Here are WST reports on yesterday action in Belfast:

Morning and afternoon sessions

Teenage Ace Moody Keeps Run Going

Stan Moody took his biggest scalp so far as he beat former Crucible semi-finalist Gary Wilson 4-2 to reach round four of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

After a slow start to his debut pro season, losing his first five knockout ranking event matches, 17-year-old Moody is now starting to live up to his potential. Breaks of 63 and 61 helped him to beat world number 18 Wilson and make it three wins in a row in this event. He will meet Jordan Brown or Yuan Sijun in the last 16 on Thursday afternoon.

“Out on the TV stage, to get over the line I was very pleased,” said WSF Junior Champion Moody, who could meet mentor Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals if they both keep winning. “I missed a chance at 3-1 but then I regrouped and won the next frame. I made silly mistakes during the match so I need to improve. I am learning loads from being here and just trying to enjoy it.

“It was frustrating for me losing matches before this tournament, but I am viewing my first two years as an apprenticeship and accepting whatever happens. I had felt for a while that I was going to start winning matches because I have been playing well in practice and working with my coach. A few months ago I would have lost this match 4-3 because my head would have gone after missing the chance at 3-1, but today I stayed calm.”

Not even a fire alarm could stop Robbie Williams knocking out his namesake Mark as the world number 51 sprung a surprise with a 4-2 victory in the second round.

The closing moments of the match were interrupted by the alarm at the Waterfront Hall, which led to the whole building being evacuated while local fire-fighters investigated. Within 15 minutes the all-clear was given and play soon resumed inside the arena. Williams had been on a break of 53 and that proved enough to cross the winning line before they left the arena.

Merseyside’s Williams had earlier compiled breaks of 87 and 55 as he came from 1-0 down to take four of the last five frames. The result builds on a strong start to the season for Williams, who beat John Higgins on his way to the last 32 of the Cazoo British Open. He is into the third round again and will meet Zhang Anda next.

“I still needed match ball when the alarm first went off, but I wasn’t sure what it was so I just carried on, and thankfully did enough to get over the line,” said Williams. “Mark shook hands and said he wasn’t coming back!  It’s got to be one of my best wins, along with beating John Higgins last month, they are two legends of the game.

“This season my belief and concentration have really improved, especially out there on the TV table. I fully believe I can win a tournament and that’s my biggest ambition, to pick up a trophy.”

Hossein Vafaei top scored with 86 as he beat Anton Kazakov 4-0. “I’m feeling great,” said Iran’s top player, who meets Joe Perry next. “I see a good future for Anton, he’s a talented player, I love watching him. My target is just to be happy and play well. I love Belfast and Irish people, they are treating me really well. I used to live in Ireland so it’s like my second home.”

Cork ace Aaron Hill was a quarter-finalist at the recent Wuhan Open and he got another win under his belt with a 4-0 whitewash of Dylan Emery, while David Gilbert came from 3-2 down to edge out Matthew Stevens 4-3. BetVictor Shoot Out champion Chris Wakelin top scored with 79 in a 4-1 win over Martin O’Donnell.

BetVictor English Open runner-up Zhang Anda top scored with 131 in a 4-1 defeat of Thor Chuan Leong. He said: “I was joking with friends the other day in Wuhan saying I’ve been very busy recently, and that’s perhaps because I kept losing back then! If you lose your first match in tournaments all the time then you are supposed to be pretty free and you can have a long rest. I’ve won quite a few matches lately so it feels like there’s not much time between events. Hopefully I can win a few more rounds in every tournament.”

Late afternoon and evening sessions

Murphy And Lisowski Into Last 16

Just five of the world’s top 16 players remain in the field at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, and both Shaun Murphy and Jack Lisowski look like title contenders after emphatic wins on Wednesday night.

World number seven Murphy, the highest ranked player left in Belfast other than Judd Trump, eased to a 4-0 success against Sean O’Sullivan with top breaks of 80 and 70. He meets Chris Wakelin in round four on Thursday afternoon.

