The 2023 Scottish Open started yesterday in Edinburgh and it wasn’t the best day for many of the top seeds who had their match held-over. All the results are on snooker.org.
Bullet Brecel Delayed But Not Derailed
World Champion Luca Brecel faced a race against the clock, after a delayed flight nearly caused him to miss his opening round clash with Iulian Boiko at the BetVictor Scottish Open, but the Belgian arrived just in time to score a 4-0 win and reach round two in Edinburgh.
Brecel was set to be the second game on this afternoon, following Mark Williams’ clash with Sam Craigie. With Williams leading 3-0, Brecel was still at Edinburgh airport. However, Craigie mounted an incredible comeback charge to win 4-3 and bought Brecel the time he needed to arrive at the venue just before his match got underway.
It was just as well that Brecel got himself to the Meadowbank Sports Centre in time, as his place in the World Grand Prix is on the line this week. Only the top 32 players of the season so far will qualify for the event and Brecel sits in 38th. He must at least win his next match against James Cahill to stand a chance of earning a place.
When he eventually arrived and the match got underway, the Bullet flew to victory, taking just over an hour and making breaks of 56 and 75 along the way.
“It is a miracle I got here. When Mark Williams was 3-0 up, I was still on the plane. I was checking the scores and knew Sam needed to win at least one frame to give me a chance. That’s what he did. I’m thankful to Sam and just happy to be here. I want to play well and enjoy it,” said 2021 Scottish Open winner Brecel. “I said to my taxi driver I was in a hurry and he did really well. He ignored the red lights and stuff like that, so it was handy!
“I felt quite good. I enjoyed it. I’m just trying to have a bit more fun on the table. I was really just happy to be here because of the travel. I was really up for this one. I’m trying to enjoy it. I haven’t done that enough this season and I’ve been thinking too much. Probably because I’m World Champion and there is more attention. That is never a good thing in snooker, so I just tried to go back to my World Championship frame of mind.”
Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins got his quest for a home title underway with a convincing 4-0 whitewash win over Oliver Brown.
Higgins is a two time finalist in the event, but was beaten by Marco Fu in 2016 and Brecel in 2021. The 31-time ranking event winner is hunting his first ranking silverware in any event since the 2021 Players Championship, having lost four finals.
The first frame saw Higgins steal from requiring snookers and he went on to coast home from there. Breaks of 69, 74 and 82 saw Higgins over the line and earned him a second round clash with China’s He Guoqiang.
Higgins said: “I’m delighted to win. Playing in front of a home crowd, you only get to do that once a year up here for the Scottish boys. I was really happy to get through my first game. I hope I can have a good run. The crowd were tremendous tonight.”
Judd Trump scored a 4-0 whitewash win over Sydney Wilson to set up a mouth watering second round meeting with International Champion Zhang Anda.
Player of the Season so far Trump is seeking his fourth ranking crown of the campaign. He required just 47 minutes to wrap up victory this evening.
Jamie Jones scored an impressive 4-2 win over Mark Allen, while Shaun Murphy bowed out 4-1 at the hands of Liu Hongyu and defending champion Gary Wilson beat Elliot Slessor 4-2.
So, that’s 7 of the 16 top seeds out of the competition already! Ding played really well, as did Luca Brecel indeed. Sam Craigie was impressive in coming from 3-0 down to beat Willo. Judd Trump had no real opposition. I have known Sydney Wilson for nearly 15 years. As a young amateur he was brilliant, yesterday he was really poor. It was sad to watch.
Ronnie withdrew from the event.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Scottish Open due to medical reasons.
The world number one was set to face Liam Graham in the opening round, but Graham will now receive a bye.
Liam Graham wasn’t happy. He had relatives who had come to watch him play and I can understand why he was disappointed. What I do NOT understand is why WST had not taken action to make sure someone, preferably a Scottish youngster, was available in case this happened because it was to be expected. Indeed, Ronnie had said, right after his win in York that he might skip this event. Ronnie had already withdrawn from the 2023 Champion of Champions, a tournament he loves and where he was defending champion, to look after his mental health, saying he felt drained and stressed. In this article, shared by Eurosport, he explained that he’s taking a “prevention” approach, not allowing the situation to become really bad, which is sensible.
I read on social media that Alfie Davies was contacted shortly after 9 am to replace Ronnie. That was never going to work: how was he supposed to be able to travel and be at the venue in time for the match, coming from Wales in the winter weather? I know he was the one “first in the list” of replacements by the rules in place, but there are circumstances where common sense has to take precedence. I also wonder when Ronnie told them. Was it that morning? Or was it earlier but not acknowledged for some reason? After all, the previous day was a Sunday, and the day after the madness of the Shoot Out and it’s late night finish.
We have a say in French: « gouverner, c’est prévoir », which means “to govern is to plan“. Ronnie may have failed the fans, but the snooker governing body failed them too.
I don’t understand why this poor Sidney Wilson was Trump’s opponent. He is nowhere on the Order of Merit and he is not Scottish to have a wildcard.
Ah, I just got home, so Williams up 3-0, so I thought it was a done deal, lets watch Barry in the decider. Little did I knew. 🙂
I understand Liam Graham is upset, although as the family came to watch him play Ronnie, maybe they would not have been that happy if he had played a Scottish substitute, LOL. But it could be expected that Ronnie would pull out, he said it in so many words. I absolutely applauded that he forfeited the CoC which he likes, but which is still just a lucrative invitational, to focus on the UK, which is a triple crown after all. I understand why he picks and chooses and Home Nations have never been his strong suit, but had he done bad at the UK, maybe he would have tried to collect some points. What I don’t understand, why he did not pull out earlier, or did he, but organizers, WST kept quiet about it to sell more tickets?
That last question you ask Csilla, has also been on my mind … 🤔
to be honest I fully support Ronnie’s decision to pick and choose his events, he’s been doing that for ages. however, I do not support the fake “medical reasons” stuff. everybody knows it’s not that. why lie.
Depression, anxiety and exhaustion are medical reasons. I think the hype around the documentary has been rather stressful. and winning the UK championship has not been easy. Withdrawing without a reason after the draw was published hands you a fine.
but come on, it’s not medical reasons. he says in every interview that the UK events are not nice and not pay well enough. so clearly that’s the reason. yet social media is full of idiots saying “get better Ronnie”
It’s both. Pulling out of the Champion of Champions certainly wasn’t because he doesn’t like it, right? When you’re not 100% right, going to events you don’t really like is even more difficult.