It was another eventful day in Watford and here is the report by WST:

Friday 21 Feb 2020 11:20PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan, competing in the event for the first time since 2015, beat Alan McManus to reach the second round of the BetVictor Shoot Out.

The Rocket meets Billy Castle in round two of the quickfire one-frame tournament at the Watford Colosseum on Saturday.

Breaks of 20 and 22 helped O’Sullivan to a scoreline of 54-10 against McManus, who had one clear chance early in the frame but missed the pink to a centre pocket.

On a day of dramatic incident, African Champion Amine Amiri lost to Michael Holt having failed to realise that in this event a ball must be potted or hit a cushion with every shot. On two occasions Amiri looked in control of the frame when he tried to roll up to the black to snooker his opponent. Both times Holt was gifted seven points and ball in hand, and he eventually won the frame 69-38.

Iran’s Soheil Vahedi came from 37-1 down to tie at 37-37 with Alfie Burden, then potted the blue in a sudden death shoot out after Burden had missed.

Ricky Walden had a chance to clear from 36 points down against Tian Pengfei, but missed the final black off its spot at 61-64. Tian potted the black to book his second round spot.

Ashley Carty trailed Noppon Saengkham 43-35 with less than a minute to go but potted red, blue and yellow then slotted in the green as the clock ticked to zero for a last-gasp victory.

Liang Wenbo trailed Oliver Lines 29-15 but snatched the result with a late break of 19, sealing it with a difficult thin cut on the pink to a corner pocket. Liang is one of 15 Chinese players among the last 64.

Ali Carter edged out Chen Zifan 52-50; in the last minute Chen needed to pot two balls but didn’t get a clear chance.

Reanne Evans, one of two female wild cards in the draw, was beaten by Ian Burns who made an excellent break of 62.

It was a good day for Irish amateur teenagers as 18-year-old Ross Bulman beat 2018 champion Michael Georgiou while 17-year-old Aaron Hill got the better of Robbie McGuigan.

Shaun Murphy made a break of 68 to beat Kishan Hirani while Jack Lisowski fired a run of 78 to beat Andy Hicks.

Here are Ronnie’s match and post-match at the counter …

Plus an interview with BetVictor

Ronnie clearly not too keen to give a definite opinion on the event ranking status then…

Ronnie was playing the last match of the last 128, and over the full two days of the round Eurosport had been bigging the match. When the time finally came for it, the crowd was in a frenzy.

There was an “incident” … of course there had to be one. As Ronnie was cueing the pink “over the black”, Judd Trump tweeded that he “thought” that Ronnie had touched the black, but that he wasn’t sure. You can see it in the above footage at 3’50”. The referee, didn’t call a foul. However a few seconds later, after her attention was apparently drawn to it by a member of the crowd, she shouted “Ronnie stop!”. Ronnie was on his next shot already and played it.

Judd almost immediately removed his tweet, but the seed was planted. All over twitter there were people, branding Ronnie a cheat – “surely he must have felt it” – and “he’s ignoring the ref”. And Desi got criticised rather harshly too.

Now, let’s get this straight. It was madness all over there. The noise was deafening. Ronnie was certainly trying to block it out and concentrate, as they all do, and he only had a few seconds to play his next shot as well. Almost certainly he didn’t hear the referee at all. If she had shouted “foul” maybe that would have caught his attention, but “Ronnie stop” was unlikely to be registered under the circumstances.

Rolf Kalb, the hugely respected German commentator and MC, took the common sense approach: he watched the video several times, still wasn’t sure AND he added that if Desi thought there was a foul, she should have shouted “Foul”, not “Ronnie stop”. End of story.

Amine Amiri “fouling” twice by rolling the white behind the black also triggered a lot of reactions. The commentators couldn’t quite believe it and the poor guy got crucified on social media. Even after the first foul, it was quite obvious that he hadn’t understood that he needed to hit a cushion on every shot – unless he potted a ball – even on safeties like this. I’m not sure how well he understands English. He’s Morrocan, his native language is probably Arabic, with French the second one. I do think that he had read, or been told about the alternate rules, because he took care to hit a cushion when playing his other shots, but, for some reason, hadn’t understood that it applied to all types of shots, including such safeties. In 2011, on the first year of the Shoot Out, there were quite a number of such incidents, by players who were native English speakers. Now they are used to this, but Amine is a rookie. Give the lad a break!

