Zhao Xintong has been dominant on the Q-Tour since his return from his ban and last week-end he won a third Q-Tour event. That’s three consecutive wins! He’s now almost certain to be back on tour next season.
Zhao Xintong has defeated Ryan Thomerson 4-2 to become the first player to win three consecutive WPBSA Q Tour Europe events at the Austrian Snooker Academy, Vienna.
The former UK Champion has extended his winning streak on snooker’s premier secondary amateur circuit to a record 24 matches, and stands on the brink of a return to the professional World Snooker Tour.
The 27-year-old now leads closest chaser Dylan Emery by 4,900 points with a maximum 6,000 to be won at the final two events of the season in Belgium and England. A run to the final at Event 6 will be enough to confirm his return to the top table regardless of other results.
Zhao was in top form throughout the event, firing in eight century breaks including a tournament high 142 during the final and he began the event with victories against Stephen Kershaw, Josh Mulholland and Luke Pinches to reach the final day.
Having come though a close match with fellow former professional Steven Hallworth, Zhao was then given a real scare as he fell 0-3 behind against England’s Matthew Glasby, before recovering to win 4-3 with a clearance of 51 in the final frame.
From there he quickly dispensed with former Q Tour event winner Sean O’Sullivan in the last four, to set up a title match with Ryan Thomerson.
The Australian player, who is looking to regain his professional place having spent two years on Tour from 2022-24, survived deciding-frame finishes in each of his first three matches against Alfie Davies, Halim Hussain and Mateusz Baranowski, before adding the scalps of Liam Highfield and Hayden Staniland to reach the final.
Having compiled five century breaks prior to the final, Zhao continued his scoring streak with breaks of 123 and 101 to take an early lead, before Thomerson won a close third frame to close to 1-2.
Zhao responded with a tournament high break of 142 in the fourth, with Thomerson responded with 85 to keep his hopes alive. Former world number six Zhao was not to be denied his Q Tour hat-trick, however and finished with 54 in the sixth frame to lift the trophy.
The victory capped a weekend of high-quality snooker with a Q Tour record 35 century breaks compiled during the event in Vienna.
The WPBSA Q Tour Europe continues with Event 6 which runs from 10-12 January at the Delta Moon in Mons, Belgium. Entry for the tournament remains open via WPBSA SnookerScores.
TWO LOCAL STARS TO JOIN RIYADH SEASON SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP
Saudi Arabian snooker stars Ahmed Aseeri and Abdulraouf Saigh have won wild card places at next week’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, where they will line up against the world’s top ten players.
Aseeri and Saigh were the winners of a qualifying tournament held at the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy in Riyadh last week. They have earned the chance to compete in the invitation tournament which runs from December 18th to 20th at the Global Theatre in Boulevard City.
Competing for the trophy are the best ten players on the planet, including defending champion O’Sullivan, world number one Judd Trump and World Champion Kyren Wilson, bringing another exciting event to the Riyadh Season roster of activity and giving local fans another opportunity to enjoy the sport of snooker which is growing fast in Saudi Arabia.
Ding Junhui will face Saigh and then Zhang Anda will meet Aseeri in the first round on the opening afternoon on Wednesday 18th. Then the same evening, the winners of those two matches will face seeds seven and eight, Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy.
All four quarter-finals will take place on Thursday 19th, starting with Mark Selby v Mark Allen, then Kyren Wilson will meet either Zhang, Brecel or a wild card. Judd Trump will be up against Mark Williams in a repeat of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters final, then defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will play either Ding, Murphy or a wild card. The semi-finals and final will take place on Friday 20th.
All matches are best of seven frames, until the final which is best of nine.
The tournament was staged for the first time in March 2024 following a historic agreement between His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), and the World Snooker Tour.
Once again the tournament will include a unique Gold Ball, which is worth 20 points and can only be potted at the end of a maximum 147, creating the possibility for a player to score a break of 167 which would be the highest in the history of snooker.
About Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia’s capital embraces one of the world’s biggest entertainment events every year during winter. Since the launch of the Riyadh Season in 2019, the festival has welcomed visitors from all over the world to experience thousands of concerts, sporting activities, and other unique cultural events.
Abdulraouf Saigh
This event will be significant. Not in ranking terms but regarding where Ronnie’s game stands. I’m certain that he will want to do well in this one. If he isn’t able to do that, it will be a really worrying sign.
World number 84 Lei Peifan created history in the first ever final between two players born in the 21st century, beating fellow Chinese 21-year-old Wu Yize 9-5 to win the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Outsider Lei becomes the highest ranked player to win a tournament since 1993. Dave Harold was world number 93 when he won the Asian Open that year.
Incredibly, Lei had never been beyond the last 16 of a ranking tournament prior to this week. He’s overcome a world class list of opponents to make it to the final, defeating Hossein Vafaei, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham, Tom Ford and Mark Allen.
Lei’s prize for victory is £100,000, which will see him leap to 43rd position in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings.
He heads into the BetVictor Welsh Open next year trailing Neil Robertson by £8,600 in the BetVictor Series standings. Whoever tops the list after the Welsh Open will scoop a bumper £150,000 bonus.
Earlier this year Lei wasn’t even a professional player, having lost his status twice previously. He regained his place on the professional circuit by winning the Asia Pacific Championship in March, beating Australia’s Vinnie Calabrese 6-5 in the final.
At 42, the aggregate age of today’s finalists was the lowest in a ranking event title match since 1998. Paul Hunter (19) defeated John Higgins (22) to capture the Welsh Open crown on that occasion.
Defeat sees Wu fall short in his second final of the campaign. He was also runner-up to Neil Robertson at the BetVictor English Open. However, he will emerge from the week ranked 25th in the world.
Lei came out of the afternoon session with a 5-3 advantage. That gap was closed when Wu took the opener this evening, but Lei quickly responded with 70 in the tenth to make it 6-4.
A tightly contested 11th frame then went the way of Lei after 35 minutes of play. The 12th came down to the green, where Wu missed an opportunity to the top left. That afforded Lei the chance to clear to the pink and move one away from glory at 8-4.
Wu provided resistance by taking the next, but a break of 62 saw Lei hold his nerve and get over the line for a momentous victory.
“Honestly, it feels so unexpected to win the title. I initially just wanted to better my previous best result, which was the last 16. Reaching that stage already felt satisfying, so I played with no pressure and didn’t overthink things.”
Lei Peifan
2024 BetVictor Scottish Open Champion
Lei added: “The final frame was tough mentally. I kept picturing myself winning the title if I made the next shot, but I tried to stay calm and prepare myself for each shot.
“Coming back to the professional circuit this year, my goal was just to keep my place on the tour. I’ve already been relegated twice before. I didn’t expect this result at all and it came so fast. It shows that hard work pays off and I’ll keep working hard to win more titles in the future.
“Wu Yize and I have been good friends for ten years. This was our first time playing each other. Meeting in a ranking final made it even more special.
“Seeing the players I practise with achieve such great results has been a huge inspiration for me. It reminded me that with enough effort, I can achieve great things too.”
Wu said: “This week I think I performed well overall, but not in this final match. I don’t know what happened. It felt like I was playing without any touch or rhythm. I didn’t really put much pressure on myself, but maybe I was a bit nervous in the first four frames. I tried to adjust later on, but it still didn’t feel right.
“Thanks to everyone for your support. Maybe my performance this time was a bit disappointing, but I won’t let it crush me. I believe I’ll have many more opportunities in the future and I’m confident I can win a title.”
This is an extraordinary and heart-warming result for Lei Peifan. Twice he dropped off the tour, twice he came back. He showed incredible heart during this tournament. I’m certain that he also spent an incredible amount of hours in practice, not just ahead of this tournament, but ever since he first took a cue in his hands. He’s not the most talented guy on tour, he’s not the easiest on the eye either but he’s certainly among the hardest workers and someone who never gives up. Hats off Lei!
