Yesterday was “quarter-finals day ” in Llandudno, and it yielded and interesting semi-finals line-up:
Wu Yixe v Barry Hawkins in the afternoon
John Higgins v Jack Lisowski in the evening
Both matches feature opponents with contrasting styles. Wu and Jack are attacking players who like an open game. On form they are deadly potters. Barry and John are more all-rounders , both with a very strong tactical nous and loads of experience. It should be interesting.
I hope that both matches will be close and I would love a Wu Yize v Jack Lisowski final although I’m far for optimistic about getting that “outcome”. Both John Higgins and Barry Hawkins are very hard to beat when they get to this stage of tournaments.
Jack Lisowski is just one win away from earning a massive £150,000 bonus as he beat Stuart Bingham 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
This is the fourth and final event in the 2025/26 BetVictor Home Nations Series, and the leading money winner across the series earns the huge bonus. Mark Allen started this week in pole position but lost to David Grace in the first round, which has opened the door to those giving chase.
Lisowski, who won his first ranking title at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in October, will meet Zhou Yuelong or John Higgins on Saturday in Llandudno for a place in the final. If 34-year-old Lisowski wins that match he is certain of the bonus, while Zhou also has a chance but must win the tournament. Otherwise, the windfall will go to Allen.
Breaks of 70 and 118 gave Lisowski a 4-0 lead today, and he eventually got over the line in frame seven after Bingham had pulled two back.
“I knew I just had to concentrate on the match today, keep the bonus out of my mind and get on with it,” said world number 22 Lisowski after reaching his 14th ranking semi-final. “At 4-0 I was waiting for Stuart to come back at me, then once it got to 4-2 I really didn’t want it to go 4-3, so I was glad to get over the line and live to fight another day.
“A couple of weeks ago my cueing was bad, my arm wasn’t going straight through the ball. I have changed my tip to a softer one and I have played a lot of snooker in the last week. Hopefully things can click now. I had been losing a lot of matches recently so I needed to steady the ship. I didn’t have enough intensity in practice, I was still trying my best in matches but I just felt a bit out of sorts. I have put myself back on the right path this week. Having won in Belfast I can see the winning line, I know what comes with it and I am desperate to win another one.“
Barry Hawkins reached his first semi-final of the season as he beat a former World Champion for a second consecutive day, seeing off Neil Robertson 5-3.
Hawkins followed up yesterday’s victory over Mark Williams with another huge scalp to reach his 35th ranking event semi-final. The world number 14 made only one break over 40 today but won several scrappy frames as he remained in the hunt for a fifth ranking title and first since the 2023 European Masters. Hawkins will face Jiang Jun or Wu Yize over 11 frames on Saturday with the chance to reach a 13th ranking final.
Robertson was on 53 in the opening frame when he missed an awkward pot on the last red to a centre pocket, allowing Hawkins to slot in the red and clear for 1-0. A run of 102 from Robertson levelled the tie, then Hawkins got the better of a safety tussle on the final brown in frame three and regained the lead. The Englishman added a scrappy fourth to lead 3-1 at the interval despite a highest break of just 28.
Breaks of 61 and 132 got Robertson back to 3-3. Frame seven came down to the colours and Hawkins, leading 52-30, cross-doubled the green into a centre pocket which proved enough to edge him ahead. And after laying a tough snooker behind the green early in the eighth, Hawkins earned a match winning chance and seized it with a run of 93.
“I don’t know how I am still standing here,” admitted 46-year-old Hawkins, who almost pulled out of the event at the start of the week with back pain but ironically was talked into playing on by Robertson. “I battled hard all the way through. My scoring wasn’t there, though I potted some good balls towards the end of the frames and played some good safety.
“I was over the moon to be 3-1 up at the interval. Neil was the better player, I just managed to nick some close frames and then finishing from 4-3 in one visit gives me a bit of a boost. It’s great to be at a tournament going into the weekend and to have given myself a chance. I had no expectation at the start of the week but now there are only four players left and I need to up my game again.”
Robertson said: “There were a few pieces of luck which went against me, otherwise I could have won 5-1 or 5-2. But I can take a lot of positives from this tournament, I have found a brand of tip which is the best I have had in at least ten years. That gives me a lot of confidence particularly looking ahead to the World Championship.“
Wu Yize came from 4-1 down to beat Jiang Jun 5-4 to reach the semi-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open, boosting his hopes of another title in his breakthrough season.
Jiang had looked set to reach the last four of a ranking event for the first time but missed several chances in the last four frames and Wu took advantage. China’s 22-year-old Wu will meet Barry Hawkins at 1pm on Saturday, with the winner to face Jack Lisowski or John Higgins in Sunday’s final in Llandudno.
