The International Championship returns to the calendar for the first time since 2019, with the first round draw as well as the match schedule for the qualifying round now available.
The qualifying round will run from September 18-23 in Sheffield, followed by the final stages in Tianjin City, China from November 5-12.
The International Championship was first staged in 2012 when Judd Trump lifted the trophy, and he won it again in 2019. In between, Ding Junhui, Ricky Walden, John Higgins, Mark Selby and Mark Allen all held the title.
Trump will get his title defence underway against the winner of a match between two local wild cards, with those matches to take place at the final venue. Matches involving the other two local wild cards will also be held over to Tianjin, as well as:
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ken Doherty Zhou Yuelong v Martin O’Donnell Ding Junhui v Ian Burns Luca Brecel v Ahmed Aly Elsayed
All other opening ties will take place at the qualifying round, including:
John Higgins v Manasawin Phetmalaikul Kyren Wilson v Adam Duffy Mark Selby v Muhammad Asif Tian Pengfei v Stephen Hendry Barry Hawkins v Andrew Pagett Matthew Selt v Jimmy White Mark Allen v Ma Hailong Si Jiahui v Julien LeClercq Jack Lisowski v He Gouqiang Neil Robertson v Ryan Thomerson Shaun Murphy v Andres Petrov Mark Williams v Rebecca Kenna Hossein Vafaei v Reanne Evans
Details of how to watch the qualifying rounds will be announced soon.
International Championship prize money:
Winner: £175,000 Runner-up: £75,000 Semi-finals: £33,000 Quarter-finals: £22,000 Last 16: £14,000 Last 32: £9,000 Last 64: £5,000 High break: £5,000 Total: £825,000
Ronnie has exactly the same opponent as for the Wuhan Open, Ken Doherty. Neil Robertson is in the same situation, he gets Ryan Thomerson again. Also, except for minor differences induced by the fact that the events have different defending champions, the top 64 seeds are all in the exact same spot in both draws. Meaning that, should they all win their round one match, from round two those two draws are quasi identical. Is there a strict seeding policy for those Chinese events? Was it always the case? I can’t remember.
WST have yesterday published the draw and the qualifiers format for the 2023 English Open
BetVictor English Open Draw
The 2023/24 BetVictor Home Nations series gets underway with the BetVictor English Open, with the first round draw as well as the match schedule for the qualifying round now available.
The qualifying round runs from September 6-8 in Leicester*, followed by the final stages
…
Matches involving the top 16 seeds will be held over to the final venue in Brentwood. These are:
Defending champion Mark Selby v Xing Zihao Ryan Day v Ashley Hugill John Higgins v Marco Fu Kyren Wilson v Oliver Lines Judd Trump v Sean O’Sullivan Robert Milkins v Robbie Williams Barry Hawkins v Anthony Hamilton Mark Allen v Mostafa Dorgham Ronnie O’Sullivan v Andrew Pagett Jack Lisowski v Matthew Stevens Ali Carter v Jamie Clarke Neil Robertson v Sanderson Lam Shaun Murphy v Liu Hongyu Mark Williams v Ian Burns Ding Junhui v Ma Hailong Luca Brecel v Stan Moody
The two English amateur wild cards, Ryan Davies and Bradley Cowdroy, will also go head to head at the Essex venue, with the winner to face Elliot Slessor in the first round.
Notable matches in the qualifying round include Stephen Hendry v Fergal O’Brien, Jimmy White v Joe O’Connor, Gary Wilson v Pang Junxu, Ricky Walden v Jordan Brown, Ken Doherty v Jackson Page and Si Jiahui v Alexander Ursenbacher.
