The last 64 round of the 2020 Scottish Open was played yesterday in Milton Keynes and saw the last Scot depart when John Higgins was beaten fair and square by Noppon Saengkham in the evening session (4-2). Earlier on the day, Lyu Haotian had got the better of Alan McManus (4-2).

Jack Lisowski was forced to withdraw, suufering from food poisoning. As a result Sunny Akani got a bye to the next round.

Here is the report by WST:

Allen Seals Crucial Victory

Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen made a significant move in the race for World Grand Prix qualification, beating Joe O’Connor 4-2 at the Matchroom.Live Scottish Open.

The key clash was a meeting between 31^st (Allen) and 33^rd (O’Connor) in the battle to qualify for the prestigious event. Only the top 32 in this season’s one-year list will gain a spot in next week’s World Grand Prix. Defeat for O’Connor ends his hopes of clinching the place.

Despite winning the recent invitational Champion of Champions event, Allen is yet to produce a string of significant results in ranking tournaments this season. He recently changed his cue and that decision appeared to be vindicated after he made three consecutive centuries in beating Jimmy White 4-1 in the first round.

Today’s clash was a more closely contested affair. It was O’Connor who claimed a tight opening frame on the black to lead 1-0. Former Masters champion Allen then got his first frame on the board with a superb break of 109. However, O’Connor took the next to lead 2-1.

From there Allen seized the initiative and breaks of 66 and 85 helped him to three on the bounce to secure victory. Next up he faces China’s Zhou Yuelong.

“He made it very tough for me and on another day he would have been on the right end of that result,” said five-time ranking event winner Allen. “He looked sharp and the only balls he missed were very tricky and from under the cushion. I still scored reasonably well, but I need to sharpen up over distance.

“I obviously have one eye on the World Grand Prix, I’m not going to lie. I have to take care of business here. I am trying to win the Scottish Open and if I get close to doing that it will take care of next week.”

World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan sealed his place in the last 32 with a 4-1 win over Chinese teenager Chang Bingyu.

The Rocket opened up his account with a sublime total clearance of 134. He then made it 2-0 by taking a scrappy second, before a break of 78 made it 3-0. Chang showed his potential with a run of 81 to take the fourth, but O’Sullivan got over the line in the fifth. Next up the Rocket faces Tian Pengfei.

O’Sullivan said: “I didn’t think it was great to be honest with you. All day I just didn’t feel I was going to play well tonight. I just thought something wasn’t right. You can feel it. I had to just block it out of my head and focus on the game. I knew I was playing a very good player. He is super talented and nearest to someone who plays like Judd, because he scores so quick.”

Defending champion Mark Selby booked his progression with a hard fought 4-2 defeat of Nigel Bond.

The Jester from Leicester secured the title 12 months ago with a 9-6 win over Jack Lisowski in the final in Glasgow. Today, breaks of 63, 70, 60, 100 and 82 were enough to see off former Crucible finalist Bond.

World number one Judd Trump overcame Mark King 4-2 to seal his last 32 spot. Trump now faces an intriguing contest against 2016 English Open winner Liang Wenbo.

Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham sprung a shock 4-2 defeat of Scotland’s four-time Crucible king John Higgins. Saengkham fired in a superb break of 127 in the concluding frame to secure the win.

Mark Allen is currently inside the top 32 qualifying for the World Grand Prix, but he isn’t safe yet. Should he lose today, wins for Mark Williams and Robbie Williams would definitely push him out of the draw.

Other than what was reported by WST, there were wins for top 16 members Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham and Mark Wlliams. Barry Hawkins, Liang Wenbo and Ricky Walden also got through, confirming a return to form of sorts. Lu Ning and Zhou Yuelong are also through to the last 32 round. Zhou is now provisionally ranked 20th, as Lu Ning is likely to enter the top 32 at the coming cut-off point. Both have qualified for the World Grand Prix.

Read more about Ronnie’s win here.

