Ronnie beat Ross Muir by 4-3 in the second round of the 2023 Welsh Open in Landudno but is was quite the adventure! Ronnie started with a century but right at the end of frame 1, his tip came off. Ronnie of course got a 15 minutes break to fix the issue. He came back, with his tip reattached, but only a few minutes into frame 2, the tip came off again. There was another 15 minutes break and play resumed but you could see that Ronnie wasn’t confident in his shots anymore. He lost the next two frames. He recovered however and went 3-2 up. In frame 6 however, there was more chaos. Ross has trapped Ronnie in a tough snooker. Ronnie failed to hit a red on his first two attempts, trying to just graze the pack on his return to baulk. He didn’t come very close either time. Before the third attempt, the referee Luise Kraatz, warned him, indicating that he could see a red full ball at the edge of the pack. Ronnie didn’t feel confident to play the same shot again and whacked into the pack … hitting the pink first and losing the frame on the “three miss rule”. Ronnie said afterwards that he could not see another shot and went for the fluke. That was probably true but surely there was a lot of frustration being released in that shot as well. Anyway … Much to his credit, Ronnie regrouped, played a good decider and eventually won the match! He will play Rod Lawler tonight … no doubt his patience will be tested again. Rod is a very good player, very reliable but … very, very slow!
Ronnie O’Sullivan narrowly avoided another upset as he beat amateur Ross Muir 4-3 in an incident-packed contest. World Champion O’Sullivan opened with a run of 108 but his cue tip came off at the end of that break, and again during the next frame, each time requiring a 15-minute interval for the tip to be repaired. Scotland’s Muir then went 2-1 ahead, before runs of 58 and 78 restored O’Sullivan’s lead at 3-2. At the end of frame 3, Ronnie had come back at the table: he didn’t try to get snooker but wanted some table time and to get a feeling of the tip. That showed that he does care and is trying his best.
Early in frame six, O’Sullivan twice missed the reds when playing safe, and was warned by referee Luise Kraatz that another foul would lose him the frame, under the three misses rule. He slashed wildly at the pack, hit the pink first and sent the cue ball off the table, leaving the score at 3-3. But the world number one then dominated the decider with breaks of 23 and 42 to earn a meeting with Rod Lawler.
O’Sullivan said: “I don’t know why the tip fell off, but after the second time it was always in the back of my mind on every shot, that it could come off again. What excites me now is winning the battle. Every player goes through the emotions, ups and down. It’s how you deal with them. If you want to win tournaments and have a successful career you have to learn how to be resilient, battle hardened and know how to stay in the match sometimes.”
Asked about the incident in the sixth frame, he added: “I didn’t see another shot. I was snookered on virtually every ball. I could have tried to come off two cushions but if I had missed the reds it was end of frame. Or I could try to get a fluke, so I tried that but hit the pink.”
Here are some images shared on social media including by Ronnie himself
When in Llandudno, Ronnie loves to go running up the nearby mountain. The sceneries are beautiful and the weather more often than not is sunny, but cold. Ronnie shared some images of his yesterday run as well.
A few videos were shared on Eurosport YouTube channel
The first day at the 2023 Welsh Open in Llandudno featured the last 128 held-over matches. Most matches were won by the highest seeded player. The three exceptions were: Jackson Page’s win over Stuart Bingham, Stuart Carrington’s win over Ryan Day and Liam Davies’ win over Noppon Saengkham.
The main television table appeared to play heavy, especially in the morning and afternoon.
Ronnie was far from his best – he clearly isn’t match sharp – but still whitewashed Oliver Lines. My report on that match is here.
Neil Robertson started the BetVictor Welsh Open strongly with a 4-1 victory over Andrew Higginson, boosting his hopes of qualifying for next week’s Players Championship.
The Australian remains 18th on the one-year ranking list and will need to win at least one more match to get into the top 16 and earn a place in Wolverhampton, where he won the title last year. But Robertson insists his only target is to go all the way to the £80,000 top prize and Ray Reardon Trophy this week at Venue Cymru.
“I’m here to win the tournament, I wouldn’t be happy just to get through whatever round it is to get into the Players Championship,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for – to try to win the event. I have a lot of happy memories here and I love the town – it always seems to be sunny in Llandudno! I want to be here as long as possible.”
