Neil Robertson vowed to get back to his ‘brutal’ best and resume ‘burying opponents’ after a 5-0 demolition of Jimmy Robertson at the BetVictor German Masters in Berlin.
The Australian is in the midst of one of his worst ever seasons, having not been beyond the last 32 of any ranking event and suffered four first round exits so far.
Despite being currently ranked seventh in the world, Robertson is projected to lose his place in the top eight and miss out on the upcoming Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker. He is also on course to fall out of the top 16 and require a trip to the qualifying rounds for the World Championship.
However, 23-time ranking event winner Robertson has been putting in all the hours to ensure a return to form. Having won five in a row during his 5-1 first round win over Sanderson Lam, he has now won ten frames on the bounce.
Robertson crafted breaks of 87, 78, 135 and 86 during this morning’s victory and he now plays close friend Joe Perry, who beat Xing Zihao 5-1.
“I need to get back to being brutal and burying opponents into the ground. There are no happy, smiley handshakes anymore. I want the worst for my opponent on the table. Away from it fine, but on the table I want them to suffer.”
Neil Robertson
2010 World Champion
Robertson added: “I’m just really focussed on getting the best out of my performances and doing the best that I can do. That is super hard work, eating well, sleeping well, diet and physical exercise. There is absolutely no stone which is going to be unturned from now until the rest of the season.”
RUTHLESS ROBERTSON
Judd Trump continued his quest to scoop the £150,000 BetVictor Bonus with an event to spare, beating Matthew Stevens 5-3.
The player who accumulates the most money over the series earns the bumper payout, with only the BetVictor Welsh Open to go after this week.
Trump has already won two BetVictor Series events so far this season at the English Open and the Northern Ireland Open to establish a big lead. Only Barry Hawkins, John Higgins and Mark Allen remain in the hunt to catch him.
“I’ve got the incentive of trying to do well and put the series to bed in this tournament. I’m still in and hopefully I can improve in the next game,” said 2019 World Champion Trump.
“I’ve probably already scored more points than anyone has ever won it with before, so I would be incredibly unlucky not to win it from this position. I managed to pip Neil Robertson in the last event a couple of years ago. I don’t want that to happen to me. I’ve been very consistent in the series and I hope I can do the same here.”
Allen sealed his progression with a 5-2 win over Louis Heathcote. The Northern Irishman needs to win the title to remain in the hunt for the BetVictor Series bonus.
Chinese rookie He Guoqiang scored a shock 5-1 win over three-time World Champion Mark Williams. He crafted contributions of 121, 64 and 102 in the last three frames to secure a famous victory.
Defending champion Ali Carter eased through by a 5-1 scoreline against Peng Yisong and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh edged past Zhang Anda 5-4.
Again no reporting on the evening session matches.
The heartbreak I mention in the title of this post happened during that session and it’s a shame really that it’s not even mentioned on WST website: Marco Fu forfeited his match against Alfie Davies at 3-1 down. It was very obvious that Marco was struggling after the first frame and it later transpired that the reason for his withdrawal was health related: he was suffering from double vision and felt unable to continue. Eyes issues have completely derailed Marco’s career in recent years and it’s really worrying and sad to see. He still can play at the highest level when he is ok. That WST doesn’t even mention it, never mind wishing Marco well, is a shame really. Marco has been an impeccable professional since 1998 and a great ambassador for snooker in Hong Kong.
In the evening session, Mark Allen defeated Louis Heathcote (5-2) in a slow going and rather forgettable match, Jordan Brown beat David Gilbert (5-2), Julien Leclercq, from 2-1 and 3-2 down, beat Ken Doherty, by 5-3 with breaks of 81, 67 and 51. Joe Perry completely dominated young Xing Zihao as he beat him by 5-1 with breaks of 75, 103 and 65 in the first three frames.
Ali Carter edged past Welshman Michael White 5-4 to begin the defence of his BetVictor German Masters title in Berlin.
The Captain was crowned German Masters champion for a second time last year, when he thrashed Tom Ford 10-3 in the final here at the Tempodrom.
Since then, Carter has gone on to reap the rewards of returning to snooker’s top table. The Essex cueman was recently runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Masters and also made the final of the Wuhan Open earlier this season, when he lost to Judd Trump.
