Two rounds were played yesterday in Fürth, and this time there was a massive crowd to watch the action. Here are the reports by WST:

Last 16 round

Trump Edges Out Amateur Ajaib

World number two Judd Trump needed a snooker in the final frame to edge out plucky amateur Farakh Ajaib 5-4 at the BetVictor European Masters in Fürth.

Having rallied from 4-2 down, Ajaib battled back to force a deciding frame. He appeared to have got over the line when he left Trump requiring a snooker on the blue. However, he cruelly went in off when escaping a snooker and 2019 World Champion Trump cleared the remaining three balls, including a difficult black along the top cushion, to secure his place in the quarter-finals.

Defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Pakistan’s Ajaib. However, he can reflect on a tremendous run which has seen him defeat the likes of Mark Allen in qualifying and Marco Fu here at the Stadthalle.

Trump keeps his hopes alive of returning to the top of the world rankings. He will depose World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan from the world number one position if he reaches the final. Next up the Ace in the Pack faces Barry Hawkins, who whitewashed Robert Milkins 5-0.

“It was a bit of a miracle really. He was unlucky to go in off on the blue. It was still a tricky black under pressure down the rail, so I am happy with that,” said 23-time ranking event winner Trump.

“Normally I wouldn’t have a lot of empathy for my opponent, but I knew he outplayed me there. He scored heavier and his long potting was better. Even though I’d have been really disappointed to have lost, it was one of those rare occasions that I got out of jail there.”

Ali Carter secured his quarter-final spot with a hard fought 5-4 win over David Grace. He now faces Chinese 18-year-old Wu Yize in the last eight, after he beat Ryan Day 5-2.

Kyren Wilson earned his quarter-final berth with a 5-3 defeat of 2005 Crucible king Shaun Murphy. He faces Si Jiahui, who battled past Daniel Wells 5-4.

Mark Williams and Jamie Jones will face in an all-Welsh quarter-final. Williams demolished Zhou Yuelong 5-0, while Jones defeated Yan Bingtao 5-3.

Wu Yize, 18 years old, and Si Jiahui, 20 years old, both reached the QF stage of a ranking event for the first time. Wu had beaten Luca Brecel (ranked 12th) and Ryan Day (ranked 28th) to get that far. Si had beaten Anthony McGill (ranked 16th) and Xiao Guodong (ranked 36).

The Si Jiahui v Daniel Wells match was a very hard fougth one that was still in progress when the evening session started. Si must have felt quite tired going into his QF match. He had very little time to rest a bit and maybe eat something.

Ajaib was horribly unlucky in the deciding frame against Judd Trump. Neal Fould, commentating on Judd’s QF match, said at the start of it that Judd would know  that “he had no right to win that match.”

Quarter-finals

Rapid Williams Into Semis

Mark Williams dispatched two opponents in quick-fire fashion on day four of the BetVictor European Masters in Fürth, clinching his place in the semi-finals with a 5-1 demolition of fellow Welshman Jamie Jones.

Earlier in the day he had required just one hour and 14 minutes to whitewash China’s Zhou Yuelong 5-0. His defeat of Jones took fractionally longer, lasting one hour and 15 minutes.

Williams had already made an encouraging start to the current campaign, having previously reached the second phase of the recent BetVictor Championship League. The three-time World Champion won his 24th ranking title last season at the British Open and was narrowly denied a place in the Crucible final, when he was pipped 17-16 by Judd Trump in the semi-finals.

World number seven Williams produced an inspired display this evening to sweep aside Jones. He fired in breaks of 103, 123, 61, 61 and 50 to secure the 5-1 rout. He faces Barry Hawkins in the last four tomorrow evening.

“I played quite well there and in the game earlier on. I made a few centuries, a few single visit frames and I can’t ask for much more than that,” said 47-year-old Williams.

“This is the third time my cue has been out of the case since last season. I’ve played more pool than snooker. I’m going to play a lot more pool. I’ve applied for a wildcard to get on the Ultimate Pool Tour and if I can, I will play in a few of those events.”

World number 12 Hawkins earned his last four spot with a superb 5-3 defeat of 2019 World Champion Trump.