In a repeat of the 2007 Welsh Open final, Robertson started strongly today, making a break of 129 to go 2-0 ahead. Higginson pulled one back and led 52-7 in frame four, but Robertson took it with a 54 clearance and then won frame five on the colours to set up a last-64 tie with Dominic Dale.
He added: “It was a really tough first round draw because whenever I have played him in the past he has been in the top 20 or 30 in the world and he has beaten me a couple of times – that’s the Andrew Higginson I know. I made a good clearance to go 3-1 up and got a bit lucky in the last frame. The scoreline doesn’t reflect how close it was. Dominic will be another tough game, he seems to play well against the top players.”
World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to a 4-0 success against Oliver Lines with top breaks of 51, 58 and 91 and now meets Ross Muir on Tuesday afternoon.
Mark Williams, who was the last Welsh winner of this event back in 1999, impressed in a 4-2 win over Michael White. From 2-0 down, Williams made tremendous clearances of 70 and 76 to draw level at 2-2, then got the better of two scrappier frames to earn a meeting with Jak Jones.
“Michael was cruising at 2-0, then he missed an easy red on 62 in the third frame. I made two good clearances because I could easily have lost 4-0,” said Masters runner-up Williams. “If I need a clearance under pressure I can pull it out. I think Michael will be kicking himself because that was a golden opportunity to beat me. The venue here is great, it was full this afternoon and it will be full tonight.”
Joe Perry made a successful start to the defence of his title, beating Mark King 4-1 with a top break of 62. He said: “I didn’t know how I would feel as defending champion because I haven’t experienced it that many times. So to get off to a perfect start was nice. I settled pretty fast and that helped me to relax and get on with the job. I’ve got a few friends here with me. This is one of my favourites venues on the tour so in between matches I can get out into the town and enjoy the sights.”
Jackson Page made a 131 in a 4-1 defeat of Stuart Bingham while David Gilbert beat Marco Fu 4-2 with runs of 87, 60, 87, 77, 58 and 113. Shaun Murphy made a 134 in a 4-0 win over Victor Sarkis, while John Higgins top scored with 135 as he white-washed Alexander Ursenbacher.
Mark Allen has unquestionably been the player of the season so far, but sent a warning to his rivals that he is still trying to improve his game, after firing two centuries in a 4-1 defeat of Alfie Burden at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
The Pistol has already won the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix this season, but is not resting on his success and has been working relentlessly on his game in the build up to this week’s tournament in Llandudno. Breaks of 97, 105 and 101 helped Allen to a comfortable win today, setting up a second round tie with Mitchell Mann on Wednesday morning.
“I am always searching to get better, to find a way to improve,” said the world number three. “I had a few days enjoying myself after winning the World Grand Prix, since then I have just been practising. I have been trying something new technically and today was the first time I have brought it into a match. That unsettled me a bit but as the game went on I found my rhythm and really enjoyed it.
“If my A game comes then I’ll win events, but it’s encouraging that in the last few months I have won tournaments without it. I want to go for my shots and score heavily, but it also gives me confidence to know that I don’t have to do that to win. At the UK Championship and the World Grand Prix, it was two long hard weeks where I battled for everything. It wasn’t pretty but I got the job done.”
Allen is also in with a chance of winning the £150,000 BetVictor Series bonus at the end of this week, though he must at least reach the semi-finals to stand a chance of eclipsing Ali Carter in the series rankings.
He added: “Ali has a bit of a lead after winning in Germany, I can’t control what he does. I am just trying to enjoy the event and the bonus is a million miles from my thoughts at the moment.”
Wild card Liam Davies, age 16 from Newport, came from 3-1 down to score a superb 4-3 victory over Noppon Saengkham, taking the deciding frame with a break of 122. Davies has just returned from Australia where he competed in the WSF Junior and Open Championships, narrowly failing to gain a tour card. But he shrugged off that disappointment, as well as jet lag, to get the better of Saengkham and earn a tie with Robbie Williams.
“It was an unbelievable match, neither of us really made any mistakes,” said Davies, who last year became the youngest player ever to win a match in the World Championship. “By the time we got to 3-3, he was under pressure. Australia was a stunning experience though my snooker wasn’t great. I really struggled with my game there so it’s nice to bounce back tonight. I put too much pressure on myself out there, I have to remember that I’m only 16 and I should just enjoy it rather than trying to get on the tour. I feel so at home out in the arena, I am so relaxed and confident, as if I am practising.”