As for Wu, he will be back. He will become a winner one day, likely in a not too distant future. He’s too good not to. He said he doesn’t know what happened and I believe him but maybe the people around him may help him to work it out. After all he was in an unfamiliar situation as he was the one expected to win and, possibly, subconsciously this put pressure on him.
Two young Chinese players already wrote history yesterday and there is more to come today.
Indeed, the final today will be played between Lei Peifan and Wu Yize, both only 21 years of age. Whoever wins today, we will have a “new” ranking event winner as one of them will lift the Stephen Hendry trophy, a first trophy for whoever wins the final but surely not the last.
Both of them came from behind to win their semi-final. Here are the reports shared by WST:
Wu Yize is through to the second ranking event final of his career after a hard fought 6-4 defeat of Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
The hugely talented 21-year-old, who was Rookie of the Year in 2022, is enjoying his finest season on the World Snooker Tour thus far.
Earlier in the campaign, he beat the likes of Judd Trump, Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham to reach a maiden title match at the BetVictor English Open. After a fiercely contested encounter, it was Neil Robertson who prevailed 9-7 in the final.
He now faces the prospect of a best of 17 encounter with either Mark Allen or Lei Peifan. Victory will give Wu the Stephen Hendry Trophy, a top prize of £100,000 and the first ranking event win of his fledgling career.
If he goes on and captures the title he will also move ahead of Robertson in the BetVictor Series standings, ahead of the finale at the Welsh Open. Whoever accumulates the most prize money across the qualifying events will scoop a massive £150,000 bonus.
Xiao bows out after yet another deep run in his best ever season as a professional, having first joined the tour back in 2007. He claimed maiden ranking event glory at the Wuhan Open and was a losing finalist at the Champion of Champions.
A cagey first two frames this afternoon went the way of Xiao, before Wu came from behind to take the third and then made 63 in the fourth to head into the mid-session at 2-2.
When play resumed, Xiao made 76 to regain the lead at 3-2 and then claimed the sixth on the pink to move 4-2 up.
Xiao led a crucial seventh 56-0, before falling out of position. With the balls in uninviting positions, a stunning break of 67 from Wu saw him steal on the black and close to 4-3 behind.
That was the moment where momentum shifted, as Wu hammered home further runs of 57, 115 and 54 to make it four on the bounce and a 6-4 victory.
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere today. In the past, I might have felt a lot of pressure in situations like this, but now I just find it enjoyable,” said world number 27 Wu.
“Today, we played on a new cloth and with new balls. The first four frames were challenging, as we were adapting to the table and the conditions, which were quite different from yesterday. Later on, both of us made some adjustments.
“Of course I’m eager to win the title, but for me it’s also about enjoying the process. Winning the title would be a way to reward myself for all these years of effort. For every tournament, becoming champion is hard to come by and it requires me to be at my best.“
Lei Peifan is through to the first ranking event final of his career, after completing an epic fightback against Mark Allen to prevail 6-5 at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
It looked as if Allen was coasting to his 20th ranking when he led 5-2. However, Lei turned the match on its head and scored an unlikely victory with the clock well beyond midnight.
He can now look forward to a final against Chinese compatriot and fellow 21-year-old Wu Yize. The finalist’s combined age of 42 makes this the youngest title match in a ranking final since Paul Hunter (19) beat John Higgins (22) in the 1998 Welsh Open final.
It’s been a stunning ascension to prominence for world number 84 Lei, who until this week had never been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event. He’s already defeated Hossein Vafaei, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and Tom Ford to reach this point.
The winner tomorrow will pick up the Stephen Hendry Trophy, their first ever ranking event title and a career high payday of £100,000.
Breaks of 73, 97 and 55 helped Allen into his commanding 5-2 lead this evening. However, a missed pink in the eighth, with the balls at his mercy, initiated a barnstorming fightback from Lei.
