Australia’s 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson battled bast 22-year-old Julien Leclercq 6-2 to earn his place in the last 16 of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship in York.
The Melbourne cueman is hunting a fourth UK Championship crown, having lifted the famous trophy in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He enjoyed a massive win earlier this season at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 in the final to pocket £500,000, the highest payday of his career.
Next up he faces an intriguing last 16 meeting with China’s International Champion Wu Yize. The pair met in last season’s English Open final, where Robertson led 7-1 before being pegged back to 8-7, eventually winning 9-7.
Defeat ends what has been a fine tournament for towering 6ft 5in potter Leclercq, nicknamed the Belgian Beast. The former-Shoot Out finalist won three matches in qualifying to make the final stages here in York for the first-time in his career.
The first two frames both went beyond the 25-minute barrier, with Robertson claiming them to move 2-1 ahead. Leclercq responded by claiming the third before a break of 105 gave 43-year-old Robertson a 3-1 lead at the mid-session.
When play resumed, Leclercq pulled one back to leave the match in the balance at 3-2. However, Robertson replied by claiming the sixth and the seventh before a break of 64 in the eighth helped him over the line.
Robertson said: “I rate Julien, he is a great talent and I’ve been keeping an eye on how he has been doing this season. He came through a great last round in the qualifiers and I was pleased for him to get this experience early on in his career because I think he will learn an awful lot from it.
“We exchanged numbers last season and talked about practising together. We never managed to match up the dates but I said to him after the game we definitely need to do it. There were a few moments in the match where if we were practising I’d have stopped him and explained a different shot. I think he will be far better for the experience.
“I remember playing Wu at the English Open. I was 8-2 up and cruising and I didn’t even attempt a pot in the next four frames. He just kept slamming in all of these balls and let the arm go. He is the next superstar from China, there seems to be quite a lot of them at the moment. It is good to see that with the investment China has put into the sport, we are starting to see a handful of superstar players.”
On the other table, Wu held off an excellent fightback from Michael Holt to eventually emerge with a 6-4 triumph.
Wu’s victory at the recent International Championship came after he scored a stunning 10-6 win over John Higgins in the final.
Breaks of 55, 78, 82 and 81 exemplified a continuation of that form today as he burst 5-0 ahead. However, four on the bounce from Notthingham’s Holt saw him move right back into contention.
It was ultimately to no avail, with Wu taking the tenth to avoid a deciding frame and set up his meeting with Robertson.
Wu said: “I was quite pleased with myself in the first half, because i took my chances. I made some simple mistakes , but I think it’s acceptable. My opponent managed to win four consecutive frames and I wasn’t playing well.
“It was a fantastic experience, the player introductions was the best part. I stepped out and went down the stairs, it felt like i was going into a final. And the audience were so passionate, every seat was taken. I really enjoyed that moment.
“Neil Robertson is a great player. I will just try to enjoy myself in the match, because I feel like I have been playing well lately.”
Of course I watched the Julien v Neil match, and, of course I was supporting Julien but I have no complaints. Neil is a player, and a person, I like and admire. He loves his sport with a passion and I’m sure his offer to Julien about practicing together is genuine. Neil would coach the Martians if he thought it could develop snooker further across the universe! Wu is also a player I like, therefore the match between Neil and him will inevitably feel “bittet sweet” to me.
World number four Mark Williams rallied after a mid-session trip to the practice room to beat David Gilbert 6-4 and make the last 16 of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship.
The Welshman wasn’t happy with his performance at the break, despite being level with former Crucible semi-finalist Gilbert at 2-2. However, after a hit during the interval with coach Lee Walker, he was much happier with his play in the second half of the game.
50-year-old Williams became the oldest ever winner of a ranking event earlier this season after a 10-3 demolition of Shaun Murphy in the Xi’an Grand Prix final. He’ll be hoping he can break his own record this week by picking up a third UK title and first since 2002.
Williams made his move at 2-2 this evening with breaks of 89 and 73 helping him to three on the bounce and a 5-2 lead.
Gilbert replied with runs of 100 and 50 to pull within one, but it was Williams who got over the line by taking the tenth. Afterwards he reflected on the impact of his interval session with Walker
“We had a bust up! I came off worse,” joked Williams. “No, I don’t play much at home but when I am at the venue I practise as much as I can.
“We are working on a couple of things. Just easy things like screwing the black off the spot with a bit of side I struggle with. Yesterday, somehow I worked out how to do it! It has taken me a long time. We will keep trucking on and trying.
“Before the interval it was poor, but after the interval it was really good. It could have gone 5-5 at the end but I’m happy to get over the line. I potted some tricky balls to win that last frame so that was good.
“I’m only the oldest ranking event winner for the time being. John Higgins or Ronnie O’Sullivan will probably win one and overtake me. It is amazing how I’m still winning tournaments and beating someone like Shaun Murphy 10-3 is unbelievable. I just have to pat myself on the back.”
On the other table, Pang Junxu overcame Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong 6-2 to set up a last 16 encounter with Williams.
Pang’s mum flew over from China to watch her son compete in the UK for the first time and it was a happy outcome for both this evening. Afterwards he admitted the presence of his mother was a boost and looked ahead to facing Williams.
Pang said: “Neither of us played well tonight and Xiao was unlucky. On the other hand, I was a bit lucky and it helped me to pull through the tougher moments.
“I am happy my mum was able to watch me in the UK for the first time. I think it helped me to focus on the match and I’m excited that I got the win.
“I played Mark once before and lost really badly. I hope I will be able to play much better and make less mistakes. I want to make sure this is a close match and that I don’t let him win easily.”
Imagining the “bust up” between Willo and Lee Walker made me smile. I must have been epic but by no way “dangerous”. These two as as close friends as close can be and if anyone happened to hurt Lee Walker, I’m sure that person would soon learn, or be reminded, that Mark Williams has two fists and isn’t too bad at boxing.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 