Congratulations Judd Trump

Here are the reports on Worldsnooker:

Afternoon session: Judd Trump 6-3 Ali Carter

Sunday 10 Feb 2019 05:07PM

Judd Trump needs just four more frames to lift the Coral World Grand Prix title and claim the £100,000 top prize in Cheltenham, leading Ali Carter 6-3 after the first session.

This would be the first time Trump has secured three titles in a season if he can get over the line tonight. Trump has already lifted silverware at the Northern Ireland Open and the Masters this term.

Victory for Carter this evening would thrust him into the top eight in this season’s one-year money list, which determines progression in the Coral Series. The top 16 players go on to Preston for the upcoming Players Championship with the best eight players contesting the climactic Tour Championship in Llandudno.

The first four frames this afternoon were keenly contested. After Trump had taken the opener, Carter produced a superb clearance of 42 to steal the second frame on the black. He then moved 2-1 ahead, before Trump levelled at the mid-session with a break of 113 to make it 2-2.

When play recommenced Trump took a stranglehold on proceedings. Further breaks of 63, 54, 88 and 132 helped the Ace in the Pack to establish a 6-3 advantage going into this evening.

Evening session: Judd Trump 10-6 Ali Carter

Sunday 10 Feb 2019 10:45PM

Judd Trump claimed his tenth ranking title with victory at the Coral World Grand Prix at Cheltenham Racecourse, defeating Ali Carter 10-6 in the final.

This evening’s win, which sees him pocket £100,000, undoubtedly elevates this season to Trump’s best ever on the World Snooker Tour. He has now amassed over £500,000 in prize money for the first time in a single term as well as picking up three major titles for the first time, having already won the Northern Ireland Open and last month’s Masters.

The Ace in the Pack now leads the one-year money list and is guaranteed of his progress to the Coral Players Championship and the Coral Tour Championship, where the top 16 and top eight players respectively will qualify.

Carter fell just short of picking up a fifth ranking title this evening. However, his £40,000 runner-up prize virtually ensures his progress to the upcoming Players Championship, having started the week in 17^th place on the one-year list.

Trump stamped his authority on the tie this afternoon, in an engrossing opening session which saw him build a 6-3 advantage.

However, it was the Captain who came flying out of the blocks tonight. A superb break of 99 saw him take the opening frame to make it 6-4. They then traded frames before a dramatic moment prior to the interval. Carter pulled the 13^th frame from the fire, stealing it on the black to reduce his deficit to 7-6.

The mid-session break worked in favour of Trump, who pulled away again when they returned. The Masters champion fired in contributions of 71, 78 and 54 to secure a 10-6 win and the title. Trump now leads the race for the Coral Cup, which will be awarded to the player who amasses the most money across all three of this season’s Coral Series events.

Trump said: “I’m over the moon to win my third big title in one season. I’m very happy with how I played in the final. Ali pushed me all of the way. His safety play was as good as I have faced for a while so I had to be at my best today.

“I think just sheer hard work and practice is paying off. Having my brother with me on tour has been a massive help. Just being able to chat with him and he is making me practice more than I ever have done before consistently. You don’t want to let up when you are winning. You just want to keep it going and win as many tournaments as possible.”

A disappointed Carter reflected on a match which he feels could have gone the other way on a different occasion.

“It was tough. I gave it my all and just came up short. At 7-6 I felt that if I had my chances I would have taken them. It is fine margins. I’m disappointed right now because I really fancied winning today,” said four-time ranking event winner Carter. “Everyone had written me off. I wasn’t interested in that. I said that I don’t care if I am the only one in the building, I fancy winning this match. At 7-6 I definitely fancied winning.”

Nothing really to add to that.

There was only one match yesterday, the second semi final between Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins. It was, eventually, Judd Trump who prevailed in a deciding frame. He will face Ali Carter over a possible 19 frames today.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Sunday 10 Feb 2019 01:15AM

Judd Trump is through to the Coral World Grand Prix final after winning a hard fought battle with Barry Hawkins 6-5 in Cheltenham.

