Ronnie was beaten by Graeme Dott in the QF of the World Grand Prix yesterday. Here are the scores.

Dott was definitely the better player. He was excellent in all departments. The main issue in Ronnie’s game was a lack of accuracy in the safeties and in the positional game from distance. He isn’t match sharp and it feels. That comes from not playing enough in competition. It’s a difficult situation because Ronnie has never been one who copes well with “overplaying”; he gets “saturated” and stops enjoying it. At this stage of his career, he needs to enjoy it to be able to continue to play, enjoyment and motivation are the keys of longevity, but, on the other hand, he needs to play more to stay sharp.

Reaching the QF, in a tournament that features only the top 32 players of the season so far, isn’t that bad normally. But, in this case, it’s really a bit of a disaster. Ronnie is now 20th on the one year list. He can’t be overtaken, but, Tom Ford’s win yesterday means that he probably needs the final in Wales next week to get the opportunity to defend his Players Championship title. Unless he improves massively in his early round matches, I can’t see this happening. He hasn’t a bad draw, but it’s best of seven matches and Ronnie won’t go there full of confidence…

Here is the report by WST:

Thursday 6 Feb 2020 10:32PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s lack of match sharpness caught up with him as he suffered a surprise 5-3 reverse against Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix.

Former World Champion Dott is through to his second consecutive ranking event semi-final, having got to the same stage of last week’s German Masters, and will now meet Tom Ford, who saw off Gary Wilson 5-2.

O’Sullivan had won his previous five meetings with Dott, a sequence stretching back to 2011, but made too many errors tonight in Cheltenham and was punished. This was O’Sullivan’s first tournament since the Scottish Open two months ago, and even in scoring 4-3 wins over David Gilbert and Liang Wenbo in the first two rounds, he admitted his all-round game was rusty.

The Rocket may need a deep run in either the Welsh Open or the Shoot Out over the next two weeks to qualify for the 16-man Coral Players Championship later this month in Southport; a tournament he won last season.

O’Sullivan took the opening frame tonight after Dott had gone in-off in potting the penultimate red. Larkhall’s Dott hit back with breaks of 77 and 47 as he went 2-1 up, and he stole the fourth with a superb 60 clearance which included a series of excellent positional shots.

After the interval, five-time World Champion O’Sullivan made 52 and 102 as he fought back to 3-3. In frame seven he got the snooker he needed on the last red, but then made a safety error which gave Dott the chance to pot the red and regain the lead. And 42-year-old Dott seized his chance to close out the match in frame eight as a rasping long red set up a break of 91.

“I made a good break in the second frame and that settled me down, I played really well after that,” said 2006 Crucible king Dott. “My game is good, there are still parts of it that I’m not happy with, but it was fine tonight. Tom Ford is a great player and a good mate of mine as well so it’s nice that one of us will be in the final. It should be an open, attacking match.”

O’Sullivan said: “Graeme played well he deserved his victory, he was much the better player. I’ve got no complaints, I did well to get three frames. It’s hard to analyse my own performance, it doesn’t matter how I played, I just didn’t get the result. I always felt I was second best.”

Big thanks to Tai Chengzhe for these great pictures

Coverage:

The match

The afternoon session yesterday at the Centaur saw the conclusion of the last 32 round.

Here is the WST report:

Wednesday 5 Feb 2020 06:17PM

Mark Williams overcame an attack of gout which left him “lying on the floor screaming” to beat Barry Hawkins 4-2 in the first round of the Coral World Grand Prix.

Williams is into the last 16 at Cheltenham Racecourse and will face Neil Robertson on Thursday afternoon.

Gout, a condition which causes sudden extreme pain, struck Williams last Saturday when he tweeted it felt as if “someone has hit my big toe with a hammer.” Medication has eased the pain and he was able to compete today, aided by an exemption which allowed him to wear a soft shoe on his left foot.

The three-time World Champion was far from his best against Hawkins but showed determination as he battled into the second round. Breaks of 50 and 58 helped him to a 3-1 lead. Hawkins took a scrappy fifth frame before Williams sealed victory in the next with runs of 47 and 40.