In recent months, Wu has made giant strides forward in his career, beating Higgins in the final of the International Championship in November, reaching the semi-finals of the Masters last month and he is now set to jump into the world’s top ten for the first time. The popular young potter with a fluent attacking style is into a sixth ranking semi-final.
Breaks of 68, 64 and 55 helped put Jiang 4-1 ahead before Wu made a 71 to pull one back then got the better of a scrappy seventh frame. In the eighth, Jiang was on 43 when he missed a red to a top corner and Wu punished him with 89 for 4-4. Again in the decider Jiang had first clear chance, but on 37 he overcut a tricky black to a top corner, playing with the rest. And once again he could only watch as Wu remained calm in a winning 65.
“In the first half I wasn’t very focused and made some mistakes,” said Wu, who comes from Lanzhou in North West China. “My opponent played well in that session. Those four frames felt like I had played ten frames – I really had no rhythm at all. During the interval I practised a bit and managed to find some of my form again in the second half, and that helped me finish the match. As for Jiang, I’m not sure whether it was his habit or maybe pressure. I can’t really understand it from his side, but I hope he will keep improving in the future.
“This season I’ve now reached two ranking semi-finals. Last time I went on to win the title, and on that run I also beat Barry Hawkins (6-0 in the quarter-finals). I hope this time I can focus on myself again and try to make another breakthrough. Some of the matches I lost this season were due to carelessness and sometimes it’s hard to summarise clearly. You can only learn through experience, and when you face a similar situation next time, you try to make a better decision. I’ve made big progress this year, experienced the later stages of tournaments a few times now and learned a lot of lessons from before. I hope I can do better this time.“
Higgins moved a step closer to a first title of the season as he thrashed Zhou Yuelong 5-0. The Scot took three scrappy frames before winning the last two with breaks of 75 and 67.
World number six Higgins has already won this title a record five times and is now just two wins away from another Ray Reardon Trophy. Runner-up in the Masters and the Players Championship within the past six weeks, the 50-year-old has another chance to take Mark Williams’ record as the oldest ever ranking event winner. Higgins is into his 92nd ranking event semi-final and is targeting a 34th title.
The result ends Zhou’s hopes of winning the £150,000 BetVictor Home Nations Series bonus as he had to go all the way to the title this week. However Higgins’ next opponent, Lisowski, will land that windfall if he comes out on top on Saturday evening.
Asked about that subplot by TNT Sports, Higgins said: “It will be Jack’s biggest money match he has ever played. But I think he could be totally fine, it might give him that spark just go out there and go for it. Like Rob Milkins a few years ago, he played amazingly to beat Shaun Murphy in the final, when the bonus was in the background.”
Most matches yesterday went to the highest seed . There were only three “exceptions”.
None of those “exceptions” is a big surprise really. Fatigue probably caught up with Zhao Xintong, and Stuart Bingham who beat him is a top player himself. Barry Hawkins beating Mark Williams is no shock, Barry on form is very, very efficient and he tends to do well on the bigger stages. Jian Jun has been in good form in this event, he beat Mark Selby in round 1. He’s probably already exceeded his own expectations and therefore playing with some freedom. Him getting the better of Robbie Williams is certainly no shock either.
Neil Robertson played what he described as one of the best shots of his career in the deciding frame as he beat Jak Jones 4-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open in Llandudno.
A tense decider came down to the last four colours, and Welshman Jones narrowly over-cut his attempted long brown to a top corner. Playing with deep screw, Robertson drilled in the brown and gained position on the blue which was close to the baulk cushion. He was also faced with a tricky pink but rolled it home for victory.
He is into the 90th ranking event quarter-final of his career and is seeking a 27th title. The Australian, who made breaks of 122 and 73 today, will be up against Barry Hawkins in the first match on Friday at 12pm.
“In terms of the way the shot on the brown was executed, I would definitely say it was one of the best of my career,” said world number three Robertson. “It wasn’t as if I threw my whole arm at it, it was really well controlled and greatly timed. The pink was also difficult because I couldn’t inject much pace into it so if I had missed it might have stayed over the pocket. Thankfully I got through because in the decider we both missed chances.
“I have had to keep my composure for the last few months because things haven’t quite gone my way. I have put myself in positions to win tournaments but lost a few times to the eventual champion. Hopefully I can still add some more silverware this season. After I won the title in Saudi at the start of the season, along with Joe (Perry) and (psychologist) Helen we agreed I needed to stay focussed and try to add more. I feel fresh and I’m looking forward to the last few tournaments.
“These home nations events are like a marathon, there are so many people at the start, then once you get to the quarter-finals it’s like coming into the last bend. Now it’s go-for-it mode, I will be aggressive and hope that’s enough to win.”