The Ace in the Pack will now face Ali Carter in tomorrow’s final where the winner will take home £100,000. Trump is aiming to capture a tenth ranking title, which would put him in joint ninth position in the all-time ranking event winner’s list alongside Jimmy White.

Trump, who has already been victorious this season at the Scottish Open and the Masters, is now one game away from winning three titles in a single campaign for the first time in his career. If he were to do so, then he will have amassed over £500,000 in prize money in a single season for the first time in his career.

Defeat for Hawkins denies him the chance to claim the trophy which he won two years ago, after beating Ryan Day in the 2017 final. This was Hawkins’ first appearance in the World Grand Prix since that victory, having not qualified to defend his title last year.

It was Hawkins who seized the early initiative this evening. A break of 92 in the second frame put him 2-0 ahead. Trump hit back with a break of 60 to cut his deficit in half. The Masters champion then claimed a scrappy final frame before the mid-session, where both players spurned chances, to level at 2-2.

They continued to trade frames when they returned, with Hawkins continuing the pattern of edging ahead and being pegged back. Eventually Trump forced a deciding frame with a break of 52, where a barnstorming run of 92 earned him a 6-5 victory. The Ace in the Pack punched the air with delight at reaching his 19^th ranking event final.

Trump said: “It is always nice to win any sort of deciding frame. Especially in a tournament as big as this. I think it was just pure relief having been behind the whole match. I didn’t start well. The first four frames were very bad. I managed to just dig in and when I got my chance in the final frame I took it.

“It sometimes felt like I was never going to win it. It felt at times like it wasn’t meant to be. I really had to believe in myself and tell myself I was still in it even though I was behind for most of the match. I was really happy to get over the line.”

In a way, for me, the turning point of the match came as early as the third frame, when Barry Hawkins was in first again, split the pack beautifully and was extremely unlucky to be on nothing at all. With all reds scattered it was difficult to defend too and he left Judd Trump an opening. Judd took it well, fair play, but had Barry landed on a red and taken that frame, I believe it would have been a different match.

Judd this week has played very well in patches, but has been quite awful in patches as well. Ali Carter has played very well in the only match I had the opportunity to watch. He is the type of hard match player who has the game to frustrate Judd. So, it’s hard to call.

Meanwhile Ronnie is heading to Cardiff already today. This is what he posted on twitter and Instagram:

Cheers to the weekend. Heading to Cardiff on Sunday for the Welsh Open, really looking forward to it. Working with my friends @Eurosport_UK for the week too so don’t forget to tune in. Anyone heading down for the week?

Hahaha! I remember well how much he hated the place in 2015, the first time the Welsh Open was staged there!

Day 5 in Cheltenham delivered a first finalist, Ali Carter and an interesting line-up for the second semi final,  with Barry Hawkins facing Judd Trump.

Here is the report on the afternoon session (Worldsnooker):

Friday 8 Feb 2019 06:26PM

Masters champion Judd Trump produced an imperious display to sweep aside world number one Mark Selby 5-1 and reach the semi-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix.

The victory sees Trump through to the last four of a ranking event for the 31^sttime in his career. The Ace in the Pack has now edged ahead of Selby in the head-to-head stakes, leading 6-5 having also beaten him on his way to winning the Masters last month.

Selby will have to wait a bit longer to end his run without claiming ranking silverware in the UK, which extends back to the 2017 World Championship. The three-time Crucible king faces a battle to keep a hold of his world number one spot, with both Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan currently projected to leapfrog him in the provisional end of season rankings.

Both Trump and Selby have already secured their progression to the next event in the Coral Series, the Players Championship. The top 16 players in the one-year money list will go on to compete at the iconic Guild Hall in Preston. The best eight will then gain a place at the Tour Championship in Llandudno. Trump currently sits in sixth position, with Selby in third.

