Liam Davies won a young-guns battle against Liam Pullen by a 5-3 scoreline to reach the second qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.
Welsh 19-year-old Davies was relegated from the tour at the end of last season but regained his card via Q School and now hopes to climb the rankings. In last week’s China Open qualifiers he suffered a surprise 6-5 defeat against Chatchapong Nasa, but he hit back today with a fine win over 20-year-old Pullen.
From 2-0 down, Davies took the next three frames with breaks of 97, 91 and 58, and despite losing the sixth he won the next two to set up a meeting with Martin O’Donnell, with the winner to go through to Wuhan in August to face Ding Junhui.
Canada’s Sahil Nayyar enjoyed a 5-1 win over Fergal Quinn while China’s promising Wang Xinbo notched the first victory of his rookie season, beating Liam Graham 5-1
Ukraine’s Michael Larkov top scored with 85 in a 5-3 defeat of Antoni Kowalski, while Gong Chenzhi came from 3-0 down to beat Liam Highfield 5-4 with top runs of 113 and 101.
Mitchell Mann came from 4-2 down to edge out Iulian Boiko 5-4, while China’s Gao Yang beat Bai Yulu 5-1 with runs of 59, 91, 100, 67 and 95.
Jiang Jun recovered a 3-2 deficit to beat Jimmy White 5-3 with a top break of 102, while Austria’s top player Florian Nuessle top scored with 96 in a 5-2 defeat of David Grace.
Steven Hallworth outplayed former World Champion Luca Brecel in a 5-1 victory to reach the final qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.
World number 92 Hallworth took the last four frames to score an emphatic win over 2023 Crucible king Brecel. On Thursday morning, Hallworth will meet Zhang Anda with the winner to go through to Wuhan in August.
China’s Yao Pengcheng, who won three matches to qualify for the China Open last week, kept up his perfect start to the season as he beat Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 5-2 with a top break of 106. Aaron Hill is also unbeaten so far in Leicester and he saw off Luo Zetao 5-0 with top breaks of 122 and 102.
Ukraine’s Anton Kazakov battled to a 5-4 victory over Marco Fu, while tour rookie Oliver Sykes top scored with 87 in a 5-3 win over Ross Muir.
Stan Moody notched his first win of the season as he beat Mahmoud El Hareedy 5-2 to to reach the final qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.
Rising star Moody, age 19, failed to qualify for the China Open as he lost 6-3 to Fan Zhengyi last week, but he bounced back today with a comfortable victory over El Hareedy, highlighted by a break of 90 in the second frame. Moody will take on Stephen Maguire in round three on Thursday with the winner to go through to Wuhan in August.
Chang Bingyu made a 138 in a 5-2 win over Huang Jiahao, while Shoot Out champion Alfie Burden enjoyed a 5-4 success against Long Zehuang. The top 16 seeds are held over to the venue in round three (last 64) which means that Burden will take on Shaun Murphy in Wuhan. Liu Hongyu made a 127 in a 5-2 win over Phil O’Kane and he will now face John Higgins. Two-time champion Xiao Guodong will start the defence of his title against Wang Xinbo, who beat Scott Donaldson 5-1.
Latvia’s Artemijs Zizins compiled two runs of 136 as he beat David Lilley 5-2, and he’ll take on World Champion Wu Yize in Wuhan.
Yao Pengcheng kept up his perfect start to the season as he won his sixth consecutive match, white-washing Jack Lisowski 5-0 to qualify for the final stages of the Wuhan Open.
China’s 29-year-old Yao, playing his second season on the pro tour, won three matches in Leicester last week to qualify for the China Open, and has registered another trio of victories this week to book his place in Wuhan in August. Against Lisowski he fired breaks of 108, 52, 53, 57 and 106 to win in just 71 minutes.
Gary Wilson edged out Aaron Hill 5-4, gaining revenge for a 6-5 reverse against the same player last week. From 3-1 down, Wilson hit back to 4-4, then recovered a 62-0 deficit in the decider to make a superb 65 clearance.
Steven Hallworth followed up Tuesday’s win over Luca Brecel by beating Zhang Anda 5-4 with a top run of 100. Daniel Wells top scored with 117 in a 5-1 defeat of Stuart Bingham.
Dylan Emery fired runs of 104 and 90 as he beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 53, while Stephen Maguire enjoyed a 5-2 success against Stan Moody. Chang Bingyu came from 2-0 down to beat Joe O’Connor 5-2.
It’s very difficult to fully follow those qualifiers, simply because of the number of simultaneous matches.
One player in particular impressed me and that is Yao Pencheng. He has qualified for both the 2026 China Open and the 2026 Yuhan Open final stages. He’s not a kid, he’s 29. He’s in the second year of his first tour card. He is good tactically but he is also a heavy scorer in the balls. Hereafter, for instance, are the scores for his withewas of Jack Lisowski:
Remember, Jack was the highest ranked player in the draw …
In the 2026 China Open qualifiers, he had beaten Theppy, the second highest ranked seed in the draw.
He could be Ronnie’s opponent in the first round proper at the venue in Wuhan … provided that Ronnie actually turns up1 and beats Ashley Carty in his first match.
I really, really, hope Ronnie does play more this season … 🙏 ↩︎
Ronnie actually played in 10 (real) events last year, which is more than it seems like he played in. With the two Saudi events no longer in the calendar, it seems very unlikely that he will play in more than 10 events in 2026-27.
Ronnie actually played in 10 (real) events last year, which is more than it seems like he played in. With the two Saudi events no longer in the calendar, it seems very unlikely that he will play in more than 10 events in 2026-27.