Soheil Vahedi waiting too long to play the red that would have given him the victory against Alfie Burden was another strange one. Asked after the match what had happened, Soheil explained that he had somehow been puzzled because the crowd remained silent whilst he was about to play the shot. He was expecting a cheer that didn’t come and just “froze”, waiting for it. He did win on the blue ball shoot out eventually though.

Finally, all credit to Barry Pinches, who DID call a foul on himself, when nobody had seen it, and knowing it could cost him the match as well. It did.

OK … the Shoot Out circus started yesterday, and, if it wasn’t ranking, I wouldn’t mind it. Some of the “matches” were quite entertaining and the crowd wasn’t too bad. A bit silly but nothing nasty. Also, it’s good to see some players that we otherwise, never get to watch.

Here is the report on WST:

Thursday 20 Feb 2020 10:55PM

Nutcharut Wongharuthai’s hopes of becoming the first woman to win a televised ranking event match were put to the the hammer by Thor Chuan Leong on day one of the BetVictor Shoot Out in Watford.

In this unique format all matches are played within a single frame and Thailand’s Wongharuthai looked to have started well as she broke off and left the cue ball close to the baulk cushion. But that proved her only shot as Malaysia’s Leong knocked in a long red and went on to compile a magnificent 133 total clearance. Reanne Evans is the second female wild card among the field of 128 and she faces Ian Burns on Friday.

Defending champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made a break of 42 as he saw off Alex Borg. But there were several big name casualties as Mark Selby, Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham were all beaten.

Three-time World Champion Selby lost to Sunny Akani while Allen was knocked out by Luo Honghao. Bingham led Andrew Pagett 41-37 with just a few seconds to go but amateur Pagett crashed in a long red to set up a match-winning break of 9.

In the most exciting match of the day, Daniel Wells beat Bai Langning in a sudden death blue ball shoot out. Wells made 54 then Bai replied with 72 before missing the final blue. Wells potted blue, pink and black to leave the score tied at 72-72, then potted the extra blue at the second attempt.

Si Jiahui suffered a similar fate to Bai as he made a break of 62 but still lost to Xiao Guodong. Two-time Shoot Out finalist Xiao made a 37 then cleared with 27 to snatch victory.

Chang Bingyu made a superb 120 to beat Iulian Boiko. Kyren Wilson and Michael White were tied 24-24 with less than a minute to go before Wilson potted red, yellow and red for victory.

Mark Williams got the better of Luca Brecel while 18-year-old Scottish amateur Dean Young knocked out David Grace. In the last match of the day, Matthew Stevens ended the hopes of crowd favourite Jimmy White.

Ronnie was “behind the counter” in the evening

As you can hear the atmosphere is pretty relaxed. Ronnie was full of praise for Chang Bingyu, who he played in practice a couple of years ago, and for Mink, comparing her to Steve Davis. Unfortunately, the young Thai played only one shot in the competition.

It was also a bit weird, and funny, to hear Matthew Stevens saying that he actually wanted JImmy to beat him…

Here is the 133 by Thor Chuan Leong, who hadn’t won a match so far this season.

And the 120 by Chang Bingyu

And this was probably the most exciting match of the day, with a dramatic finish: Daniel Wells v Bai Langning

Shaun Murphy won the 2020 Welsh OPen Final, beating Kyren Wilson by 9-1/

He received the Ray Reardon Trophy, presented by the great man himself.

Congratulations Shaun Murphy!

Here are the WST reports on the final:

Shaun Murphy 7-1 Kyren Wilson (afternoon)

Sunday 16 Feb 2020 05:20PM

Shaun Murphy needs just two more frames to win the ManBetX Welsh Open for the first time, leading Kyren Wilson 7-1 after the first session of the final in Cardiff.

The Magician was runner-up to Stephen Lee in 2006, but this is his first visit to the final since then. Wilson is also aiming for his maiden Welsh Open title.

Murphy left Wilson trailing in his wake with a devastating blitz in the opening exchanges. The 2005 World Champion composed breaks of 108 and 84 to move 2-0 ahead. Murphy then stole the third on the pink, before adding a further frame to lead 4-0 at the mid-session interval.

When they returned, Murphy composed further breaks of 76 and 134 on his way to building the 7-1 advantage. Wilson got his solitary frame on the board with a run of 43.

They will return at 7pm to play the match to its conclusion, the first player to reach nine frames will win the Ray Reardon Trophy and the £70,000 top prize.

Shaun Murphy 9-1 Kyren Wilson (evening)

Sunday 16 Feb 2020 08:58PM

A stunning performance from Shaun Murphy saw him thrash Kyren Wilson 9-1 to win the ManBetX Welsh Open for the first time at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.