Hawkins was on the verge of pulling out of this event before his opening match on Monday, suffering with back pain, but he is now into the last eight thanks to a 4-2 win over home favourite Mark Williams.
After sharing the first two frames, Williams made a break of 115 to lead 2-1 before Hawkins levelled with a run of 69. The key moment of the tie came in frame five when Williams, on a break of 57, potted a difficult red with the rest to a top corner, only for the cue ball to drop into a centre pocket. His opponent converted a long red and cleared with 62, then went on to seal the result in frame six with an 84.
“Sometimes when you have an injury it takes your mind off everything, you just go out there and play,” said Hawkins, who is into a 55th ranking event quarter-final and has four titles to his name. “I was so close to pulling out because my back was really sore. A few people persuaded me to play, I took some pain killers and as my first match went on it loosened up a bit.
“I don’t know how I hurt it. I might have tweaked it in the gym, and then went to practise and it got worse. It happened to me once before, it was a muscle strain – a lot of snooker players end up with bad backs and bad necks. Hopefully mine is slowly getting better.”
Reflecting on the match, Hawkins added: “Mark was so unlucky to go in-off (in the fifth frame), you couldn’t do that if you tried. I cued in the long red nicely and made a good clearance – those are the kind of frames that give you confidence.”
China’s 20-year-old Jiang Jun reached his second ranking event quarter-final – having got that far at the BetVictor Scottish Open in December – as he beat Robbie Williams 4-1 with a top break of 69. He now meets in-form Wu Yize, who crushed David Grace 4-0 with breaks of 78, 71, 104 and 70.
Stuart Bingham ended Zhao Xintong’s hopes of winning three consecutive ranking titles with a 4-2 victory in the last 16 of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Crucible king Zhao had won his previous 11 matches, landing the World Grand Prix and Players Championship this month, but his dreams of becoming only the sixth player in snooker history to win a hat-trick of ranking titles in a row were smashed by Bingham, who goes into the quarter-finals in Llandudno to meet Jack Lisowski on Friday afternoon.
World number 17 Bingham, who turns 50 in May, hasn’t won a ranking title in seven years but has high hopes of landing a second Welsh Open crown having lifted the trophy in 2017. Top breaks of 75 and 64 helped him to an impressive win tonight.
“In the first frame my hand was shaking like a leaf, it was just adrenaline,” said the Essex cueman. “From the second frame I settled down and took most of my chances. If I can have a good run here it could get me into the top 16 for the World Championship so there’s a lot riding on it.
“I have great memories of winning this in 2017, it was Ray Reardon presenting me with the trophy and that was a special moment. I was actually watching a video of the final against Judd Trump the other day which gave me a bit of inspiration. I have had three finals in this event so it has been good to me.
“I have put more effort into practice recently. Before that I was going into my snooker room, doing an hour and then sitting with a cup of tea and looking at my phone. I realised that wasn’t enough so I have been working harder and hopefully I’m now reaping the rewards.“
Lisowski beat Jackson Page 4-2 in a fast and thrilling contest, the six frames taking just 66 minutes. Breaks of 67, 84, 99 and 54 helped Lisowski continue his best run since he won the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in October. Two more wins this week would earn him the massive £150,000 bonus for the leading money-winner across the BetVictor Home Nations series.
Page had been the last Welshman standing which means that the wait for a home winner goes on; Mark Williams was the last to lift the trophy back in 1999.
China’s Zhou Yuelong is also in the BetVictor bonus race and will land that windfall if he goes all the way to the title. He beat Sam Craigie 4-1 tonight with runs of 58, 74 and 54.
Zhou now plays John Higgins, who continued his superb start to 2026 by beating Zhang Anda 4-2 to reach a record-extending 156th ranking quarter-final. Scotland’s Higgins, runner-up in the Masters and Players Championship, knocked in runs of 95, 78 and 60 before rounding off the match with a 144 total clearance, the new target for the £5,000 high break prize
World Champion Zhao Xintong made it back-to-back tournament victories with a 10-7 defeat of four-time Crucible king John Higgins in the Sportsbet.io Players Championship final.
February has proven to be a trophy-laden month for the Chinese superstar. Zhao arrived in Telford off the back of beating compatriot Zhang Anda 10-6 in the final of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong. He is the 14th player to win consecutive ranking events on the World Snooker Tour.
Zhao will head to Manchester for next month’s Sportsbet.io Tour Championship with the opportunity to become the first person to secure a clean sweep of all three Players Series tournaments in a single season.
This was Zhao’s fifth ranking event win and marks the continuation of a perfect conversion rate in finals. He is only the fourth player in snooker history to win his first five finals, following in the footsteps of Steve Davis, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson.
