This is WST report on what happened yesterday at the EIS as the 2024 World Championship Qualifiers came to their conclusion:
JONES STUNS ROBERTSON IN CRUCIBLE QUALIFIER
Former Crucible king Neil Robertson will miss out on the Theatre of Dreams for the first time in 20 years as he lost 10-9 to Jamie Jones in the final qualifying round of the Cazoo World Championship.
Robertson, who lifted the trophy in 2010, was the best player in the world two years ago, but has since lost form and dropped out of the top 16. A run to the semi-finals of the recent World Open gave him momentum going into the qualifying rounds and he hammered Zak Surety 10-2 in the penultimate round, but came off second best in an epic battle with Jones. It will be the first time since 2004 that Robertson is not among the 32 players at the Crucible.
The Australian wrote on X: “Well that hurts. Fair play to Jamie though from 8-5 up I barely had a chance, he played brilliant. Tough season all round and some time off needed for sure. Thanks everyone for the continued support I’ll be back much stronger next season I can guarantee that.”
Jones, age 36, showed his fighting spirit from 8-5 down and made a crucial break in the deciding frame. A quarter-finalist on his debut in 2012, he is set for his sixth Crucible appearance and the world number 41 will be one of six Welshmen in the field.
Robertson came from 2-0 down to lead 4-3 with top breaks of 103 and 104, making him the sixth player to make 100 centuries in the World Championship. Jones took the next two before Robertson reeled off four in a row with 59, 79, 67 and 59 to go 8-5 ahead. Back came Jones with 101 and 73 as he recovered to 8-8.
A superb pot on the last red helped Robertson take frame 17 to edge ahead, but he barely had a chance in the last two frames. Jones dominated the 18th, then started the decider with a run of 60 which proved enough to score his first win over Robertson in eight meetings.
Jones said: “The long matches in this tournament suit me, my style of play is never to give up. At 8-5 I went to the practice room and I was thinking if I can come out and hit him early I still have a chance. It was such a tough game. It’s one of my best ever wins especially because Neil has buried me every time I have played him. I love the way the top players play – I can do that in practice but I don’t do it enough in tournaments. But up against someone like Neil I know I have to play like that.“
Si Jiahui reached the semi-finals at the Crucible last year before a narrow 17-15 defeat against Luca Brecel, and earned his return by winning ten consecutive frames in a Chinese derby against Wu Yize. Si trailed 4-0 early on but recovered to win 10-4 with top breaks of 110, 59, 112, 82 and 73.
Charismatic cueman Hossein Vafaei booked his third consecutive appearance as he came from 3-0 down to beat Jiang Jun 10-5 with a top break of 120. The Iranian said: “At he start of the match I felt it was the worst performance I have ever had in my life. I went to wash my face and woke up, and after that I played well. Jiang is an unbelievable potter, he’s really talented. You have to put the cue ball in your pocket to stop him potting! I love playing in the big events with big crowds, being the centre of attention. Hopefully I can show a good performance.“
Jackson Page made a fantastic break of 107 in the deciding frame to beat Noppon Saengkham 10-9. Welsh 22-year-old Page reached the semi-finals of the recent World Open and has kept his momentum going by earning a second trip to the Crucible. On his debut in 2022 he beat Barry Hawkins in the opening round before losing to mentor Mark Williams.
Ryan Day led Scott Donaldson 7-2, then lost six frames in a row, but eventually won 10-9 by taking a 48-minute decider on the colours. Three-time quarter-finalist Day is now heading to the Crucible for the 15th time. “It was very nervy from 7-7,” admitted Day. “Both of us were in Shredsville.”
David Gilbert, a semi-finalist in 2019, secured a tenth Crucible appearance with a 10-6 victory over Xiao Guodong. China’s Pang Junxu came from 8-6 down to beat Cao Yupeng 10-8.
Joe O’Connor was the last player through after winning a marathon eight hour and 52 minute clash with Matthew Selt 10-8. The match winning frame was the second longest of all time at one hour and 50 minutes, but it was Leicester’s O’Connor who clinced it to become the only debutant in this year’s draw.
JONES SHOCKS ROBERTSON
I’m not sure we ever had a stronger set of qualifiers than the one we have this year. Ahead of the qualifiers, Neil Robertson had said that nobody would want to draw him. Well nobody did draw him because he didn’t qualify. Such is the strength now in the top 48. I’m not having a go at Neil. I don’t think this was arrogance. Neil is someone who always tries to have a positive perspective on life and was clearly determined to qualify and believing that he was capable of it. It’s a good attitude to have.
Before his last match, Cao Yupeng, who was beaten by Pang Junxu, had announced that he was retiring from snooker as he intends to try himself at hey-ball (Chinese pool). Cao has a young family. Living away from them is not great. Swapping for hey-ball will allow him to make a career and live in China. It’s a perfectly sensible decision and one other players may well consider.
The draw for the last 32 of the 2024 Cazoo World Championship has been made with defending champion Luca Brecel being pitted against former semi-finalist David Gilbert.
The balls were pulled out on BBC Radio Five Live by Rick Edwards and Rachel Burden, who were joined by Rob Walker and world number three Mark Allen. The 16 seeds on the left were picked out at random against the 16 qualifiers.
