The report shared by WST on what happened on day one at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers is rather short and far from exhaustive. Indeed, 21 matches were played on the day, but only five get as much as a mention …
Selby Secures Xi’an Spot
Mark Selby booked a place in the final stages of the Xi’an Grand Prix with an emphatic 5-0 win over Gong Chenzhi in the qualifying round on Monday.
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The qualifiers for this £850,000 ranking event run until Wednesday in Leicester, with winners going through to the televised phase in China next month.
Four-time Crucible king Selby rattled in breaks of 103, 63, 111 and 52 in a comfortable victory.
Louis Heathcote scored an impressive 5-3 win over BetVictor Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan, closing out the match with a 135. Wu Yize also made a 135 but was pushed all the way by Florian Nuessle, eventually winning 5-4.
Tour rookie Yao Pengcheng top scored with 137 in a 5-1 defeat of Zak Surety, while Jak Jones enjoyed a 5-0 win over Haydon Pinhey with runs of 91, 74, 98, 68 and 53.
Why those matches in particular? Don’t ask me. It seems that no match finishing past 6pm local time was reported on… maybe the man in charge of reporting had called it a day.
The top 16 players involved all won their match although not always with ease. Mark Allen was pushed all the way by Mitchell Mann, who, to be fair, is never an easy opponent.
Young Michal Szubarczyk, still only 14, won the last match of the day, past midnight, beating Martin O’Donnell in a deciding frame. Michal lead 4-1, only to be pegged back to 4-4. He didn’t crumbled. He won the decider with a break of 52. This kid is special.
Stan Moody recovered 4-2 deficit to beat Amir Sarkhosh 5-4 in the qualifying round for the Xi’an Grand Prix in Leicester.
Moody enjoyed his best ranking event run at last week’s Wuhan Open, reaching the quarter-finals, then almost lost momentum today but narrowly avoided a surprise defeat against world number 76 Sarkhosh. Teenager Moody took the last three frames with a top break of 70 and he will be on the plane to Xi’an for the final stages of this £850,000 ranking event next month.
Luca Brecel’s return to competitive action didn’t go to plan as he conceded his match against Sunny Akani midway through the third frame. Brecel had not previously played since the Halo World Championship in April, and released a statement last month to explain that he had been suffering from health problems .
The 2023 World Champion was playing with a new cue tonight and appeared to struggle to get used to it, and having lost the first two frames he offered the handshake to Akani when 40-1 down in the third.
Farakh Ajaib continued his fine start to the season as he beat Zhang Anda 5-4, coming from 54-0 down in the decider to take it on the final black. China’s tour rookie Xu Yichen came from 4-1 down to beat Jack Lisowski 5-4, winning the last four frames with runs of 78, 66, 53 and 66.
Shaun Murphy strolled to a 5-0 success against Liam Highfield with a top break of 117 while Zhou Yuelong made the third 147 of his career during a 5-2 defeat of Julien Leclercq.
Matthew Selt came from 4-2 down to beat Antoni Kowalski 5-4 while Saudi Masters semi-finalist Elliot Slessor enjoyed a 5-1 success against Liam Graham.
I watched the Brecel match … supporting Sunny Akani. What happened in that match didn’t surprise me and is an example of why, despite being Belgian, I’m not a fan of Luca. Yes, Luca is autistic … to an extend. He has autistic traits, certainly but he is still functional enough to live in society, to be in a relationship, to travel on his own, etc…
I honestly believe that the problem is elsewhere, that the problem is that he was raised as an only child, that he was overprotected and outrageously spoiled. That’s what I have seen anyway when I was at events, and Luca, still a young teenager, was there too with his family. I’m sure that his parents meant well, that they wanted, surely still want, the best for him. They want him to be happy. But even if your child has autistic traits, as Luca has, if they are functional enough to live in society, you have to educate them to behave correctly towards others and respect social rules, because, ultimately, that child will become an adult, will grow older and outlive you and they will have to live in that society when yourself will no more be around to guide and protect them. It’s not easy but it’s necessary.
Jack Lisowski managed to lose by 5-4 to Xu Yichen a 38 years old rookie whose only victory before this one came against Oliver Brown1 last June. I didn’t see the match but that result is baffling although … we all know how inconsistent Jack can be, and reckless at times as well.
