Yesterday was a big day for the fans in China, with both Ronnie and Ding in action. Both won and I’m sure that the sponsors is just as delighted about it as the fans. They will face each other tomorrow in the QFs. The atmosphere will certainly be incredible for the occasion and the arena should be packed. Still … it’s unfortunate that they clash so early in the tournament.

About Ronnie’s win … you will find a lot of stuff here. Make sure to check the comments section. It is full of wonderful finds by Kalacs. Thank you Kalacs.

About the other matches played yesterday here is the report by WST:

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Ding delighted his adoring home supporters by edging out Ali Carter in a 6-5 thriller. Having led 4-1, he was pegged back to a decider, but kept his cool with a fine break of 95 to clinch victory.

Judd Trump put on a superb display to see off Mark Williams 6-2 and seal his progression. The 2019 Crucible king was making his first appearance of the campaign, but looked sharp straight out of the gate, firing in breaks of 72, 52, 67, 112 and 112 to set up a meeting with Si Jiahui.

Afterwards he admitted that he has been enjoying a spot of culture and jet-setting during the summer break, which included trips to the Pyramids of Giza and Venice.

Trump said: “I had a good three weeks off. I was able to travel around Europe, the Middle East and a few other places. For once I didn’t go to my normal places like Vegas or Ibiza. I tried to explore the world a little bit and it was good fun. I saw different things and a bit of history. I’m coming into the season after a solid few weeks of history lessons, so I’m excited to get going again.“

TRUMP REFLECTS ON SEASON OPENING WIN

Si gained revenge for his heartbreaking 2023 World Championship semi-final defeat at the hands of Luca Brecel, beating the Belgian 6-2. Si now faces either Judd Trump or Mark Williams.

Chinese amateur Cao Jin scored a superb 6-2 win over World Championship runner-up Jak Jones to reach the second round.

The 39-year-old has competed in the Shanghai Masters once before, losing out 6-0 to David Gilbert in 2019, but he fared much better this time around. Victory this morning earns Cao a last 16 meeting with four-time World Champion Mark Selby. 

Pang Junxu came from 5-4 down to take the last two frames and beat Gary Wilson 6-5. He now sets up a second round clash with world number one Mark Allen.

Judd Trump was sharp indeed, but Mark Williams wasn’t at his best. It’s a shame. I’m not saying that an “in form” Mark would have beaten Judd yesterday but the match could have been closer.

Luca Brecel was disappointing again… alas. That said, Si played really well but that match too should have been much closer!

The 2024 Shanghai Masters is only a few hours away from now. As usual Kalacs has done a great job hunting images and videos on Weibo. Make sure to check the comments section. Thank you Kalacs!

The two wildcards are finally known: Qiu Lei will play Ali Carter and Cao Jin will play Jak Jones.

Ronnie has arrived in Shanghai accompanied by Robin Huxley – as often – and by his children Lilly and Ronnie Jr. As far as I know, this is a first.

WST has today published the draws for three events: the 2024 Xian Grand Prix, the 2024 Wuhan Open and the 2024 British Open round one. Here is what you need to know:

2024 Xian Grand Prix Draw

XI’AN GRAND PRIX DRAW

The draw and match schedule is now available for the qualifying rounds of the new Xi’an Grand Prix, running from July 25th to 27th at the Mattiloli Arena in Leicester.

Please note that there is no access for fans at this qualifying event.

Players need to win one match to make it through to the final stages in the historic city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province in August.

All first round matches are best of nine frames. CLICK HERE FOR THE MATCH SCHEDULE. 

The following matches have been held over to the final venue:

World Champion Kyren Wilson v Haris Tahir
Stuart Bingham v wild card
Ding Junhui v Alfie Burden
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Wang Yuchen
Zhang Anda v Oliver Lines
Graeme Dott v wild card
Mark Selby v wild card
Jamie Clarke v wild card
World number one Mark Allen v Liu Hongyu

All other qualifying matches will take place in Leicester, including:

John Higgins v Alexander Ursenbacher
Mark Williams v Liam Graham
Neil Robertson v Allan Taylor
Si Jiahui v Jimmy White
Luca Brecel v Hammad Miah
Judd Trump v Antoni Kowalski
Shaun Murphy v Mitchell Mann

CLICK HERE FOR THE XIAN GRAND PRIX DRAW

Staged under a new multi-year agreement with the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association and Shaanxi Sports Industry Group Limited, the tournament will be the first ever WST event in the historic city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province.
 
Running from August 19-25 in its inaugural year, the Xi’an Grand Prix will have total prize money of £850,000 and a top prize of £177,000, with the prize money to increase in subsequent years to £875,000 and then £900,000.  
 
Xi’an, which has a population of 13 million, is the capital of the Shaanxi Province in central China. It is renowned as the furthest eastern point of the Silk Road trade route which dates back over 2,000 years. Xi’an was also the capital of a series of ancient dynasties and is home to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors. These days, Xi’an is celebrated as the cultural, financial and educational centre of the region.

