China’s Xiao Guodong held his nerve in a deciding frame beating Englishman Gary Wilson 10-9 and defending his Wuhan Open crown to the delight of his home fans.
Xiao ended a 17 year wait for his first ranking crown 12 months ago here in Wuhan, when he lifted silverware for the first time. He becomes the fourth player to successfully defend his maiden ranking title, following John Parrott, Mark Allen and Wilson.
Today’s triumph for now two-time ranking event winner Xiao draws parallels with Wilson himself. The Tyneside cueman ended his 18-year quest for a title at the 2023 Scottish Open and defended the title a year later. He then went on to win the 2024 Welsh Open soon after.
Xiao pockets £140,000 for his victory, while Wilson is left to settle for the £63,000 runner-up prize. That means World number 14 Xiao will catapult himself to eighth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, while Wilson moves up to 16th from 18th. That ousts Shaun Murphy from the elite top 16 echelon.
Xiao’s week started off with a magic moment, as he crafted a 147 in his opening round win over Mink Nutcharut. He then went on to beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha, David Grace, Matthew Selt, Stan Moody and Mark Williams to make the title match.
The victory thrilled fans in a packed arena this evening. Xiao received strong support throughout the week, due to coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
They came into the evening session with Xiao holding a slender 5-4 cushion. When play recommenced, parity was immediately restored, with three-time ranking event-winner Wilson making a sublime contribution of 118 to take the opener.
Xiao regained the lead, before further breaks of 73 and 102 from Wilson saw him go 7-6 up at the last mid-session interval.
Wilson forged further ahead at 8-6 upon the resumption, but the momentum continued to go back and forth. Xiao claimed three on the bounce, including runs of 103 and 90, to move a frame from the win at 9-8.
A steely contribution of 52 from Wilson in the 18th saw him take the tie all the way to a final frame.
Xiao had the first opportunity to get over the line, but could only amass 48 points. Wilson then had his chance, but an unexpected missed red to the top right proved to be fatal. Xiao got himself over the line and secured the glory.
“Winning a first ranking title is hard, winning a second is even harder. To be able to come back to this city and successfully defend the title really means a lot. I’ve been a professional for 17, now 18 years, so I’m not a young player anymore. As an experienced player, winning two ranking titles at this stage feels a bit late, but in another way the timing is just right. Over the years I’ve built up experience, and I think this breakthrough is the result of all the work and the lessons I’ve learned,” said 36-year-old Xiao
“I can remember all those years ago when I first moved to the UK to play, there was a lot of pressure for me. I moved away from my family and had no friends. I couldn’t speak English. Now I can just enjoy snooker. I can travel, eat different food and see different cities. I have to be happy to play snooker and I am glad to be doing my best.
“My biggest gain over the past year has been growth in my mentality. I’m calmer and more composed now. I feel much more settled and determined about the path I’m on. I just want to focus on every shot and enjoy what I do out there.
“I think it’s very important for Chinese players to achieve good results in home tournaments, because that helps the development of snooker in China and inspires more young people to take up the sport. Whenever I play in China, I’m extra motivated to do well because of the home crowd, the fans, and my family being there to support me. That really drives me forward. I also hope that more young Chinese players can go on to win ranking titles and show what they can do in front of the fans.”
Wilson said: “It’s not a great feeling. It is obviously a positive to get to a final again. It was a good week. But obviously when you get to a final you want to win and I’m very disappointed not to do it. I’ve got more ranking points and gone towards the top 16 again. It is about winning tournaments as well.
“Him having the majority of the support doesn’t bring pressure. If anything it should, if you have a competitive nature like I have, spur you on to try and upset that. It didn’t happen today. Now that it is finished and there is nothing more I can do about it, I just want to say well done to Xiao. I know how it feels to defend a title and he has done that in his home tournament.”
Both players deserve huge praise. They served us a thrilling final, they gave it everything. Thank you Xiao and Gary, you were fantastic.
I’m absolutely delighted for Xiao, who I first met 17 years ago. He didn’t speak a word of English, everything around him was new and alien, except the snooker table. As I wrote previously, he was the first in his group of young Chinese players arriving at the South West Snooker Academy to try to engage with people outside the Chinese “circle”, he was the first to try and learn the “local” language. He deserves everything that comes his way now.