Now world number 11 Carter is hunting for a place in the top eight of the rankings. He has this week, the Welsh Open and the Players Championship to earn his place in the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
With Carter leading this afternoon’s encounter 3-2, he moved to the verge of victory with a break of 89 to go 4-2 ahead. However, 2015 Indian Open champion White showed his resolve to take the next two on the bounce, including a run of 85 to force a decider.
A tense final frame saw both players have opportunities, but after 25 minutes it was Carter who got himself over the line and book his place in the second round against Peng Yisong.
“I was pleased to dig in and get the win. It was a tough match and I knew it would be. I was delighted to come through in the end,” said five-time ranking event winner Carter.
“I’ve had three big finals since winning here last year in Yushan, at the Masters and the Players Championship last season. I’m in the Players Championship again this season and hopefully the Tour Championship. It is all good and the spin offs do happen from winning.
‘Everyone is chasing down a place in Riyadh now. That is going to be a big event and great event to be involved in. Hopefully I’ll pick up enough points to take my place.”
Indian tour rookie Ishpreet Singh Chadha scored the biggest win of his career so far, beating World Champion Luca Brecel 5-2.
Singh Chadha earned his place on the professional circuit through Asia/Oceania Q School at the start of the season. He has acquitted himself well so far, scoring wins over the likes of Anthony McGill and Stuart Bingham, but tonight’s victory is undoubtedly his biggest yet.
He made contributions of 78, 88, 53 and 70 during the tie. Singh Chadha’s performance now earns him a second round encounter with China’s Liu Hongyu.
“I am buzzing right now, over the moon. To beat Luca in such a nice arena is an absolutely superb feeling.”
Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Indian Number One
Singh Chadha added: “I feel I am getting there, little by little. I had a good feeling before the match and I really hit some form. I went back to India recently and felt very refreshed by that. I was very confident ahead of the game.
“This is the best venue until now I’ve played in. It is just amazing and the crowd makes you want to play well.”
Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy let a 3-0 lead slip to bow out 5-3 at the hands of Xu Si. World number 59 Xu crafted breaks of 70, 53 and 131 whilst taking five on the bounce to turn the tie on its head and earn a clash with Andrew Higginson in the next round.
Marco Fu put on a quickfire display to brush aside four-time World Champion Mark Selby 5-1.
The Hong Kong cueman averaged just 16 seconds a shot on his way to victory. Fu fired in breaks of 60, 76 and 98 during the win and now faces Alfie Davies.
FU REFLECTS ON SELBY ROUT
Marco plays a lot better since he plays faster.I can relate to that. My eyesight also changed for the worse in recent years (I’m much older than Marco) and usually when I try to really focus on an object it’s not working. I’m better t trust what I see at first sight…
This is one strange report… no word whatsoever about the “main” evening match. Judd Trump demolished the “local” boy, Lukas Kleckers by 5-0 on the main table. It was hard to watch. Lukas is a far better players than what he showed yesterday. The occasion got to him, he didn’t start well and that only made it worse. Judd himself didn’t play particularly well but he didn’t need to.
No mention either of Julien Leclercq 5- 2win over Barry Pinches. Barry Pinches isn’t on the main tour anymore but he’s a wile old fox and he still can play. That match featured a break over 60 in every frame bar one.
Nothing about the hard battle Mark Allen faced: he needed to win the last two frames to beat “Quid” in a match that went the distance.
Neal Foulds column: Ronnie O’Sullivan snooker’s dominant force again as focus turns to World Championship bid
By Neal Foulds
What Ronnie O’Sullivan is doing right now is incredible. In sporting terms, never mind snooker, we are witnessing greatness in front of our eyes and just when we think we might be at the beginning of the end, he comes again and reminds us that even now, at 48 years of age, he is still the man.
He is an amazing sportsman. The youngest and the oldest winner of the UK Championship, that record chalked up only last month, and now confirmed as the youngest and the oldest player to win the Masters only a few weeks ago. All topped off with victory at last week’s World Grand Prix. More records, more memories, more of that Ronnie magic. It’s bonkers, really, beyond belief.
