WORLD OPEN DAY TWO ROUNDUP: LIFT OFF FOR THE ROCKET
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan came through a topsy turvy encounter with Michael White 5-3 to progress at the Huading Nylon World Open in Yushan.
The Rocket has enjoyed a tremendous season thus far, having captured invitational titles at the Shanghai Masters, the Masters and the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker. O’Sullivan has also already lifted the 40th and 41st pieces of ranking silverware in his career at the UK Championship and World Grand Prix.
This incredible run of form has ensured that O’Sullivan will remain on top of the world rankings heading into next month’s Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship, regardless of the outcome this week. It will mean he has been world number one for two years when the event gets underway on April 1st, his longest ever unbroken spell at the summit.
Welshman White’s woes against O’Sullivan continued today and he has now lost all six of their meetings on the World Snooker Tour.
The match got underway with a break of 62 giving O’Sullivan the opener. Both players spurned opportunities in a scrappy second, which eventually went the way of White to make it 1-1. Back-to-back century runs of 129 and 106 then saw O’Sullivan head into the mid-session 3-1 ahead.
When play resumed, White took two on the bounce to set up a grandstand finish at 3-3. O’Sullivan made 87 in the seventh to move one from victory at 4-3. White had chances to force a decider, but it was O’Sullivan who eventually took the frame on the black to run out a 5-3 victor. He now faces Lyu Haotian, who beat Aaron Hill 5-4.
Afterwards O’Sullivan stated that he was thrilled to be back in Yushan after five years away. He also admitted he is starting to set his sights on next month’s World Championship, where he will be gunning for a record breaking eighth Crucible crown.
“I’d love to try to win the Crucible. It is a hard tournament and 17 days is a long time. A lot can happen there. I’d love to win that another time to make it eight. There are so many good players around, so you have to get a little bit of luck and play some good snooker at the right times. I will be going there and trying my best.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Seven-time World Champion
O’Sullivan added: “The setup with the table out there is really good. The crowd are really close, so it creates a good atmosphere. Yushan has changed a lot in five years. I didn’t recognise the place. Last time we came here it was just this venue, now you have other buildings and beautiful new roads. It has changed so much.”
World number 52 Jackson Page scored a surprise 5-3 defeat of John Higgins to enhance his tour survival prospects.
Page went on a fine run to the last 16 of the World Championship in 2022, but with those points dropping off at the end of the season, his position in the rankings is set to drop. Victory over Higgins today acts as a significant boost to his chances of remaining in the top 64.
It had looked as if Page was set for a comfortable win when he led 4-1, having crafted breaks of 102, 76 and 75.
Scotland’s 31-time ranking event winner Higgins battled to remain in contention by taking the sixth after requiring a snooker. He the clawed back to 4-3, but it was Page who claimed the eighth to secure victory and a last 32 tie against Wu Yize.
World Champion Luca Brecel secured his progression with a 5-2 defeat of Oliver Brown, setting up a mouth watering last 32 meeting with Stephen Maguire.
Judd Trump continued his hunt for a fifth ranking title of the campaign by beating Sanderson Lam 5-2. He now faces Fan Zhengyi.
PAGE REFLECTS ON BIG WIN
Here are the scores for Ronnie’s match:
Screenshot
It looks like a relatively easy win but, in fact, there were a lot of errors from both players and Ronnie became very frustrated at times. He was still quite positive in his post-match.
Ronnie’s post match:
And, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel:
Frame 4 – Ronnie’s 50th century of the season
And the last frame of the match
Also some images shared by various sources, notably WST, on their site and on on Weibo
WORLD OPEN DAY ONE ROUNDUP: BULLET FIRES PAST PHETMALAIKUL
World Champion Luca Brecel proclaimed that his hunger was back after scoring an emphatic 5-1 win over Manasawin Phetmalaikul at the Huading Nylon World Open in Yushan.
The Belgian Bullet shot to the top of the snooker stratosphere last May with a stunning victory at the World Championship, an event he admitted he did minimal work for on the practice table.