He capitalised on Allen’s missed opportunity in emphatic fashion, claiming four frames on the bounce to seal an epic fightback win.
Lei said: “It is very exciting to win. Today I didn’t play very well in the first session. I was telling myself not to give up, just to focus on the table and play. It was my first time in a semi-final so I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“I was nervous today and didn’t know how to adjust myself. It was only one table and there were so many people watching. In the second session I felt a little bit more relaxed.
“Myself and Wu know each other very well. We will just have to go out and try to bring a good performance for everybody to watch. Playing in a tournament is different to practising. It is the first time we have met.”
Allen said: “I probably got what I deserved for not winning 6-2. I missed the pink when I was 5-2 up and then everything started to go against me. I just didn’t close the match out well enough. I’ve got no regrets. He potted some good balls in the last, so credit to him.”
Xiao Guodong was one of the Chinese players who arrived in Britain in the late noughties, in the aftermath of Ding’s breakthrough. I first met him at the SWSA in Gloucester. He didn’t speak much of English at the time but his outgoing personality made him stand out in that group. At the time, some fans on forums, predicted a Chinese tsunami. It didn’t happen, it was never going to happen. Behind the “snooker player” there is a human person and it was preposterous to assume that being away from their family, having to adapt to a different culture, to learn a different language and still to perform at their best would be feasible, never mind easy. All the academies that exist today weren’t around at the time. After the match yesterday Xiao congratulated his young opponent and the smile on his face was 100% genuine, you could see that. He was part of that pioneer group that lay the foundations that allow the younger generation of Chinese players to thrive. Xiao is only 35, he only recently won his first ranking title in Wuhan, he still has time for more, but whatever happens from here he should be proud of himself.
As for Wu and Lei … what can I say? Both were outstanding yesterday, in different ways. Wu is very easy on the eye and Lei’s determination is admirable and his “escape” skills were astonishing yesterday. I just hope that both play well today!
We have three Chinese players in the semi-finals of the 2024 Scottish Open. Two of the, Wu Yize and Lei Peifan, are only 21 years old The two other semi-finalists are experienced campaigners: Mark Allen and Xiao Guodong. Here is how we got there as reported by WST.
Wu Yize battled to reach his fourth ranking event semi-final, prevailing 5-4 against world number 16 Chris Wakelin at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Victory for talented 21-year-old Wu moves him within two games of grasping maiden ranking event glory.
The Chinese star was named Rookie of the Year, after a fine breakthrough season in 2022. Since then, he’s continued to demonstrate his considerable potential.
Earlier this season Wu went on a run to the BetVictor English Open final, which included a win over Judd Trump, before a nerve shredding 9-7 loss to Neil Robertson.
Wu, who plays compatriot Xiao Guodong in the semis, now knows that he is two wins away from a maiden ranking title and the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
Winning the event will move him above Robertson in the BetVictor Series standings ahead of the finale at the Welsh Open. The prize money leader in the series will scoop a £150,000 bonus.
Defeat for Wakelin ends another deep run in a season which has seen him make the top 16 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings for the first time in his career. As a result, he can look ahead to a Johnstone’s Paint Masters debut at Alexandra Palace in January.
The opening stages of the match saw Wakelin take charge, breaks of 107 and 51 gave him a 2-0 advantage. However, Wu replied by claiming the third and fourth with runs of 82 and 72 to draw level at 2-2.
Wakelin regained the advantage by winning the fifth, but it was Wu who took two on the bounce to move to the verge of victory at 4-3.
A gutsy contribution of 103 from Wakelin forced a decider, where he had an opportunity to win before missing a red to the middle. Wu stepped up and ruthlessly fired in 66 to seal victory.
Wu said: “I’m quite satisfied with my form. Last night, before the match, I watched some of my games from last year. I feel that I’ve improved in many aspects overall, and that’s something that makes me really happy.
