The 2024 Players Championship got underway yesterday evening with two matches and here is the report by WST on the evening:

HIGGINS BATTLES PAST DING

John Higgins scored a hard fought 6-4 win over Ding Junhui to make the quarter-finals of Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford.

Higgins currently finds himself in 11^th position on the world rankings, with only the top eight after this week’s tournament making it to the lucrative Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker, which runs from March 4^th to 6^th.

Today’s victory was crucial for the Wizard of Wishaw and allows him to continue chasing Ding, who is now perilously exposed in eighth place.

The last time Higgins and Ding faced each other in Telford was the 2009 UK Championship final. On that occasion Ding prevailed 10-8, but Higgins had his revenge this evening and the Scot has now won their last three meetings.

Higgins crafted breaks of 102 and 68 on his way to finding himself locked level at 4-4 this evening. The final two frames saw him burst over the line with runs of 65 and 100. Next up he faces either Noppon Saengkham or Zhang Anda.

“It’s a brilliant win, because I’ve always struggled with Ding. He’s had my number in the last few years. It is good to get the better of him in the last couple of matches we have faced each other. I rate him so highly.”

John Higgins

Four-time World Champion

Higgins added: “I’ve had some nice memories in Telford and some sad too. I can remember beating Mark Williams to win the UK Championship and also losing to Ding. I’m still very proud that I am playing with the top boys and competing with them all.

“My game is getting better. At the start of the year there were a few things going wrong and I was fighting my technique. I think I seem to be on top of a good bit of it.”

One of the dominant forces of season so far, Judd Trump, sealed his progression with a comfortable 6-2 defeat of 16^th seed Chris Wakelin.

Trump tops this season’s one year list, which means he is number one seed for this elite 16-player event. The Ace in the Pack has already won four ranking titles at the English Open, Wuhan Open, Northern Ireland Open and the recent German Masters.

Wakelin, who narrowly earned his place in Telford this week, took the opener with a fine break of 120. Trump took the next two and led 2-1, before Wakelin claimed the fourth to head in for the mid-session all-square.

When play resumed the Englishman blitzed to four on the bounce, signing off with a break of 132 to emerge the victor. He now plays either Tom Ford or Ali Carter in the last eight.

REFRESHED TRUMP ON OPENING TELFORD WIN

I have not changed WST text but it’s indeed a 139, not a132, that Judd made to finish the match as Rob mentions in the above interview.

I only watched the Trump v Wakelin match to to the MSI. Neither played well in that first mini-session and the camera image wasn’t stable¹ which was very annoying and disappointing.

I didn’t turn to the other match. I was tired and I don’t enjoy watching John Higgins play, never did. For some reason, for all his skills, he bores me. And, I have to admit it, after what happened in 2010, I hate seeing him win.

1. At times it looked like the camera was mounted on a spring and the image was bouncing. Very annoying.
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