Since then Brecel’s form has been erratic, other than making two finals at the invitational Shanghai Masters and Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker. He lost both of those title matches to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
With the defence of this world title coming quickly round the corner next month, he is now determined to put the hours in and hit top form.
Today’s match saw Brecel, who must win the event to qualify for the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship, fire in breaks of 131, 100 and 94 on his way to victory. Afterwards he proclaimed that he is back to full confidence. Next up he faces Oliver Brown.
“If anything, I feel even better than last year at the World Championship. I don’t know where it has come from. Obviously I have been working hard on my game, mentally and on the table, but I didn’t expect it to happen that fast. I feel really confident and good about my game.”
Luca Brecel
World Champion
Brecel added: “I am practising more, doing the right stuff and mentally I’ve been more conscious on the table, more focussed with more concentration. I feel really good and that every time I go to the table I fancy a good performance. I am in a good place.
“I am just more hungry than ever before in my career. I’ve always had struggles with motivation and getting up for games. That hasn’t been a problem in the last few weeks. I don’t want to make the same mistakes as the past. I’ve learned a lot this year.”
INSPIRED BRECEL REGAINS CONFIDENCE
Judd Trump got his quest for a fifth ranking title of the season underway with a 5-2 defeat of Malaysia’s Rory Thor.
Trump and O’Sullivan have been the two standout players on the tour this season and both will be among the favourites to capture the title this week, with O’Sullivan taking to the baize tomorrow.
The Ace in the Pack top scored with 130 in today’s tie and will now face fellow Englishman Sanderson Lam.
Home hero Ding Junhui secured his progression with a 5-3 win over Zak Surety, who made his maiden career 147 despite defeat.
Ding himself crafted breaks of 54, 122, 94 and 77 during the encounter. He now faces Chinese compatriot Lyu Hongyu.
Welshman Daniel Wells pulled off a shock 5-3 win over world number three Mark Allen, while 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy battled past Xu Si 5-3.
Here is Zak’s 147 shared by ES on on their YouTube channel
Mark Allen’s defeat was, of course, the surprise of the day. However probably just as surprising was the double win by 16 years old wildcard Wang Xinbo who sent Matt Selt packing.
With the EBSA event also underway, I must confess that I didn’t see much more than Ding’s and Judd’s matches. Judd didn’t particularly impress me and Thor didn’t play as well as he can and didn’t have much luck either. But, of course, for Judd it was a first match and a possible banana skin, for Thor it was unfamiliar territory to be on the main table.
As a side note… ahead of the tournament, Ronnie was inducted into the Billiards Museum Hall of fame. He wasn’t the only one. From what I understood from social media posts, there were eight or nine billiards players of various disciplines honoured, amongst them Allison Fisher and Pankaj Advani.
Bai Yulu has won the 2024 Women Snooker World Championship
She beat Mink Nucharut by 6-5 in a tense high quality final. This means that she will be offered a main Tour card for the 2024/25 season. Mink will get one as well as she’s guaranteed to finish the season as Women’s Snooker number 1. In many ways this is the best possible outcome from allegedly the best ever Women Snooker World Championship.
Congratulations Bai Yulu!
Bai Yulu 2024 Women Snooker World Champion AND 2024 Junior Women Snooker World Champion!
Home favourite Bai Yulu beat Mink Nutcharut 6-5 on the final pink to win a dramatic final at the World Women’s Snooker Championship in Dongguan Changping, China.
Victory earns 20-year-old Bai a place on the World Snooker Tour for the first time and she will join the main circuit for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons. Talented Bai reached the final last year before losing to Baipat Siripaporn, and has now clinched her maiden world title.
Women’s world number one Nutcharut, who lifted this trophy in 2022, had not dropped a single frame in the tournament until the final. Bai took an early 3-1 lead, helped by a break of 122 which was the highest of the tournament and highest ever in the World Women’s Championship final. Thailand’s Nutcharut hit back to take three in a row with a top run of 62 to lead 4-3, before Bai knocked in 97 and 75 to edge 5-4 ahead. Nutcharut then took frame ten on the colours to set up the decider.
