:
UK Championship 2017: Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Michael Georgiou to reach third round
By Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at the York Barbican
O’Sullivan has won the World Championship five times and the Masters on seven occasions
Five-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan eased into the third round of the UK Championship with a 6-1 victory over world number 73 Michael Georgiou.
O’Sullivan knocked in breaks of 69 and 57 as he opened up a 4-0 lead – Cypriot Georgiou scored just one point in the opening three frames.
Georgiou hit back with a 60, but world number four O’Sullivan won the next two with breaks of 68 and 82.
The 41-year-old is aiming to equal Steve Davis’ record haul of six titles.
O’Sullivan is also hoping to draw level with Stephen Hendry’s 18 ‘Triple Crown’ triumphs – he has won the World Championship five times and the Masters on seven occasions.
“I just want to play for the enjoyment of it,” O’Sullivan told BBC Two. “I find it tough sometimes, I just have to manage it as well as I can.
“Records are not something I am worried about. I keep it as business like as I can – I don’t want to get too emotionally involved.”
He will face either Welshman Michael White or Englishman Matthew Selt in the next round on Tuesday.
‘The Rocket’ has been this season’s form player, claiming two ranking titles and reaching the final of two other invitational events.
“I don’t rest on my laurels,” he added. “What’s the point of thinking like that for the next five, six months? That’s a real loser’s attitude.
“My game has started to feel good again and I thought I owe it to myself to give it a good go.”
Such has been O’Sullivan and world number one Mark Selby’s recent dominance, the pair have claimed the last five UK, World and Masters titles. Selby, though, suffered a shock defeat by world number 66 Scott Donaldson on Saturday.
Analysis – O’Sullivan the man to beat
1997 world champion Ken Doherty on BBC TV
I do not think O’Sullivan will be fully happy with his performance, he lost his concentration at times but he has been cueing really well over the last few months.
He has done a lot of travelling this year, but has been very successful reaching the latter stages of tournaments. He is the man to beat.
It was experience for Georgiou in playing one of the best players in the game out in the main arena on TV. Even though it is a baptism of fire, he can take it on to his next game but he is better than he showed today.
Whatever happens from here, he’s got the right attitude.
Saturday in York saw the start of the television stage and half of the last 64 matches played. Some of the World Disability Snooker players were welcome and met some of the players involved.
Pictures shared on social media
On the table we had another major shock in the afternoon, with young Scott Donaldson sending the World Champion and World n°1, Mark Selby, home. Scott had arrived in York on the back of 11 consecutive defeats, and winless this season. From 0-2 down, he managed to win 6-3. In the evening there weren’t big surprises, although some scorelines are IMO a bit misleading. Judd Trump did whitewash Chris Wakelin in no time, but frankly he didn’t play well at all. At the MSI his pot success was only 81% if I remember correctly. Chris was just plain awful.
Defending champion Mark Selby suffered a second round exit at the Betway UK Championship as he lost 6-3 to world number 66 Scott Donaldson.
Perthshire’s Donaldson enjoyed the best win of his career so far as he reeled of a trio of big breaks to win the last three frames against world number one Selby.
Donaldson, age 23, reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Open last season but then had a terrible start to the 2017/18 campaign, losing ten matches in a row. He ended that barren spell by beating John Astley 6-2 in the first round at the York Barbican and today’s win over Selby sets up a last 32 clash with China’s Li Hang.
Selby looked comfortable in the early stages as he went 2-0 up with a top break of 68, but Donaldson hit back to win three frames in a row with top runs of 88 and 51. World Champion Selby won the sixth for 3-3, but he didn’t score a point in the last three frames as Donaldson fired breaks of 90, 77 and 84 to win in style.
“In terms of the difficulty of my opponent it’s my best win,” said Donaldson, who turned pro in 2012. “I’m quite calm, it’s just another win for me and I’ll be preparing for my next match now.
“It has been well documented that I’d not won a game this season but I actually had a lot of cue problems. I have to say thanks to Raymond Cohen from Exquisite Cues because he has done a brilliant job with it, and I’ll stop messing about with it now. I feel I’m back to where I was last year.
“I got good chances in the balls today and I capitalised on it. It doesn’t always happen like that, on another day I wouldn’t have had a look in. I took my chances and that’s what you need to do in any game regardless of who you are playing.”
Selby said: “Everyone seems to be playing at that standard against me at the moment. I rate Scott as a player, he’s got a good all round game, he scores well as you’ve just seen today. It didn’t surprise me him playing like that because I’ve played him before four or five times and he’s performed like that every time. He closed the match out really well
“If I had kept missing and not taken my chances then it would have hurt a lot more. I’ve got no excuses.”