50-year-old Higgins misses out on the opportunity to be snooker’s oldest ever ranking event winner. He does become the second oldest ranking finalist, behind Rex Williams who was 53 in the 1986 Grand Prix title match, which he lost to Jimmy White.
Zhao began this week placed seventh in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and the £150,000 top prize moves him to fifth. Despite picking up the £70,000 runner-up cheque, Higgins drops a place to sixth.
One positive for Higgins is he moves from 17th to 11th in the Sportsbet.io One Year list. With the BetVictor Welsh Open and the World Open to go he is currently in position to have a shot at defending his Tour Championship title, only the top 12 performers of the season qualify.
After a free-flowing afternoon of snooker, the pair came into this evening locked level at 4-4. In contrast, tonight’s play kicked off with a fragmented 47-minute frame which went the way of Higgins.
Zhao responded with breaks of 88 and 83 to take two of the next three frames and leave the match poised at 6-6 heading into the last interval of the tournament.
When play resumed, Zhao missed a long-range frame ball red which gave Higgins his chance. The Glaswegian slotted in a long ball and made 43 to steal on the black and move 7-6 in front.
Zhao responded by taking the 14th and then crafted the first century of the final, a run of 104, to move 8-7 ahead. He followed up with another big break of 126 to go one frame from the win at 9-7. Zhao crossed the line at the first chance of asking with a ruthless 92 to take the title.
“I’m over the moon. Honestly, I didn’t expect to adjust my form so quickly after coming back from Hong Kong. In fact, I was still dealing with jet lag for the first couple of days. I didn’t expect that my mindset would settle down so well afterwards. That gave me a lot of confidence in the later matches. Even though my opponents were very strong, I felt I could beat them. This result is something really special for me,” said 28-year-old Zhao.
“To hear players like Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan speak so highly of me — there’s really nothing that makes me happier than that. Of course I’ll keep working hard. There are still many tournaments ahead and I’ll try my best to win more titles.”
“In both finals, in Hong Kong and here in Telford, I personally didn’t think too much about the occasion. I think that’s one of the better aspects of how I’ve adapted my mentality. As long as I can play my own game, winning or losing isn’t the most important thing. I just focus on every single shot at the table. In that respect, I think I’ve done quite well recently.
“I haven’t thought too much about the World Championship. Even after winning this title, I still see it as simply the one of the upcoming tournaments. I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing, stick to my routine, and look forward to the next event.”
Higgins paid tribute to Zhao’s brilliance: “I couldn’t pot a long ball all day and Zhao doesn’t really miss any long balls. The last three frames there were absolutely poetry in motion. I’m lucky to have my kids here and I can remember my dad saying he was lucky to see footballers like George Best and Jimmy Johnstone. My kids are lucky to see someone like Xintong. He is an absolute genius.“
There is nothing to add regarding the match. It was, as John Higgins put it, poetry in motion. The kind of match that doesn’t need commentary, that you may watch again on a quite late evening with music as a background. Extraordinary skills were on display – from both – and yet they made it look easy, naturally fluid.
Class from John Higgins in the post match interview. No bitterness whatsoever, instead saying that his kids were lucky to witness Zhao playing the way he did was classy and proof that, even after all these years in the job, he still loves his sport for the sheer beauty it can produce when played to near perfection.
One last thing though … I’m not very active on twitter anymore, but when I was more present on it, I had some disagreement with a guy who was obsessed with Chinese snooker players cheating and who regularly insisted that Zhao Xintong persistent cough was a tactic to disturb his opponents. Yesterday, Zhao was coughing a lot … including when himself was at the table. Surely he wasn’t trying to “disturb himself” out there? That would make no sense, would it? Actually, there are a few medical conditions that can trigger persistent cough, including a form of asthma. We have no right to know about players possible health conditions, it’s for them, and them only, to share such information IF they wish to share it. But we should refrain from judging without knowing all the facts.
Yesterday was the last day of the quarter-finals round in Telford. The Players Championship is for the 16 best players of the season and always delivers quality matches. Here are the reports by WST on what we got to enjoy yesterday:
World Champion Zhao Xintong produced a superb display to beat Shaun Murphy 6-3 and progress to a maiden Sportsbet.io Players Championship semi-final in Telford.
Zhao arrived in form after winning the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong — his first ranking title since becoming World Champion. He triumphed in what was a historic all-Chinese semi-final lineup to take home the top prize. He is now two wins away from completing the second of three steps in a Players Series clean sweep.
Victory sets up a last four showdown with either Mark Selby or Mark Allen, who contest this evening’s last remaining quarter-final. Defeat for Murphy means he will have to wait for a third chance to get his hands on the Players Championship crystal.