Both players had chances and it came down to the colours – Nutcharut leading 46-43 when she failed to gain position on the brown. Bai potted brown and blue to lead 52-46 during a safety battle on the pink. Trapped in a snooker, Nutcharut hit the pink but left her opponent a chance, and Bai slotted it into a baulk corner to clinch the Mandy Fisher Trophy.
It has been an impressive rise to the top from Bai, who had never competed on the women’s tour before last year’s World Championship. She went on to win her first women’s ranking event at the British Open in May last year, beating Reanne Evans in the final.
Bail also won the world under-21 title earlier in the week, beating Narucha Phoemphul in the final.
Eve of the 2024 World Open in Yushan … Ronnie honoured
As always in China, the players are made to feel very welcome with an opening ceremony and a red carpet walk, but this time, Ronnie was particularly honoured as he was inducted in the World Billiards Museum Hall of Fame
Here is a short video of that event shared by Roger Leighton on Youtube
And there were some pictures shared on weibo, of the red carpet walk, the induction ceremony and the opening ceremony
Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh, Mohamed Shehab from the United Arab Emirates and Welshman Duane Jones all came through the WPBSA Q Tour Global Play-Offs to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.
The 2023/24 WPBSA Q Tour season saw the tour go global for the first time by incorporating series’ in the Middle East, Americas and Asia-Pacific region alongside the UK/Europe series which has been held since 2021/22. Cueists from across the globe have been competing all year to earn a coveted spot in the Global Play-Off. The season’s best 24 players came together in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina this week, split into three sections of eight.
Sarkhosh beat Iulian Boiko 10-8 in the final of his section and will turn pro for the first time, joining fellow Iranian cueman Hossein Vafaei on the circuit next season. “I am happy that snooker is growing in the Middle East and I think it will get better day by day. I know it will be difficult on the professional tour but I am really excited by it,” said Sarkhosh, whose top break in the final was 125.
Shehab, who last played on the pro tour in 2007, saw off Yu Kiu Chang 10-8. He said: “I feel brilliant, I came here prepared for a challenge – not only to secure the tour card, but to represent my country and the Middle East. It is the first time we have had the Q Tour in the Middle East and the top two players have qualified – that’s a clear message that there are good players in the region.“
In an all-Welsh derby, Jones came from 9-7 down to edge out teenager Liam Davies 10-9. “I was gutted when I dropped off the tour and I’ve felt like chucking it in a few times, but snooker is in my blood and it always will be,” said the former German Masters semi-finalist.
Meanwhile, the EBSA European Under-18 Championship title went to Bulcsú Révész, beating Vladislav Gradinari 4-0 in the final. Recent WSF Junior champion Révész lost just a single frame in the knockout stages.
Not many would have predicted that the two “Middle East” Q-Tour laureates would qualify for the main tour, nor that the latter stages of the two junior EBSA events – under-16 and under-18 – would be dominated by mainland Europe players. This once again debunks the claims that the UK has the best amateurs, something that has occasionally been presented by some British fans as a justification for the UK centric organisation of the sport. Also at the EBSA event, the two winners so far are mainland Europe lads AND it’d about time that WST/WPBSA make the effort to spell “foreign” names correctly. It isn’t hard. I corrected the spelling in the above report BTW.
The draw for the 2024 Huading Nylon World Open has been updated, to include the four wild card players.
CLICK HERE for the draw and here for the match schedule. Matches involving the wild cards are:
Sanderson Lam v Gong Chenzhi Wang Xinbo v Wang Xinzhong Jordan Brown v Lan Yuhao
Sam Craigie has withdrawn from the event due to injury. His last-64 opponent was Robert Milkins, who now receives a bye to the last 32.
David Gilbert has also pulled out and his last-64 opponent was Fan Zhengyi, who now receives a bye to the last 32.
Ronnie has already landed in China. A short video was shared on weibo, showing him and Victoris Shi arriving in the country.