“We both played to a very high level tonight,” said 12-time ranking event winner Murphy. “The Home Nations events are not always won by the favourites. They have the essence of surprise because they are best of seven frames. It’s all about who has the right attitude, it’s great to see these opportunities for all the players.”

If Murphy and Stan Moody both win tomorrow then they will clash in the quarter-finals on Friday, and the former World Champion is pleased to see his young protégé showcasing his talent this week. “It’s fabulous to see the next group of players coming through,” said Murphy. “I’m in camp Moody, I was asked by the family some time ago to get involved and help. I was delighted when he got his first win to qualify for this event and now he is on a run. The likes of Stan, Liam Pullen and others are the names for the future.”

Lisowski saw off Matthew Selt 4-1 with top runs of 55, 57 and 73, setting up a match with Aaron Hill. “I had a bit of luck tonight and I made a good clearance in the last frame when I got my chance to win,” said Lisowski. “The way I feather the cue ball is a bit different this week, I am trying to give myself more time on the shot.”

Northern Ireland’s hopes of a home winner ended with Jordan Brown’s 4-2 defeat against China’s Yuan Sijun, who fired breaks of 100, 97 and 77. Stephen Maguire top scored with 73 in a 4-2 win over Sam Craigie, while Ricky Walden beat Stuart Bingham 4-1 with a high score of 102.

I didn’t watch any snooker yesterday and I’m not sure I will watch any today or in the coming days. I feel that the way it’s going is really bad, despite having some very good youngsters progressing well. It’s not at all like Mark Allen to back off the way he did. I can’t help to think that he must have been threatened with some very serious consequences for expressing his feelings. The way his apology was phrased, it’s obvious that there was nothing untrue in what he said, it was just deemed “damaging” by WST. That’s a dangerous precedent and totally wrong in my book. How do you objectively assess “damaging”?

On a more positive note, there are a lot of very good youngsters coming through. Stan Moody needed a bit of time to find his foot but he’s truly excellent. The Chinese rookies have impressed me. The young Europeans are progressing. WST isn’t doing everything wrong, notably they have given the young ones more exposure on their social media, including to the Asian and mainland European ones.

But I stand by my opinion that players, who are self-employed, should have no restrictions. Hearn, back in the days, grew snooker by touring with his stable around the world. High profile exhibitions give the sport visibility and grow its audience. WST should embrace them, they should work with the top players and try to make it a win-win collaboration rather than threatening them. That’s especially true for the older ones. If top players decide to skip an event, WST should see it as an opportunity for less known players, younger players, to shine. They are the future. As much as we love them … Ronnie, Willo, John Higgins… they are at the end of their career. They won’t be there forever. WST should allow them to make the most of it, and, at the same time, invest more in the younger talents.

The biggest surprise yesterday was Mark Allen’s defeat at the hands of Andres Petrov. Andres though has shown clear signs of improvement – massive improvement – in recent weeks. This match was decided on the last black. It was a serious pressure situation and he passed the test. I’m always happy when a young player from mainland Europe does well. It’s so much more difficult for them than it is for the UK and Irish players. Most of them live as expats, away from their families. Most of them have no compatriot around them. It’s a lonely life. If they struggle financially, they can’t even taken a second job as their “work” visa is only for snooker. Of course, the Chinese and Thai players face an even bigger “cultural gap” but they are a group, they have at least some other players around them, sharing the same cultural background and speaking the same language. It wasn’t always that way though and Ding will never get enough credit for what he achieved as a “pioneer”.

Here are the reports by WST:

Morning and afternoon sessions

Brown – I’m Here To Win The Title

Local ace Jordan Brown scored one of his best career wins with a 4-1 victory over Neil Robertson in front of his home crowd in the second round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.