Today’s final in Wuhan will be competed between Xia Guodong, the defending champion and Gary Wilson. Whatever happens today, both players will be in the top 16 at the end of the event, with Shaun Murphy dropping out to rank 17th. Here are the reports shared by WST about what happened on semi-finals day.
Not many will have predicted this Final line-up at the start of the event.
It’s quite a remarkable achievement from Xiao Guodong to reach this final. It’s never easy to defend a ranking title, never mind a first ranking title but he has the opportunity to do just that today, and to do it in front of his “home” fans. The pressure on him will be immense but he’s a quite down-to-earth character and I certainly don’t put him past him.
Home hero and defending champion Xiao Guodong defeated three-time World Champion Mark Williams 6-3 to make his second consecutive Wuhan Open final.
Xiao has enjoyed a strong home support this week, as well as in his title triumph last year, coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
Rewind 12 months and Xiao was battling in the 2024 title match with Chinese compatriot Si Jiahui. He scored a 10-7 victory to capture his maiden ranking title in front of his friends and family, 17 years on from turning professional.
Since then, he’s broken into the world’s top 16 and made further ranking semi-finals at the 2024 International Championship, 2024 Scottish Open and the 2025 German Masters. Xiao was also runner-up to Williams at last season’s Champion of Champions.
Welsh 50-year-old Williams bows out having reached an incredible 68th ranking semi-final this week. The 26-time ranking event winner will have to wait in his quest to become the first player to win tour events in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
The first four frames were shared this afternoon, before a break of 75 in the fifth moved Xiao 3-2 ahead.
Williams claimed a 27-minute sixth to restore parity, but 36-year-old Xiao responded immediately with 80 in the seventh to make it 4-3. He then moved 5-3 ahead, before coming from 58-0 down with a brilliant break of 68 to push himself over the line.
He now faces either Mark Allen or Gary Wilson in tomorrow’s final, over the best of 19 frames with a top prize of £140,000 on the line.
“Maybe there’s some kind of magic power in Wuhan that keeps pushing me forward. I also think it’s thanks to the good luck and support I get from everyone here,” said world number 13 Xiao.
“For me, it is an honour to play legends like Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Of course, after losing to Mark in the Champion of Champions final last year, beating him this time is a big boost to my confidence. I want to learn from these great players every time I face them.
“My focus really improved after 3-3. I told myself that even though my scoring wasn’t great today, I needed to concentrate fully on the cue ball control on every single shot. Even in the final clearance I wasn’t nervous, I just tried to treat it as a normal situation and stay relaxed.”
Gary Wilson claimed five frames on the spin to beat former Masters and UK Champion Mark Allen 6-2 and reach the final of the Wuhan Open, ensuring a return to the world’s top 16 in the process.
World number 18 Wilson will now move up to at least 16th with the guaranteed £63,000 for making the final, pushing Masters champion Shaun Murphy into 17th spot.
Wilson’s run to the title match has seen him dispatch an all-star cast of opponents. The Tyneside Terror had already defeated Murphy, world number one Judd Trump and four-time World Champion John Higgins to make the semis.
Tomorrow will see Wilson take on China’s defending champion Xiao Guodong for the title and the £140,000 top prize.
The two finalists share parallels to their career stories. Wilson ended an 18 year professional quest for his first ranking title at the 2023 Scottish Open and went on to defend his title the following year. Xiao waited 17 years after first coming on tour before winning maiden silverware at last year’s Wuhan Open, he can emulate Wilson’s feat by winning tomorrow’s final.
The opening frame this evening went the way of three-time ranking event winner Wilson, who made a break of 77 to move 1-0 ahead. However, Allen emphatically restored parity with 135 in the second, before making 66 in the third to move 2-1 up. Wilson then took the fourth to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed it was Wilson who made his move. Runs of 113, 78 and 70 moved him one from victory at 5-2.
With Allen leading the eighth Wilson made an intricate break of 25, which involved a sensational shot to develop the green, to leave his opponent needing snookers on the pink. Allen couldn’t amass the required penalty points and Wilson claimed victory.
40-year-old Wilson said: “All the events I’ve won have been similar and in the UK. I want to win different sorts of tournaments and it is a good chance to try and do that now.