Even now, he is as dominant as ever, as far ahead of his peers that I can ever remember.
He is in the realms of dominance that we haven’t seen since Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis. He’s number one in the rankings, he’s got so many points in the bank he might need to open another account soon, and he’s in the envious position of probably needing to pick and choose from here until the World Championship to ensure he isn’t overcooked by the time Sheffield comes around.
He’ll miss next week’s German Masters, which is a huge loss for the event, but perfectly understandable all the same.
Ronnie is now 15 matches unbeaten, which is staggering in itself, but when you consider that those wins span two Triple Crown tournaments, the hardest events to win, it’s clear that we are talking about complete and utter domination. And it’s not just his play on the table. He has an air of invincibility that Hendry had, that Davis had, but that I wasn’t sure a 48-year-old could have, not even Ronnie.
Is he as good as he was in 2013 when he won the World Championship after taking a year off? I’m not sure he is, but he can win in different ways now. He might not be able to produce the jaw-dropping session of snooker we saw in semi-final defeat of Ding Junhui at the World Grand Prix quite so often, but he’s prepared to roll his sleeves up nowadays and win when he’s not at his best.
He’ll grind out victories in matches he might have lost 10 years ago, and where we always used to think of him as a brilliant, almost unstoppable frontrunner, he is now so hard to shake off even if starting matches slowly and falling behind. It was that way in the Masters final against Ali Carter and again when trailing Judd Trump in the final of the World Grand Prix last week. He just wouldn’t buckle and eventually, he broke his opponents down.
Dr Stephen Peters must take plenty of credit for his input, and Ronnie says that himself. His attitude rarely lets him down nowadays, and to beat O’Sullivan you know you’re generally going to have to play somewhere close to your best. The harsh reality is that even the best players don’t seem capable of doing that right now, and I’m not sure many believe they can beat him.
And as we have always said, if O’Sullivan plays his best, he’s almost impossible to beat. His scoring is always deadly, his unrivalled positional play ensures that, but when his long game is on point like it was in Leicester, you can’t see him losing too many matches. Ronnie’s long game isn’t always as strong as it was last week, but when that facet of his game clicks, there are no chinks in his armour.
He can’t keep winning every week, of course he can’t, but right now, when he’s playing well, it’s hard to see who steps up to take him down. The tournament organisers in Germany might be disappointed he isn’t in Berlin, but the other players will be relieved.
One man who will be particularly happy to see the back of Ronnie is Ding, denied late in the UK Championship final and completely blown away in that session of their semi-final at the World Grand Prix. It was simply awesome stuff from Ronnie, and my ITV colleague Ken Doherty described it as the best session of snooker he’s ever seen.
I wouldn’t want to completely nail my colours to that mast, but most of the best sessions in the history of snooker involve Ronnie – his 6-0 drubbing of Ricky Walden at the Masters in 2014, when notching 556 points without reply, is another performance I’ll never forget.
What a player he’s been, and what a player he continues to be. A truly remarkable sportsman.
If the match with Ding was memorable for its quality, his defeat of Carter at the Masters will be remembered for different reasons. The match and whole furore around the final was unsavoury, we can’t get away from that. The two have history and it showed, but that probably inspired Ronnie. Once again, he dug deep to win a match he might’ve lost a few years ago.
Carter played really well in the afternoon session and put Ronnie under pressure, but I think that spurred Ronnie on and he got stronger and stronger as things developed. Carter wasn’t the same player as he saw his hopes of a maiden Triple Crown win slip away, but all credit to Ronnie who just wouldn’t be beaten.
Attention now turns to Berlin for a tournament that I have a lot of time for. The Tempodrom is one of the best venues I’ve been to and when it gets to finals weekend, it’s as good as anywhere in the world to watch snooker. People who say otherwise haven’t been and experienced it for themselves.
The support for snooker in Germany is fantastic and the enthusiasm for the sport helps deliver a wonderful atmosphere for the players to play in. We have a Belgian world champion now, and a German Masters extended to seven days this year, so I think we are seeing some really positive signs for snooker on the continent.