The first frame this afternoon went the way of Zhao, but breaks of 66 and 77 saw Murphy move 2-1 in front. A crucial moment in the tie saw Murphy spurn a red in the fourth, allowing Zhao to make 66 restored parity at 2-2.
That switched the momentum and Zhao then claimed three on the bounce, including a tournament high 142 and a 95, to move 5-2 ahead. Murphy did pull one back, but it was to no avail after Zhao fired in a sublime 118 in the ninth to book his place in the semis.
“I’m really happy with my performance. I know Shaun is a very good long potter and that if I gave him a chance I would be in trouble,” said 28-year-old Zhao.
“I’m happy to be in the semi-finals. I’m keeping really good form, both physically and mentally. The pressure is not as much as it used to be so I’m able to enjoy the event a lot more.
“The World Grand Prix in Hong Kong has boosted my confidence a lot. It was my first ranking event win after winning the World Championship, so it was a significant moment.”
Murphy said: “Nobody likes losing. Who likes losing? I’m very frustrated. Again, someone has played out of their skin against me. That is not the Zhao Xintong that was here a couple of days ago against Elliot Slessor. There is nothing I can do about that. It keeps happening week after week and all I can do is my best. I don’t think I did a great deal wrong. I thought Zhao Xintong was, in the middle of the match especially, unplayable.”
Mark Allen summoned both his break building power and tactical nous to beat Mark Selby 6-2 and reach the semi-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
It’s a third consecutive victory over UK Champion Selby for the Northern Irishman and he clinched it in steely style, winning a 55-minute tactical frame against one of the sport’s greatest ever strategists. The head-to-head standings now sees Allen lead 12-9.
The win strengthens Allen’s push for Sportsbet.io Tour Championship qualification, where only the top 12 of the season make the field. He now moves up to 10th place provisionally on the Sportsbet.io One Year List. For the time being he will be hoping to add a third Players crown to his CV, having won the event in 2016 and 2024.
Defeat for Selby means he will now turn his attention to next week’s BetVictor Welsh Open in Llandudno, where he is defending champion. That will also be an important week for Allen, who currently leads the BetVictor Home Nations Bonus standings. Whoever tops the list at the conclusion of the Welsh Open pockets a bumper £150,000 payout.
Former UK and Masters champion Allen appeared to be surging to a whitewash win this evening when breaks of 70, 67, 53, 74 and 130 put him into a 5-0 lead.
Selby typically refused to wilt and composed contributions of 127 and 91 to remain in contention at 5-2. A drawn out eighth came down to tactical exchange on the yellow akin to two chess grandmasters pitting their wits against each other.
Eventually it was Selby who flinched, leaving a free ball which Allen gratefully deposited before running out the winner. He now faces World Champion Zhao Xintong in tomorrow’s second semi-final.
“It was a fun challenge (the final frame). There is more to the game than scoring and winning in one visit. The traditionalists and the purists enjoy that side of the game too. Even though I got the better of that one tonight, there is no doubt in my mind that Mark is the best there has ever been at that. He is so clever and sets you into traps. I felt I held my own tonight,” said 39-year-old Allen.
“Even though he was 5-0 down he suddenly put me under it. There was only a shot or two from it being 5-3. I can take a lot of positives from winning a scrappy one to get over the line. That was nearly an hour long frame and not many people win those against Selby.
“There is a long way to go this season. I want to win this weekend, but there are bigger events on the horizon. The Welsh Open carries some weight for me with the BetVictor Bonus and trying to become the first to win all four Home Nations events. After that we have Yushan, hopefully the Tour Championship and then Sheffield. Even though it is a big weekend, it is a big two months coming up as well.”
Zhao Xintong played really well and he’s someone I like to watch. He’s smooth, clever, aggressive and doesn’t waist time. When things don’t go his way, he just gets on with it. Shaun Murphy is very similar1. With those two, a long, drawn out, boring match is highly unlikely. I enjoyed watching them and I’m happy with the outcome as well.
The evening match was not that different, albeit slower. It was maybe not what you would have expected from those two as they sometimes become very “tactical”. Mark Allen was dominant for the first five frames, then Mark Selby responded in style winning the next two with big breaks. He didn’t enter in that “mood” where he puts every ball on cushions 😉… It’s only the last frame that became scrappy. There was a break over 50 in every frame other than the last one.
…
Maybe a bit more classical, less imaginative when things get awkward though. ↩︎
Three out of four matches yesterday were pretty one-sided, which is a bit surprising because this tournament is for the best performers in the season (so far) and you would expect most of them to play well.
The only close match, and the last to finish, was the one opposing Zhao Xintong and Elliot Slessor. That one went the distance. Zhao found himself 5-2 down, benefitted from a huge fluke on the blue in frame 8, won that frame and went on to win the match. Knowing Elliott … that surely didn’t go down well with him 😇 .