“I didn’t think I could win but I wanted to give it a go,” said 44-year-old Williams. “Barry struggled, probably because he saw me limping around the table and it put him off.

“A couple of days ago I couldn’t stick it. I was lying on the floor screaming. I have been on the tablets since Monday and now it is ten times better. The doctor says it should clear up within the next couple of days.”

Higgins Gains Confidence With Bingham Win

John Higgins saw off Stuart Bingham 4-2 to set up a match with Zhao Xintong. Four-time World Champion Higgins is currently ninth in the one-year rankings so every win is vital as he looks towards qualification for the second and third events in the Coral Series.

Wishaw’s Higgins took a scrappy opening frame then came from 40-0 down to win the second with a 60 clearance. Bingham took the third with a huge stroke of luck as he missed the final blue to a baulk corner but it came off three cushions and dropped into a centre pocket. The Masters champion made a 57 in the next as he recovered to 2-2.

Higgins regained the lead then Bingham looked set to make it 3-3 until he ran out of position leading 64-23 in the sixth. Higgins dropped an excellent pot on the third-last red into a centre pocket and cleared with 42 for victory.

“I’m delighted because I have lost deciding frames in the last two tournaments and it looked like going 3-3 today,” said 44-year-old Higgins. “There were nerves when I was clearing up because I haven’t won a lot of matches recently so I’m low on confidence. Even when the balls look easy, you can miss anything.”

Round-up

Kyren Wilson came from 2-0 down to beat Jack Lisowski 4-3, earning a match with Judd Trump on Thursday at 1pm.

Local favourite Lisowski, from Churchdown, started strongly with breaks of 63 and 88, then Wilson hit back to take the next three frames with a top run of 76. Lisowski made a 64 to level at 3-3 but was trapped in a tough snooker early in the decider and gave away 32 penalty points. Wilson then compiled a run of 52 which proved enough.

Zhao won a Chinese derby against Yan Bingtao 4-2. Breaks of 56, 103 and 77 helped Zhao reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the fifth time this season.

This was the situation on the table that cost Jack Lisowski 32 penalty points…

Bingham played nowhere near the level that allowed him to win the Masters last month. A lot of top players really seem to struggle for consistency, but maybe in this case it’s a bit of “hangover”, combined with lack of match play (Bingham didn’t qualify for either of the “European” tournaments played earlier this year).

Barry Hawkins was plain awful. Mark Williams was in huge discomfort and often unable to find his usual stance on the shots. He had to use implements when he normally would not, and, at times, even needed to change his shot selection. All credits to him for playing and winning.

The evening session “offered” half of the last 16 matches.

You can read all about Ronnie’s win over Liang Wenbo here.

This is the short WST round up about the other last 16 matches played yesterday

Round-up

Dott’s progress was much more serene as he beat Xiao Guodong 4-0 with a top break of 67. Tom Ford was in fine form in a 4-2 win over Matthew Selt, knocking in breaks of 54, 97 and 73.

Ford now meets Gary Wilson, who overcame a pulled muscle in his back to beat Matthew Stevens 4-1 with top breaks of 53, 74 and 92. “I was struggling just to walk around the table,” said Crucible semi-finalist Wilson. “I just wanted to try to score quickly and get it over with. I was fortunate that Matthew missed a few.”

I didn’t see a thing, so can’t comment.

Just this though: Mark Williams suggested that, maybe, seeing him in pain and struggling was a factor in Barry’s poor performance and Ronnie said that seeing Liang seemingly struggle to deliver shots has put him off. In both cases it’s the expression of an empathy that you would never have found in Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry in their prime, and, strictly from a sporting point of view, it’s a weakness. Of course Ronnie is close friend with Liang. Neither Davis or Hendry would ever been friend with a fellow player when they were at their peak.

