Kyren Wilson and Xiao Guodong are through to the final stahe after dominating Group 2 yesterday.

Here is the report by WST:

Wilson And Xiao Reach Final Group

Kyren Wilson won a crucial deciding frame to beat Stuart Carrington 2-1 and top his group in the second phase of the WST Pro Series, earning a place in the final group.

Wilson finished the day with five wins out of seven and a frame difference of plus six, exactly the same record as Xiao Guodong, with Wilson topping the group having won the head-to-head game against Xiao. Ben Woollaston also won five matches but finished third with a frame difference of plus four.

World number six Wilson and number 39 Xiao go through to Sunday’s final group, joining Mark Williams, Ali Carter and four more players. The winner of that group will be crowned champion of the world ranking event on Sunday night.

An exciting group came down to the seventh and last round of matches, with Wilson, Xiao, Carrington and Woollaston all tied on four wins from their first six.

Four-time ranking event champion Wilson faced Carrington, with the winner sure to finish among the top two. Kettering’s Wilson took the opening frame with a break of 51, then Carrington levelled with a superb 137. The decider lasted 33 minutes, Wilson taking it with a match-winning run of 44.

China’s Xiao faced Lu Ning in his final match and won 2-0 to secure his progress. That result ended Woollaston’s hopes, even though he beat Robert Milkins 2-1.

This has an impact on the race to the Tour Champinship. Indeed, should Kyren Wilson win the Final group he would overcome Ronnie in the one year list and climb to 5th in the Tour Championship seeding and this in turn woud mean that he would face John Higgins in the first round, whilst as things stand Ronnie would face Neil Robertson. It would also mean that Kyren would be in Judd Trumps half of the draw, whilst Ronnie would go to Mark Selby’s half of the draw.

Jack Lisowski could also possibly overcome Ronnie if he goes through today and finishes in the top two in the Final group. Jack will be in action today.

You know what? I’d love that! One or the other, or even both!

Ali Carter and Mark Williams boiked their spot into the final stage yesterday.

Here is the report by WST:

Captain Flies Through

Ali Carter topped Group One in the second phase of the WST Pro Series to progress to Sunday’s final stage in Milton Keynes.

The Captain won six of his seven matches today, scoring victories against Louis Heathcote, Sunny Akani, Martin O’Donnell, Ben Hancorn, James Cahill and Lyu Haotian. Carter’s only defeat came 2-0 at the hands of three-time World Champion Mark Williams, who claimed second spot.

Carter, a winner of four ranking titles, has shown signs of strong form recently. He reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, before having to pull out due to illness ahead of a potential blockbuster clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan. Back to full fitness, the world number 24 has since progressed through two Pro Series groups and was the first player to clinch his spot in Sunday’s finale.

Welshman Williams won five out of seven games, but lost 2-1 against Akani and O’Donnell. He crucially recorded a 2-0 win over Cahill in the final game to pull through ahead of O’Donnell on frame difference.

Williams said: “I’m very pleased. It turned out to be a tough group in the end. Martin O’Donnell would have got through if he won 2-0 and I’d lost. He doesn’t know I won 2-0 yet, so he will be sick when he comes off.

“I think my game is quite good. I’ve been playing alright for the last few months really. I’m just a little bit inconsistent, I can play really well for a few frames, then can’t pot a ball for two or three frames. That is the way it is, you just have to enjoy the ride. I must be a nightmare for people who support me, because I look a million Dollars for a couple of frames and then about £3.50 for the next couple.”

What Williams says there also applies to Ronnie unfortunately. Inconsistency. In the course of matches and from one day to the next. I’m not about this event obviously, as Ronnie clearly didn’t apply himself, but it’s been the story of the season. Some great matches, some right beatings, four finals, no titles.

Unsuroprisingly, Judd Trump won Group O, the last group in phase 1. Ryan Day came second and is through as well.

Here is the report by WST:

Trump Reaches Second Phase

World number one Judd Trump booked his place in the second phase of the WST Pro Series by topping Group O in Milton Keynes.

Trump won his first six matches of the day to ensure progression. He defeated Sean Maddocks, Steven Hallworth, Jimmy White, Barry Pinches, Jamie Jones and Ryan Day, before losing his final match 2-0 against Hossein Vafaei. That result did no harm to Trump, who still topped the group.

