World number 81 Jordan Brown earned a shock 5-3 lead over World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan after the first session of the BetVictor Welsh Open final at the Celtic Manor Resort.
Northern Irishman Brown, 33, is competing in his first ever ranking event final this week. His illustrious opponent O’Sullivan is in his 56th title match at a ranking tournament.
If the Antrim cueman can complete the job this evening it would be one of the greatest upsets ever seen in a major final. Victory for O’Sullivan would see him claim a record equalling fifth Welsh Open title, to draw level with John Higgins.
Brown, a 750/1 outsider at the start of the week, looked calm and composed in the opening stages as he claimed the first two frames to lead 2-0. A break of 74 saw O’Sullivan get his first frame on the board in the next, before Brown fired in a run of 78 to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
When play resumed, a stunning contribution of 108 helped Brown into a 4-1 lead. The Rocket then roared back into contention with breaks of 135 and 121 to move within a frame.
However, Brown crucially took the last of the afternoon to emerge two ahead. The pair will return at 7pm to play the best of 17 encounter to a conclusion. The winner will claim the Ray Reardon Trophy and a top prize of £70,000.
Jordan Brown recorded a stunning 9-8 upset win over World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan to claim his maiden ranking title at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Northern Ireland’s Brown, who was off the tour and working in a petrol station just three years ago, was competing in his first ever ranking final. By contrast, his illustrious opponent was playing in the title match of a ranking event for the 57th time.
The Antrim cueman was a 750-1 outsider coming into this week’s event, the largest pre-tournament odds of any ranking event winner in snooker history. His victory sees him pocket the £70,000 top prize, along with the Ray Reardon Trophy.
Brown is Northern Ireland’s fourth winner of a ranking title, following in the footsteps of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor and close friend Mark Allen.
World number 81 Brown also becomes the lowest ranked player to lift ranking silverware since Dave Harold won the 1993 Asian Open. Harold was world number 93 at the time.
The 33-year-old now heads to Milton Keynes for next week’s elite 16-player Cazoo Players Championship, where he will meet four-time World Champion John Higgins.
O’Sullivan, who is a four-time winner of the Welsh Open, narrowly misses out on equalling John Higgins’ record haul of five titles in the event. The six-time Crucible king will now also head to Milton Keynes, where he will play Ding Junhui in his Players Championship first round tie.
Brown came into this evening’s session with a 5-3 advantage. However, O’Sullivan claimed a tight opening frame on the pink, before a run of 68 restored parity at 5-5.
O’Sullivan then hit the front for first time in the match, but Brown bounced back to claim a tightly contested 12th and head into the mid-session level at 6-6.
After sharing the following two frames, O’Sullivan had the first opportunity in the 15th. He didn’t make the most of it and missed a pink on 25, visibly showing signs of frustration. Brown pounced on the opportunity, to compile 56 and move a frame away from victory at 8-7.
O’Sullivan forced a decider with a sublime run of 119. However, Brown wasn’t to be denied and fired in a steely break of 74 to seal the title.
“It is unbelievable. To beat the greatest player of all time in a major final. It was an honour just to play him,” said 33-year-old Brown. “I just had a calm approach coming into today. I wasn’t playing the opponent. If you just play Ronnie, instead of just focussing on the balls it can be very daunting. I had a strategy to focus on my own game and it worked.
“I’m a very proud Northern Irishman, to follow in the footsteps of the players that have won events before me is an absolute dream come true.
“It is fantastic to be in the mix at the Players Championship. It means so much. I think I proved a lot there today, with what I did and how I held myself together. I’m sure I proved to tour players and people back at home that I can play to the very highest level.”
O’Sullivan said: “I have enjoyed every minute of that today, I’ve had a fantastic time. I love Jordan, he’s a great guy. I’m so happy for him to win. He is a fantastic player as well. I played alright today and not many people beat me when I’m playing alright. He is a proper player.”
The sympathetic, unassuming Ben Williams was the man in the middle and Leo Scullion shared a couple of pictures getting ready:
And WST one of the handshake at the start of the match
Jordan Brown’s win a great story, a very positive boost for the sport we love. He’s a nice guy, he didn’t have it easy, but he nerver gave up, chased his dream, worked hard and, here he is, the unlikely but so deserving champion.
Nick Metcalfe, a respected sports’ journalist, who, with Phil Haigh runs the “Talking Sport” podcast, was reflecting the other day on twitter about how refreshing it was to seen a Ballymena garage sponsoring a local sportsman. It is indeed and surely today they must be very proud of their man. You won’t see that in many sports.
Jordan will play in the Players Championship this week , he’s now 7th in the one year list with a good chance to play in the Tour Championship, and he will get a spot in the Champion of Champions next season. He’s also now up to 45th in the rankings.
As for Ronnie… he will probably be disappointed, but he was very gracious in defeat and looked genuinely pleased for his opponent, who he praised and congratulated warmly. He’s now 4th in the one year list, and safe for the Tour Championship. He’s reached three of the four “Home Nations” finals this season, something no player had done before, but, unfortunately lost them all. This one was the closest and he probably lost it in the first mini session. When he was 4-1 down, he needed to win 8 of the possible 12 remaing frames. A tough task against any player in a final. He nearly did it. He showed resilience and trememdous fighting qualities. However, mixed with some incredibly gutsy shots, there were too many mistakes all along.
Here are the scores:
Ronnie scored more heavily than Jordan, made three centuries, and still lost. The first reason is that he made mistakes at some crucial moments and his approach to the game is such that he then usually leaves something on, the second is that Jordan had a very, very high % of safety success. He was exceptional in that department.