Judd Trump eased to a 4-0 victory over David Grace with a top break of 68 while Jack Lisowski set a new target for the £5,000 high break prize as he beat Zhang Anda 4-0 with 85, 138 and 71.
Mark Selby won a ranking event match for the first time since his BetVictor English Open triumph in December, as he came from 2-0 down to beat Jamie O’Neill 4-2 with top runs of 124, 69 and 85.
Stuart Carrington edged out British Open champion Ryan Day 4-3 while Luca Brecel fired runs of 60, 81, 79 and 50 as he beat Sean O’Sullivan 4-1.
Mark King was really, really poor. He is under pressure to keep his tour card and struggled badly. That was sad to see.
Once Mark Williams came back at him Michael White crumbled really. There were very high expectations on him as a junior. Too much probably. Now I don’t believe he will ever fulfil his potential.
Judd Trump didn’t play particularly well but did enough to beat David Grace by 4-0. After the match, Judd said that the table was playing “heavy”, which was probably true, although, from what I saw it was already playing better than in the afternoon.
Mark Selby was all at sea at the start of the match but Jamie O’Neill made so many mistakes and gave him so many chances that, eventually, Mark found his game. He finished the match well.
The quotes by Liam Davies are interesting because they clearly show what a difference pressure makes. They are the perfect “explanation” as to why amateurs should NOT be allowed to play on the main tour ever IMO. Noppon is not in any danger to lose his professional status but this defeat puts an end to any hope he might have had to make it into the Players Championship.
Ronnie beat Oliver Lines by 4-0 to book his place in the first round proper (L64) at the 2023 Welsh Open in Llandudno this afternoon.
Here are the scores
That looks like an easy win but the truth is that Ronnie wasn’t match-sharp at all especially in the first 2 1/2 frames. His safety wasn’t great and his long potting wasn’t good either. When in the balls though he didn’t miss. It looked for all the world that Oli Lines was going to make it 2-1 and then this happened …
He is now set to take on Ross Muir in the last 64 and the 47-year-old is hoping to win the tournament for the fifth time in his career. Reflecting on his performance against Lines, O’Sullivan admitted he was not at his best.
“Sometimes you can lose focus but part of the skill of having a good temperament and mindset is being able to re-focus and get back into it,” he said.
“You can’t be concentrated all the time, but you have to choose your moments when to be good and when to relax a bit, switch it on and off like a dimmer switch. Sometimes you have it turned up full blast, sometimes halfway and sometimes very low.
…
“So it’s about learning to adjust and playing about with the dial. Sometimes just winning your own mental battles in your head allows you to play better at some point during a match.
“I never panic. I am lucky, I have played loads of matches and won, tournaments even – so playing badly and winning is a good trait.”
“I just enjoy playing,” he told Eurosport. “I enjoy whatever situation the game throws at me, deal with it as best as I can. It’s just another game of snooker at the end of the day.
“I just try to focus on my own game. I’m not sure what was going through his head. All you can do is just focus on what you have got to do and hopefully make it difficult for your opponent.
“I’ve just been playing the game for so long that you learn to re-focus, get going again. It’s like getting on a bike. Just keep going, keep pedalling and see where it takes you.”
O’Sullivan needs to reach the final of this week’s tournament in Llandudno, in order to book a place in next week’s Players Championship.
On his chances, he admitted: “I enjoy whatever situation the game throws at me, deal with it as best as I can. It’s just another game of snooker at the end of the day.
“I would like to be on it but it is highly unlikely I will make that tournament next week. I’ve booked in a couple of exhibitions for next week [in case] because I don’t want to not play.
“If I don’t make it at least I’ve got something else to do and can look forward to going to Thailand for the Six-Red World Championship.”
WELSH OPEN: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND AFTER SCRAPPY WIN AGAINST OLIVER LINES IN LLANDUDNO
Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Oliver Lines 4-0 in the opening round of the Welsh Open at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Monday afternoon. The Rocket, who wasn’t at his deadliest, rallied to victory without reply to reach the second round.