…

Antrim’s Brown delighted his friends and family at the Waterfront Hall with a superb performance to knock out former World Champion Robertson, and the confident 36-year-old believes he can kick on from today’s result and go all the way to the Alex Higgins Trophy. The world number 44 has had success in the Home Nations Series before, winning the BetVictor Welsh Open in 2021.

Defeat for Robertson means that he is yet to reach the last 32 of a ranking event this season, and he must now win either the International Championship or the UK Championship if he is to continue his streak of lifting a trophy in every calendar year since 2006.

Brown made a break of 94 to take the opening frame, and he dominated the next two for a 3-0 advantage. Robertson pulled one back with a 125 but that proved too little, too late as his opponent sealed the result in frame five with a 51.

“Beating an all-time great in Neil in front of my home crowd – it doesn’t get better than that,” said the player nicknamed the Antrim Ferrari, who now plays either Jamie Clarke or Yuan Sijun in the last 32. “I absolutely loved it out there, it was an amazing feeling. It’s right up there with my best wins, even if Neil has not been in his best form. I just concentrated on myself and I felt I was in control for most of the match. I got a bit nervy towards the end, but when I got another chance I finished it off.

“It would mean everything to have a long run here, not just for me but for my family and friends. I’m here to win the tournament, that’s the bottom line. It’s not big-headed because I know what I’m capable of. I’d like to dedicate this victory today to Joe Bingham, he was my coach and he passed away five years ago today. This one’s for him.”

Hossein Vafaei impressed in a 4-1 win over Mark Joyce, compiling breaks of 74, 72 and 112. A good run this week could cement Vafaei’s top 16 place with the cut off point for the MrQ UK Championship coming soon.

“There is room to improve, hopefully I can play better in the next round,” said the Prince of Persia. “I do care about being in the top 16, but I try not to think about rankings. If I’m good enough then I’ll be there. Whatever happens, I will accept it.”

Jack Lisowski recovered from the loss of the first frame to beat Jackson Page 4-1 with breaks of 68, 57 and 138. BetVictor European Masters champion Barry Hawkins beat Elliot Slessor by the same scoreline, firing runs of 64, 123 and 108.

Ireland’s Aaron Hill enjoyed his best career run at the recent Wuhan Open when he reached the quarter-finals, and he has kept his momentum going this week, beating Fan Zhengyi 4-1 with a top break of 80.

Late afternoon and evening sessions

Breakthrough For Boy Wonder

Stan Moody reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time by beating Rod Lawler 4-1 in the second round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

…

The highly-rated 17-year-old is playing his first season on the pro tour and initially struggled to find his feet, failing to win a match in his first six ranking events.  But he got off the mark with a fine 4-2 victory over Zhou Yuelong to qualify for Belfast, and the WSF Junior Champion doubled his tally of wins by outplaying experienced Lawler at the Waterfront Hall.

Moody made a break of 102 to take the opening frame, then came from 57-0 down to snatch the second with a 66 clearance. Lawler pulled one back, but Moody took each of the next two on the colours to earn a tie with Gary Wilson.

“It was nerve-racking, to say the least,” admitted the Yorkshireman. “I started off well, then from 2-0 it was downhill and I was fighting to get over the line. I sometimes get annoyed with myself during matches, I was struggling with that at the start of this season. I was letting myself down and my team around me. Everyone was putting in hard work, and I was doing everything right but then not keeping my head during matches. So I’m trying to do it for them now. I had to try to stay calm today and it worked.

“I have more confidence and belief now that I have won a couple of matches, especially beating a player as good as Zhou to qualify. I know I can do it now. I will just keep playing my game and I know if I do that I can beat anyone.”

Mark Allen’s hopes of winning the title for a third consecutive year ended as he lost a late night battle against Estonia’s top player Andres Petrov by a 4-3 scoreline. From 3-1 down, Antrim’s Allen fought back to 3-3, setting up a dramatic decider. Petrov had first chance and made 48 before missing the green to a baulk corner, then Allen looked set to clear until he rattled the final blue in the jaws of a top pocket. World number 96 Petrov sunk blue, pink and black to cross the line at 1.45am.