Carter will return as defending champion, and the two-time German Masters winner will no doubt fancy his chances again. He’s a tough cookie, on and off the table, and he won’t be fazed by all the noise from his latest spat with Ronnie. It might well light the fire in his belly.
He won’t be the only big name desperate to do well in Berlin, though. Carter’s results have been good all season, but for people like Mark Selby and Neil Robertson, they will be very keen for a deep run somewhere, not just for the ranking points, but to try and gain some confidence and momentum ahead of a crucial juncture in the season.
We often talk about trying to peak for the World Championship, but Robertson certainly won’t be thinking about that. He needs to find some form now, and someone like Kyren Wilson, who has a terrific record in this event, is the same.
For Ronnie, you get the sense that from here on in, it’s all about Sheffield. I hope and think we’ll see him in the big ITV events coming up, but he has said he’ll be managing his workload from now until April and you can’t really blame him. Whenever we do see him, he’ll be the man to beat, but his focus appears to have already shifted to the Crucible.
There aren’t many things that Ronnie O’Sullivan hasn’t achieved in snooker, but winning all three Triple Crown events in the same season is one of those things. How utterly ridiculous that in what should be the final act of his illustrious career, he holds all the cards, most of the trophies, and a wave of public support that will mean 8, 8, 8 is never far from the minds of snooker fans from now until the spring.
Matthew Stevens fired two centuries as he booked a place in his home tournament by beating Louis Heathcote 4-3 in the qualifying round of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Former UK and Masters champion Stevens, from Carmarthen, goes through to the final stages, to run from February 12 to 18 in Llandudno.
Heathcote started strongly with breaks of 72 and 85 to win the first two frames, then Stevens came from 60-0 down to take the third with a 71 clearance, before making 137 and 120 to go 3-2 ahead. Frame six went Heathcote’s way but Stevens got the better of the decider with a top run of 41.
Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui saw off six-time ranking event winner Stephen Maguire 4-1 with top breaks of 85, 71, 53 and 67. Neath’s Daniel Wells beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-2 with a top run of 66. BetVictor Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson scored a 4-1 success against Mark Davis, while Ross Muir earned a 4-2 victory over Stephen Hendry.
Graeme Dott came from 2-0 down to edge out Pang Junxu 4-3, winning a tight deciding frame by potting brown, blue and pink. Hossein Vafaei top scored with 91 in a 4-1 win over Scott Donaldson.
It was a good day for the Belgian youngsters as Julien Leclercq made a break of 74 in the deciding frame to beat Alfie Burden 4-3, while Ben Mertens top scored with 86 in a 4-0 whitewash of Hammad Miah.
Ryan Day came through a tough battle against Egypt’s Mostafa Dorgham, winning 4-3 to earn a spot in the televised phase of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Four-time ranking event winner Day might have expected an easier evening against world number 124 Dorgham, but was pushed all the way before eventually securing a place in the last 64 in Llandudno next month.
African champion Dorgham led 2-1 before Day made breaks of 58 and 64 to go 3-2 up. Dorgham won frame six on the final black for 3-3, but Day dominated the decider with a top run of 47.
Best fight-back of the day came from Jordan Brown, who won this event in 2021, as he recovered a 3-0 deficit to beat Lyu Haotian 4-3. A break of 79 helped Brown recover to 3-3, and he clinched the decider on the final black with a 34 clearance.
Stan Moody fired runs of 83 and 58 as he beat Sean O’Sullivan 4-2, while fellow tour rookie Liam Pullen eased to a 4-0 win over Rebecca Kenna. Chester’s Ricky Walden, who lives closer to Llandudno than any other pro, came from 2-1 down to beat Andy Hicks 4-2.
Marco Fu top scored with 93 as he beat Stuart Bingham 4-1, while Adam Duffy registered a surprise 4-0 win over Zhou Yuelong. Oliver Lines edged out Michael White 4-3 with a 111 in the deciding frame, while Matthew Selt won a 75-minute decider on the colours to beat Sam Craigie 4-3.
Julian Boiko completed a fine week at qualifying in Barnsley as he beat Ishpreeet Singh Chadha 4-0 to book a place in the final stages of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Earlier in the week, Ukraine’s 18-year-old Boiko saw off Baipat Siripaporn 5-1 to earn a spot in the World Open, and he can now look forward to a trip to Llandudno having whitewashed Singh Chada with top breaks of 101 and 73.