Playing with a new tip, Ronnie booked his place into the 2020 Scottish Open “moving day” by beating Chang Bingyu by 4-1. Here are the scores.

Chang is only 18 years old, and he’s in the second year of his tour card. He’s currently ranked 72th in the World. However his results this season have been very encouraging, and he’s currently set to get a new tour card via the onle year list “top four” . He has beaten Mark Allen, Ken Doherty and Sam Craigie this season, and pushed Mark Selby and Zhou Yuelong to a decider. Often players fighting for their tour card find it hard to get results, but Chang, for now at least, continues to improve.

Again the report by WST was short:

World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan sealed his place in the last 32 with a 4-1 win over Chinese teenager Chang Bingyu.

The Rocket opened up his account with a sublime total clearance of 134. He then made it 2-0 by taking a scrappy second, before a break of 78 made it 3-0. Chang showed his potential with a run of 81 to take the fourth, but O’Sullivan got over the line in the fifth. Next up the Rocket faces Tian Pengfei.

O’Sullivan said: “I didn’t think it was great to be honest with you. All day I just didn’t feel I was going to play well tonight. I just thought something wasn’t right. You can feel it. I had to just block it out of my head and focus on the game. I knew I was playing a very good player. He is super talented and nearest to someone who plays like Judd, because he scores so quick.”

Ahead of the match, the Eurosport pundits mentioned that Ronnie has a good relationship with the Chinese players in general, and in particular with the youngest ones. He was indeed seen having a few words with Chang before they entered the arena, and it came across as a very friendly conversation.

There were no quarters given on the table though.

Ronnie is one of the players who are able to go home, although it’s probably about a 1 hour and 15 minutes drive if the traffic is light, and he’s almost certainly the one driving. It’s not an ideal match preparation, but then nothing is ideal right now and it’s better than being confined in a hotel room.

As usual Eurosport shared some short videos on social media:

Ronnie with Andy Goldstein at the practice table discussing break building

Two little clips showing nice moments in the match

And Ronnie in the studio after the match praising his young opponent

And also this “report” about what Ronnie had to say after the match:

He’s impressed with Chang, who he says plays a bit like Judd Trump and has the ability to be the best of the young Chinese players. He scores quick, he says, and ultimately you need that if you’re to be a serious, tournament-winning player.

He’s happy with his new tip and is still getting used to it, but played with it for 45 minutes this morning. He says his old one was spongy but this one’s hard and the white was fizzing about.

He’s off to Champneys Spa tonight, seven mile run in the morning, “then back in the morning to disco!”

The second day of the last 128 round was not as dramatic as the first one, it was’nt even close to it. With a number of matches moved from day 1 to day 2 because of the delay caused by the late delivery of covid test results, it was a very busy day though.

Here is the report by WST:

Trump Powers Through

World number one Judd Trump bounced back from a nerve-shredding defeat in the Betway UK Championship final, to ease past Switzerland’s Alexander Ursenbacher 4-1 in the opening round of the Matchroom.Live Scottish Open.

Trump suffered a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to Neil Robertson on the final pink in the early hours of Monday morning in the UK final. However, despite suggestions that he may pull out, the Ace in the Pack has elected to play this week. His opponent Robertson did decide to withdraw.

Trump has enjoyed a sparkling Home Nations Series so far this season. He’s won both of the events already played, picking up the title at the English Open and Northern Ireland Open. Ursenbacher came into today’s tie high on confidence, having beaten World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan at the UK Championship. However, Trump completely dominated this afternoon.

Breaks of 66, 52 and 69 helped Trump to a 3-0 advantage, before Ursenbacher got a frame on the board with a run of 70. In the winning frame, Trump embarked on a 147 attempt, before breaking down by missing a difficult black on 81.

Trump said: “I had a day at home to rest and I felt recharged and ready to go again. It still took a lot out of me being in the last couple of finals. I’ve been in the semi-finals of every event I’ve played this season. I don’t know if anyone has done that before. I am playing well and it is nice to give myself an opportunity to win another event.