“It’s the best win of my career, by far,” said Petrov. “I was really lucky in the end. When I was over the last black, I was thinking ‘this is for my daughter and I will pot it.’ I hope my wife back in Estonia was sleeping and not watching because she has to wake up soon. I am so happy to get through, I can’t describe what it means to me. I know I was playing the local favourite here, but I also knew there was a group of people in Estonia watching me and cheering me on, and that helped.”

Shaun Murphy edged out Marco Fu 4-3 in an extraordinary finish as the former World Champion looked certain to lose the decider. Murphy earlier made breaks of 122, 80 and 117 to lead 3-1 before Fu recovered to 3-3. In the last frame, Fu led by 27 points with just the colours left, and the balls in awkward positions. Murphy battled on, got the snooker he needed, and eventually potted a cracking long green to set up a winning clearance.

“I was fully prepared to accept I had lost. I have got no idea why I am standing here,” World number seven Murphy told Eurosport. “I missed chances to win 4-1 and 4-2, then the last frame was horrible and we both lost our technique. But before that I made two centuries and played some good snooker.”

Murphy was asked about an incident in the sixth frame when, in with a chance to win 4-2, he called a foul on himself for a push-shot when potting the penultimate red. He said: “I don’t think the referee saw it, you couldn’t tell that I had fouled, but I knew. We pride ourselves in our game on honesty and it cost me that frame.”

Matthew Selt made breaks of 79, 57, 60 and 67 as he beat Dean Young 4-3 while Gary Wilson saw off Lukas Kleckers 4-01 with top runs of 107, 96 and 86.

All the detailed results are on snooker.org

Yesterday was the last day of the 2023 NI Open Qualifiers and here is the report by WST:

Moody Off The Mark

Highly-rated teenager Stan Moody scored his first win as a professional with a fine 4-2 victory over Zhou Yuelong to qualify for the final stages of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

Yorkshire’s Moody, who turned 17 last month, qualified for the tour by winning the WSF Junior Championship earlier this year. He has had a series of narrow defeats so far this season but bounced back today by beating world number 22 Zhou. From 2-1 down, Moody took the last three frames with a top break of 108 and he goes through to Belfast to face Rod Lawler.

Stuart Bingham, sporting a new pair of glasses, edged out Ashley Hugill 4-3 with a top break of 117. Estonia’s top player Andres Petrov made a superb 112 in the deciding frame to beat in-form Sanderson Lam 4-3. Stephen Maguire was another 4-3 winner as he recovered a 3-1 deficit to beat Fergal O’Brien, firing runs of 126 and 100.

BetVictor English Open runner-up Zhang Anda top-scored with 100 in a 4-1 defeat of Si Jiahui, while Michael White came from 2-0 down to beat Mink Nutcharut 4-2.

All the detailed results are on snooker.org

The event proper starts tomorrow and WST has published its schedule

BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Match Schedule

The Waterfront Hall in Belfast hosts the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open from October 22-29.

Below is the provisional match schedule and this will be updated as the tournament progresses.

Sunday October 22

10am
Neil Robertson v Wu Yize
Robert Milkins v Cao Yupeng
Ryan Day v Ma Hailong

Not before 1pm
Judd Trump v Jenson Kendrick
Kyren Wilson v Sam Craigie
Ricky Walden v Ben Woollaston

Not before 2pm
Mark Williams v Tian Pengfei
Jack Lisowski v Rebecca Kenna
Robbie McGuigan v Muhammad Asif

7pm
Mark Allen v Ben Mertens
Gary Wilson v Louis Heathcote
David Gilbert v Joel Connolly

Not before 8pm
Shaun Murphy v Ryan Thomerson
Anthony McGill v Jimmy White
Rory McLeod v Ahmed Aly Elsayed