It is a third consecutive victory for Hawkins against Trump, having also defeated him at the 2021 Tour Championship and the 2022 Masters.

The pair shared the opening four frames this evening to head into the mid-session interval all-square at 2-2. When play resumed Trump took the fifth to hit the front at 3-2. However, from there Hawkins produced a superb blitz for the line. Breaks of 129, 110 and 92 saw him take three on the bounce and storm to victory.

Hawkins said: “Any time you beat Judd it is a good occasion and good for the confidence. He is a great player. I thought I’d missed an opportunity coming out 2-2 at the interval, as I could see he was struggling. I’m really pleased how I bounced back from 3-2 down. I felt good in the end.

“It was a brilliant atmosphere. Whenever we come out to Germany they come out in their droves to support the snooker. It is a fantastic atmosphere to play in and it gets you up for the match.”

Ali Carter defeated Chinese teenager Wu Yize 5-3 to reach the last four. Carter is seeking a first ranking crown since the 2016 World Open. He will face fellow four-time ranking event winner Kyren Wilson in the semis. World number eight Wilson beat Si Jiahui 5-2.

Apparently, Willo is adopting the same philosophy as Ronnie. After 30 years+ in the job  and having won every tittle that counts, you have to find ways to continue to enjoy it if you want to extend your career and the best way to do that is to ease the pressure by finding interests and activities outside your main job. That’s what they do and it obviously works for them

Judd will not “depose” Ronnie and regain the number 1 spot this week. He hasn’t actually played well enough all week to win the title. Commentators, especially Philip Studd, always come up with the fact that Judd has won 15 titles since the 2018 Northern Ireland Open, which is true and truly remarkable, but only three of those, and none a major, have come during the last 20 months. He isn’t the best player in the World at the moment, and hasn’t been for some time now. This is not slagging off Judd: nobody can sustain the level he had in 2018/19/20 over several years. He’s human. Some will tell me that Hendry did it, and that’s true, but it was a different era and the opposition was nowhere near what it is now. We should not forget that when Hendry won his 6th World title, Ronnie and John Higgins were only 20, Mark Williams 21. At that age, they were very good, yes, but not quite the finished article yet.

The silver lining for Judd is that he can “freely” celebrate his 33th birthday today, without restrictions or time constraints …

Happy bitrthday Judd!

This is WST report on what happened yesterday in Fürth:

Captain Battles Past Bingham

Ali Carter defeated Stuart Bingham 5-4 in a superb contest, but maintained there was no longer a rivalry between the pair following his progression to the last 16 of the BetVictor European Masters in Fürth.

The Essex cueists grew up battling with each other on the local junior snooker circuit and have since faced each other over 30 times on the professional tour. They’ve contested a deciding frame at the Crucible, which Carter won and met in the Masters final back in 2020, when Bingham was victorious.

However, two-time Crucible finalist Carter admits that Bingham’s achievements winning the Masters, 2015 World Championship and six ranking titles in total, mean that any rivalry has dissipated. Carter is still seeking his first ranking silverware since the 2016 World Open.

Bingham claimed the opener this morning, before 43-year-old Carter took charge of proceedings. The Captain cruised to four on the spin, making breaks of 89, 99 and 65 on his way to leading 4-1.

From there 46-year-old Bingham stormed back into contention. He embarked on a maximum attempt, before breaking down on 88. Bingham followed that up with a century run of 117 in the seventh and then took the eighth to force a decider at 4-4.

Carter showed his class at the crucial moment, stopping the rot with a superb break of 103 to get over the line in the decider. Next up he faces David Grace in the last 16.

Carter said: “I don’t think there’s a rivalry anymore. Arguably Stuart is above me now, he beat me in the final of the Masters and won the World Championship, where I lost in two finals. We’ve had similar careers, but he’s managed to get it done on the big stage and I haven’t. It is always a good and close game between us. The rivalry is gone, we are old men. We aren’t 16 or 17 and hating each other. I wanted to turn up today and give it my best shot, that is what I’ve done.

