The 2022 Scottish Open Qualifiers were played – and I was tempted to write “dragged” – over the last 6 days starting last Sunday. I must confess that after the exhilaration of the Hong Kong Masters, I struggled to get interested in this “event”.
It’s not because of the players – there were a few excellent matches – but there was no atmosphere, there was barely anyone watching on site. Having only two matches simultaneously allows for all of them to be streamed, but fails to attract many spectators on site and the gaps between sessions don’t help. There is probably not much to do at the venue between sessions. It doesn’t look great on TV and it must be sad and lonely for the players.
I’m probably not the only one feeling that way. There were several “calls” by players this week to revive the PTCs, their busy days and vibrant atmosphere. This may be just coincidence but somehow I doubt it.
Anyway… all the results are available on snooker.org.
There was only one big surprise: David Gilbert’s defeat to Xu Si. Truth to be said, and taking nothing away from Xu Si, David looked flat and disinterested.
Himanshu Jain didn’t endear himself to many fans as he beat Jimmy White by 4-3, but he was the better player and from what I’ve seen so far, he’s actually a very decent player.
Dylan Emery beat Tom Ford by 4-3, from 0-2 down, confirming what we already knew … he’s probably the best rookie on tour.
Liang Wenbo beat Oliver Lines by 4-2. This result will not please everyone but it was a fair reflection of the match. Liang played really well.
Lukas Kleckers lost by 3-4 to Sean O’Sullivan, having lead 2-0 – with two big breaks- and 3-1. I can’t help to think that something isn’t right and it’s not his game per se. Maybe it’s a confidence thing, maybe it’s overthinking (he’s very slow) … I’m not sure. Job for a mental coach maybe?
Ding Junhui played really well in beating Elliot Slessor by 4-1. There was a break over 50 in every frame in that match and Ding scored two centuries. I am very pleased to see Ding playing that well again.
Another player who played really well is Scott Donaldson. He beat Louis Heathcote by 4-2, scoring four breaks over 50 in the process.
Hossein Vafaei beat Ian Burns by 4-3. Ian had 3 breaks over 60 in that match and Hossein wasn’t playing particularly well (understatement) but he battled well and won the all scrappy ones. He needed a snooker in frame 6, and managed to win it. Ian had scored a break of 66 in that frame.
Looking at the draw … Ronnie hasn’t a particularly easy task: Bai Langning to start with, then, should he win, Ben Woollaston, and Gary Wilson possibly awaiting the winner in the last 32 round. Gah!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Hopefully, with a return of Chinese events next season, these Home Nations qualifiers will just disappear. The players and fans hate them, and with trips to China, there won’t be space on the calendar for six days of qualifying with only two tables.
The table conditions were awful, which spoiled quite a few matches when players got bogged down with it.
But yes, these Home Nations events have been ruined by the qualifiers. They used to be compact and cohesive.
The Home Nations events were much better played in full at the venue and with 8 tables on the go at the start.
This format is bonkers. Way too slow and generates no interest at all.
Well, poor Ian Burns snookered himself in frame 6 after he potted frame and matchball, it was quite disappointing (especially since I tuned in to see Vafaei lose). 🙂
I wonder what kind of “welcome” Liang Wenbo will receive in Scotland when he shows up to play there.
Yeah, after the Hong Kong Masters, the atmosphere was quite deflating (as Phil Haigh also noted on twitter). It’s a pity they can’t afford(?) don’t want to(??) hold this round in a place where it could attract spectators.