Now a word about the “Big Upset” tag… The bookies were making Ronnie a massive favourite, and the pundits went along with that. I don’t get it. Even before the match started, I thought that this was crazy. Yes, I made Ronnie favourite on experience and because he had played well and looked up for it, but not a “massive” favourite, not after the way Jordan had beaten Mark Selby and backed that with a proper demolition of Stephen Maguire.
Judd Trump (1) v Stuart Bingham (16)
Zhou Yuelong (8) v Barry Hawkins (9)
Jack Lisowski (5) v Martin Gould (12)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (4) v Ding Junhui (13)
Neil Robertson (3) v Lu Ning (14)
Kyren Wilson (6) v Ryan Day (11)
Jordan Brown (7) v John Higgins (10)
Mark Selby (2) v Mark Williams (15)
Three years ago Jordan Brown was working in a petrol station, now he’s scored the biggest win of his career to beat Stephen Maguire 6-1 and make his first ever ranking event final at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
The Northern Irishman, who first turned professional in 2009, began his current stint on the World Snooker Tour in 2018 by coming through Q School.
However, world number 81 Brown was flirting with relegation from the circuit at the end of last season. Only a run to qualify for his maiden Crucible appearance at the World Championship spared him a return to Q School.
Brown will now face either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Mark Williams over the best of 17 frames in tomorrow’s final, with a top prize of £70,000 and the Ray Reardon Trophy on the line.
Victory for Brown this afternoon also comes with the added bonus of a place at next week’s Cazoo Players Championship, by securing his position in the top 16 of the one-year money list. Defeat for Tour Champion Maguire, who himself only needed to win today to clinch a spot, ends his hopes of qualifying.
Brown is enjoying the best form of his career, having reached a maiden ranking quarter-final just last month at the BildBet German Masters.
The Antrim cueman got off to a flyer this afternoon, firing in a sublime run of 135 to take the opener. However, Maguire immediately responded by stealing the second frame on the black to level at 1-1.
From there 33-year-old Brown dominated the remainder of the tie. He composed breaks of 56, 113 and 59 on his way to five frames on the bounce to secure his place in the final.
Brown said: “Three years ago I was working in a petrol station and serving customers, getting up at 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. It is crazy to think of the journey that I have had. To be in a ranking tournament final is just incredible.
“It was very important to stamp my authority early. I showed Stevie that I was ready to play. The 135 break just settled me right down. I was pleased to carry it right through the whole match.
“I’ve been putting the hours in on the practice table. Maybe I was just going in to pot balls in the club before. It is more intense now and I am treating it more like a match occasion. That means something. It is easy to pot balls, but there is a lot more too it than that.
“It means everything to be in the Players Championship. All of the sacrifices and hard work have led me to this moment. It is very satisfying because I’ve always had the inner belief to compete with the top players. To be in the mix next week will be amazing.”
… Brown is thrilled to be taking on the man he considers the greatest ever in the final, but he is also out with a point to prove to the world champion.
The Antrim Ferrari remembers O’Sullivan’s comments at the World Championship last year, when the 45-year-old said he would have to lose an arm and a leg to drop out of the world’s top 50.
O’Sullivan said at the Crucible: ‘People like me, John [Higgins] and Mark [Williams], you look at the younger players coming through, they’re not that good, really.
‘Most of them, they’d probably do well as half decent amateurs, not even amateurs, I mean, they’re so bad.
‘A lot of them you see now, you think, cor, I’ve probably got to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50. So that’s really why we’re still hovering around still, just how poor it is down that end.’
Brown has huge respect for his opponent on Sunday, but he will not pretend that O’Sullivan’s comments didn’t sting as he scraps away to rise into the top 50 in the rankings.
The 33-year-old has never been in the top 50 in his career so far, and he, like other players down the rankings, took the Rocket’s comments as a slight.
‘He’s definitely the greatest ever, no doubt about it,’ said Brown after his semi-final victory. ‘The way he plays, his style of play, the way he scores, everything about him.
‘Maybe the only downside are his comments off the table, slandering the lower-ranked players didn’t go down well with me.
‘Maybe that spurred me on as well because I don’t think his comments are entirely true. He doesn’t realise there are so many players aspiring to be like him, he is the benchmark, the game isn’t as easy as what he makes it look.
‘It just put a bit of fire in my belly to prove him wrong. The top 50 stuff, it was really annoying, I’m not going to lie. That drove me on as well because those comments stick in your mind.’
Presented with Brown’s comments, O’Sullivan claims they were only intended to motivate lower-ranked players, so was delighted to hear that they had produced the desired results.
‘That’s what the comments were about, motivating people,’ said Ronnie. ‘So it had the right effect on Jordan, which is great.
‘He’s gone away, seen the positives of it, come back, become a better player and that’s what a lot of the other players should be looking at doing.
‘They should take it as a positive and a motivation to be better, because I certainly would.
‘Fire in the belly, mate. Every opponent needs a bit of fire in the belly. I need a bit of that myself.’
However, annoying Brown found O’Sullivan’s comments, he still has incredibly nice things to say about the six-time world champion and, before the second semi-final was played, declared that he’d rather play Ronnie than Mark Williams.
‘I’ve never played Ronnie,’ said Jordan. ‘Think I’ve only met him twice at exhibitions.
‘What can you say? He’s the ultimate, the greatest of all time, no doubt about that. He’s been entertaining us on our TV screens for the best part of 30 years and we’re just grateful to have him in the game and still entertaining the millions round the world.
‘Slight preference to Ronnie. Ronnie, in my opinion, is a slightly better player than Mark. If I play Ronnie it’s a fantastic, showpiece occasion for all my family and friends back home. It’s just a pity they can’t be here, but I’m in the final that’s all that matters.’
O’Sullivan is impressed that Brown fancied a crack at him in the final at Celtic Manor, although doesn’t think it is good news for his own chances.
