Ronnie won his all important first round match in Cardiff, beating Zhang Jiangkang by 4-1.
It was a decent match. Ronnie wasn’t at his best, but he looked very focussed, was patient and applied himself. He was very good in the balls, his long potting was decent without being outstanding. His break-off was slightly better than in previous matches, but still his main weakness. He finished the match wit 93% pot success, and 63% long pot success.
To me, Ronnie looked quite tense out there. He certainly knows that he needs to go deep in this tournament to get any chance to defend his Players Championship title, never mind his Tour Championship title. Seeing how he played today, and his attitude around the table, I think he wants it and will try his best this week.
His next opponent is Stuart Carrington. He’s a hard match player and rather slow. Ronnie will certainly have to be patient and apply himself like he did today. Hopefully, having won one match already will help him to relax a bit.
Ronnie O’Sullivan secured his passage to the second round with a 4-1 defeat of China’s Zhang Jiankang.
The Rocket is in need of a strong showing here in Cardiff and at next week’s Shoot Out if he harbours any hopes forcing his way into the upcoming Coral Players Championship. Only the top 16 players on the one-year list will earn a place at the elite Southport event and O’Sullivan lies in 20th position in the live rankings.
This afternoon five-time World Champion O’Sullivan composed breaks of 51, 53, 69 and 81 on his way to dispatching world number 88 Zhang. Next up 44-year-old O’Sullivan faces Stuart Carrington.
“It was a good game. I’m pleased to win. He can play, so I am just pleased to be through to the next round,” said O’Sullivan. “It is only one match, it is very hard to assess after one match, but hopefully I will feel a bit stronger after each game. That is the idea, so we will just have to wait and see.”
Coverage:
The pre-match assessment by the ES pundits
The match
Last frame of the match, with BBC commebtary, and the interview post-match with BBC Wales
And the post-match analysis by the ES pundits
Great thanks to Tai Chengzhe for those beautiful pictures
The potters are back at the Motorpoint arena in Cardiff for the 2020 Welsh Open. It’s not the more lucrative tournament, but it’s fairly important for a number of reasons. For those involved in the race to the Coral series, it’s about getting or staying into the one year top 16. For many more other players, it’s about the race to the Crucible, and ultimately their survival on the tour. The 2020 China Open being “postponed”, there are only two ranking tournaments after this one before the World Championship: the Shoot Out and the Gibraltar Open. Neither pay much. There is £32000 for the winner at the Shoot Out and only £25000 for the winner in Gibraltar. The 2020 China Open would have has £225000 for the winner. More importantly, it would have paid £5000 just for winning the first round match. In Gibraltar players will need the QF to get that much, and at the Shoot Out they would need the SF.
And it’s not just about getting to the Crucible, it’s also about what they will have to do to get there. Indeed, this year, the World Championship qualifiers are “tiered”. Of course, Barry Hearn didn’t go “loud” about this change on social media, but it’s there: this year there will be four rounds of qualifiers in Sheffield:
R1: 81-112 v 113-144
R2: R1 winners v 49-80
R3: R2 winners v 48-17
R4: R3 winners v R3 winners
There is no prize money for the seeded loosers at any stage.
This means that players below n°80 in the rankings will have to play four matches, instead of three last season, to get to the main draw. On the other hand, they will not meet the strongest opponents in the early rounds.
Players in the 49-80 bracket will have to win three matches to get to the Crucible, the first of them being againts a lower ranked opponent.
Players in the 48-17 bracket will have to win only two matches, but their first one is likely to be tougher than it used to be with the system used in recent years.
Mark Williams got his ManBetX Welsh Open campaign up and running with a 4-1 defeat of Oliver Lines in Cardiff.
Welshman Williams, who has 22 ranking titles and three Crucible victories to his name, is arguably the greatest player ever to emerge from his country. However, it is now over a year since he last lifted a trophy at the 2018 World Open.
Williams is a two-time Welsh Open champion, having won the event in 1996 and 1999 and he will face Jordan Brown next as he aims to extend his bid for a third title this year.
Williams, who has recently recovered from gout problems which hampered him during the World Grand Prix, top scored with a break of 87 this afternoon, wrapping up victory in under an hour and a half.
“The gout is gone, fingers crossed it never comes back. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Actually, I would wish it on my worst enemy to let someone else see the pain, but I never want it again,” joked Williams.