And the 2024 Women Snooker World Championship is in its final day…
At the time of writing Bai Yulu has already booked her place in the Final, beating Reanne Evans by 5-3 from 0-3 down… Here are the scores (Bai Yulu first): 29-78(30); 33-69(68); 0-88(76); 62-54; 72-31; 77-70(44); 74(38)-14; 71(71)-33(33).
UPDATE
Mink has beaten On Yee by 5-0 with scores being like this: 6-64; 19-54; 61-66(40); 1-64; 30-67 (although it’s shown the other way around in some pages of the WPBSA scores site). This means that Mink strengthened her position as Women number 1. Should Bai Yulu win tomorrow, both of them would be on the main tour next season and I’d love that.
Nutcharut and Bai to Contest World Championship Final
Mink Nutcharut will meet Bai Yulu in the final of the 2024 World Women’s Snooker Championship after the pair won their semi-final matches on Saturday at the Changping Gymnasium, Dongguan, China.
World number one Nutcharut will contest the title match for the third time in her career and will be looking to lift the Mandy Fisher Trophy for the second time after she stormed to a 5-0 whitewash of Ng On Yee this evening.
The 2022 winner is yet to drop a frame in this year’s event and claimed a surprisingly one-sided encounter against three-time winner Ng to also guarantee that she will remain world number one following the conclusion of this year’s event.
With Nutcharut having comfortably eased into a 2-0 lead, the crucial frame would prove to be the third as with Ng ahead and favourite to reduce her arrears, a classy break of 40 turned the tide in her favour as she took the frame on the black to move further clear. Ng continued to fight, but Nutcharut proved strong and would maintain her perfect record in the tournament.
Earlier in the day, China’s Bai Yulu completed a successful comeback from 3-0 down to defeat England’s Reanne Evans 5-3 for the second successive year in the World Championship semi-finals.
It was 12-time champion Evans who flew out of the traps with breaks of 30, 68 and 76 to lead 3-0, before Bai claimed a crucial fourth ahead of the mid-session interval to gain a foothold in the contest.
The decisive frame would ultimately prove to be the sixth, however, as with Evans having potted a respotted black to seemingly take a 4-2 lead, she could only watch on as the cueball dropped into the middle pocket and the scores were level at 3-3.
From this point it was Bai who would not be stopped and added breaks of 38 and 71 to clinch a dramatic victory and secure her place in the final for the second successive year. Having lost out to Thailand’s Baipat Siripaporn in 2023, the 20-year-old will be looking to go one step further and claim the title and a place on the World Snooker Tour for the first time in her career.
The best of 11 frames final will begin at 12pm CST, with the pair set to clash for the third time this season with Bai having won 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship and Mink having triumphed 4-3 in the Albanian Open semi-finals last month.
Victory gives Selby a welcome boost going into the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign, and also assures him of a place in the Champion of Champions later this year. The world number five lifted his first trophy since the WST Classic a year ago, and lands the BetVictor Championship League crown for the first time.
Having finished second in the group table earlier in the day, Selby saw off Stuart Bingham 3-0 in the semi-finals. O’Connor scored a fine 3-0 success against defending champion John Higgins, setting up a local derby in the final at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
O’Connor, seeking his first pro title, came from 55-0 down to snatch the opening frame on the colours. Selby hit back with breaks of 74 and 137 to lead 2-1, then got the better of a scrappy fourth frame to secure the silverware.
He said: “Over the two days, I scored when I got chances so overall I’m happy with my game. It was a tough group with great players in. Joe had done brilliantly to get here and he played some great stuff to reach the final today. It was nice to get the win, but if there was anyone who I was to lose to I would have been chuffed for Joe.”
Selby will join Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Gary Wilson and more in the Champion of Champions. More information on the event including ticket information and venue will be published in due course.
Congratulations Mark Selby!
It’s not been a great season so far for Mark and quite understandably so considering what is family is going through and Vikki’s illness. I’m happy for Mark and I sincerely hope that everything will be fine soon for the whole family. The surprise man of the event though has been Joe O’Connor and, IMO, it’s only a matter of time before he wins a professional tournament.