Competing as an amateur, Boiko reached the last 16 of the BetVictor Shoot Out last month and continues to build momentum as he seeks a return to the pro tour.
In a match where the two players had a combined age of 113, Dominic Dale beat Jimmy White 4-1 with a top break of 84. David Gilbert needed just 51 minutes score a 4-0 success aginst Ken Doherty with runs of 136, 62, 66 and 68.
Llanelli’s Jamie Clarke came from 2-0 down to edge out James Cahill 4-3, while Tom Ford made a 93 in the decider to win a Leicester derby against Ben Woollaston 4-3.
Crucible quarter-finalist Jak Jones won the deciding frame on the final pink to beat Liu Hongyu 4-3, while Joe Perry, who won this event in 2022, lost 4-2 to Fan Zhengyi. Caerphilly’s Dylan Emery made breaks of 103, 92 and 123 in a fine 4-1 victory over Fergal O’Brien.
One of the reasons I insist that there should be no qualifiers in any flat draw events, unless they are played at or near the main event venue, is that, only too often, the “local” players fail to qualify and the local fans don’t get the opportunity to cheer on their “own” players. This has been often the case for the Welsh players in the past. Fortunately this time all the Welsh players did well and Matthew Stevens, Ryan Day, Daniel Wells, Dominic Dale, Andrew Pagett, Jamie Clarke and Dylan Emery all qualified. Willo of course has his opening match held over to the venue.
On the first day, I mainly focused on the Belgian lads, Ben and Julien. Both managed a much needed win. Julien faced a tough challenge in Alfie Burden. Their match was a close high scoring affair: they had six breaks over 60 in seven frames, including a 61 by Alfie in frame 2, a frame he lost.
Day 2 produced some extraordinary “features”.
It was frustration day: Zhou Yuelong, whose current lack of form is worrying, conceded frame 2 at 13-46 with five reds left, Stuart Bingham, who struggles with his eyesight, conceded frame 5 on 0-59 with 6 reds left and Himanshu Jain missed the 11th black in a maximum attempt in frame 4, the only frame he won, in his match against Noppon Saengkham.
Matthew Selt and Sam Craigie had an incredible battle. The whole match lasted over 4 1/2 hours, the deciding frame alone lasted over 1h20′. There was just one break over 50 all match. In four frames the winner finished with a total under 70 points, and that without any early concession. It was hard match snooker at its hardest. It was fascinating but hardly the type of match that will attract young poeple or new fans to the sport. Because of it, the evening match between Day and Dorgham was played on an outside table so that the players weren’t made to wait, and despite going to a deciding frame, their match finished less than half an hour after the Selt v Craigie one.
Comparatively, Day 3 was rather uneventful despite delivering some close battles.
Ronnie has said that he will not play in the Welsh Open this season but, as far as we know, he hasn’t withdrawn yet. We shall see. The reason I say that is because he loves Llandudno, he loves the place, he loves the arena and he has running mates there.
Martin Gould has pulled out of the BetVictor German Masters and BetVictor Welsh Open for medical reasons.
Gould was due to face John Higgins in the second round in Berlin on Tuesday evening, instead Higgins will receive a bye to the last 32.
Sydney Wilson has replaced Gould in the BetVictor Welsh Open qualifying round and will face Wu Yize on Saturday.
Hossein Vafaei has withdrawn from the BetVictor German Masters dues to visa issues. He was due to face Elliot Slessor in the second round on Monday, instead Slessor will receive a bye to the last 32.
First of all, I’m wishing Martin Gould a speedy and complete recovery.
Next… no Ronnie withdrawal announced yet but it’s clear that whatever happens there will be no replacements at the German Masters no matter when players pull out from here on.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from next week’s BetVictor German Masters for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan has been replaced in the draw by Barry Pinches, who will play Julien Leclercq in a first round match on Monday afternoon (January 29th).
Hossein Vafaei has pulled out due to visa issues. He was due to face Elliot Slessor in the second round on Monday, instead Slessor will receive a bye to the last 32.
