Congratulations to John Higgins, 2018 Welsh Open Champion

John Higgins won a record fifth Welsh Open title yesterday evening, beating Barry Hawkins by 9-7 in the Final in Cardiff. This was John’s 30th ranking title.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Sunday 4 Mar 2018 10:17PM

John Higgins beat Barry Hawkins 9-7 in the final of the ManBetX Welsh Open, becoming the first player to win the title five times.

Higgins came from 4-2 down to win seven of the last ten frames of a high quality final in Cardiff to take the Ray Reardon Trophy and a top prize of £70,000. The Welsh Open is snooker’s longest running ranking event other than the World and UK Championships, and Higgins now goes one ahead of Ronnie O’Sullivan with five crowns, having previously triumphed in 2000, 2010, 2011 and 2015.

Scotland’s Higgins captured his second ranking title of the season, having won the Indian Open in September, and 30th of his career. That leaves him just two behind O’Sullivan on the all time list and six behind Stephen Hendry.

At the age of 42, Higgins remains one of the fiercest competitors on the tour, and his renowned all-round game is as strong as ever. The trio of greats who turned pro in 1992 – Higgins, O’Sullivan and Mark Williams – have now won eight of this season’s 16 ranking events between them. All three play with the demeanour of men who have achieved plenty in their careers and are now enjoying what is left, without the pressure that usually comes with intense competition at the top level.

Higgins remains at number five in the world rankings but closes the gap on fourth-placed Ding Junhui.

Hawkins, who moves up one place to seventh thanks to his £30,000 runner-up prize, missed the chance to win a fourth ranking title and first since the World Grand Prix a year ago. This season has been a tough one for the 38-year-old Londoner on and off the table as he has had to come to terms with the tragic death of his brother in law.

As he explained after his semi-final match yesterday, only in recent weeks has he been able to focus on snooker. A welcome return to form in Cardiff will give the former Crucible finalist confidence for the rest of the season. However he misses out on a place in the Players Championship in Llandudno later this month – only the top prize tonight would have jumped him into the top 16 of the one-year ranking list.

Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Higgins took the opening frame tonight, then came from 44-10 behind in the next to win it with a 49 clearance, going 6-4 ahead. Hawkins hit back superbly with back to back centuries, 103 and 138, to level at the interval.

In frame 13, Hawkins had what looked like a handy 44-4 lead with several reds close to the top cushion, only for Higgins to make a trademark 66 clearance to regain the lead. The 14th came down to a safety battle on the last red and Hawkins, trailing 59-38, converted a cracking long pot to set up a chance to clear, and he got to the pink before missing a tricky pot to a baulk corner. After a brief tactical exchange, Higgins knocked in the pink to lead 8-6.

Back came Hawkins with a break of 82 to draw within one frame. But the Englishman botched a safety early in frame 16, letting Higgins in for a break of 64 which ended when he missed a tough red to a baulk corner. Hawkins had one more chance but missed a red to centre, and Higgins added the points he needed to win a Home Nations tournament for the first time.

“That was one of the most enjoyable finals I have played in and it’s fantastic to win,” said four-time World Champion Higgins. “There were a couple of really tight frames towards the end. Barry will be kicking himself that he didn’t go 7-6 up or win the next frame to go 7-7. It seemed destined to go to a decider and the match probably deserved that. But I made a good break in the last frame.

“I’m over the moon, it will sink in over the next couple of days. To get to 30 ranking titles is beyond my wildest dreams. Who knows how many more I can win but I have managed to win two this season.

“After losing the World Championship final last season (to Mark Selby) I got a bit down on myself in private moments, thinking it was a great chance to win. But now I have proved I am still capable of winning events. I haven’t done that at the Masters, UK or World for seven years so that’s my goal now.

“Walking out for the final session tonight at 6-6, there’s nothing to beat that. Your adrenaline is going, you’re nervous, short of breath and you want to be sick. There are a whole range of emotions. But when you’re actually down on the shot you’re enjoying it and loving the situation you are in. I can’t replicate that in anything else I do in my life. It’s like a drug, you want to try it again and again.”

Hawkins, who has now lost three of his six ranking finals, said: “I am a bit gutted. I feel as if I played well but John was more clinical. I can’t beat myself up too much because John is one of the all-time greats and I pushed him all the way. I kept fighting and didn’t give up.

“I had a chance to go 5-2 up in the first session and you have to take those sort of opportunities against John. I felt very good in spells and there are definitely positives to take from the week. I feel as if my game is in good shape.”

This brings the tally of the “class of 92” to 82 titles, 20 for Mark Williams, 30 for John Higgins, and 32 for Ronnie. They also own an incredibly 33 triple crown titles between them: 6 for Williams, 9 for Higgins, 18 for Ronnie. Together they have won half of the ranking events this season so far: 2 for Williams, 2 for Higgins, 4 for Ronnie. They are 42, with Willo turning 43 in a fortnight. They are number 1, 2 and 3 in the one year list. Where is the opposition? Where is the allegedly “higher standard”? Down the rankings, probably, yes, not at the top. Mark Selby is having a rather bad season by his standard, and there seems to be nobody else really to challenge the “old boys”.