Valdislav Gradinari in the 2024 Under-16 EBSA Champion
The 2024 EBSA tournaments are currently underway in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Under-16 competition already concluded with Vladislav Gradinari beating Riley Powell in the final.
Congratulations Vladislav!
Here are some images shared by WPBSA on X (Twitter)
Bai Yulu has won the 2024 Under-21 Women Snooker World Championship
She defeated Narucha Phoemphul from Thailand by 3-0 to win the World Women’s Under-21 Snooker Championship for the first time!
Congratulations Bai Yulu!
WWS on X (Twitter) posted this:
The 20-year-old hit breaks of 57 and 35 to earn victory and claim the biggest Under-21 crown in women’s snooker. Bai spoke with national and international media during her post-match media conference, with the trophy presentation to take place on Sunday alongside the main event closing ceremony.
Tessa Davidson has won the 2024 Seniors Women World Championship
This was shared by WWS on X (Twitter)
Congratulations to England’s Tessa Davidson who has defeated Han Fang 3-1 to win the World Women’s Seniors Snooker Championship for the second time in three years in Dongguan Changping. The trophy presentation will take place as part of the main ceremony.
Snooker’s first ever pro tournament in Saudi Arabia was fittingly won by the sport’s all-time greatest player as Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Luca Brecel 5-2 in the final of the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
The event was a landmark for the sport as the best players on the planet competed in the Kingdom for the first time. It is hoped that they will inspire a wave of interest in snooker throughout the Middle East, and O’Sullivan lived up to his role as flag-bearer by going all the way to the title, winning a final clash between the world number one and World Champion.
The event included the innovation of a golden ball, giving players the chance to make a unique break of 167 and earn a bonus of $500,000. The ‘super-maximum’ was not achieved, but HE Advisor Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced that in the next staging of the event, the bonus will be doubled to $1,000,000. He also raised the idea of a Ronnie O’Sullivan academy in Saudi Arabia.
O’Sullivan said: “It has been a fantastic tournament, a brilliant venue, the crowd have been amazing. All the players have enjoyed the culture and hospitality. These are the tournaments I really want to play in, with a great atmosphere. It feels like a really nice festival. Riyadh Season has a lot of the best sport – everyone needs to get to Saudi! You want to try to make the sport as big as you can and Saudi is a powerhouse.”
Victory builds on what could end up a career-best season for O’Sullivan, who retains the Midas touch at the age of 48 and has now won five titles in 2023/24. The £250,000 top prize takes his tally for the season to £1,141,500, beating Judd Trump’s record of £1,093,900 for the most earned in a single campaign. And that’s with three huge tournaments still to come, including the Cazoo World Championship where he will be gunning for an eighth crown.
Brecel had hoped to win his first title since conquering the Crucible last May, but a crucial error in frame four – when he had the momentum – proved decisive. The Belgian, who banks £125,000, can take consolation in the knowledge that his game is improving as he looks towards his title defence in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan took the opening frame with a break of 96, then Brecel dominated the second before going ahead with a run of 81. In frame four, Brecel led 29-0 when he missed the black off its spot, and his opponent punished him with a 94 clearance.
Brecel failed to score a point after the interval as O’Sullivan reeled off three rapid frames with top breaks of 121 and 124 to win the 79th professional title of his career.
O’Sullivan added: “I wanted to do well in this event, just to be a part of it was great. I started really well against John Higgins, that was one of my best performances. I struggled in the semi-finals against Judd Trump but then played better in the final. I felt very relaxed and laid back here because they take life at a leisurely pace. It was great to hear the fans chanting my name at the end and I can’t wait to come back.
“They love the game here, are talking about an academy and getting some good coaches. If there are youngsters playing the game then we could have a Saudi World Champion in 20 years. It’s good for snooker.”
Brecel said: “It has been a fantastic few days, the crowd were great. Everyone was excited to come here and we hope the event will be here for a long time.”
