Yesterday was the first day at the 2023 English Open and it delivered…
It is played in Brentwood, in Essex, a hot bed of snooker, and it attracted a huge crowd all day. This image was shared by Phil Haigh, probably taken from the media room or some place close to it above the arena.
There were quite a number of upsets as well …
Ronnie however wasn’t amongst the “upset cases” as, despite being injured and visibly in pain, he booked his place in the second with a 4-0 win over Andrew Pagett. My report about that match is here.
Here are the reports by WST:
Allen Equals Centuries Record
Mark Allen became the second player to win a best-of-seven frame match with four consecutive century breaks as he thrashed Mostafa Dorgham 4-0 on the opening morning of the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
Allen rattled in runs of 104, 127, 114 and 104 as he wrapped up victory in just 51 minutes. He becomes the only player to win a best-of-seven contest with four straight centuries, other than Neil Robertson who did so at the 2013 Ruhr Open. This is the second time that Allen has made four consecutive tons in a match, a feat achieved by only seven other players. The Northern Irishman goes through to face Wu Yize on Tuesday afternoon.
“I couldn’t have been any lower in confidence before I went out to play, I was hitting it sideways on the practice table,” said Allen, who won three ranking titles last season. “(Coach) Chris Henry was standing next to me and we were actually laughing about how far I was missing the balls by. It just shows the importance of going out with the right mindset, because I didn’t let that practice session get to me. My performance was pretty flawless.
“I have been low on confidence but I know I can still play the game. It has been a while since I won a tournament, I haven’t had that winning feeling since that World Grand Prix in January. I am getting found out when I come up against someone who plays very well. I had a good chat with my mental coach Paul Gaffney this morning which really helped, it freed me up.”
Ding Junhui is not expected to appear in any Wallace and Gromit movies but he did arrive in the wrong trousers this morning, before grinding out a 4-3 victory over Ma Hailong. China’s Ding turned up wearing his usual brown snooker suit with bow tie and waistcoat, having forgotten that in the BetVictor Home Nations Series, the dress code is black shirt and black trousers. His friend was quickly despatched to Marks & Spencer on Brentwood High Street to buy the correct uniform.
By the time Ding was ready to play, he was late for the start of the match and had been docked the opening frame. The 14-time ranking event winner then fell 3-1 behind, but battled back to take the last three frames.
“I totally forgot that I needed a black shirt and trousers for this tournament,” admitted 36-year-old Ding. “My memory is not good! I didn’t think about it. Once I was playing I tried to just concentrate on the match. Luckily Ma’s safety was not that good and he gave me enough chances to win.”
Ding escaped the “upset” largely help by his young opponent who found it hard to “close” the match. Ma’s game deteriorated as the match went on. It’s never easy for young Chinese players to face Ding (and everything he represents for snooker in China).
There were two more matches played during that session: Robert Milkins beat Robbie Williams by 4-1 and Ryan Day beat Ashley Hugill by 4-2.
Afternoon session (minus the Ronnie part)
Sanderson Lam scored the best win of his career as he beat Neil Robertson 4-2. World number 73 Lam has enjoyed a fine start to the season having won at least one match in every ranking event so far, but today’s victory, on the main televised table, was a career highlight. Robertson, meanwhile, is yet to go past the last 64 of a ranking event this season and lies well outside the top 16 of the provisional end of season list.
Leeds-based Lam, who now meets Stuart Carrington, said: “It was a relief to get over the line, it was looking like 3-3 so I was proud of the way I finished the match. I was a bit lucky today that Neil wasn’t at his best, because he is a great player. I am practising hard on my weaknesses, and analysing matches that I lose. I am enjoying the game and winning gives you confidence.”
John Higgins edged out Marco Fu 4-3 in a contest which came down to the last five balls. Higgins got the better of a safety exchange on the green, potting it to to a baulk order and adding the points he needed to set up a tie with James Cahill on Tuesday morning.
Local favourite Ali Carter saw off Jamie Clarke 4-1 with top runs of 85, 128 and 62 while Ryan Davies won the battle of the English amateur wild cards, beating Bradley Cowdroy 4-2.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=c7PY6snRVAs%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A
There were two more matches played in the afternoon. Surprisingly, no word in the above report on Jack Lisowski 4-1 win over Matthew Stevens. Less surprisingly, given WST UK centric nature, nothing either about Yuan Sijun 4-2 victory over Tom Ford.