Neil Robertson made three consecutive centuries for the second match in a row as he beat Ken Doherty 6-2. Australia’s Robertson trailed 2-1 but then took five straight frames with high scores of 102, 124, 129.
“I have been practising for the last two months and I feel as though something has really clicked now,” said Robertson, the 2013 and 2015 champion. “I’m 100% focused on snooker now and that’s showing so far in my performances this week.
“I had a chance to make four centuries in a row but didn’t land on a red when I went into the pack. I was looking at doubles, I was looking at plants, I was looking at everything but it would have been taking the mick a bit if I went for something silly.”
Robertson is still in 17th place in the race to the Masters because 16th-placed Ryan Day beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3 with a top run of 81.
Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Williams extended his winning streak to nine consecutive matches with a 6-2 win over Andrew Higginson. Williams indicated that he will continue to play in the tournament as it stands, despite his wife Joanne suffering an illness which has required hospital treatment.
Mark Allen came from 3-2 down to beat Oliver Lines 6-4 with top breaks of 101 and 127. That ended Lines’ hopes of playing his dad Peter in the next round.
Chinese teenager Lyu Haotian made a 106 in a 6-3 win over Peter Ebdon.
Neil Robertson opened up last season about his video games addiction, and this time revealed that his family has been facing tough times. It can’t be easy for sure. Neil is still in with a chance to be at the Masters but he needs to get past Ryan Day who also won yesterday.
Judd Trump made it two consecutive 6-0 wins at the Betway UK Championship by white-washing Chris Wakelin, but admitted he wishes he could play stress-free snooker.
World number two Trump followed up his 6-0 first round win over Matthew Bolton with another comfortable victory, needing just 99 minutes to beat Wakelin with a top break of 61.
Trump won this event in 2011 but that remains his only Triple Crown title and the 28-year-old believes that he needs changes to his game and his mindset in order to fulfil his potential.
“I want to do better in these Triple Crown events where there is more pressure,” said the Bristolian, who has won eight ranking titles overall including this season’s European Masters. “I have been working hard but so has everyone else. The way I have played this season has been my worst for about five years.
“I think I got into the mindset that I didn’t have to practise hard, and now it has caught up with me. My game isn’t where it should be and I’d be surprised if I do well in this tournament. I am trying a few new things and that takes a while to take effect.
“The confidence I had when I broke through is not there any more. Now there is no real freedom and I want to get back to the time when I could just enjoy playing and not worry. It’s more stressful now. Maybe I have too much expectation and I need to be more relaxed, and play the way I do at the end of a frame when it’s already won.
“There was a massive crowd tonight, it felt like a semi or a final instead of a second round game. I am disappointed with how I played but happy to win my first two matches 6-0.”
Liang Wenbo top scored with 110 in a 6-1 win over Mitchell Mann which maintains his cushion over Ryan Day and Neil Robertson in the race to the Masters.
Jimmy White couldn’t build on his first round win over Ali Carter as he lost 6-2 to Kurt Maflin. Norway’s Maflin made a top break of 77 in building a 5-0 lead and sealed victory in frame eight.
Stephen Maguire, the 2004 UK Champion, thrashed Jak Jones 6-0 with top runs of 84, 70, 94 and 93 while Graeme Dott edged out Dominic Dale 6-5.
Marco Fu saw off Zhao Xintong 6-4 while Leeds cueman Peter Lines beat Xu Si 6-2. Joe Perry earned a 6-3 victory over Jack Lisowski.
Judd’s assessment of the situation is very honest, credits for that, and, yes, he should be worried because unless he improves significantly he won’t go deep in this.
Yesterday in York saw the conclusion of the last 128 round and provided another shock, albeit I guess, for many fans a pleasant one. Indeed Jimmy White beat Ali Carter fair and square; the score was 6-2 to the Whirlwind. Otherwise, the seeds went through, including Ronnie. There was also a lesser shock as Matthew Stevens crashed out at the hands of Hammad Miah.
Snooker legend Jimmy White scored his best result in recent years by beating Ali Carter 6-2 in the first round of the Betway UK Championship.
It’s 25 years since White won this tournament but the 55-year-old proved that he still has the game to compete with the top stars with a surprise win over world number 14 Carter.
White dropped off the pro tour at the end of last season but was able to return with an invitational tour card. He has enjoyed some impressive results this term, reaching the last 32 of last week’s Northern Ireland Open, but nothing as significant as this victory over four-time ranking event winner Carter.