It also raises the question of how much each of them could have won without the other two being around. It is my firm opinion that both Ronnie and Higgins would have won significantly more than Stephen Hendry. We shouldn’t forget that Hendry won all but one  of his triple crowns, and 29 of his 36 ranking titles,  before those three even turned 22, in fact when he won his 6th World Title in 1996, Williams had just turned 21, Higgins and Ronnie were 20, and himself was only 29, bang in his prime. The “92 boys” were certainly very good, Higgins had won several ranking titles already, as had Ronnie who had won the UK and Masters as a teenager, but they were far from their mature best, nobody is at that age.

2018 Welsh Open: preview of the John Higgins – Barry Hawkins match (Session1, Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the John Higgins – Barry Hawkins match (Session1, Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: review of the John Higgins – Barry Hawkins match (Session1, Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: preview of the John Higgins – Barry Hawkins match (Session2, Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the John Higgins – Gary Wilson match (Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: review of the John Higgins – Barry Hawkins match (Session2, Eurosport)

And Ronnie was commentating on these

2018 Welsh Open: John Higgins – Barry Hawkins (frames 5-8)

Today, Barry Hawkins and John Higgins will compete in the Final of the last of the Home Nations Series tournament. This is how the Semi-Finals panned out:

Barry Hawkins 6-4 Noppon Saengkham (Worldsnooker report)

Saturday 3 Mar 2018 06:28PM

Barry Hawkins reached the final of the ManBetX Welsh Open in Cardiff with a 6-4 win over Noppon Saengkham, then spoke movingly about the tragedy which has affected his life and career over the past year.

Despite a late fight back from Thailand’s Saengkham, world number eight Hawkins eventually got the better of an opponent ranked 50 places below him to set up a final meeting on Sunday with John Higgins or Gary Wilson. Victory for 38-year-old Hawkins would give him his fourth career ranking title and first since the 2017 World Grand Prix.

The past year has been a tough one for Hawkins on and off the table, following the death of his brother-in-law. “Last April I had a belated birthday party with the family after the World Championship,” he explained after today’s match. “For the previous six months my sister’s husband had been suffering from depression. We all thought he was getting back to normal.

“That evening he was dropped at home by my dad. Sadly he took his own life. He felt like there was no way out for him. We didn’t see it coming at all. I was with him for an hour while the paramedics were working on him. I have never experienced anything like that and I wouldn’t want to go through it again. It absolutely destroyed me for about six months.

“I played snooker but I really wasn’t thinking about the game, my mind was elsewhere. It was very tough for my family and especially my sister and her two twins, who are eight years old now. It was devastating, so snooker had to take a back seat. In the last few months I have been trying to find my form again. I feel better about myself and we’re moving on.  We’ll never forget what happened but at least we are dealing with it now.”

So far this season he had failed to progress beyond the last 16 of a ranking event, until this week. At the Motorpoint Arena the Londoner has shown signs of a return to his best form, winning six matches to reach his sixth ranking final.

Hawkins also keeps alive his chances of qualifying for the lucrative Players Championship in Llandudno later this month. Only the £70,000 top prize in Cardiff would earn him a spot.

A scrappy opening frame today went the way of Hawkins, then his opponent, who was competing in the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time, levelled with a break of 63. Former World Championship finalist Hawkins fired runs of 57 and 94 to lead 3-1, and shared the next two frames to make it 4-2.

A drawn-out seventh frame, lasting 38 minutes, came down to the colours and Hawkins cleared from yellow to pink to move within one of victory. Saengkham, age 25, fought back impressively as breaks of 57 and 139 saw him close to 5-4. And the Thai had chances early in frame ten, but twice missed a red to a top corner pocket. His second error proved decisive as Hawkins compiled an excellent run of 63 to book his final spot.

Hawkins added: “I feel a bit subdued because it was such a long match, we both missed a lot of easy balls. It was hard battle. But once it sinks in I will be proud of myself because I’m in the final.

“I didn’t do much wrong from 5-2 to 5-4. In the last frame luckily he missed a couple of easy balls and I made a good break. If it had gone 5-5 I would have got twitchy.”

 

What happened to Barry’s family is terrible and it’s no wonder that he had a bad few months on the baize. It’s a credit to his professionalism that he was able to play at all. This is a reminder that snooker, after all, is only a game and that there are far more important things in life than winning or losing a match. That said, I really hope that Barry can win today. Seeing him lift the trophy won’t undo the tragedy the family had to go through, but I’m sure, for him and his, it would be more than a win on the table, it would be a win over despair and hardship, driven by courage. Barry is a lovely, humble man who loves his family dearly. I will be firmly in his side today!