‘It’s great, it’s not so great for me when you’re opponent says he’s really looking forward to playing you, you never want to hear them words,’ said the Rocket.
‘But he’s got a great temperament, just seems to play the balls. It’s a good attitude to have.’
Evening session: Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-1 Mark Williams
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan thrashed Mark Williams 6-1 to reach the BetVictor Welsh Open final at the Celtic Manor Resort.
O’Sullivan progresses to face world number 81 Jordan Brown tomorrow, who will be competing in a ranking final for the first time. They will meet over the best of 17 frames for the Ray Reardon Trophy and a top prize of £70,000.
The Rocket, who has won the Welsh Open on four occasions, is aiming for a record equalling fifth title tomorrow. That would see him draw level with Scotland’s John Higgins.
This evening’s encounter was the latest in a rivalry which extends back to 1992, when both players turned professional. The pair boast 59 ranking titles between them, with six-time Crucible king O’Sullivan having won 37 to Williams’ 22. O’Sullivan also holds a considerable advantage in the head-to-head, now leading 32-8.
Williams bows out with the consolation of a place in next week’s Cazoo Players Championship, which he secured by winning yesterday evening’s quarter-final with Tom Ford.
It was the Welshman that got off to the strongest start tonight. He composed a fine run of 73 to take the opener. O’Sullivan hit back immediately with a break of 103 to restore parity at 1-1.
Further breaks of 77 and 54 helped him to a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval. When they returned the pair battled out a tactical 21-minute fifth frame, with an error from Williams eventually allowing O’Sullivan to make 37 and move 4-1 ahead.
O’Sullivan then claimed the sixth, before a break of 69 saw him wrap up the comfortable 6-1 victory.
“If you know you are going to get punched in the face, you know you have to have a better defence. He was capable of doing that, as I knew he was playing well and scoring well. I had to be on my guard. I played pretty solidly,” said 45-year-old O’Sullivan.
“It would be nice to win any tournament. The memories I had with Ray Reardon are far more important than any trophy, but it would be nice to pick the trophy up and say hi to Ray. I’m sure he will be watching at home.
“Jordan is a really good player. He has a good temperament and is a good match player. He’s done well against a lot of very good opponents. I’ve watched his matches in the past and he gave Selby a good game, that is always very difficult. I’m impressed with how he plays.”
Mark William’s feedback on the match was rather brutal:
And even more so on twitter…
As usual a few images and short videos were shared on twitter bu ES, BBC Wales and WST:
Jordan Brown’s semi-final victory over Stephen Maguire at the BetVictor Welsh Open has given him a place in the top 16 of the one-year ranking list and a spot in next week’s Cazoo Players Championship.
Brown will be in the hunt for the £125,000 top prize at the Cazoo Players Championship which runs from February 22 to 28 in Milton Keynes.
The 16 players listed below will be in the field. However, the seeding is not confirmed yet as it will depend on the remaining results this weekend at the BetVictor Welsh Open. The full draw and format will then be released.
Judd Trump Mark Selby Neil Robertson Jack Lisowski Ronnie O’Sullivan Kyren Wilson Zhou Yuelong Barry Hawkins John Higgins Ryan Day Martin Gould Ding Junhui Jordan Brown Lu Ning Mark Williams Stuart Bingham
Trump will face Bingham on Monday at 7pm while three other players have been scheduled into the following sessions:
Tuesday 1pm : Neil Robertson
Tuesday 7pm : Ronnie O’Sullivan
Wednesday 1pm : Mark Selby
Should Ronnie win today, he would play Jordan Brown again in the first round on Tuesday. If Jordan wins, he will climb to 7th in that list, and would then play John Higgins, whilst Ronnie would face Ding.
It will be a difficult match for both today.
For Jordan, it’s his first ever final. It’s also a two session match which can be important psychologically, with plenty of time between sessions to reflect on what happened in the first session and what could happen in the second. He’s not been there often before and although he has played two session matches to qualify for the Crucible, this is different.
Ronnie has been there many times, but has lost the last wo finals he played in. He’s up against the number 81 in the rankings. He will certainly know how good Jordan is, but he will be the one expected to win and that brings its own pressure. He’s a bit on a hiding to nothing out there.
Judd Trump will begin the defence of his Cazoo Players Championship title on Monday evening next week.
The ITV4-televised tournament runs from February 22 to 28, featuring the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list. The field is not confirmed yet as it will depend on the results of the remaining matches at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Trump is guaranteed to be top of the one-year list going into next week’s event so he will face the player in 16th position in the opening session of the tournament on Monday at 7pm.
Three other players have been scheduled into the following sessions:
Tuesday 1pm : Neil Robertson Tuesday 7pm : Ronnie O’Sullivan Wednesday 1pm : Mark Selby
The full draw and format will be confirmed after the BetVictor Welsh Open which finishes on Sunday evening.
Unless some player(s) test positive for covid-19, as one of Jordan Brown and Stephen Maguire will be through to the final, it’s now certain that Shaun Murphy will miss out and that Stuart Bingham will be 16th in the list, and, therefore will be Judd Trump’s opponent on Momday night.
The quarter-finals Friday at this year’s Welsh Open was a strange one: three matches went to a deciding frame, the fourth was canceled. As a result Ronnie was in Eurosport studio all evening.
Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown got the better of a black ball fight in the decider to edge three-time World Champion Mark Selby 5-4 at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
The epic three hour and 48 minute match came all the way down to the final ball in the final frame. Eventually Brown left it at the mercy of Selby to the right middle pocket, but the Leicester cueman missed his chance.
Brown then thumped in a regulation pot to the top left pocket and punched the air with joy. The dramatic victory sealed Brown a first ranking event semi-final place of his career.