Once again the WST selection of “notable” matches leaves me wondering, although it is a better one than their Wuhan’s qualifiers. For me the Hendry v O’Brien match is totally uninteresting baring a Hendry miracle. There are more intriguing matches IMO and those are my pick:
Barry Hawkins x Anthony Hamilton – two very shrewd players
Sam Craigie v Michael White – two who were once “hot prospects” but haven’t quite evolved as hoped
Jack Lisowski v Matthew Stevens – two who can be brilliant but have often disappointed
The draw for the new Wuhan Open has been made, with first round ties including World Champion Luca Brecel against China’s Xing Zihao, and former Crucible kings Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ken Doherty going head to head.
The qualifying round* will run from September 1-5 in Leicester, followed by the final stages from October 9-15 in the city of Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province.
The Wuhan Open will be the first ranking event staged in mainland China since 2019, and it will be one of three ranking events in China during the 2023/24 season, alongside the International Championship and World Open. These will follow the invitational Shanghai Masters, to take place in September.
Brecel’s match against Xing and O’Sullivan’s clash with Doherty will be held over to the final final venue, along with the matches involving the four local wild cards, as well as the top two ranked Chinese players. Ding Junhui will take on Ashley Hugill, while Zhou Yuelong has been drawn against World Women’s Champion Baipat Siripaporn.
Notable matches in the qualifying round include:
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei v Hong Kong’s Marco Fu John Higgins v Dylan Emery Mark Selby v Hong Kong’s Andy Lee Judd Trump v Lukas Kleckers Mark Allen v John Astley An Australian derby between Neil Robertson and Ryan Thomerson Shaun Murphy v Ben Mertens Mark Williams v Andres Petrov
Details of how to watch the qualifying rounds will be announced soon.
Wuhan Open Prize Money Winner: £140,000 Runner-up: £63,000 Semi-finals: £30,000 Quarter-finals: £16,000 Last 16: £12,000 Last 32: £8,000 Last 64: £4,500 High break: £5,000 Total: £700,000
There is an interesting change of format here with only the World Champion and the World Number 1 guaranteed to have their matches held-over at the venue. Other than the top Chinese players, the rest have to hope to be drawn against a wildcard. It’s probably a good idea as the first two days in China were often absolutely hectic and, of course, because the Chinese fans deserve to be able to watch “their ” players live.
Apparently WST definition for “Notable match” is basically that it features a top player. There are at least three matches in that list above that I see as totally uninteresting because they will almost certainly be heavily one-sided.
Stephen Hendry hails ‘sponge’ Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘A lot of it goes over my head’
Phil Haigh Tuesday 8 Aug 2023 3:50 pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been labelled ‘a massive snooker geek’ (Picture: PA)
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s sponge-like qualities have been hailed by his fellow seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who admitted he has struggled to be coached over his career.
O’Sullivan and Hendry are widely considered the two greatest snooker players of all-time, sharing the record for most Crucible titles and with the Scot (36) only behind the Englishman (39) on the all-time list of ranking title wins.
They have had very different careers, though, with Hendry’s seven Crucible crowns coming between 1990-99, while the Rocket’s have spanned 2001-22 and he still remains in contention to add more to his CV.
There are also plenty of differences in their games, with Hendry noting that he succeeded when doing everything his natural, instinctive way and felt that some coaching may have cost him later in his career, while O’Sullivan soaked up positive aspects for his game.
Speaking to Michael Holt about coaching and technique on his Cue Tips channel, Hendry said: ‘I couldn’t tell you one thing technically. I’ve had four coaches in my career and each time it’s like, “do I really understand that?” A lot of it goes over my head.
‘I sometimes think, would I have been alright without…I had my first coach Frank Callan because I didn’t think my long game was good enough to compete with the likes of Steve [Davis]. I could pot balls obviously, but [couldn’t] consistently rely on my long game.
‘So he brought a pause into my backswing, but I don’t know whether…I got deceleration at the end of my career, I call it the yips, and I don’t know if that came from the pause.
‘[O’Sullivan] He’s like a sponge, he takes things in from everywhere.’
Holt, a ranking event winner who now works as a snooker coach, said one of O’Sullivan’s great traits is his ability to learn from others, but only take what is a positive to his own game and ignore anything that could hamper him.
