Yesterday was the first day of the very lucrative tournament in Jeddah and the least that can be said is that it didn’t run smoothly. The scoring system suffered all sorts of weird hiccups, with tables shown on stream “adorned” with completely fantasist scores, or scores from another table … Maybe it was the mood of the day as there was a “carnival” going on in my village 😂
During the evening session of Friday August 8th at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, we have experienced technical issues. We have therefore postponed all matches in this session which were yet to start until Saturday morning. These matches will commence at 10am on Saturday and play to a finish in an untelevised session. We are now working on resolving the technical issues before play resumes. We would like to thank all of the players involved for their understanding.
The postponed matches are:
Farakh Ajaib v Saud Albaker Louis Heathcote v Ayman Alamri Mohamed Shehab v Abdullah Alotayyani Liam Graham v Asif Mukhtar Oliver Brown v Patrick Whelan Yao Pengcheng v Alexander Ursenbacher Fergal Quinn v Mahmoud El Hareedy
Other than that there were some interesting results yesterday. Here are the reports shared by WST:
Reanne Evans made it three wins out of three in knockout matches so far this season as she beat Kreishh Gurbaxani 4-2 in the opening round of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Jeddah.
The £2.3million tournament got underway with a spectacular opening ceremony, before 12-time World Women’s Champion Evans stole the show with an impressive win over India’s Gurbaxani. Having already beaten David Lilley and Lan Yuhao to qualify for both the Wuhan Open and British Open, in-form Evans is unbeaten in knockout ranking event matches this term. She will meet Liam Davies on Saturday afternoon for a place in round three of the season’s first major.
“First up on the match table can be daunting, we were both edgy at the start, then I found a bit of rhythm and fell over the line,” said Evans, who won two frames on the final black and sealed victory in the sixth with an excellent long pot on the pink. “I am trying to relax more this season, just trying to play rather than trying to win. There are good and bad days but I’ve had three good ones so far. It’s great to experience new places and I have won so I’m enjoying it! Hopefully I can play better in the next round.”
Canada’s Sahil Nayyar scored his first win as a pro, beating Habib Sabah 4-1 with a top break of 57. Poland’s Michael Szubarczyk, the youngest ever pro at 14, also scored his maiden win with a 4-2 success against Ryan Davies, top scoring with 68 and 56.
Dylan Emery let slip a 3-0 lead against Florian Nuessle, but eventually cleared from blue to black in the decider to win 4-3. Egypt’s Hesham Shawky became the first of the 16 wild cards to make round two as he beat Jiang Jun 4-2.
Steven Hallworth eased to a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s top player Omar Alajlani with a top break of 54. He said: “Last year I was working on the TV team but looking at the players with envy wanting to be out there. It’s amazing to be a part of it and to get a win under my belt. The venue is exceptional, even the outside tables feel like TV tables.”
Ken Doherty beat fellow all-time great Jimmy White 4-1 in their first ranking event meeting in 15 years to reach round two of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The two legends of the baize, with 80 years experience on the tour between them, first met in a ranking event back in 1991, and today 34 years later clashed again in the opening round in Jeddah. Ireland’s Doherty dominated, firing breaks of 96, 59 and 64 as he set up a fixture with Artemijs Zizins on Saturday.
“I remember the first time I played Jimmy, I was nervous as a kitten. It’s always a great occasion, I never get tired of it,” said the 1997 World Champion, age 55. “I have played him in great finals. I have had some wonderful times with him, he is a good friend. I’m delighted that tonight it went my way. Tonight might have been our last ever match in a ranking event so I relish moments like this.
“I was excited tonight. I settled in quickly and made a nice break in the second frame. Jimmy has been an incredible ambassador for snooker. To see him at the age of 63, he still has the appetite and the hunger, it’s magnificent. It’s a lesson for all the young lads coming into the game. After all he has been through, and having been a hero and inspiration to a lot of players, he is still going.”
Thailand’s Chatchapong Nasa top scored with 104 in a 4-0 win over Fahad Alghamdi. China’s Chang Bingyu edged out Marco Fu 4-3, while Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko saw off Liu Wenwei 4-2. German amateur Umut Dikme enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Mink Nutcharut.
For some reason Mink struggled really badly yesterday evening. It was painful to watch. Maybe she was only just return from Thailand and still jet-lagged?
I’m very happy to see some good results by mainland Europe players. Well done Florian and Michal.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 