He’ll face Stephen Maguire in the last four. Whoever wins between Brown and Maguire will be guaranteed a spot in the top 16 of the one-year list to qualify for next week’s Cazoo Players Championship.
World number 81 Brown qualified for a maiden Crucible appearance at last year’s World Championship, in doing so he saved his professional status and avoided a trip to Q School.
Defeat for Selby leaves him £6,500 behind Judd Trump in the BetVictor Series with only the BetVictor Gibraltar Open to go. The player who accumulates the most prize money over the six event series will pick up a lucrative £150,000 bonus.
Brown made breaks of 105, 55 and 63 on his way to establishing a 3-1 advantage at the mid-session. When they returned Selby required two snookers and got them to steal the fifth frame, before firing in a break of 97 to draw level at 3-3. They then traded frames as the match went to the most dramatic of deciders, where Brown sealed the tie.
“I’m over the moon. Years of hard work have finally come off just for this one moment,” said 33-year-old Brown. “I know it’s not over yet. I’ve got a semi-final to look forward to tomorrow. For now, to finally prove myself against one of the top players, I feel like I’ve achieved massive things today.
“He is hard as nails. He makes things so hard for you. He is just granite. I was aware of his reputation, but all I had to concentrate on was myself and I feel like I handled it pretty well there.
“I’ve always believed in myself. Coming into this season, off the back of the Crucible, it was important for me to carry on and make sure that was no fluke. I’ve been very consistent and it is finally all coming together.”
Tour Champion Maguire booked his place in the last four with a 5-4 defeat of defending Welsh Open champion Shaun Murphy.
Maguire fired in breaks of 105, 84, 55, 90 and 133 on his way to victory. Defeat for Murphy ends his hopes of qualifying for the Players Championship.
Welsh three-time World Champion Mark Williams came through a thrilling clash with Tom Ford 5-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Williams is a two-time winner of the event and the only Welsh player ever to claim the title. He last lifted the trophy back in 1999.
Victory this evening sees Williams qualify for the Players Championship, ending Ford’s hopes of clinching a spot. However, Williams’ immediate focus is a semi-final with Ronnie O’Sullivan tomorrow evening.
The day’s other quarter-final was cancelled after Ali Carter withdrew due to illness. As a result, O’Sullivan received a bye through to the semi-finals.
Massive congratulations to Jordan Brown for holding it together at the end of that match. To be honest, I didn’t believe he would be able to fend off Mark Selby who is a specialist of such situations.
‘To be honest with you I’m just fed up,’ Ford told Metro.co.uk after beating Lisowski in the fourth round. ‘The first three matches I’ve played I just didn’t want to be here.
‘I don’t know what it is at the minute. I’ve just got to the point where everything that’s going on, I’m just fed up with everything.
‘All I feel I’m doing at the minute is snooker, going home, snooker, going home. I’m not one of them players that wants to go into the club and practice. I just think I’m down, I’ve got to that point.
‘I’m not really enjoying matches apart from that last match I played against Jack. I managed to get myself up for the match from the start and I enjoyed that game. Even now, I’ve won that match and I know I’ve got to play again tomorrow and I’m just fed up with it all.’
…
‘Snooker’s just a part of it because I’ve always been one of them people that’s out and about, I’m never at home that long,’ said Tom. ‘If you said to me I’ve got to play six or seven hours a day for the next season I’d tell you that I’d give up now.
‘I need things away from snooker and they’re things I can’t have at the minute. Everyone’s in the same boat and I’m lucky that I’ve got things going on, more things than other people, but it’s still hard mentally and it’s now affecting me.
‘I’ve just got to that point where I am fed up with everything. It could take a day a week, I don’t know, but I know I’ll eventually pick myself up and go again.
‘It’s been the last few weeks. Is everything going to end and go back to normal? I know I’m lucky to have family around me but some people struggle and some don’t and I’ve just got to that point where I’m struggling.’
Tom has always been someone who likes the social side of life, going to the pub, having a drink – and sometimes many drinks – with his mates. He can’t have that now and he doesn’t cope well with it.
At the start of the match he looked very low. It looked to me as if he could burst into tears any minute and I wondered if he would be able to finish the match. But, all credit to him, he fought with all he had. His long potting was incredible.
Williams stuck to his guns regarding the break-off. Some people are asking for a change in the rules to make this type of break-off “illegal”. It doesn’t make for great viewing, but usually, after about three shots, things are back to normal on the table anyway. It’s a complete non-issue in my view.
Should he win today, Willo wants to honour Doug Montjoy in the Final … his ideas make the authorities see red. 😉
I totally agree with Hector here. It’s not like Willo wants to break the rules because he’s a rebel. He wants to honour one of the great Welshmen in the sport.
“You get times like that when you are not enjoying your snooker,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “Mine happened to be when I was winning virtually every tournament I played in and never got to go home. I kind of missed being at home.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but success was sometimes a bad thing for me.”
NOW I WRITE DOWN AFTER EACH TOURNAMENT SMILEY FACES OR NOT SO SMILEY FACES JUST FOR MEMORY BECAUSE SOMETIMES THERE’S A PATTERN TO CERTAIN THINGS.
“Maybe if Tom feels like that, he should look at his schedule and look at what makes him happy and try and incorporate a bit more of that in his life and start enjoying his snooker again.”
The problem is that what makes Tom happy is almost impossible to get right now, snooker or no snooker.
The Thursday at the Home Nations is always a very busy day as two rounds are played to a conclusion and 32 become just 8. Yesterday was such a day, maybe even more eventfull than usual.