John Higgins 6-2 Gary Wilson (Worldsnooker report)

Saturday 3 Mar 2018 11:20PM

John Higgins beat Gary Wilson 6-2 to reach the final of the ManBetX Welsh Open, continuing his bid to become the first player to win the title five times.

Wizard of Wishaw Higgins will face Barry Hawkins over 17 frames in Cardiff on Sunday with the winner to collect £70,000 and the Ray Reardon Trophy. Higgins is now into the 47th ranking final of his career – one more than Ronnie O’Sullivan – and he is currently tied with O’Sullivan on four Welsh Open crowns.

The 42-year-old Scot is looking for his second ranking title of the season, having won the Indian Open in September, and 30th of his career, which would leave him just two behind O’Sullivan and six behind Stephen Hendry on the all-time list.

It was a scrappy start to the match tonight with neither player able to make a break over 50 in the first four frames. World number five Higgins led 2-1 and had a chance to clear in the fourth but missed the final pink to a top corner when ten points ahead. Wilson’s attempted long pot also missed its target and Higgins clipped in an excellent long pink to go 3-1 ahead.

Wallsend’s Wilson, appearing in a ranking event semi-final for only the second time in his career, pulled one back after the interval with a run of 61 and the world number 51 had first scoring chance in frame six but ran out of position on 35. Higgins replied with a 99 clearance which included a superb planted red to a centre pocket early in the break.

That proved the key moment as Higgins built momentum, dominating frame seven to lead 5-2 then finishing the job with a 106 in the eighth.

“I’m just delighted to be through to the final,” said Higgins, who won the Welsh Open in 2000, 2010, 2011 and 2015. “I was feeling the pressure tonight because I knew it was a good chance to get to the final, I had to play on Gary’s inexperience a bit. It was similar to Barry’s game earlier against Noppon in that you’re expected to win. I’m sure it will be a good final because Barry is hitting the ball well and I’m doing the same.

“In any sport you very rarely get great semi-finals because it’s all about keeping your nerve, getting over the line and trying to get to the final so you can enjoy the occasion. It would be brilliant to win this for a fifth time. I’m proud of myself that I’m still in there battling having played my first final in this event in 1995.

“I know what Barry can do, he knows what I can do and I think we’ll just relax and play the table. Getting to 30 ranking titles will be in the back of my mind. I just hope I do myself justice tomorrow and make it a good occasion.”

The final starts at 1pm on Sunday, with eight frames played in the afternoon and then the remainder from 7pm.

Funnily, what John said there about the semi-finals being rarely “good” matches, is almost identical to what Ronnie was saying in the studio whilst commenting as a pundit: in a way, those are the most difficult matches of the tournament.

Here is the punditry – with Ronnie

2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Barry Hawkins – Noppon Saengkham match (Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the Barry Hawkins – Noppon Saengkham match (Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: review of the Barry Hawkins – Noppon Saengkham match (Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: preview of the John Higgins – Gary Wilson match (Eurosport)

2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the John Higgins – Gary Wilson match (Eurosport) … Ronnie also did some trickshots during the mid-session.

2018 Welsh Open: review of the John Higgins – Gary Wilson match (Eurosport)

And, about Ronnie, this was initially published by Wales Online (and then repeated, with variations, by other media)

This is only an excerpt, as the rest of the article goes on about what Ronnie said last year…

He must have been disappointed at losing in the quarter-final of the Welsh Open, but it didn’t stop Ronnie O’Sullivan showing his caring side.

The snooker superstar had just been knocked out of the competition by John Higgins in the event being held at the Motorpoint Arena this week.

He had just left the arena when he saw a homeless man in a doorway on what was another bitterly cold night in the city.

It has been the coldest start to March on record with temperatures feeling around -10C at night, and Ronnie was so shocked to see the man in the doorway of the Rainbow Casino in Tredegar Street he had to do something.

He went to the supermarket next door and bought him some sandwiches and drinks.

Eyewitness Matthew Lofthouse said: “It happened 45 minutes after his defeat in the 2018 Welsh Open quarter-finals at the Motorpoint Arena.

“The Rocket spoke to the homeless man, shocked that he was laying outside in the snow and freezing conditions.

He ran into the Tesco Express next door and picked up a couple of sandwiches and drinks for the man and gave them to him compassionately. He then very polite and told the man to stay safe and insisting that he shouldn’t say thanks for the gift.”

Jason Francis retweet the article with these comments:

He has done this countless times when I’ve been with him. people never want to see this side of him though

1 million per cent genuine

Ronnie might be temperamental at times, and a bit naughty, even mischievous as he likes to tease people, but he is fundamentally a warm, generous and caring person with a big heart. I have witnessed a few myself. And he never boasts about it, this wouldn’t be in the press if that student hadn’t been around, just by chance, and hadn’t chosen to report it.

It was quarter-finals day yesterday in Cardiff and this is what happened

In the afternoon (report on Worldsnooker)

Friday 2 Mar 2018 06:31PM

Barry Hawkins continued his return to form with a 5-1 win over Yan Bingtao and will now face Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals of the ManBetX Welsh Open.