Ronnie O’Sullivan proceeds to the next round of the Welsh Open after beating Oliver Lines 4-0 in the first round in Llandudno.
Despite the resounding scoreline, O’Sullivan wasn’t at his sharpest on the day, but took advantage of Lines’ continuously poor positional play to reach the second round.
He took a while to find his rhythm, but once he did he fired a break of 91 in the fourth frame to eliminate his compatriot.
Jimmy White – on Eurosport punditry duty – said: “[He’s] definitely not match sharp, but he still produced.”
O’Sullivan had the chance to take charge early on when Lines missed the black after putting away the first red of the match, but a disappointing ricochet off the black from O’Sullivan led him to play a loose safety ball to spread the pack.
From there Lines notched up a 34-12 lead, but as White had analysed in the Eurosport studio pre-match, he became too tactical as he ran out of position early in the break.
His break lasted to 33 and led to a snooker behind the yellow, which O’Sullivan struggled to wriggle out of without leaving a red on. But despite Lines’ effort to follow up with a blue to the middle left, he made a hash of the open pack of reds.
O’Sullivan took control of the first frame, making intelligent use of the yellow, blue and pink to finish off the final two reds and nick the opener with a 51 clearance up to the black.
Again Lines struggled to make a demanding impact at the beginning of the second frame. His positional play wasn’t up to scratch and opted for a safety shot after he wasted an opportunity to push the scoreboard following a miss on the black.
He won the safety face-off to take a 26-1 lead and develop another break, tucking away an excellent black to the bottom left but is unlucky when no pottable reds emerge.
With the frame still up for grabs, O’Sullivan notched up a break of 30 up to the pink to secure the second frame and take a 2-0 lead.
Lines produced more excellent snooker at the beginning of the third frame but when he tried putting himself in a frame-winning position with a side spin into the pack, somehow found the gap between all of the balls and was left stranded by the green pocket.
It turned into a scrappy frame when O’Sullivan came up short after following up a simple red with a blue to the middle right, and Lines saw the cue ball fly into the pocket for a foul.
Both players struggle to find any sort of rhythm, but it was O’Sullivan made room to chalk up a superb 68 clearance and move within a frame of victory.
In the fourth frame, O’Sullivan finally found his groove as he racked up a break of 91 to land the fatal blow and ease into the second round.
Plus some images shared by Ronnie himself on twitter:
The draw has been made in Thailand for the Pathum Thani 2023 6 reds World Championship
The whole ceremony is available on YouTube:
The actual draw is made by the legendary Thai MC Twitath Warintrakom and is toward the end of the video.
Group A
Stephen Maguire (1) – Scotland
Ding Junhui (16) – China
Zhang Anda – China
Mink Nutcharut – Thailand
Group B
Barry Hawkins (8) – England
Luca Brecel (9) – Belgium
Jimmy White – England
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – Thailand
Group C
John Higgins (5) – Scotland
Hossein Vafaei (12) – Iran
Ken Doherty – Ireland
Poramin Danjirakul – Thailand
Group D
Judd Trump (4) – England
Ricky Walden (13) – England
Ma Hailong – China
Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn – Thailand
Group E
Mark Selby (3) – England
Ali Carter (14) – England
Chris Wakelin – England
Dechawat Poomjaeng – Thailand
Group F
Mark Williams (6) – Wales
Mark Allen (11) – Northern Ireland
Andres Petrov – Estonia
Sunny Akani – Thailand
Group G
Shaun Murphy (7) – England
Stuart Bingham (10) – England
Mahmoud El Hareedy – Egypt
Noppon Saengkham Thailand
Group H
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) – England
Jimmy Robertson (15) – England
Stan Moody – England
James Wattana – Thailand
This is a really diverse field and it’s great to see the two laureates of the recent WSF Championships, Stan Moody and Ma Hai Long, in this draw. Thailand is the host and, as such, has one player in each group. I’m happy to see Sunny Akani in the draw as well as Thai National Icon James Wattana.
It promises to be and enjoyable event.
2023 Welsh Open
The 2023 Welsh Open starts tomorrow in Llandudno. Fraser Patrich has withdrwan and is replaced by Andrew Higginson. Andrew will play Neil Robertson tomorrow afternoon. The two of them met in the Final of this event in 2007. Andrew was 8-6 in front in that match, but lost by 9-8 eventually. He had made a 147 earlier in the tournament. The maximum came in his quarter-final against Ali Carter.