Ronnie beat Liang Wenbo in the World Grand Prix last 16, and here are the stats…

Ronnie had three centuries in this match against Liang Wenbo, but still only scraped over the line. In the first two frames, Ronnie had 99% pot success. Then came the third frame, and it completely turned the feel of the match. There was a lenghty “false start” that ended up in a re-rack. The balls went incredibly awkward and, eventually, the players agreed that the frame was going nowhere. So they started again. But somehow, this “interlude” had completely broken Ronnie’s rhythm and fluency. He started missing and showing signs of frustration, and, he didn’t get much run of the balls either. Liang took full advantage and it went 2-2. Ronnie regained the advantage with a great 132 in the fifth, only for Liang to take the next with his best break of the match, a 74. The decider was scrappy … as deciders so often are, both players obviously under pressure. Liang looked like taking it, only to miss but leaving Ronnie a difficult table. Ronnie took the lead with a skilfull break, but couldn’t finish the job. With 25 on the tabble, it was Liang who potted the green and snookered Ronnie on the brown. Ronnie missed the brown at first attempt, but on second attempt hit it and got a snooker back as well. Liang mzanaged to hit the brown but couldn’t get it safe. Ronnie potted it and cleared to pink to win… phew!

Here is the report by WST

Wednesday 5 Feb 2020 10:43PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan reached the quarter-finals of the Coral World Grand Prix with a 4-3 win over Liang Wenbo, who missed a golden chance for victory in the deciding frame.

O’Sullivan felt his opponent was suffering from the “yips” and was fortunate to continue his progress at the tournament in Cheltenham. He’ll meet Graeme Dott in the last eight on Thursday at 7pm.

Playing in his first tournament since December’s Scottish Open, O’Sullivan may lack his usual all-round sharpness, but his break-building tonight was of the highest quality as he fired three centuries.

Breaks of 120 and 100 put him 2-0 up, before China’s Liang took the third with a 56 clearance then got the better of a scrappy fourth for 2-2. O’Sullivan’s 132 saw him regain the lead then Liang made a 74 for 3-3.

First chance in the decider went to Liang and he made 32 before missing a tough blue. O’Sullivan’s counter was on 47 when he failed to pot the last red along the top cushion, leaving it in the jaws. With every ball in the open, Liang took the red, pink and yellow but didn’t get position on the green. A safety exchange on the brown ended with an error from Liang which gave his opponent the chance to clinch the tie.

“It was a twitchy sort of game, Liang looked like he had the yips,” said five-time World Champion O’Sullivan. “For the first five frames he looked like he couldn’t let go of the cue. That put me off a bit because I was thinking if I can’t beat someone with the yips then I might as well turn it in. That type of thing goes through your head and you have to try to block it out and just play. That’s the difference between matches and practice.

“I felt very rusty. I’m ok among the balls but I’m all at sea in the other areas of the game. Hopefully with each match I can get a bit stronger.”

Coverage:

The match

Here is Ronnie’s postmatch with WST

Ronnie is right, he will be second favourite against Graeme Dott, but as long as he’s still in the competition, he can improve and who knows? And, yes, Ronnie has entered the Shootout … so he really wants more ranking points, and with Gary Wilson winning tonight as well Ronnie now needs the final to get into the top 16.

And here is the postmatch analysis by the ITV pundits

And some more great images, thanks to Tai Chengzhe

Let’s first get this out of the way: yesterday main talking point amongst fans has been the truly terrible drawings of the players WST has been using in their social media… As it proved, outrage is sometimes the more efficient publicity stunt.

The second day in Cheltenham saw more higher seeds go out, amongst them Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy. This might prove important for Ronnie as he’s now the only top 16 player remaining in his half of the draw. It doesn’t mean that it will be easy: all the players in this competition have shown form this season and there are no easy matches. The short format is also a factor. Joe Perry beating Ali Carter and Graeme Dott beating Kurt Maflin also help Ronnie’s cause because both were ahead of him in the one year list at the start of the tournament and he has now overtaken them.

Afternoon session:

Tuesday 4 Feb 2020 06:36PM

Neil Robertson insisted he feels “no fatigue” and is determined to keep riding his wave of form after an exciting 4-3 win over Michael Holt in the first round of the Coral World Grand Prix.

Robertson has now won 14 of his last 15 matches in ranking events, a run which has given him the European Masters title. His only defeat came against Judd Trump in the German Masters final last Sunday.

After returning from Berlin yesterday he headed to Cheltenham for the first event in the Coral Series and kept his momentum going with a hard-fought win over Holt.