He added: “I played alright in patches today. It was a bit scrappy as well, but I am just over the moon to get through. If I hadn’t been practising for the last month I would probably have lost that match, but I managed to stick in and get over the line.
“I’ve let myself down over the last 12 months. When I said I didn’t practise, I literally hadn’t picked up my cue and just went to tournaments knowing I was going to get hammered. I just had enough of it in the end and thought that I might as well practise for the rest of the season and get a bit of momentum going.”
World Champion Trump Aiming For Maiden Cardiff Title
Judd Trump got his quest for a first Welsh Open title underway with a 4-1 defeat of James Cahill.
The Ace in the Pack narrowly edged Cahill in their most recent meeting at the Northern Ireland Open. On that occasion, Trump led his counterpart 3-0 before being pegged back to a decider. He came through a 4-3 winner and went on to take home the title.
World number one Trump has already won four ranking titles so far in a sparkling season, including the recent German Masters in Berlin. If he were to register another win this week it would equal the record for most in a season jointly held by Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
It didn’t take Trump long to get up and running this evening. He fired in a fine run of 132 to get himself off the mark, before establishing a 3-0 lead. Cahill pulled a frame back, but it was just a consolation as Trump came through a 4-1 victor. He faces Craig Steadman or Billy Castle next.
“It is more about winning this tournament for me,” said Bristol’s Trump. “I grew up close to here and I have always had tremendous support from the Welsh. It would be nice to get the job done one year here. I always enjoy coming here, especially since the event has been in Cardiff.”
Ding Downs Fu
Ding Junhui came through with a 4-2 win in an entertaining clash with Marco Fu.
UK Champion Ding compiled breaks of 80, 92 and 66 on his way to victory. Afterwards China’s top player sent out a message of support to all those impacted on by the Coronavirus outbreak.
WST and the WPBSA have already pledged to donate £1,000 to organisations in China providing medical support, for every century this tournament. Ding has also made a personal donation.
Ding said: “It is very helpful to have this donation. Thanks to all the players and the World Snooker Tour. I just want to do everything that I can to help.”
Round-up
Welshman Matthew Stevens secured an impressive 4-2 defeat of David Gilbert to book his second round place.
Masters champion Stuart Bingham came from 2-0 down to beat Martin Gould 4-2, while Jack Lisowski beat China’s Li Hang 4-2.
Judd Trump didn’t play particularly well after the first frame. Cahill had a lot of occasions and, actually, looked like someone fighting a hangover out there. I know that how Trump played yesterday doesn’t mean much but he will need to improve if he wants to win the tournamen; he probably will.
The Ding v Fu match was entertaining, both players playing very positively and at a nice pace.
Mark Williams played OK, no more, but given the state he was in last week, it’s a massive improvement.
Now, WST did not report (much) about the most significant of yesterday’s results.
Regarding the race to the Players Championship, both David Gilbert and Joe Perry lost yesterday leaving them vulnerable as they are currently 14th and 13th in the one year list. Gilbert in particular could be in danger.
Regarding the race to the Crucible, Lee Walker is currently provisionally seeded 80, but he lost yesterday. A decent run by Ian Burns could see him drop in the “lower” bracket for the World qualifiers. Anthony Hamilton won yesteray, taking the 48th spot in the provisional Crucible seedings, at the expense of Chris Wakelin who lost.
Regarding the Tour survival, both Martin Gould and Michael Georgiou lost yesterday. They occupy the 63th and 64th spots in the provisional end-of-season rankings…
Finally, quite unexpectedly, Simon Lichtenberg beat Ryan Day, getting a win at long last. It’s largely insignificant in terms of ranking or chance to stay on tour, but it’s great that he eventually gets something positive from his experience on tour. Except for Mark Williams, in general, the Weslh players have a terrible record in their home tournament.
Today, Ronnie is in action. He’s safe for the Crucible (provided he enters the tournament) but he needs to get at least to the SF to have any chance to defend his Players Championship title. His opponent Zhang Jiankang hasn’t done much on the tour, and will almost certainly lose his tour card come April, but he did get to the last 16 in Glasgow last December. Should Ronnie win today, he’s due to face Stuart Carrington next. Stuart won a long and slow match that went to a decider against Mike Dunn yesterday. He’s not the type of player that Ronnie enjoys playing…
Neil Robertson beat Graeme Dott by 10-8 to become 2020 World Grand Prix Champion. It was Neil third final in three weeks, and his second title. It brings his tally at 18 ranking titles, sixth on the all time list.
