Yesterday delivered two one-sided semi-finals. Here are the reports by WST.
Afternoon session – Wu Yize 6-0 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Wonderful Wu Makes Maiden Final
Chinese 20-year-old Wu Yize is through to the first ranking event final of his career after a blistering 6-0 defeat of India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha at the BetVictor English Open.
Wu has long been regarded as one of the World Snooker Tour’s brightest young talents. He enjoyed a superb maiden season on the circuit in 21/22, earning the Rookie of the Year award.
He went on a brilliant run to the final stages of the World Championship in 2023, winning three matches to qualify for the Crucible. Wu defeated Chris Wakelin on Judgement Day to secure his ticket to the Theatre of Dreams, where he lost to Neil Robertson. This evening sees Wakelin take on Robertson in the second semi-final.
Last season saw Wu make the first ranking event semi-final of his career. Having beat the likes of Marco Fu and Stephen Maguire to make the last four, he lost out to Judd Trump. Wu has already had his revenge this week, beating 2019 World Champion Trump in the quarters.
Wu becomes China’s 14th ranking event finalist, while defeat for Singh Chadha ends what has been a brilliant run for the Mumbai cueman. His maiden semi-final appearance sees him become India’s first player to reach the last four of a ranking event since 2013.
Singh Chadha scored a late night 6-5 win over Mark Selby and the hangover from his heroics appeared prominently, as he struggled to settle. He had his share of chances, but was unable to capitalise as Wu ruthlessly punished him to reach the final in a whitewash win, composing breaks of 56 and 73 along the way.
“I’m feeling great now. There was quite a bit of pressure in this match for me and this is a very good result. It is great making it to this point, but I’m now competing for the title,” said former World Under-21 Champion Wu.
“My opponent probably felt a lot of pressure today and couldn’t perform to his usual level. It definitely took up a lot of his energy winning last night. I regularly practise with him and I think he’s a very good player.
“It would be a new beginning to win the title. This is my fourth year as a professional, I won’t put too much pressure on myself. I’m eager to win, but I’ll maintain a calm mindset. Winning a title would bring a new sense of responsibility.”
Singh Chadha said: “I’m a little bit sad that I couldn’t play up to the standards. I’m disappointed for the crowd and feel bad for that as everyone bought their tickets. I was probably overwhelmed by yesterday. I tried to relax my mind but I had too many thoughts.
“I am so happy with myself, even though I lost 6-0 today. I don’t even care about that as I know I am going to be stronger next time I get to the business end of a tournament.”
Evening session – Neil Robertson 6-1 Chris Wakelin
Thunder Storms To Brentwood Final
Neil Robertson thrashed Chris Wakelin 6-1 to make the final of a ranking event for the first time in over two years, at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
The Australian last appeared in a ranking title match at the 2022 Tour Championship, where he beat John Higgins 10-9 in an epic contest. In the following years Robertson has struggled to produce his best snooker and has slipped to 26th in the world.
However, tomorrow marks an opportunity for him to return to the world’s elite tier and dislodge Higgins, who has occupied the world’s top 16 since 1995. A win for Robertson would see him move to 15th in the world and knock Higgins down to 17th.
Robertson has been showing signs of a return to his best after a run to the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and wins over the likes of Shaun Murphy and Barry Hawkins this week.
Melbourne’s Robertson now faces China’s Wu Yize tomorrow over the best of 17 frames with the Steve Davis Trophy and a top prize of £100,000 on the line.
The pair first met at the 2023 World Championship, where Robertson stormed to a 10-3 win. However, they’ve met twice since, with each player registering a win.
The first frame this evening went the way of Robertson on the black and he then fired in 92 in the second to move 2-0 ahead. Wakelin reduced his arrears with a break of 82 in the third, but it was Robertson who took the fourth to lead 3-1 at the mid-session.
When play resumed it was the Thunder from Down Under who coasted to victory, winning the next three on the bounce to reach 37th ranking event final of his career.
“It’s been quite a while. It doesn’t feel like two years since I’ve been in a final. There’s been a lot of hard work and I set out to have some good targets this year. I’ve changed my day-to-day routine and been super focussed every day. That has been key,” said 23-time ranking event winner Robertson.
“I am back to my best and better. I’ve added a new arsenal to my game with the safety. I’ve really developed a lot the last couple of months. I’ve been working really hard.
“I said after I played Wu in the World Championship that he would have a mega future ahead. That has proved to be the case. He made a semi-final last season and has had some really good wins this week. It is really nice to have an overseas final between Australia and China.”
I only watched the afternoon match. Wu Yize played really well and very positively. He never backed away from difficult shots, but hewas never reckless or adventurous either, he played the right shots. His father was sat in the crowd and looked under more pressure than his son on the floor. After the match, Wu was interviewed, in Chinese, on the floor. I can’t remember such a thing happening before, certainly not in Home Nations event but it a very good move by WST. Ishpreet Singh Chadah never really got going, never totally settled. His positive attitude in defeat is to be admired. He has a lot of self-belief, and why not? He has tremendous ability.
The outcome of the second match doesn’t surprise me, although I didn’t expect the score to be so “severe”. The Thunder is back and striking! He has to be favourite today, if only on experience, but I want to hope for a good match, a match where both players can showcase their talent and abilities.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 