World number eight Hawkins has had a poor season by his standards – today’s match was his first ranking quarter-final of the campaign. But the 38-year-old has shown signs of his best this week and is now just two wins away from landing a fourth ranking title.

His hopes of qualifying for the lucrative Players Championship are still alive and he could book a place in Llandudno by taking the £70,000 top prize this week.

China’s promising 18-year-old Yan won the opening frame with a break of 54 then Londoner Hawkins hit back with 74 and 137 to lead 2-1. Yan led 44-16 in the fourth but his opponent crucially made a 48 clearance to make it 3-1 at the interval. A tremendous 141 total clearance extended his advantage and he sealed the result in frame six with runs of 60 and 41.

“I was pleased with the result and even more with the performance,” said Hawkins after reaching his fourth Welsh Open semi-final. “I made a good clearance to win the fourth frame and that was the big moment. I didn’t give Yan many chances.

“I am getting matches under my belt and playing more consistently now. Confidence is all it is. I have to stay focused now and keep playing like that.

“I have watched Noppon a few times, he has put in some great performances and beaten some good players. He is dangerous.”

Saengkham reached the last four of a ranking event for the first time by beating Ian Burns 5-3. The first two frames were shared, then 25-year old Saengkham pulled away to lead 4-1 with runs of 87, 55 and 67.

Preston’s Burns battled back, making a 131 to take frame six and winning a scrappy seventh to close to 4-3. In the eighth, Saengkham took eight reds with blacks then ran out of position in potting the ninth red, boldly trying to stay on track for a 147. But he soon got back in and added 32 for victory.

Now the highest ranked Thai player at 58th in the world, Saengkham started playing snooker in his native Bangkok at the age of 14 and had a superb amateur career, winning the World and Asian under-21 titles. The Sheffield-based player is now showing his potential on the pro scene.

“I’m very happy to reach my first semi-final,” he said. “There will be more pressure on me tomorrow but if I can keep my concentration I can do well. It will be tough but I will try my best.

“I have to say thank you to James Wattana because I practise with him, he teaches me a lot of things like how to keep control under pressure. He’s a very good guy. I will have to talk to him before the match tomorrow because he has so much experience and he has won big tournaments.”

I’m very happy to see Barry Hawkins playing well again. I like him, as a player and a person. He’s quiet and humble, but he’s very clever around the table, he’s a fighter and I’d love to see him lift the trophy tomorrow and qualify for the Players Championship.

Barry’s opponent today is Noppon Saengkham and he’s very dangerous. However experience of the big stages is with Barry and I expect “the Hawk” to win with a bit to spare.

Evening session (report on Worldsnooker)

Friday 2 Mar 2018 10:45PM

John Higgins scored a superb 5-1 win over Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach the semi-finals of the ManBetX Welsh Open, and end the Rocket’s chances of winning back to back ranking titles.

O’Sullivan captured last week’s World Grand Prix, his fourth ranking title of the season, and won his first three matches here in Cardiff without losing a frame. But he was no match for old rival Higgins tonight as the Scot went through to the semi-finals to face Gary Wilson.

World number five Higgins is aiming to become the first player to win the Welsh Open for the fifth time, and hopes to bring his career tally of ranking titles to 30. His last victory came at the Indian Open in September.

O’Sullivan won the opener tonight with a break of 64 and at that stage had won 19 frames in a row. But Higgins hit back with runs of 113 and 57 to lead 2-1. The pivotal fourth frame looked to be heading O’Sullivan’s way when he led by 24 points with the last five colours left. But in potting the green with the rest, he was unlucky to see the cue ball flick off the brown and drop into a centre pocket. Higgins later potted a long brown and cleared for 3-1.

O’Sullivan had first chance in frame five but could only make 30 before running out of position, and Higgins responded to take it, helped by a break of 60. And a missed green from O’Sullivan early in frame six proved his last shot as Higgins wrapped it up in style with a 101.

“To beat Ronnie is a great win,” said Higgins. “He has beaten me really easily a few times this season, then the last two times we have played I have got the better of him quite easily. Ronnie didn’t play great tonight and I was a bit surprised by that.

“The fourth frame was massive. He’ll probably wonder to himself what he was even doing coming close to the middle pocket, that’s what will be pickling his head tonight, he’ll be thinking he should have just potted the green and played safe on the brown.

“It would be brilliant to win a fifth Welsh Open but I’m not even thinking about that yet. I’ve got a very tough game against Gary, the last time we played in Northern Ireland he beat me. He’s getting more used to the business end of tournaments and he has got what it takes to get to big finals.

“It’s a big aim to get to 30 ranking titles, once I got past Steve Davis to 29 that was my aim. I feel great, in the past I have lost in tournaments and been down on myself. Now I am enjoying it more, I’m not putting too much expectation on myself, I’m just giving it everything in each event and seeing where it takes me. In my eyes Ronnie will always be the best. I am more of a working man’s player, I don’t have the same flair but I give it everything.”