Neil Robertson moved within five frames of winning his second ranking title of 2020 as he came from 2-1 down to lead Graeme Dott 5-3 in the final of the Coral World Grand Prix.
First to ten frames when they resume at 7pm on Sunday night at Cheltenham Racecourse will capture the trophy and £100,000 top prize in the first event of the 2020 Coral Series.
It has been a purple patch of form for Australia’s 37-year-old Robertson in recent weeks as he won the European Masters in Austria then finished runner-up to Judd Trump at the German Masters. Victory tonight would mean he has won 18 of his last 19 matches in ranking events.
He is aiming for his 18th career ranking title, which would move him ahead of Mark Selby into sixth place on his own on the all-time list.
Larkhall’s 42-year-old Dott needs to win seven of the last 11 frames tonight if he is to win his third career ranking title and first since the 2007 China Open. If he were to succeed, the 13-year gap would be the biggest in snooker history – a record currently held by Jimmy White who won the 1992 UK Championship and the 2004 Players Championship.
World number two Robertson has won ten of the 16 previous meetings between the pair – most significantly the 2010 World Championship final when he triumphed 18-13.
A break of 55 helped Robertson take the opening frame and he looked in control of the second after a run of 63. But world number 21 Dott clawed his way back into it and eventually resolved a safety exchange with a cracking pot on the brown to a top corner which set up a 22 clearance. The Scot dominated the third with runs of 56 and 41 to lead 2-1, before Robertson levelled with a superb 127.
In frame five, Robertson led 54-22 with two reds left when he trapped his opponent in a tough snooker behind the black, and from the chance that followed he secured a 3-2 advantage. Breaks of 110 and 58 in the next two stretched his lead to 5-2.
Robertson was on a run of 40 in the last of the session when he was unlucky to knock a red in when splitting the pack off the blue. Later in the frame he led 41-32 when he missed a long pot on the last red, handing Dott the chance to clear to the pink and boost his hopes of a fight back going into tonight’s conclusion.
Neil Robertson fired five centuries in an exciting 10-8 victory over Graeme Dott to win the Coral World Grand Prix, his second ranking title of 2020.
Dott, gritty determination personified, made a fight of the final in Cheltenham as he closed from 9-5 to 9-8, before Robertson got over the line to take the £100,000 top prize and win this event for the first time.
The 37-year-old Australian continues his fabulous streak of form as he has won 18 of his last 19 matches in ranking events. He landed the European Masters title in Austria two weeks ago, then reached the final of the German Masters where he was runner-up to Judd Trump.
Confidence and self-belief have never been in short measure for the left-hander but it’s hard to argue against his own assertion that he is playing the best snooker of his career.
Tonight’s victory gives Robertson his 18th ranking title, moving him ahead of Mark Selby on the all-time list into sixth place on his own, behind Ronnie O’Sullivan (36), Stephen Hendry (36), John Higgins (30), Steve Davis (28) and Mark Williams (22).
With three months of the season still to go, his earnings for the 2019/20 campaign now total £508,100. He remains second in the world rankings but closes the gap on Judd Trump, while on the one-year list he is up to third and now looks certain to qualify for the other two events in the Coral Series.
Scotland’s Dott had hoped to win his first ranking title since the 2007 China Open; a 13-year gap would have been the longest in snooker history. He battled hard all the way but left his fight-back too late. The £40,000 runner-up prize lifts him to seventh on the one-year list.
Trailing 5-3 after the first session, Dott made a break of 62 as he took the opening frame tonight, then Robertson went 6-4 up with a 107. Dott took the 11th with a run of 88 but botched his break-off at the beginning of the 12th and Robertson punished him with a 142 total clearance, the highest break of the tournament.
Larkhall’s Dott potted the opening red of frame 13 but then missed a tricky brown to a centre pocket, and Robertson took advantage again as a run of 69 made it 8-5. A long red at the start of the 14th set Robertson up for a 101, his 699th career century, and he looked set for victory in the next until he missed the green a baulk corner, leading 43-13. Dott made a gritty 47 clearance to keep his hopes alive.
Dott led 38-30 in the 16th when he trapped his opponent in a tough snooker on the last red, and from the chance that followed he added 17 to close to within two frames at 9-7. The fight-back look over in the 17th when Robertson made a 69 to lead by 43 points with one red left. But, remarkably, Dott got the three snookers he needed on the colours, and settled a safety exchange on the black with a thin cut into a baulk corner.