2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy said he is working harder than ever before, following a 6-1 demolition of Zhang Anda to make the quarter-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
The Magician began working with Peter Ebdon 18 months ago and he says that has initiated an enhanced work rate outside of the match arena. Over that period Murphy won the Masters for a second time last season and picked up the British Open title earlier this term.
Murphy made the final of the German Masters earlier this month, where he was runner-up to Judd Trump, and showed signs of that form again this afternoon. Following a tight first frame which went his way, Murphy embarked on a dramatic 147 attempt in the second. After potting 15 reds, an incredible table length cut on the 15th black found the heart of the pocket. Unfortunately he was snookered on the yellow and his run ended on 120.
Further runs of 88 and 81 helped Murphy to four of the next five frames and sealed his victory. That sets up a last eight meeting with either World Champion Zhao Xintong or Elliot Slessor.
“It has been a journey since Peter joined the team 18 months ago. One of the first things he said was that I needed to up my work rate. That I needed to work hard enough so I deserve it. I’ve always been a hard practiser, but I perhaps had started to enjoy my life a little bit too much. I’ve gone back to basics in the last 18 months. There are a lot of hours spent grafting that people don’t see and it is nice that it is coming out” said 43-year-old Murphy
“The old saying practice makes perfect isn’t true. It is practice makes permanent. If you are practising the wrong thing it means nothing. It is about quality and doing it more than anyone else. I’m determined that whilst I might not win every week, nobody will work harder than me. I will get the best out of the rest of my career and that involves living in my snooker room.”
On the other table, world number one Judd Trump booked his quarter-final berth with a 6-0 whitewash win against Zhou Yuelong.
Trump recently ended a title drought which saw him go all of 2025 without silverware. His victory over Murphy in the final of the German Masters meant there was an early tournament triumph in 2026.
It was an emphatic display this afternoon from the Ace in the Pack. Breaks of 61, 69, 63, 117 and 75 saw him storm over the finishing line. Next up he will play either Mark Williams or Barry Hawkins.
World Champion Zhao Xintong rallied from 5-2 down to beat Elliot Slessor 6-5 and make the quarter-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
Zhao is riding the crest of a wave currently, having prevailed in the first ever ranking event to feature four Chinese semi-finalists at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong. The 28-year-old beat Zhang Anda in the final to capture his first ranking crown since becoming the Crucible king last year.
In winning last season’s World Championship, Zhao’s closest clash came in the qualifying stages against Slessor. Eventually he triumphed 10-8 in what was the pair’s only previous meeting to date.
This evening’s encounter saw Slessor dominate the early proceedings. Contributions of 119, 79, 50 and 64 helped the Newcastle cueman into his 5-2 advantage.
A fluked blue in frame eight proved to be pivotal. Zhao made 117 and turned the momentum of the tie. He went on to craft contributions of 62 and 59 in the following two frames to force a deciding frame at 5-5.
Both players spurned opportunities, but a break of 65 in the end took Zhao over the line and set up a last eight meeting with 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy.
“Tonight I didn’t play very well. I’m happy I managed to win. I only arrived back in the UK yesterday so I was a little bit jet lagged. I just have to try and get better in the next round,” said four-time ranking event winner Zhao.
“I know he is a very good player and it was always going to be a tough game. He played so well in the first frames and his long potting was so good. I didn’t have many chances. When he was one frame away he missed some balls and I tried to come back.
“I’m very happy I won in Hong Kong. It was my first ranking title in China so it was very important for me. I have no pressure now so I just want to enjoy every match.
“Shaun is a very strong player and I know it will be a tough game. To beat Shaun I know you have to play really well.“
On the other table, Mark Williams set up a mouth-watering showdown with Judd Trump after defeating Barry Hawkins 6-2.
Welshman Williams and Englishman Trump’s previous two ranking event meetings have been epic contests. Trump prevailed in the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters final, winning 10-9 on the final black. However, Williams got his revenge at last season’s World Championship, coming through their semi-final encounter 17-14.
Today’s match saw Williams craft breaks of 64 and 101 en route to a 5-2 advantage. The decisive frame came down to the final black, which Williams deposited brilliantly to the yellow pocket to get over the line.
Murphy working with Ebdon is a strange combo given how different their “style of play” are, but it seems to work for now. As long as Ebdon doesn’t turn Shaun into someone putting all balls on cushions and dragging matches for hours … ok. I don’t think the risk is too high here given Shaun’s personality.
Of the “class of 92”, Willo is the eldest but the one who seems to play the best snooker consistently for now. I guess that his “carefee” attitude is a big factor. High stress levels usually don’t bring good performances.