From 2-1 down, White made a crucial yellow-to-black clearance to square the tie at the interval. The Londoner also took the next two frames on the colours to lead 4-2, then finished superbly with breaks of 128 and 61 in the last two frames.
“Ali is a top player,” said ten-time ranking event winner White, who now faces Kurt Maflin on Saturday night. “The first few frames were scrappy but from 4-2 up I played well. If there’s one thing I still know, it’s how to win. I had a couple of good wins in Belfast last week which gave me some confidence.
“I know I can do it, because I still do it in the odd match here and there. The big tournaments are the ones you really want to excel in. If my game is on I can beat anyone, I have proved that to myself today. I’ll practise for the next couple of days and look forward to the next match. It was really nice to get a lot of support today at a great venue.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan booked his place in the last 64 with a 6-3 win over Welsh 16-year-old Jackson Page. O’Sullivan is seeking his third ranking title of the season having landed the English Open and Shanghai Masters.
The Rocket started strongly with breaks of 80 and 117 to go 2-0 up, but talented amateur Page did not buckle on the big stage and hit back to take the next two frames with a top run of 63. O’Sullivan won the next three for 5-2 before Page pulled one back with a 65. World number four O’Sullivan then sealed the result with a 105 in frame nine. He will now face Michael Georgiou on Sunday afternoon.
Five-time UK Champion O’Sullivan had high praise for tonight’s opponent, saying: “He’s by far the best British player I’ve seen in his age group. He’s a raw talent and there are things he has to work on, like his positional play, but they are things which are easy to improve. He’s got a great temperament and he enjoys it out there. Some of his safety was fantastic.
“I played ok, nothing special. I just go out there and do a job and try to be clinical in my thinking. Hopefully I’ll play a bit better in the next round.”
Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Williams kept his run of form going as he saw off Paul Davison 6-0 with a top run of 88. However the Welshman’s wife Joanne remains ill in hospital and he has yet to decide whether to withdraw from the tournament.
“Last night she was in theatre for three hours, having blood injected into her spine,” said Williams. “If she is really bad today then I will go home. If at any stage she wants me to go back then I will. I don’t want to pull out of the second biggest tournament of the season but I just have to play it by ear.”
Neil Robertson was in fine form in a 6-1 win over Rod Lawler, firing breaks of 118, 126 and 101 in consecutive frames. The result keeps alive the Australian’s hopes of qualifying for the Masters – for the latest on that race click here.
“I played really well and to make three centuries in a row in front of a good crowd was a nice feeling,” said two-time UK Champion Robertson.
Michael Holt came from 5-3 down to edge out Niu Zhuang 6-5 while three-time UK finalist Ken Doherty saw off Gary Wilson 6-3.
Liang Wenbo top scored with 130 in a 6-1 win over Sanderson Lam while Barry Hawkins beat Kurt Dunham 6-1 with a top break of 97. Matthew Stevens, UK Champion 14 years ago, lost 6-3 to Hammad Miah.
Regarding Ronnie’s match, I thought he played well, not at his best but well.
Here is the match:
When I read that Ronnie was to face Jackson Page instead of Rhys Clark, I admit that I thought “Oh no!” because I knew that this was a potential banana skin especially in the first round of a major tournament. Players will tell you that it’s always a tricky round to negotiate. The boy is a ferocious potter, and he’s Mark Williams protégé – he played a couple of “under the body” shots BTW. It’s great to have such a good young prospect in the game and, as it is, a tougher opener often help the player who comes out the winner to settle in the tournament and to focus. Ronnie was full of praise at his press conference.
He will now face Michael Georgiou on Sunday afternoon.
As for Mark Williams, all I can say is that I’m wishing his wife, his family, and himself the best. Jo is seriously ill, meningitis for what transpired, and this is far more important than any game of snooker.
