The 2022 ranking CLS continued yesterday after a extended week-end break. From what transpired in commentary, it was extremely hot in the venue; players and referees were allowed short sleeves… (french/english pun aware). The tables still appeared to play OK.

I will admit it: I struggled to get interested in yesterday’s action.

In group 5, Willo had little opposition in his group except fot Li Hang. Li is a very, very good player, solid, reliable but … not really enthralling to watch. I was glad to see Andrew Pagett looking healthy again though after all the very serious healths issues he suffered in recent years.

In group 28, Barry Pinches proved once again that he’s very hard to beat, despite struggling to win. He finished the day undefeated on three draws. Harvey Chandler was never at the races. Gary Wilson was the highest seed  and the best player all day.

This is the report shared by WST:

Williams And Wilson Top Groups

Mark Williams and Gary Wilson are into Winners’ Week of the 2022 BetVictor Championship League after topping their respective groups in Leicester.

Scores and Tables

Williams started the day with a 3-1 defeat of Rory McLeod, in which his top score was a run of 65. Li Hang began with a 3-1 victory over Andrew Pagett, before a draw with McLeod left the Chinese cueist top of the group heading into the evening session.

At the top of the evening session, Williams got one over his compatriot Pagett in a 3-0 whitewash win. The Welsh Potting Machine’s six points from two matches put him two clear and ensured he would only need a point against Li to pass through to the second stage.

Williams took the decider by a 3-1 scoreline. The three-time Crucible king fired in a superb break of 140 en route to the win.

“I am quite happy with how the day went with three wins out of three. He hits the ball lovely, nice, and smooth. I don’t know why he hit it so hard. It was a tricky pink that I had in the middle. I am through to the next group now. I am over the moon I got through and I am over the moon with the way I played.”

Group 28 also came down to the last match, with Gary Wilson and Jak Jones battling it out for progression.

It was Wilson who took the initial advantage by claiming the opener to lead 1-0. A break of 62 from Wilson in the second put him one away from the next stage, whilst Jones needed the next two. Wilson kept his cool and wrapped up the 3-0 win with a clearance of 115.

And here is the table:

Today promises to be more interesting as we have Group 22  with Jimmy Robertson, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Marco Fu, and Ian Martin and Group 21 with Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stevens, Mitchell Mann, and Si Jiahui.

Si Jiahui turned 20 yesterday …

Happy belated birthday Si!

He celebrated with his friends at Victoria’s Academy

Hopefully, he has some energy left for today. I would love to see him do well.

And, today, we also celebrate the birthday of a true legend in the world of billiards games:

Knight Raymond Ceulemans, Mister 100, turns 84! Happy Birhday!

Raymond is the most decorated player in 3-cushions billiards, a discipline that remains little known and appreciated in the UK. It’s a very, very skillful game, despite the very simple rules. There are only 3 balls on a pocketless table that is only slightly smaller than a snooker table: one white, one yellow, one red. One of the players plays with the white, the other with the yellow. The goal for the player at the table is simple: on each “turn”, they have to hit the red and their opponent’s ball, in any order, but before hitting the second ball they have to hit at least 3 cushions. Simple? yes. Easy? Not at all … If the player manages, they get one point and stay at the table. If not, their opponent comes to the table. A match is played over a certain amount of point or over a specific duration.

Here is one of the best in the business, Frédéric Caudron from Belgium, in action:

Admire and enjoy.