Veteran Jimmy White reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time in ten months with an impressive 4-2 win over Hossein Vafaei at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
Still determined to compete at the top level at the age of 62, White has now won three matches in this event, having knocked out Paul Deaville and Jackson Page in the qualifying rounds before beating a man 32 years his junior in Belfast – world number 24 Vafaei. Ten-time ranking event winner White, who has been ever present on the tour for 44 years and remains a crowd favourite, faces Martin O’Donnell next.
“My game was there in parts, I potted some good balls,” said White. “I still enjoy practising and exhibitions, I enjoy entertaining and I still make 147s. Now and again I have a little buzz where I can beat anyone. I am not as consistent as I was, but that will come with a few wins and that was a decent one for me today. Belfast is an amazing place, I have been coming here for a long time. There was the late, great Hurricane Higgins, Dennis Taylor, Joe Swail and now an incredible player in Mark Allen, so there is always great support here.”
Neil Robertson is determined to make sure of his place at the UK Championship and the Masters and took an important step in the right direction with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Graeme Dott.
Robertson’s victory at the BetVictor English Open last month was his first ranking title in over two years and boosted him to 16th in the rankings. But he must keep that place in the top 16 by the end of the International Championship to make sure of a seeding in York for the UK Championship, and then the end of that event will be the cut off for the Masters.
“I‘m one of the few players in the world who can win those events multiple times,” said the Australian after today’s victory in Belfast. “I know I’m in that small group who can get the job done so I want to be there. But I can’t get ahead of myself, I have to push through and keep the momentum.“
In a repeat of the 2006 Crucible final, Dott made breaks of 94, 52 and 76, while Roberton made 58 and 54. The decider lasted 30 minutes and Robertson took it to set up a last-32 tie with Jack Lisowski or Wang Yuchen.
“It was enjoyable, we both played to a very good level and it was a big crowd,” added Robertson, who is the front-runner for the £150,000 bonus on offer for the leading money winner across the four BetVictor Home Nations Series events. “At the British Open I had a couple of technical things which needed tweaking. I had time to prepare for this one and I’ve got it right now.”
China’s Zhang Anda came from 3-0 down to 3-3 against Martin O’Donnell only for the Englishman to win a tense deciding frame. Newly crowned Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong suffered a 4-2 reverse against Jimmy Robertson, while Tian Pengfei enjoyed a 4-2 success against Si Jiahui.
Tom Ford, who is also on the fringes of the top 16, enjoyed a much-needed 4-2 win over Rory Thor, while Elliot Slessor top scored with 81 in a 4-2 victory against Joe O’Connor.
Home favourite Mark Allen thrilled the Belfast crowd in a 4-0 victory over Liu Hongyu to reach the last 32 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
Allen won this title in 2021 and 2022 and would raise the roof again at the Waterfront Hall if he lifts the Alex Higgins Trophy for a third time on Sunday night. “The support I get here is amazing and I really appreciate it,” said the world number three, who fired breaks of 71, 76 and 70 during a convincing display.
“I didn’t deserve that from them in the first few years I played in this event because I wasn’t getting the results, but hopefully now I’m repaying them and trying to put on a show. It would mean everything to win it again, but I’m keeping that at the back of my mind, I’m just trying to enjoy it.“
Allen had to pull out of the recent Wuhan Open because his mother was unwell, but thankfully her health has since improved and he made the decision to compete this week. “I feel I have turned a corner in my game and I’m playing good stuff,” added the Antrim cueman, who meets Wu Yize or Oliver Lines next. “I also have to mention that the conditions were beautiful tonight and I told the table fitters after the game.”
British Open runner-up John Higgins continued his recent revival as he recovered from 1-0 down to beat Fan Zhengyi 4-2 with runs of 66, 139, 53 and 62.