In a scrappy frame 18, Dott trailed 42-13 when he missed a tough long pot on the third-last red. Robertson scored 14 points to leave his opponent needing snookers, and this time Dott’s Houdini act was out of tricks.
“At 9-5 I was cruising and it was looking like one of my best performances in a final,” said Robertson, who has now won 11 of 17 meetings with Dott, including the 2010 World Championship final. “As Graeme came back I slowed down because I was so tired. Having reached three finals in a row I would have been very disappointed to lose two of them so that put a bit of pressure on me.
“Graeme kept fighting all the way and when the frames go scrappy, he is a master in that department. It’s great to see him back playing well and I’m sure he’ll win more tournaments.
“This is absolutely the best form of my life, I have carried on from the end of last season when I reached four finals in a row. I am always looking to improve.”
Robertson now heads to Cardiff to defend the title at the ManBetX Welsh Open – he is back on the baize on Tuesday. “How long can I keep this going?” he pondered. “I am really scraping the bottom of the barrel now energy wise. In Wales I’ll be playing to win quick or lose quick.”
Dott, the 2006 World Champion, said: “At 9-5 there wasn’t much hope because Neil wasn’t missing anything. I did well to steal a few frames and make him twitch a bit. I had chances in the last frame to go 9-9. My break off shot was costing me throughout the match, I was thinking of just rolling into the pack. I was leaving a red for him every time.
“It’s a good week for me. I’m always going to complain because I want to win. I think I can still win tournaments if I play like that and don’t run into someone playing like a machine in the
It was a treat of a match. It had it all, big breaks, awsome shots, great safeties, and, during the last mini session an awsome fight back, the thrill and the tension.
Yes, Neil was fantastic, but so was Dotty. What a heart in the wee Scot!
Thank you Neil and Greame for this fantastic match. The best of the season so far for me.
Today, the action moves to Cardff, where Neil is the defending Champion. Peter Ebdon has withdrawn, due to health problems. Let’s hope that it’s not too serious and he gets well soon.
For Ronnie it’s an important tournament. He’s currently 20th on the one year list, £11000 behind Gary Wilson, currently 16th. This means that the semi finals is the very minimum he must reach to get into the top 16, but actually, he will almost certainly need the Final. He has a relatively easy draw in the early rounds, but even so best of sevens are banana skins and nothing is easy when you are under pressure.
Neil Robertson joined Graeme Dott in the 2020 World Grand Prix yesterday evening, by beating Kyren Wilson by 6-4. He is now in his thitd final in a row.
Neil Robertson continued his outstanding streak of form as he beat Kyren Wilson 6-4 to reach the final of the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham.
Robertson has reached three consecutive ranking event finals in three different countries over the last three weeks. He won the European Masters in Austria before finishing runner-up to Judd Trump at the German Masters.
And now the 37-year-old will face Graeme Dott over 19 frames on Sunday for the £100,000 top prize in the first event of the 2020 Coral Series. It will be a repeat of the 2010 World Championship final which Robertson won 18-13.
Full of confidence, cueing beautifully and in control of his game in every department, world number two Robertson looks hard to stop as he bids for an 18th career ranking title, which would move him ahead of Mark Selby into sixth place on his own on the all-time list.
Surprisingly this was only the second match between Robertson and Wilson, the previous meeting coming at the 2014 UK Championship when the Australian won 6-5. Tonight’s match was an absorbing contest which included a century and eight more breaks over 50.
Left-hander Robertson started strongly as breaks of 80, 59 and 77 gave him the first three frames, before Kettering’s Wilson pulled one back with a 71. Frame five lasted 35 minutes and came down to a safety exchange on the blue, Wilson missing a long pot and leaving his opponent to convert blue and pink to go 4-1 ahead.
Runs of 73 and 129 saw world number eight Wilson recover to 4-3 and he had a clear scoring chance in frame eight but missed a thin cut on a red to a top corner on 19 and was duly punished as Robertson’s 69 put him 5-3 up.
Wilson’s 84 gave him frame nine and he made 29 early in the tenth before running out of position. Robertson created a chance with an excellent red to a centre pocket and a cut-back black to a top corner, and went on to compile a match-winning 68.
“From 3-0, Kyren stuck in there, he’s a very determined player,” said Robertson. “He backed himself all the way and never held back. At 5-4 on 29 he went into the pack off the black and didn’t land on a red. I potted a couple of good balls to get started and was able to finish the match.