“I’ve watched the UK final back and I think the pink I missed was more difficult than I thought at the time. I think I was so excited to pot the blue, that was the real pressure shot, that I rushed the pink. You’d love to be able to play those shots again, but it is gone and you just have to learn from things like that and let it make you stronger.”

Trump will face former Northern Ireland Open winner Mark King in the second round. King beat Chen Zifan 4-0 and prevented the Chinese cueman from scoring a single point today. King composed runs of 87, 73, 54 and 50 to secure a whitewash on points and frames.

Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins battled back from the brink to beat Iranian Soheil Vahedi 4-3.

Higgins had trailed Vahedi 3-1, before clawing back within a frame. Vahedi then looked set to claim the tie when he led 62-1 in the sixth frame. However, a vintage clearance of 65 saw Higgins steal to restore parity at 3-3. He then clinched the win with a break of 59.

“I deserved to lose. Big Soheil should have put me away there,” said 30-time ranking event winner Higgins. “I was delighted to make the clearance to go 3-3. It isn’t great when you are just thinking of the long car journey home. Luckily I knocked in the clearance.

“I would dearly love to win it. I’m not that confident that I’m going to win soon. You just hope it can click for you in one of the weeks.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 2-0 down to beat Allan Taylor 4-2 and book his second round spot.

O’Sullivan stormed to four frames on the bounce, making breaks of 60, 72, 127 and 58. He conceded just eight points in the process. Next up the Rocket faces China’s Chang Bingyu.

Shaun Murphy eased into the second round with a 4-1 win over David Grace. The Magician conjured breaks of 66, 101, 137 and 82 this evening.

Read more about Ronnie’s match here.

There were a few other interestibg results not mentioned in the above report:

Steven Hallworth beat young Brian Ochoiski fron France in a match where they had seven breaks over 50 in the five frames they played. Steven had one in every frame, including the one he lost!

Martin Gould went out, by 4-1, to Tian Pengfei. Mark Willians is through but needed all 7 frames to beat Lukas Kleckers. Peter Devlin won the battle of the rookies, beating Aaron Hill by 4-2.  Zhao Jianbo, another rookie, whitewashed Kaçper Filippiak. There was more heartbreak for Luo Honghao who lost by 4-3 to Li Hang despite scoring the only century of the match. Robert Milkins whitewashed former World Champion Graeme Dott. Jackson Page beat Joe Perry, a quarter-finalist last week, by 4-3. There was more misery for Gary Wilson who lost by 4-0 to Lyu Haotian. Ali Carter beat Ryan Day (4-2), Jamie O’Neill beat Kurt Maflin (4-3) and Michael White beat Scott Donaldson 4-2.

And Mark King did this…

Overall it was a rather bad day for the Scottish players.

Ronnie won his first round match at the 2020 Scottish Open, beating Allan Taylor by 4-2.

It was really a match in two parts. For the first two frames, Ronnie looked completely out of sorts, missing balls and misjudging shots. In his pre-match interview, he had freely admitted that  he hadn’t been practicing much at all, and was hoping to use the table time he got during the matches to gain some sharpness. In both of those frames, he played on well after the frame was beyond rescue. At the end of the first frame in particular he refused to concede and played on for quite some time. It is within his rights of course, but it wasn’t pretty.

Here is what he had to say about it in the ES studio:

 Ronnie O’Sullivan defended his decision not to concede in the opening frame of his Scottish Open win over Allan Taylor, saying he needs “table time”.

Rocket lost the opening frame to Taylor, who cleaned up the final three colours, but not after O’Sullivan had returned to the table time and again, despite needing six snookers to avoid losing the opening frame.

Taylor then took a 2-0 lead, before O’Sullivan turned on the style to storm back, but faced questions in the Eurosport studio to explain his actions after the match.