The Ace in the Pack remains in the hunt to beat his own record of most ranking titles won in a single season. Trump has notched up five wins so far this season, with the Pro Series, next week’s Cazoo Tour Championship and the Betfred World Championship to come. He set the current record of six in a single campaign last season.

Four players had a chance of capturing second spot going into today’s final set of matches. Day, White, Jones and Hallworth all went into the concluding ties level on 12 points, with Day holding a slight edge on frame difference. In the end, Day defeated Hallworth 2-0 to ensure he progressed, rendering Jones’ 2-1 win over White academic.

Trump said: “I got it all done and dusted early on. I didn’t have to panic in the last couple of games as I always knew I was in control. It was about getting some good match practice. I’ve had the same tip on all season and I decided to take it off and come here and play ahead of a couple of big events coming up.

“For me I’ve already done better than I did last season. Even though I’ve won less tournaments, I’ve played in a few less events. The overall standard and consistency has been better as well and I’m still in with a chance of breaking that record. It would be nice to equal it at the Tour Championship or the World Championship. I’m in a great position for both of them.”

Trump and Day now join Stuart Bingham, Oliver Lines, Mark Selby, Zhou Yuelong, Dominic Dale and Ricky Walden in group 4 of the second phase, which takes place on Saturday March 20th.

Meanwhile Jimmy White scored a break of 140 during his match against Steven Hallworth, his highest break since 2010 … 11 years ago. He lost that match though. Finishing 4th of the group isn’t a bad result for the Whirlwind, the oldest player on the tour.

Lyu Haotian and Ben Hancorn have progressed to phase 2 after the completion of Group I yesterday. I’m happy for both of them.

Lyu had a very difficult first couple of seasons on the main tour, and some terrible experiences that have clearly left mental scars. I don’t know if he will ever fully recover from what he had to go through – I hope he will eventually – but I do cheer every good result of the lad.

Ben Hancorn is a hard worker and someone who nneded a long time to gey on the main tour and make his dream reality. I have met Ben many times at SWSA. Andrew Norman is a dear friend, and Ben is his brother in law.

As a Ronnie fan though this was a day to forget, and a painful one to go through.

Here is the report by WST:

Hancorn Secures Surprise Top Spot

World number 120 Ben Hancorn stunningly topped Group I, with World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan bowing out, at the WST Pro Series in Milton Keynes.

English Amateur Champion Hancorn, who gained his professional status at the start of this season, lost his opening match 2-1 against Tom Ford. However, from there the 38-year-old embarked on a six-game winning streak to secure his place in the next phase.

Hancorn scored a 2-1 victory against 37-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan in his following game and added further wins over Jamie Wilson, David Lilley, Chen Zifan and Mark Joyce to seal a place in the top two heading into his final match. Hancorn faced Lyu Haotian, who was also assured of progression, winning 2-0 to secure top spot.

It was an unfruitful day for Crucible king O’Sullivan, who failed to string together the required results, only managing two wins from his seven matches. The Rocket did register an eventful win over Joyce. After falling a frame behind due to arriving late, he fired in breaks of 98, 48 and 50 to win 2-1 in a match which lasted just 13 minutes and 56 seconds.

Both Hancorn and Lyu will now join Mark Williams, Ali Carter, Louis Heathcote, James Cahill and Sunny Akani in Group 1 of the second phase on Wednesday.

Hancorn said: “It didn’t go well in my first match, I lost 2-1 and I thought here we go again. Then I played Ronnie and what can I say, I was so happy with that match and how I played. The pressure is unbelievable. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Holding it together stood me in good stead for the rest of the day. It’s amazing what one match can do, it can turn any player around.

“I started the season ok, I won a couple of matches. I thought that it would take a bit of time to bed in and get used to the situation. Then I went on a run where I was struggling to win frames, let alone matches. The format of this event suited me, it’s quick and it is only best of three. Anything can happen and I’m just glad to come out on top.”

And here is Phil Haigh’s view on yesterday’s action

Ronnie O’Sullivan fails to progress on day to forget at WST Pro Series

Phil Haigh Monday 15 Mar 2021 

Ronnie O’Sullivan had an interesting day out at the WST Pro Series on Monday, although it was ultimately an unsuccessful one as he failed to progress to the second group stage.