“In the first frame, my cue tip had some issues and even miscued. Fortunately, my dad was with me, as I don’t know how to fix a tip myself. After the second frame, I asked him to help adjust it.
“I often see online that Edinburgh is described as a very romantic city. I visited here in 2021 and spent two or three days exploring. This is my first time competing in Edinburgh and everything feels amazing. My focus now is to give my best performance in the tournament and after it’s over, I plan to take my dad on a little tour around the city.”
On the other table, Xiao scored a 5-1 defeat of 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel to book his spot in the last four.
It’s been a landmark season for Xiao, who won his maiden ranking title at the Wuhan Open and was runner-up at the invitational Champion of Champions.
Defeat for Brecel ends an important run, which has gone a long way towards staving off the very real threat of dropping out of the world’s top 64, when the points for his 2023 Crucible victory drop off at the end of the season.
The opening stages of this afternoon’s encounter were truncated, with Xiao moving 2-1 ahead after winning a 50-minute third frame. He then clicked into gear, with breaks of 106 and 81 on his way to crossing the line after five frames in a row.
The Wu vs Wakelin match was a very enjoyable high quality affair, the kind of match that make you think “It’s a shame there had to be a loser“. Wu still has that freedom and freshness of the very young. He’s blessed with a huge talent and an excellent temperament … it’s a deadly combo! Wu was interviewed on ES after the match … in English. His command of the language is still basic but he went through that interview with a smile. All credits to him. The British players, and the Brits and Americans in general, usually only speak English and find it “normal” that every one else speaks it as well. It’s not, it takes an effort, especially when your native language is completely different in its etymology, structure, grammar and uses a different alphabet. It always infuriates me when, here on my Greek island, I witness tourists1 being rude to waiters, hotel/restaurant staff and shopkeepers because their command of English isn’t perfect. Their own command of Greek is usually zero.
In the second match of the afternoon, Xiao Guodong played well too. I will refrain to write what I think of Brecel’s “performance”.
Mark Allen is through to the 41st ranking event semi-final of his career after defeating Noppon Saengkham 5-2 at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
The Pistol has been searching for form in recent weeks, but was back to his fluent best this evening in a captivating clash against the always dangerous Saengkham.
Allen spent a brief period at the start of the campaign as world number one, but has subsequently slipped back down to fifth. His exploits this week will see him move to at least fourth and making the final would push him to world number three.
The Northern Irishman is aiming to win this event for a second time. He first lifted the Stephen Hendry Trophy back in 2018, when he beat Shaun Murphy 9-7 in the title match.
Defeat for Saengkham means he will have to wait for a maiden ranking crown. He came close last year in Edinburgh, when he lost to Gary Wilson in the final. However, once again it has been a positive week in the Scottish capital for the Thai.
A break of 87 gave Saengkham the opener this evening, before Allen turned up the heat with contributions of 87, 120 and 127 on his way to four on the bounce and a 4-1 lead.
Saengkham responded with a stunning 136 to close the gap, but the high quality encounter was finished off with 105 in the seventh from Allen to triumph 5-2. He now faces China’s Lei Peifan in the last four.
“I played well there and scored heavily. I can’t complain. I only missed one or two shots in the whole game so I can’t complain,” said 11-time ranking event winner Allen.
“I’m enjoying what I’ve been trying this week. Just getting on with it and going for my shots. The games in York and in the early part of this week I wasn’t enjoying things. I just thought I’d get on with it and see what happens. I couldn’t have felt worse than I did so nice to see some balls going in and I’m scoring pretty well.
“I am confident, but I’m not taking anything for granted. I need to keep performing the way I have so far. I’m going to be playing a tough opponent no matter who gets through.”
It was China’s Lei who prevailed in the other quarter-final, winning a tense decider with Tom Ford to come through 5-4.
Lei was competing in the last eight of a ranking event for the first time in his career, having already beaten the likes of Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham thus far.