Throughout this afternoon’s clash, Trump’s long potting proved to be a key weapon. The 29-year-old recorded a 100% conversion rate, making 7/7 from long range. That afforded him several opportunities to make breaks and he took full advantage.

Trump composed runs of 77 and 86 on his way to leading 3-1 at the mid-session interval. When the players returned Trump reeled off his required two frames in under 30 minutes, composing runs of 102 and 72 to secure the win.

“I felt good. Very confident and very relaxed. I took my practice game out there which is quite rare. It was just one of those days where everything went right,” said Trump. “I’ve learned a lot from Mark over the last few seasons. His safety, determination and never giving in. I’ve tried to take that into my game and that is really paying off.”

Trump’s opponent in the last four will be Barry Hawkins, who came through with a comfortable 5-2 defeat of last week’s German Masters winner Kyren Wilson.

Hawkins, who was a finalist at this season’s Shanghai Masters, produced a ruthless display of break building to surge to victory this afternoon. He composed breaks of 134, 64, 63 and 116 on his way to the win.

Trump and Hawkins will face each other for a place in the final over the best of 11 frames tomorrow evening.

Judd Trump played very well indeed, but wasn’t put under any pressure by Mark Selby whose long game simply wasn’t there. His long pot success was below 20% which means that he was not able to create opportunities for himself from distance. As a result social media was full of “Trump is the man to beat at the Crucible”, “He’s the real n°1” and similar. Sorry but that’s nonsense until he can play this way consistently, which he isn’t currently as his recent trouncing by Maguire in the German Masters proves, as do the rather unconvincing performances he had earlier this week against Stuart Carrington and Tom Ford. The Crucible of all places is a test of consistency.

Here is the report on the evening session (Worldsnnoker)

Friday 8 Feb 2019 10:43PM

Ali Carter is through to the ninth ranking final of his career after a dominant display saw him thrash China’s Xiao Guodong 6-0 in their semi-final at the Coral World Grand Prix.

The Captain last graced a ranking event final at the 2017 German Masters, where he lost out in a hard fought battle with Anthony Hamilton. Two years on, Carter will be hoping to go one step further and secure his first silverware since the 2016 World Open, where he defeated Joe Perry to claim the title.

Carter is now guaranteed a pay cheque of £40,000 and could pocket the top prize of £100,000 if he is victorious in the final. Xiao leaves Cheltenham disappointed after an edgy performance in his fourth ranking semi-final. However, he heads to Cardiff for next week’s Welsh Open with the consolation of £20,000 for reaching the last four.

Carter started this evening’s clash at breakneck speed. After trailing in the early stages of the opening frame, Carter embarked on a run of 382 unanswered points to claim a clean sweep of frames before the mid-session. Breaks of 54, 99, 71 and 126 fired him into a 4-0 lead.

When the players returned a dramatic fifth frame ultimately put paid to Xiao’s chances. The Chinese cueman appeared to pot the final black to take the frame, only to go in off and take the frame to a re-spot with the scores tied at 59-59. Eventually Carter deposited a tough long range pot with the white glued to the top cushion to lead 5-0.

The Captain sealed victory in the following frame to set up a clash in the final with either Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins.

Carter said: “I’ve been 8-4 in front of Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals of the UK Championship. He beat me 9-8 and I was devastated. I’ve played the game too long to take liberties when I am in front. I have a lot of battle scars really. That is why sometimes it can be harder to get over the winning line. I am delighted to win today because that was a big match for me. It has been a while since I’ve been competing at the top level.

“It would be a little bit surreal to win on Sunday. I am in the final now. I have so much going on behind the scenes at the minute. To be in the final I feel a bit punch drunk. I will look forward to it.”

Ali Carter was very solid, and Xiao had a real nightmare. That sums up the match. Xiao didn’t play well and, to top it off, everything conspired against him on the night.

Having been traveling yesterday, and being very busy too with family stuff, I haven’t seen much at all from yesterday’s action.