“Graeme Dott has always been a top class player. Some might say he is under-rated, but among the people who really know the game, we all know what a fantastic player he is. He is very positive and attacking and gets on with it so I am expecting an exciting final.
“It has felt like Planes, Trains and Automobiles over the last few weeks! I drove home to Cambridge yesterday after my quarter-final because my son was playing in a football match this morning so I didn’t want to miss that. Then I drove back to Cheltenham. I have been super busy but I’m having a great time.”
Since the Christmas break Neil has been the best player on tour, and certainly the most consistent. He played a good match yesterday. He had looked a bit tired at the start of the week but there was none of that in the last days. Clearly he will not take Graeme Dott for granted, and rightly so. Graeme has been playing well this season, and continues to improve. He has been in three World Finals, that’s more than Neil Robertson. He will not be overawed by the occasion. I expect a very close match today, and I fancy Graeme’s chances. If Graeme were to win tonight, it would be his first ranking title since the 2007 China Open. This would be the longest “gap” between ranking titles for a player. Currently this “record” is held by Jimmy White whose last ranking title the 2004 Players Championship came nearly 11 1/2 years after the previos one, the 1992 UK Championship.
Leading female players Reanne Evans and Nutcharut Wongharuthai are among the eight wild cards to be awarded places at the BetVictor Shoot Out to take place in Watford later this month.
The tournament has a unique format with all matches lasting a maximum of ten minutes within a single frame, with a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five minutes and ten seconds for the last five.
The world ranking event runs from February 20 to 23 at the Watford Colosseum, with every match televised live on Eurosport.
In all there are 128 players in the field, including 118 professionals, eight wild cards and two from the Q School ranking list.
Evans won the Women’s World Championship for the 12th time last year and is top of the women’s world rankings. The 34-year-old played in the Shoot Out last year as well as the recent Champion of Champions where she ran Shaun Murphy close, losing 4-3.
Wongharuthai, age 20 from Thailand, was runner-up to Evans in last year’s world final and is currently ranked third. She also won the Australian Open last year and is the only female player to make a 147 in a practice match. The Shoot Out will be her first live televised match in the UK.
The other six wild cards selections, based in performance in the World Snooker Federation Open and the Challenge Tour, are:
Ashley Hugill. Age 25 from York. Won the recent World Snooker Federation Open.
Iulian Boiko. Age 14 from Ukraine. Runner-up at the recent World Snooker Federation Open.
Dean Young. Age 18 from Edinburgh. Won a Challenge Tour event this season and a former Scottish Under-21 Champion.
Sean Maddocks. Age 17 from Liverpool. Made a competitive 147 at the age of 15.
Aaron Hill. Age 17 from Cork. European Under-18 Champion in 2019 and a World Snooker Federation Open semi-finalist.
Robbie McGuigan. Age 15 from Antrim. Made his first 147 in practice aged just 13.
Leading pro players in the field will include five-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, who last played in the event in 2015, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham, Jimmy White and Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who won the title last year.
The random draw will be made soon and announced on wst.tv
The tournament is the third of four events in the BetVictor European Series, with the leading money winner across the series to earn a bonus of £150,000. Current top two Neil Robertson and Judd Trump have not entered the Shoot Out, giving several others a chance to gain ground if they can win the £50,000 top prize and put themselves into contention going in the last event, the BetVictor Gibraltar Open in March.
There is there confirmation that Ronnie has indeed entered the event, almost certainly to try to qualify for the Players Championship, something that doesn’t look very likely as it stands for now.
I have very mixed feelings when it comes to the Shoot Out. Definitely, in my eyes, it should never be a ranking event. But it is, and if Ronnie were to qualify for the Players Championship because of a good run in it, I won’t complain.
The good…
If you accept it for what it is the event is fun. Every player plays in a one table setup, in a mix of glamour and razzmatazz. For the amateurs involved, it’s a great opportunity to showcase their skills. It’s different. There are inevitably twists and turns. The crowd gets involved…
The bad …
It’s a ranking event, which is certainly not right, and something that makes it less fun for players who really need the points. The crowd gets involded.
Yes, the crowd gettng involved, that’s both good and bad.
I went to the Shoot Out twice, at the Tower Circus in Blackpool.
It loved it the first year, in 2011. Players were in good spirit, mixing with the fans. The fans were in good spirit too, loud, some acting a bit silly, but nothing nasty.