‘Ronnie’s a massive snooker geek, he knows everything. He’s like a robot,’ said the Hitman.
‘What he’s amazing at is disregarding the stuff that he’s not interested in and trusting what he believes in and then he just goes out there and plays, which is a talent in itself.
‘Ultimately that’s why he’s played for so long because he knows everything about his game.
‘I think that’s where the next level might come from, players will be more aware of what they do and how they do it. Disregard the myths.’
It is interesting that Hendry appears to believe that coaching might actually have damaged his game.
Anyway … Ronnie, it seems, has decided to share his experience and, whilst he’s not coaching, he has been working with a huge team on “The Rocket Method”…
The Rocket Method™ will be the premium online snooker training program, taught by the greatest player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
With our course, you’ll be set to truly understand and learn snooker.
We have also hired Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregg Helvey to provide a stunning production quality, so that you can enjoy the learning process.
Despite these immense costs, it was important to us to price the offering so that it remains well within the affordability of the majority of snooker fans.
Thanks.
Alan McManus is strongly involved in this project as well.
Now … in another “cuetips” podcast, Hendry was asked if it’s worth investing yourself in top sports if you don’t have an exceptional talent and his answer was quite short and clear: NO.
I agree but that doesn’t mean though that you should not invest in an activity or sport you like and enjoy, it’s always good and satisfying to learn and try improving. But also, you have to know and accept your own limitations. I, for instance, know that I wouldn’t benefit from this at all because I’m utterly useless at anything that requires hand-eye coordination, having a poor eyesight and being one of those lefties who were forced into using predominantly their right hand back in the days (1).
Bai Yulu wins in Russia…
Bai Yulu has won the Russian “15-Reds” International Championship, beating home favourite Ivan Kakovskii 4-2 in the final. There were 32 competitors from 10 countries. The event was played in Tyumen, Siberia, from 24-28 August. (source Lewis Pirnie on twitter). Lewis also added: For details, and videos of some matches, see: https://bill4you.ru/en/snooker/tournament/item?id=1587
The above images were shared on Weibo by Ba Yulu herself.
Congratulations Bai Yulu!
Thankfully such practices are rare nowadays. No level of constraint or violence will change your brain wiring. ↩︎
For several years now I have tried – with not as much success as I wished – to promote the Seniors Snooker Tour. I feel it’s important, I feel that as much as it is important to develop the game by supporting young aspiring players, it’s equally important to give those who have served the game for years, and older players in general, a good platform, allowing them to continue to play competitively and enjoy the game they love.
Someone like Lee Walker who dedicated his whole life to the sport probably got the best “reward” for his efforts by winning the Seniors World Championship at the Crucible in front of his family. Other deserve that chance too. Maybe I feel this way because I’m 68 and still feeling full of energy with many projects? Maybe, but I’m not the only one and life doesn’t stop when your hair turn grey.. or white.
Jason Francis created such a “playing platform” … the Seniors tour, that was later taken under the umbrella of WPBSA. Pre-covid the Seniors tour was thriving, but last season there was just the one “main event”, the World Championship at the Crucible. That tour needs rebuilding. There is a demand for it.
As you can see only amateurs can enter the qualifying events … what happened?
Well … here is a screenshot of (part of) the conversation Jason Francis had on Facebook with some very unhappy older professionals. That conversation explains a lot.
I know for certain that Jason’s proposal – the one he refers to in that conversation – comprises many more events. But he can’t promote them properly if people don’t find recognisable names in there, and if he can’t promote them, of course, they would be financially unsustainable.
The older Legends he started his tour with – Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, John Parrott, Steve Davis … – are no more available, either because they decided to retire for good because their game isn’t anymore where they want it to be, or because they have developed totally different interests in life.
People like Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, Marco Fu or the reigning Seniors World Champion, Jimmy White are currently prevented to enter or play in those events. If the situation doesn’t change, Jimmy will not have the opportunity to defend his title come May.