The final frame came down to a safety exchange on the brown. Eventually Lei conjured a brilliant pot and held his nerve with a tough cut back blue to get himself into a maiden ranking semi-final.
I chose to watch table two. It was another good match and one where the “momentum” appeared to shift from one player to the other every odd frame. Tom was the heavier scorer, he had two big centuries in this match: a 136 and a 125. It was Lei however who came on top in most of the close more tactical frames. Given that Tom is old enough to be Lei’s father, you would expect the opposite … that said, tactical play has never been Tom’s favourite cup of tea.
World number seven Luca Brecel admitted he was motivated to stop talk of his form, after coming from 3-1 down to beat Ding Junhui 4-3 and make the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
The Belgian has spent this season facing a potentially massive slide down the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, with his place in the top 64 under threat when his points for winning the 2023 World Championship drop off his ranking. This week’s exploits will go a long way towards staving off that prospect.
Brecel is a former winner of this event, having defeated Scotland’s four-time Crucible king John Higgins in the 2021 final. He finds himself just three wins away from capturing the Stephen Hendry Trophy for a second time. Next up Brecel faces Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong, who beat home favourite Stephen Maguire 4-1.
This afternoon it was China’s 15-time ranking event winner Ding who made the strongest start. Breaks of 125 and 126 helped him into a 3-1 advantage. However, with his back to the wall, Brecel claimed three on the bounce to secure victory and his first ever win over Ding in eight meetings between the pair.
“The difficult part was getting back to 3-3 and then in the decider I fancied controlling myself. He is good at that too though, so it was a tough victory,” said 29-year-old Brecel.
“A lot of people have been talking and you don’t want to have them keep talking. I wanted to get back. It is also that deep inside I want to get to a really high level again. I know that once I get back to my form I can win tournaments again. It is all there, I just need to put in the hours. I think my mindset is better than ever before, because I know what it is like to lose a lot of games. It is good to be back.“
Mark Allen survived a final frame decider to edge past Jack Lisowski 4-3 and keep his hopes of a second Scottish Open title alive.
Lisowski had an opportunity in the final frame, but after going into the pack early from the blue he was only left with a difficult red to middle. He missed and Allen stepped up with a match winning 68. That earns him a quarter-final with last year’s losing finalist Noppon Saengkham. The Thai came through with a 4-2 win over Ali Carter.
“As someone who really enjoys watching Jack play, you’d love to know what is going on in his head. He plays some great snooker and then misses one in the balls that you don’t expect at all,” said world number five Allen.
“I’m glad I’m still hanging around. There are three very tough matches in front of me, but it is nice to still be in the hat. I’ve played some decent stuff. From a poor start in my first game I played well against Ryan Day and decent there. Hopefully there will be more of the same tomorrow.”
World number 16 Chris Wakelin continued his tremendous current form with a 4-1 defeat of Xing Zihao. Next up he faces Wu Yize, who was a 4-3 victor against recent UK Championship finalist Barry Hawkins.
Lei Peifan came through a deciding frame to beat Stuart Bingham 4-3 and will now face recently crowned Shoot Out Champion Tom Ford, who prevailed 4-1 against Long Zehuang.
Ding made two centuries in the three frames he won but struggled to win the close frames. Luca’s break building isn’t what it was during the 2023 World Championship … yet. But he took some very daring shots, and got the majority of them. Some of the things he did at the table yesterday were out of this world. It was scary. Playing like that he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents, really A LOT. Some may go into their shell, some may lose confidence , some will cope … but I don’t think there is one player who would feel 100% at ease facing Luca at his best.
Wu Yize once again impressed me, and the hubby 😉. That kid is seriously good and mentally solid. Barry Hawkins isn’t an easy opponent. He’s shrewd and has all the experience in the world. Both played well. This one was a good match to watch.