The 2026 Players Championship started yesterday in Telford, without Ronnie. His withdrawal from the event has angered quite a few “fans” but me, I’m not angry, instead I’m puzzled, and even slightly worried, because this is an event that carries a lot of money and ranking points even for the first round losers. So, why pass on the opportunity unless you have serious reasons? Anyway…
John Higgins thrashed Australia’s Neil Robertson 6-1 to make the 155th ranking quarter-final of his career at the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
Nobody has ever appeared in more quarter-finals than Higgins. This week marks the 456th ranking tournament in snooker history, meaning that Higgins has reached at least the quarter-finals in a more than a third of them.
The Wizard of Wishaw only just earned a place to compete this week, edging into the 16th seeding position after Ronnie O’Sullivan elected not to enter. It set up a blockbuster tie with Sportsbet.io One Year List leader Robertson.
Last year saw Scotland’s Higgins storm to glory by winning the Tour Championship, but with only the top 12 performers of the season earning a place, he has work to do in order to secure qualification.
An imperious showing from Higgins today saw him fire home breaks of 70, 84 and 133 en route to a comprehensive triumph. Next up this week the 50-year-old will play either Chris Wakelin or Xiao Guodong. Before that Higgins steps into the broadcasting world, working on 5’s coverage this week as a pundit and commentator.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow how I feel about the broadcasting. It is something to fill my days up. I’m at that stage of my life where I’m just looking at four walls when I’m at a tournament. It will be something to try and if I like it great. Nothing ventured and nothing gained,” said 33-time ranking event winner Higgins.
“It will probably be more nerve wracking. When I’m commentating on a game people back home might be saying what is he talking about! We will wait and see tomorrow.
“It would be good to qualify for the Tour Championship, but if I do qualify and do well there I could be adding 70 to 80 frames into the tank going into the World Championship. Someone like myself, maybe doesn’t have the energy for that. If I don’t qualify then who knows, it could end up helping me be a bit fresher.“
On the other table, two-time Players Champion Mark Allen scored a fine 6-3 win over China’s in-form Wu Yize.
The Northern Irishman most recently lifted the title here in Telford back in 2024, when he scored a marathon 10-8 win over Zhang Anda in the final.
Breaks of 51, 78, 73 and 93 helped him to victory this afternoon. He awaits the winner between Mark Selby and Jack Lisowski in the last eight.
Mark Selby scored a 6-3 victory against Jack Lisowski to book a quarter-final showdown with Mark Allen at the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
The Leicester cueman is in tremendous form having defended his Championship League title last week. He also claimed a momentous third UK Championship crown before Christmas, beating world number one Judd Trump in the final. Selby is hoping to use that form as a platform to capture a first ever Players Championship title this week.
Selby and Lisowski have historically had a tight head-to-head record, with the latter having won their previous two meetings. Victory for Selby moves him 8-7 up in meetings between the pair.
A tight opening two frames this evening both went the way of four-time World Champion Selby, before a break of 84 moved him 3-0 in front. Lisowski responded in the fourth with a run of 63 to head into the mid-session 3-1 behind.
Selby edged further in front when play resumed, but breaks of 56 and 70 from Lisowski helped keep him in contention at 4-3. A stunning total clearance of 136 stopped the rot for Selby in the eighth and he took the ninth to get over the line and book his meeting with Allen.
“It is tough playing Jack as you know he is going to be very attacking. If you leave a red sticking out he is going to go for it. Depending on what kind of mood he is in, he can pot anything on the table and blow you away. Luckily for me he wasn’t in that frame of mind,” said 42-year-old Selby.
“To be consistent I don’t think you can have that kind of game. I think you need an all-round game. To play that way you need to be playing well and nobody does that every single day. I feel you need a back up game as well but at the same time if you tell Jack to tighten up he wouldn’t be as dangerous. I wish I had the guts to go for some of the balls he does.
“I feel like my game is in good shape. I’m really happy with my season so far, I played well in York and won the Champion of Champions as well. I’ve been consistent since then. I can’t complain with how things are going.”
On the other table, Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin scored a fine 6-2 win over current back-to-back Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong.
Former Shoot Out winner Wakelin’s victory at the Scottish Open in Edinburgh was a significant one, his first ever triumph in a full format event. In what was a fragmented encounter today, Wakelin showed his top form to get over the line.
With the 33-year-old leading 4-2, he crafted two brilliant breaks of 104 and 101 to get over the line and book a quarter-final meeting with four-time World Champion John Higgins.
John Higgins played well, Neil Robertson was disappointingly poor … basically that summarises that match. As a result, John stays in Telford and will be commentating. It should be interesting… provided you understand what he is saying 🙄. I suppose that most Brits are able to cope with John’s heavy Scottish accent but for non-native English speakers, like me, it’s a serious challenge1. I didn’t watch the other table, but there too the outcome disappointed me.