A number of top players have work to do there if they wish to play in the 2023 Players Championship. As it stands, Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins need to win at least two matches in Wales. Ronnie needs to reach the final, John Higgins needs the title. It’s 80000 (pounds and points) for the winner but only 17500 for the losing semi-finalists…
Ronnie has an exhibition scheduled during the Players Championship but it comes with a message from Jason Francis stating that the event could be rescheduled at short notice.
Ronnie’s first match is against Oliver Lines and that’s a bit of a banana skin, especially over best of 7.
John Higgins first opponent is Alex Ursenbacher, with Martin Gould to follow should he win. Ronnie and him could meet in the QFs, should they both get that far.
Neil Robertson beat Zhou Yuelong 3-1 in the final of Group Six of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational at the Morningside Arena, Leicester to earn a place in next month’s Winners’ Group.
…
Australia’s Robertson will join the winners of the first five groups – Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and John Higgins – plus the winner of Group Seven in a strong line-up for the Winners’ Group on March 1st and 2nd, when the trophy and a place in the 2023 Champion of Champions will be on the line.
Breaks of 67 and 107 put Robertson 2-0 ahead, before China’s Zhou pulled one back with a run of 73. World number four Robertson, whose only title so far this season came at the BetVictor World Mixed Doubles alongside Mink Nutcharut, compiled breaks of 31 and 62 in frame four to seal his place in the Winners’ Group.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Zhou beat Xiao Guodong 3-2 thanks to a superb 63 clearance in the deciding frame, while Robertson came from 2-1 down to edge out Matthew Selt 3-2, making a 111 in frame four and a 52 clearance in the fifth.
The tournament resumes on February 27th and 28th with Group Seven, when Ronnie O’Sullivan and Shaun Murphy will join the action, alongside Zhou, Selt, Xiao and Robert Milkins.
The 2023 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational carries a prize fund of £205,000. Players earn £100 per frame won with significant bonuses for their final group position and increased prize money in the Winners’ Group. The bottom two players in each group are eliminated, while the remaining players finishing in the top five have the chance to compete in the next group.
I have removed the link to the “Table Results” from the above text because it’s both incomplete and erroneous on the event official website.
Ma Hai Long won the 2023 WSF Championship earlier today.
China’s Ma Hai Long beat Stan Moody 5-0 in the final to win the 2023 WSF Championship at the Mounties Club in Sydney, Australia.
The 19-year-old was already assured of qualification to the World Snooker Tour prior to the final, with opponent Moody having already gained his professional card following his victory at last week’s Junior Championship, but underlined his credentials with a dominant display to claim the biggest title on snooker’s amateur calendar.
He becomes the fourth winner of the title since its inaugural staging in 2018 and the third from China, to follow in the footsteps of Luo Honghao and Si Jiahui, who also both claimed whitewash successes in their respective finals.
With both players assured of their professional status next season, a free-flowing match was anticipated by many observers, only for the opening exchanges to prove hard fought as Ma established an early 2-0 lead with a top run of 40 in a little under an hour.
A student of the CBSA Academy, Ma visibly gained confidence as the match progressed, limiting England’s Moody to just 15 points during the following two frames and a match high break of 78 helping him to within a frame of glory.
After the resumption of play following the mid-session interval it was Moody who threatened to extend the match into a sixth frame, but a miss on the final red would prove costly as Ma produced a classy clearance to secure the title.
“I was very excited to play in this final,” said Ma. “Even though I was already guaranteed the World Snooker Tour card, that was always in the back of my mind and I just wanted to take one ball at a time and to get the win.
“I know that in the history of this event, players from China have been very successful and as a young player I did not want to let China down. Not only for myself, but the other young players in our country.”
Ma was competing in his first major international tournament following the COVID-19 pandemic and showed his determination throughout the week, regularly coming back from behind in frames to secure victory. Having enjoyed the experience and claimed the ultimate prize, he is now already looking forward to competing on the professional circuit and will be moving to the UK.
“I have won frames from needing three or four snookers in the past,” explained Ma. “I drew inspiration from that and in such a big event like this wanted to never give up.