“Our stories are very similar. I remember what it is to try and defend and go on and do it and I will be trying to stop him doing the same as me. It is going to be a fantastic final against a Chinese player and one from the region. I know it will be a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve beat some fantastic players this week, but you aren’t looking at who it is really. You are just trying to play your own game. If you can do that as a professional, then you have a chance of beating anyone. It is then about holding yourself together.
“We all have at some point played the opponent rather than the table. You know you won’t get away with things against top players. In my early days I knew it would be a big scalp if I won against certain players. You kind of just have to get bored of that and just play the game.”
Mark Williams thrashed Zhang Anda 5-1 to reach yet another ranking semi-final at the Wuhan Open.
The legendary Welshman celebrated his 50th birthday back in March and tomorrow he will compete in the last four of a ranking event for the 68th time.
Such is the longevity of three-time World Champion Williams, that victory this weekend would see him become the first player to win a tour event in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
Williams ended last season by reaching his fifth Crucible final back in May. He faced Zhao Xintong in the title match, who denied Williams a fourth crown to become Asia’s first ever World Champion.
The 26-time ranking event winner has carried his form into this season and scored a fine victory against Mark Selby in the previous round to earn his place in today’s quarter-finals.
A break of 74 gave Williams the opener, before former International Champion Zhang restored parity.
From that point Williams assumed total control of proceedings, crafting runs of 83 and 60 en route to four on the bounce and a place in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t realise it was that many. 68 semi-finals? That is unbelievable, what can I say about that,” said a thrilled world number five Williams.
“I’ve got to pinch myself sometimes with what I’m doing. The peak of my powers was between 24 and 31. I’m 20 years past that and I’m still getting to semi-finals of tournaments. It is incredible when you sit back and think of it.
“If you had said to me five years ago I would still be in semi-finals and competing I wouldn’t have believed you but here we still are. I’m still giving the top players in the world a run for their money. How long it will go on for, I don’t know. I just have to enjoy it.”
Next up Williams faces defending champion Xiao Guodong, who ended the fairytale run of English 18-year-old Stan Moody by prevailing 5-2.
Xiao lifted his maiden ranking title here in Wuhan 12 months ago by beating Si Jiahui in the title match. Soon after he made the final of the invitational Champion of Champions, where he was beaten by tomorrow’s opponent Williams.
Moody beat the likes of Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament for the first time, but Xiao proved to be a bridge too far today. Breaks of 94, 87 and 100 saw local hero Xiao make the semis for a second consecutive year.
World number ten Mark Allen booked his place in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open with a fiercely fought 5-4 defeat of Si Jiahui, but afterwards admitted he won’t be content unless he leaves China with silverware.
Allen is hunting his first ranking crown since the 2024 Players Championship, having only picked up his only title of last season at the invitational Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
The Northern Irishman’s season has kicked off in earnest this week, after withdrawing from the Shanghai Masters and losing his opening clash with Chang Bingyu at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
A disappointing defeat world number 15 Si means he will have to wait for his maiden ranking title, but after another good run this week Wuhan has proved to be a happy hunting ground for the former Crucible semi-finalist. He made the final last year, but lost out to Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong.
It was Si who took charge of the early stages this evening, moving 3-1 ahead at the mid-session with breaks of 90 and 51.
When play resumed, breaks of 109 and 66 helped Allen to fire back into the match and move 4-3 ahead. Si showed his steel to force a decider, but it was Allen who fired in 70 in the final frame to get over the line. He now faces Gary Wilson for a place in the final.
Allen said: “Everyone is here to win. I can’t imagine there are too many people here just trying to nick a few quid. I’m here trying to win the tournament and anything less than that is disappointing. The bigger picture is if you get to the semis or finish runner up then you’ve had a reasonable week, but ultimately it is about winning.
“You want to start any season well but it just didn’t happen for me in Saudi, although I played alright in that game. I wasn’t overly gutted, but I’ve come here having put in a lot of good work on the practice table. Hopefully this is just the start of me reaping the rewards.
“Gary is super aggressive and scores very heavily. He has a bit of bottle about him as well. As you’ve seen in recent years if he gets in with a chance, he is more than capable of winning the tournament. I’ll have to play better than I have so far this week, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Wilson is one win away from earning a place in the world’s top 16 after defeating four-time World Champion John Higgins 5-3.