There was no report by WST about the afternoon matches, despite the last 32 round producing an alleged big shock: Judd Trump lost by 4-2 to Hossein Vafaei, putting an end to a run of 27 consecutive victories in best of 7 matches, and losing before the QF stage in a tournament for the first time in over 12 months. I write “alleged” because Judd had not played well at all in the first two rounds, despite the big breaks, he had made a lot of mistakes. He had been up against a 17 years old, and a 18 years old, playing on the television table, an unfamiliar environment for those youngsters. They weren’t able to punish Judd’s mistakes. But Hossein Vafaei is a completely different proposition altogether.
Judd Trump did not enjoy the conditions at the Welsh Open this week (Picture: Getty Images)
Judd Trump has not been impressed by conditions at the Welsh Open this week, suffering a shock early exit to Hossein Vafaei in the third round.
The world number one lost 4-2 to the Prince of Persia on Thursday afternoon, exiting a ranking event before the quarter-final stage for the first time in 12 months.
Trump had led 2-1, but struggled to get going and eventually succumbed to the Iranian who made a top break of 60 in the final frame.
The Ace has been complaining about the table conditions at Celtic Manor throughout the week, so this is not just sour grapes, but clearly he was especially upset after defeat to Vafaei.
‘It was easy for me at 2-1 up but then he fluked a blue with the balls everywhere,’ said Trump. ‘After that, everything he did turned to gold. In those conditions, anyone’s going to be able to win.
‘It’s just so heavy here. It’s like playing in China and that’s why the standard has been pretty poor from what I’ve seen of the tournament. A lot of my games have been bad. Balls are going safe a lot more often, which doesn’t make for good viewing.
‘The venue’s not great and it’s very humid in there. It’s difficult to play in really. People on the outside who stick the tables in there don’t play snooker in there, so they just set it up and think it all looks good. When you’re out there playing, it’s a different story.
‘I just try and be as consistent as possible but today was just one of those games. I was in control and he’s missed a blue he shouldn’t have gone for and ended up going in the middle pocket. If he doesn’t fluke it, it’s 3-1 as the balls were everywhere.
‘There’s no point dwelling on it – on another day he doesn’t fluke it and I’m in the last 16. It’s just that little bit of luck – I’ve had it recently when I’ve had a bit of luck to get over the line. It’s just the way it goes.
‘It’s not just this tournament, it’s happened in the past – I’ve moaned in the World Championships and no-one ever does anything. I always like to moan after I win, otherwise no-one does anything – but still no-one does anything. It just makes the standard a lot poorer than it would be. Milton Keynes has been very consistent for the past year and the standard has been amazing there. But here it was playing very heavy. Maybe they’d put it in a different room, the standard would have been a lot better. It’s just one of those things.’
Hossein Vafaei got the better of Trump at Celtic Manor (Picture: Getty Images)
For context, after Trump beat Si Jiahui on Wednesday night and made similar points about the tables in Newport.
‘Every tournament I’ve played for the last year has been on a table on its own with no distractions, the table is playing absolutely awful, as well,’ he said.
‘We’ve been lucky in Milton Keynes, playing in the same venue every time it’s been consistent. Travelling around in China all the time we used to get real bad conditions now and again.
‘It’s very, very heavy, very humid. It’s just like if you’re playing football and the pitch is waterlogged, you kick a ball and it comes to a stop.
‘The ball’s not running, you go into the pack and it’s not really splitting, things like that. The cloth feels very heavy, slow conditions, it’s probably the atmosphere in the arena.’
Asked about the conditions, Ronnie said that they are heavy indeed, but to him, those slightly heavier conditions allow players to show a side of their skills that has been disappearing of late: the art of developping the balls, gradually, taking care of staying in position after each shot, and planning for the next step carefully. Joe Perry, commentating on Ronnie’s match in the evening totally agreed with these views.
Those conditions may not suit Judd, but there is no reason why the conditions should be made specifically to please him. He may be the World nr 1, there are 127 other players on the tour. He says that the standard here is poor. I don’t think so. There were no less centuries so far here than in former events in Milton Keynes earlier in the season. And the “standard” is not just about centuries anyway. Some “small breaks”, solving the puzzle of a difficult table, are far more interesting and entertaining than most centuries.
Also the bit about the “table on its own, with no distractions” is weird. That’s never how it used to be in ranking events before the covid crisis, not in the early stages anyway. Does he want the crowd to be banned for good so that he has “no distraction”? Sour 🍇 …
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan dropped his first frame of the event so far in beating China’s Zhou Yuelong 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open at the Celtic Manor Resort.
O’Sullivan has won a remarkable 16 of 17 frames this week and is now only one win away from reaching the 80th ranking event semi-final of his career.
Earlier in the day O’Sullivan brushed aside Martin Gould 4-0 to book his place in the last 16. This evening he fired in breaks of 67, 64 and 89 on his way to establishing a 3-1 lead over Zhou.
The Rocket then summoned a sensational break of 74, starting with the white near the jaws of the green pocket and the reds placed awkwardly, to seal his 4-1 victory.
On his run in the final frame, O’Sullivan said: “Even when you are playing badly, you think that you have to try and win every frame in one visit. It is just a normal mindset for a top player, that you think if you need more than one chance it isn’t good. The start point is that I want to clear up.
“At the end of the day, it is how good your bad game is. If I can just get my bad game a bit higher, it keeps me in the game a bit longer. I can’t settle for mediocre, so I think I just have to go back to how I was playing before. It feels like I am able to make breaks like that, whereas I couldn’t before.”
O’Sullivan will face Ali Carter in the quarter-finals. The Captain secured a fine 4-2 win over Mark Allen to book his place in the last eight.
Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy beat Barry Hawkins 4-3 on the final pink to seal a spot in the quarters. The Magician will meet Stephen Maguire up next, after the Scot defeated Pang Junxu 4-2.