Hong Kong’s Wang Yuchen enjoyed one of his best ever wins as he beat Jack Lisowski 4-3, making an 82 in the decider. Barry Hawkins came from 2-1 down to beat Matthew Stevens 4-2 while Anthony McGill top scored with 75 as he won a Glasgow derby against Stephen Maguire by a 4-1 scoreline.
This time all the matches are covered, or at least mentioned except one that was actually the held-over second round qualifying match between Oliver Lines and Ricky Walden. Oli won it by 4-2.
The Robertson vs Dott match was indeed a good one and it’s a shame that one of them had to lose and exit the tournament so early. That’s the only afternoon match I watched. In the evening, we – my visiting friend and me – watched the McGill v Maguire match. Maguire was really poor. I know for certain that he doesn’t enjoy these short format events. He doesn’t enjoy traveling a long way to, maybe, play just four frames and go home. It shows in his game and demeanour … and, as a result, he does indeed go out after only a few frames.
After that we watched Barry Hawkins v Matthew Stevens. Barry didn’t play particularly well but Matthew Stevens was totally unable to compete with him in the scrappier frames. He made two breaks over 80, in the two frames he won, but was outplayed in the tactical department.
Finally we watched Jack Lisowski v Wang Yuchen . I’m very pleased for Wang but, boy, Jack is so frustrating to watch. With so much talent, he should win much more. That said, my friend reflected that maybe, after surviving cancer as a teenager, Jack has other priorities, that he just wants to enjoy his life and that, because of that mindset, he isn’t as driven as most players around him. Se has a point indeed.
I’m happy to read that (at lest some of) the other top players take a reasonable stand on this matter.
Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy speak out after Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from UK event
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from competing at the Northern Ireland Open.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has not competed since the English Open (Image: Getty)
Snooker stars Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson have jumped to the defence of Ronnie O’Sullivan following his decision to pull out of the Northern Ireland Open due to medical reasons.
The Rocket was set to play against Long Zehuang in the first round of the Belfast tournament on Monday before the World Snooker Tour (WST) announced that the world No. 1 had withdrawn on the eve of the competition.
O’Sullivan has spoken openly about his fitness struggles previously, and a statement from the WST confirmed that he had pulled out of the tournament due to medical reasons.
The decision means that O’Sullivan has missed his third consecutive tournament after pulling out of the British Open and Wuhan Open, with some raising eyebrows that the snooker legend has not been seen since his shock first-round defeat in the English Open last month.
Speaking to The Metro, Murphy has defended O’Sullivan’s decision not to compete in Belfast though. He said: “It’s completely players’ prerogative to play as and when he sees fit. He’s under no obligation to play, ever, he doesn’t have to play.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to be queuing up to scrutinise his medical excuse, but withdrawing on medical grounds is a way out of an event once you’ve entered. If he’s unwell and can’t play then that’s terrible and everyone wishes him well.
“I feel for the fans, but sports people and artists perform circumstances permitting. The truth of the matter is none of us know what’s going on in somebody else’s life. We can all make assumptions but nobody knows what’s going on with somebody else and we should all probably mind our own business.”
Similarly, Wilson also played down any ill feelings about O’Sullivan’s withdrawal and understands why the seven-time world champion is not demanding that he competes at every competition given his immense catalogue of victories in years gone by.
He added: “Nobody comes before yourself, you have got to think of yourself. If you’re not mentally there you have to put yourself first.
“We all know the pressures that Ronnie has to deal with, being the icon that he is, and he’s done everything so he’s probably not quite as hungry as myself or the younger players who are still trying to achieve half of what he has. I don’t necessarily blame him. You’ve just got to enjoy him while he’s there, I suppose.”
One thought on “2024 Northern Ireland Open – Day 2”
Who knows, maybe ROS has a “gameplan” for this season after all. It feels different compared to other years where he skipped a tournament here and then.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Who knows, maybe ROS has a “gameplan” for this season after all. It feels different compared to other years where he skipped a tournament here and then.