The Mark Allen v Jack Lisowski match was a high scoring affair. There was only one close frame, the fifth and it was a crucial one. It’s a frame that Jack should have won but lost. What Allen said about Jack’s game is absolute spot on. As a fan, I find it very frustrating. I like Jack’s game. I like Jack as a person. I want to see him lift a trophy, he’s more than good enough. Grr…
Stephen Maguire gained revenge over World Champion Kyren Wilson with a 4-2 win at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Maguire succumbed to a 6-0 whitewash defeat at the hands of Wilson at the recent Victorian Plumbing UK Championship. The Glaswegian was despondent after that result, but vowed to continue his work with newly acquired coach, Chris Small.
Alongside Small, 2004 UK Champion Maguire has gone back to basics and rebuilt his game from the very fundamentals of things like stance. That work appeared to bear fruit today against world number two Wilson.
Breaks of 79, 67, 71 and 128 from Maguire saw him secure this afternoon’s victory and set up a last 16 meeting with Xiao Guodong, who beat Jak Jones 4-3. After today’s win, Maguire admitted that victory this week would mean a great deal to him.
Maguire said: “I’m miles away at the moment, but if I win in Scotland it will be the biggest tournament I’ve ever won. It would be ahead of the UK Championship or the Tour Championship. This would top those, because I don’t settle here. I’m not used to people shouting come on Stephen. It would be crazy to win here.”
John Higgins failed to follow up Maguire’s win with another Scottish victory, bowing out 4-3 in a defeat to the in form Barry Hawkins.
Englishman Hawkins reached the final of the recent Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, losing out in a pulsating clash with Judd Trump 10-8. He’ll be aiming to go one step further and take home the title this week. Next up it’s Wu Yize in the last 16.
World number five Mark Allen progressed 4-2 after a high quality encounter with four-time ranking event winner Ryan Day.
Runs of 104, 127, 78 and 103 helped him to victory this afternoon. He now faces a blockbuster encounter with Jack Lisowski, who was a 4-0 winner against Si Jiahui.
“That was good snooker there and it needed to be against Ryan as he looked like he was playing well too. I can’t play much better than that,” said 38-year-old Allen.
“It is about trying to play like that when there is pressure on. That is when I play my best snooker. It is just finding that balance. I’m struggling with that at the minute. Some days it is easy and some days it feels like the hardest game in the world.“
Lei Peifan prevailed 4-3 in a close encounter with 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy, while 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham beat David Lilley 4-2. They now face each other in the last 16.
Ding Junhui was a 4-2 victor over Jackson Page to set up a last 16 clash with 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel, who beat Zhou Yuelong 4-1.
As usual some matches are overlooked in this report, and there are some surprising omissions …
Chris Wakelin beat Zhang Anda by 4-2. Chris is one player who has been completely transformed by his Shoot-out win and he deserves more exposure.
Xing Zihao beat Dean Young by 4-3. Dean Young’s ranking situation looks beyond rescue, but Xing’s one isn’t and such wins may prove important at the end of the season.
Wu Yize is briefly mentioned. He beat Ishpreet Singh Chadah by 4-2 in an excellent match that featured a break over 50 in every frame. The highlight was a 135 by Wu. Singh Chadah is currently second in the “rescue” group of four who could keep their tour card via the one year list. I hope that he can stay on tour, he is plenty good enough.
Xiao Guodong beat Jak Jones, the Crucible runner-up, by 4-3. Frame three went to a re-spotted black that Xiao won. Maybe the match outcome eventually was decided by that one ball …
Tom Ford who won his first ranking title, the Shoot-out, only last week-end beat Neil Robertson by 4-1. Given Tom’s recent success and Neil’s position in the rankings this is a surprising omission.
Long Zehuang beat Joe O’Connor by 4-3. This is an important win for Long as it puts him as high as number 50 in the provisional end of rankings, and in the top 64 in the current rankings at the expense of Anthony Hamilton.
Noppon Saengkham beat Mark Selby by 4-2 at ungodly hours … he missed the final pink whilst en route to a maximum in the last frame.
