Here are the reports by WST on what happened yesterday in Brentwood
BETVICTOR ENGLISH OPEN TUESDAY AFTERNOON ROUNDUP
Ben Woollaston extended his winning record over Mark Williams after a fine 4-1 defeat of the three-time World Champion at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
Leicester’s Woollaston has now won six of his nine career meetings with Williams. The world number 52 is aiming to climb the rankings again after a difficult few years.
Former Welsh Open finalist Woollaston has recently suffered with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which has impacted his ability to practise and compete at the highest level. However, the condition has eased in recent times and allowed him to regain confidence in his game.
Williams was unable to bounce straight back from a gut-wrenching defeat at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, where he lost the most lucrative deciding frame in the history of the sport. A 10-9 defeat to Judd Trump meant he had to settle for £200,000 rather than the £500,000 top prize.
With the score at 3-1 in this afternoon’s clash, Woollaston crafted a break of 70 to get over the line and set up a last 32 meeting with Zak Surety.
“I think I’m just a little unorthodox and I think I’m good tactically. I pot a lot of good balls. I maybe don’t score as heavily as Mark but I think we match up well,” said 37-year-old Woollaston.
“I have expectation now that I believe I can win matches. Before, I was coming to tournaments and just hoping to feel well. It is a different pressure now because I have a bit of adrenaline that I didn’t have before.”
World number three Mark Allen survived a real battle with China’s Long Zehuang to secure a 4-3 victory and a place in the last 32.
Having taken the first two frames, Allen then found himself one away from defeat at 3-2 down. However, a break of 67 forced a decider, which he won to progress. Allen now faces Lyu Haotian.
Allen said: “I have to say I was very impressed with him. He’s had some good results already. He played some really good stuff in that match and I don’t feel like I did much wrong from the 2-0 up to the verge of going out.
“I felt I played alright. I think that is the first match this season I haven’t made a century so that is disappointing, but overall I’m good.”
Matthew Selt made the 200th and 201st centuries of his career whilst defeating Ricky Walden 4-3. He now faces Judd Trump in the last 32.
Neil Robertson came through with a 4-1 win to set up a blockbuster last 32 showdown with Shaun Murphy, while Ross Muir secured a fine 4-3 win over Gary Wilson.
BETVICTOR ENGLISH OPEN TUESDAY EVENING ROUNDUP
China’s He Guoqiang stated he was in dreamland after stunning Ronnie O’Sullivan for the second time this season, winning 4-2 at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
He scored an upset 3-0 win over the Rocket at the season opening BetVictor Championship League. That came off the back of a 23/24 campaign which saw him burst into the top 64 and be named Rookie of the Year.
Despite O’Sullivan’s clear frustration at his performances so far this season, he has still featured regularly at the business end of events without amassing silverware.
Today’s defeat is his first in a round before the quarter-finals of a knock out tournament so far in the campaign. The seven-time World Champion bowed out in the semis of the Xi’an Grand Prix and Shanghai Masters, while was a losing quarter-finalist in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
He fired in breaks of 78, 77 and 50 on his way to this evening’s victory. Next up is a last 32 meeting with 2004 UK Champion Stephen Maguire.
“It feels brilliant to beat him again. It is an unreal feeling and like I am dreaming. I didn’t expect at all to win again,” said 24-year-old He.
“I think the key is to perform my best and to play my own game. I just needed to get rid of the fear attached to playing a top player like Ronnie. There were so many spectators here, all supporting him. It didn’t allow me to think of anything other than my own performance.
“The best thing I have learned over past few months is how to play against top players and get rid of fear and emotion of facing them. That is the most improved part of my game.”
Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins secured a vital 4-1 win over Andrew Higginson. Next up he faces David Gilbert.
The Glaswegian is currently ranked 16th in the rankings. His time in the world’s top 16 remains unbroken since 1995, but Higgins’ place in that elite group now hangs in the balance. Despite victory today he remains downbeat about the state of his game.
Higgins said: “I’m struggling to get going. I’ve not got the desire at the moment. That is just the way I’m feeling after a performance like that. You just have to try and take the positives. I need to get back to working. It shows and you can’t get away with it when you don’t put the work in.”
Welshman Jamie Jones was a 4-0 whitewash victor against China’s Zhou Yuelong, while Scotland’s Anthony McGill defeated China’s Xiao Guodong 4-2. Jones now plays Ross Muir and McGill faces World Champion Kyren Wilson.
Here are the scores for Ronnie’s match:
And videos shared on YouTube by WST and Eurosport:
Ronnie elected to play most shots left handed. It may make him happier but he’s not as good left-handed than he is right-handed for sure. He missed too many gettable balls, especially early in the match. Also, he doesn’t quite have the as much cue power left-handed as he has right-handed. Having said that He was brilliant. He decided to play very positively and attack right from the start of the match and it paid off. He’s a very, very good player with a solid temperament. He certainly deserved the win yesterday and I can see him go deep in the tournament.