So why doesn’t WST agree to allow some of his older pros, who are outside the top 64, to play on that tour? Maybe allowing players over 45 only? I’m sure Jason would be OK with that.
I can’t really come up with an explanation, or any sort of rationale to it, especially as Jason is absolutely adamant that the Seniors events will not clash with main tour events.
Barry Hawkins claimed ranking silverware for the first time in six years, scoring a momentous 9-6 win over 2019 World Champion Judd Trump in the BetVictor European Masters final in Nuremberg.
The Hawk was competing in the European Masters final for a second consecutive year. He made the title match 12 months ago, where he succumbed to a 9-3 loss at the hands of Kyren Wilson.
That was the fourth in a chain of final defeats which frustrated the 44-year-old. Since beating Ryan Day 10-7 in the 2017 World Grand Prix final, Hawkins was runner-up at the 2018 Welsh Open, 2018 China Open and 2022 Players Championship. This evening he finally returned to the winner’s circle.
Hawkins had to tread a perilous path this week to capture a fourth ranking crown. The Londoner came from 3-1 down to beat James Cahill 5-3 in his opening tie. He then went on to inflict Luca Brecel’s first defeat as World Champion by a 5-4 scoreline and defeated four-time Crucible king Mark Selby 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Victory sees Hawkins pick up the £80,000 top prize. It will move straight to the top of the one-year list and the BetVictor Series standings. Whoever accumulates the most prize money across the counting events in the BetVictor Series will pocket a bumper £150,000 bonus.
Defeat for Trump extends his wait for ranking silverware. The Ace in the Packs’s most recent ranking title came over a year ago at the 2022 Turkish Masters. However, he can reflect on a week that has seen him build a strong platform for his season ahead, which included a thrilling 6-5 win over John Higgins in the semi-finals.
Trump came into the evening session 5-3 behind and the deficit was soon extended when he fouled on the final black in the opening frame, handing Hawkins a 6-3 advantage.
A break of 53 in the 10th then saw Hawkins move two frames from the title at 7-3. However, Trump dug deep and won the last before the mid-session to close within three frames.
When play resumed Trump made it 7-5, before an edgy 13th frame where both players missed opportunities. Eventually it was Hawkins who spurned a pivotal brown to the middle and Trump cleared up to make it 7-6.
From there Hawkins showed his steel and crucially took the 14th without conceding a point to move 8-6 ahead. After leaving Trump needing snookers in the next and having seemingly got over the line, a safety battle ensued and Hawkins was made to wait for the winning moment. He eventually deposited a red to the top left and looked to the sky in relief. The 44-year-old had finally got over the line and captured the title.
“It feels amazing. There was a stage of the match where I thought it was happening again. I lost my way, but towards the end I got my focus back and it was a weird feeling. I started feeling calm again. It was strange. I obviously got a bit of help from Judd today which I am thankful for, because once he gets going he is so dangerous. I battled hard today. It wasn’t a free flowing match but it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. I’m just so happy to pick up another trophy,” said an elated Hawkins.
“When he is coming back at you it is hard not to think the worst sometimes. It has been such a long time since I was in the winner’s enclosure. You forget how it feels. I managed to stay as calm as possible and I fell over the line in the end.
“It is hard to describe the feeling. It is massive elation and massive relief. I’ve finally won a tournament, but all of a sudden you come down again. It is back down to earth again now and onto the next one.
“It is up there with, if not the best win of my career. All the great players were here this week and the match against Selby was such a feather in my cap. It was a high quality game and put me under so much pressure. I stood up to it and was really pleasing.”
Trump said: “I am happy to have been in the final. I would have liked to play better and pushed Barry a little bit. It wasn’t to be. His safety was very good and put me under pressure. I knew it was going to be difficult. I gave it my all but I wasn’t there today. Congratulations to Barry and his family. I hope he has a good celebration.”
