Three matches were played to a conclusion yesterday, with Judd Trump, Wu Yize and Shaun Murphy all getting to the second round. So far, none of the seeded players has lost his opening match.
Ronnie started his campaign yesterday and took a healthy lead over his young opponent He Guoqiang.
The reports shared by WST are comprehensive and I have nothing to add. Here they are:
Wu Yize, the breakthrough player of the season, reached another milestone as he won a match at the Crucible for the first time with a resounding 10-2 victory over Lei Peifan in the first round of the Halo World Championship.
Wu built a commanding 8-1 lead in the first session on Monday with breaks of 93, 92, 85, 67, 58 and 105, and within 37 minutes of the restart the tie was over. Lei – who knocked out Kyren Wilson at this stage last year – pulled one back with a break of 69, but Wu’s run of 68 make it 9-2 and he finished in style with a 116.
China’s 22-year-old Wu turned pro in 2021 and made steady progress up the rankings in his first few seasons before taking a giant leap this term. In November he landed a first ranking title at the International Championship, beating the likes of Judd Trump and Zhao Xintong before a 10-6 defeat of John Higgins in the final, which boosted him into the world’s top 16 for the first time and he is now ranked tenth. Wu also came within a few pots of reaching the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters on his debut in January, losing narrowly 6-5 to Kyren Wilson.
The exciting break-builder with a fast and fluent style made his Crucible debut in 2023, losing 10-3 to Neil Robertson, then got much closer to Mark Williams last year, beaten 10-8. He is now into the last 16 in Sheffield and will face Mark Selby or Jak Jones in his first ever best-of-25 frame match on Sunday and Monday. Wu’s victory continues the sequence of seeds making it into round two, with all nine completed matches so far going in favour of the top-16 ranked player.
“It is my dream to win it,” said Wu. “I don’t know if I can do that, but I will give 100 per cent and enjoy each match. I’m really happy to get my first win at the Crucible, it’s another breakthrough for me. Overall I think I played pretty well, especially on the attacking side. I managed to take the chances I was given. Hopefully I can keep this good form going.
“It feels amazing. This venue feels truly unique. For me, the best venues are the Crucible and Alexandra Palace for the Masters, playing here is a real enjoyment for every player. I hope I can play even better, put aside distractions and finish the season well.“
Wu has been tipped by Ronnie O’Sullivan as a future world number one and World Champion and he admits that those words have given him more self belief. “It definitely gave me huge encouragement and made me feel I have the ability to compete with the very best,” Wu added. “I will just keep working hard and chasing the dream.“
Ronnie O’Sullivan built a commanding 7-2 advantage over He Guoqiang, after the first session of their opening round tie at the Halo World Championship in Sheffield.
The Rocket is embarking on his 34th Crucible campaign and is gunning for history. O’Sullivan knows that an eighth World Championship victory this year would move him clear of Stephen Hendry’s seven Crucible crowns, a goal he has admitted is his main career ambition going forward.
In a season where O’Sullivan has appeared sparingly, this is only his second UK based tournament of the campaign. However, he showed signs of his dazzling best at the recent World Open, when he reached the final and made a 153, the highest break of all-time.
China’s He defeated compatriot Long Zehuang and Jack Lisowski to qualify. His head-to-head record with O’Sullivan is level at 1-1, having beaten O’Sulllivan at last season’s English Open. However, he has left himself a mammoth task to score a match win at the sport’s most iconic venue.
Breaks of 72, 97 and 113 helped O’Sullivan to a flying start and the first five frames this afternoon. He dug deep and clawed back the next two frames, including a break of 77, to trail 5-2.
O’Sullivan responded by taking the last two of the sessions, with contributions of 52 and 86 to end 7-2 ahead. The Englishman will require three more frames for victory when the resume tomorrow afternoon at 2:30pm.
World number one Judd Trump won five of the last six frames to surge to a comfortable 10-5 win over Gary Wilson at the Halo World Championship.
Trump arrived in Sheffield with his place at the summit of the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings under threat. However, victory today means that the only way he can be usurped is Neil Robertson becoming World Champion.
The 31-time ranking event winner is aiming to capture snooker’s biggest prize for just the second time in his career, having beaten John Higgins in the 2019 title match.