There weren’t any shocks yesterday in York, but there was a surprise and a good one. Basem Eltahhan from Egypt was due to play Mark Selby in the evening on the main table and I must confess that I didn’t expect anything from this match as Basem, who is in his first year as a pro, had only played two matches until now, and lost both by 4-0. I had planned to watch Allen vs Kleckers and only turned to the other table because the streaming on table 2 was bad and because Kleckers was playing badly as well. Well, Basem Eltahhan gave Mark Selby a serious challenge and the match turned out to be quite interesting. Basem is a rookie, he made a few mistakes – in particular he overhit the cue ball a few times – but he still ran the World Champion very close. He should be proud of his performance. And, I have said it before, first round losers should get something, even if it does not count towards their ranking. It takes two to play a match and yesterday both players gave the paying public and the promoters a lot of value through their performance. It would only be fair that both get something for their work. Giving something minimal to the first round losers shouldn’t be seen as “rewarding mediocrity” – those who lose all the time won’t make it anyway – it should be seen as an investment so that newcomers on the main tour are put in the best conditions to develop to their full potential. Not everyone is a quick learner. Mark Selby was 24, and his ninth year on the tour when he won his first ranking title in 2008, and then had to wait until 2011 before he won another. He was then in his 12th season. He has now turned into a serial winner and the dominant force on the circuit. Neil Robertson also was 24 when he won his first ranking title, the 2006 Grand Prix and he had dropped off the tour twice before finding his foot. His game was very raw when he arrived from Australia, he needed time to learn. Could he do it under today’s circumstances? Not sure. He had no money and needed a side job to support himself. That would difficult nowadays with a full calendar.
Judd Trump eased into the last 64 of the Betway UK Championship with a 6-0 whitewash of Matthew Bolton.
World number two Trump top scored with 137, the highest break of the tournament so far, as he set up a second round meeting with Chris Wakelin or Lee Walker.
Bristol’s Trump captured this title in 2011 and comes to York in good form having won the European Masters and reached the final of the Shanghai Masters in recent weeks.
“I felt good, I’ve practised hard for this and I felt sharp out there,” he said. “I didn’t really give him a chance until the final frame, so hopefully I can keep that up.
“This is one of the better tournaments and it was a nice crowd out there for the first round. I’ve done well twice here but I’ve been inconsistent and not done well the past couple of years. I’m due a run here.”
Trump was asked about last week’s Northern Ireland Open when he lost in the first round to Stuart Carrington, and conceded the last frame early, with seven reds still on the table, by pushing his cue into the pack.
“It’s not something that I regret. I think everyone has done it over time,” said the 28-year-old. “I didn’t do anything horrible to Stuart, I didn’t punch the table like other people have done or bang my cue. I just gave up too early when he was going to win because the balls were everywhere.
“I said good luck to Stuart and didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just down on myself and too tired having done a lot of travelling. When you’re not sleeping, you’re not thinking straight.”
World number one Mark Selby had to battle for nearly four hours to beat Egypt’s Basem Eltahhan 6-4. African champion Eltahhan made breaks of 79 and 99 in sharing the first four frames. Selby made 58 and 76 to lead 4-2 but his opponent, ranked 131, kept fighting and took two of the next three to trail 5-4. Defending champion Selby eventually sealed victory in frame ten with a run of 63.
Selby said: “It was unbelievable. To perform like Basem did throughout the match, he played like a top 32 player. He has only played a couple of matches before (losing both 4-0) but he did himself proud tonight.”
Shaun Murphy enjoyed a comfortable win, beating Pakistan’s Hamza Akbar 6-1. World number six Murphy lost the opening frame but then reeled off six in a row with top runs of 74, 55, 129, 52 and 74.
Anthony McGill showed his break-building class in a 6-2 win over Ashley Hugill, knocking in 84, 66, 105, 108 and 110. Luca Brecel came from 4-3 down to beat Soheil Vahedi 6-4.
Mark Allen saw off Germany’s Lukas Kleckers 6-2 with top runs of 81, 101, 99, 104 and 72. “I scored well but I didn’t really play well, I was getting chances that I won’t get against the top players,” said Northern Ireland’s Allen. “I’m just happy to get over the line because the first round here is not easy. I feel my game is in good shape.”
China’s Lyu Haotian, a semi-finalist last week in Belfast, beat Anthony Hamilton 6-1 with a top run of 107 while Iran’s Hossein Vafaei top scored with 93 in a 6-4 win over James Wattana. Ricky Walden made a 118 in a 6-1 defeat of Duane Jones.
Leeds cueman Peter Lines edged out Zhou Yuelong 6-5 so remains on course for a possible third round meeting with son Oliver Lines, who beat Mei Xiwen 6-3.
India’s Aditya Mehta potted pink and black in the deciding frame to beat Sam Baird 6-5 while Jack Lisowski made a 124 in a 6-4 win over Wang Yuchen.
As for Ronnie he was also in action in the evening … in WHSmith with a pen
According to Jason Francis the famous spoon with the 108 dots, that Ronnie used to try to keep his focus during his SF against Selby at the UK Championship 2007, turned up for signing …
O’Sullivan has lost just five frames in his three matches so far in York and will now face Barry Hawkins or Sunny Akani in round four. He is chasing his sixth UK title and third ranking event of the season having won the English Open and Shanghai Masters.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 