“I’m working hard and I am doing all of the right things. You have to be more philosophical when you lose. It isn’t the end of the world and you live to fight another day. Sometimes I take it very badly. You never know whats round the corner. I lost my British Open qualifier recently, but if someone said I could go on and win the European Masters, I would have taken it. I’d have said forget about the British Open. I’m not saying I’m going to win this, but I’m still in so let’s have a go.”

Judd Trump kept up his quest to return to the world number one spot with a 5-3 win over Andrew Higginson.

The Ace in the Pack will depose Ronnie O’Sullivan from the summit of the world rankings, if he reaches the final this week.

Trump top scored with a break of 103 in the decisive frame today and now faces Pakistan’s Farakh Ajaib in the last 16.

Shaun Murphy scored a 5-3 win over Chris Wakelin to set up a mouth watering last 16 tie with Kyren Wilson. World number eight Wilson secured his passage with a 5-2 win over former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson.

Mark Williams earned a hard fought 5-3 win over fellow Welshman Dominic Dale. He faces Zhou Yuelong up next, who beat Jack Lisowski 5-1.

Former Masters champion Yan Bingtao stormed to a 5-0 whitewash win against three-time ranking event winner Ricky Walden. He plays Jamie Jones up next.

Jones secured his place in the last 16 with a 5-1 defeat of Mark Joyce. The Welshman is keen to go on a run this week and dedicate his showing to long time sponsor and uncle Bryan Alexander, who sadly passed away earlier this week.

You will find alldetailed results on snooker.org … as always.

Judd Trump will need to improve if he is to reach the final and “depose” Ronnie. He did what he needed to do but he was far from his best. Andrew Higginson is now an amateur. He’s still a good player but playing the World number 2 on the main table was a bit too much. Judd will face another amateur first today: Farakh Ajaib. Not reported above but … Farakh beat Marco Fu by 5-3. He’s no pushover. Should Trump win – and tha’s no certainty – he will face Hawkins or Milkins in the evening. That’s not an easy day in prospect then…

The report doesn’t say a thing about Wu Yize inflicting the opposition another whitewash: this time it was Rory McLeod on the receiving end of the drubbing.

It also completely overlooks what was probably the most unexpected result on the day:  David Grace beating Jackson Page by 5-0! I don’t think anyone saw that coming! David had breaks of 120, 104 and 52; Jackson scored only 122 points in the whole match.

Also missing from the report are Si Jiahui’s excellent 5-3 win over the experienced Xiao Guodong and amateur Daniel Wells’ convincing 5-2 win over Gary Wilson.

And … something that pleased me … with so many “amateurs” doing well this week, the commentators reflected that all those guys have been pros, some for many many years, and are not actually amateurs, they are ex-pros, with all the experience that comes with it, playing under amateur status. And one of them added that the same was actually true for James Cahill when he beat Ronnie at the Crucible.

This is WST report on what happened yesterday in Fürth:

Murphy Grateful Following Win

Shaun Murphy admitted he was grateful to be competing without pain after his 5-3 win over Zhang Anda at the BetVictor European Masters in Fürth.

Last season Murphy was plagued by back and neck injuries. However, this term the Magician has been working hard on exercises to alleviate the pain. He admits it is a problem which will never go away, but says he is savouring each moment he is able to compete.

The 2005 World Champion has enjoyed a solid start to the present campaign. He made it to the second phase of the recent BetVictor Championship League and defeated Dean Young 5-3 in qualifying for this week’s tournament.

Murphy composed a break of 53 on his way to taking the opener this morning. Zhang restored parity, but it was Murphy who claimed the following two frames to head into the mid-session 3-1 ahead.

When play resumed, Zhang reduced his arrears to a single frame thanks to a break of 62. The following frame saw Murphy deposit ten reds with blacks and left the crowd hoping for a maximum. However, he fell out of position to end his run on 80.

Trailing 4-2, Zhang composed a stunning contribution of 143 to claw back within a frame. Murphy wasn’t to be denied though and he wrapped up the win in the following frame. Next up he faces Chris Wakelin in the last 32.

“The neck and back problem is something I will always have to live with, but I am managing it the best I can and I’m keeping on top of it,” said Murphy, who recently celebrated his 40th birthday.