Monday October 23

10am
Barry Hawkins v Elliot Slessor
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Joyce
Tom Ford v Haydon Pinhey

Not before 1pm
Jackson Page v Jack Lisowski or Rebecca Kenna
Ryan Day or Ma Hailong v Martin O’Donnell
Graeme Dott v Xing Zihao

Not before 2pm
Jordan Brown v Neil Robertson or Wu Yize
Dylan Emery v Robert Milkins or Cao Yupeng
Aaron Hill v Fan Zhengyi

7pm
Shaun Murphy or Ryan Thomerson v Marco Fu
Rod Lawler v Stan Moody
Dean Young v Matthew Selt

Not before 8pm
Mark Allen or Ben Mertens v Andres Petrov
Lukas Kleckers v Gary Wilson or Louis Heathcote
Zak Surety v Sean O’Sullivan

Tuesday October 24

The matches listed below will take place on Tuesday, but the schedule is yet to be confirmed.

Stuart Bingham v Xu Si
Chris Wakelin v Alfie Burden
Jamie Clarke v Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins or Elliot Slessor v Jiang Jun
Ricky Walden or Ben Woollaston v Dominic Dale
Lyu Haotian v Tom Ford or Haydon Pinhey
Michael White v Joe Perry
Ian Burns v Ken Doherty
Ross Muir v Rory McLeod or Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Judd Trump or Jenson Kendrick v Julien Leclercq
Jimmy Robertson v Peng Yisong
Mark Davis v Jak Jones
Hammad Miah v Kyren Wilson or Sam Craigie
James Cahill v Stephen Maguire
Anthony McGill or Jimmy White v Robbie McGuigan or Muhammad Asif

Wednesday October 25 

The matches listed below will take place on Wednesday, but the schedule is yet to be confirmed.

Matthew Stevens v David Gilbert or Joel Connolly
Zhang Anda v John Astley or Thor Chuan Leong
Noppon Saengkham v Barry Pinches
Mark Williams or Tian Pengfei v Robbie Williams
Anton Kazakov v Hossein Vafaei or Mark Joyce

The action continued yesterday at the 2023 NI Open Qualifiers and all results are on snooker.org.

Here is the report by WST:

Hill On A High

Aaron Hill followed up his career-best Wuhan Open run by earning a place in the final stages of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open with a 4-1 defeat of David Lilley. …

Last week in China, Hill reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time before a narrow 5-4 defeat against Wu Yize. And the 21-year-old Irishman can look forward to another trip to the televised stages as he’ll be at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast for the second event in the BetVictor Home Nations series. The tournament runs from October 22-29.

Breaks of 92 and 53 helped Hill to sink Lilley and he’ll now meet Fan Zhengyi in the last 64.

Marco Fu compiled breaks of 133 and 104 in a 4-2 defeat of Jamie Jones, while BetVictor English Open quarter-finalist Matthew Selt saw off Andy Lee 4-1.

Former World Champion Graeme Dott top scored with 98 in a 4-0 win over Oliver Lines, while Joe Perry wrapped up a 4-2 win over Ishpreet Singh Chadha with a run of 102.

They also published a piece – a nice piece actually – about Jenson Kendrick.

There were no major upsets yesterday. Marco Fu beating Jamie Jones by 4-2 was maybe unexpected, but then Marco used to be a top player and I’m glad to see him regain some form after all the health issues he suffered. Other than that Ian Burns beating Pang Junxu was a minor surprise.

Ronnie withdrew from the 2023 NI Open

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open for medical reasons.

O’Sullivan was due to meet Ahmed Aly Elsayed during the evening session of the opening day of the tournament in Belfast, Sunday October 22nd.

He has been replaced by the highest available player from the Q School ranking list, Rory McLeod.