Oliver has only won two matches so far this season, both times against an amateur. ↩︎
China’s Xiao Guodong held his nerve in a deciding frame beating Englishman Gary Wilson 10-9 and defending his Wuhan Open crown to the delight of his home fans.
Xiao ended a 17 year wait for his first ranking crown 12 months ago here in Wuhan, when he lifted silverware for the first time. He becomes the fourth player to successfully defend his maiden ranking title, following John Parrott, Mark Allen and Wilson.
Today’s triumph for now two-time ranking event winner Xiao draws parallels with Wilson himself. The Tyneside cueman ended his 18-year quest for a title at the 2023 Scottish Open and defended the title a year later. He then went on to win the 2024 Welsh Open soon after.
Xiao pockets £140,000 for his victory, while Wilson is left to settle for the £63,000 runner-up prize. That means World number 14 Xiao will catapult himself to eighth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, while Wilson moves up to 16th from 18th. That ousts Shaun Murphy from the elite top 16 echelon.
Xiao’s week started off with a magic moment, as he crafted a 147 in his opening round win over Mink Nutcharut. He then went on to beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha, David Grace, Matthew Selt, Stan Moody and Mark Williams to make the title match.
The victory thrilled fans in a packed arena this evening. Xiao received strong support throughout the week, due to coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
They came into the evening session with Xiao holding a slender 5-4 cushion. When play recommenced, parity was immediately restored, with three-time ranking event-winner Wilson making a sublime contribution of 118 to take the opener.
Xiao regained the lead, before further breaks of 73 and 102 from Wilson saw him go 7-6 up at the last mid-session interval.
Wilson forged further ahead at 8-6 upon the resumption, but the momentum continued to go back and forth. Xiao claimed three on the bounce, including runs of 103 and 90, to move a frame from the win at 9-8.
A steely contribution of 52 from Wilson in the 18th saw him take the tie all the way to a final frame.
Xiao had the first opportunity to get over the line, but could only amass 48 points. Wilson then had his chance, but an unexpected missed red to the top right proved to be fatal. Xiao got himself over the line and secured the glory.
“Winning a first ranking title is hard, winning a second is even harder. To be able to come back to this city and successfully defend the title really means a lot. I’ve been a professional for 17, now 18 years, so I’m not a young player anymore. As an experienced player, winning two ranking titles at this stage feels a bit late, but in another way the timing is just right. Over the years I’ve built up experience, and I think this breakthrough is the result of all the work and the lessons I’ve learned,” said 36-year-old Xiao
“I can remember all those years ago when I first moved to the UK to play, there was a lot of pressure for me. I moved away from my family and had no friends. I couldn’t speak English. Now I can just enjoy snooker. I can travel, eat different food and see different cities. I have to be happy to play snooker and I am glad to be doing my best.
“My biggest gain over the past year has been growth in my mentality. I’m calmer and more composed now. I feel much more settled and determined about the path I’m on. I just want to focus on every shot and enjoy what I do out there.
“I think it’s very important for Chinese players to achieve good results in home tournaments, because that helps the development of snooker in China and inspires more young people to take up the sport. Whenever I play in China, I’m extra motivated to do well because of the home crowd, the fans, and my family being there to support me. That really drives me forward. I also hope that more young Chinese players can go on to win ranking titles and show what they can do in front of the fans.”
Wilson said: “It’s not a great feeling. It is obviously a positive to get to a final again. It was a good week. But obviously when you get to a final you want to win and I’m very disappointed not to do it. I’ve got more ranking points and gone towards the top 16 again. It is about winning tournaments as well.
“Him having the majority of the support doesn’t bring pressure. If anything it should, if you have a competitive nature like I have, spur you on to try and upset that. It didn’t happen today. Now that it is finished and there is nothing more I can do about it, I just want to say well done to Xiao. I know how it feels to defend a title and he has done that in his home tournament.”
Both players deserve huge praise. They served us a thrilling final, they gave it everything. Thank you Xiao and Gary, you were fantastic.