The draw is as follows:
Luca Brecel v David Gilbert Robert Milkins v Pang Junxu Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian Mark Selby v Joe O’Connor Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale John Higgins v Jamie Jones Mark Allen v Robbie Williams Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei Tom Ford v Ricky Walden Zhang Anda v Jak Jones Mark Williams v Si Jiahui Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day Ronnie O’Sullivan v Jackson Page
The televised stages run from April 20th to May 6th at the Crucible in Sheffield.
There are no easy matches at the Crucible and, all things considered, Ronnie’s draw is not too bad. Jackson Page is a very good player but his attacking style probably suits Ronnie.
Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei is probably the tie of the round. I’m not expecting Hossein to make any comments that could fire-up his opponent this time 😇.
Mark Williams v Si Jiahui is certainly an interesting match. Si is very capable and very determined – we have seen that this week – but, in Willo, he’s facing a shrewd old fox. It’s a clash of generations.
Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski is another intriguing tussle. Anything can happen. Ding is one of the best break-builders the game has ever had, but Jack is capable to out-pot anyone on his day. It will be important for Ding to start well in this match and to not let his head drop if Jack wins two or three frames in a blitz.
Mark Selby v Joe O’Connor is another difficult match for both. I bet they won’t practice together in the coming days!
3 thoughts on “The 2024 World Snooker Championship Qualifiers – Day 10 and the 2024 Crucible Draw”
The second ‘Judgement Day’ was more tense than the first – there were some agonisingly close matches. I would say Scott Donaldson was extremely unlucky. What happened at the end of frame 17 needs to be seen, and almost certainly robbed him of the match.
In coverage, Dave Hendon was again excellent. But I thought the Dominic Dale business was way over the top – the producer should have handed them a note to ‘stop it and concentrate more on the action’. Then twice they cut the broadcast: at the end of the first session when Cao Yupeng and Pang Junxu were starting their 9th frame, and then at the end of the whole event when Matt Selt and Joe O’Connor were involved in an epic battle. Once again, they didn’t interview the Chinese qualifiers. These were promises that were broken without explanation or apology.
Neil Robertson notwithstanding, it’s a very strong set of qualifiers – all of them in the top 48, i.e. seeded players who entered at Round 3. It’s not quite the oldest set, being just behind 2021. But since the average age of the seeds is now over 40, it’s once again the oldest World Championship ever.
I do think Jackson Page is an opponent who Ronnie will enjoy playing. Of course, there is a small risk of losing (if Jackson is inspired), but it’s not a match that will drag on. For example, Jak Jones might have taken the edge off Ronnie’s game.
Cao Yupeng’s expected retirement is not a surprise. He gave an interview (in Chinese) a year ago suggesting it, and he made some comments after the Shoot-Out which reinforced it. Unfortunately I am aware of other players who are considering doing the same. I think we can expect a number of overseas players moving on in their 30’s, if they have a young family and perhaps ageing parents. For the Chinese players there is a plausible alternative in the form of Hey-Ball. In 2017 Cao Yupeng completely turned his career around, with the help of Roger Leighton. He rebuilt his technique, and improved all aspects of his game, particularly safety play. His considerable skills will be missed.
Regarding all the mentions of Dominic Dale in commentary, I firmly blame Rob Walker. There is always far too much grisly ‘banter’ when he’s around, and I find it massively wearing.
Banter is OK, and Rob Walker is a fine presenter. They just need to be very careful not to let it get in the way of these important matches. But we’re still in the early days of these roaming all-day broadcasts. I’m sure they will keep getting better.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
The second ‘Judgement Day’ was more tense than the first – there were some agonisingly close matches. I would say Scott Donaldson was extremely unlucky. What happened at the end of frame 17 needs to be seen, and almost certainly robbed him of the match.
In coverage, Dave Hendon was again excellent. But I thought the Dominic Dale business was way over the top – the producer should have handed them a note to ‘stop it and concentrate more on the action’. Then twice they cut the broadcast: at the end of the first session when Cao Yupeng and Pang Junxu were starting their 9th frame, and then at the end of the whole event when Matt Selt and Joe O’Connor were involved in an epic battle. Once again, they didn’t interview the Chinese qualifiers. These were promises that were broken without explanation or apology.
Neil Robertson notwithstanding, it’s a very strong set of qualifiers – all of them in the top 48, i.e. seeded players who entered at Round 3. It’s not quite the oldest set, being just behind 2021. But since the average age of the seeds is now over 40, it’s once again the oldest World Championship ever.
I do think Jackson Page is an opponent who Ronnie will enjoy playing. Of course, there is a small risk of losing (if Jackson is inspired), but it’s not a match that will drag on. For example, Jak Jones might have taken the edge off Ronnie’s game.
Cao Yupeng’s expected retirement is not a surprise. He gave an interview (in Chinese) a year ago suggesting it, and he made some comments after the Shoot-Out which reinforced it. Unfortunately I am aware of other players who are considering doing the same. I think we can expect a number of overseas players moving on in their 30’s, if they have a young family and perhaps ageing parents. For the Chinese players there is a plausible alternative in the form of Hey-Ball. In 2017 Cao Yupeng completely turned his career around, with the help of Roger Leighton. He rebuilt his technique, and improved all aspects of his game, particularly safety play. His considerable skills will be missed.
Regarding all the mentions of Dominic Dale in commentary, I firmly blame Rob Walker. There is always far too much grisly ‘banter’ when he’s around, and I find it massively wearing.
Banter is OK, and Rob Walker is a fine presenter. They just need to be very careful not to let it get in the way of these important matches. But we’re still in the early days of these roaming all-day broadcasts. I’m sure they will keep getting better.