A break of 78 gave Australia’s Robertson the opening frame before Holt hit back with 79 and 122 to lead 2-1. Runs of 65 and 69 from Robertson gave him the next two then Holt took the sixth for 3-3.

Early in the decider, Holt was faced with a tricky safety and left it several inches short of the baulk cushion. Robertson whistled in a trademark long red to set up a match-winning contribution of 79.

“Michael played flawless snooker to go 2-1 up and he was brave in his shot selection,” said 37-year-old Robertson, who now meets Mark Williams or Barry Hawkins in the last 16. “I enjoy those kind of matches and I’m glad I could respond.

“I have had a great couple of weeks and I hope I can keep it going, I don’t feel any fatigue. It’s just good to be playing at a high level. These Coral events are special because you are always up against top players so you have to be up for every match.”

Donaldson Continues Ding Hoodoo

Scott Donaldson beat Ding Junhui 4-0 and has now knocked the Chinese ace out of each of the last three tournaments. Showing the most consistent form of his career, Scotland’s Donaldson has climbed to 22nd in the official world rankings and a deep run this week will boost his hopes of qualifying for the 16-man Coral Players Championship later this month.

The first three frames all came down to the colours, and each of them went Donaldson’s way. The third in fact was settled on a respotted black when the Perthshire Potter thumped it into a baulk corner. That gave him the confidence to seal victory in the next with a break of 81.

“The two previous wins over Ding were more pleasing because I actually played some good stuff,” said 25-year-old Donaldson. “I was quite disappointed with how I played there, I missed so many balls. Ding let me off the hook in every frame. If he was on his game he would have beaten me 4-0 easily, so for me to win 4-0 is just ridiculous.

“The more experience I get on the TV table the more I can adjust and work out why I’m missing these shots. Moments like these can happen if you use your brain properly and just keep going. I’m happy where I am but that performance has shaken me a little bit. I’ve had plenty of times where I’ve played terrible and then gone and played great snooker.”

Round-up

Joe Perry scored a 4-2 win over Masters runner-up Ali Carter. Perry took the first three frames with a top break of 106 and eventually sealed victory in the sixth with excellent pots on the pink and black. Graeme Dott top scored with 76 in a 4-1 win over Kurt Maflin.

Evening session:

Tuesday 4 Feb 2020 09:42PM

Liang Wenbo expressed his wish to “help my people” in the light of the coronavirus outbreak after setting up a match with Ronnie O’Sullivan in the second round of the Coral World Grand Prix.

China’s Liang scored a fine 4-2 win over Mark Allen in Cheltenham to book a last-16 clash with O’Sullivan on Wednesday night.

Before the tournament, Liang announced that he would donate his prize money this week to the Red Cross in the city of Huizhou where he grew up and learned to play snooker. The Red Cross is helping victims of the coronavirus in Wuhan and across China.

“I just want to contribute and do my bit, to help my people in need. So I decided to donate all my prize money from this week,” said Liang, who is already guaranteed £7,500. “It’s an answer to myself because it feels important to me, and I wish to deliver whatever I can. It’s not about other people’s opinions.”

Given those circumstances as well as the recent death of his mother, world number 38 Liang showed impressive focus to knock out Allen, ranked 31 places above him. From 1-0 down, Liang took three frames in a row with a top break of 105. Allen pulled one back with a 130 but Liang sealed the result in frame six with a 62.

“I managed to take my chances at crucial moments,” said 32-year-old Liang. “I wanted this win badly, so I’m happy about the result. I’ll be prepared for the next match, against my good friend O’Sullivan. There’s certainly no friendship on the table, we will both play it seriously. He has helped me a lot in recent years so hopefully we can both contribute to an excellent match.”

Two-Ton Juddernaut Hard To Stop

Judd Trump maintained the form which gave him the German Masters title last week as he made two centuries in a 4-1 defeat of Li Hang. He now meets Kyren Wilson or Jack Lisowski on Thursday afternoon.

World Champion Trump has already won four ranking titles this season – one more would see him equal the record of five in a single campaign, achieved by Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

China’s Li took the opening frame tonight with a 129 but scored just one point in the remainder of the match as Trump fired runs of 65, 100, 138 and 97.