“I am now very excited to join the professional tour and meet players like Mark Selby, to play him in a big competition. I cannot wait to play in the tournaments that I have seen on television and to play in the famous snooker venues around the world.”
Both Ma and Junior champion Moody were presented with their trophies by dignitaries including WSF President Jason Ferguson, General Secretary Maxime Cassis, WSF Treasurer Mike Peachey and Frank Dewens, President of the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council.
Congratulation Ma Hai Long!
On a personal note, I was very happy to see Peggy Li refereeing again, and getting the final.
Here is the final, with Jason Ferguson himself in commentary
Now … a bit of rant… After Stan Moody beat Liam Davies in the semi-finals, Chris Henry came up on facebook saying that in his opinion Stan should not have been allowed to play in the main WSF event, after winning the junior event, because, having secured his tour card, he was under no pressure hence gaining unfair advantage on his opponents. I completely disagree with Chris’ position on this. Stan made the trip, and that certainly didn’t come cheap, with long haul flights, accommodations, and entry fees. It was experience to be gained and another big title possibly to be won. Why would he be deprived of the opportunity? That would be punishing him for being successful. If Liam and his other opponents can’t deal with that pressure, I wonder how they will deal with the jungle that is the main tour.
Eventually, Stan was beaten comprehensively by Ma. Ma, of course is older, he’s 19. The much fancied Hong Yu Liu, who had reached the QF stage losing just one frame was beaten by Ma at that stage, as was former pro, 18 years old Gao Yang, who reached the semi-finals. All three of them, from what I saw, are currently better and more mature players than any of the young Brits involved in the event. But, of course, the extremely UK centric organisation of the main tour doesn’t favour them at all. That has to change.
There is hope though for a return of the Chinese events next season. It was already announced that the Shanghai Masters is on the cards, but, of course, it’s an invitational with a reduced field.
John Higgins won Group 5 of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational, beating Matthew Selt 3-1 in the final at the Morningside Arena, Leicester to progress to the Winners’ Group.
In the semi-finals, Higgins made light work of Xiao Guodong in a 3-0 win. The Wizard of Wishaw showed his class to deliver his best showing of the day with breaks of 135, 83, and 75.
Neil Robertson faced Selt in a high-quality affair in the other semi-final. After losing the first frame, Selt responded with a brilliant 133 in the second and 85 in the third to lead 2-1. Robertson forced a decider but Selt took it to prevail 3-2.
Higgins, who won the ranking event version of this tournament last year, took the opener in the group final with a classy 65 clearance. The Scot then doubled his lead before Selt pulled one back with a run of 80. A break of 57 in frame four helped four-time Crucible king Higgins secure the result.
Higgins said: “I am pleased to get through. I thought I was lucky to get in the semi-finals, the way the results went. I’ve had a decent record here. It’s good to get through it. I am pleased to be in Winners’ Group. It gives me another chance. It’d be good to get another title.”
Action continues on Thursday from 11 am with Group 6 where Joe Perry, Anthony McGill, and Zhou Yuelong enter proceedings.
Here are the results, except for the final
Higgins won this event last season, he now has the opportunity to defend his title. Mark Selby and Mark Williams have withdrawn from the event and were replaced by Xiao Guodong and Noppon Saengkham. Matthew Self, who started in Group 1, is still in this and will now play in Group 6. He must have earned some good money from this event already!
Today, Joe Perry replaces Luca Brecel who withdrew
Meanwhile, in Australia, the 2023 WSF Championship has reached the QF stage. This is the line-up:
All the players still in the draw are young. Fergal Quinn is the oldest of the lot and he’s only 22. All the others are still teenagers. Two of them have been professionals before: Gao Yang (18) and Iulian Boiko (17). There were far too young when they turned pro. If one of them gets back on the tour they should do much better than during their first two years as pros.
