Yesterday in Bangkok saw the conclusion of the group stages. Here is the report by Worldsnooker:

Wednesday 4 Sep 2019 04:16PM

Mark Selby won a crunch group stage match with Thailand’s Sunny Akani 5-2 to book his place in the last 16 of the SangSom Six Red World Championship in Bangkok.

Both players came into today’s meeting knowing that they had to win to progress from group D, with Gary Wilson already through to the second round.

Three-time Crucible king Selby put on a strong showing, firing in breaks of 67 and 74 on his way to victory. He will face a mouth watering clash with 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham in the last 16.

Graeme Dott and Thepchaiya Un Nooh also played out a must win showdown in group H, with Dott emerging a 5-3 winner. That is despite Un-Nooh making the only maximum break of 75 to come in the tournament so far. Dott will come up against Asian number one Ding Junhui in the next round.

22-time ranking event winner Mark Williams topped group H after defeating Ng On Yee 5-1. He now takes on Joe Perry.

Four-time World Champion John Higgins finished first in group E by beating Australia’s Kurt Dunham 5-3 to maintain his 100% record this week. He faces Chinese teenager Wu Yize next.

Yan Bingtao beat Thai superstar James Wattana 5-1 in the other group E match to book a last 16 meeting with Gary Wilson.

Jimmy White beat Egypt’s Mohamed Khairy 5-1 to progress from group F and set up a second round clash with Stephen Maguire. While David Gilbert topped the group after beating Ryan Day 5-3. Gilbert now plays Kyren Wilson in the last 16.

Last 16 Draw

Passakorn Suwannawat vs Ali Carter

Stephen Maguire vs Jimmy White

Ding Junhui vs Graeme Dott

Gary Wilson vs Yan Bingtao

Stuart Bingham vs Mark Selby

John Higgins vs Wu Yize

David Gilbert vs Kyren Wilson

Mark Williams Vs Joe Perry

Now the above isn’t entirely correct. This is the draw tha’ts actually played today

Passakorn Suwannawat vs Ali Carter
Stephen Maguire vs Jimmy White
Ding Junhui vs Graeme Dott
Gary Wilson vs Yan Bingtao

John Higgins vs Wu Yize
David Gilbert vs Kyren Wilson
Stuart Bingham vs Mark Selby
Mark Williams vs Joe Perry

Why they changed the draw after publishing it baffles me. Tha’s a very strange move. At the time of writing the bottom haflf has been played already, with Higgins, Gilbert, Bingham and Williams winning.

In other news, Ronnie just posted on twitter: he’s on his way to Shanghai!

This is the report by Worldsnooker on what happened yesterday in Bangkok:

Tuesday 3 Sep 2019 03:57PM

Gary Wilson beat three-time World Champion Mark Selby 5-4 to ensure qualification from group D at the SangSom Six Red World Championship in Bangkok.

Selby has work to do to reach the last 16. Only two players in each group of four progress. The Jester from Leicester will come up against Thailand’s Sunny Akani in the last set of round robin matches tomorrow, with the winner joining Wilson in the next round.

Today’s match swung back and forth, with neither player leading by more than a single frame at any point. Eventually Wilson, who top scored with a break of 69, came through with the 5-4 victory.

Thai amateur Passakorn Suwannawat defeated Anthony McGill 5-1 to secure his progression from group A. Defending champion Kyren Wilson will earn the other last 16 place from that group after he beat Mohammad Shehab 5-2.

Four-time World Champion John Higgins is through after he demolished Riga Masters champion Yan Bingtao 5-0. Yan will now face local hero James Wattana, with the winner taking a place in the last 16.

Three-time Crucible king Mark Williams defeated 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott 5-4 to earn his last 16 place. Dott will meet Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh tomorrow, with the winner progressing.

For full results and standings click here.

Earlier this morning Yan Bingtao defeated James Wattana, so he’s through as well.

You can follow the results on this page: snooker.org

As you can see the following players have already secured their spot in the knock-out stage:

Group A: Kyren Wilson and Passakorn Suwannawat
Group D: Gary Wilson
Group E: John Higgins and Yan Bingtao
Group F: David Gilbert and Jimmy White
Group G: Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter
Group H: Mark Williams

This is the live scores page

As for Ronnie … he’s still with Liang Wenbo and yesterday shared some “relaxing” images/videos on twitter

It’s not easy being a snooker player

I like my swimming technique…

 

Actually starting with the Ronnie news… shared on his twitter

Ronnie, as you would expect is still in China, with his friend Liang Wenbo.

He has been practising, in preparation of the Shanghai Masters

And cooking some local dishes

Asked if he will play in the UK and the Masters, this was his answer

I can’t promise anything with my schedule.. a lot of it comes down to priority’s, and managing my career the best way for me..

The big events are all in china now.. it’s hard to not prioritise these events over others

longevity comes from carefully thought out decisions .. burn out and over load come at a price.. the best thing we own , is our mind, and body, use it wisely

I aim to stay around for as long as I can manage

So that’s not a promise, but it’s not a NO either, and definitely we can expect more than three events over the season. Overall good news then.

Regarding the Six-Reds World Championship in Bangkok …

I’m actually looking forward to the event, that, this year, has a very diverse line-up: young Asian amateurs, veterans like Jimmy White and James Wattana, players from Africa, Alexis Callewaert from France, Kurt Dunham from Australia, Reanne Evans and On Yee … alongside the household names like Mark Selby, John Higgins, Ryan Day, David Gilbert, Gary Wilson, Luca Brecel … to name only a few. A notable absentee is Mark Davis who has won this competition three times in the past.

The variant format asks for a different tactical approach and we could see a few surprises. It’s played a lot in Thailand and I expect the locals to do well.

It also poses a bit of a question.

This poster was shared on weibo a couple of weeks ago

John Higgins though is playing in Bangkog, possibly until Saturday 7th of September, therfore he can’t possibly make sure to be playing in China on the 4th and 5th of September unless he withdraws from the Six Reds event. Even losing early won’t do as the round-robin phase extends up to, and including, the 4th of September.

So? Has this exhibition been cancelled? Is some other player replacing John? Do I misread the poster? Anyone knows?

And, speaking of questions, and exhibition events, what about this?

Hendry here to face Rachapol again

Sep 01. 2019

By The Nation407 Viewed

Seven-time world snooker champion Stephen Hendry has arrived Thailand for a showdown with Thai legend Rachapol Phu-ob-orn. They’ll meet in the World 6 Red Snooker Championships on September 7 at Central Lat Phrao’s Centara Grand Hyatt in Bangkok.

The Scotsman has been retired from the professional circuit for seven years but is still considered the most successful snooker player of all time.

Rachapol, better known as Tong Sid Choi, is a national hero, achieving global fame when he turned pro in the ’80s and rising to World No 3 in the 1994-95 season.

He never won a world title but reached the semi-finals in 1993 and 1997 and became the first Asian to score three 147 maximum breaks in competition.

Hendry and Rachapol have played each other 22 times, with Hendry winning 17.