It’s the ninth ranking event victory of 2005 World Champion Murphy’s career, which draws him level with fellow Crucible winners John Parrott and Peter Ebdon in the all-time ranking tournament winner’s list.

After the match Murphy was presented the trophy and his £70,000 winner’s prize by legendary Welsh six-time World Champion Ray Reardon, who the trophy is named after.

Having already been victorious at the China Championship earlier in the season, this is the first time Murphy has won two ranking titles in a single campaign. World number 10 Murphy has reached four finals in total this season and sits in second position on the one-year-list.

Despite the emphatic nature of Wilson’s defeat, it has still been a memorable week for the Warrior. He composed the second 147 break of his career in his opening round win over Jackson Page and beat Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan on his way to the final.

Murphy only required two frames coming into tonight after securing a 7-1 lead in this afternoon’s first session. He wasted little time in wrapping up the win. Breaks of 102 and 73 saw him claim the first two frames to secure the title in just over 26-minutes.

“It is fabulous. I’m absolutely overjoyed and over the moon,” said 37-year-old Murphy. “This is what we play for. This is it. This winning feeling when you get handed the trophy at the end of the tournament. All those boyhood dreams, all those hours of practise they are for this so it is very special.

“It was a real thrill to put on a show for that great crowd out there. I’ve said for years that I love coming to South Wales and play snooker. It is fantastic to finally put on a good show for them.

“I’ve been where Kyren is now and it is a disappointing place to be. I know he is made of strong stuff. We come from a similar area and I know he has some good people around him. He will probably watch the game back and see where he could learn from his few mistakes. In fairness I thought I played well and kept him at bay for a lot of the day. On another day I would be standing there as the runner-up.”

Wilson said: “I was completely outplayed in many departments. I said earlier on in the week that pinching those tight black ball frames can be more important than centuries, I didn’t do that today. That was probably the difference early on. Shaun is too strong to have a lead like that and let it slip, he played tremendously.

“It was very disappointing to not feel like I was more involved. I let a couple of frames slip. You have to convert frames and when you don’t they hurt.

“This era in snooker is so difficult. If you can’t be pleased with beating the players I have this week and making maximums there is something wrong. I am gutted to not win. I feel I am a winner and I want to win titles. It is going to hurt for a few days, but I’ve got to get back to work as we have some big tournaments coming up.”

Most fans, and pundits, expected a very close match. It was as one-sided as it gets. It’s hard to explain sometimes, but it may be a case of feeling a bit flat or “empty” after a big win that took a lot out of him. Beating Ronnie in a decider, after the heavy defeats he had suffered at his hands, may have done that to Kyren (*). That said, Shaun Murphy played superbly and, on that form, would probably have beaten anyone on the day.

Eurosport put together those nice features about the great Welsh Champion, and 87 years young, Ray Raerdon, who was in the studio with them after the trophy ceremony.

This is Ray Reardon intervied by WST before the match:

Ray Reardon interviewed in the ES studio before the evening session:

The  trophy ceremony with the players interview:

The post-match interview, with Shaun and Ray Raerdon in the studio

(*) and beating Mark Selby, needing the win to get in the one year list, may have taken more out of Ronnie than we, and himself, realised.

Kyren Wilson booked his spot in the final tomorrow with a 6-5 deserved victory over Ronnie.

Ronnie lead 2-0 and 4-2, but never looked comfortable in the match. He probably did miss more easy balls today than he had all week. There were moments of brilliance, but overall it was a bad day in office. Kyren Wilson was a lot more reliable, even if he missed a few aswell. But Kyren got better as the match went on, Ronnie got worse.

Ronnie never stopped trying but he looked very unhappy and frustrated, annoyed with himself. Towards the end the belief wasn’t there anymore. Kyren was solid and deserved the win. Good luck to him tomorrow.

This is the match

Ronnie was very honest in his assesment of his own performance

To be honest, as a Ronnie fan, I found it hard to watch. And if it was pressure that caused Ronnie’s collapse, it doesn’t bode well for the Crucible … IF he enters it. Or for the 37th ranking title come to that. Yes, I’m feeling quite dispirited, not because he lost, but because the way he lost.

Anyway … here are some great pictures, thanks to Tai Chengzhe

This result means that although Ronnie is currently 16th on the one year list, should he lose early there are 20 players who could overtake him.

Gary Wilson needs the SF (8000), Tom Ford, Jack Lisowski and Zhou Yuelong need the Final (20000), everyone else down to Ricky Walden need the title (50000).