Welshman Mark Williams is the last player left flying the flag for the host country, he beat Iranian Hossein Vafaei 4-2 this evening. Williams will face Tom Ford next, who edged Jack Lisowski 4-3.
Mark Selby sealed his last eight slot with a 4-2 defeat of Masters champion Yan Bingtao. He’ll now play Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown, who beat Mark King 4-3 to reach the second quarter-final of both the year and his career.
Jordan Brown has been around for a long time: he’s 33, he turned pro for the first time in 2009/10 and didn’t make it. He returned to the main tour in 2018 and now he’s starting to look really good. He’s practicing in Antrim, with Mark Allen. He qualified for the Crucible last year. This is only his second appearence in a QF, the first one though was in the 2021 German Masters ealier this year. He’s as high as 27th in the one year list and still in contention for the 2021 Players Championship. He would need the final here though.
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan dropped his first frame of the event so far in beating China’s Zhou Yuelong 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open at the Celtic Manor Resort.
O’Sullivan has won a remarkable 15 of 16 frames this week and is now only one win away from reaching the 80th ranking event semi-final of his career.
Earlier in the day O’Sullivan brushed aside Martin Gould 4-0 to book his place in the last 16. This evening he fired in breaks of 67, 64 and 89 on his way to establishing a 3-1 lead over Zhou.
The Rocket then summoned a sensational break of 74, starting with the white near the jaws of the green pocket and the reds placed awkwardly, to seal his 4-1 victory.
On his run in the final frame, O’Sullivan said: “Even when you are playing badly, you think that you have to try and win every frame in one visit. It is just a normal mindset for a top player, that you think if you need more than one chance it isn’t good. The start point is that I want to clear up.
“At the end of the day, it is how good your bad game is. If I can just get my bad game a bit higher, it keeps me in the game a bit longer. I can’t settle for mediocre, so I think I just have to go back to how I was playing before. It feels like I am able to make breaks like that, whereas I couldn’t before.”
O’Sullivan will face Ali Carter in the quarter-finals.
WELSH OPEN 2021 – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN OOZES QUALITY IN WHITEWASHING MARTIN GOULD TO REACH LAST 16
Ronnie O’Sullivan has assumed favouritism of the Welsh Open following Judd Trump’s shock loss to Hossein Vafaei in the third round at the Celtic Manor Resort. The Rocket advanced to the third round with 4-0 wins over Robbie Williams and Jimmy White. He followed up with a brilliant display in crushing Martin Gould by the same scoreline.
On the day Judd Trump crashed out of the Welsh Open, Ronnie O’Sullivan assumed favouritism with an impressive 4-0 win over Martin Gould.
Trump fell at the hands of Hossein Vafaei, but there was no upset on the main table as O’Sullivan confidently disposed of Gould.
After winning his first two matches, against Robbie Williams and Jimmy White, without losing a frame – he continued the perfect display to advance to the last 16.
Gould had an excellent early chance in the opening frame, but he passed it up and a break of 75 from O’Sullivan punished his practice partner.
Like O’Sullivan, Gould entered the third round at the Celtic Manor Resort on the back of a pair of 4-0 wins. However, he came into the match knowing that he had never beaten the world champion.
He potted an excellent red down the bottom rail to craft a chance in the second, but missed the following black and O’Sullivan pounced with a 74 to move two frames ahead.
Gould had a chance in the third and looked favourite with the final couple of reds on the table, but he missed a pot into the middle and O’Sullivan stepped in with the ruthlessness of an assassin.
He developed the final red with an excellent cannon and potted a glorious brown into the middle to secure a three-frame advantage.
The world champion turned on the style in the fourth with some pots that would not have been out of place in an exhibition match.
They highlighted the confidence that is flowing through his veins, which comes from the amount of work he has put in on the practice table, as he knocked in a break of 138 to wrap up the match.
In disposing of Gould, O’Sullivan missed only one pot when the frames were live in what was a near-perfect performance.
WELSH OPEN 2021 – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S PERFECT RUN ENDS BUT BEATS ZHOU YUELONG TO REACH LAST 8
Ronnie O’Sullivan powered into the quarter finals with a 4-1 win over Zhou Yuelong. Judd Trump’s quest for a fifth title of the season came unstuck at the hands of Hossein Vafaei, but the Iranian went no further than the fourth round after falling at the hands of Mark Williams who has made it clear he wants to win his home event to honour the late Doug Mountjoy.
Ronnie O’Sullivan continued his serene progress at the Welsh Open with a 4-1 win over Zhou Yuelong.
Robbie Williams, Jimmy White and Martin Gould were dispatched without winning a frame in each of the first three rounds – which was an indication of the task facing Zhou.
O’Sullivan’s play was not as scintillating as in his win over Gould – it would have been hard to replicate what was a near-perfect display – but it was good enough to secure a 4-1 success.
After whitewashing his opponents in the first three rounds, O’Sullivan made it 13 unanswered frames in the event when taking the first against Zhou.
All aspects of his game appear in synch, as he produced a stunning safety at the start of the first frame and it enabled him to knock in a break of 67 to clinch the opener.
O’Sullivan kept Zhou cold for much of the second frame, as a break of 64 from the 45-year-old was enough to open up a cushion.
Zhou is on the cusp of breaking into the world’s top 16 and he showed his quality with a brilliant opening red in the third, but he could only muster a break of 29. The 23-year-old had further chances as O’Sullivan’s level dipped a shade, but he could not make them count and the world champion stepped in with an 89 to move within one frame of the quarter finals.
O’Sullivan had the chance to make it 16 unanswered frames, but he proved he is fallible by breaking down on 47. He left an inviting table and Zhou produced an excellent clearance of 87 to avoid a whitewash.