O’Sullivan said: “John is just different class, he’s just a brilliant player. I got what I deserved tonight. I knew if I didn’t find an improvement on what I had done so far in the tournament he would get into my weaknesses, and that’s what he did.

“I’m quite relieved it is over because I can do a nice bit of commentary now and watch John. The only good thing about tonight was that I had the best seat in the house. I would recommend anyone who is a snooker fan to come and watch John, because it doesn’t get any better than the way he plays. Hopefully he’ll win the trophy because it’s great to see great players do great things.

“If it had been 2-2 at the interval it would have been daylight robbery. It was a master class from John, he didn’t play his best but he didn’t need to. I love playing in Cardiff so I’m disappointed to be out. But I wasn’t performing well enough. I won last week and I can’t keep going to the well.”

Wallsend’s Wilson scored a 5-2 win over China’s Yu Delu to reach the second ranking semi-final of his career; the first coming at the 2015 China Open when he beat Ding Junhui in the semis before losing to Mark Selby in the final.

World number 51 Wilson made a 105 in the opening frame tonight then Yu hit back to lead 2-1. Wilson dominated the next three frames, firing breaks of 140 and 124 as he went 4-2 up. Frame seven came down to the colours and both players had chances, but Wilson knocked in excellent pots on brown, blue and pink to guarantee a pay-day of at least £20,000.

“I played a lot better tonight,” said 32-year-old Wilson, a former taxi driver. “I was confident and I took control from 2-1 down. I held myself together well in the end. I’m over the moon to be in the semis and I’ll see how far I can get.

“I was looking over at John Higgins and it looked like he played well. He and Ronnie are both class so I knew it would be a tough next match for me. I have had a good draw in this tournament so far, but I know I’ve got to play a lot better tomorrow against John. I beat him a good match in Belfast. If I can get chances I know I can score, but my safety will have to be good as well.

“I had no faith in my technique before tonight and I am still lacking in confidence in certain shots. I was in the practice room earlier today changing a few technical things, to find something I could rely on and be comfortable with.”

Saturday’s semi-finals
1pm: Barry Hawkins v Noppon Saengkham
7pm: John Higgins v Gary Wilson

Ronnie didn’t go for a run in the snow, instead, he went to the gym … maybe that was the mistake? Just kidding.

John Higgins deserved the win, he was the better player yesterday, and as Ronnie said, he exposed Ronnie’s weaknesses. Ronnie had been scoring heavily when in, earlier this week, but he had rarely been first in, meaning that he had to rely on his opponents’ mistakes to get opportunities. That, and his quotes about Higgins yesterday, meant that I didn’t feel confident before the match and I was right.

For me, basically, what happened yesterday is the result of a combination of factors.

Ronnie gives John Higgins too much respect, you could even say that he is in awe of him. There is no doubt that Higgins is a great of the game, but their respective tally shows that Ronnie is a better player than him, even if Ronnie has often struggled against him. John is a bit of a bogey player for Ronnie like Ronnie is a bit of a bogey player for Mark Williams (or Mark Johnston Allen for Stephen Hendry!)

Ronnie knows that he has to play well against John, and he wasn’t playing well, in particular, he was really struggling with his positional game which is quite unusual. Maybe the table had been recovered and played very differently from the day before – I don’t know – but usually, Ronnie adapts pretty quickly to the conditions, not yesterday though. Towards the end of the match, and certainly, in the last frame, it seemed to me that Ronnie didn’t believe he could possibly come back and win, and just wanted it to be over.

Ronnie didn’t have much run either, nothing seemed to work for him, which often happens when a player is struggling. Knocking the brown in, after potting the green in frame two was a big blow, and having to reflect on that during the MSI surely wasn’t much fun. Ronnie though came back from the interval, fighting, knocked in a long red, but made only 30, breaking down after yet another bad positional shot. I think that was the definite turning point, especially as Higgins got away with a couple of bad mistakes in that frame as well.

Ronnie, I’m sure, was feeling relieved after the match, and probably looking forward to the punditry/commentary job over the weekend. But I doubt that, in a couple of days, with hindsight, he will feel happy and proud of his attitude last night.

 2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (Eurosport)

 MissingClip 2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (BBC)

 2018 Welsh Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins

  2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (Eurosport)

MissingClip 2018 Welsh Open: MSI of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (BBC)

 2018 Welsh Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (Eurosport)

MissingClip 2018 Welsh Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – John Higgins match (BBC)

Anyway, the show goes on and now, for Ronnie, it’s going from this

…. to this

Yesterday in Cardiff was extremely busy, with two rounds being played to a conclusion.

Here is Worldsnooker’s report on the last 32 (morning and afternoon)

Thursday 1 Mar 2018 01:09PM

Matthew Stevens ended Stuart Bingham’s ManBetX Welsh Open title defence with a 4-1 win at the last 32 stage in Cardiff.

 

Bingham beat Judd Trump in a thrilling final last year but his grip on the Ray Reardon Trophy has now slipped as Carmarthen’s Stevens goes through to face China’s Yan Bingtao.

