Somehow having the Welsh Open in Llandudno still feels strange. For me, and probably others who have followed the sport for many years as well, the Welsh Open was synonym with “Newport Centre” . That place had a special, distinctive atmosphere, notably because how the seating was “organised”. But it was deemed “unsafe” and demolished in 2023. Anyway … here are the reports on day 1 in Llandudno, the new home of the event:
BetVictor Welsh Open 2026 Day One Afternoon
Mark Williams was the last home winner of the BetVictor Welsh Open, albeit in a different century, and the three-time World Champion was off to a strong start in Llandudno this year with a 4-2 defeat of Michael Holt.
It was 1999 when a Welsh player last lifted this trophy, Williams beating Stephen Hendry 9-8 in the final on that occasion. The Cwm cueman, who turns 51 next month, can’t explain the lack of success for the host nation since then, but he hopes he can go all the way this week and already has a title under his belt this season having won the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Breaks of 58, 56 and 64 helped world number four Williams to victory today and he now meets Tom Ford or Martin O’Donnell in the last 32.
“I played solid all the way through, until a few twitches towards the end,” said Williams. “Then I potted a really good pink to win the match. I am still not practising between tournaments but at the venues I probably practise more than any other player, three or four hours a day, and that seems to work for me. I am not going to get better at my age, it’s just a case of ticking over.“
Williams was runner-up at the World Championship last season to Zhao Xintong, who is the man in form having won the last two ranking events. Asked whether Zhao is the favourite at the Crucible this year, Williams said: “He’s definitely one of them. He’s probably got the best chance of anyone who has won it before to retain it at the first attempt. But it is tough. I have always known he was going to be something special and he is looking unbelievable now.”
Defending champion Mark Selby suffered a surprise 4-3 defeat against world number 81 Jiang Jun. Alongside Zhao, Selby is the only player to win three titles this season, but the four-time Crucible king squandered a 3-1 lead today as China’s Jiang hit back to take the last three frames.
Jiang said: “I was 3-1 behind in no time. At that point I honestly didn’t think about making a comeback, but I didn’t give up either. When it got to the decider, I started to believe I had a chance. The pressure became very strong and my heart was racing. I could really feel it beating fast. Maybe it’s because the opponent was Mark Selby. I’ve watched him play since I was a kid, I used to see him as an idol. I even took photos with him when I was young. I never imagined that one day I’d compete against him on the same stage, let alone beat him.
“For the next two years, my goal is to get into the top 64 first. Then step by step, try to move into the top 32 and eventually the top 16. But first, top 64 — that’s my main target.“
It was a good start to the event for Welsh players as Jak Jones continued his return to form with a 4-1 win over Liam Highfield, his top break 92. Jones broke his right hand in December when he punched the table in frustration during a practice session, but has thankfully has recovered from that set-back. Dylan Emery edged out Lei Peifan 4-3.
Yuan Sijun came from 2-0 down to beat Julian Leclercq 4-3 with a top break of 102 while Barry Hawkins overcame a bad back to beat David Lilley 4-3
Welsh Open 2026 Day One Evening
Neil Robertson beat a player younger than his own son as he eased into the last 32 of the Welsh Open with a 4-1 victory over 15-year-old prodigy Michal Szubarczyk.
Poland’s Szubarczyk looks a strong contender for the Rookie of the Year award having already won ten matches during his debut season on tour, and the teenager drew high praise from Robertson after their clash in Llandudno. But it was world number three Robertson who progressed to the next round to face Hossein Vafaei.
On his first visit to the table in the opening frame, European Junior Champion Szubarczyk slotted in a long red to initiate a break of 90. However Australia’s Robertson hit back to take the next four frames with top runs of 81, 67 and 70.
Asked by TNT Sports about playing an opponent younger than his 15-year-old son Alexander, Robertson replied: “The longer I keep playing the game, I guess that will happen more. The way Michal dropped in the long red in the first frame and made a break was really impressive. I hadn’t seen him play much before but I know some of the other players think he has huge potential and he showed that tonight.
“There were a few things he can improve with experience. He has great poise around the table, he acquitted himself well given he hasn’t played much on a TV table before. And you can see he is putting a lot of work in. It’s great to see the younger European players coming through from countries like Poland, Belgium and Latvia, we have a really good mix.”
Mark Allen’s hopes of winning the £150,000 BetVictor Home Nations Series bonus suffered a blow as he lost 4-2 to David Grace.
World number 96 Grace came from 2-1 down to win the last three frames with breaks of 59, 55 and 67. He said: “I haven’t had many wins over top 16 players so it has to be one of my best ever. When you drop off the tour and go to Q School you start having doubts about whether this is what you want to be doing. But then in the heat of battle you realise you still want it more than anything. I have had deep runs before and it would be nice to experience something like that again.“
Martin O’Donnell, runner-up to Gary Wilson in this event two years ago, impressed in a 4-2 win over Tom Ford, while Wu Yize whitewashed Ben Mertens 4-0 with breaks of 79, 120 and 128. Last year’s beaten finalist Stephen Maguire came from 3-1 down to edge out Ricky Walden 4-3.
I didn’t watch much of the action, actually I only watched Julien Leclercq’s match against Yuan Sijun and it was hugely disappointing because Julien was 2-0 and 3-1 up, and made the highest break of the match, a 104, but none of that matters in the end, only the final score does. Julien should probably have won 4-2, he made a 50 break in frame 6 … but it wasn’t enough and his opponent nicked that frame. Credits to Yuan for the way he fought.
It was a bad day for the Belgians, as Ben Mertens also lost … by 4-0 to Wu Yize, who, of course is now a top 16 player. The first frame was close, Wu won it by 62-50. After that it was one way traffic… Ben scored only 5 points in the next three frames whilst his opponent scores breaks of 79, 120 and 128.
It’s a step forward for WST that they can actually publish an interview with Jiang Jun after his remarkable win. I have met him, and he doesn’t speak much English at all, but WST now have the facilities to be more inclusive. Channel 5 didn’t interview any Chinese players last week, although they did pre-match interviews with almost everyone else.
It’s a step forward for WST that they can actually publish an interview with Jiang Jun after his remarkable win. I have met him, and he doesn’t speak much English at all, but WST now have the facilities to be more inclusive. Channel 5 didn’t interview any Chinese players last week, although they did pre-match interviews with almost everyone else.