Ronnie was there, he was the favourite, but was beaten by Robert Milkins in the SF. It was won by Nigel Bond of all players, not by one of the “quick” ones.
If my memory serves me right, Ronnie made three centuries during the event, including this one against Mark Selby. This was the highest break of the tournament. A lot of people thought that making a century in this event’s conditions would be impossible.
The next year, in 2012, I hated it. It was won by Barry Hawkins who beat Graeme Dott in the final. Dave Harold and his “motionless cue action” had reached the semi finals!
This time the crowd, or at least some in the crowd, became a problem. Some people became very drunk. Female referees were hassled and, at times, verbally abused. Janie Watkins and myself had beer and broken glass thrown at us whilst trying to take pictures. That was no fun anymore. Big Mark Williams from Worldsnooker security had to get involved in order to keep us safe to do our jobs.
Hopefully things like that won’t happen this time. Iulian Boiko, from Ukraine, is still extremely young (14), and Nutcharut Wongharuthai, is tiny and just 20 looking 15. It would be a ig shame if they were exposed to any inappropriate behaviours from some members of the public.
Neil Robertson explained the debt of thanks he owes to fiancée Mille after beating Joe Perry 5-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix.
Kyren Wilson edged out John Higgins 5-4 and will meet Robertson in the semis in Cheltenham on Saturday evening .
Australia’s Robertson has been in tremendous form in recent weeks, winning 16 of his last 17 matches in a ranking events, a run which has given him the European Masters title.
In 2017 he revealed that Mille, his long term partner and mother of their children Alexander and Penelope, had been suffering from anxiety and depression for two years. Her health has since improved, and Robertson himself feels that more stability in his family life has helped him to succeed in his career on the baize.
“As a family we had well documented issues away from the table. I wouldn’t be in this position now if it wasn’t for Mille,” said the 37-year-old. “I’m really motivated to do it for her. When I get home I can’t complain about being tired because I’m playing a lot of matches as she is looking after Penelope who is only sleeping four hours a night – if I did she’d probably kick me out!
“The happiness away from the table is key. I can go to tournaments and know that everything is good at home, and that makes a big difference. That’s one of the challenges for players with families, there are factors away from snooker to take into account.”
In today’s contest between two close friends, Perry took the opening frame with an excellent 62 clearance, but from that point Robertson dominated. Runs of 47 and 40 gave him the second frame than an 86 put him 2-1 up. A superb 140 total clearance in the fourth extended his advantage and made him the new front runner for the £10,000 high break prize.
Frame five came down to a safety exchange on the blue, which went in Robertson’s favour as he moved 4-1 in front. And breaks of 31 and 41 in the sixth saw him into his 39th ranking event semi-final.
“I was having one of those days where I was going for any long balls and they were going in,” he added. “When that’s happening I feel fantastic about my game. I don’t think Joe did much wrong, other than perhaps miss the chance to go 3-2. I’m not thinking much about winning, I’m just going out there and playing, and I believe my best is good enough.”
Wilson followed up yesterday’s win over Judd Trump with a hard-fought victory over Higgins which lasted three hours and 52 minutes. It’s his first win over Higgins in a ranking event and the Warrior is through to his first ranking semi-final since October’s World Open.
Kettering’s Wilson made the bigger breaks today, compiling runs of 64, 89 and 74, but found himself 4-3 down as Higgins got the better of the fragmented frames. But four-time World Champion Higgins missed chances to seal victory in frame eight and Wilson eventually took it thanks to an excellent long pot on the last red.
In the decider, runs of 25 and 37 gave Wilson a 62-0 lead, then Wishaw’s Higgins had a chance to counter but made just 17 before missing a tricky red to a centre pocket. He later got two of the three snookers he needed, only for Wilson to pot the brown to remain on course for a fourth career ranking title.
“It’s one of the best wins of my career, not in terms of the performance but because of the stature of my opponent, he is one of the all-time greats,” said 28-year-old Wilson. “John and Mark Selby are the two players you don’t want coming at you when they need snookers in the deciding frame. I felt like I was in snookers for about half an hour. John sticks in there right until the end even when it looks like he is beaten.
“I wasn’t showing much form coming into this tournament. I have just been trying to enjoy it this week, having a bit of fun with the crowd, not thinking too much and trying to play the balls as I see them.”
