Here are WST reports on the quarter-finals in Llandudno yesterday
HIGGINS AND SLESSOR INTO SEMIS
John Higgins, seeking his first ranking title in three years, scored one of his best wins of the season as he beat Mark Allen 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Elliot Slessor, looking to continue the recent sequence of surprise winners of this title by following Jordan Brown, Joe Perry and Robert Milkins, scored a 5-3 win over Dominic Dale to reach his third ranking semi-final.
World number 12 Higgins outplayed an opponent ranked nine places higher as he continued his quest for a sixth Welsh Open title, and first ranking silverware since the 2021 Players Championship. The legendary Scot, age 48, has tried to add new impetus to his game this season, working with a sports psychologist for the first time and changing his cue. And his confidence seems high as he looks ahead to a meeting with Gary Wilson or close friend Anthony McGill in Llandudno on Saturday evening.
Allen trailed 63-23 in the opening frame when he missed the brown to a centre pocket, trying to gain position on the penultimate red, and Higgins punished him to take the lead, before making a superb 131 for 2-0. Allen battled back to 2-2, but Higgins dominated after the interval, compiling runs of 76 and 85 for 4-2. The Scot built a 60-0 lead in the fifth, and Allen’s chance to counter ended when he missed a risky red.
Higgins is into his 84th career ranking event semi-final and fourth of the season. He said: “Mark is one of the elite players, you have to play well to beat him, it’s a brilliant win for me. I have changed my cue, I went back to the size I used about 25 years ago. That seems to be working right now. Hopefully things can come together because I have been knocking on the door for a while and it hasn’t opened yet.
“I would love to play Anthony in the semi-finals because it would be a special occasion to play him, he’s a friend and a top young boy. It’s great to see him back enjoying the game. He has been a bit down over the last year or two so I’m happy to see him get some big wins this week and get his confidence back. But he’s got a tough game with Gary. The crowds here have been packed all week and I’m sure it will be sold out at the weekend with a great atmosphere.”
Slessor’s previous semi-final appearances came at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open and 2021 British Open, and the 29-year-old from Gateshead will have the chance to reach his first final when he faces Luca Brecel or Martin O’Donnell on Saturday afternoon. Welshman Dale had hoped to become the first home winner of this title since Mark Williams in 1999, but the 52-year-old veteran made too many errors as his run came to an end.
Dale took the opening frame and had a clear chance for 2-0 but missed a routine black on 41. World number 50 Slessor punished him with a 54 clearance, before making a 128 to go ahead. In the fourth, Dale trailed 53-28 when he missed a red to top corner, and again that proved costly as he fell 3-1 behind.
The next two were shared, then a fluked red in frame seven helped Dale close to 4-3. Two-time ranking event Dale had a chance to force a decider, but could only make 29, and Slessor replied with runs of 43 and 24 which proved enough.
Slessor said: “There were some tight frames, it was a battle. I’m delighted to win. I have been working with (coach) Chris Henry this season and my game has turned a corner. My daughter had her fourth birthday today so it’s mixed emotions for me because I am not at home for that. I watched her open her presents this morning on Facetime. But she knows I am away for the right reasons. It would mean everything for me to get to the final and have my family there.“
Mark Allen may be ranked 9 places above John Higgins but yesterday afternoon he was poor and John played really well. Mark battled hard to restore parity at the interval, having trailed 0-2 but it was in vain. He simply didn’t play well enough on the day and, towards the end of the match looked thoroughly fed up. It’s hard to understand find a rational explanation but John Higgins nearly always seems to be inspired by the Welsh Open: he has won it a record five times, but the last of those five wins came in 2018, so it’s been a while…
O’DONNELL STUNS WORLD CHAMPION BRECEL
Crucible king Luca Brecel fell victim to his bogey player as Martin O’Donnell scored a 5-3 victory to reach the semi-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
O’Donnell had beaten Brecel in all three of their previous meetings, but tonight’s success was the biggest win of his career so far as he knocked out a player ranked 72 places higher to reach the second ranking event semi-final of his career – the only other one coming at the 2018 Shoot Out. On Saturday afternoon, world number 76 O’Donnell will meet Elliot Slessor, ranked 50th, with both men aiming to reach a first ranking final.
