The non seeded players need to win two matches to get to the main venue in Berlin. Those “qualifiers” are currently underway. The environment is not particularly inspiring, spectators are not allowed. The way those qualifying matches are scheduled is a but unusual in that round 2 matches are being played “in parallel” with round 1 matches. I find this more difficult to “follow” as a fan but it makes sense for the players. Those who won their first round match on day 1 don’t have to wait an “idle” day around the venue. Such “idle days” are no fun at the best of time but particularly now that the festive period approaches, the players will want to be with their families as soon and as much as possible. WST has shared two reports about those qualifiers so far:
BAI WINS AGAIN IN BERLIN QUALIFIERS
Bai Yulu added another victory to her impressive debut pro season as she beat Liam Pullen 5-4 in the first qualifying round of the Machineseeker German Masters.
China’s 21-year-old Bai will face Yuan Sijun on Tuesday afternoon with the winner to go through to the final stages of this world ranking event at the Tempodrom in Berlin in the new year.
Last month, Bai won three qualifying matches in the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, and she followed up with a first round win at the 9Club Shoot Out, and notched another success today against world number 90 Pullen. Breaks of 56 and 66 gave her a 2-1 lead, and she later came from 4-3 down to take the last two frames.
Ken Doherty, recently recovered from an umbilical hernia operation, earned his first win of the season with a 5-4 defeat of Oliver Lines. From 4-0 down, Lines recovered to 4-4 and led 53-0 in the decider, only for veteran Doherty to snatch it with a superb 66 clearance.
Julien Leclercq top scored with 131 in a 5-2 win over Jimmy White, while Stan Moody fired runs of 108 and 133 in a 5-0 whitewash of Ahmed Aly Elsayed. Artemijs Zizins made a 94 in the decider to edge out Kreishh Gurbaxani 5-4.
DOHERTY EARNS BERLIN SPOT
Just eight weeks after having emergency surgery for an umbilical hernia, 55-year-old Ken Doherty booked a place in the final stages of the Machineseeker German Masters with a 5-4 victory over Jordan Brown.
Veteran Doherty lost his first five matches this season and was then forced to take a break after being rushed to hospital for the surgery in October. He returned at this week’s qualifying event with low expectations, but the former World Champion edged out Oliver Lines 5-4 in his first match on Monday then beat Brown by the same scoreline
Doherty took a 4-2 lead with top breaks of 53, 80 and 64, then Brown fought back to 4-4 and he led 59-46 in the decider only for Doherty to clear from last red to pink.
Bai Yulu made the second highest break ever by a woman in a ranking event, making a 128 during her match with Yuan Sijun. This has only been topped by Allison Fisher who made a 133 in the 1992 Dubai Classic. However that break was the only highlight of the day for Bai as she lost 5-1.
Xu Si top scored with 142 in a 5-1 win over Julian Leclercq. Aaron Hill battled to a 5-4 win over Stan Moody, winning an 85-minute deciding frame on the colours.
Obviously those reports are far from exhaustive. All the detailed results are on snooker.org.
One match not mentioned in these reports is Lei Peifan’s defeat to Allan Taylor. This prompted disparaging comments on social media. Those comments were totally unfair IMO. Lei is now ranked 43 in the World, but his seeding in those qualifiers was 83rd because the draw was made before last Sunday victory. This is why he had to play again less than 48 hours after his win in Scotland. He struggled right from the start and, frankly, he looked very tired, maybe unwell even. Allan is a pro for a long time, he’s a very capable player. There was nothing fishy or even actually surprising about that match. Lei is again seeded 83rd for the 2025 World Open qualifiers, to be played later this week.
The 2025 German Open qualifiers continue today and tomorrow.
In other news…
Meanwhile Ronnie has arrived in Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship. He shared this picture … he’s been practicing.
That event starts today with matches involving the wildcards. Last year the wildcards were really no match for the pros. Since then however Nigel Bond has been offered and has taken the position of head coach at the local academy. I’m not expecting any upset today but it will be interesting to see how much the local players have improved.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Lei Peifan and Rory Thor were indeed ill yesterday, both wearing fever patches. Lei had wanted to withdraw during the match, but was told there was a fine.
I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Bai Yulu to play against Yuan Sijun. Nevertheless, the positive was the 128 break – her first century since turning professional. Nodoubt she would love to qualify for the World Open in Yushan, but her opponent Tian Pengfei is also a close colleague. But Tian has been poor recently and is under a lot of pressure.
Matthew Selt had a severe meltdown after Artemijs Zizins fluked match-ball. It’s something we have seen before, and there have been times when he has definitely distracted opponents. Some sanction is in order, athough I am aware he is a board-member.
Yes, I saw the Selt incident on social media. He should be punished and even more so BECAUSE he’s a member of the board. Aren’t they supposed to represent the players and the sport the best they can? He’s very keen on criticising other players but he should have a good hard look at himself before opening his big mouth. He’s far from being a great role model.
Aren’t the wildcards this year other players than last edition. How do you want to compare then?
Oh, you didn’t mean to compare, but you want to see if this edition’s participants may show a more consistent matchplay, which could be influenced by Bond.
Indeed. That’s the whole point of developing the game in new territories.