A disappointed Higgins said: “The top players would have closed that match out. For the last couple of years I haven’t been one of the top players so that’s what happens. When I had the chance in the last frame I fancied clearing up but I played a terrible positional shot from pink to red, with a bit of adrenaline going I nipped into the white too much.”
Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch a lot of snooker, first time in many days.
I may be expecting too much, but, in my eyes, Joe Perry was pretty dreadful yesterday, except in the first frame, and Neil Robertson’s victory was never in doubt. Neil himself played OK, but wasn’t at his best. His long potting was excellent, and he had two big breaks, including a 140, for now the highest break of the event. But overall his positinal game and cue ball control weren’t that great.
Kyren Wilson did beat John Higgins without playing really well at all, at least not when I was watching, after the conclusion of the Robertson v Perry match. It was a very fragmented game. Kyren’s cue ball control isn’t the best, or should I say, not at the same level as other parts of his game. There wasn’t a single big break from either player in the last three frames. John Higgins is clearly low in confidence and, when hearing him assessing his performances, you almost have the feeling that he’s giving up on any further career ambition. Yesterday, the win went to the one who had the most fight in him.
If both play in similar ways today, Neil Robertson should beat Kyren Wilson.
Graeme Dott beat Tom Ford 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix and is just one match away from setting a new record for the longest gap between ranking event victories.
The 42-year-old Scot, who knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan in Thursday’s quarter-finals, will face either Neil Robertson or Kyren Wilson in the final on Sunday at Cheltenham Racecourse, with the winner to bank £100,000.
Dott’s only previous ranking event wins came at the 2006 World Championship and 2007 China Open, so a 13-year gap between titles would eclipse the 12 years which separated Jimmy White’s victories at the 1992 UK Championship and 2004 Players Championship.
World number 21 Dott, who is now guaranteed £40,000, is into his tenth career ranking final and first since the 2018 Shoot Out. He was a semi-finalist at last week’s German Masters and has now gone one better.
In a high quality contest tonight which featured a century and seven more breaks over 50, Dott started strongly as runs of 81 and 67 gave him the first two frames.
He was on a break of 50 in the third when he accidentally touched a red with his shirt cuff, the foul well spotted by referee Desislava Bozhilova. That proved a turning point as Ford hit back to snatch the frame with a 37 clearance, and he made a 66 in the next to level at 2-2.
Larkhall’s Dott regained the lead after the interval, then Ford fired runs of 91 and 89 to lead 4-3. Back came Dott with 70 and 103 to go 5-4 ahead. A run of 38 put Dott in control of frame ten, and after a brief safety exchange he thumped in a long red and added 14 points which proved enough.
“Tonight’s win feels better than beating Ronnie,” said three-time Crucible finalist Dott. “When I beat Ronnie I had my game, whereas tonight I was struggling, I was losing the white constantly. It was good to show some bottle and stand up because I could have crumbled at 4-3.
“The foul at 2-0 threw me because I really felt comfortable up until then. I found it hard to settle after that. If I had gone 3-0 then Tom wouldn’t have been able to get into the match.
“It does feel like 13 years since the last one I won – in fact it feels like longer. I’m not exactly a prolific winner. I have been playing well and feeling as if this has been coming all season. The pleasing part is that when I don’t have my game I am still able to play to a decent standard.
“I’ll be ready for the final but it will be tough, especially if it’s against Neil because he’s playing so well. I just want to get involved in the match – give me 6-6 on Sunday night and I’ll fancy it.
“Tomorrow I’ll just practise and laze about, eat as much junk food as I possibly can…just a normal day for me!”
It was indeed an excellent, and entertaining, match. Tom Ford lost but the improvements in his attitude and mindset are remarkable and, if he persists, he might well become a top 16 player very soon. Graeme Dott, as I wrote yesterday, is a much underrated player. Depression has ruined his career for the best part of the last 12 years. But, for what we saw in recent weeks, he’s back, and if he can keep that up, beware, he’s World Champion material, with the iron will to win and the grit that goes with it.
If he can play tomorrow like he did to beat Ronnie and Tom, I fancy him to win the title and nobody will want to face him in Sheffield!
Kyren Wilson won a dramatic final frame to beat World Champion Judd Trump 4-3 in the last 16 of the Coral World Grand Prix.
Both players had chances in a nervy decider but it was Wilson who took it by potting the last blue and pink to set up a quarter-final with John Higgins on Friday afternoon in Cheltenham.