So here is the report from Worldsnooker on the afternoon session (last 16)

Thursday 7 Feb 2019 06:36PM

Ali Carter was a 4-1 victor against Mark Allen after the Northern Irishman handed him the fifth frame before its completion at the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham.

The Captain progresses to reach his third quarter-final of the campaign and boosts his chances of progressing to the next event in the Coral Series, the Players Championship. The top 16 players in the one-year ranking list will travel to Preston, with the top eight going on to the Tour Championship in Llandudno.

Carter came into this week ranked 17^th and is now guaranteed to add £12,500 to his tally. Despite defeat in this event, Allen can take comfort from the fact he has comfortably secured his progression through the series. The Pistol tops the one-year list having already secured victories at this season’s International Championship and Scottish Open.

After Allen claimed the first frame this afternoon, it was Carter who gained the edge as both players struggled to produce their best form. He took four frames on the bounce, top scoring with a break of 86. However, it was the last frame which led to the biggest talking point with the scores at 3-1.

Allen trailed 20-2, before conceding the frame early after going in off on the yellow. He gently pushed the yellow away with his hand and gave Carter the tie.

Carter said: “It was a win to 3-1, but Mark conceded there. You never want to win like that. I feel for him because he is the player in form. He just lost his head for a little while. We have all done it and it is so easy to do.

“I was just sitting there and he has come and shook my hand. I asked him if he was sure and he just said he wanted to get out of there.”

Carter’s opponent in this evening’s quarter-final tie will be David Gilbert who put on a superb display to whitewash Ding Junhui 4-0.

The Tamworth cueman reached the final of last week’s German Masters in Berlin and has carried that form over to Cheltenham. He is yet to drop a frame this week and completed this afternoon’s win with breaks of 101, 66, 138 and 74.

World number one Mark Selby set up a mouth watering quarter-final meeting with Judd Trump thanks to a 4-2 defeat of Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham. While last week’s German Masters winner Kyren Wilson secured his last eight spot with a 4-0 whitewash win over Stuart Bingham.

Here is Mark Allen’s concession

And here the report on the evening session (QF)

Thursday 7 Feb 2019 10:56PM

Teenage talent Yuan Sijun saw his hopes of winning the Coral World Grand Prix end as he lost 5-4 to Xiao Guodong in the quarter-finals.

Yuan, age 18, had knocked out Mark Williams and Stephen Maguire in Cheltenham to reach the second ranking event quarter-final of his career, but was narrowly edged out by fellow Chinese potter Xiao, with whom he shares a house in Darlington.

World number 24 Xiao goes through to the semi-finals to face Ali Carter on Friday evening. The 29-year-old is two wins away from his first career ranking title; he reached the final of the 2013 Shanghai Masters and 2017 Shoot Out but was runner-up both times.

Xiao took the first two frames tonight with a top break of 70, then Yuan recovered to 2-2 with a high score of 59. Frame five went Xiao’s way before his opponent claimed a scrappy sixth with a thumping long pot on the final black. Yuan also took the seventh to lead for the first time at 4-3.

A run of 77 got Xiao back to 4-4. In the decider, Yuan had one clear chance but only made 15 before running out of position. He later trailed 42-16 when he was trapped in a tough snooker behind the yellow, and while he hit one of the four remaining reds, he left Xiao the chance to add 24 points which proved enough.

Carter eased into the last four with a 5-1 defeat of David Gilbert. German Masters finalist Gilbert couldn’t keep up the form he showed in Berlin last week, his only highlight coming in frame four with a break of 101. World number 19 Carter took the other five frames with a top run of 88 to reach his first ranking event semi-final since the 2017 China Championship.

Chelmsford’s 39-year-old Carter is aiming for the fifth ranking title of his career and first since the 2016 World Open.