“That was my practice,” O’Sullivan said. “I just use the matches as practice now. I had done about two hours [practice before the tournament] and I would rather play in all the tournaments and use them as practice. I haven’t got a practice facility.

I JUST DON’T WANT TO SPEND ALL MY TIME PLAYING SNOOKER. I WOULD RATHER JUST PLAY THE TOURNAMENTS AND NOT BOTHER WITH THE PRACTICE. I JUST USE THIS AS PRACTICE AND HOPEFULLY HAVE A COUPLE OF GOOD WEEKS IN THE YEAR.

“I just need table time. I have got an hour and 50 minutes in tonight, and that means I have just got to get another six hours and that is a good week for me. I wanted Allan to carry in playing in the third frame I was gutted when he conceded.
Asked whether it was an enjoyment issue, Rocket insisted he just prefers to get his hours in on better tables.
“I just enjoy playing,” he added. “I like being able to play some safeties without the pressure of thinking if I miss I will lose the frame.
“These tables play so good that if you can get as many shots in as you can, why not? We are not going anywhere are we? I enjoy being out there when the tables are so fantastic. There is no better place to get practice than on a match table.”

It will not go down well with everyone but he thing though is that it did pay off because from the third frame on he found his game and was actually unplayable. He won the last four in no time, playing some wonderful snooker.

WST only devoted a very short paragraph to this match in their report.

Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 2-0 down to beat Allan Taylor 4-2 and book his second round spot.

O’Sullivan stormed to four frames on the bounce, making breaks of 60, 72, 127 and 58. He conceded just eight points in the process. Next up the Rocket faces China’s Chang Bingyu.

But there is this report by Eurosport:

SCOTTISH OPEN 2020 – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN OVERCOMES POOR START TO PROGRESS IN STYLE

He looked to be in danger of a first-ever first round defeat in a Home Nations tournament, but Ronnie O’Sullivan turned on the style to come back from two frames down to beat Allan Taylor in the Scottish Open in Milton Keynes. Rocket started in bizarre fashion, refusing to concede the opening frame despite needing six snookers.

Ronnie O’Sullivan overcame a stuttering start to progress to the Scottish Open second round after a 4-2 victory over a determined Allan Taylor in Milton Keynes.

In a bizarre opening frame, O’Sullivan refused to concede even though he still needed six snookers, insisting Taylor return to the table time and again, with Taylor eventually wrapping up the frame by clearing up the final three colours.

The Rocket continued to look a little ragged in the second, with Taylor showing he was going to be no pushover as he took a 2-0 lead leaving O’Sullivan in danger of a first-round exit in a home nations tournament for the very first time.

However, seemingly having been galvanised by that extra practice in the first frame, O’Sullivan stepped it up several gears, edging the third before a break of 72 levelled things up.

It was as if the first two frames never happened, as a superb 127 from Rocket saw him take the lead in the contest for the first time.

A routine break of 56 sealed O’Sullivan’s progression to the second round, walking off in Milton Keynes while ripping off the tip of his cue.

And, as usual they shared some short videos on twitter as the match unfolded:

During the last frame, Ronnie had problems with his tip… and he bit it off at the end. During the post-match in the ES studio, Ken Doherty joked about it, asking if it tasted nice. Ronnie joked along, saying that he was a bit hungry, and yes the tip was tasty.

That said, it means that he will probably play with a brand new tip this evening. That’s not ideal by any means.

The first day at this season’s Scottish Open didn’t go according to plan to say the least…

The first session of the tournament saw the two top 16 players involved in it exit the tournament. Yan Bingtao was beaten 4-1 by Jak Jones, who played well, and Stephen Maguire lost by the same score to Zak Surety.

It’s fair to say that Maguire wasn’t in a good mood, as reported by “the Scotsman”

‘They don’t care about Scottish people, do they?’ – Stephen Maguire slams snooker bosses

Stephen Maguire has slammed snooker bosses for “not caring” about Scottish people as he suffered more misery in Milton Keynes.