Former Masters and UK Champion Stevens knocked in breaks of 76 and 79 as he reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time this season, having done so at the China Championship.

Northern Ireland Open runner-up Yan saw off Peter Ebdon 4-1 with a top break of 77.

Ronnie O’Sullivan took just 44 minutes to beat David Grace 4-0 as he stayed on course for a possible fifth ranking title of the season. He fired breaks of 96, 133, 63 and 100 in a magnificent display.

John Higgins eased to a 4-0 win over Sam Craigie with a top break of 71.

Mark Williams, the last Welsh player to win this title back in 1999, suffered a 4-2 reverse against Martin Gould. Londoner Gould made breaks of 110, 62 and 58 to set up a match with Barry Hawkins. That results boosts Gould’s hopes of jumping into the top 16 seeds for the Players Championship; he is currently in 17th place but only £500 behind Yan and £4,000 behind Graeme Dott.

Kyren Wilson came through a tough battle against James Wattana which came down to the last few balls. In the deciding frame, Wilson trapped his opponent in a snooker on the green and from the chance that followed cleared to win 4-3.

I didn’t see anything of the afternoon action, so I can’t really comment. However, it’s quite remarkable that James Wattana reached the last 32 here and did give Kyren Wilson a serious challenge. I always like to watch Wattana play, he has a nice touch, and you can see he still loves it.

Ronnie prepared for the day with a run through Cardiff – a bit of snow isn’t going to stop him – and a healthy breakfast

and this was the result

 2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – David Grace match (BBC)

  2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – David Grace match (Eurosport)

 2018 Welsh Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan – David Grace

 2018 Welsh Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – David Grace match (Eurosport)

 2018 Welsh Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – David Grace match (BBC)

Here is Worldsnooker’s report on the last 16 (evening)

Thursday 1 Mar 2018 10:48PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins set up a quarter-final meeting at the ManBetX Welsh Open as they both scored emphatic 4-0 wins on Thursday night in Cardiff.

Friday’s quarter-finals
12pm: Ian Burns v Noppon Saengkham
NB 2pm: Yan Bingtao v Barry Hawkins
7pm: Ronnie O’Sullivan v John Higgins
7pm: Gary Wilson v Yu Delu

O’Sullivan continued his phenomenal recent form with a whitewash of Mike Dunn, needing just 50 minutes to take all four frames with top breaks of 84, 69, 117 and 67. Having won the last six frames of his World Grand Prix final against Ding Junhui and followed up with three 4-0 scorelines this week, O’Sullivan has now taken 18 consecutive frames. He is chasing his fifth ranking title of the season.

“Things are going ok, I just need to focus on my next match,” said O’Sullivan, who is tied with Higgins on a record four Welsh Open titles. “John is one of the all time greats alongside Stephen Hendry. I will need to improve slightly on what I have shown so far this week. When you play someone of John’s class, you either find it or you don’t. I’m looking forward to it. The quarter-finals onwards is the business end.”

Higgins was equally impressive as he saw off Nigel Bond with top runs of 115 and 144. His second century started with 12 reds and blacks, and though his hopes of a 147 ended when he ran out of position with two reds left, the Scot was still able to clear and set a new target for the £2,000 high break prize.

“I’m a lot happier tonight, I played a lot better,” said the Wizard of Wishaw. “It’s a bit like déjà vu to be facing Ronnie again, we seem to have played so much this season. I’m glad I played like that tonight, it will give me confidence because I’ll need to play a similar standard to give him a game. Ronnie is playing fantastic at the moment,  he is at a level above everyone else. If I can come up near that level I’ve got a chance. These are massive games to play in, I love them and the crowd will be great.”

Friday’s meeting between the two snooker legends, with nine world titles and 61 ranking event wins between them, will be their sixth head to head clash this season. O’Sullivan came out on top at the Hong Kong Masters (5-4), English Open (4-3), Champion of Champions (6-0) and Shanghai Masters (6-2) before Higgins gained a measure of revenge with a 5-0 success  at the Scottish Open.

China’s Yan Bingtao, runner-up at the Scottish Open, maintained his bid to win a first ranking title by scoring a 4-2 win over the last Welshman left in the event, Matthew Stevens. From 2-2, Yan won two scrappy frames to set up a match with Barry Hawkins, who beat Martin Gould 4-2 with a top break of 75.

Ian Burns reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the second time in his career by beating Liam Highfield 4-3. Highfield led 3-2 and 69-0 in the sixth frame, but a missed red proved costly as Burns clawed his way back, got the snooker he needed on the green and cleared for 3-3. He then took the decider with runs of 47 and 40.

Preston’s Burns now plays Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, who scored a 4-0 win over Kyren Wilson. Saengkham, who knocked out Judd Trump earlier in the week, is also through to his second ranking quarter-final, and like Burns he will be aiming for his first semi-final.