Barry was the best player in the tournament IMO, not the most spectacular but the strongest under pressure. He’s an all-rounder with one of the best defensive game in the sport when he needs it. That he has won only four titles is a bit surprising, but then, a few years back, after he made the final against Ronnie at the Crucible in 2013, he had some issues off the table that held him back.
The images above were shared by World Snooker on social media ( X and Facebook)
Liam Davies has defeated Craig Steadman 5-2 to win the opening event of the 2023/24 WPBSA Q Tour UK/Europe Series at the North East Snooker Centre, North Shields.
The first of a record seven Q Tour UK/Europe events set to take place this season saw 115 players contest the title with the top ranked player at the end of the season set to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour, with at least a further 16 players to qualify for a newly expanded Global Playoff later this season.
Welsh youngster Davies began his campaign with a bye in the last 64, before dramatically winning four deciding-frame matches against Aidan Murphy, Bulcsú Révész, Duane Jones and Ryan Davies to reach his first Q Tour final.
Awaiting him was former Shoot Out semi-finalist Craig Steadman, who was playing in his first Q Tour event after dropping off the professional circuit at the end of last season. The English player defeated Mitchell Travis, Ayaan Iqbal, Simon Bedford, Iulian Boiko and Tyler Rees to reach the title match.
It was 17-year-old Davies who made the stronger start with runs of 47 and 109 to claim a 2-0 lead, before Steadman pounced upon a missed blue in the next with 98 of his own to close to 1-2.
The following two frames were split either side of the interval, but Davies needed just 19 further minutes to add the following two frames and surge to a sensational breakthrough victory.
The victory earns Davies the top prize of £3,000 and a guaranteed place in the season-ending Global Q Tour Playoff, which will see 24 players contest three places on the professional circuit. The top ranked player in the Q Tour UK/Europe rankings will automatically earn a two-year card.
The highest break of the event was compiled by Simon Bedford, who hit 136 during his last 16 defeat to Steadman.
Liam has been talked about for many years. As a young kid already, his huge talent was evident. I first watched him play when he was probably about 7. He has a lot of good people around him too. Hopefully he can get on the tour next season
The next professional event, the 2023 English Open Qualifiers, will start on Friday, September 1.
Judd Trump prevailed in yet another classic contest with John Higgins, rallying from 4-2 down to win 6-5 and clinch his place in the final of the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg.
The clash was the latest in a storied rivalry between the pair, which has included two World Championship finals in 2011 and 2019. Victory for 23-time ranking event winner Trump sees him edge in front in their head-to-head standings, now leading his counterpart 15-14.
Both players came into this week seeking to capture ranking silverware for the first time in over a year. Trump claimed his last ranking crown back at the 2022 Turkish Masters, while the most recent of Higgins’ 31 ranking event wins came at the 2021 Players Championship.
Trump is now just one win away from returning to the winner’s circle, he faces either Mark Selby or Barry Hawkins over the best of 17 frames in the final. The victor will take home the £80,000 top prize.
It was Higgins who started best this afternoon, breaks of 59, 50 and 70 saw him sweep the first three frames and move 3-0 up. However, Trump responded emphatically with contributions of 111 and 93 to pull within one at 3-2. Higgins responded in kind and a brilliant 114 saw him reassert himself on proceedings and lead 4-2.
Trump hit back in the next two frames and drew level at 4-4, but breaks of 54 and 60 helped Higgins to take the ninth and close in on the win at 5-4 in front. He was made to wait for his chance, when Trump was aided by a fluked red which set him up to force a decider. Both players had chances in the final frame, but it was the Bristolian who made a crucial break of 73 to clinch the 6-5 win.
“It is always an incredible game with John. I said before the game that it is a match I always cherish. I know that I need to play somewhere near my best. Obviously today I wasn’t at my best, but I managed to dig in and do what John and Mark Selby do. They don’t give in. I waited for my chances and they came. I had a pressure shot on the pink in the last frame. If I missed, all the balls were there. It was nice to pot that under the upmost pressure,” said 33-year-old Trump.
