World number 89 Zak Surety said he feels as if he’s “playing PlayStation” as he continued his amazing run at the Weide Cup World Open by beating Tom Ford 5-3 to reach the semi-finals, where he will meet John Higgins.
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Essex cueman Surety first turned pro in 2014 and had never previously gone beyond the last 16 of a ranking event. But in this tournament the 33-year-old has knocked out Si Jiahui, Jordan Brown, Duane Jones, Liu Hongyu and Ford, setting up a clash with all-time great Higgins on Friday.
Surety, who has made six centuries and ten more breaks over 50 in this event, is already guranteed £33,000, by far his biggest career pay day and virtually doubling his season’s earnings having previously banked £33,750.
He is certain to leap up the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and could even earn a place in the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford next month if he can go all the way to the £175,000 top prize in Yushan.
Breaks of 133 and 103 put Surety 2-1 up today. World number 20 Ford levelled before Surety took the next two frames with runs of 88 and 73 for 4-2. Ford pulled one back but an excellent 70 clearance in frame eight secured the result for Surety.
“I am in unknown territory now,” said Surety, who was relegated from the tour in 2022 but regained his place via Q School. “I am enjoying it, although I’m also waiting to go home. I want to have a cup of tea, go running in the woods, play with my dogs and see my mum. Maybe that’s relaxing me. But when I’m in the arena, I’m desperate to win. I want to be a top snooker player and there are big ranking points on offer. So I’m fighting myself.
“I was very nervous today, although I felt better after the interval and I can’t work out why, because it’s the biggest match I have ever played in. I have had a twitch-up a few times and lost my way. But when I’m in the balls, I feel good, as if I am playing PlayStation. I’ve got to enjoy it, let’s see what happens tomorrow. I have played John before in China (losing 5-3 at the 2024 Wuhan Open) and it was a close game, though that was on an outside table. It will be different in a semi-final on the TV table. John is one of the best ever, I still pinch myself just being around him. But I need to believe in myself.“
Higgins eased to a 5-0 win over Pang Junxu to reach the 86th ranking event semi-final of his stellar career. If he beats Surety, the 49-year-old will become the oldest ranking event finalist since 1986 when a 53-year-old Rex Williams lost to Jimmy White. The Scot is aiming for his 32nd ranking title and first since the 2021 Players Championship; tomorrow’s match will be the four-year anniversary of that triumph.
The four-time World Champion fired breaks of 125, 87, 96 and 81 in a superb display against China’s Pang. “I feel better today,” said Higgins who was suffering from a stomach upset yesterday. “Pang had a bad fever, I could see in the practice room he wasn’t feeling well. He missed a few today which he would usually never miss and I took advantage. I played better today than yesterday.
“If you ever lose the hunger to win, you may as well not bother. For me that has never been in question, but sometimes it’s the mental fragility or the pressure. I have been doing something different for the last couple of months, you try little things.
“I played Zak in Wuhan and we had a good game. He’s really improved this week. He’s very relaxed and really enjoying it. He’s had a great win against Tom today. He’s such a dangerous player so I’ll have to try to play my best.“
It’s always very unfortunate when a player suffers from ill health and can’t perform to their best. Get well soon Pang!
Joe O’Connor fired three centuries as he added Shaun Murphy to his list of big-name scalps, storming to a 5-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the Weide Cup World Open in Yushan.
O’Connor knocked out world number one Judd Trump earlier in the week, and also beat World Champion Kyren Wilson at the recent BetVictor Welsh Open. Today’s the world number 39 thrashed Johnstone’s Paint Masters champion Murphy to reach his fourth ranking event semi-final. He will meet Ali Carter on Friday and victory would earn him a second ranking final appearance, having finished runner-up at the 2022 BetVictor Scottish Open.
If O’Connor can go all the way to the £175,000 top prize in China, he could leap into the top 16 of the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year rankings and earn a place at next month’s Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford. Murphy, meanwhile, has made up ground this week in the Race to the Crucible but remains outside the top 16 of that list and will need wins over the trio of upcoming Players Series events to ensure a seeded status for the World Championship.
In a high quality contest, O’Connor opened with breaks of 135 and 100 to lead 2-0, before Murphy responded with a 128. Runs of 66 and 132 put Leicester’s 29-year-old O’Connor 4-1 ahead, and a break of 68 in frame six helped him seal an emphatic win.
“I played really well and didn’t give Shaun many chances,” said O’Connor. “When the long pots are going in you have to punish the top players, that’s what I did today and I’m proud of it. It’s cementing confidence I have had for many years. This week it has all come together and hopefully I can win the trophy. If I play like that it will take a lot to stop me. I have been consistent for a while now and when my game clicks I feel I can beat anyone.
“I changed my cue before the Shoot Out, it’s a new one from Maximus and I loved it as soon as I picked it up, I think I’ll be sticking with this one. Matt Selt arranged it for me so I have to say thanks to him. I have gone to a titanium ferrule as well. I took the plunge and thankfully it has worked.“
Carter came from 3-1 and 4-3 down to beat Barry Hawkins 5-4 and reach his 33rd ranking event semi-final, and second in a row having appeared in the last four of the BetVictor Welsh Open. The 45-year-old started the season in perfect fashion by winning the BetVictor Championship League, then lost form for a few months but is now at the top of his game. This week’s run has already boosted Carter from 18th to 16th on the one-year list and he’s now on track to qualify for Telford, and is also into the top 16 in the Race to the Crucible.
Hawkins made breaks of 89, 66 and 91 to lead 3-1 before Carter recovered to 3-3. A run of 85 saw Hawkins regain the lead but he scored just 8 points in the last two frames as Carter compiled runs of 60 and 59 on his way to the winning post.
“I lost to Stephen Maguire in the semis of the Welsh, I felt I was hot favourite but I got myself at it, stopped myself from playing well and sort of threw it away,” admitted Carter, who has won two of his six ranking titles in China. “I learned my lesson from that and I was determined not to do that again and lose due to my own temperament and stupidity. In this game you have to stick at it and be resilient. The older you get, the harder it is to do that. Today was a big win in terms of the Players Championship and Crucible seeding as the difference in prize money today was massive.
“Joe bossed the game against Shaun, every time I looked at the scoreboard it looked like he wasn’t missing a ball. It will be an intriguing match and I’m looking forward to it.“
On a different topic, the first Disability Snooker World Championship is underway in Thailand.
Don’t expect big breaks but, please, go and watch with an open mind. What those players do to overcome the limitations created by their disabilities is remarkable and they deserve our full support. For some of them, who are very isolated socially, the snooker community is the closest thing they have to a family and a circle of friends. I know that for certain as for years, before covid, I often traveled to their events.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 