I’m absolutely delighted for Xiao, who I first met 17 years ago. He didn’t speak a word of English, everything around him was new and alien, except the snooker table. As I wrote previously, he was the first in his group of young Chinese players arriving at the South West Snooker Academy to try to engage with people outside the Chinese “circle”, he was the first to try and learn the “local” language. He deserves everything that comes his way now.
Today’s final in Wuhan will be competed between Xia Guodong, the defending champion and Gary Wilson. Whatever happens today, both players will be in the top 16 at the end of the event, with Shaun Murphy dropping out to rank 17th. Here are the reports shared by WST about what happened on semi-finals day.
Not many will have predicted this Final line-up at the start of the event.
It’s quite a remarkable achievement from Xiao Guodong to reach this final. It’s never easy to defend a ranking title, never mind a first ranking title but he has the opportunity to do just that today, and to do it in front of his “home” fans. The pressure on him will be immense but he’s a quite down-to-earth character and I certainly don’t put him past him.
Home hero and defending champion Xiao Guodong defeated three-time World Champion Mark Williams 6-3 to make his second consecutive Wuhan Open final.
Xiao has enjoyed a strong home support this week, as well as in his title triumph last year, coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
Rewind 12 months and Xiao was battling in the 2024 title match with Chinese compatriot Si Jiahui. He scored a 10-7 victory to capture his maiden ranking title in front of his friends and family, 17 years on from turning professional.
Since then, he’s broken into the world’s top 16 and made further ranking semi-finals at the 2024 International Championship, 2024 Scottish Open and the 2025 German Masters. Xiao was also runner-up to Williams at last season’s Champion of Champions.
Welsh 50-year-old Williams bows out having reached an incredible 68th ranking semi-final this week. The 26-time ranking event winner will have to wait in his quest to become the first player to win tour events in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
The first four frames were shared this afternoon, before a break of 75 in the fifth moved Xiao 3-2 ahead.
Williams claimed a 27-minute sixth to restore parity, but 36-year-old Xiao responded immediately with 80 in the seventh to make it 4-3. He then moved 5-3 ahead, before coming from 58-0 down with a brilliant break of 68 to push himself over the line.
He now faces either Mark Allen or Gary Wilson in tomorrow’s final, over the best of 19 frames with a top prize of £140,000 on the line.
“Maybe there’s some kind of magic power in Wuhan that keeps pushing me forward. I also think it’s thanks to the good luck and support I get from everyone here,” said world number 13 Xiao.
“For me, it is an honour to play legends like Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Of course, after losing to Mark in the Champion of Champions final last year, beating him this time is a big boost to my confidence. I want to learn from these great players every time I face them.
“My focus really improved after 3-3. I told myself that even though my scoring wasn’t great today, I needed to concentrate fully on the cue ball control on every single shot. Even in the final clearance I wasn’t nervous, I just tried to treat it as a normal situation and stay relaxed.”
Gary Wilson claimed five frames on the spin to beat former Masters and UK Champion Mark Allen 6-2 and reach the final of the Wuhan Open, ensuring a return to the world’s top 16 in the process.
World number 18 Wilson will now move up to at least 16th with the guaranteed £63,000 for making the final, pushing Masters champion Shaun Murphy into 17th spot.
Wilson’s run to the title match has seen him dispatch an all-star cast of opponents. The Tyneside Terror had already defeated Murphy, world number one Judd Trump and four-time World Champion John Higgins to make the semis.
Tomorrow will see Wilson take on China’s defending champion Xiao Guodong for the title and the £140,000 top prize.
The two finalists share parallels to their career stories. Wilson ended an 18 year professional quest for his first ranking title at the 2023 Scottish Open and went on to defend his title the following year. Xiao waited 17 years after first coming on tour before winning maiden silverware at last year’s Wuhan Open, he can emulate Wilson’s feat by winning tomorrow’s final.
The opening frame this evening went the way of three-time ranking event winner Wilson, who made a break of 77 to move 1-0 ahead. However, Allen emphatically restored parity with 135 in the second, before making 66 in the third to move 2-1 up. Wilson then took the fourth to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed it was Wilson who made his move. Runs of 113, 78 and 70 moved him one from victory at 5-2.
With Allen leading the eighth Wilson made an intricate break of 25, which involved a sensational shot to develop the green, to leave his opponent needing snookers on the pink. Allen couldn’t amass the required penalty points and Wilson claimed victory.