“When you don’t win early on it depletes your confidence and your belief. The difference this season has been night and day. I could have easily been out in the game against Chris Wakelin when I was 4-0 down and now I am here and playing in the final. That is how fine the line is. There were so many times last season when I should have won and I went out. This time I should have been out and I’m in the final.
“It is important to try and get off to a good start. There is nothing better than winning a tournament at the start of the season. Winning these big ones nowadays puts you in all of the other events. Anyone that gets an event early on seems to have the season of their life. We saw it with Mark Allen last season and me a couple of years before. It just shows how important it is to get off to a good start.”
Higgins said: “He deserved it and potted some pressure balls in the last couple of frames. If I am being hyper critical, I missed a bad red in the fourth frame, but I’m not looking at the negatives. I’m looking at the positives and he played really well in that game. He just managed to pip me and he is a great champion. We always have good games, but I’ve come out losing this time.”
It’s hard to explain rationally but my feeling was that, yes, Judd Trump played well, but the pre-covid Higgins wouldn’t have lost that match from 3-0 up. That said, Judd has matured a lot and for the better. There is no more surrendering to frustration when things don’t go his way, no more wild smashing the balls. He’s a lot more in control of his emotions and it’s a while since we’ve heard him bemoaning his bad luck. He prefers an open game but when he must, his safety game is there amongst the best currently.
Barry Hawkins scored a 6-4 win over close friend and four-time World Champion Mark Selby in Nuremberg to make the BetVictor European Masters final for a second consecutive year.
The Hawk is now one win away from ending a ranking title drought which extends back six years to the 2017 World Grand Prix. Since then he has appeared in a further four ranking finals, but was runner up at the 2018 Welsh Open, 2018 China Open, 2022 Players Championship and 2022 European Masters. His defeat in last year’s European Masters final came 9-3 at the hands of Kyren Wilson.
Hawkins must now face 2019 World Champion Judd Trump over the best of 17 frames, with a top prize of £80,000 on the line. The Ace in the Pack is aiming to break a drought of his own, having not won a ranking title since the 2022 Turkish Masters.
Despite defeat this evening, it has been a strong outing for Selby in his first appearance of the season. He ended last term falling short in snooker’s biggest match, after being beaten 18-15 by Luca Brecel in an all-time classic World Championship final. The four-time Crucible king appears to be gearing up for another big campaign in 23/24.
The match began at a ferocious pace, Selby took an early lead with a sublime 134 in the opener. However, Hawkins responded with 106 to restore parity. Selby moved 2-1 ahead, before Hawkins battled to take a 38-minute fourth to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
They traded the first two frames after the interval, with Hawkins then crafting a run of 70 to take the lead for the first time in the match at 4-3. With the finish line coming into view, Selby stepped it up a gear. A contribution of 94 saw him draw level and he had looked set to move one from the win, when he strung together a break of 59 in the ninth. The frame was turned on its head though, when Hawkins hit back with an incredible clearance of 66 to steal on the black.
Selby had the first chance to force a decider in the next, but broke down on 32. Hawkins stepped in and ruthlessly wrapped up the match with a fine break of 73.
“I’m delighted. I thought it was a high quality game with not many balls missed. Overall I thought the standard was very good. To beat Mark, when it looked like he was playing well, is a feather in my cap,” said 44-year-old Hawkins.
“I’ve watched all of the greats over the years and those are the sorts of frames they win (the two at the end of the match). It looked like I was going 5-4 down and Mark had the momentum with him. It would have been an uphill battle from there. To win those sorts of frames is a massive boost in confidence. I held myself together under the utmost pressure.
“It doesn’t get any easier. I’m looking forward to the final though. It is another big match and I’ve had some great games with Judd over the years. I know what to expect. I just need more of the same from what I did tonight really. I won’t worry about who I am playing and just go out there and enjoy the occasion.”
Ronnie O'Sullivan 