Monday, 7th December 2020, 6:33 pm

The Glasgow player slumped to a shock 4-1 defeat against world No 117 Zak Surety in the first round of the Scottish Open and admits life in the bio-secure bubble is becoming a strain.

Because of Covid, the tournament is not being played in Scotland but at Milton Keynes’ Marshall Arena, the venue for recent tournaments, including last week’s UK Championship.

Maguire, ranked 109 places above Surety, is yet to progress past the third round of a ranking event this year and says he has been denied access to hiring an apartment, rather than staying in the event hotel.

He let rip at tournament organisers and admits he regrets taking part after another dismal display on the Buckinghamshire baize.

“They don’t care about Scottish people, do they?” Maguire said. “Let’s be honest, they never have and they never will. We just have to follow those guidelines, travel wherever they say we have to travel, and that’s part of the job.

“They don’t care about Scottish people. There’s too many bigger players in England, or the world, to care about us.

“I knew I shouldn’t have come down. I wasn’t ready to come down and I got what I deserved there.

“I’ve just had enough of the hotel – it’s too much for me. It’s too much to be away locked in a room. I’ve asked but I’m not allowed to stay in an apartment for some reason, whereas other boys are all mixing.

“I’m not allowed to stay away and keep myself safe. Whatever the guidelines are, they’re all messed up, but I got told the tournament’s bigger than me and I’d be withdrawn if I stayed in an apartment. In a way, I wish I did. I might as well have been withdrawn the way I played.

“I’m not saying I’d play better snooker, but I’d be a lot happier. That room, in there, takes a strong mind to stay in there all the time, and I’ve obviously not got that.

“I just can’t wait to go home and relax and get away from this place for a while. It is tough.

“I’ve just had enough. I’ll enjoy Christmas, forget about it, and it’s not a big deal. I’ll come back and refresh next year.”

World Snooker Tour responded by stating they are following the guidelines that players must either stay on the on-site hotel, or at their homes.

Maguire reached the last 32 of the European Masters, Northern Ireland Open and UK Championship – all staged in Milton Keynes – but was downed by underdog Surety, 29, at the first hurdle in the third Home Nations event of the season.

The six-time ranking event winner struck a break of 57 but a solid performance from Surety, capped by a fourth frame 72, dumped the Scot out of his – technically – home tournament in the first round for the second time in three years.

Maguire has been drawn against three-time world champion Mark Selby in the first round of next month’s Masters, which will welcome back 1,000 spectators per session into Alexandra Palace.

Whilst I can understand that the situation is difficult, WST and WPBSA have no other option than making sure that the guidelines are followed. It’s that or no event at all.

Also, this isn’t about the Scottish players. True, Milton Keynes is in England and some players have the possibility to go home instead of staying at the hotel, however that is only the case if they happen to live close enough to Milton Keynes. No player in their right mind will want to drive for 4 or 5 hours on the day of a match, especially as they have to be alone in the car to minimise the risk of infection. So even for most English players, this is not an option. Not to mention that for those coming from Ireland, or mainland Europe, it’s even more diificult than for the Scots or the Welsh.

Maguire well and truly lost it there.

The afternoon sessions had to be delayed because an IT issue prevented the covid tests results to be delivered in time. Instead of 1pm, the scheduled matches only started at 6:45 pm. As a result some unfortunate players were still battling it out at ungodly hours last night.

The only match that went on, saw another top 16 member go out, as David Gilbert lost by 4-3 to Matthew Stevens. It’s been a miserable season so far for Gilbert.

Anyway, here is WST report on the action:

Defending Champion Selby Through

Defending champion Mark Selby booked his place in the second round of the Matchroom.Live Scottish Open after a 4-1 win over Yuan Sijun.

Selby lifted the title 12 months ago with a 9-6 win over Jack Lisowski in Glasgow to capture the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Selby has already claimed silverware this season with victory at the European Masters, his 18^th career ranking title.