The career of Bedfordshire-based O’Donnell was in danger of fizzling out when he was relegated from the tour in 2022. A year later, he managed to regain his place via the Q Tour, and since then he has enjoyed some fine results, notably reaching the quarter-finals of the BetVictor English Open and last 16 of the BetVictor Scottish Open – where he beat Brecel. This week’s run has guaranteed him £17,500, but after tonight’s performance he will only have eyes for the Ray Reardon Trophy.
The first six frames of a high quality contest were shared – O’Donnell making breaks of 88, 61 and 130 while Belgium’s Brecel knocked in 75, 75 and 76. In the seventh, Brecel had a chance to clear from 44-1 down, but ran out of position on the penultimate red. O’Donnell got the better of a safety exchange then converted an excellent pot on the red to a baulk corner, setting him up to go 4-3 ahead.
The Englishman led 63-33 in the eighth when he missed match-ball pink to a top corner, and he later rattled the last red in the jaws of a baulk pocket. Brecel’s attempted clearance ended when he missed a difficult black along the top cushion, and a brief tactical tussle was revolved when O’Donnell potted it from distance, his jubilation evident in his celebration.
It’s a deflating end to a promising week for Brecel, who reached his first ranking quarter-final of the season. He is now sure to miss next week’s Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship, while either O’Donnell or Slessor will earn a place in Telford if they win the final.
O’Donnell said: “On the last black, I built myself up for it, I knew I was one ball away from winning. I played it positively and cued it well. I’ve had good wins against Luca before but tonight was a bit different at a late stage of a tournament. I have felt confident all week, I’m scoring well and I wanted to attack the balls. Last season I wasn’t even on tour so I was a long way from this kind of thing. It’s not easy to get back on the tour, but I always believed I could get back to this level because I am older and wiser now.
“This season I have tried not to make everything a pint of blood. I do try hard out there – sometimes too hard. I still try to play as if it means everything, but I am able to handle defeats better and move on. I have played a bit quicker too and that seems to be helping. Tomorrow will be another tough game but one of us will get through to Sunday.“
Meanwhile, Gary Wilson continued his bid for back-to-back BetVictor Home Nations titles as he trounced Anthony McGill 5-0. Wallsend’s Wilson triumphed in Scotland in December and is now through to his ninth ranking event semi-final. He dominated tonight’s contest with top breaks of 92, 71 and 76, to earn a meeting with John Higgins on Saturday evening.
“I was prepared to battle tonight and make the most of every shot,” said world number 16 Wilson. “Sometimes if I’m struggling a bit I get embarrassed, and end up forcing the issue. So I just tried to forget the crowd was there. I have played for long enough to know that you can never really analyse your own game, you just have to try to feel confident and hope that it goes your way on the day.
“I have tried to stick to what I’m doing, because it was working at the Scottish. That has helped me to just go out and play without any rubbish in my head, and to be a bit more consistent. In the past I would not be able to play certain shots, but I don’t feel that way any more. I still have improvements to make, but I’m going in the right direction.
“John Higgins is an absolute legend and I look forward to that challenge. I could crumble tomorrow, but even if I do I will come away from the week with some positives. And if I can take a big scalp, even better.”
Luca wasn”t able to reproduce the form he showed in previous matches this week but that’s only a small part of the story. The “MOD” – “Minister Of Defense” – turned into a master of attack yesterday. Martin will never be a quick player but he certainly can be a very positive, attacking player, he showed that yesterday … and it paid off big time. It was actually a fantastic match to watch: great shots galore and played in great spirit as well.
I didn’t see a ball of the other matches. No comments then…
Ronnie O'Sullivan 