Wu Yize gave a marvellous demonstration of his immense talent as he whitewashed Xiao Guodong 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters.
China’s 22-year-old Wu is now just two matches away from becoming the seventh player to win snooker’s biggest invitation event on his debut in the tournament. He will meet Neil Robertson or Kyren Wilson on Saturday evening and will hope for a repeat of today’s display which included a century and five more breaks over 50.
Winning Debutants
Players to win the Masters on their first appearance
1975 – John Spencer 1977 – Doug Mountjoy 1980 – Terry Griffiths 1989 – Stephen Hendry 2008 – Mark Selby 2021 – Yan Bingtao
Today’s tie was new territory for both Xiao and Wu as neither had previously played in the quarter-finals of a Triple Crown event. But while 36-year-old Xiao looked nervy and made a series of unforced errors, his younger opponent rose to the occasion and relished the atmosphere in front of over 2,000 fans at Alexandra Palace.
Since turning pro in 2021, Wu has made rapid progress in his career, culminating in his breakthrough moment at the International Championship in Nanjing two months ago when he beat John Higgins in the final to land his first ranking title, a result which vaulted him into the world’s top 16. And after beating defending champion Shaun Murphy 6-2 in the first round in London last Sunday, Wu again showed the full range of his ability as he became the first Masters debutant to reach the semi-finals since Yan Bingtao in 2021.
Wu made a flying start with breaks of 112 and 93 to take the first two frames. In the third, Xiao trailed 40-50 when he missed a long range pot on the penultimate red, handing Wu the chance to go 3-0 ahead. Runs of 54 and 60 extended Wu’s lead going into the interval.
Xiao had a scoring chance early in the fifth but made just 32 before running out of position and Wu punished him with 84 for 5-0. And just ten minutes later the tie was over as world number 13 Wu flew over the line with a run of 97.
Last night, Xiao cooked a dinner of steak and eggs for his close friend Wu, but after today’s defeat he was left eating humble pie. “I had chances in two or three frames but I missed some balls,” said Xiao. “Wu played really well and congratulations to him.”
Wu, who comes from Lanzhou in the north west of China, said: “I played well today and didn’t really give him many chances. We’re very good friends off the table, but once we’re in a match, we both give it everything. I potted some key long shots, and defensively I was strong. I tried to enjoy being out there and not put any pressure on myself.
“After my first match I had some problems with my cue tip, I went to get it fixed but practising over the past couple of days didn’t feel good at all. Then this morning I got a message from my dad saying he was waiting for me in the lobby and I knew he had come to help me fix my tip. He also gave me companionship and confidence, and overall everything became better. Just yesterday morning he was in China, I was video-calling him and we talked about the tip. Before the tournament we agreed that he would only come if I reached the semi-finals, so it was a surprise that he arrived this morning.
“Tomorrow I hope I can perform even better and put on an even more exciting match for the fans who support me and love this sport.”
Kyren Wilson won an enthralling contest 6-5 against Neil Robertson to reach the semi-finals and keep alive his hopes of a first Johnstone’s Paint Masters title.
A fantastic match which included five centuries bubbled up to a dramatic finish as Wilson, who lost four frames in a row from 4-1 up, showed his Warrior qualities by taking the last two, making an excellent break of 42 at the key moment of the deciding frame. The Englishman goes through to meet Wu Yize on Saturday evening with the winner to face Judd Trump or John Higgins in Sunday’s final.
World number two Wilson was runner-up to Mark Allen at Alexandra Palace in 2018 and to Shaun Murphy a year ago, losing both finals 10-7, and the 34-year-old will be desperate to go one further this time. With trademark resilience he came through a brutal test tonight and will approach the weekend high on confidence. Wilson hit a low point at last month’s UK Championship when he lost to Elliot Slessor in the opening round, but with a new cue the 2024 World Champion has his self-belief back in abundance.
Wilson made a fabulous start to the tie as breaks of 110, 59 and 105 put him 3-0 ahead. Frame four was packed with incident, notably Robertson calling a foul on himself when he led 30-1, and he later failed to hit the yellow when attempting a roll-up snooker. Wilson had chances for 4-0 but missed pots on the final pink and black, and Robertson eventually slotted the black into a centre pocket to gain a foothold.
World number three Robertson was on 28 in frame five when he overcut a red to a top corner, and Wilson took advantage with a run of 66 for 4-1. Back came Robertson as he won a scrappy sixth then made breaks of 110 and 107 to close to 4-4. That brought his tally of centuries at the Masters to 48 – only Ronnie O’Sullivan has made more with 86. In frame nine, Wilson had first chance but missed the black off the spot on 20 and Robertson’s counter of 65 edged him ahead for the first time.
On a break of 14 in the tenth, Australia’s Robertson ran fractionally out of position and had to play safe, then could only watch as Wilson converted a sizzling long red to set up a break of 111 for 5-5. In the decider, Robertson led 23-19 when he narrowly missed a long red to a top corner and it rolled over a centre pocket. Wilson clipped in the red and made 42 to leave his opponent needing snookers, and though Robertson battled on his efforts ended on the final brown.
“It was a pleasure to be involved in a game like that,” said Wilson. “I missed the black to go 4-0 up which was a schoolboy error, then another black off the spot at 4-4. Neil looked like he had the edge at that moment. I had a bit of luck at the right time at 5-4 down when it could have been game over. I potted a really good long red and cleared for 5-5. I got down for that red and just tried to get a good strike on the white, I was chuffed to see it drop.
“At 5-5 we both went to the toilet then when we came back the crowd were applauding and shouting my name, I couldn’t help but smile, it gave me goosebumps. That’s what snooker is all about, the feel-good factor it gives you. Hopefully the fans all went home happy tonight. Wu Yize is a great talent and very good to watch with a fluent natural style. I really look forward to taking him on.“
Robertson, who landed this title in 2012 and 2022, said: “It was a brilliant match. I got something going from 4-1 down. At 5-4 I was a millimetre away from being in position, it’s fine margins. And in the decider effectively my last shot was a shot to nothing but the red finished over the middle, and Kyren composed himself really well for the winning break.“
I’m particularly happy for Wu Yize who I really like. He comes across as a cheerful, outgoing personality and he plays entertaining snooker. He’s not going to have it easy against Kyren though. Kyren was bitterly disappointed both time he lost in the final of this event. In 2018 in particular, I remember him being in tears during the “medals” ceremony. He will be determined to put that right, and will be strongly motivated. That said he may possibly put too much pressure on himself because he wants it so badly. We shall see.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 