Maybe having to play his QF match on the same day as his last 16 match was David Gilbert undoing. He had played brilliantly in the afternoon, he was outplayed in the evening. He played a lot of snooker over the last two weeks having made the Final in Berlin on Sunday.

Xiao Guodong and Yuan Sijun are both members of the Q House club in Darlington where they practice together. Commentators also mentioned that there are housemates. This always presents a very different proposition to both players than a match against someone they don’t really know personally. The players have to take that close relationship, even friendship, out of their mind and maybe the more experienced Xiao managed this better than Yuan.

Third day at the Centaur in Cheltenham and it was an eventful day!

Kyren Wilson was struggling badly and found himself 3-0 down to Matthew Stevens. It later transpired that he was playing with a new tip, after an emergency repair of his ferule. But, typically, Matthew Stevens managed to lose that match by 4-3 on the last black, having had countless chances to win. It’s hard to explain how and why a player of Matthew’s talent and quality finds himself in that situation so often. Anyway, as soon as Kyren made it 3-2, struggling as he was, I knew what was coming… But the match will be remembered for an extraordinary incident: Kyren Wilson had played a red, at full speed, in the left, top corner pocket, the red jumped out and came to REST on the rail.

The decider was dramatic

Judd Trump beat Tom Ford by 4-2, and yes, he had some good breaks BUT it was an error-strewn match from both. Again Judd was very lucky to come up against a player who tends to struggle on the TV table and DID struggle badly yesterday.

Marco Fu didn’t play anywhere near as well as he did against Ronnie – his long potting let him down – and Barry Hawkins was solid, very solid. Towards the end of the match, Fu was playing a bit better, but it was far too late. In the last frame, both players offered the audience a masterclass in safeties.

Here is the report on Worldsnooker:

Wednesday 6 Feb 2019 11:20PM

Chinese teenager Yuan Sijun, described by Stephen Hendry as the best 18-year-old for a quarter of a century, bolstered his reputation as a rising star by beating Stephen Maguire 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham.

Yuan knocked out World Champion Mark Williams on Tuesday and sent another multiple ranking event winner packing on Wednesday night. He now meets his practice partner Xiao Guodong, with whom he shares a house in Darlington.

It’s the second time this season that talented Yuan has reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event as he got to the same stage of the China Championship in September. He also knocked John Higgins out of last week’s German Masters on his way to the last 16.

Maguire took the opening frame tonight with a break of 78 before Yuan levelled with a 76. Glasgow’s Maguire regained the lead with 52 and 37 in frame three.

World number 64 Yuan took the fourth with a crucial 44 clearance then won a scrappy fifth with a brilliant long pot on the final black to a top corner. Maguire had a chance to make it 3-3 but missed a straight-forward pink to a centre pocket leading 38-19. Yuan’s 33 clearance sealed the match.

“He’s the best 18-year-old I’ve seen since the days of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins,” Hendry told ITV. “He has got the swagger and the inner confidence, at the table he’s got everything and hits ball the right way. You can see his calmness around the table when he’s clearing up. I was interested to see how he would follow up his win over Williams, and he seems to rise to every challenge.”

China’s Xiao top scored with 82 in a 4-1 victory over Mark Davis.

Barry Hawkins, who won this title two years ago, moved into the last eight with a 4-1 win over Marco Fu. Breaks of 73, 55 and 50 gave world number seven Hawkins the first three frames, before Fu pulled one back. Frame five lasted 45 minutes and came down to a long safety battle on the colours, Hawkins eventually clearing from green to pink for victory.

“I was pleased to win in the end,” said three-time ranking event winner Hawkins.  “It was a good  tactical battle in the last frame. I have been practising hard and it would be nice to have good run. This is a fantastic venue, it’s a great set up.

“The Players Championship is just around the corner so I need to be in the top 16 of the one year list to get into that (he is currently 15th). There’s a lot of money at stake so I want to be involved in it. I didn’t qualify for the Coral events last year and it was horrible to be sitting at home. You fall further behind everyone else in the rankings.