Martin Gould has withdrawn for medical reasons. Gould was due to face John Higgins in the second round in Berlin on Tuesday evening, instead Higgins will receive a bye to the last 32.
Gould has also pulled out of the BetVictor Welsh Open qualifying round and been replaced by Sydney Wilson, who will face Wu Yize on Saturday.
The fact that Ronnie IS replaced when Gould and Vafaei are not tells only one story – to me at least – and it’s that Ronnie had withdrawn earlier but they were keeping in quiet.
Forget that! Of course as Mr Rerack exlpains in the comment section the ones who already won a match can’t be replaced. Silly mistake from me. Sorry for that.
Whilst the qualifiers for the 2024 Welsh Open are under way, WPBSa has published some important information regarding the qualifying routes leading to tour cards for next season.
The World Snooker Federation (WSF) Championships take place at the Grand Blue Fafa Resort in Golem, Albania between 29 January and 11 February 2024.
The winners of both the WSF Junior Championship and WSF Championship will earn two-year tour cards for the World Snooker Tour from the start of the 2024/25 season.
Please find important information about the events below:
WSF JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The tournament, won last year by Stan Moody, takes place between 29 January and 2 February.
The provisional format for both competitions is as follows:
All group matches will be the best of 5 frames.
The top two players in each group will progress to the knockout rounds
All knockout rounds up to and including the semi-finals will be the best of 7 frames.
The final will be the best of 9 frames.
VENUE
Both events will take place at Grand Blue Fafa Resort in Golem, Albania. The full address for the venue can be found below:
Grand Blue Fafa Resort Rruga Kompleksit 1000 Golem Albania
CONTACT
Should you have any questions or concerns then you can contact us directly via our website or social media platforms.
In total 211 players have entered the main event which is quite impressive. All the names you would expect to find there, and more, are in, including Tony Knowles 😮. Maybe less expected is Luo Hong Hao. I wonder if he will be able to make it this time.
There are some women in the main draw too, most notably On Yee and So Man Yan from Hong Kong. It probably helps that there is a Women Snooker event, the 2024 Albanian Women’s Open, happening at the same dates, at the same venue.
Qualification Criteria Set For Q Tour Global Play-Off
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is pleased to confirm how the field of 24 players for this season’s newly relaunched Global Q Tour Play-Off will be completed.
The prestigious event will be held alongside the EBSA European Championships in Bosnia & Herzegovina from 13-15 March 2024 and for the first time will see three places on the World Snooker Tour from the start of the 2024/25 season contested
It can now be confirmed that 18 players from the Q Tour UK/Europe Rankings will qualify for the playoff, an increase of two from the minimum of 16 previously announced at the start of the season.
They will be joined by two players from each of the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Americas series’ who will complete the 24-player line-up in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With events still to be played across the globe, there is still plenty to play for. Here is a round-up of the current state of play:
Success in the three of the six Q Tour UK/Europe events already held this season means that Michael Holt has an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings and has already secured his World Snooker Tour card for the 2024/25 season.
There is still plenty to play for, however, with 18 places at the Global Play-Off available for those ranked 2nd to 19th.
Previous event winners Liam Davies, Umut Dikme and Antoni Kowalski are automatically guaranteed qualification, but for players further down the list, it will no doubt be a nervy weekend in Leeds as just 1,000 points separate the players ranked between 11th and 28th in the current ranking list.
Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh dominated the first two events of the Middle East series, winning back-to-back events in January with final victories over Habib Humood (4-0) and Mohamed Shehab (4-3) to secure his place at the Global Play-Off regardless of what happened in the third event.
A first round exit for Sarkhosh in event three meant there would be a new winner in Abu Dhabi and it was Shehab, who had led 3-0 at one stage in the final of event two before being defeated by the Iranian, who made amends by beating Yazan Alhaddad in the final and securing the second available spot in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Canadian Vito Puopolo currently sits in poll position in the Americas ranking list following a victory in the first event in Toronto.
Puopolo, who played at the Crucible Theatre in last year’s World Seniors Championship, beat Matt Fifield, Charlie Brown and Alan Whitfield to set up a final with fellow countryman Jason Williams.