40-year-old Wilson said: “All the events I’ve won have been similar and in the UK. I want to win different sorts of tournaments and it is a good chance to try and do that now.
“Our stories are very similar. I remember what it is to try and defend and go on and do it and I will be trying to stop him doing the same as me. It is going to be a fantastic final against a Chinese player and one from the region. I know it will be a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve beat some fantastic players this week, but you aren’t looking at who it is really. You are just trying to play your own game. If you can do that as a professional, then you have a chance of beating anyone. It is then about holding yourself together.
“We all have at some point played the opponent rather than the table. You know you won’t get away with things against top players. In my early days I knew it would be a big scalp if I won against certain players. You kind of just have to get bored of that and just play the game.”
Gary Wilson remains in the hunt for a return to the world’s top 16, after overhauling world number one Judd Trump to win 5-4 and make the last eight of the Wuhan Open.
World number 18 Wilson is in line to make the top 16 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings if he reaches the final this week. His next assignment is a quarter-final clash with four-time Crucible king John Higgins, who beat Tom Ford 5-1.
Victory for Wilson represents his first win over Trump for seven years, dating back to the 2018 World Open. Defeat for Trump comes off the back of a 5-3 opening match exit at the hands of Oliver Lines in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
There was never more than a solitary frame between the pair in this evening’s encounter. Wilson top scored with 103, but it was Trump who fired in contributions of 68, 63, 57 and 58 to move one from victory at 4-3.
Wilson held his nerve to force a decider, where both players spurned opportunities before the Tyneside cueman got himself over the line for an important victory.
“I’m really happy with the win. It is great to beat Judd. Being hyper critical there were a few bad mistakes, where a player of Judd’s class he doesn’t normally let you off the hook,” said 40-year-old Wilson.
“You have to be your own harshest critic. That is what top level sport is about. You need to be harsh, but in the right way. When I’m analysing the game, I have no problems being harsh, but I’m also honest. It was a great result against a great player.
“Naturally the rewards are big being in the top 16. It gets you in different competitions like the Shanghai Masters and the Masters. Of course, all season long, it will be a goal in the back of my head. But in the forefront of my mind it will be about enjoying playing.”
Former UK and Masters champion Mark Allen scored a fine 5-1 defeat of quickfire Thai Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to make his first quarter-final of the campaign.
The Northern Irishman missed the Shanghai Masters and lost his opening match to Chang Bingyu in Saudi Arabia, so he is hoping to kick his campaign off in earnest this week.
Allen now faces Si Jiahui, who beat Stephen Maguire 5-2. He top scored with 94 and was relieved to comfortably see off the dangerous Un-Nooh.
Allen said: “He has given me a few hammerings lately. I just had to tighten up a bit and my safety was good there. That created a few chances and I scored well when I needed to.
“In the blink of an eye it could be 3-1 to 3-3, or even worse. So I was pleased to get over the line there and make it to the quarter-finals.”
I must confess that I didn’t watch much of it today.
That said …
The 5-0 win by Stan Moody over Barry Hawkins really surprised me. Not so much the win, as Stan is a very capable player, but I certainly didn’t expect the score, a whitewash, and even less the frames scores, with the hugely experienced Barry only scoring 39 points all match, and all 39 points coming in frame 1… It’s the first time that Stan reaches the QFs in a ranking event. He will face Xiao Guodong who beat Matthew Selt.
The other results didn’t particularly surprise me. Judd Trump has not been at his best for some times now. Thepchaiya isn’t the most consistent player and Mark Allen looks very solid and scored heavily. Mark Williams also is in good form and is always very astute tactically. Mark Selby made the two highest breaks in that match but lost the close frames. Not many players can do that to Mark Selby but Willo is one of them…
Wuhan Open Day One: Williams Hails Next Welsh Generation
Welsh snooker legend Mark Williams admitted his young compatriots Liam Davies and Jackson Page are ready to take on China’s best talents, after holding off a spirited fightback from teenager Davies to prevail 5-3 at the Wuhan Open.