Zhou taking the fourth frame gave O’Sullivan something to think about and the Chinese youngster had the tournament favourite in a spot of bother at the start of the fifth.
However, O’Sullivan spied a long red with the cueball in the jaws of the green pocket and he executed it to perfection. Within a couple of shots he had opened the reds and crafted a match-winning chance – which he took in style with a superb break of 74.
Martin Gould details his ‘frightening’ Ronnie O’Sullivan practice sessions
Phil Haigh Thursday 18 Feb 2021 10:55 am
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Martin Gould have been working hard in the practice room (Picture: Getty Images)
Martin Gould takes on his practice partner Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Welsh Open on Thursday after seeing the ‘frightening’ skills of the Rocket up close and personal.
Both men have looked in good touch so far this week at Celtic Manor, with neither dropping a frame en route to the third round.
Ronnie has despatched Robbie Williams and Jimmy White, while Martin has seen off Mitchell Mann and Jimmy Robertson in fine style.
Their respective sharpness is partly thanks to each other after some long and high-quality practice sessions before Christmas and in recent weeks, which Gould admits came as something of a shock.
The 39-year-old has been involved in the game for a long time, but he says when the Rocket comes calling, you answer.
‘We’ve been practicing with each other a fair bit, played a couple of weeks ago, played a fair bit before Christmas, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, it’s been great playing with him, I’ve learned so much,’ Gould told Metro.co.uk.
‘When he got in touch I was like a little school kid. He messaged me out of the blue, I was just coming back form an appointment for my back and when I saw his message I had to literally sit down. I thought, “what’s he messaging me for?”
‘He asked what I was doing in a couple of days’ time and asked if I fancied a few games. I thought, “I don’t care if I have anything booked, I’ll cancel it.” I actually did have to cancel a couple of appointments, I jingled things around because I didn’t want to say no in case he thought I was unreliable. If he rings and says “come and have a game” I’m coming, I don’t care where he’s playing.’
Obviously taking on the six-time world champion in practice is a tough task, but Gould says it has been a highly rewarding one, seeing the Rocket firing at close quarters, while he also complimented Ronnie’s hospitality.
‘I got there the first time and he brought me a coffee and I was thinking, “I could get used to this.”’ Martin said.
‘Just watching what he does is frightening, it’s unreal.
‘It’s amazing to watch what he does, his mind is so quick. He sees safety routes and will just put you in there before I’ve even noticed it. I think I’m quick but he’s on another level. It’s the best practice you can have.
‘I’ve certainly not disgraced myself. He’s won a session, I’ve won a session, when I first went he peppered me a couple of times, but that was because I hadn’t been practicing,
‘I expected to get a beating and that’s what I got, but I’ve got up to pace and I’m nice and sharp now. We’ve had some good long sessions, an early one we played seven or eight hours and he text me the next day saying, “not sure I’m doing that again.”‘
Gould is confident from his first two wins but knows he has to be at his very best to beat his practice partner on Thursday in the last 32.
Their sessions in the club have taught Martin that mistakes will be ruthlessly punished and he is out to avoid them.
‘It should be a good one. I’ve had two 4-0 wins, just like Ronnie. If I play like I have been in the first two then I’ve got a good chance,’ Gould continued.
‘It’s about getting off to a good, fast start and then we’ll work the rest out from there. You just can’t afford to make mistakes against him, that’s what I’ve learned first hand in practice.
‘He can clear up from absolutely anywhere, I could put him on the floor and he’ll clear up, honestly. But if I start well, we’ll see what happens.’
Gould is in with a chance over a best of seven against the Rocket (Picture: Getty Images)
Gould has enjoyed a good season so far, with a run to the final of the European Masters and quarter-final of the World Grand Prix after bouncing back from mental health problems last year.
12 months ago was the peak of his problems with depression and it is rewarding to be in such a good place in the same event one year on.
‘I feel good. I came here wanting to play whereas I came here last year not wanting to be here, so it’s a bit of a swing from 365 days ago,’ he said.
‘This time last year in Cardiff I played Stuart Bingham and I’d already booked my ticket home before I’d played, that shows you how much I didn’t want to be there.
‘It’s been nice travelling, this is the longest journey I’ve done in ages. I was wondering how I’d be, but I was fine, I’m happy.
‘After the World Championship I got a lot of people messaging me, a couple from people I know and mostly people I don’t know on social media.
‘There was one guy I kept messaging every day for a while because he was in a real bad place, even if it was just one message. If I didn’t get one back within an hour I’d message again.
‘I didn’t know the guy but he appreciated it and he’s getting better. He messaged me a week or two ago and he feels a hell of a lot better.’
‘HENDRY IS A DIFFERENT MONSTER’ – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN UNSURE HOW STEPHEN HENDRY WILL TAKE TO TOUR LIFE
Stephen Hendry will make his return to action at the Gibraltar Open next month, following nine years in retirement. Ronnie O’Sullivan has given his opinion on the Scot’s return to the tour. “I just don’t know if he is that kind of animal. He just wants to win, win,” was the current world champion’s view.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is unsure how Stephen Hendry’s return to the snooker tour will play out, as he is concerned the Scot does not have the mentality to merely play and enjoy the game.
Hendry confirmed this week that he would end nine years in retirement with an appearance at the Gibraltar Open next month, having been granted a two-year card after floating the idea of coming back to the sport.
The 52-year-old is the game’s most dominant player, having won the World Championship on seven occasions, and O’Sullivan is concerned as to how he will approach his return to the sport.
O’Sullivan – a six-time world champion – feels at Hendry’s age he needs to embrace playing the game alongside his off-table activities, but believes the Scot may be consumed by his competitive instincts.