Pictures by Zhai Zheng (@zhaizhengqd)
Some personal thoughts about the event… First of all, the local’s the interest in snooker seems to be genuine and bigger than I thought. The crowds over the week-end were indeed excellent. The fact that Eddie Hearn made the trip is a clear sign that Matchroom is interested in organising more events there as it is indeed a powerhouse in sports, wether we like it or not. How much snooker is actually appreciated will be clear when next year ranking event is held in Riyadh. WST also shared some images of the players mixing with the fans in the fanzone.
There were a few women in the crowd, not many though. Some were probably tourists, or resident “westerners” and were dressed casually but decently. Being respectful of the locals is only normal and correct. There were very few local women in sight. They were in traditional attires, wearing scarfs and long dresses that covered them entirely (hijab). I didn’t see any woman in niqab though, and the some of young women I spotted in the crowd, had hair showing under their veil and were wearing make-up. As much as I disapprove of the Saudi regime, I want to hope that hosting big sporting events, attracting dozens of thousands of sports-loving tourists of both genders may eventually force a change in mentality – and laws – be it about women’s social status and role or about homosexuality. Even if it’s driven by lust for money, that would be something positive …
And some videos shared by Eurosport on their Youtube channel…
We are delighted to announce the latest provisional calendar for the 2024/2025 World Snooker Tour season, with a packed schedule around the globe, including the brand new Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The schedule is still to be finalised, with a number of further dates for 2025 to be confirmed when available. The calendar will be updated in due course.
MAY 20th to June 2nd – Q School – Morningside Arena, Leicester 20th to June 2nd – Asia/Oceania Q School
JUNE 10th to 15th – Championship League Snooker 1 17th to 22nd – Championship League Snooker 224th to 29th- Championship League Snooker 3
JULY Dates TBC – Shanghai Masters – Shanghai, China 1st to 3rd – Championship League Snooker 4 25th to August 3rd – Qualifiers: Xian Grand Prix, English Open, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters – Morningside Arena, Leicester
AUGUST 19th to 25th – Xi’an Grand Prix – Xi’an, China 26th to 29th – Qualifiers: Wuhan Open, British Open – Morningside Arena, Leicester 31st to September 7th – Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
SEPTEMBER 16th to 22nd – English Open – Brentwood Centre, Brentwood 23rd to 29th – British Open – The Centaur, Cheltenham 28th to 30th – Qualifiers: Northern Ireland Open – Ponds Forge, Sheffield
OCTOBER 1st to 4th – Qualifiers: International Championship – Ponds Forge, Sheffield 7th to 13th – Wuhan Open – Wuhan, China 20th to 27th – Northern Ireland Open – Waterfront Hall, Belfast 28th to 31st – Qualifiers: Scottish Open – Cannon Medical Arena, Sheffield
NOVEMBER 3rd to 10th – International Championship – Tianjin, China 11th to 17th – Champion of Champions 16th to 21st – Qualifiers: UK Championship – Morningside Arena, Leicester 23rd to December 1st – UK Championship – York Barbican, York
DECEMBER 4th to 7th – Shoot Out – Morningside Arena, Leicester 9th to 15th – Scottish Open – Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh 16th to 22nd – Qualifiers: German Masters and World Open – Cannon Medical Arena, Leicester
JANUARY 12th to 19th – Masters – Alexandra Palace, London 27th to February 2nd – German Masters – Tempodrom, Berlin
MARCH 3rd to 9th – World Open – China 17th to 23rd – Players Championship – Telford, England
APRIL 19th to May 5th – Cazoo World Championship – Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
One thing that hasn’t changed unfortunately is the “all qualifiers played in the UK system”. That HAS to change. Qualifiers MUST be scrapped or played near the event venue, right before the event. You don’t have qualifiers for Roland Garros or Wimbledon played played weeks or even months before the events and in a different country do you? (and, yes there ARE qualifiers for the tennis majors, three rounds of them, played just days before the events and near or at the main venue location).
Ronnie O’Sullivan rattled in three centuries as he thumped old rival John Higgins 4-0 at the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker, a result which sets up an epic concluding day with the top four players on the planet into the semi-finals.