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The three-time World Champion was in sensational form in the opening three frames this evening, crafting consecutive century breaks of 125, 100 and 137 to storm into a 3-0 lead. Williams then added a fourth to move 4-0 ahead at the mid-session interval.
When play resumed, 19-year-old Davies showed his class to burst back into contention. The former European Under-21 champion took three on the bounce, including runs of 61 and 94, to move just a frame back at 4-3. However, 50-year-old Williams stamped out hopes of a comeback with 70 in the eighth to get over the line. Next up he faces Joe O’Connor in round three.
“He never looked for once as if he’d gave up. He never threw the towel in and he made some great breaks to get to 4-3,” said world number five Williams, who was runner-up to Zhao Xintong in the Crucible final back in May.
“Both Liam and Jackson are as good as most of the Chinese players. It is easy for me to say that after having just beat one of them. He is only 19 and he has many years yet. It is nice to have a couple of youngsters that can take it to the young Chinese players. It has been a long time with them dominating.
“My game is there but not as consistent as it used to be. First session I can have it and the next I can be dreadful. That is what it is. I’m enjoying it and giving it a good go. I do fade a little bit now though.”
Barry Hawkins found himself facing yet another decider, this time prevailing 5-4 against Welshman Jamie Jones to make round three.
Since finishing last season with a 10-9 defeat to Hossein Vafaei at the World Championship, five of Hawkins’ last eight matches have come down to final frames. The Londoner arrived in Wuhan off the back of a 6-5 defeat to Chris Wakelin at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and a 6-5 loss to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Shanghai Masters.
A cagey decider this afternoon saw both players spurn chances to get over the line on the colours, but eventually Hawkins cracked in a superb long range green to a black end corner, screwing back to find position on the brown and a 5-4 victory. He’ll now play Jak Jones.
Hawkins said: “You don’t want to keep being in deciding frames, but as long as you are on the right side of them it is alright. Today I’m really just so lucky still to be here after that. It is hard, especially when you know your game isn’t there. I felt all over the place and had no confidence at all. Every ball felt like a pint of blood. What I do is just battle and battle. I’ve absolutely used my get out of jail free card there.”
World Champion Zhao Xintong looked to be set for his own perfect break before spurning a straightforward pink on 134. However, he still beat a spirited Iulian Boiko 5-3 and will now play Matthew Stevens.
World number one Judd Trump was a 5-1 victor against Pakistan’s Farakh Ajaib and plays Liu Hongyu up next. Meanwhile, Mark Selby booked a clash with David Gilbert after beating Michael Holt 5-2.
I must admit that it annoys me massively that the main point of reporting by WST on a day of competition in China is Willo’s opinion about the Welsh “youngsters” , if you can consider that Jackson Page, who is 24 and has been a pro since 2019 is still a “youngster”. Of course he’s still young, but he’s no kid anymore and has plenty of experience already. Twenty two matches were played yesterday and only six are reported on in the above report, of which only two are covered in some details.
Marco Fu isn’t even mentioned… he only beat Chris Wakelin by 5-3, with two centuries (120, 136). Eight Chinese players won their match yesterday. Only two feature in this report1, they couldn’t really ignore the defending champion and the World Champion… Incredibly, Ding Junhui, who remains important being the one really “started” the snooker boom in China is among those being “overlooked”.
The thing is, it gives me a feeling that WST is only interested in the British audience and I know that I’m not the only one feeling that way.
Anyway… life goes on and there is plenty more to it than snooker.
three if you count Liu Hongyu who is only mentioned as a “next opponent” ↩︎
First of all thank you so much to everyone for the nice words shared in comments yesterday as this blog celebrated its 10th anniversary. Thank you 💖 !
Back to the baize… here is what happened in Jeddah yesterday. I’m not really able to comment as I didn’t watch anything yet. Family visiting gets priority…
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Six: Rocket Completes Huge Fight-Back
Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled off a sensational come-back from 5-2 down to beat surprise package Chang Bingyu 6-5 and set up a Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters quarter-final with Kyren Wilson.
World number 104 Chang, playing in the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, threatened a huge upset when he led 5-2, but O’Sullivan found another gear and played superbly over the last four frames to keep alive his hopes of a first title in 17 months. Cheered on by local fans, the seven-time World Champion faces an intriguing clash on Thursday night with Wilson, a player he has recently described as the best in the world on current form.