The Rocket was a clear favourite to progress from the group of eight, which included Tom Ford, Mark Joyce, Lyu Haotian, Ben Hancorn, David Lilley, Chen Zifan and Jamie Wilson.

The world champion got off to the perfect start, beating teenager Wilson 2-0, but the wheels fell off a bit from there on in.

O’Sullivan lost his next three games, suffering defeats to Hancorn, Lilley and Chen, despite knocking in a superb break of 141 against Hancorn.

There was then a crazy game against Joyce as the Rocket was late for the match and docked the opening frame of the match as a result.

He then made breaks of 94 and 50 to win the match 2-1 without Joyce scoring a single point and the game lasting just 14 minutes.

The 45-year-old was still alive in the group at this stage but then a 2-0 loss to Lyu ended his chances of qualification for the next stage.

It is an unpredictable format with matches played over just a best of three frames and O’Sullivan was not in the mood to play much, if any safety, taking on almost every shot presented to him.

He will be back in action from Monday 22 March at the Tour Championship in Newport.

Ford and Wilson both failed to make it through the group as well, but they arguably produced the most entertaining contest of the day in rapid style.

It was a 2-1 win for Ford in less than 19 minutes with breaks of 89 and 85 from the winner and a 71 from Wilson.

Incredibly, Ford was playing at just 10.8 seconds-per-shot.

Lyu Haotian and Ben Hancorn were the two surprise qualifiers for the second group phase.

It started well though. Ronnie played well in his first match, and took a couple of minutes to talk to young Jamie Wilson, which was nice to see.

He still played OK in his second match and was a bit unlucky, notably with splits. But Ben Hancorn was very solid and took his chances. He fully deserved the win.

After that things went from bad to worse… Ronnie looked unhappy, concerned about his tip, or cue. His concentration was allover the place. He was playing extremely fast and and going for eveything. Him coming late for a match is also an extremely rare occurence. Clearly something wasn’t right. Maybe he just didn’t want to be there for some reason, but maybe this was a manifestation of something more serious.

Ronnie suffers from bipolar disorder, he was diagnosed in his early 20th. He has had violent mood swings for most of his adult life and it has impacted his career.

Here is what David Hendon – who knows Ronnie personally – wrote in the Snooker Scene blog back in 2006

21.9.06

THE DEPRESSING TRUTH ABOUT RONNIE

Watching Stephen Fry’s programme on manic depression on BBC2 the other day I couldn’t help thinking of Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Fry explored the bipolar condition that causes sufferers to experience both extreme highs and crushing lows.

Ronnie has been treated for depression and his moods seem to swing between the two ends of the spectrum with alarming unpredictability.

Of course, this has affected his career to the extent that he hasn’t won as many tournaments as his talent deserves.

However, it has also helped fashion him as an enigma, whose curious statements and behaviour add to the excitement of how he plays.

In his autobiography, O’Sullivan talked of how Prozac helped him to control the problem but it clearly persists.

Watching Fry’s programme, you wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

And this was in the press in 2017, after Ronnie appeared on Victoria Derbishire’s show:

…

However, O’Sullivan revealed he has learned to ride his highs and lows, embracing his psychological issues in professional sport and life.

Manic depression or bipolar disorder is diagnosed in about 1 per cent of UK adults according to the NHS.

Patients can become extremely high and overactive or alternatively feel low or lethargic.

He joked: “I love a breakdown. I’m so used to dragging myself up from a low. I’ve done it all my life. Sometimes I know that once I get to the bottom I’m just going to fly up again.

…

Ronnie has indeed become better at managing his mood swings, notably with Dr Steve Peters’ help, but he isn’t immune to them; he still has those lows and highs. There is no cure for this condition and no miracle medication either.

I have seen him close-up both on lows and highs. On lows he’s truly miserable but he’s much better at keeping things under control than when he is when on a ” high”. Also, unfortunately, “highs” usually end up in a “crash” and are often followed by a depressive episode.

If what we saw yesterday is a manifestation of his bipolar condition … the only positive is that it’s happening now and not in a  month time.

The match against Tom Ford was on an outside table, as both were out of the event already. The only “memorable” moment was when Ronnie farted and couldn’t stop laughing…