All the results are on snooker.org (as always).
I didn’t see much from the action yesterday as power cuts in my village spoiled it quite a bit. What is obvious looking at the results is that those first matches are banana skins for the top 32 who come cold into the last 64 and face players who have already played one or two matches, and secured ranking points and money. This system of tiered qualifiers is much better for the young players and the rookies than the brutal “random” straight knock-out draw system. They are at least guaranteed that their first match will not be against a top player and will be a really “winnable” one. Yes, they need to win more matches to get to the titles, but they actually benefit from playing more matches, against various opponents, as they need to gain experience to develop.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
My own personal take is that Ronnie has decided/realized that the only tournament that really matters for him anymore is the World Championship, in the sense that the only issue that really matters in his career/legacy is whether he passes Stephen Hendry or not. As we saw last season, winning events other than the WSC doesn’t really mean much if he loses at the WSC.
My expectations for Ronnie this season are extremely low, and I won’t really bother evaluating his performance until the Crucible. I think he’s trying to maximize his chances of winning #8, and while “not trying very hard” at all of these smaller events is generally consistent with prioritizing the WSC over everything else, there’s no guarantee (of course) that his game will magically return in Sheffield.
Ronnie mentioned earlier this year that he was going to start working with Steve Peters in some more intentional and serious way than he has been recently, as part of his strategy to win #8. He also said that he had started working again with one of his old snooker coaches, though I don’t know whether either of those two things is actually happening…
I do think it’s a massive attitude problem. However, stop with the bloody gloves
It’s NOT an attitude problem. It’s never easy to accept decline and to cope with it. Mark Williams has managed to get past that phase, he’s accepted his limitations and he’s playing better, because he now plays with more freedom, because of that acceptance he puts no pressure on himself. Ronnie and John Higgins have not yet reached that acceptance. They are still looking for “solutions”, even some that clearly don’t work but they still want to try them.
Good assesment.
come on. he was flying earlier this year winning everything and you’re telling me he declined massively over like 5 months. who buys that?
He never was “flying”. Mistakes have crept in his game, and now he’s lost confidence in his abilities. In a lot of matches he had to come from behind – think about his match against Zhang Anda for instance – and he did, but in these very short formats it’s a difficult thing to do.
he was flying on many instances. some of the tournaments last year nobody even came close. the current state of his game has to do with a mental/attitude problem
No, it’s the other way around. The mental “attitude” is the consequence of his perception that his game has become unreliable. Yes he can be “flying” in some matches, but the consistency isn’t what it used to be. And last year was … last year. He is at an age when some things – like eyesight – can change/deteriorate pretty fast. I remember Hendry some 15 years ago explaining how he was struggling with a change in his eyesight. He still saw perfectly, but the time needed for his eyes to “accommodate” from short range to long range and vice versa had become longer and that impacted sighting and his “rhythm”. He wasn’t able to play at his natural pace anymore and, that in turn, impacted his whole game.
Probably the performance of the day was by Jiang Jun. Tom Ford started confidently with a 96, but when the teenager hammered in two centuries, he looked rattled. It was a great display of potting and heavy scoring from a player with a very strong upper-body technique.
I find this left-handed play irritating. It’s like he is fooling around and doesn’t care. Disappointing.
I’m sure he cares. He looks quite unhappy at the moment.
It’ not just about the left or right hand. It’s not just about the current form. For a reason Ronnie is very unhappy, very downbeat. I’m sure it’s not just about the fear of the practice table…
Needs to reactivate Dr Steve asap.
I don’t think Ronnie is finished YET
And what is with Steve Feeney?
Not 100% sure but I think they stopped working together years ago. Anyway, if Ronnie’s eyesight is no more what it was, and if his power of concentration declines, even slightly, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Willo says that when he concentrates on sighting a ball, he sees it triple.Asked how he still managed, he answered “I go for the middle one”. But Ronnie is a very different person, much more anxious in nature and a perfectionist. He will struggle to come to terms with those age related issues and adapt and he is probably deeply unhappy and anxious about what the future holds for him.
Brilliant, Williams. I remember there were plans for a collaboration with Feeney 6 weeks or so before the 23 WC. No long term thing. So maybe this season.
Really? I thought they were still together at the World Championship in 2023 at least. In any case, decline + the left handed play remind me of the guy who attacks his trees with a stick after his garden was hit by hail: let’s see God the damage we can do together! I’m not saying Ronnie does not care, but the left-handed play gives this impression anyway. And given that his left-handed play has never been as good as his right-handed, he exacerbates the effects of any decline. And despite all his talk, he did not look any happier or relaxed. (And maybe not having any time off in the summer, but being busy on the Chinese exhibition circuit did not help either.)
Just saw David Hendon made a podcast regarding all this. For everyone who is interested.