“One funny night’s sleep or cricking my neck on a plane and it could all come crashing down. As I enter my 40th year, I am learning to be grateful for these opportunities.”

Murphy also spoke about close friend and former WST director Brandon Parker, who sadly passed away in 2020. Parker spearheaded the professional tour’s move to stage major snooker events in Germany.

He said: “Brandon, along with Thomas Cesal and Dragonstars, were the promotors of many events in Germany, which saw the explosion of snooker here in the last decade. We used to hold the Paul Hunter Classic here, which was a phenomenal event. We got together in a festival style to remember Paul during that tournament. We had some great years at this venue, but it isn’t the same without Brandon. I see his ghost everywhere I go here, I am used to seeing him in the corridors working very hard. I desperately miss Brandon, but it is nice to be back somewhere that he loved so much.”

World number eight Kyren Wilson clinched his last 32 spot with a 5-1 demolition of China’s Lyu Haotian.

Kettering cueman Wilson captured the second of his four ranking titles to date here back in 2018, when he won the final ranking edition of the Paul Hunter Classic. He beat friend and former practice partner Peter Ebdon in the final.

However, 2020 World Championship runner-up Wilson hasn’t lifted ranking silverware in almost two years and will be keen to end that drought soon. He composed breaks of 60, 72 and 111 during this evening’s victory. Next up he faces former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson

Judd Trump booked his place in the last 32 with a 5-3 win over Ashley Hugill, while 24-time ranking event winner Mark Williams emerged a 5-2 victor against Sanderson Lam.

Welshman Jackson Page scored an impressive 5-1 defeat of China’s Yuan Sijun, who defeated Mark Selby yesterday. Barry Hawkins progressed with a 5-2 win against Aaron Hill.

As usual,  a lot of matches are not even mentioned in this report. You will find all the detailed results on snooker.org.

Andrew Higginson, who now plays as an amateur beat Oliver Lines by 5-1, and will meet Judd Trump next. Andrew is far too good to be off the tour, and, with the pressure of the rankings off, he seems to have rediscovered some form.

Despite scoring four breaks over 50, Yan Bingtao needed all 9 frames to get the better of rookie Dylan Emery. Dylan is certainly one to watch this season. Like many young players, he has an excellent long potting, but he has a good tactical nous as well.

Jack Lisowski beat Matthew Stevens by 5-2 in an entertaining match. Dominic Dale won the last three frame of his match against Jimmy White to beat him by 5-3. JImmy still has it, but he can’t sustain it over a whole match. I’m surprised those two matches aren’t even mentioned TBH.

Daniel Wells beat Michael Judge by 5-3 in a very slow going match. They started in the morning session and were pulled off at 4-3 because the afternoon session was about to start. They finished in the evening, but still before Jamie Jones and Anthony Hamilton. Those two went to a deciding frame. Jamie Jones prevailed. Hamilton scored a break over 50 in every of the four frames he won.

I thought that the crowd around the main table was very sparse, which surprises me because the snooker events in Fürth were alway very well attended. That said, the last time I was there the promoters had put a ticket system into place such that you needed a VIP ticket to access the main table. The VIP ticket was considerably more expensive than the normal ticket and, that time too, the main table was poorly attended. With many other matches available, most fans were not willing to pay the additional price. I’m not sure if this is the case again this time, but if it is, it’s not great because it really doesn’t look good on television.

Now regarding Shaun Murphy, who had a rather torrid time last season, he has opened up about the issues and problems he had to go through and how he intents to get back to his best.

I went under knife as I was sick of being fat-shamed

Shaun Murphy on his addiction to eating — and why shedding four stone can help bring the good times back

SNOOKER star Shaun Murphy has revealed he’s had gastric sleeve surgery to get his faltering career back on track.

The 2005 world champion admitted the heartache of being ‘fat-shamed’ on social media contributed to his decision, as did the breakdown of his marriage last year and prolonged injury problems. Murphy, now 40, wants to turn things around — on and off the table.

‘I’ve had a lot of things going on in my life which contributed to the worst season of my career last season,’ Murphy tells Sportsmail. ‘It’s been incredibly tough and one thing I’ve always struggled with is my weight.

