I went missing yesterday … out in Athens trying to sort some administrative nightmare out in the company of our lawyers – father and son – who are, I must say, great company as well as good at their job. Their only fault seems to be a strong determination to feed me sweets and cakes every couple of hours! 😂
Anyway… I’m back to snooker today, but obviously can’t comment on any of yesterday’s action.
Here are the reports shared by WST on what happened on Wednesday and yesterday.
Jack Lisowski has withdrawn from the event:
Lisowski Withdraws From World Grand Prix
Jack Lisowski has withdrawn from the ongoing World Grand Prix in Hong Kong for personal reasons.
Lisowski was due to face Judd Trump on Thursday afternoon, but Trump will now receive a bye. Neil Robertson vs. David Gilbert will now take place on table one.
It’s a shame for Jack and I sincerely hope that nothing awful has happened to himself or anyone dear to him.
Neil Robertson revealed that switching to a titanium ferrule on his cue has given him renewed enthusiasm for practice, and his sharpness showed in a 4-0 win over Yuan Sijun in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
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Robertson is one of a growing number of players to switch to titanium, which allows the player to aim directly at the potting angle, rather than allowing for side spin on the cue ball, known as deflection, when playing with a traditional brass ferrule. The Australian has already had an excellent season, highlighted by victory at the BetVictor English Open in September, but believes he can improve further with the change to his cue.
He fired breaks of 97 and 67 today as he eased into the last 16, setting up a tie with David Gilbert on Thursday.
“I decided to make the switch after the Welsh Open, then I needed a couple of weeks to get used to it,” said Robertson. “As soon as I wake up I’m thinking I can’t wait to practise, and it’s the first time I have felt that in over 20 years. The things I’m doing things in practice are exciting. I need to experience it more in an area with the different cloth, but once I fully adapt I’ll be playing some fun snooker.
“Other top players like John Higgins, Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen have changed to titanium in recent seasons and I had always been curious. It’s a massive change because there is so much less deflection, while with brass you get used to aiming to miss balls by one or two inches, to allow for the throw. Titanium is a much more consistent material then brass which means you have to adapt less in different conditions when we play in different counties. I think in the coming years we will see more innovation in snooker.”
Robertson won the Hong Kong Masters in 2017 and enjoys the location. He added: “I always love coming here. In some places you go for a practice then go back to your hotel room. In Hong Kong you want to make the most of every day. That helps inspire me. People love snooker and support the event. If I can get to the quarter-finals onwards I think the atmosphere in the arena will be unbelievable.“
BetVictor Welsh Open champion Mark Selby edged out Jackson Page 4-3 despite failing to make a break over 50. After sharing the first four frames, Page made an 85 to lead 3-2, and he was among the balls first in frame six but scored only 29. Selby battled back to take that frame on the colours, then won the decider with runs of 36 and 41.
“Jackson played well to go 3-2 up and I was just hanging on,” admitted Selby, who now meets Mark Allen or Jimmy Robertson. “He had a good chance to win 4-2 but luckily he let me back into it. I’ll need to improve in the next round.”
China’s Xiao Guodong, enjoying the best season of his career and currently fourth in the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings, edged out Jak Jones 4-3. Breaks of 106 and 56 put Xiao 2-0 up before Jones hit back with 53, 69 and 58 to lead 3-2. Xiao rose to the challenge with runs of 110 (his 300th career century) and 89 to take the last two frames. The result means that last year’s Crucible runner-up Jones misses out on the Sportsbet.io Players Championship and could be in danger of having to qualify for the World Championship.
Xiao now meets BetVictor Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan, who enjoyed a 4-2 success against Elliot Slessor with runs of 60, 107 and 71.
I didn’t see anything from this session as I had to prepare for my trip on the next day. Neil’s quotes about the titanium ferule are interesting though and they explain why some players, particularly older players, may find the transition hard. Practice in snooker is a lot about creating “automatism”. “Undoing” some automatic behaviours and, not just replacing them by new behaviours , but making them ” the new automatic” as well isn’t easy.