Breaks of 57, 68, 80, 64 and 66 helped China’s 23-year-old Chang establish a 5-2 advantage, as O’Sullivan made several unforced errors though he did compile runs of 84 and 85 in the two frames he won. The 49-year-old then made a 103 for 5-3 and dominated frame nine to draw within one.
Chang had his best match-winning chance in the tenth, but leading 53-37 he missed a tricky pot on the penultimate red to a top corner. O’Sullivan potted the red, leaving the cue ball on a side cushion, then played the shot of the tournament so far to cut in the pink and gain position on the last red. He cleared the table for 5-5 then, typically, made a 125 in the decider.
“I have realised now I took this game for granted before because when I was struggling I lost my confidence and lost my swagger and that’s something you can’t fake,” said world number five O’Sullivan, into his 148th ranking quarter-final. “I had it for such a long time without even realising it. Tonight I got it back in spells and remembered I used to feel like that a lot. That’s what made me win so much. I just don’t have that enough now. I wish I could turn the clock back and appreciate it more. These days I am twitching shots and throwing fast ones in, I feel like a numpty. I did feel good in spells tonight but I missed easy balls, my arm doesn’t get through the ball like it used to.”
World number two Wilson has won seven out of seven matches so far this season and tonight beat Si Jiahui 6-3. Earlier this month he landed the Shanghai Masters crown, beating O’Sullivan 6-3 in the quarter-finals, and the Kettering cueman has won the last three meetings between the pair, a sequence he will hope to extend this week. Breaks of 70, 70, 67, 77 and 73 helped the 2024 World Champion to a comfortable win tonight.
Chris Wakelin, who knocked Neil Robertson and Mark Allen out of the World Championship this year, took another big scalp with a 6-5 success over Crucible king Zhao Xintong. World number 16 Wakelin took a 3-1 lead with a top break of 106 then lost four frames in a row, but battled back to win the last three.
“I believe in myself,” said Wakelin. “If I can go deep this week it would cement my top 16 place. Even if I won this tournament, I don’t think people would see me as a top player. But if I can consistently prove it to myself I don’t care what anyone else thinks. At the Crucible I ran out of steam in the quarter-finals, I was mentally exhausted. My goal this season was to get fitter so I have been doing more running and that’s going well so far.”
He will now meet Barry Hawkins who also enjoyed an impressive fight-back, recovering a 5-3 deficit to beat Ding Junhui 6-5. Hawkins made 99 and 84 for 5-5 then dominated the decider in three scoring visits. The Londoner was runner-up at the UK Championship and German Masters last season and will hope he can go one step further this week and claim a first major crown.
Here are the scores for Ronnie’s match:
And the highlights of the match, shared by WST on YouTube
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Three: Vafaei Back On Track
Hossein Vafaei won his first match of the season, beating Julien Leclercq 4-1 at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, and hopes that a long term neck injury is on the mend.
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Vafaei did not have to play in the Wuhan Open or British Open qualifiers as he was drawn into the final stages, and decided not to enter the Championship League, so tonight’s tie in Jeddah was his first outing since the Halo World Championship in April. And the Iranian, snooker’s best ever player from the Middle East, top scored with 135 as he set up a fourth round fixture with Martin O’Donnell.
“It was my first match so I didn’t expect to play well,” said Vafaei. “I need to improve my game bit by bit. But I am happy with the result because it was an important match for me with a lot of ranking points. I have been practising a lot, I always try my hardest. My situation as a player is never easy, for example it’s difficult sometimes to get visas. I have to accept it and if something good comes out, it will be a dream come true.“
The 30-year-old has been suffering from a spinal problem, which causes discomfort in his neck, shoulder and left arm, for seven months but recently the pain has reduced. He added: “I haven’t played in a tournament so I have been able to rest and it is much better. After this event I am going back to Iran to see my doctor. He has already seen it once and he saw the problem with one of my discs. I have had physiotherapy and I am doing exercises to help but it needs time to heal.”