In the evening came more disappointment for me, but no surprises, Jack Lisowski being … Jack Lisowski.
Both Chinese players involved lost and I can’t help to wonder if, maybe, the fact that yesterday was the Chinese New Year was a factor. Indeed we entered the year of the Fire Horse. It’s an important celebration for them.
Nobody would organise a ranking tournament on Christmas day, or New Years day would they? Of course WST can’t take into account all the celebrations that may be important to some individual player given how many different nationalities are represented, but there are so many Chinese players on the tour nowadays that I feel that, really, this is something they should take into consideration at least when as important as this one.
With little more than two months before he defends his Crucible crown, Zhao Xintong produced the perfect reminder of his wonderful talent as he made five century breaks in a 10-6 victory over Zhang Anda in the final of the World Grand Prix.
It’s a first ranking title of the season for Zhao and a huge boost in confidence for the 28-year-old Chinese ace with his return to Sheffield on the horizon. It’s his fourth ranking title, bringing him level with Barry Hawkins, Luca Brecel and Ryan Day on the all-time list, and he has now won all four of his ranking finals having landed the 2021 UK Championship, 2022 German Masters and 2025 World Championship. He receives the World Grand Prix trophy for the first time and a cheque for £180,000, climbing one place to seventh in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings.
Though he captured the invitational Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in November, it has been a patchy season in ranking events for Zhao before this week as he had failed to reach a final and stood outside the top 16 of the Sportsbet.io One-Year list. However as the superb Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong he has more than made amends and now climbs to sixth on that list, cementing a place in the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford this month and almost certainly the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship in Manchester.
On a week when history was made by the performances of Chinese players, with a record nine reaching the last 16, six making the quarter-finals and then a unique all-Chinese semi-final line-up, Zhao again proved himself the best of the generation which is flying in the slipstream of Ding Junhui’s earlier success.
Zhang, age 34, matched his opponent in the first session which finished 4-4, but could do little in the concluding stages as Zhao pulled away. Banking £80,000, Zhang moves up three places to 20th on the official list and has also secured a spot in Telford having jumped to 15th on the one-year list. He misses out on a second ranking title and first since the 2023 International Championship, and has now lost three of his four finals.
Breaks of 85 and 75 gave Zhao the first two frames of the evening session and a 6-4 lead. Zhang pulled one back with a run of 53 before Zhao’s 111 made it 7-5 at the interval. Frame 13 went to Zhang with a break of 73, but he scored just 25 points in the remainder of the match as Zhao rattled through the last three frames with 134, 65 and 131. Over his five matches the Cyclone swept in a total of nine centuries and 17 more breaks over 50.
“We both played very well today, our scoring was at a high level throughout the match,” said Zhao, who grew up in Shenzhen close to Hong Kong. “Perhaps later on I managed to take a few more chances. My mindset settled down nicely and my rhythm improved, which allowed me to play better and better. I was waiting for that one chance in every frame, then my aim was to push on and put pressure on him by getting well ahead. In the second half of the match, I was able to do that consistently, which made me very happy with my performance.
“There’s no real secret to winning finals. I think it’s just about being patient with yourself and making the most of every single opportunity. In the first two rounds of the tournament, I was actually very close to being knocked out, especially being 4-1 down against Mark Selby. Fortunately, I managed to fight my way back and give myself another chance to go deep in the event and compete for the title.
“I don’t feel that I’ve completely lifted the pressure of playing as World Champion yet. Mentally I still feel there is room to learn from the very top players. This season so far, although I’ve had some good results, I feel that my overall consistency hasn’t been as strong as the very best. That’s an area I know I still need to improve.
“I really want to thank all the fans here for their support. They gave me a huge amount of motivation. Playing in Hong Kong is very special for me, and being able to win the title here makes it even more meaningful. I’m truly very grateful to everyone in the arena for their support.”
This was a match of the highest quality. Other than the opening one, every frame featured a break over 50. As mentioned by WST, Zhao made five centuries en route to victory, including a 145 in frame 7.
I hope that nobody will begrudge Zhao his triumph. Yes, he made mistakes, but he has served his ban and has obviously worked very hard to redeem himself since his return to competition.
The arena didn’t look full but then it’s a really huge arena. Also, I wonder about the tickets pricing policy. The average Chinese fan’s earnings are far lower than the average European fan’s earnings. I remember chatting about that in Shanghai with one fan who said that he was better off than the vast majority of his compatriots and still, buying decent seats for himself and his wife had cost him half of his monthly salary. Of course, that was several years back but I’m not sure the situation is much different today. Maybe Lewis can tell us more?