The Tyneside Terror is through to his first semi-final in over a year after defeating a hitlist of top stars which includes Masters champion Shaun Murphy and world number one Judd Trump, as well as Higgins.
The decisive frame was a tight one, but it eventually came down to a battle on the brown. Higgins endured an unexpected in off out of nowhere and left himself needing snookers, to hand Wilson victory.
I must confess that I watched very little of the action yesterday, not by choice but because of private circumstances1, and can’t add anything to those reports. Xiao is doing a really good job in his attempt to defend the title and I’m happy for him. It’s never easy.
Xiao didn’t hit the ground running when he first got on the tour, but he is finally turning into a really top player. He was always quality. This morning he beat Mark Williams by 6-3 to book his place in the final. Earlier this year, he earned gold for China at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu. I really like him, I like the person is is. When he first got on tour, he immediately made every effort to learn English in order to be able to communicate with everyone around. He’s a very positive type of guy. In 2010, after heartbreakingly losing by 10-9 to Tony Drago in the first round of the World Qualifiers, his reaction was not to go out and get drunk, no, instead he went out, dyed his hair bright pink, and came back to support his compatriots who were still competing.
Nothing dramatic or sad, just actual life and social duties getting in the way of hobbies… ↩︎
Gary Wilson remains in the hunt for a return to the world’s top 16, after overhauling world number one Judd Trump to win 5-4 and make the last eight of the Wuhan Open.
World number 18 Wilson is in line to make the top 16 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings if he reaches the final this week. His next assignment is a quarter-final clash with four-time Crucible king John Higgins, who beat Tom Ford 5-1.
Victory for Wilson represents his first win over Trump for seven years, dating back to the 2018 World Open. Defeat for Trump comes off the back of a 5-3 opening match exit at the hands of Oliver Lines in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
There was never more than a solitary frame between the pair in this evening’s encounter. Wilson top scored with 103, but it was Trump who fired in contributions of 68, 63, 57 and 58 to move one from victory at 4-3.
Wilson held his nerve to force a decider, where both players spurned opportunities before the Tyneside cueman got himself over the line for an important victory.
“I’m really happy with the win. It is great to beat Judd. Being hyper critical there were a few bad mistakes, where a player of Judd’s class he doesn’t normally let you off the hook,” said 40-year-old Wilson.
“You have to be your own harshest critic. That is what top level sport is about. You need to be harsh, but in the right way. When I’m analysing the game, I have no problems being harsh, but I’m also honest. It was a great result against a great player.
“Naturally the rewards are big being in the top 16. It gets you in different competitions like the Shanghai Masters and the Masters. Of course, all season long, it will be a goal in the back of my head. But in the forefront of my mind it will be about enjoying playing.”
Former UK and Masters champion Mark Allen scored a fine 5-1 defeat of quickfire Thai Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to make his first quarter-final of the campaign.
The Northern Irishman missed the Shanghai Masters and lost his opening match to Chang Bingyu in Saudi Arabia, so he is hoping to kick his campaign off in earnest this week.
Allen now faces Si Jiahui, who beat Stephen Maguire 5-2. He top scored with 94 and was relieved to comfortably see off the dangerous Un-Nooh.
Allen said: “He has given me a few hammerings lately. I just had to tighten up a bit and my safety was good there. That created a few chances and I scored well when I needed to.
“In the blink of an eye it could be 3-1 to 3-3, or even worse. So I was pleased to get over the line there and make it to the quarter-finals.”
I must confess that I didn’t watch much of it today.
That said …
The 5-0 win by Stan Moody over Barry Hawkins really surprised me. Not so much the win, as Stan is a very capable player, but I certainly didn’t expect the score, a whitewash, and even less the frames scores, with the hugely experienced Barry only scoring 39 points all match, and all 39 points coming in frame 1… It’s the first time that Stan reaches the QFs in a ranking event. He will face Xiao Guodong who beat Matthew Selt.
The other results didn’t particularly surprise me. Judd Trump has not been at his best for some times now. Thepchaiya isn’t the most consistent player and Mark Allen looks very solid and scored heavily. Mark Williams also is in good form and is always very astute tactically. Mark Selby made the two highest breaks in that match but lost the close frames. Not many players can do that to Mark Selby but Willo is one of them…
English 18-year-old Stan Moody followed yesterday’s huge win over Ding Junhui with a fine 5-1 defeat of Zhou Yuelong, ending the much talked about “Ding Curse” at the Wuhan Open.