China’s Chang Bingyu beat Daniel Wells 4-3 in an extraordinary match to set up a tie with David Gilbert. Chang took the first three frames and had a 64-0 advantage in frame four before Wells cleared with 73. Welshman Wells then recovered to 3-3, making a 131 in frame six, and he was 63-0 up in the decider, only for Chang to fight back and snatch victory with a brown to black clearance.
Championship League winner Stephen Maguire continued his strong start to the season with a 4-3 win over Allan Taylor. From 3-2 down, Maguire made a 101 in frame six then dominated the decider.
Ukraine’s 19-year-old Iulian Boiko continued his fine run as he beat Jackson Page 4-2, while Louis Heathcote top scored with 114 in a 4-0 whitewash of Lei Peifan. Wu Yize finished with a 105 as he beat Ashley Hugill 4-1, while Ben Woollaston enjoyed a 4-1 success over Chatchapong Nasa.
Someone made a147 yesterday. Guess who? Yes, Theppy of course! Here is the report by WST, featuring that 147 and more matches results and reporting:
Un-Nooh Fires 147 In Jeddah
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made the fifth 147 of his career in his opening match at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Jeddah, earning a potential £50,000 bonus.
Un-Nooh becomes the 15th player in snooker history to reach the milestone of five official maximum breaks. The Thai cueman, one of the fastest players on the tour, potted 15 reds with blacks and cleared the colours in the second frame of his match with Jordan Brown, taking a 2-0 lead. The world number 46 went on to win 4-0, making further breaks of 68, 95 and 74, setting up a meeting with Jak Jones in the last 48 on Monday.
He will bank £50,000 if the break is not equalled at this event. Un-Nooh is also now just one more maximum away from a £147,000 bonus, which will go to any player making two 147s across this season’s four majors. It’s the 220th maximum in snooker history and third of the season.
“It feels amazing, it’s so difficult to make a 147 especially with the big prize money, there is a lot of pressure,” said Un-Nooh, who made his first 147 in 2016. “I previously missed the final black (twice during the 2015/16 season) so that was in my head but I told myself ‘go for it’ and it was quite an easy black this time. If I have a chance of another 147 now I will go for it, that’s my style.“
Jack Lisowski put a dent in Reanne Evans’ tremendous start to the season, winning 4-0 to earn a tie with Ben Woollaston or Chatchapong Nasa. Evans has enjoyed her best ever start to a season, winning qualifying matches for the Wuhan Open and British Open then notching two more wins this week to reach round three. But she was no match for world number 26 Lisowski who fired breaks of 81 and 88.
Lisowski said: “It’s early in the season so all the players are still finding their feet. But it’s big ranking points here and a big chance for everyone.”
Long Zehuang top scored with 131 as he won a Chinese derby with Xu Si 4-0 while Steven Hallworth continued his fine run as he came from 2-0 and 3-1 down to beat Jimmy Robertson 4-3, making breaks of 112 and 103 then stealing the decider with a yellow-to-black clearance.
In another dramatic finish, Oliver Lines beat Matthew Selt 4-3 to secure a tie with Noppon Saengkham. A safety battle on the final pink ended when Selt went in-off, allowing Lines to pot pink and black for victory. Stuart Bingham ended the run of 14-year-old Michal Szubarczyk with a 4-1 success, while 18-year-old Stan Moody had a 142 in a 4-2 success against Ryan Day.
Aaron Hill edged out Robert Milkins 4-3 with a top run of 120. “I feel a bit for Rob because that match could have gone either way and I know he’s in a sticky situation in the rankings. But you go out there with a job to do and I had a good clearance in the end to win,” said Ireland’s Hill, who will now meet Gary Wilson, a 4-3 winner over Gao Yang. “My game has improved over the last couple of years as I have gained experience.“
Here, above, is Theppy’s latest 147 shared by WST on YouTube. It won’t be the last…
I haven’t much to add. Both Belgian boys were beaten yesterday: Julien Leclercq fell to Hossein Vafaei as reported by WST, and Ben Mertens was beaten 4-1 by Elliot Slessor despite winning the first frame with a 109, the highest break of that match. I didn’t particularly enjoy watching this… especially the Slessor v Mertens match1.
One man who certainly also deserves a mention is Steven Hallworth, who, so far, has been able to juggle two jobs successfully … he’s been “performing” well both at the table and in the commentary box.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 