Jimmy Robertson scored his best result in recent months as he came from 2-0 down to beat Mark Allen 4-2 in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
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Robertson started the current season strongly, notably knocking out John Higgins and Kyren Wilson on his way to the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in September, and he has now claimed another huge scalp with victory over world number seven Allen.
The result keeps alive Robertson’s hopes of qualifying for this month’s Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford as he now lies 20th in the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings and if he reaches the final he will jump into the top 16. Allen is defending champion in that event but defeat today means his place in Telford is not secure yet.
Breaks of 50 and 63 gave Allen the first two frames, but Robertson then dominated by taking four in a row with top runs of 65, 68 and 50 as he set up a last 16 tie with Mark Selby on Thursday evening.
Barry Hawkins added another win to his superb season with a 4-1 win over Tom Ford. Hawkins was runner-up in both the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship and Machineseeker German Masters as well as reaching the quarter-finals of last week’s Weide Cup World Open. Breaks of 126 and 105 today helped him set up a second round fixture with Shaun Murphy.
“It’s looking like one of my best seasons ever,” said Hawkins, who is seventh on the one-year list. “I haven’t won anything but I have been very consistent and hopefully I can still pick up a trophy. My main aim at the start of season was to be in the top 16 for the Crucible so I have done that already.
“I am over the moon to beat Tom because since winning the Shoot Out he’s had confidence. It’s an amazing venue and if I can get to the later rounds it will be a fantastic atmosphere.”
That result ended Ford’s hopes of qualifying for Telford, and also means he misses out on the top 16 status for the World Championship which he enjoyed last year.
China’s top player Ding Junhui suffered a surprise 4-3 defeat against Xu Si. Ding led 3-2 with top breaks of 78 and 108 but Xu won the sixth with a run of 81 then dominated the decider with 43 and 24. He now meets Hossein Vafaei, who took full advantage of his late call up in place of Ronnie O’Sullivan as he edged out Si Jiahui 4-3.
In this session I watched the Vafaei v Si Jiahui match. It was a very watchable match full of twists and turns. Hossein Vafaei deserves a lot of credit for winning this one. He was in pain throughout, apparently suffering from an arm or shoulder injury. His opponent, Si Jiahui was the better scorer: over the course of the match, he had four breaks over 50, including one in the last frame, whilst Hossein Vafaei had just one break of note, a 56. Hossein’s perseverance and determination are to be admired.
Man of the moment John Higgins kept his hot streak going with a 4-2 win over World Champion Kyren Wilson in the second round of the World Grand Prix, and will now set a new record for the most ever ranking event quarter-finals appearances.
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Higgins described his triumph at last week’s Weide Cup World Open as a “big monkey off my back‘ as it was his first ranking title for four years. The 49-year-old has carried his momentum into this week’s event in Hong Kong, knocking out Ali Carter before today’s success in a tremendous match against Wilson.
Crucible king Wilson opened with a run of 131 then Higgins responded with a 143, the new target for the £10,000 high break prize. Wilson regained the lead with a 72 but failed to score a point in the last three frames as Higgins rattled in 74, 92 and 100. On Friday the Scot will face Shaun Murphy or Barry Hawkins in the 147th ranking quarter-final of his 33-year career, putting him ahead of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s tally of 146.
“It’s a good record and a nice number to get to,” said world number eight Higgins. “I needed to play well today to beat Kyren because he’s beginning to have an aura around the table. He reminds me of a young John Parrott, he hits the ball which such authority and really believes he is going to pot everything. That’s daunting to play against so you know you have to be at your best.
“I felt great today, there’s no pressure. Winning last week was a big monkey off my back because I’d lost in some heart-breaking finals. I have proved to myself I can still do it at this age.
“There were some dark times. Drives home and flights home, talking to yourself asking ‘do I really need to do this? Do I need to put myself through it?’ But the competitive nature within me had got me to a certain level, and that wouldn’t allow me to back down and drift away neatly. That’s what kept me driving on, to taste the feeling of winning again.”