‘It was a big decision to go under the knife, but I accepted that I was unable to sort my weight out. I had surgery in May and so far I’ve lost about four stone.

Comeback: Murphy is eager to get back to winning ways after his life changing surgery

‘My weight has always fluctuated, but it comes down to discipline and I needed to do something about it to give me the best possible chance of being successful in the final third of my career.

‘This last year has been one of the toughest, if not the toughest, of my life. Me and my wife Elaine separated, which has been hard because we have two children. I started eating a lot more. Like alcohol, it’s an addiction but it is not spoken about as much.

‘Me and Elaine are tentatively trying for a reconciliation, but the breakdown of our marriage and my weight and injury problems obviously made playing snooker really tough. It was secondary to everything else.

‘But I decided to do something about it because I’m sick of being fat-shamed on social media and not feeling good about myself. At this year’s World Championship I didn’t fit into my suit properly and didn’t feel good. I’m by no means the finished article yet, but I’m heading in the right direction. This is a new start for me at 40, I just want to enjoy my snooker and feel good about myself.’

Big time: Murphy reached the World Championship final last year but lost out to Mark Selby

A sleeve gastrectomy is where a large part of the stomach is removed, meaning you cannot eat as much and become full quicker.

‘The surgery is irreversible, so it was a huge decision,’ admits Murphy. ‘I get that as a high-profile sportsman you expect stick on social media, but the personal attacks are really cruel.

‘I’ve had 80 per cent of my stomach removed so now I can eat very little. It’s pretty much impossible for me to ever put weight back on again. I used to go to Weight Watchers and really enjoyed it and I’ve lost weight throughout my career — it’s yo-yoed when I’ve dieted and got into exercise. 

‘But I was listening to Steve Davis in the commentary box at this year’s World Championship and something struck a chord with me. He wasn’t aiming his comment at me, but he said it was no secret that the fitter players, those that had looked after themselves, were dominating.

New phase: Murphy playing golf in the ProAm at Celtic Manor earlier this month

‘You only have to look at Ronnie O’Sullivan. He is the player who has looked after himself the most and he’s just won a seventh world title at 46. He’s getting better with age. And a lot of the other tournament winners like Neil Robertson and Judd Trump are fit. John Higgins has lost weight by spinning and I know a lot of professionals have Peloton bikes so they can stay fit.’

Murphy shot to fame in 2005 when, as a 150-1 outsider, he won the World Championship at the Crucible. But his last ranking win was the Welsh Open before the pandemic. Now, following surgery, he wants silverware again.

‘I’ve pretty much won something every year, but last season was poor,’ reflects Murphy. ‘I want to win more. I’ve been in four world finals and only won one, I’d love to win it again.

‘I know there’s nothing the other lads can do that I can’t, but my health has let me down. I’ve still got little goals, like getting to world No 1, which I’ve never achieved. But I’ve grown up in a generation of the Class of ’92 — O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams — and lost to great players like Mark Selby and Robertson in big finals. The standard is so high, but there’s life in me yet!’

Keep it up Shaun and ignore the trolls.

Fan Zhengyi had less than 6 months to enjoy being a reigning champion … It was only end February this year that he lifted the European Masters trophy, beating Ronnie in the final. It was presented as a major shock, and it certainly was a big surprise but we shouldn’t forget that he had beaten Kyren Wilson, Yan Bingtao, David Gilbert and former World Champion, Graeme Dott, en route to the final. He had been awsome all week. But he found it difficult to build on that: he has since only won one match on the main Tour. He was beaten, and well beaten yesterday by Michael Judge

Here is WST report on day 1 at the Stadhalle Fürth

Troubled Travels Can’t Stop Trump

Despite his suitcase failing to arrive in Fürth, Judd Trump donned a fellow competitor’s waistcoat and successfully saw off Noppon Saengkham 5-2 on day one of the BetVictor European Masters.

Trump’s suitcase didn’t appear at the airport after landing in Germany yesterday and he was forced into some emergency shopping this morning. After acquiring trousers, shoes and a shirt, the Bristolian borrowed Xiao Guodong’s waistcoat for today’s tie.

