The qualifiers for the 2026 Welsh Open concluded yesterday.
Hereafter you will find the reports shared by WST:
BetVictor Welsh Open Qualifiers Day One
Jimmy White scored his first win since September as he beat Sunny Akani 4-1 to reach the final qualifying round of the BetVictor Welsh Open.J
Legend White, age 63, has been ever present on the tour since 1980 and retains his enthusiasm for competing at the top level. He fired breaks of 54, 54 and 56 today as he set up a match with David Lilley on Saturday, with the winner to go through to the final stages in Llandudno next month.
At the other end of the age scale, 14-year-old Michal Szubarczyk, the youngest ever pro player, enjoyed a 4-0 victory over Hatem Yassen with a top run of 61. The Polish teenager now meets Jamie Jones.
Marco Fu came from 2-0 down to beat Xu Yichen 4-3 with breaks of 76, 56, 100 and 95. Liam Pullen top scored with 102 in a 4-1 win over Ken Doherty while Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh edged out Welsh wild card Riley Powell 4-3.
BetVictor Welsh Open Qualifiers Day Two
Luca Brecel booked his place in the televised stages of the BetVictor Welsh Open with a 4-3 defeat of Farakh Ajaib in the final qualifying round.
Crucible king in 2023, Brecel has since slipped to 43rd in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and the Belgian’s quest to battle his way back up the list will be boosted by today’s result which earned him a spot in Llandudno next month.
After winning the first two frames, Brecel then lost three in a row, but recovered to take the last two for a narrow victory.
Michal Szubarczyk, who turns 15 on Monday, continued to shine in his first pro season as he beat Jamie Jones 4-2 with top breaks of 74 and 98.
Lyu Haotian made a 139 in going 2-0 up but eventually lost 4-3 to Sam Craigie, while Hungary’s Bulcsu Revesz impressed in a 4-0 win over Noppon Saengkham. Switzerland’s Alexander Ursenbacher top scored with 91 as he beat in-form Matthew Selt 4-2.
Robbie McGuigan enjoyed a 4-1 win over Daniel Wells, while Stan Moody saw off Ian Burns by the same scoreline. Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh came from 3-1 down to beat Scott Donaldson. Matthew Stevens missed out on his home event as he lost 4-2 to Mitchell Mann, while Liam Pullen edged out 2023 winner Robert Milkins 4-3. Jimmy White’s hopes of making the final stages ended with a 4-1 defeat against David Lilley.
As always, all the detailed results are available on snooker,org.
As so often those reports focus more on UK players than on other countries/nations.
The big positive I take from the event is how well the players from mainland Europe did, and the young ones is particular. Indeed Julien Leclercq, Ben Mertens, Antoni Kowalski, Artemijs Zizins, Michal Szubarczyk, Alexander Ursenbacher, Bulcsú Révész and Luca Brecel all made it to the main event. From the mainland Europe group of professionals, only Florian Nüßle , Mateusz Baranowski and Iulian Boiko failed to qualify. Iulian Boiko played Ben Mertens so one of them would go out, inevitably.
On the other hand, none of the women went through. Bai Yulu lost to Haris Tahir, by 4-3, despite making breaks of 57, 58 and 110 whilst Tahir didn’t score a single break over 50…
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Ronnie O'Sullivan 