“He started well and put me under pressure,” said world number one Trump. “After that I put my stamp on the game. I can still improve but it was important to keep the momentum going and keep playing well.”

Murphy And Un-Nooh Fall

Shaun Murphy let slip a 3-1 lead as he lost 4-3 to Matthew Stevens. The turning point came in frame five when world number ten Murphy ran out of position on a break of 62. Stevens ended up snatching that frame on the colours then made a 68 in the next for 3-3.

A tense 44-minute decider came down to the last red and Stevens, leading 55-34, doubled the red into a centre pocket and added the points he needed to set up a match with Gary Wilson.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is currently seventh on the one-year rankings but he went down 4-3 to Matthew Selt.

From 2-1 down, Selt had a 134 in frame four and added the fifth to lead 3-2. Un-Nooh made a 107 for 3-3 and had first chance in the decider but missed a red to a top corner on 33. Selt took control of the frame with a run of 48 and eventually sealed it on the colours.

Selt will now face Tom Ford, the first meeting between the pair since an ill-tempered Championship League match in October.

“I just want to put that to bed, there was some bad feeling but there isn’t any more,” Selt explained. “He did something and I reacted badly. We saw each other in Glasgow and both apologised, which is good because we had always got on really well before that. It will be a tough match because he’s a great player.”

Neil Robertson may insist that he feels no fatigue but yesterday he did look tired out there. He didn’t play well, especially in the early part of the match and got me wondering if he had “hit the wall”. From 2-1 down he improved though.

Ding looked to have found his mojo back at the UK Championship last December, but since then it’s been rather disastrous. It’s really bizarre because I thought that his recent change of management would put him back on tracks. Scott Donaldson has now beaten him in the last three ranking tournaments, and, this time, without playing outstanding. Ding in his seat, again looked dispirited or tired. It’s hard to tell.

Judd Trump played really well. Losing the first frame obviously focused his mind. He was impressive after that.

This afternoon Mark Williams is due to play Barry Hawkins. Going by his twitter, Mark is suffering from a bad bout of gout. He finds it nearly impossible to wear shoes as it his left toe hurts badly. He’s determined to play; he actually though that the £5000 for the first round loser would count to his ranking, which isn’t the case, contrary to what happened in previous seasons.

He tried to convince WST to allow him to wear this

They were having none of it… so this is his kit for this afternoon:

At least his sense of humour is intact… get well soon Mark and good luck this afternoon.

The World Grand Prix kicked off yesterday evening in the Centaur, in Cheltenham. The race courses in Cheltenham are probably amongst the most famous in the world, and for many players involved this week, the tournament will have the feeling of a race, a race to get in or to stay in the top 16 on the race to the Players Championship list.

Four matches were played yesterday, and here are the results:

Quite remarkably, in all four matches, it’s the player outside the one year list top 16 who won.

You can read all about Ronnie’s win yesterday evening here

Ronnie is provisionally up to 19th in that list, but is now certain to need at least the semi finals to get into the top 16. The good news for him is that Mark Selby lost, theoretically easing his path to that SF stage slightly easier. He will also hope that the highest seeds will win today and tomorrow in the matches involving Kurt Maflin, Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins…. 😉. As for David Gilbert is reasonably safe in the top 16 for now, but if results go against him, he could be in a battle at the coming Welsh Open.

Zhou Yuelong currently occupies the 16th spot but he is certain to be overtaken by either Kyren Wilson or Jack Lisowski who play each other on Wednesday. Gary Wilson is now up to 15th but will also be overtaken by whoever wins that match.

Mark Selby is safe in the top 8 despite yesterday’s defeat. His opponent Xiao Guodong needs to reach the final to have a chance to get in the top 16.

Tom ford also will certainly need the final to make it in the top 16 at the end of the week, whilst Stehen Maguire is in a similar, but slightly better position as Dacvid Gilbert.

Here is the WST report on yesterday evening action other than the Ronnie match

Early Exit For Selby

Three-time World Champion Mark Selby suffered a first round defeat, losing 4-3 to Xiao Guodong in a high quality contest. There were centuries in the first three frames, 111 and 131 from Selby while his opponent made a 101. Xiao was on course for a 147 in the fourth until he missed the 12th black on 89.

