Here are the reports by WST on what happened yesterday in Belfast.

Afternoon session

BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY THREE AFTERNOON

Noppon Saengkham was Thai and mighty after beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3 at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, despite using a cue he had practised with for only ten minutes.

Saengkham flew from Manchester to Belfast on Monday but his cue failed to arrive at the airport and is still missing. Shaun Murphy generously offered to lend the world number 28 his cue, and with the bare minimum of preparation, Saengkham managed to win the Thai derby against Un-Nooh, making a brilliant 64 clearance to win the decider from 53-4 down.

“I have to really thank Shaun because I asked a few other players but they couldn’t lend me a cue because they are practising,” said Saengkham, who now meets Mark Williams in the last 32. “Then I saw Shaun and he gave me his cue this morning. It meant he couldn’t practise today. I only had ten minutes with his cue before my match.

“So I just tried to enjoy the game because if I’m not happy then I can’t play well. I tried to play simple shots, nothing too hard. I did very well, I potted some long balls and my break-building was good, especially the clearance in the last frame. I don’t know if Shaun will let me use this cue in my next match, I will have to ask him. If I end up playing him here maybe we will have to share it!“

(Mark) Williams eased to a 4-0 success against Jamie Clarke with a top break of 75. 

World Champion Kyren Wilson survived a spirited fight-back from David Grace to win 4-3. Breaks of 67 and 80 helped Wilson go 3-0 ahead, then Grace recovered to 3-3 with 62, 55 and 64. World number two Wilson dominated the decider with 48 and 40.

“At 3-0 I was cruising, then David made it tough for me,” said Wilson, who has recently become an ambassador for the children’s cancer charity Be More Fab. “I met a really inspiring girl called Florence, who we have tried to help out as her family have been through difficult times and they are local to us. We have raised a large sum of money for them and she has just got a Pride of Britain award. Doing something nice for people in need gives you a feel good factor. I’m in a privileged position where I can help people who need it, and it brings a smile to my face.” 

Chris Wakelin came from 2-0 down to beat Bulcsu Revesz 4-2 while Oliver Lines continued his fine recent form with a 4-1 defeat of Wu Yize. China’s Ma Hailong top scored with 73 in a surprise 4-1 win over Ali Carter.

Evening session

BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY THREE EVENING

Seeking his first title in 15 months, Shaun Murphy came from 2-0 behind to beat Zhou Yuelong 4-2 to reach the last 16 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

Murphy has enjoyed deep runs this season, reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters, the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open, but is still hunting a first trophy since the 2023 Championship League. The 42-year-old was in danger of an early exit tonight when he lost the opening two frames, but took the third then crucially recovered from 60-0 down to snatch the fourth, laying a snooker on the final brown then clearing for 2-2. That proved the turning point as he rattled in breaks of 77 and 103 in the last two frames.

“It was test of patience because the first two frames were two of the worst I have played in my life,” said Murphy, who now meets Stuart Bingham, a repeat of the 2015 world final. “I knew it would turn. The third frame was huge, and then in the fourth I had a slice of luck when I missed a red but didn’t leave him anything. I hope a title is coming. I’m not in the Champion of Champions yet, I’ve got two opportunities to win something and get into that by right. I’m enjoying my snooker and tonight was a good challenge to see if I could handle a few things going wrong.“

Earlier in the day, Murphy generously lent his cue to Noppon Saengkham, whose cue has gone missing. “I ran into Noppon last night in the hotel and he looked distraught,” added the 2005 World Champion. “I can’t think of a player on tour who wouldn’t offer to help out another player in need. At breakfast he told me his cue still hadn’t turned up so I was happy to let him use mine. If he needs it again, he’s welcome to it. Unless we meet in the final…then he’s in trouble!“

Judd Trump took his earnings for 2024 past the £1.5 million mark by beating Matthew Selt 4-2. A break of 81 put Selt 2-1 ahead before world number one Trump levelled with a 74, then enjoyed a slice of good fortune in frame five as he fluked a snooker on the final brown, which set up the chance to go 3-2 ahead. And the Bristol cueman converted the advantage by making a superb 141 total clearance in the sixth.

Trump remains on target for a fifth title in this tournament since 2018 and has only ever lost to three players in Belfast: Stuart Carrington, Mark Allen and Aaron Hill. His next opponent will be John Higgins or Barry Hawkins.

World number 71 Louis Heathcote capitalised on his first round win over Mark Selby as he followed up with a 4-1 success against Jimmy Robertson, compiling breaks of 50, 69 and 65.  He will now meet Tian Pengfei, who beat Robert Milkins 4-1 with a top break of 91. Bingham cruised to a 4-0 win over Mark Davis with a top run of 62.

All detailed results are available on snooker.org

This time all the matches are reported on, some extensively, some succinctly but at least all are there. I can’t comment much on the action because I didn’t watch much at all. This was the last day with my visiting friend and it was a beautiful sunny day, so we wanted to make the most of it and did just that … life coming in the way of snooker.

I only watched a bit of Trump vs Selt in the evening and gave up pretty quickly. I can’t stand Selt. The guy is supposed to be funny, but I find him extremely irritating, on and off the table. I’m not sure why and I’m not saying he’s a bad person or anything like that. Although we have met at events I certainly can’t say that I know him personally. It’s just one of those things.