This injury is obviously a major concern. It’s not going away. Ronnie will almost certainly favour the biggest and most lucrative tournaments, knowing that playing in everything will be extremely difficult, if not physically impossible. It’s not looking good …

Meanwhile the top players are far from happy with the way WST enforces their contract

Here is a piece by Phil Haigh, with Ronnie and Mark Allen express their views

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen threaten walkouts in dispute with World Snooker Tour

Phil Haigh Thursday 19 Oct 2023 2:28 pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan says he could skip the World Championship this season, while Mark Allen has suggested top players boycott an event as the dispute between World Snooker Tour and some of the sport’s biggest stars rumbles on.

Conflict has arisen between players and the powers that be over big-money exhibitions in China that are being staged while ranking events are running elsewhere.

This week some top players are playing in Shanghai while the Northern Ireland Open qualifiers are staged in Sheffield, while there was due to be an exhibition in Macau next week while the main stages of the Northern Ireland Open are played in Belfast.

Five players – John Higgins, Mark Selby, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – were due to play in Macau and withdrew their entries from Northern Ireland, but were warned by WST that playing in the exhibition during the ranking event was in breach of their players contracts and they would face sanctions if they did so.

The exhibition has since been moved to December, but the five players in question had already withdrawn from Belfast, so they will not be playing in anything next week.

O’Sullivan will be in Belfast and is playing in Shanghai this week, but is unhappy with players not being able to act freely, with reports that even during this week’s event a social media blackout has been imposed on those involved.

‘It was almost blackmail to those playing in the Shanghai exhibition – to say you have to do this and do that,’ said O’Sullivan. ‘It would make most players just not want to play there so much. Most players would take these letters as a threat. These days I’d just say, “I’m not playing – what are you going to do about it?” And I will always pay attention to my tennis elbow and my mental health.

‘Get a decent promoter on board in the UK and stop treating the players like a piece of s**t. Do it properly. Or don’t get upset when players complain. WST will try and change the player’s contract and clamp down. But the more they do, the worse they might make it for themselves. They’ll say, “You can’t play in anything, you can’t have a cue in your hand, anywhere, whether it’s streamed or not, if it’s not a tour event.”

‘But I’m doing my own thing, I’ve a lot going on in China – don’t be surprised if I miss the World Championships. What has happened with these exhibitions in Shanghai and Macau and the fallout – it’s going to happen again. The model is f****d up – they’ve got it wrong. It doesn’t support 128 players.’

World Snooker Tour responded to the Rocket, saying they are working with players and promoters of exhibitions to try and make sure all needs are catered for.

A statement read: ‘Last month, Ronnie won £220,000 at the invitational Shanghai Masters we brought back to the calendar. To some extent we’re victims of our own success as we’ve developed a thriving market now creating extra opportunities for players. 

‘We understand certain players may want to compete in exhibition events and will continue to discuss this with them in a respectful and constructive manner, as we have done this month in agreeing dates for the Macau event.’

Allen is not involved in Shanghai, nor was he due to play in Macau as Northern Ireland is his home event and he has won the last two editions of the Belfast tournament.

He agrees with O’Sullivan that restrictions on players are too onerous and has called on his fellow elite stars of the game to consider boycotting an event to bring about change.

‘I think the game is in disarray, it’s gone nowhere in recent years,’ Allen told the Irish Mirror. ‘I do not think that anything will change until the players revolt and in my view we need to boycott collectively as top players missing an event, that’s the only way things will ever change.

‘The statements WST have been putting out are amateurish. To say that they’ve treated the players with respect is laughable. There’s a lot of guaranteed money for these exhibitions. Whereas the prize money for the Home Nations in particular has really stagnated. Ultimately if prize money is bigger in events like Belfast then people wouldn’t even consider exhibitions.

‘Ronnie’s hit the nail on the head with a lot of the things he’s said. He’s absolutely right. They’re able to hide behind the players’ contract. That doesn’t mean it’s right or it’s fair. I just know if I was one of the players involved then I would have taken a stand because the contract we have is far too restrictive.