China’s Xiao took the lead with a 78 and looked set to win 4-2 until he missed a red on 54 in the sixth; Selby punishing him with an 83 clearance. The key moment of the decider came when Selby, trailing 37-27, potted the third-last red to a top corner but the cue ball went twice across the table and dropped into a centre pocket. Xiao cleared with 34 to earn a match with Graeme Dott or Kurt Maflin.

“It’s an important win for me. Every match here is tough,” said Xiao, who reached the semi-finals here last year.

Round-up

Tom Ford came from 3-1 down to edge out Stephen Maguire 4-3. Breaks of 68, 90 and 64 helped Maguire build a 3-1 lead but he failed to take a series of chances in the next three frames as Ford hit back to set up a second round match with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or Matthew Selt.

Gary Wilson saw off Zhou Yuelong 4-1, gaining revenge for their recent European Masters semi-final which Zhou won 6-5. This time Wilson fired breaks of 53, 58 and 61.

Here is Xiao Guodong 147 attempt in frame 4 of his match against mark Selby:

Xiao has never got a 147 in main tour competition.

Ronnie beat David Gilbert by 4-3 in the opening match of the 2020 World Grand Prix

I didn’t expect it to be easy, and it wasn’t easy. Ronnie applied himself, despite being clearly annoyed with his not-so-perfect positional play. The only exception was one moment of sheer frustration with himself in frame six, when he repeatedly failed to maintain prime position, took a very risky cutback, missed and paid the price. Overall his long potting was decent. His break-off though needs improving: only too often he left a red in the open on the right side of the table (as we look at it on our screens) and Gilbert took advantage nearly each time. That’s a real problem.

Obviously, Ronnie wasn’t match sharp and that was to be expected. He was probabbly nervous as well, knowing that he needs the ranking points. But he’s through to the next round and that’s all that matters.

Here is the report by WST

Monday 3 Feb 2020 10:08PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan played his first competitive match in nearly two months and finished it with a trademark century as he beat David Gilbert 4-3 in the first round of the Coral World Grand Prix.

Results

The Rocket goes through to the last 16 in Cheltenham and will face either Mark Allen or Liang Wenbo on Wednesday evening (tickets still available, click here for details).

O’Sullivan last took the stage at the Scottish Open in December, choosing not to enter several tournaments in January including the Masters. There was some rustiness in his game tonight but also moments of magic, and his ability to finish a match in style is undiminished.

Gilbert, in fact, may rue missing his opportunity not to knock out the five time World Champion as he had chances in each of the first four frames but found himself 3-1 down. He then found his scoring touch and breaks of 69 and 115 saw him draw level at 3-3.

Early in the decider Gilbert was faced with a risky long red and went at it full-blooded, but missed his target by several inches. O’Sullivan pounced and a superb 129 – his 1,036th career century – secured his second round berth.

“I struggled, I was way off the pace,” said 44-year-old O’Sullivan. “It was a strange game. He was much the better player and I was just hanging on. I had a couple of chances to win it at 3-2 but kept messing up positional play. I’ve had six weeks of playing on not-so-good tables  so I have to get used to playing on decent tables again. My touch was all over the show.

“I was the underdog coming into the match as the lower seeded player. David’s had a much better season than me, the rankings never lie. It’s a scalp for me, I didn’t expect to win. I didn’t play as if I had nothing to lose, but I knew I was second favourite. A lot of people would have fancied David to beat me.

“I get a buzz when I play in front of anyone. I love playing, I enjoy hitting the ball, it’s the ultimate feeling. I’m loving the game, I’m here to enjoy the tournament and hopefully that continues.”

Having played in only five previous ranking events this season, O’Sullivan is 22nd on the one-year ranking list, trailing 16th-placed Kyren Wilson by £15,000. He has now guaranteed at least £7,500 this week and a deep run could clinch a place at the 16-man Coral Players Championship in Southport and give him the chance to defend that title.

Coverage

The tournament preview:

The match:

The ITV pundits reflecting after the match:

Ronnie’s postmatch with Worldsnooker: