It’s been a bit of a strange week for me – in a good way as I have been enjoying family time and in a less good way as we have been plagued with power cuts and Internet woes. Snooker has been put on the back burner all week, but here is what happened in Leicester.
Wakelin And Williams Make Final Day
Chris Wakelin and Mark Williams have reached the final day of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker – Ranking Edition, by winning their respective groups during stage two at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
Kyren Wilson began Group E strongly, with back-to-back 3-0 wins over Sanderson Lam and Anthony Hamilton. That gave him an advantage over nearest rival Wakelin, who had won his opening match by the same scoreline over Hamilton.
Wakelin followed up that result with a 2-2 draw against Lam, leaving him requiring a victory against Wilson in his last match to progress to the final day.
Wilson knew he needed just a point to go through, but it was Wakelin who took the opener to lead 1-0. Wilson hit back with a century in the second to restore parity. The Kettering cueman required just one more frame for his spot in the next phase.
It was Shoot Out champion Wakelin who claimed the third, before a brilliant clearance of 114 gave saw him run out a 3-1 winner and earn a spot in the final eight.
Wakelin said: “It’s a tough format. You have to get results in every single game. It’s feasible that two wins and a draw aren’t enough in this format. I was against a good friend of mine in Kyren and I have learned a lot from him, but out on the match table you’re there to win and to finish with a century, there is no better way to win. Last year was a big breakthrough year for me, knowing that I did it in this very arena (win a ranking event) has given me the belief when the moment comes, like it has today, to go out there and do it against Kyren when it really matters. That’s where the experience from the Shoot Out has helped me grow.”
Williams’ passage through to the next stage was plain sailing through the morning with 3-0 whitewash wins over Barry Pinches and Martin O’Donnell. In the evening session he went on to complete the perfect day, scoring a 3-0 win over Robbie Williams to top the group.
Milkins And Saengkham Top Groups
Robert Milkins and Noppon Saengkham moved through to the final eight of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker – Ranking Edition at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
Milkins headed into Winners’ Week looking to replicate the form which saw him claim the BetVictor Series bonus for the 2022/23 campaign. He was pitted against Pang Junxu, John Astley, and World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui, as they battled it out for a spot in the final day on Friday.
Early on, Milkins found his groove to claim all three points with a 3-0 win over Astley, before a 2-2 draw with Si left the BetVictor Welsh Open champion on four points. Si rounded off the afternoon with a victory over compatriot Pang.
Pang and Astley took a point each from their encounter, to mathematically leave both players out of the picture. However, Astley’s 3-1 win over Si dented his hopes of progression.
In the final match, Milkins took an early 2-0 lead over Pang to ensure it was him that topped the group. Pang did battle back to take the final two frames for a draw, but for Milkins it was already job done.
Milkins said: “I will need to be even sharper in the next phase. I felt 100 times better than I did in the opening stage. I could win another ranking event, it’s mad, isn’t it? I will have to improve a lot though.”
In Group C, Saengkham headlined with Ashley Carty, Daniel Wells, and Liu Hongyu all battling it out for their spot in Friday’s final action of the opening ranking event on the calendar. Saengkham downed tour debutant Liu 3-0, before Carty got the better of Wells 3-1 to leave it tight at the top after Saengkham and Wells played out a draw to complete the afternoon.
Liu’s opening loss didn’t deter the teenager, who bounced back with three points against Carty and a point against Wells. Those results left the picture quite clear going into the final match of the session, with Saengkham requiring a point against Carty, who needed all three to progress to the next stage.
Saengkham took a tight first frame but a more comfortable display in the second saw the Thai star press home a 2-0 advantage, which was enough to top the group. Carty took the third, but Saengkham won the final frame with a break of 76 to round a 3-1 win off.
Murphy And Xiao Into Final Day
Shaun Murphy and Xiao Guodong have made the final eight of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker – Ranking Edition at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
After progression last week into Stage Two, Murphy faced one of the trickiest groups on paper to progress from with former winner David Gilbert, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, and James Cahill all gunning for a place in the final day.
Murphy started out strongly with a 3-1 win over Cahill thanks to breaks of 79, 64, and 51 and followed that up with 84 and 65 on the way to a 3-0 dispatch of Un-Nooh, to sit in pole position going into the evening session. Gilbert ended his afternoon with a draw against Un-Nooh and started the evening off with a 3-0 win over Cahill.
The final match of the session had it all on the line, with Murphy taking on Gilbert in a group decider. The 2005 World Champion only needed a draw, whilst a victory was required for Gilbert. Murphy took the opener, but Gilbert rattled in back-to-back centuries to set up a final frame shootout for a spot in Friday’s Group 1 alongside Chris Wakelin and Robert Milkins. It was Murphy who stepped up with a 71 break to ensure his progression.
Murphy said: “I am delighted. It’s the overriding feeling. I’ve had a busy few days since being here last week. I didn’t know what to expect but I was quietly pleased with today’s work. My friend Robbie and I went out for a coffee and we came back to the news there were four centuries on the bounce in another game and then David’s had two against me. You’re thinking I’ve played well here, but I am going to finish second. I held it together in the last frame and I am looking forward to Friday.”
Group A saw Zhou Yuelong, Xiao Guodong, Ben Woollaston, and Michael Holt take to battle with one of the most bizarre groups in the tournament’s history set to play out. Eventually it would all come down to the highest break. The afternoon session saw Zhou drawing 2-2 against Holt and Woollaston, with the latter sharing the spoils against Xiao.
The pattern of draws continued in the evening session with Holt surrendering a two-frame advantage to draw 2-2 with Xiao. Crucially Xiao made a break of 109 in that match, but it was Zhou who was top at that stage by virtue of his high break of 114.
Holt did notch up the first win of the day with a 3-0 win over Woollaston. That result left the picture clear for Xiao and Zhou with either needing a 3-0 win to secure the group, with any other result seeing Holt’s passage to the final day secured.
Xiao did secure the whitewash 3-0 win he required to seal progression by the barest of margins. He was level on points, frames and head-to-head with Holt, but his 109 break took him through.
Trump Falls As Cao Tops Group
Cao Yupeng and Sam Craigie have progressed to the final day of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker – Ranking Edition at the Morningside Arena, Leicester live on Viaplay Xtra in the UK, Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, Poland, and broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live.
Judd Trump, Joe Perry, and Matthew Stevens all stood in Cao’s way of progression but the Chinese cueman did enough, in the end, to move through to tomorrow’s final day.
Trump opened with a 3-1 win over Matthew Stevens, making two centuries, while Cao top scored with a 141 in a 3-0 success against Perry. Cao then came from 2-0 down to earn a vital 2-2 draw against Trump, before scoring another 2-2 draw against Stevens.
That meant Trump had to win his last match against Perry to top the group, and he started well as a break of 119 gave him the opening frame then he took the second for 2-0. But missed reds at key moments in each of the last two frames allowed Perry to battle back to 2-2.
Cao said: “I am very happy, I had a good feeling about today. I tried to make myself play quickly and I was more relaxed out there so I managed to put some good breaks together. I was surprised when Judd missed the red. I feel today may well be my lucky day. It would be a dream to win a ranking event. I want to get a title. I’ve never done it before and I hope this is my season.”
In Group G, Craigie faced off with Jak Jones, Michael White, and tour debutant Long Zehuang and he made light work of White in his opening match 3-0 to set the early pace.
Craigie started the evening session with a 2-2 draw against Long, which meant that in his last game against Jones he only needed one frame, and he went on to win 3-1 to ensure top spot.
Murphy Takes Season Opener
Shaun Murphy won a third ranking title within the past five months by beating Mark Williams 3-0 in the final of the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester.
It’s the perfect start to the season for 40-year-old Murphy as he captured the first ranking title of the campaign, banking the top prize of £33,000. Having enjoyed a golden spell earlier in 2023 when he won the Players Championship and Tour Championship, Murphy has now taken his career tally of ranking titles to 12.
The day started with the group phase and Murphy opened with a 2-2 draw against Xiao Guodong before beating Chris Wakelin 3-1. His third match against Robert Milkins ended 2-2 and that was enough for the 2005 World Champion to top the group and proceed to the final.
In the other group, Welshman Williams drew 2-2 with Sam Craigie then beat Cao Yupeng 3-1. The 48-year-old needed to beat Noppon Saengkham in his last group match to finish on top, and he scored a 3-1 success.
The final was a one-sided affair as Murphy cleared from the last red to snatch the opening frame, then made breaks of 73 and 69 to run out a comfortable 3-0 winner. Williams missed out on a 25th ranking title and first since the 2021 British Open.
Murphy said: “I’m delighted. My team and I have been working really hard and we knew it was coming. I think that’s three of the last four events, I’ve been to the final and won. I am not sure what the secret is but I am doing something right. I’m very keen on making goals and setting targets. Achieving number one on the world rankings is something I’ve never achieved, but it is on the list of goals I would like to hit this season and this has been the best possible start.”
Congratulations Shaun Murphy
All the detailed results, covering the whole event, are on snooker.org.
And some final thoughts …
Despite the very short format all but one of the player who reached the Finals Day were members of the top 32. The only exception was Sam Craigie, who is ranked 42.
Only two “amateur” made it to the final week: Michael Holt and Barry Pinches, both experienced former pros.
I have been agreeably surprised by the Chinese rookies, not really by any of the UK ones.
Cao Yupeng is a baffling player. One moment he looks unplayable, the next he struggles to string 3 balls together.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 