2024 Wuhan Open

WUHAN OPEN DRAW

The draw and match schedule is now available for the qualifying rounds of the Wuhan Open, running from July 28th to 30th at the Mattiloli Arena in Leicester.

Please note that there is no access for fans at this qualifying event.

Places in the final stages in Wuhan in October are at stake. All matches are best of nine frames and CLICK HERE FOR THE MATCH SCHEDULE. 

The following matches have been held over to the final venue:

Defending champion Judd Trump v Antoni Kowalski
Yuan Sijun v wild card
Ding Junhui v Robbie McGuigan
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Mitchell Mann
Zhang Anda v Dean Young
Jordan Brown v wild card
Martin O’Donnell v wild card
David Gilbert v wild card
World Champion Kyren Wilson v Liam Davies

All other qualifying matches will take place in Leicester, including:

John Higgins v Ben Mertens
Mark Williams v Allan Taylor
Luca Brecel v Duane Jones
Mark Allen v Bai Yulu
Neil Robertson v Ken Doherty
Mark Selby v Long Zehuang
Shaun Murphy v Michael Holt

CLICK HERE FOR THE WUHAN OPEN DRAW

The 2023 Wuhan Open was the first world ranking event staged in China since 2019, and the first ever in the city of Wuhan, and it proved a great success.

Judd Trump won the title, beating Ali Carter 10-7 in the final.

WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “It was fantastic to host a tournament for the first time in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and a vibrant city of 11 million people. There is a vast appetite for snooker among fans in China and they have enjoyed the return of our star players. We look forward to working with our partners on building a bright future for snooker in the region.”

The 2024 Wuhan Open will run from October 7-13.

2024 British Open Draw

Strong Line-Up For British Open In Cheltenham

Mark Williams will face Rory Thor when he begins the defence of his British Open title in Cheltenham in September.

All-time greats including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy and new World Champion Kyren Wilson are in the field for the tournament which runs from September 23 to 29 at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Williams beat Mark Selby in the final last year at the ITV-televised tournament which has a random draw for all rounds. 

The first round draw has been made and all matches involving the top 16 seeds have been held over to the final venue. they are:

Three-time Crucible king Mark Williams v Malaysia’s top player Rory Thor
Snooker’s greatest ever player Ronnie O’Sullivan v Manasawin Phetmalaikul
World number one Mark Allen v three-time ranking event winner Gary Wilson
World number two Judd Trump v Robert Milkins
World Champion Kyren Wilson v Julien Leclercq
Four-time World Champion Mark Selby v Pang Junxu
Legend John Higgins v Ross Muir
Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy v Ian Burns 
2023 World Champion Luca Brecel v Mohamed Shehab
Barry Hawkins v Liam Davies
Ali Carter v Bulcsu Revesz
Ding Junhui v Aaron Hill
Jak Jones v Sanderson Lam
Zhang Anda v Jordan Brown
Tom Ford v Gong Chenzhi
Ryan Day v Louis Heathcote

The schedule for these matches in Cheltenham will be announced soon.

The remaining first round ties will take place at the qualifying round in Leicester from July 31st to August 3rd. Please note that there is no access for fans at this qualifying event.

All first round matches are best of seven frames and CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFIERS MATCH SCHEDULE. 

After three weeks of hard slog the 2024 Ranking CLS, the first event of the season, finally has a winner!

Congratulations Ali Carter

Here is the report by WST:

CARTER IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

Ali Carter got his 2024/25 campaign off to the perfect start by beating Jackson Page 3-1 in the final of the season-opening the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester.

Carter, age 44, has shown excellent form over the past two seasons, winning the 2023 German Masters as well as reaching two other finals, and now takes his career tally of ranking titles to six, level with Ken Doherty, Stephen Maguire, Stuart Bingham and Kyren Wilson on the all-time list.

World number ten Carter banks £33,000 and earns a place in the Champion of Champions in November. It’s a fitting victory for the Essex cueman as he is the only player to have competed in all 23 editions of the Championship League since it was first staged in 2008, and he now holds the trophy for the first time.

Welshman Page was playing in his first final and the 22-year-old missed the chance to become the youngest ranking event winner since a 21-year-old Fan Zhengyi took the European Masters in 2022.

Page had first chance in the opening frame but made just 11 before missing a red to a top corner and Carter punished him with a break of 116. Back came Page with an 83 to level at 1-1, but Carter enjoyed a fluked red at the start of frame three to initiate a run of 96, and he then dominated frame four with a top break of 50 to seal the title.

Carter said: “I’m delighted, it’s a great start to the season. I felt very comfortable in the final and played well with a lot at stake. I have been working hard and I feel I am playing the best stuff of my career. I am trying to control my temperament, and getting better at it. Jackson is one of the young guns and has loads of potential.“

Carter dedicated his win to Mike Diggins, his friend and flying instructor who has had serious health problems. 