‘If you don’t sign the contract you can’t play snooker, so ultimately you have to sign it because I want to play tournaments, compete and earn a living for my family but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with a lot of things in the contract.’

World Snooker Tour have hit back at Allen’s claims and say they will be taking action against him for ‘false and defamatory’ remarks.

A statement read: ‘We have offered Mark three meetings in the past three months, two of which face to face, and he has refused to engage. We had finally arranged to meet with him in the next week but he has clearly decided that he would not want to do so and has made these public comments instead. We strongly refute these allegations which are false and defamatory and will be taking necessary action.’

All this is bad for snooker.

I don’t take Ronnie’s statement about missing the World Championship too seriously. It’s not the first time he comes up with that, and he might mean it on the moment, but when the time for the World comes, he’s always changed his mind, even in 2013, when he sat the whole season out. BUT, there is clear discontent amongst the top players, especially the older ones. The players are essentially self-employed. Yes, there is the 20000 pounds guaranteed, but if they earn more than that, it doesn’t come in addition to their earnings, and of course it’s not counting towards their ranking. As self-employed persons, they should be free to choose where and when they want to play, taking the best offers. It’s up to WST to make their events attractive enough to keep the top players – the ones who actually put bums on seats – interested in their events. Over recent years their shareholders have seen their shares increase significantly, whilst the prize money has remained rather stagnant. So … I don’t see how Mark Allen’s remarks are defamatory and false.

Barry Hearn, and his family, have always been big fans of the free enterprise and the capitalist model.

Well then … they should live by his own principles and allow players to go for the best offer. This would force WST to increase the quality of their products to stay competitive, and it’s not all about the money, it’s about the quality of the venues, the fans’ and players’ global experience. By that I mean top quality snooker of course, but also quality catering, comfortable seating in the arena, “relaxing spaces” for fans at the venue, attention to accessibility, considering possible activities and attractions in the close area, comfortable players’ room, players changing facilities and showers … Make the snooker trip a global positive experience for the fans and the players. Players need to feel valued in order to deliver their best snooker.

This is WST report on day 2 at the 2023 NI Open Qualifiers:

Brown Earns Place In Home Event

Antrim’s Jordan Brown ensured that he’ll be among the line-up for next week’s BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast as he saw off Stuart Carrington 4-2 in the qualifying round.

…

Brown goes through to face either Neil Robertson or Wu Yize in the last 64 of the world ranking event at the Waterfront Hall, which runs from October 22 to 29. The former BetVictor Welsh Open champion made a top break of 69 in a hard-fought win over Carrington.

Irishman Ken Doherty earned his spot with a fine 4-3 victory over Liam Highfield. From 3-2 down, former World Champion Doherty, age 54, fired breaks of 135 and 65 to win the last two frames.

Stephen Hendry and Matthew Stevens went head to head in a repeat of their UK Championship final of 20 years ago, and again it was Stevens who came out on top as he recovered a 2-1 deficit to win 4-2.

Jamie Clarke won the deciding frame on the final black to beat Alfie Davis 4-3, while Dean Young top scored with 83 in a 4-2 win over Mohamed Ibrahim.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=15ExnuQce2w%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A

All the detailed results are on snooker.org as usual.

And as usual a lot is missing from this report.

There was a very good 4-0 win by Mark Davis over Scott Donaldson. Mark opened the match with two big breaks, a 100 and a 86. Not bad for a 51 years old veteran. Scott Donaldson AST was close to 40 seconds/shot. That’s very slow, unusually slow. Scott has been open about healths issues that have hindered him as a player. Maybe yesterday was a bad day for him.

Julien Leclercq beat Adam Duffy by 4-1, from 1-0 down. Julien played well … and fast! His AST was a mere 16 seconds per shot.