Trump claimed wins at the Champion of Champions and the Turkish Masters last season and ended on a positive note with a fine run to the World Championship final. He came just short of a second Crucible crown, after succumbing to an 18-13 loss against Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The Ace in the Pack took the opener this afternoon, before a century run of 103 helped Saengkham to immediately restore parity at 1-1. A break of 72 then saw Trump regain his lead and he claimed the fifth on the black to head into the mid-session 3-1 ahead.

When play resumed 2019 World Champion Trump added to his advantage, but Saengkham stayed in touch at 4-2 thanks to a break of 96. However, Trump then got over the line to book a last 64 tie against Ashley Hugill.

Trump said: “We managed to scramble some stuff together, a bit of this and that. I was walking about the shops for about three hours this morning trying to find some clothes. In the end I managed to do a good job. It is quite difficult playing in clothes you aren’t comfortable in, but I managed to get through that game.

“It is a lonely feeling seeing everyone with their suitcase walking to the bus, while I’m the only one without mine. It was disappointing, but my cue came and in the end it didn’t make much difference. Hopefully I can get my case back and put on some new clothes for tomorrow.”

Defending champion Fan Zhengyi was beaten at the first hurdle, succumbing to a 5-1 loss against world number 86 Michael Judge.

Fan was a shock winner in last season’s event, entering the competition as a 750-1 outsider. However, he upset the odds to land a stunning 10-9 win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.

Irishman Judge struggled to make an impact having returned to the tour through Q School at the start of the last campaign. He’s made a strong start this time around and will now face Welshman Daniel Wells in the last 64.

Wu Yize produced an impressive display to land a 5-1 defeat of recent BetVictor Championship League winner Luca Brecel. Wu compiled breaks of 52, 80, 66, 88 and 109 en route to victory.

Brecel came into this week as the early leader of the BetVictor Series, where the player who accumulates the most prize money over the eight qualifying events will land an eye watering £150,000 bonus. The Belgian will be leapfrogged into the top spot by the end of this week.

Zhou Yuelong edged to a narrow 5-4 defeat of Graeme Dott, while former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson beat Andy Hicks 5-2.

As usual a lot is left out that report, notably the whole evening session that saw Mark Selby bow out of the tournament as well. Of the four top seeds who had their first round match held-over, Trump is the only one who came out the winner.

Wu Yize and Judd Trump played extremely well. Noppon Saengkham didn’t play badly at all himself. It was a brutal draw for both Judd and Noppon. The german crowd was offered an entertaining, high quality match yesterday afternoon.

Fan, on the other hand, struggled badly in front of a very sparse crowd. Michael Judge himself didn’t play that well and he will know that he will need to improve to progrees further in the tournament.

Hossein Vafaei didn’t show up and I don’t get that … why not withdraw if you can’t make it? Why have your opponenent waiting in the arena until the “match” is over? That’s rude, in my view.

It was overall a good day for the Chinese players again:

Si Jiahui beat Anthony McGill by 5-2, despite the fact that Anthony scored three of the five breaks over 50 made during the match. Anthony has, more than once, admitted that he struggles to get motivated for “smaller” tournaments. All good for Si!

Zhou Yuelong won the last three frame of the match to beat Graeme Dott by 5-4. Graeme is never an easy opponent.

During the evening session, Yuan SiJun beat an out-of-sorts Mark Selby by 5-2.  It was a hard-fougth match, that featured only two breaks over 50, including a 137 by Selby. For Mark Selby to lose this type of match is very uncharacteristic, and actually worrying. TBH, he didn’t look well out there.

David Grace beat Michael White by 5-2. I wasn’t expecting that. I’m pleased for David, who I like very much as a person. I’m a bit worried for Michael who didn’t look too clever and seems to have put weigth on again. I hope he’s not back to some, well … bad habits.

The other matches went basically the way you would expect them to go and you will find all detailed results on snooker.org.

Gary Wilson probably didn’t endear himself to the German crowd, as he knocked Lukas Kleckers out:  he beat him by 5-2.