Ronnie’s participation in the Players Championship is far from certain. And, should he qualify, he’s due to play Judd Trump in the last 16, unless himself goes deep in the Shoot Out.

It was QFs day in Cardiff yesterday, and one that provided very pleasing results, at least for me.

Here is the report by WST

Friday 14 Feb 2020 10:40PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan produced a sublime performance to beat Mark Selby 5-1 and reach the semi-finals of the ManBetX Welsh Open in Cardiff.

Victory for O’Sullivan crucially moves him into 16^thposition on the live one-year money list. That means that as things stand he is set to edge into the upcoming Players Championship. The top 16 at the end of next week’s Shoot Out will earn a spot.

Today’s win also enhances O’Sullivan’s head-to-head record in his momentous rivalry with Selby, which has included Masters, UK Championship and World Championship finals. The Rocket is now 15-10 ahead in contests between the pair.

Selby can reflect on his defeat with the knowledge that he still made Home Nations history this season. The Jester from Leicester became the first player to win two events in a single campaign, with victories at the English and Scottish Opens.

O’Sullivan produced spellbinding snooker to storm into a 4-0 advantage at the mid-session. He compiled breaks of 142, 95 and 85 to rapidly move to the verge of victory.

Selby kept himself in the tie by edging a narrow fifth frame. He was first in again in the next, but cruelly went in-off to afford O’Sullivan an opportunity to close out the match. He left Selby needing snookers, which he got. However, a second stroke of hard luck saw Selby go in-off in an attempt to develop the green. O’Sullivan made no mistake from there and secured victory.

O’Sullivan said: “I tried to take the game to Mark as much as I could and be prepared for a battle. It is always hard against Mark and he never makes it easy for you.

“I got off to a good start and managed to get amongst the balls and score some good breaks. I came out after the interval and it started to go itsy bitsy. I kept saying to myself that if I managed to find one good frame I should be fine.

“I enjoyed the match. It was tough and I haven’t faced players of Mark’s calibre regularly. It was a test for me to see where I was, so it was nice to come out on top today.”

O’Sullivan’s semi-final opponent will be Kyren Wilson, who recorded an impressive 5-0 whitewash victory against 18-time ranking event winner Neil Robertson.

The result acts as revenge for Wilson, who suffered a 6-4 defeat to Robertson in the semi-finals of last week’s World Grand Prix.

Defeat for Robertson ends a brilliant run of consecutive final appearances. He lifted the title at the European Masters and the World Grand Prix and was runner-up at the German Masters.

The evening action saw 2005 Crucible king Shaun Murphy defeat World Champion Judd Trump 5-3 to secure his spot in the last four.

It’s a second consecutive victory for Murphy against Trump, following a 6-3 win in the first round of the Masters in January.

He will face Chinese teenager Yan Bingtao in the semis. Yan beat four-time World Champion John Higgins 5-2 to secure his place.

You can find out more about Ronnie’s win here (including images and coverage)

Kyren Wilson played well to beat Neil Robertson, but the latter had nothing left in the tank. He might not have felt physical tiredness, but he ran out of mental resources. Every time a player says he’s fatigued, there are people on social media coming up with “how would they feel if they had to dig holes, built roads, or move heavy bulks”. These remarks just show that those who make them have no understanding of how much sustained concentration under pressure can take out of a person. Neil spoke to Rachel from ES after the match, saying that he colud not “get up for it” and basically “felt nothing”. That’s what mental faigue does to you. You can hear Neil here (ES afternoon session review)

Shaun Murphy played very well to beat Judd Trump. Since he’s practising with Fergal O’Brien, he’s massively improved in the safety department and it was key to yesterday’s win. The way he won frame four, from 70 points behind, was definitely very significant. If you didn’t see the match, here is that key frame:

Judd was the heaviest scorer, he had two centuries and two other 50+ breaks, but he lost. Just as he had in the 2020 Masters, despite making three centuries that time. I like a century as much as anybody else, but I feel that there is now far too much emphasis on them nowadays. They only win you one frame.

I haven’t watched the match between Yan Bingtao (yet), but I’m very pleased with the result. Going by the frames scores, Yan’s breakbuilding is in good shape, but there is more. He managed to steal the last frame from way behind, after Higgins had a break of 51. It wasn’t straightforward: there was one red on the side cushion above the left middle pocket (as we see it on TV).

Here are the highlights of this match:

It’s a pity that we don’t have some quotes by Yan after his win.