He had dropped just a single frame en route to the final and Puopolo was once again dominant in the title match, storming into a 4-0 lead and ultimately overcoming Williams 5-1 to secure the event one crown.
Puopolo and Williams currently sit in the qualifying places for the Global Play-Off but with events still to come in the USA and Brazil, it remains all to play for.
It remains tight at the top of the Q Tour Asia-Pacific ranking list with the top two places being held by players who picked up maximum points in one of the two events held so far, and zero points in the other.
Event one took place in New Zealand in September and October and it was Rob Redgrove who defeated Adam Shaw in a final frame decider to secure the event one title and an early lead in the race to Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Former main tour professional Vinnie Calabrese was the champion of the second event, held in Sydney. Calabrese stormed through an impressive field of 111 players to lift the title – beating Steve Mifsud 6-3 in the final.
Redgrove and Calabrese currently occupy the top two places in the ranking list, but with the third event still to be played later this week, nobody in this region is yet guaranteed qualification for the Global Play-Off.
There weren’t that many surprises – outcome or scores – but there were some big ones:
Liu Hongyu beat Jamie Clarke by 5-1. We know by now that Liu is very good, but the score is still surprising. Liu needed several snookers in the sixth frame, including at least one on the pink.
Ryan Day beat Andrew Higginson by 5-4 from 4-1 down.
Mark Selby was seriously pushed by the 19 years old rookie Xing Zihao. Mark won by 5-3, making two centuries, including a 130 in frame 5 … the 800th century of his career.
Jenson Kendrick beat Anthony Hamilton by 5-3 in a match that featured a break over 50 in every frame bar the first. Ants is never easy to beat and I’m glad that Jenson gets something out of his professional experience this season. His first year was terrible and it must have been hard to take, especially as he became a father for the first time. After his win this week he came on social media with a picture of himself and his baby…
Sean O’Sullivan beat Xiao Guodong by 5-1. I didn’t see the match but … Xiao made the only century of the match in frame 1, then lost all the close next five.
Ishpreet Singh Chadha beat Stuart Bingham by 5-3. A very good result for the Indian player.
Lukas Kleckers beat Jack Lisowski by 5-2. I’m very happy for Lukas and for the German fans who will have the opportunity to watch him play. The less I say about Jack the better.
Ashley Hugill beat Anthony McGill by 5-1. Ashley is a very solid all-rounder but I can’t help wondering about Anthony’s motivation in qualifiers.
There were also some very close battles
Aaron Hill beat Joe O’Connor by 5-4
Joe Perry beat Martin O’Donnell by 5-4
Noppon Saengkham beat Himanshu Jain by 5-4
Ben Woollaston beat Ben Mertens by 5-4. That was hard fought. I like them both and I went through mixed feelings throughout that match!
Adam Duffy beat Mark Davis by 5-4 … and I’m truly sorry for Mark’s biggest fan who is German 😢
Also …
David Lilley beat Scott Donaldson by 5-3 in the last match of the day. A match that finished one hour and 15 minutes after all the other ones. Both players have an AST over 30 seconds, but their shot time, towards the end, was more often than not over 45 seconds. Sorry but that’s preposterous. I know it’s important to them, I know they are under pressure but I’m also convinced that starting to ponder every shot for too long isn’t helpful. It’s mentally exhausting and rarely leads to the best decision.
And finally …
Mark Williams withdrew from the event to play exhibitions in Finland in front of big enthusiast crowds. Good on him. It was kept very quiet by WST though. No fuss at all, no big words, no threats to be thrown out of the game … I found out because only when Iulian Boiko replaced him and because there were pictures on social media. Yet these exhibitions were conflicting with one of WST events, didn’t they? No consistency here from the governing body and you have to wonder why. I don’t want to bring Willo any problems – maybe he asked permission and got it, maybe the fact that Robin Hull was involved in the organisation helped – and you know my stance: players being self-employed should be free to take the best offers, it’s for WST to come up with them if they want the best players in their events. It’s that simple. The hard capitalist that is Barry Hearn should know that better than anyone. But still … it only makes me wonder even more about the real reasons why WST got so worked up about the Macau one …
Ronnie O'Sullivan 