The pair were forced to wait for the match to begin, with the late arrival of Covid-19 test results causing disruption to the majority of the day’s play. Having been scheduled to start at 1pm, Selby and Yuan eventually took to the baize at 6:45pm.

Despite the delay, three-time World Champion Selby came out of the blocks quickly with a run of 76 to take the opener. He then added a further two on the bounce to move one from victory at 3-0.

China’s 20-year-old talent Yuan then showcased his ability with a fine break of 122 to remain in the match. However, Selby closed out a professional win to seal progression to round two, where he will face Nigel Bond.

Selby said: “It was strange. To prepare myself to be ready for one o’clock and not go on until 6:45 was very difficult. It is what it is at the moment and I am happy to win the match and play okay in patches.

“It will be difficult to defend my title. My season so far has been consistent. I can’t really complain, winning a tournament and getting to a couple of semi-finals. When I’ve been beaten it has been Neil Robertson playing at the top of his game so you can’t be too disappointed with something like that.”

China’s Zhou Yuelong fired in the second 147 break of his career in a 4-1 defeat of Peter Lines.

The magical run came in the third frame and leaves Zhou in line for the £5,000 high break prize on offer this week.

It continues Zhou’s fine run of current form, he reached the semi-finals in last week’s Betway UK Championship, where he was beaten by eventual winner Neil Robertson.

Mark Allen made three consecutive centuries on his way to a 4-1 win over Jimmy White. The Pistol fired in breaks of 135, 110, 112 and 61 during the win. Victory strengthens Allen’s hopes of qualifying for next week’s World Grand Prix.

Barry Hawkins whitewashed Stuart Carrington 4-0, while Matthew Stevens edged out David Gilbert 4-3.

Also through are Ben Woollaston, Jack Lisowski and Kyren Wilson. Anthony McGill though lost to Sam Craigie. Also worth mentioning are Sunny Akani’s and young Gao Yang’s wins. Gao, only 16 years old, is a heavy scorer. This, however, was a different type of match: it was a hard fought close affair against a rather methodical player. The fact that Gao managed to win it is a very encouraging sign in the context of his future as a professional.

Neil Robertson withdrew from the event, which isn’t surprising after last Sundays epics

Watch Zhou’s maximum here:

The referee was William Craig, and it was William’s first maximum. I’m very pleased for William who is a lovely man and has been away from the sport for a very long time in the aftermath of an accident that left him with brain injuries. He only recently came back and donned the white gloes again at the recent Northern Ireland Open

Neil Robertson beat Judd Trump by 10-9 early this morning, to win his third UK Championship. It was an incredible match. It had everything. There was never more than one frame between the players, and the deciding frame lasted over an hour… 

Congratulations Neil Robertson!

Here are the reports by WST:

Afternoon session:

Trump And Robertson All Square

Judd Trump and Neil Robertson finished level at 4-4 after the first session of the Betway UK Championship final.

First to ten frames on Sunday evening takes the trophy and top prize of £200,000. Robertson has led four times so far, but each time Trump has hauled him back to leave the contest perfectly poised.

World number one Trump is aiming for his second UK Championship crown and first since 2011. Victory would give him his 20th career ranking title and third of the season, having already captured the English Open and Northern Ireland Open. That latter triumph was part of an unbeaten run covering 15 consecutive matches.

Bristol’s 31-year-old Trump has been snooker’s outstanding player over the past 25 months, winning 12 titles in that period and building a vast lead at the top of the world rankings. He has won 12 of 21 previous meetings with Robertson, including final victories at the German Masters and English Open this year.

Robertson took this title in 2013 and 2015 and is aiming to join a group of just five other players to have lifted the trophy at least three times, alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan (seven titles), Steve Davis (six), Stephen Hendry (five), John Higgins (three) and Ding Junhui (three).