Gary Wilson won a North-East derby against John Astley, winning 4-2 with a top break of 88. His next opponent is Yu Delu, who won a Chinese derby against Liang Wenbo by a 4-1 scoreline, his top run 64.

Again I didn’t see much of the action. Both Ronnie and Higgins were playing against players who hadn’t been on the main table, and Ronnie said in his post-match that this makes a huge difference as both the lighting and the speed of the table are completely different from what they are on the side tables. Who is on television, on the main table is decided by the tournament director and the broadcaster: to avoid any possible “conflict” the tournament director will usually base their choice on the rankings, whilst the broadcaster will look at the “box office” / audience side. Obviously, Ronnie ticks both boxes and he did indeed play all his matches on the main table, not because he gets preferential treatment but because he’s the current n°2 in the rankings.

Here is a small video of Ronnie being filmed and interviewed before his match:

 

MissingClip 2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Mike Dunn match (BBC)

 2018 Welsh Open: preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Mike Dunn match (Eurosport )

  2018 Welsh Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan – Mike Dunn

MissingClip 2018 Welsh Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Mike Dunn match (BBC)

 

Plus the Eurosport Q&A

2018 Welsh Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan Q&A (Eurosport)

Thanks to Tai Chengzhe again for these pictures of Ronnie in action yesterday

 

Yesterday was a very strange day in Cardiff, with a lot of good snooker played on the main table and a host of unexpected results as top seeds tumbled. Indeed Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Ali Carter, Neil Robertson, Anthony McGill, Stephen Maguire, Luca Brecel, and Mark Selby all went home yesterday.

Here are the reports on Worldsnooker

Morning session

Wednesday 28 Feb 2018 03:02PM

Ding Junhui and Judd Trump both suffered surprise exits in the second round of the ManBetX Welsh Open, beaten 4-1 by Liam Highfield and Noppon Saengkham respectively.

China’s Ding reached the final of the World Grand Prix last week, but he failed to get beyond the last 64 in Cardiff as world number 69 Highfield went through to a meeting with Chris Wakelin. Stoke’s Highfield won the opening frame with a break of 62, and after Ding had levelled, he took the next three on the colours.

“It’s always a good win to take a big scalp,” said Highfield. “I’m not one to be scared of the top players because I know that my game in practice can be as good as theirs.”

Highfield, age 27, suffers from Crohn’s Disease and missed two tournaments at the start of the season while receiving treatment in hospital for several weeks. “When I came out in September my goal was just to be healthy in time for the UK Championship,” he said. “I managed to recover quicker than expected and got to the quarter-finals of the Indian Open. It’s something that is always on my mind and it puts snooker into perspective, having sat in hospital for a month.

“I have spoken to Ali Carter (who also has Crohn’s) a few times and it’s good to see that someone who has similar problems can still be an elite player. Sometimes you feel as if you have a handicap but Ali has been a top player for a long time while dealing with it so there is no excuse for me.”

Trump’s defeat to Thailand’s Saengkham followed recent reverses against Michael White in the first round of the World Grand Prix and to Jak Jones in the China Open qualifiers. Breaks of 98 and 80 helped world number 58 Saengkham earn a meeting with Craig Steadman.

Last year’s beaten finalist Trump said: “I got what I deserved, I played terrible in both of my games here. This is one of the tournaments I wanted to do well at, so it’s disappointing to lose. I tried until the end today but the confidence just wasn’t there.”

Afternoon and evening sessions

Wednesday 28 Feb 2018 11:52PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s hot streak continued as he thrashed Graeme Dott 4-0 to reach the last 32 of the ManBetX Welsh Open in Cardiff.

O’Sullivan’s World Grand Prix triumph last Sunday was his fourth ranking title of the season, and one more would match the record of five held by Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui and Mark Selby.

Today’s match – a repeat of the 2004 World Championship final – could have had a different outcome as Dott had chances in every frame, but the Scot failed to capitalise and O’Sullivan ran out an easy winner with top breaks of 106 (his 60th century of the season) and 69. He now meets David Grace.

O’Sullivan emphasised that an improved diet this season is one of the key reasons behind his recent success. He said: “I have always been into my health, fitness and running. Because of injuries I started to put a bit of weight on so I decided to work with a nutritionist. The benefit of that was feeling good in myself and having more energy. I take my diet more seriously now than I have ever done. I have massively changed my diet, learned about it and educated myself.”

Home favourite Mark Williams kept up his hopes of winning a third ranking title of the season as he beat India’s Aditya Mehta 4-3. Williams led 2-0 with breaks of 79 and 106 before losing a marathon 76-minute third frame. The black became trapped behind a cluster of reds over one corner pocket and a long safety tussle ensued, finally resolved when Williams accidentally knocked the black in. Mehta then took a 3-2 lead before Williams won the last two frames with 89 and 75.

“I should have given up the third frame a lot earlier and just carried on with the next one,” said Cwm cueman Williams. “I don’t want to be in a frame like that again, ever. There was nothing we could do, we could have been there all night. I played well at the start of the match and in the last two frames. I have had such a good season that the pressure is off me.”