The first ever WST event in Saudi Arabia will be played to a finish on Wednesday, with O’Sullivan taking on Judd Trump and Mark Allen facing Luca Brecel in the semi-finals, followed by the final in the evening.
O’Sullivan, still ranked world number one at the age of 48, has already won the Shanghai Masters, UK Championship, the Masters and World Grand Prix this season, and if he reaches the final tomorrow his prize money for the season will go into seven figures.
Despite the match starting at 1.48am, O’Sullivan looked wide awake as he made breaks of 135, 129 and 102 to lead 3-0. He had the chance to make four consecutive centuries for the first time in his career, but broke down on 82 in the fourth. A bamboozled Higgins failed to pot a ball in the four frames – his only points coming from a foul at the start of the third.
Trump edged out Shaun Murphy 4-3 in a superb contest, which Murphy looked likely to win until a crucial error in frame six. Trump has won four ranking events this season and will relish the chance to capture the £250,000 top prize.
Murphy made a sizzling start with breaks of 126 and 121 to lead 2-0, before Trump won a battle on the last red on the third, then made a 75 in the next for 2-2. World number six Murphy made an 82 to regain the lead, then he was on 58 in the sixth when his attempted pot on a short range red clipped another red and missed the target. Trump’s excellent 58-clearance made it 3-3.
In the decider, Trump made 41 before missing a red with the rest, then Murphy replied with 22. Bristol’s Trump got the better of a safety exchange and added 28 which proved enough.
“Shaun played so well, it’s a great win for me,“ said world number two Trump. “It looked all over until he missed that red at 3-2. It was a great atmosphere out there, especially when I walked in, I felt happy out there and it brought best out of both of us. I’m excited about tomorrow, it feels like a free shot.”
Allen edged out Mark Selby 4-3 in a strong contender for the most dramatic finish to a match this season. Northern Ireland’s Allen has bagged three titles already in 2023/24 and has arguably eclipsed Selby as the sport’s toughest match-player.
Selby went 2-0 up with a top break of 84, then Allen pulled one back with a 73, and led 62-0 in frame four, only for his opponent to pinch it with a 63 clearance for 3-1. Selby had clear match winning chances in the next two frames but twice missed the black off its spot, and was punished as Allen took one with a 65 clearance the other by potting the last blue and pink.
In the decider, Selby led by 45 points with two reds left, but couldn’t get past the post and it came down to the last pink and black. Allen was trapped behind the black, with the pink over a top corner, and played the cue ball off the baulk cushion to drop in the pink, then converted a tremendous double on the black to a centre pocket.
“The match had everything, it was destined to go to the last black,” said world number three Allen. “I had no choice on the final pink but to go for it. Then on the black I was always going to go out swinging and go for the double. To see it go in was a big relief.
“If you are going to learn from anyone then Mark is one of the best. If I can take parts of Mark’s game and bring them into my own then I am doing something right.
“The fans here deserved a match like that and they really got involved. The crowd has grown as the day has gone on and hopefully it will be packed tomorrow.“
World Champion Brecel looks to be coming into form as he builds towards his Crucible defence, and the Belgian looked sharp in a 4-1 win over Ali Carter.
Pictures by Zhai Zheng (@zhaizhengqd)
Ronnie really went on the rampage there … it was a complete demolition job. John’s only 4 points came from a foul…
Eurosport shared a few videos on their Youtube channel:
Just one note from me here. Ronnie says in one of those pieces that he likes the culture. I’m lucky to know Ronnie personally and I want to make it clear that he doesn’t at all condone women’s oppression, nor violence against them. He’s not that sort of man and he has the most genuine admiration for women who juggle between caring for their family and kids and having a job and who still find time for others as well… like his own mother. I once heard him say this to a fellow snooker player who went about “male superiority”: “Mate, the women… they so much better than us, so much stronger than us … they’re unbelievable, mate.”
No … what he likes is that in those countries, is that there is still a sense of community: people chatting on the streets while all the kids play around, huge family meals, neighbours gathering for a chat … AND the “non-drinking” culture.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 