Having lost in his two previous finals this season, at the English Open and Champion of Champions, Australia’s 38-year-old Robertson is determined to make it third time lucky as he chases his 19th ranking title. The top prize would move him up to number two in the world, ahead of O’Sullivan.

Today’s match had a cagey start, the first two frames taking 47 minutes. Trump might have won the first if he hadn’t missed the blue to a centre pocket off the last red, letting his opponent in to snatch it. The second came down to a battle on the colours after Trump had missed a simple frame-ball yellow, but he was let off the hook as Robertson failed to pot a mid-range green, allowing Englishman Trump to make it 1-1.

Robertson restored his lead with a 69 before Trump levelled with a run of 79. After the interval the match followed the same pattern as Robertson took frame five with a 103 then Trump replied with 58 and 31 for 3-3.

In frame seven, Trump had first chance but made just 22 before missing a tricky red to a centre pocket. Robertson slotted in an excellent pot on a red to a baulk corner and went on to make 110. That was his 12th century of the tournament, equalling the record for a single UK Championship set by Hendry and O’Sullivan. But once again Trump found an answer, finishing the session with a 128 total clearance.

The match resumes at 7pm.

Evening session:

Robertson Edges Trump In Thrilling UK Final

Neil Robertson triumphed in one of snooker’s all-time most dramatic finals, beating Judd Trump 10-9 to win the Betway UK Championship for the third time.

Robertson celebrates with partner Mille

A match which lasted over seven hours and finished close to 1am came down to the last few balls, with a Triple Crown title and £200,000 top prize on the line. At the end of a 66-minute deciding frame, Trump was two pots away from victory, but missed the pink to a top corner, leaving Robertson to perfectly execute a thin cut on the pink to the same corner.

Two of the sport’s all-time greats never had more than a frame between them throughout the day, and a fiercely contested battle became a test of stamina as much as skill in the concluding stages. When Australia’s Robertson eventually puts his cue away, he will surely reflect on this among his greatest moments.

Having lifted the trophy in 2013 and 2015, the 38-year-old becomes the fifth player to win the UK Championship on three or more occasions, joining Ronnie O’Sullivan (seven titles), Steve Davis (six), Stephen Hendry (five), John Higgins (three) and Ding Junhui (three). This is his first Triple Crown success in five years and his fifth overall having won the World Championship in 2010 and Masters in 2012.

Robertson now stands alongside Trump on 19 career ranking titles, winning his first silverware since the World Grand Prix in February. He avoided a third consecutive final defeat against Trump having finished second best at this year’s German Masters and English Open. He is up to second in the world rankings, albeit well behind runaway leader Trump.

Bristol’s 31-year-old Trump missed out on his second UK Championship crown and sees a four-week winning sequence covering 15 consecutive matches come to an end. Victory would have given him his third ranking title of the season and 20th overall, but instead he has to settle for the £80,000 runner-up prize.

The first frame of the evening session came down to a safety battle on the blue, Trump potting blue and pink to go ahead for the first time at 5-4. Robertson replied with a run of 94 then Trump regained the lead with 75. Frame 12 went Robertson’s way and he sealed the next with an excellent long pot on the last red.

The 14th frame was resolved on the colours, Trump controlling the safety battle before slotting in a long brown for 7-7. The Englishman took a scrappy 15th to edge ahead at 8-7, then Robertson hit back with a superb 115, his 13th century of the tournament which set a new record for the most tons in a single UK Championship.

In frame 17, Trump made runs of 53 and 42 to go 9-8 ahead. He had a match-winning chance in the 18th but missed a tricky red to a top corner on 48. Robertson executed difficult pots on his initial red and brown and went on the clear with 72.

In the decider, breaks of 23 and 24 gave Robertson the advantage, but the winning line remained elusive, and Trump clawed his way back to take it to the colours. After trapping his opponent in a snooker on the green, Trump took the green right-handed, stunned in the brown, and potted a difficult blue to a top corner. But, trailing 43-47, he over-cut the pink, leaving Robertson to steal the glory.