Trump has won four ranking titles so far this season but will have to wait until next week’s Welsh Open for another crack at equalling the record of five in a single campaign.
Wilson, by his own high standards, has had a disappointing season, reaching the semi-finals of just one ranking event. But having knocked out Trump he will feel his chances of adding to his career tally of three ranking titles are dramatically improved.
His seventh win in 11 meetings with Trump also boosts his position on the one-year ranking list and his hopes of qualifying for the second and third events in the Coral Series. He came into this event in 16th place but is now sure to move up.
The opening frame came down to a safety battle on the final pink, and Wilson won it to go 1-0 up. Trump levelled with a run of 77 then Wilson made a 31 clearance in the third and a 68 in the fourth to lead 3-1. World number one Trump compiled a run of 100 in the fifth and then added the sixth – with the help of a fluked blue while in the balls – to level at 3-3.
The decider lasted 37 minutes and came down to the colours. Wilson clipped in a thin cut on the brown but then failed to pot a straight-forward blue to a centre pocket with the score at 50-50. Trump was left with a tricky blue to a baulk corner and missed, leaving his opponent simple pots on the blue and pink to seal the result.
“Judd is a fantastic player so I’m pleased to get a win over him,” said Kettering’s Wilson. “There’s a lot of pressure out there so it’s important to just try to enjoy it. Even when things were going against me, I didn’t let it get to me. You’ve just got to keep doing the right things and hope that you get your chance.
“My game has been there this season but it has been frustrating for me not to get the results. I know I’m capable of producing good snooker on the big stage. It will be very tough tomorrow against John Higgins. He was one of my heroes growing up, he’s a phenomenal player.”
Wins For Higgins, Robertson And Perry
Higgins, seeking his first ranking title since the 2018 Welsh Open, eased to a 4-1 win over China’s Zhao Xintong with a top break of 68.
Neil Robertson whitewashed Mark Williams 4-0 in just 56 minutes and has now won 15 of his last 16 matches in ranking events. Williams is suffering from gout and managed to battle past Barry Hawkins yesterday, but was no match for the in-form Robertson. Breaks of 100, 100 and 105 helped the Australian to set up a meeting with close friend Joe Perry.
Cambridgeshire cueman Perry raced into a 3-0 lead over Scott Donaldson with a top run of 52. Back-to-back centuries, 114 and 120, saw Donaldson recover to 3-2, but Perry got the better of an exchange on the colours in frame six, potting green, brown and blue to secure his place in the last eight.
I was traveling and saw nothing, so can’t comment. Just this… only did I get off the plane in Santorini in the evening that the hubby informed me that Judd Trump had the fluke of the century
but still lost!
In the evening, Ronnie lost to Graeme Dott, who is playing really well, and Tom Ford beat Gary Wilson, which I didsn’t expect.
Graeme is a much under-rated player who got an undeserved reputation of being slow and negative. He isn’t either and never was. It all came from the 2006 World Final that he won. First, he was playing Peter Ebdon who is a master at bogging down matches because it suits him, next, both were exhausted and with the importance of the match, both were very cautious. A lot of the media never gave Dotty much attention and the memories of this final stuck in the memories. Dott also has a reputation with some of being grumpy. Well he’s got every reason to. Even when he was the reigning World Champion, there were occurences when he was put on the side tables whilst others were on television. He didn’t get the recognition he deserved. You don’t get to three World Finals if you’re not a top player. I would certainly be very happy for him if he went on to win this week.
In beating Wilson, Ford reached his second ranking event semi-final of the season, having lost to David Gilbert in the last four of the English Open.
Leicester’s Ford has been working with mindset coach Sabrina Francis this season to improve his attitude on and off the table, and it is clearly working as he is pushing towards the top 16 of the one-year ranking list.
He shared the first four frames against Wilson, then made breaks of 84 and 54 in going 4-2 up. Wilson had chances in the seventh but when he missed a tricky penultimate red to a top corner, leading 34-33, it proved his last shot as Ford cleared for victory.
“Working with the mind coach has been great for me,” said 36-year-old Ford “I have been able to forget about things which happen in previous frames and stop winding myself up. That has shown in my results. I’ll have to up my game in the semi-final. There’s a reason why Graeme is there – he obviously played well to beat Ronnie.”
Williams’ Winning Start
World Champion Trump Aiming For Maiden Cardiff Title
Ding Downs Fu
Ronnie O'Sullivan 