Hereafter, you will find the reports about what happened yesterday in Belfast, as shared by WST. They are comprehensive enough and I don’t have much to add really.
All the detailed results are available on snooker.org
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Day Three Afternoon
Ali Carter gained revenge for two defeats to Stan Moody earlier in the season, beating the teenager 4-3 to reach the last 32 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
Carter felt Moody might be “very annoyed” at the result as the up-and-coming prodigy had chances to win in the last two frames but couldn’t take them. World number 19 Carter, who had lost to Moody at both the British Open and Xi’an Grand Prix, goes through the next round and will meet Jimmy Robertson on Wednesday night.
Six-time ranking event winner Carter started the season strongly by reaching the final of the invitational Shanghai Masters and the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, though he would need a deep run in one of upcoming events to get back into the top 16 in time for the Johnstone’s Paint Masters cut-off.
Moody, age 19, went 2-0 up before Carter hit back with breaks of 137 and 100 for 2-2. A run of 72 gave Moody frame five and he had a match-winning opportunity in the sixth but overcut a red to a centre pocket when he trailed 30-40, allowing Carter to make it 3-3. In the decider, Carter made 43 before playing safe then Moody’s counter reached 42 when he was left with a tough long blue to a baulk corner with one red left. He went for it full-blooded but missed the target and that proved his last shot.
“It was experience which got me over the line,” said Carter. “I did make two centuries and also had a couple of pack splits which could have gone better, otherwise I could have won 4-2. I haven’t practised at all since I got back from China, apart from one exhibition. That’s no excuse but I have had a very important family matter which has been in the background for 18 months, thankfully it is all dealt with now. I have no expectations here, I will just turn up tomorrow night and give it a go and see what happens.
“It’s hard to say how far anyone can go but Stan has got the competitive instinct and he has the nonchalance that he belongs there playing against the top boys on the big stage. He’ll be gutted not to win that match and probably very annoyed, as I would have been at his age.”
Defending champion Kyren Wilson narrowly escaped a first round exit as he edged out Oliver Lines 4-3. Wilson, who beat Judd Trump 9-3 in the final here last year, is yet to reach the semi-finals of a ranking event so far this season and is determined to go deep this week.
He went 2-1 up today with a break of 133 but Lines then took the next two to lead 3-2. World number two Wilson made a 61 for 3-3 then led 42-0 in the decider when he missed a tricky thin cut on a red to a top corner. Lines had a chance to clear, but on 29 with one red left he failed to convert an awkward green to a baulk corner, playing with the long rest. A relieved Wilson took advantage to set up a last 32 tie with Ryan Day.
“It was a very difficult first round match, Oliver has been in good form this season,” said 2024 World Champion Wilson. “His all-round game was strong today and he made it tough for me. I’m proud of the way I dug in from 3-2 down.
“In the last frame when he had the chance to clear up, he still had work to do with the last red next to the yellow. When he missed the green I was like a greyhound out of my chair. It would have sucked to go out on the first round because this is a fantastic venue with big crowds.”
Luca Brecel, the 2023 World Champion, is down in 83rd place on this season’s rankings and he suffered a 4-1 defeat against Stephen Maguire, who compiled breaks of 75 and 63. Si Jiahui saw off Cheung Ka Wai 4-0 while 53-year-old Mark Davis top scored with 118 in a 4-1 defeat of Zhang Anda. Ryan Day saw off Matthew Selt 4-2 with a top break of 77.
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Day Three Evening
Tom Ford’s season has literally suffered a sledgehammer blow, but he battled through the pain of a shoulder injury tonight to beat Chris Wakelin 4-1 and reach the last 16 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
Last summer, Ford was working at a building in Loughborough where he is hoping to open a snooker club. “I was trying to knock a wall down with a sledgehammer,” he explains. “Just a normal thing for a snooker player to do! But I thought I could do it myself rather than hire workmen to do it, obviously that was the wrong thing to do. Soon afterwards I had pain in my left shoulder and it turned out I had torn the rotator cuff.
“That’s why my results have been so bad. I had physiotherapy to start with. There is an option of a cortisone injection but that has a risk of infection so I have decided not to have that for now. I am taking some tablets to reduce the inflammation but it’s still very uncomfortable when I’m playing. I have had scans and it seems to be healing nicely but it will take time. Hopefully by next month I’ll be back to normal.
“I had to pull out of the British Open because I just couldn’t get down on the shot. I feel a sharp stabbing pain and it goes up my neck as well. I have not been practising at all, so when I play the table just looks huge. I expected nothing tonight, I knew I could lose 4-0 without scoring a point. Any pot over six foot I have got no chance. So it is great to get a win on the board.”
Ford managed breaks of 75 and 78 as he got the better of Wakelin to set up a last 16 clash with China’s Yuan Sijun, who beat Long Zehuang 4-2.
Ireland’s Aaron Hill took another big scalp as he beat Barry Hawkins 4-3. After being hauled back from 3-1 to 3-3, 23-year-old Hill made a superb break of 92 in the decider. He will now meet either his close friend and practice partner Mark Allen or Ben Woollaston.
“I was nervous in the last frame because I had a chance to win 4-1, then when I missed that Barry came back,” said Hill. “I was delighted to take my chance in the decider. As you get more experience you learn how to use those nerves and to stay in the moment. Barry is one of the greats and such a tough player to beat. When I look around in an arena like that and see the players I have watched my whole life, to win a deciding frame in one visit is a dream come true for me. If I do play Mark next that would be a great occasion for both of us.”
John Higgins was another 4-3 winner, coming through a tough battle against Pang Junxu. Four-time Crucible king Higgins came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 with a top break of 126 then Pang made a 137 for 3-3. The decider was in the balance until Higgins made a vital break of 45 to earn a tie with Stephen Maguire or Si Jiahui.
World number one Judd Trump was far below his best but he beat Jackson Page 4-2 with a top break of 53 and now meets Gary Wilson or Martin O’Donnell on Thursday.
Neither Judd nor Jackson played well in that match. When Jackson first appeared on the pro scene, as Mark Williams “protégé”, much was expected from him. It didn’t really happen. I’m not criticising Jackson here, he’s not responsible for the expectations other people may have about him. He’s a good player, of course he is. He wouldn’t be on tour if he wasn’t. He can score very heavily. Last season, during the World Championship qualifiers, he became the first player to make two 147 in a match. But he has room for improvement, notably in his safety game and, also, he can be inconsistent.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 