“No one tips me (to win tournaments), maybe because I don’t often win them! It doesn’t bother me, I just turn up and play, and if I can pick up a title along the way that’s great.”

Masters champion Judd Trump scored a 4-2 win over Tom Ford with top breaks of 83, 65, 55 and 100. From 2-2, Trump pulled away to take the last two frames to set up a quarter-final with Mark Selby or Noppon Saengkham.

Earlier in the day, in the last of the opening round matches, Kyren Wilson came from 3-0 down to beat Matthew Stevens 4-3. German Masters champion Wilson took the fifth frame on the colours, the sixth on the black with a 47 clearance, and the decider on the final black as well.

“I was a very lucky boy,” admitted Wilson, seeking his fourth title of the season. “Matthew was better than me. In Germany last week the ferrule on my cue came loose. When I tried to practise yesterday I found I could get my fingernail under it. My brother had to take it to a cue maker to put a new tip and ferrule on.

“It feels very soft and is not playing the same as it was last week. I’m pleased to get a win and hopefully I can practise with it now and put in a better performance in the next round. I don’t think I can win the tournament with what I’ve got at the minute, but I’ll be trying my best.”

John Higgins’ poor run of results continued as he lost 4-2 to Thailand’s Saengkham. However it was an improved performance from Higgins in a high quality match. He led 2-1 with breaks of 94 and 108 only for Saengkham to take three in a row with 103, 52 and 66.

German Masters runner-up David Gilbert saw off Yan Bingtao 4-0 with a top run of 118, while world number one Mark Selby got the better of Shaun Murphy 4-1. A clash of two former World Champions saw Selby compile breaks of 76, 63 and 63.

Match schedule

There were more surprises on day 2 in Cheltenham as the World Champion, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson. Neil was suffering from a flu and looked very tired. His opponent Xiao Guodong is a very good player but he rarely performed on the TV table. Yesterday he held himself together to win the deciding frame. Mark Williams didn’t play badly, but, just like Ronnie, he played against a player at his absolute best. Only that Yuan Sijun is only 18, not an experienced pro like Marco Fu who has been in the top 16 for years. Impressive … and a bit worrying for us Ronnie fans as that kid could well be his last 64 opponent at the Welsh Open next week!

It was a great day for the Chinese players – who were celebrating the Chinese New Year; it’s the Year of the Pig  – as Ding Junhui also went through with a 4-1 convincing victory over Jack Lisowski.

Judd Trump went through but only just. This match showed that he is far from unbeatable. The key however is not to play the type of game that suits him, fast and open, potting fest. Yesterday Stuart Carrington methodical approach, slow going, with lots of safeties clearly frustrated Judd Trump who went cold, looked anxious, became impatient and started to miss all sorts. Carrington could and should have won that match.

Here are the reports on Worldsnooker:

Afternoon session

Tuesday 5 Feb 2019 07:56PM

Yuan Sijun produced a sublime display to defeat World Champion Mark Williams 4-3 on day two of the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham.

The 18-year-old Chinese star had already shown a glimpse of his potential this season with a fine run to the quarter-finals of the China Championship, which included a win over Ding Junhui.

Despite falling at the first hurdle today, Williams remains in 4th place on the one-year list and in a strong position to qualify for the remaining events in the Coral Series. The top 16 will progress to the Players Championship in Preston and the top eight will contest the Tour Championship.

The pair battled out a pulsating match this afternoon. With the score at 1-1 Yuan took to the front for the first time with a century run of 100. The 22-time ranking event winner Williams responded immediately with a contribution of 138 to level.

Williams then edged to the verge of victory by taking the fifth frame on a re-spotted black to make it 3-2. However, Yuan forced a decider with a run of 131 and he got over the line for a huge victory in the final frame.

Yuan said: “My form has been pretty good recently and I knew I had the chance to beat top players. I was a little bit surprised to qualify for this event after a tough first season on tour. The World Grand Prix wasn’t even in my thoughts six months ago.”