Stephen Hendry started the match well, he lead 2-0. This was, by far, the best I have seen him play since his “return”. He should have gone 3-1 really. He was the better player at that stage. The in-off in frame 4 appeared to seriously and durably affect him. He wasn’t the same after that. He looked dispirited and his game disintegrated. Nothing against Matthew Stevens but that was sad to see … again.

Anthony Hamilton scored only 18 points in a 4-0 defeat to Chris Wakelin. Chris was again in high scoring mode … he had breaks of 51, 87 and 95 en route to victory. He’s a different player snce winning the Shoot Out.

WST has also publishes the draw, and the qualifiers format for the 2023 Scottish Open:

BetVictor Scottish Open Draw

Gary Wilson will face close friend Elliot Slessor in the opening round when he begins the defence of his BetVictor Scottish Open title in Edinburgh in December.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DRAW

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFIERS FORMAT

The main event will run from December 11 to 17 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh. …

Wilson won his first ranking title in Edinburgh last year when he beat Joe O’Connor in the final. The Wallsend cueman will be up against practice partner Slessor in a Tyneside tussle in the first round this time.

World Champion Luca Brecel has been drawn against Ukranian ace Iulian Boiko, while world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan will face Glaswegian tour rookie Liam Graham. Scotland’s all-time legend John Higgins will meet Oliver Brown. Matches involving the top 16 seeds and the two Scottish wild cards will all be played in Edinburgh. Those matches are:

Gary Wilson v Elliot Slessor
Hossein Vafaei v Daniel Wells
Mark Williams v Sam Craigie
Kyren Wilson v Mostafa Dorgham
Mark Allen v Jamie Jones
Jimmy Robertson v Amaan Iqbal (wild card)
Robert Milkins v Mark Davis
Jack Lisowski v Mohamed Ibrahim
Judd Trump v Sydney Wilson
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Liam Graham
Barry Hawkins v Pang Junxu
Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Jack Borwick (wild card)
Ali Carter v Long Zehuang
Mark Selby v Sean O’Sullivan
Shaun Murphy v Liu Hongyu
John Higgins v Oliver Brown
Ding Junhui v David Grace
Luca Brecel v Julian Boiko

All other first round ties will take place at the qualifying round in Leicester from October 30 to November 2, with winners going through to Edinburgh. Notable matches in the qualifiers include:

Perth’s Scott Donaldson v Ashley Hugill
Marco Fu v Jimmy White
Ken Doherty v Aaron Hill
Baipat Siripaporn v Julien Leclercq
Glasgow’s Anthony McGill v Ryan Thomerson

In other news …

Regarding the exhibition in Shanghai …

On day 2, Ronnie beat Jack Lisowski by 4-2 , with a 108 in the process, then lost by 4-0 (or 4-1 according to Weibo) to Willo, who, again according to weibo, scored three centuries in that match. Sinosport on twitter wrote that the third day of the exhibition has been cancelled by the organisers, without further explanation. The posts on weibo are stating that “some” of today’s matches were cancelled, not all of them. Matches scheduled for today are/were Chinese pool matches.

These are the matches that are/may be still on:

14:00 Ronnie O’Sullivan vs. Jack Lisowski (game type: Chinese 8-ball)
19:00 Ding Junhui vs. Judd Trump (game type: Chinese 8-ball)

On twitter …

Hector Nunns, who extensively covered the “conflict” between the players involved in the Macau exhibition and WST/ WSL, and had some sympathy for the players, came yesterday on Twitter (yes, I know, it’s X now) to apologise for some of the things he wrote that were “misinformed” and “untrue”. Now, I know Hector personally and I’m puzzled. It’s not like him to publish things without checking his sources. Everybody makes mistakes, of course, and maybe Hector made a mistake this time… but I’m quite uneasy with the way this whole story panned out. And just now … Hector announced that he will stay away from snooker, adding that this decision is unconnected to the recent incident. It’s a big loss for our sport and … As I said already, I can’t help but feel very uneasy with it all.