The “main” 2023 WSF Championship is currently underway in Mount Pritchard, Australia, and has reached the knock-out stage. You will find the knockout draw here. Such event can be a bit difficult to follow during the group stages with so many players involved, and so many matches over four days. Now however it becomes more interesting,
A number of names in this draw caught my eye, for various reasons
Wang Yuchen. I met Wang in 2012 in Yixing. He was part of a group of promising juniors that also comprised Lyu Haotian, Zhou Yuelong and Zhao Xintong. Lyu was the centre of all attentions at the time. Wang was different from the other boys. He was the only one who spoke English fluently and was willing to engage with me. He came across as a very intelligent and mature young teenager. He told me that his family originated from Hong Kong – I see he’s now playing under Hong Kong flag indeed – and that his father insisted that he should get a good education. Therefore he couldn’t put as much efforts in his snooker as the other boys.
Liam Davies from Wales. He’s been tipped as one for the future for a long time. A very solid player and a hard worker, he has to be one of the favourites here.
Iulian Boiko. Iulian qualified for the professional tour in 2020 by reaching the final in this very event. He was only 14, far too young to be a professional IMO. He wasn’t helped by the disruptions caused by the covid crisis, being away from home as such a young age and, certainly having to continue his formal mandatory education. He’s Ukrainian. The terrible situation in his country surely is a major worry … it might also be an inspiration.
Nattanapong Chaikul from Thailand. Inspired by James Wattana, snooker remains strong in Thailand. The Thai girls dominated the 2023 WWS Asia-Pacific Championship. Noppon Saengkham impresses on the main tour this season. Nattanapong Chaikul is only 17, he reached the QFs in the junior event played last week. Can he do better this week?
Sean Maddocks is another former pro, he’s 20. To be honest I don’t rate him at all. His results on the main tour were dire. This season, on the Q-Tour, his best result was a last 16, in Sweden. In the UK events, where the opposition was stronger he didn’t go past the last 64… He has won his first match in the knock-out phase though and will face Fergal Quinn, a 22 years old from Northern Ireland, who is also often cited as a “great prospect” but whose best result in the Q-Tour this season was only a “last 64”, again in Sweden.
We have two players from Latvia in the draw: Rodion Judins and Filips Kalnins. Rodion is now 25, was once seen as “one for the future” but didn’t achieve much, Filips on the other hand is only 17 and reached the semi-finals of the WSF Junior event played last week. They might play each other in the last 32 this time. Rodion is already through his first match. Filips is playing
Stan Moody (16 years old) already earned his Tour Card by winning the WSF Junior event last week. In the last 32, he could face Zac Cosker, 17 years old from Wales, who reached the quarter-finals in that same event. He was beaten by Filips Kalnins at that stage. Liam Pullen, who Stan beat in the final, is also competing in this event.
We have a very – pleasantly – surprising match in the last 64 round currently underway: Peter Geronimo is currently playing Daniel Womersley. Daniel is 31 and has been a constant presence in the PTC events in their time, his presence at this stage of the WSF event is no surprise. Peter’s achievement however is another story: indeed Peter, aged 33, is a regular on the World Disability Snooker tour where he competes in the “Group 6B” category, a group that encompasses persons with a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism spectrum disorder) or neurological conditions (e.g. acquired brain injury), with IQ over 75.
Robby Foldvari is a blast from the past. He’s 62, he’s Australian and was a Main Tour pro from 1984 to 1997. He also was World Billiards Champion twice in 1997 and 1998. He plays nine-ball pool as well. If he could go deep here it would be quite the story!
Gao Yang is only 18, but is a former pro. He played on the main tour in 2020-2022. He had qualified by winning the WSF Junior event in January 2020. Gao lives in the UK and practices at Ding’s academy. Interestingly, as a junior in China, his coach is/was Ju Reti. Ju Reti was – on paper – a professional in 2014-2016 but never competed outside China during those two seasons. The reasons for this are unclear … maybe he couldn’t afford it or maybe he wasn’t allowed to. He’s an Uyghur , an ethnic group that strongly keeps their traditions and beliefs (Islam) and therefore is oppressed by the Chinese authorities.
Also still competing is Christian Richter from Germany. I must admit that I know nothing about Christian which is maybe not that surprising … he’s only 14!
Finally, we also have Alfie Lee in this draw. Alfie is Stephen Lee’s son. He’s 19, he has played in all Q-Tour events this season but has not been past the last 32.
He becomes the fourth winner of the title since its inaugural staging in 2018 and the third from China, to follow in the footsteps of Luo Honghao and Si Jiahui, who also both claimed whitewash successes in their respective finals.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 