China’s Xiao Guodong also secured an impressive win on Chinese New Year. He defeated 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson 4-3.

It was a very successful day for his household, as he actually lives with fellow victor Yuan in Darlington. Xiao is now a very experienced player on the circuit, having competed for 11 years as a professional and is pleased to see Yuan performing well in his second year on tour.

Xiao said: “I’m very happy to see him win. We stay together and sometimes I cook for him. He is a young player and he can’t speak English that makes it hard to come and live here. He is doing well this season and I am pleased to see that. Sometimes he asks me things and I am happy to help him.”

Ali Carter also progressed thanks to a hard fought 4-3 win over Martin O’Donnell. While Mark Davis overcame Jimmy Robertson 4-3 to book his last 16 spot.

Evening session

Tuesday 5 Feb 2019 11:38PM

Judd Trump survived a fight back from Stuart Carrington to win 4-3 at the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham, while local favourite Jack Lisowski was soundly beaten 4-1 by Ding Junhui.

Trump is aiming for his third title of the season having won the Northern Ireland Open and the Masters, and he looked sharp as he took the first three frames against Carrington with top breaks of 92 and 122.

His opponent fought back bravely to 3-3 to threaten an upset, and he had two clear chances in the decider but couldn’t take them. World number five Trump snatched victory with a 30 clearance to set up a last 16 clash on Wednesday evening with Tom Ford, who edged out Joe Perry 4-3 with a top break of 79.

Tickets for certain sessions are still available, for details click here

Ding made it a good day for China as he joined Xiao Guodong and Yuan Sijun in round two. And the 13-time ranking event winner was in sizzling form as he fired breaks of 52, 88 and 126 against Lisowski.

Cheltenham’s Lisowski took the opening frame but his hopes of a deep run in his home tournament were short lived as Ding won four in a row, finishing the match with 349 unanswered points. He now plays David Gilbert or Yan Bingtao on Thursday.

“I’m very happy to have played well out there,” said world number nine Ding. “Jack played some bad safeties and gave me some easy balls to start breaks. My cue ball control was good.”

Ding is currently 24th on the one-year ranking list and needs to be in the top 16 by the end of this month to qualify for March’s Coral Players Championship in Preston. “This is a good chance to climb up,” he added. “The next target is to play well in this tournament and get into the top 16.”

Stephen Maguire top scored with 73 in a 4-1 win over Mark King, setting up a match with Chinese teenager Yuan, who knocked out Mark Williams earlier today.

Worldsnooker has today published the draw and format for the Welsh Open, played next week.

Tuesday 5 Feb 2019 11:29AM

Top stars including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, home favourite Mark Williams and defending champion John Higgins will be in action when the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff hosts the ManBetX Welsh Open next week.

Tickets are still available and start at just £10, for details click here

Running from February 11 to 17, it’s the final event of the 2018/19 Home Nations series, with a top prize of £70,000 up for grabs.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

Other than the World Championship and the UK Championship, the ManBetX Welsh Open is snooker’s longest running ranking tournament, ever present on the calendar since 1992.

Higgins won the title for a record fifth time last year by beating Barry Hawkins in the final. This time his opening match is against fellow Scottish cueman Graeme Dott, a clash of two former World Champions. That match takes place on Monday at 1pm.

Four-time Welsh Open king O’Sullivan faces a first round clash against Sanderson Lam on Tuesday at 1pm while world number one Mark Selby will take on two-time ranking event winner Anthony McGill on Tuesday evening.

World Champion Mark Williams from Cwm plays Cardiff’s Kishan Hirani in a local derby on Monday afternoon. Williams was the last Welsh winner of this title back in 1999.

Promising Welsh amateur Jackson Page will be up against China’s Zhao Xintong while Trump will meet tour rookie Harvey Chandler.

Not a bad draw on paper for Ronnie although Yan Sijun may be a banana skin.