“Anybody finds it tough,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport when asked about Hendry’s return to snooker. “You have to play really well to get results.
If Stephen can stick to what he’s doing – he does a lot of Instagram stuff, he has his TV punditry stuff. As long as he doesn’t say ‘right, I’m a full-time snooker player’ and invest 24-7 into snooker then he will be fine.”
IT IS A GRIND. IF HE IS ENJOYING LIFE OFF THE TABLE AND COMES TO TOURNAMENTS AND ENJOYS IT AND HAS A BIT OF FUN THEN HE WILL ENJOY IT.
“I just don’t know if he is that kind of animal. He just wants to win, win. If it’s me I just want to play. But Hendry is a different monster. He’s like Tiger Woods.”
Ronnie will play Ali Carter today and that’s never going to be easy. Ali looks in excellent form and there is always a bit of needle between the two. Ali is a rather “angry” person.
WELSH OPEN 2021 – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN HAPPY WITH HIS MENTAL STATE AND READY TO DIG DEEP FOR WIN
The world champion powered into the quarter finals of the Welsh Open with a 4-1 win over Zhou Yuelong. That match saw him lose his first frame of the event, following whitewashes of Robbie Williams, Jimmy White and Martin Gould at the Celtic Manor Resort. Ronnie O’Sullivan will be in action in the last eight on Friday afternoon Ronnie O’Sullivan has insisted he is totally in control of his emotions and happy with where he is mentally.
The six-time world champion assumed favouritism of the Welsh Open when Judd Trump crashed out to Hossein Varfei, but O’Sullivan was arguably playing the best snooker of the event prior to the world number one’s shock exit.
O’Sullivan dropped his first frame of the event when beating Zhou Yuelong 4-1 to reach the quarter finals.
His next opponent will be Ali Carter, a player he has had confrontations with earlier in his career.
O’Sullivan is expecting a tough match whoever he plays, but will not let his emotions get the better of him.
“I am always good mentally,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “I might not look it sometimes, but I can dig deep.”
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE A 30-YEAR CAREER LIKE MINE AND WIN AS MUCH AS I HAVE IF YOU’RE NOT MENTALLY STRONG.
“Sometimes I just show it. Some others hold it in better, but they are definitely going through it. I am a lot better at managing my emotions now. I know what’s going on now, whereas before I was just a bit confused and used to lose the plot. Now I am completely in control of it. I can see it coming and put the brakes on.”
Ronnie has not always been “strong” mentally, and he has been open about his struggles, but he has always been able to bounce back and that is another type of strength.
Hopefully he can win today.
And to conclude … a mini video shared by Eurosport on twitter:
A lot more happened yesterday, and it was a quite pleasing day I must say, but that’s for the next post. 😉
There was one major surprise yesterday and, bizzarely, there is no mention of it in WST’s report. Rookie Pang Junxu, who had turned 21 on Monday, beat Ding Junhui by 4-2, despite losing the first frame. If I’m not mistaken, Pang practices in Ding’s academy (Lewis?) and that might explain why, unlike so many young Chinese players he didn’t look overawed. Other that that most matches went as expected. Given his recent struggles, Gary Wilson’s defeat is no surprise.
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to a 4-0 whitewash win over 10-time ranking event winner Jimmy White at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
The Rocket now leads White 32-9 in their head-to-head record and has been victorious in their last ten meetings.
O’Sullivan, a four-time winner of the Welsh Open, is bidding to equal John Higgins’ record of five titles in the event this week.
White struggled during this afternoon’s encounter, with O’Sullivan edging a scrappy first two frames on the colours. The 37-time ranking event winner then surged to the final two frames with breaks of 70 and 65 to win 4-0.
Afterwards O’Sullivan stated the importance of remaining in the zone, despite facing his close friend White.
O’Sullivan said: “You have to programme yourself to stay in your own lane, focus on what you have to do and try not to be influenced by your opponent. That is what you have to do for your entire career. You just have to block it out no matter what happens.
“In some ways those performances are more pleasing than open and fluent games. Sometimes when you have to dig in there is a bit more pleasure, as you have to work a bit harder.”
World number one Judd Trump came through a tough tie with Chinese 18-year-old Si Jiahui 4-2 to book his place in the last 32.
Trump currently sits in pole position for the £150,000 BetVictor Series bonus, leading Mark Selby with just the BetVictor Gibraltar Open to follow after this week. The bumper payout will be awarded to the player who accumulates the most prize money over the six-event series.
Selby remains in contention this week after easing to a 4-1 win over Jamie O’Neill. He’ll face Joe O’Connor in the last 32. Trump plays Iranian Hossein Vafaei up next.
Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy was a 4-1 victor against Stuart Carrington, while four-time World Champion John Higgins sealed a thrilling 4-3 win over Ben Woollaston.
The drama of the day was provided by John Higgins and Ben Woollaston. John lead 3-1, Ben came back to force a decider. Ahead in the decider, Ben needed the final yellow to “win” the match, he missed it but fluked it. John though got the snooker he needed, and later potted blue, pink and black for victory. Here is Eurosport report on that one.
World number 81 Jordan Brown earned a shock 5-3 lead over World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan after the first session of the BetVictor Welsh Open final at the Celtic Manor Resort.
O’Sullivan then hit the front for first time in the match, but Brown bounced back to claim a tightly contested 12th and head into the mid-session level at 6-6.
Three years ago Jordan Brown was working in a petrol station, now he’s scored the biggest win of his career to beat Stephen Maguire 6-1 and make his first ever ranking event final at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan thrashed Mark Williams 6-1 to reach the BetVictor Welsh Open final at the Celtic Manor Resort.
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan dropped his first frame of the event so far in beating China’s Zhou Yuelong 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open at the Celtic Manor Resort.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 