Robertson, overwhelmed with relief, said: “I would have been devastated to lose, I don’t know how I would have slept for the next few nights. Judd will be gutted but he was very gracious in defeat.

“Both of us must have had ten times in the last frame where we thought we were going to win. It was a titanic struggle, we both refused to lose. It wasn’t the greatest quality, but sometimes finals are so bad they are good. We were missing pots that club players would have potted and fluking snookers out of snookers. Maybe people will be in the club tomorrow trying to replicate those shots.

“In the last few frames I was just trying to stay positive. The brown I potted at 9-8 was the bravest shot I have ever played because if I’d missed it I would have lost. That was the best clearance of my career.

Defeat will be hard to take for Trump, who has won 12 titles within the past 25 months

“At the end, Judd potted an unbelievable green with his right hand and I expected him to clear up. When I got the chance at the pink I could have played safe but if I had then lost it would have haunted me for years. So I had to go all-out to pot it. After that I couldn’t have played another shot, I was empty.

“To beat Judd, who is the best player in the world and has been so consistent in finals over the last few years, it’s up there with anything I have achieved before.”

Trump said: “It was an epic battle, it’s tough to take. I bottled it at the end, simple as that.  I had an easy brown to screw back, I tried to stun it as I was under pressure, but I messed it up. The pressure got to me. Neil is an amazing player and thoroughly deserved the win. Hopefully I can learn from that.”

That’s a very courageous and honest admission by Judd Trump there. Hats off.

And the full interview with the winner, by Rob Walker:

Snooker was the winner last night. Thank you both, Neil and Judd.

Here it is…

It’s fair to say that Ronnie’s draw isn’t easy, the bottom half is loaded: Ding first, then, sould he go through, Higgins or Allen, possibly Judd Trump in the semi-finals.

I can see Robertson getting to the final from the top half.

Here is WST announcement:

O’Sullivan To Face Ding At The Masters

Seven-time Masters champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will face China’s top player Ding Junhui in the first round at the Masters at Alexandra Palace next month.

The draw for snooker’s biggest invitation event was done today with the top eight seeds pitched at random against those seeded nine to 16.

The Masters will run from January 10-17 at Alexandra Palace in North London and WST plans to safely welcome a crowd with a new socially distanced seating plan. 

Crowd favourite O’Sullivan, who lifted the trophy in 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016 and 2017, has won all four previous meetings with Ding at the Masters, including the 2007 final and 2019 semi-final.

Stuart Bingham, who beat Ali Carter in the final last year, will begin the defence of his title against debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Thailand’s Un-Nooh will become the first player from his country to compete in the Masters since James Wattana in 1999.

Neil Robertson will face the other debutant – China’s Yan Bingtao – while world number one Judd Trump will take on David Gilbert.

The draw is:

Stuart Bingham v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Monday January 11th at 1pm)
Shaun Murphy v Mark Williams (Monday January 11th at 7pm)
Mark Selby v Stephen Maguire (Tuesday January 12th at 7pm)
Neil Robertson v Yan Bingtao (Tuesday January 12th at 1pm)
Judd Trump v David Gilbert (Sunday January 10th at 1pm)
Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski (Sunday January 10th at 7pm)
John Higgins v Mark Allen (Wednesday January 13th at 7pm)
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui (Wednesday January 13th at 1pm)

Quarter-final schedule:

QF1 (Bingham or Un-Nooh v Murphy or Williams): Thursday January 14th at 7pm
QF2 (Selby or Maguire v Robertson or Yan): Friday January 15th at 7pm
QF3 (Trump or Gilbert v Wilson or Lisowski): Thursday January 14th at 1pm 
QF4 (Higgins or Allen v O’Sullivan or Ding): Friday January 15th at 1pm

Semi-final schedule

SF1: Saturday January 16th at 1pm
SF2: Saturday January 16th at 7pm

Final
Sunday January 17th at 1pm and 7pm