A freak sequence of results has seen the player who has beaten Ding in a tournament then lose in their following match for the last year and half, in a run extending back to the 2024 Welsh Open when Robbie Williams beat him. Moody’s game today was the 23rd attempt at breaking the curse and he obliged, ending the run at 22.
The former WSF Junior Champion crafted contributions of 66, 95, 54 and 81 during today’s victory. His prize for stopping the curse is a last 16 clash with Barry Hawkins or Jack Jones. If he wins, it will earn him a maiden ranking quarter-final appearance.
“When I was 3-1 up I was sat in the player’s lounge and thought I could be the one to break it. I got over the line so I’m happy with that,” said Moody. “I thought it would be good to do it and get a little record. It was definitely playing on my mind, so I had to just focus and get on with it.”
Mark Selby and Mark Williams scored comfortable respective wins to book a mouth watering last 16 showdown against each other.
Selby had runs of 56, 66 and 56 in a 5-2 defeat of David Gilbert this afternoon. After the match he admitted he is relishing the prospect of facing Williams, who beat Joe O’Connor 5-1.
Selby said: “When you are playing somebody of that level, one shot here or there can be the difference between winning and losing. Because he is such a clever player he sees the shots so fast. He will play a shot quickly and you will come to the table thinking you have an ordinary snooker shot and the next minute you don’t have a shot on. I’ll enjoy the game, I’m sure Mark will and we will see what happens.”
Recent Championship League winner Stephen Maguire held his nerve to win a thrilling deciding frame and beat World Champion Zhao Xintong 5-4 and make the last 16.
The Scot’s victory in Leicester last month saw him win ranking silverware for the first time in five years. He appears to have carried that form over to Wuhan, where a fine display this evening saw him string together breaks of 58, 71, 92 and 119 en route to forcing a final frame.
The decider looked to be going Zhao’s way in front of an expectant crowd, who were getting behind Asia’s first ever Crucible king. However, after potting frame ball he inadvertently cannoned the brown in, keeping the match alive.
With three reds left on the table, Maguire deposited a fine shot to the middle to get his chance. A couple of nerveless long range pots kept the break going, with Maguire making 45 to get over the line on the black. His reward is a meeting with Si Jiahui, who beat Jackson Page 5-3.
Maguire said: “I just had a funny feeling because he had that massive bit of bad luck I’d get a chance. I was getting myself up for it if I got a chance, thinking please clear up. Thankfully I managed to do it.
“The crowd was obviously for him. I expect that and I love him to bits. He is a great player and I think he will be an unbelievable World Champion. I love the way he plays. He has a lot to carry though. Ding has been doing it for years. Pressure-wise he is carrying a whole country. I hope he deals with it and he looks as if he is.”
World number one Judd Trump scored a 5-3 win over close friend Jack Lisowski to enhance his winning run against his fellow Englishman, which now stands at nine wins in a row.
Trump said: “It was a little bit scrappy. We both knew we would play each other if I won two games. There was a little bit of anticipation and it is never an enjoyable win against him.
“We’ve had quite a few finals against each other. We had one season where we were both at the top of our game and kept competing. Unfortunately for him, he was just coming out on the wrong side. I really feel if he was able to win one of them it would have been a different path. It has been a bit of a struggle the last couple of seasons, with some terrible luck off the table. I just hope he can turn it around.”
Next up for 2023 Wuhan Open winner Trump is a last 16 tie against Gary Wilson, who defeated Masters champion Shaun Murphy 5-3.
I always liked Maguire as a person. He says it as he sees it. He’s a bit rough, he’s a big bear, but his heart is in the right place and he’s extremely honest. He’s also very “down to earth”. What you see, or hear, is what you get with him. He could probably have won more titles in his 27 years as a pro and many thought he would when he turned pro 27 years ago but I would be surprised if he is losing any sleep over it. All the same, I’m sorry for Zhao who I also like. He could have won this match, he had some bad luck. But Stephen, when coming to the table at 61-12 behind , wasn’t left with anything easy or straightforward. He “earned” that win.