Earlier in the group stage, Page opened with a 3-0 win over David Lilley, then drew 2-2 with Long Zehuang. In the last game of the group, he needed to avoid defeat against David Gilbert, and battled to a 2-2 draw to top the table. 

In the other group, Carter came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Martin O’Donnell in his opening tie, making a break of 118 in the last frame, before beating Scott Donaldson 3-0. He still needed to beat Mark Williams in his last match, and fell 1-0 down but battled back for a 3-1 victory.

As always, all the detailed results are on snooker.org

1. The calendar is already quite packed. Could it be that we only get 2 ↩︎

So far, most groups in stage 2 at the 2024 Ranking CLS were tightly contested. This isn’t particularly surprising given that the players involved all won their group in stage one and are sharp. Yesterday was no different and here is the report by WST:

WILLIAMS THROUGH WITH LATE WIN

Mark Williams scored a vital 3-0 victory over Si Jiahui in the last match of Group D at the BetVictor Championship League to earn a place in the final phase.

The three-time Crucible king will be back in action on Wednesday in Leicester alongside Long Zehuang, David Gilbert, Ali Carter, Scott Donaldson, Martin O’Donnell and two more players. The winners of the last two groups will contest the final on Wednesday night.

Remarkably, the first eight matches played on Monday finished in 2-2 draws, leaving Groups D and H finely poised heading into the last set of fixtures. Williams, seeking a 27th career ranking title, compiled breaks of 90 and 87 in drawing 2-2 with Stuart Carrington, then made a 130 in taking a 2-0 lead over Ben Woollaston, only for his opponent to fight back to level.

Woollaston then beat Carrington 3-1, which meant Williams had to win his closing tie to top the table. And the Welshman comfortably saw off Si with a top run of 96.

In Group H, O’Donnell let slip a 2-0 lead in his first match against Matthew Stevens, finishing 2-2. He then fell 1-0 behind against Jak Jones but hit back with superb breaks of 138 and 133 to lead 2-1, before losing the last frame. In his last match, Welsh Open finalist O’Donnell made a crucial colours clearance in the final frame to beat Ma Hailong 3-1.

Jones and Stevens still had the chance to top the group by winning their contest, but they finished 2-2 to leave O’Donnell on top.

As always you will find the detailed results on snooker.org

Both Si and Ma looked tired in their last match. These are long days at the CLS. You may expect that the young ones will star fresher and be be more “resilient” to fatigue than the older ones but actually that’s not the case, and it is the same in more physical sports as well. Very rarely will you see a young athlete win a marathon. Most top marathon runners are in their thirties and there is no other physical “endurance” sport that is more demanding physically. Maybe in snooker it’s more a case of “managing” your blood sugar levels and stay fresh in your mind and keep your focus but all the same, there is a “learning curve”.

Willo really is one of a kind. No matter what is at stakes, matching him play you’d think he’s knocking a few balls in a friendly down the club.

Yesterday was the last day of stage 1 at the 2024 Ranking CLS and it produced something quite extraordinary in Group 15. I put it in bold green in the report hereafter. All credits to Gilbert, but you have to feel for the other three, especially Pagett who finished the day on three points, undefeated and will get very little to show for his efforts, no money, no ranking points, nothing. It’s cruel really.

Here is the report by WST:

DEFENDING CHAMPION MURPHY TOPS GROUP

Shaun Murphy got his season and the defence of his BetVictor Champonship League title off to the perfect start, winning all of his matches to top Group Three. 

The Magician lifted the title in the ranking edition of this event 12 months ago. He defeated three-time World Champion Mark Williams 3-0 in the final to secure what was the 12th ranking crown of his career. 

His season started today with a group featuring Steven Hallworth, Reanne Evans and Tian Pengfei. Murphy got his campaign up and running in style with a 3-0 win over Hallworth, crafting runs of 100, 93 and 61 during the rout. He then defeated Evans 3-1 and dispatched Tian 3-0 to progress to Stage Two, after a day which saw him win eight out of nine frames. 

David Gilbert produced a stunning last gasp century break to win Group 15 by the narrowest of all margins. 

The Tamworth cueman was pitted against Andrew Pagett, Xu Si and Duane Jones. Remarkably all of the matches ended in 2-2 draws. It was Gilbert who took on Xu in the last game of the day. They headed into the final frame with Xu leading 2-1 and in pole position to progress, even with a draw, having made a 131 high break. However, Gilbert fired in a sublime 136 to snatch top spot on the high break tiebreaker and clinch a place in the next stage. 

Meanwhile, Ronnie has been practising at Vic Snooker Academy in Sheffield

Don’t ask about his sense of fashion ! I love yellow as a colour but… 😂

Also shered on social media this … typical Neil Robertson mishap!