The only other Welshman in the third round is Matthew Stevens, who beat Scott Donaldson 4-2. Williams added: “We haven’t had much to cheer about at this event for a long time now. Hopefully Matthew can have a good run as well, but it seems to be only me trying to get to the later stages. I don’t know why that is, but I can’t fly the flag forever.”

Neil Robertson joined Judd Trump and Ding Junhui as the big-name casualties on day three, despite making three centuries. After five frames Robertson led 3-2 and had a 100% pot success rate having fired runs of 100, 100 and 130. But world number 100 Burns, who earlier had breaks of 85 and 106, took the last two frames with 75 and 47.

Preston’s Burns said: “It’s very pleasing to beat one of the best players in the world and play that well. I don’t play on the TV tables too often so it’s nice to get out there and perform well.”

World number one Mark Selby was also knocked out, losing 4-3 to Liang Wenbo in a match which finished at 1.10am.

Defending champion Stuart Bingham ended the hopes of Welsh 16-year-old Jackson Page, winning 4-2 with top breaks of 77, 92 and 65.

Kyren Wilson showed his break building skills in a 4-0 win over Rory McLeod, rattling in 100, 85 and 136, while John Higgins also top scored with 136 as he won a tartan tussle against Stephen Maguire 4-1.

Masters champion Mark Allen made a 116 in a 4-1 win over Soheil Vahedi  while Ben Woollaston edged out Anthony McGill 4-3 despite being hauled back from 3-0 to 3-3.

The last 32 and last 16 will be played on Thursday, click here for the match schedule.

Judd Trump’s defeat to Noppon Saengkham came to absolutely no surprise to me. But I’m pleased to read his quotes post-match. It’s clear that he isn’t in a good place, but at least he isn’t in denial about the problem anymore, which is the first step towards finding a solution. Judd has been over-hyped since he was a child, he’s got expectations piled on him by others as well as by himself, he’s hit a brick wall. Some blame his management. I’m not buying that, it was the same when he was managed by his own family. His manager Django Fung is the one who convinced Ronnie to see Steve Peters, I don’t see why he wouldn’t try his best to help Judd to regain his confidence and form. After all it is in both best interests.

The match between Neil Robertson and Ian Burns was quite extraordinary: Neil finished the match with 99% pot success, he missed only one ball all match, he made three centuries … and lost. Ian Burns was excellent and in my opinion, the cleverer player out there, which ultimately won him the match.

The 76 minutes frame between Mark Williams and Aditya Mehta sparked a lot of discussions, both in the commentary box and on twitter. The situation was such that Williams had next to no chance to win it, but he carried on, and on … and on. Philip Studd in the commentary box was stating that this was ridiculous and that the referee should do something about it. But what could Maike Kesseler possibly do, supposing she would have wanted to? Mark Williams needed snookers, so Aditya was never going to accept a re-rack. At a point, Philip Studd asked for Ronnie’s opinion, which was that this was going nowhere, wasn’t great for the crowd, and that people were leaving the arena wasn’t good, hence Williams should give up the frame. Now indeed people were leaving the arena, but this may have simply been because it was getting late, and with winter weather disrupting transport, they wouldn’t risk staying longer. On Twitter, a few people branding themselves “true snooker fans” and “anoraks” were claiming this was compelling, the best frame ever (or about), and that those who didn’t appreciate it know nothing about the real beauty of snooker.  I found it interesting for about half an hour, after that, it was clear that it was going nowhere and it became tiresome. I also thought that Williams, should he lose it, may pay the price in the next frame(s) and he actually did lose the next frame and looked all at sea in that one. But he regrouped to win the next, credits to him. BUT, as you can read above, himself with hindsight, thought that he should have given it up and moved forward. Common sense. And all this meant that Higgins and Maguire, who were supposed to play on table one, were put on a side table, with no television coverage. I would not be surprised if it transpired that this did affect Maguire, more than Higgins, and had an impact on the result of that match.

Being in Greece with a two hours time difference, it was midnight before the Selby match even started. So I can’t comment on it. The only thing I can say is that for what I saw of Liang in the previous round, he is coming back to form again.

As for the Ronnie v Dott match, it’s quite extraordinary that Dott, who was playing really well, was denied even a single frame. Ronne may not care about winning or losing, but when at the table the competitive beast within awakes, that’s for sure!

Big thanks to Tai Chengzhe for these images

 2018 Welsh Open: the preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Graeme Dott match (Eurosport)

  2018 Welsh Open: the preview of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Graeme Dott match (BBC)

  2018 Welsh Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan – Graeme Dott – last 64

 2018 Welsh Open: the review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Graeme Dott match (Eurosport)

 2018 Welsh Open: the review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Graeme Dott match (BBC)

Plus some punditry with Ronnie

 2018 Welsh Open: the preview of the Mark J Williams – Aditya Mehta match (Eurosport)

And “that frame”