I watched the Trump v Lisowski game. It was a mistake. I should have known … and actually I did know but I still watched. I like Jack, as a player and as a person. Maybe he should only play exhibitions1 . When “relaxed” he’s absolutely magic. When playing under pressure the mistakes creep in and he can’t help himself, he will always take those risky shots and miss quite a few. He used to have the upper hand over Judd many years ago … 😞
World number 61 Stan Moody scored a shock 5-3 win over China’s legendary 15-time ranking event winner Ding Junhui at the Wuhan Open.
The hugely talented 18-year-old Englishman first qualified for the tour in 2023 when he won the WSF Junior Championship. Since then he’s impressed and is now starting to establish himself among snooker’s professional ranks.
This afternoon’s encounter was a new experience for Moody, who was facing Ding for the first time in his career. An expectant crowd in Wuhan packed the stands to see their hero in action and Ding obliged them with a superb 117 to take the opener.
However, from that point onwards it was Moody who took control. Breaks of 64, 65, 53 and 131 helped him to five of the next seven frames and a famous victory. Next up Moody plays Zhou Yuelong.
Moody said: “As the match went on I got better and better. I knew I needed to get over the line, but I felt very nervous. I’m very happy with the win.
“It was a fantastic experience. I knew what it would be like, with the crowd clapping every shot. When he got flukes they were cheering. I tried to enjoy it, view myself as the underdog and take the pressure off. I really enjoyed it.
“I lost a frame for him to get back to 4-3. I just tried to think about how much pressure he had with hundreds of millions of people wanting him to win. I tried my best to keep my head straight.”
John Higgins admitted he’s struggling for motivation in the early stages of this season, after he scored his first final stages win of the campaign with a 5-1 defeat of Welshman Dylan Emery.
Four-time World Champion Higgins suffered early exits at the Shanghai Masters, against Xiao Guodong, and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, against Elliot Slessor. However, Higgins crafted contributions of 79, 50, 54 and 80 en route to today’s victory and will now play Yuan Sijun.
The Scot turned 50 this year and celebrated during the summer break by going on a special holiday to Dallas where he visited the set of the famous US soap opera, which he chose as his specialist subject in Celebrity Mastermind. Since returning he’s found the urge to practise difficult to come by, despite adding his 32nd and 33rd career ranking titles to his tally last season.
“I think after the big high of my birthday and going to Dallas, I’m struggling for the motivation. I think I might take a month off and see where I am after this. I don’t know if I should have came out here,” admitted Higgins.
“It was an incredible trip. Denise booked out the iconic ranch and we stayed the night there. You remember all the times watching it with the family. It was surreal. We did the JFK tour as well. I never thought Lee Harvey Oswald done it, but he did! I’m sure of that now after seeing all of the pictures. It was two massive things in my life that I was really interested in and I got to see it all this summer. It was brilliant and I can’t match that for Denise’s 50th! She pulled out all the stops so I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Ireland’s Aaron Hill scored a magnificent 5-2 win over world number two Kyren Wilson. The Cork cueman has enjoyed competing in Wuhan, having reached his maiden ranking quarter-final here in 2023.
Hill said: “I’m delighted. I played well and brought it to him from the start. That is what you have to do. He is probably the best player in the world at the moment, so I knew I had to play my best snooker to win and I did that.
“My coach Fergal O’Brien says to me that when I step on the plane I have to remember where I’m going and what I’m going there for. I worked hard to get here and have these opportunities like playing Kyren Wilson. It was a great occasion for me and a great opportunity.“
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh hammered home the sixth maximum break of his career in a 5-1 defeat of Pang Junxu. The Thai afterwards stated he was confident of making one pre match, having composed two 147s on the practice tables in Wuhan.
World number one Judd Trump was a 5-1 victor against Liu Hongyu, while Masters champion Shaun Murphy whitewashed former Welsh Open winner Jordan Brown 5-0. Next up they play Jack Lisowski and Gary Wilson respectively.
All the detailed results are, of course, available on snooker.org.
Theppy’s 147 was his sixth maximum break and the 224th overall in professional snooker. The guy is incredible … A maximum wins you only a frame but the fans love them, as I’m sure do the sponsors.
There weren’t any real surprises other than Aaron Hill’s win over Kyren Wilson. I didn’t watch that match so can’t really comment. Reading here that Aaron’s coach is “The Ferginator”, I checked his average shot time in this match. It was 23.1 seconds, not fast but not slow either. Aaron played actually about 2 seconds per shot faster that Kyren.