Most Ranking Event Quarter-Finals
All-Time List
John Higgins 147
Ronnie O’Sullivan 146
Stephen Hendry 122
Mark Williams 114
Judd Trump 100
Mark Selby 99Stuart Bingham reached his first quarter-final of the season with a 4-2 win over Wu Yize. China’s Wu made a fast start with 129 and 120 to go 2-0 up, but former World and Masters champion Bingham stormed back to take four frames in a row with top runs of 80 and 108.
Bingham must reach the final this week to climb into the top 16 of the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings and qualify for the Sportsbet.io Players Championship. “That’s my goal and if I play like I did today I’ve got a chance,” said the Essex cueman ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Mark Selby or Jimmy Robertson.
Neil Robertson battled to a 4-1 success against David Gilbert with a top break of 78. He now meets Xiao Guodong or Lei Peifan.
Battling a spinal problem which is causing intense pain, Hossein Vafaei beat Xu Si 4-3 in the second round of the World Grand Prix as he continued to take advantage of his late call-up in place of Ronnie O’Sullivan.
This time last week, Vafaei didn’t think he had a place in Hong Kong, but when O’Sullivan pulled out on Saturday he was given the spot, as the next player in line on the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings. And after beating Si Jiahui 4-3 in round one, Vafaei enjoyed another narrow victory against Xu, winning the sixth frame on the final black for 3-3 and the decider on the final pink. His top breaks in those two matches were just 58 and 56 but Iran’s leading player is into the quarter-finals and faces Judd Trump on Friday.
For several weeks, Vafaei has been suffering from the effects of a problem with a disc in his upper spine, but has no intention of pulling out. “I am playing with one hand, I am in so much pain with my neck and shoulder,” said the 30-year-old former Shoot Out champion. “But I am always fighting for my fans and I’m delighted for them to win today. If I pull out, what would I do, sit and watch the others? So I want to try. When I sit in my chair, my hand is shaking, my left arm is completely numb. I don’t have any feeling on the shot.
“Last week I was in Chengdu and I went to hospital there but I didn’t have time for an MRI scan. I had a CT scan. I know I need physiotherapy and exercise. After this event I will go to Iran, see the Olympic doctor there and he will help me. In the mean time I have had acupuncture with small electric shocks to the nerve and hopefully that will help after a few days.”
Vafaei was in Chengdu when he received the news of a call-up to this week’s event. He added: “I was very happy to have a place although I hope Ronnie is happy and healthy. I love playing in Hong Kong and China, this is the place I want to be. They treat us really well. Judd is a good friend, a great champion and ambassador. It’s nice to see he has achieved his dream, he is one of my heroes. Hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans.”
Shaun Murphy enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Barry Hawkins with top breaks of 75 and 51. With runs to the quarter-finals this week, both Murphy and Neil Robertson have strengthened their hopes of being seeded among the top 16 for the Crucible. With a guaranteed total of £35,000 if they qualify for both the Sportsbet.io Players Championship and Sportsbet.io Tour Championship, they are sure to move above Jak Jones, Gary Wilson and Tom Ford in the Race to the Crucible.
Murphy, who now meets John Higgins, said: “Last time I played Barry he broke my heart at the UK Championship (in the quarter-finals when Hawkins won 6-2). I’m delighted with the win, I would have liked to knock in a few more big breaks for a great crowd. But I’d rather play badly and win than play well and lose.“
Mark Selby reached his 100th ranking event quarter-final with a 4-2 win over Jimmy Robertson, highlighted by breaks of 102 and 74. The four-time World Champion, who won last month’s BetVictor Welsh Open, will now meet Stuart Bingham.
Xiao Guodong made three centuries during a 4-3 win in a Chinese derby against Lei Peifan. From 2-0 down, Wuhan Open champion Xiao fired runs of 117, 128 and 128 as he set up a quarter-final with Neil Robertson.
I hope that Hossein can get the help he needs. It would be a shame if the end of his season was marred by injury. Also it seems that his “feud” with Ronnie is well and truly over1.
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- TBH I never really understood what got Hossein so worked up at the time … ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 