Evening session
Lucky Luca Avoids Moody Upset
Teenage ace Stan Moody showed glimpses of his potential in the opening round of the BetVictor English Open and had chances to beat the World Champion, but Luca Brecel eventually came through 4-3 in a dramatic finish.
Tour rookie Moody, who turned 17 last month, came from 2-0 down to take three frames in a row, notably making a 121, the highest break of his pro career so far. At that point he had Crucible king Brecel on the ropes, and Moody had a chance for victory in frame six but missed a tricky red to a top corner on 30, allowing his opponent to level at 3-3.
A tense decider lasted 36 minutes and came down to a long battle on the colours. Moody trailed 42-46 when he made a safety error on the pink, handing a relieved Brecel the chance to pot it and progress to second round match with Andy Hicks on Tuesday afternoon.
“From 2-0, Stan played really well, the way he did that was incredible,” said Brecel, who has a chance to take over from Ronnie O’Sullivan as world number one this week, though he must at least reach the quarter-finals. “I had to dig deep and I was lucky not to go out because he missed a red at 3-2. I needed to find something.
“I have had a good start to the season, I reached the final in Shanghai and played well in Germany. I have just put a new tip on my cue and I have new chalk, I am trying to improve now.
“Stan has definitely got the talent, he did some great things today. I was impressed. If you are good enough you will make it, if you are not good enough, you will never make it. Sometimes I look at players and they change their diet or their lifestyle, but nothing happens. If Ronnie ate rubbish and sat on the couch all day, he would still win tournaments.”
China’s Liu Hongyu, another tour rookie, came from 3-1 down to beat Shaun Murphy 4-3. Liu trailed 57-0 in the deciding frame but battled back to take it with runs of 43 and 24.
Matthew Selt made it a clean sweep for Essex on day one in Brentwood as all three players from the county earned victories – following earlier wins for Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter. Former Indian Open champion Selt beat Michael White 4-3 in a high quality encounter which included two centuries and five more breaks over 50. Runs of 135, 54, 69 and 79 helped Selt into the last 32.
BetVictor European Masters champion Barry Hawkins saw off Anthony Hamilton 4-1 with a top run of 62. Judd Trump made a 102 in a 4-0 whitewash of Sean O’Sullivan, and now meets Scott Donaldson.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4vZVqaWYcOw%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A
There were two more matches played that evening, imcluding another upset as Oliver Lines beat Kyren Wilson by 4-3. Ricky Walden also progressed win a 4-2 victory over Hammad Miah.
Stan Moody did indeed show very good things yesterday evening, partly aided though by a rather sloppy and inconsistent Luca. Obviously he can play. Whether he currently can cope with the grinders on the tour, I’m not sure, but that, of course, is normal for a 17 years old. It’s something most young professionals find difficult. Stan is still to win a match this season.
Meanwhile, on another table, another rookie, Liu Hongyu, sent Shaun Murphy – Stan’s mentor – out of the tournament. Liu is only 19, he is in his first year as a pro, just like Stan, but he has already seven wins to his credit, one draw and 4 defeats…
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Robertson has not simply started the season bad, but the previous season was also quite terrible for him: there must be some reason for this!
There was something on the Eurosport website recently about Robertson saying that he needs to prioritise snooker over his family life if he is to return to the top of his powers. In particular about following his son, Alexander, who appears to be a very promising junior as a football goalkeeper. Neil tries to go to all his matches and is very proud but … it’s time consuming and his practice suffers.
Makes sense, thanks
Yes it was a very interesting day – my first of live snooker this season. Although ‘a hotbed of snooker’, the Brentwood Centre is actually quite difficult to get to for a non-driver. The last bus leaves at 6:45pm, so it’s a half-hour walk back to Brentwood train station. The food options are very limited and very unhealthy, despite being a ‘health and fitness’ complex. Conditions were quite hot in the arena, and there were extremely good crowds. The tables played pretty well for most of the day..
I had hoped to see a bit of Mostafa Dorgham, the only player yesterday who I haven’t seen before, but didn’t get much opportunity!
The upsets to Robertson, Murphy and Wilson weren’t totally unexpected, as they haven’t started the season well. It was a question of whether their inexperienced opponents could close it out. Stan Moody and Ma Hailong weren’t able to take their opportunities.