Ben Mertens heavy defeat at the hands of Hossein Vafaei was a disappointment for me. It was a strange match. Other than in the last frame there was little fluency from either of them. In most frames Ben was first in but couldn’t do enough to secure the frame, his breaks usually ending around 30 to 40 points. Ben made the highest break of the match, a 69. It came in the last frame of the match, a frame that, of course, he lost.
Other than that some images of the “opening event” been shared by various sources
Wuhan Open Day One: Williams Hails Next Welsh Generation
Welsh snooker legend Mark Williams admitted his young compatriots Liam Davies and Jackson Page are ready to take on China’s best talents, after holding off a spirited fightback from teenager Davies to prevail 5-3 at the Wuhan Open.
…
The three-time World Champion was in sensational form in the opening three frames this evening, crafting consecutive century breaks of 125, 100 and 137 to storm into a 3-0 lead. Williams then added a fourth to move 4-0 ahead at the mid-session interval.
When play resumed, 19-year-old Davies showed his class to burst back into contention. The former European Under-21 champion took three on the bounce, including runs of 61 and 94, to move just a frame back at 4-3. However, 50-year-old Williams stamped out hopes of a comeback with 70 in the eighth to get over the line. Next up he faces Joe O’Connor in round three.
“He never looked for once as if he’d gave up. He never threw the towel in and he made some great breaks to get to 4-3,” said world number five Williams, who was runner-up to Zhao Xintong in the Crucible final back in May.
“Both Liam and Jackson are as good as most of the Chinese players. It is easy for me to say that after having just beat one of them. He is only 19 and he has many years yet. It is nice to have a couple of youngsters that can take it to the young Chinese players. It has been a long time with them dominating.
“My game is there but not as consistent as it used to be. First session I can have it and the next I can be dreadful. That is what it is. I’m enjoying it and giving it a good go. I do fade a little bit now though.”
Barry Hawkins found himself facing yet another decider, this time prevailing 5-4 against Welshman Jamie Jones to make round three.
Since finishing last season with a 10-9 defeat to Hossein Vafaei at the World Championship, five of Hawkins’ last eight matches have come down to final frames. The Londoner arrived in Wuhan off the back of a 6-5 defeat to Chris Wakelin at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and a 6-5 loss to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Shanghai Masters.
A cagey decider this afternoon saw both players spurn chances to get over the line on the colours, but eventually Hawkins cracked in a superb long range green to a black end corner, screwing back to find position on the brown and a 5-4 victory. He’ll now play Jak Jones.
Hawkins said: “You don’t want to keep being in deciding frames, but as long as you are on the right side of them it is alright. Today I’m really just so lucky still to be here after that. It is hard, especially when you know your game isn’t there. I felt all over the place and had no confidence at all. Every ball felt like a pint of blood. What I do is just battle and battle. I’ve absolutely used my get out of jail free card there.”
World Champion Zhao Xintong looked to be set for his own perfect break before spurning a straightforward pink on 134. However, he still beat a spirited Iulian Boiko 5-3 and will now play Matthew Stevens.
World number one Judd Trump was a 5-1 victor against Pakistan’s Farakh Ajaib and plays Liu Hongyu up next. Meanwhile, Mark Selby booked a clash with David Gilbert after beating Michael Holt 5-2.
I must admit that it annoys me massively that the main point of reporting by WST on a day of competition in China is Willo’s opinion about the Welsh “youngsters” , if you can consider that Jackson Page, who is 24 and has been a pro since 2019 is still a “youngster”. Of course he’s still young, but he’s no kid anymore and has plenty of experience already. Twenty two matches were played yesterday and only six are reported on in the above report, of which only two are covered in some details.
Marco Fu isn’t even mentioned… he only beat Chris Wakelin by 5-3, with two centuries (120, 136). Eight Chinese players won their match yesterday. Only two feature in this report1, they couldn’t really ignore the defending champion and the World Champion… Incredibly, Ding Junhui, who remains important being the one really “started” the snooker boom in China is among those being “overlooked”.
The thing is, it gives me a feeling that WST is only interested in the British audience and I know that I’m not the only one feeling that way.
Anyway… life goes on and there is plenty more to it than snooker.
three if you count Liu Hongyu who is only mentioned as a “next opponent” ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 