Today’s encounter was a repeat of Trump’s semi-final victory during that run. Seven years later Wilson, who made the final of this season’s Wuhan Open, cut a disconsolate figure after today’s defeat and bemoaned his recent form.
Trump held a 5-4 advantage coming into this evening’s session, having rallied from 4-1 down this morning. Wilson crafted contributions of 58 and 33 in the opener tonight to regain parity, but Trump responded by taking two on the bounce to open up a 7-5 cushion. He continued his momentum in the next, making 71 to lead 8-5 at the mid-session.
When play resumed Trump extended his advantage further and then made a 69 break in the 15th to get over the line and secure victory. The Ace in the Pack progresses to the second round for the 14th time in his career. A meeting with either Hossein Vafaei or Si Jiahui awaits him.
“Gary is a great player, he’s won three ranking events and was always going to be tricky. I just tried to keep my composure. I knew if I played my best I’d have a great chance of winning. He started off well and all the long pots were going in there. I just had to try and stick in there in the first session,” said 36-year-old Trump.
“When it got to 8-5, I could sense a little bit of his confidence was draining and he was going for some rash shots. I knew for me it was then the time to step up.
“There have been a lot of times I’ve come in over the last ten years when I have been favourite. When you don’t win it is a bit of a let down. There is maybe more expectation on Xintong and Ronnie this year. It is easier for the likes of me, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby to go under the radar.
“It is always nice to be introduced as the world number one. You get a bit of a buzz. I’ve held that for just under two years so it would be nice to go into the break knowing I will come back as world number one. That is a little milestone it would be nice to tick off.“
A downbeat Wilson said: “Everyone might think I had a good start but deep down I’m struggling. It can be masked sometimes and look like you are playing alright. Really any shot is missable. When they are going in, those who aren’t snooker players think I’m playing well but I’m just waiting for the next opportunity to miss an easy ball.
“Since I was 13 I have always been a much better player than I’m showing these days. I just can’t physically cue the ball. It is very debilitating. I’ve said this over the last few years. It isn’t a new story. It is progressively getting worse and worse. I don’t know if there is an answer.”
Shaun Murphy escaped a huge Crucible shock as he made a marvellous clearance in the deciding frame to beat Fan Zhengyi 10-9 in the first round of the Halo World Championship.
Trailing by 36 points at 9-9 with four reds left – and two of them close to the top cushion – Murphy was in danger of becoming the first seeded player to exit this year’s tournament, at the hands of world number 63 Fan. But he fashioned a tremendous break of 50 then celebrated with multiple fist pumps as an enthralled crowd applauded at the end of the most dramatic contest of the Championship so far.
“I can’t believe I won the match from that position, the way the balls were,” said 43-year-old Murphy. “It’s the best break I have ever made, given what was at stake, and I am so proud. The most nerve-racking thing I have done outside snooker was my driving test and this was 50 times worse.”
World number eight Murphy is into the last 16 for the 16th time and will meet Xiao Guodong on Thursday and Friday. With Judd Trump also into the second round, all 11 completed matches so far have gone in favour of the seeded player. Champion in 2005, Murphy is looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2021 when he was runner-up to Mark Selby.
The first two frames tonight were shared to leave Murphy 6-5 ahead, then in the 12th he got the two snookers he needed on the last red and cleared to force a respotted black, only for China’s Fan to double it into a baulk corner. Again they traded frames, then in the 15th Fan had a clear chance to go ahead but missed a routine black when he led 25-19 and Murphy’s 39 made it 8-7.
The Englishman was on 51 in the next when he ran out of position, then had to watch Fan thump in a long red and clear with 79. Once again Murphy edged ahead – leading for the seventh time – by dominating frame 17, only for Fan to control the next for 9-9.
Murphy had two early chances in the decider but could only muster 17 points, then Fan made 38 before running out of position. Leading 53-17, Fan attempted a tough red to a centre pocket which would surely have settled the result, but it hit the far jaw and handed Murphy his opening. The key shot was a superb pink to knock two reds off the top cushion, and from there he kept his composure to clear to the pink.
“I have no idea how I did it, I was preparing my losing speech,” added Murphy. “Fan played a great match and he had more than a foot in the last 16. I didn’t want to be the first seed to lose.“