Luca Brecel required the codebreaking skills of Stuart Bingham to help him retrieve his cue minutes before beating Belgian compatriot Julien Leclercq 4-3 at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Brecel’s cue was trapped inside a flight case in the players’ lounge moments before his match was due to get underway, after he forgot the code to his lock. Eventually fellow former Crucible king Bingham was able to correctly guess the combination and free Brecel’s cue for him to play.
He is currently in danger of losing his place in the top 64 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings at the end of the season, when his prize money for winning the 2023 World Championship drops off his ranking. It’s been a torrid season so far for Brecel, who has lost nine of his 15 matches.
Today provided a much needed victory, with breaks of 68 and 79 to come from 3-2 down and book a last 32 tie with Zhou Yuelong, who defeated Yuan Sijun 4-1.
“He cracked the code. I thought it was 009 to open the lock, but it turned out it was 000. So everyone knows the the code now! It was Stuart Bingham to the rescue. If he didn’t get the code we were going to have to break it open,” said 2021 Scottish Open winner Brecel.
“That match was probably the most pressure I’ve felt since winning the World Championship. I had to win that game, just for myself, because I have been playing well when practising. I think I brought it to the match table today.”
Scotland’s Stephen Maguire scored a 4-0 win over Matthew Selt, as he battles to find form having rebuilt his game with new coach Chris Small. He now faces World Champion Kyren Wilson, who whitewashed David Grace 4-0.
Maguire said: “I’m nowhere near good enough at the moment. That’s a good result but I’m not going to pretend I’m up there with the best player in the world or anything like that. I’ve got a long way to go and a long road ahead.
“I went to see Chris Small. We’ve only been working together for a month and we have started from scratch. We have gone to the basics. I’m trying to find my feet. Whether it is round the corner, I don’t know.“
Edinburgh’s world number 98 Dean Young scored a significant victory on home turf, beating Pang Junxu 4-2 to make the last 32 of a full format ranking event for the first time in his career. He now plays Xing Zihao.
Shaun Murphy produced a fine display to brush aside Daniel Wells 4-0. After a superb 120 in the opener, he embarked on a maximum attempt in the second. However, the Magician broke down on 72. He went on to complete the victory and now faces Lei Peifan.
Mark Selby was a 4-0 victor against Stuart Carrington to set up a last 32 tie with Noppon Saengkham, while Jack Lisowski beat Jordan Brown 4-0 and now faces Si Jiahui.
Neil Robertson defeated Fan Zhengyi 4-1 to secure his progression. That books him a meeting with recently crowned BetVictor Shoot Out Champion Tom Ford, who beat Antoni Kowalski 4-2.
Once again a number of matches have been “forgotten” in this report. Most notably Ding’s victory over Mark Davis and Kyren Wilson’s victory over David Grace. Kyren is reigning World Champion and I feel that he doesn’t get the exposure he deserves. Ding is a top player for ages and one who had a significant impact on the development of the game in China. He was the first to break through and without him we probably wouldn’t have so many young talents from China and Asia in the field but hey! … Do they really think that their site is only read by Brits who don’t give a *** about players from other nationalities?
Or maybe their guy in charge of reporting missed the early afternoon matches? I wonder because those two important matches were played in the first session of the day as was the Jackson Page v Robert Milkins match, also absent from the report, and won by Jackson Page.
One match I want to watch today is Ishpreet Singh Chadah v Wu Yize; I like the way both of them play. But it’s also an important match for Chadah although it’s still early in the season and he may not be aware of its possible significance. Should Chadah win today he would break into the top 64 in the provisional end of season ranking list, pushing Anthony Hamilton into the relegation zone. The “Sheriff” has been struggling badly with injuries for years. He’s a very shrewd player, he fascinates me but I hate seeing him struggling physically and being in pain. I don’t know how he feels about the prospect of leaving the main tour, but, for me, seeing him go would be a cause of mixed feelings: sadness and relief. IF it comes to that, I hope to see him on the Seniors tour.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 