Shaun Murphy remained on target to win back-to-back ranking titles as he made three centuries in a 6-4 defeat of Gary Wilson to set up a final clash with Mark Williams at the Xi’an Grand Prix in China.
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A match of outstanding quality included four breaks over 130 plus a further four over 70 within the ten frames, but Murphy proved unstoppable as he came from 3-1 down to take five of the last six.
Having won the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham 14 days ago, Murphy could become the first winner of consecutive ranking titles since Judd Trump took three in a row in October 2023. The Magician will meet Williams over 19 frames on Monday, with the trophy and £177,000 top prize on the line.
World number 12 Murphy briefly dropped out of the top 16 earlier this season but has responded to the setback with a dramatic return to form. The 43-year-old is set for his 28th ranking final and will be looking for a 14th title which would leave him just one behind Ding Junhui on the all time list. It would also continue his record of winning each of his ranking titles on one occasion only.
Today’s result has already come with a huge bonus for Murphy as his run to the final this week has earned him a place in next month’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship at the expense of Mark Selby.
A run of 91 gave Murphy the opening frame before Wilson responded to take three in a row with top breaks of 81 and 139. After the interval, Murphy stormed back with 81, 131 and 140 to go 4-3 ahead, then crucially he took a tight eighth frame on the colours. World number 17 Wilson, whose run this week will take him back into the elite top 16, pulled one back with a 74, but Murphy finished in style with a 141 total clearance.
“I felt I hadn’t done that much wrong at 3-1 down,” said Murphy, who has won his last 13 consecutive matches. “Gary played very well all the way through. In frame five he broke off and forced me to go for a long red, I potted it and won the next three frames. I had a bit of luck at the right times, on another day I could have easily lost that match. The eighth frame I knew was really important. As I have got older and got more maturity in my game you sense those moments. I haven’t always had that awareness to stick a ‘Mark Selby’ or ‘John Higgins’ frame in there. I have been a bit slow to the party but I am learning.
“This vein of form won’t last forever but I am enjoying it. I played well in Brentwood, played well in Cheltenham and I was delighted to lift the trophy. Here this week I’ve got another chance. But I have got one of the best of all time in my way and he will give me nothing. We have had some great matches over the years and I am sure tomorrow will be no different.“
Asked about earning a place at the event in Riyadh, where a $1 million bonus will be on offer for making a ‘super maximum’ of 167 by potting the unique gold ball, Murphy added: “I am really pleased to get myself back into the top ten and to qualify for that event. What an achievement it will be for whoever makes the first 167.”
Mark Williams is just one win away from becoming the oldest ever ranking event winner as he came from 3-2 down to beat Daniel Wells 6-3 and reach the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix in China.
Williams will meet Shaun Murphy or Gary Wilson in the final on Monday with a top prize of £177,000 up for grabs. As it stands the oldest ranking event winner is Ray Reardon who was 50 years and 14 days when he landed the 1982 Professional Players Tournament, but Williams could extend that record to 50 years and 206 days. He could also become the first player to win a title in every decade from his teens through to his 50s.
The three-time World Champion will be playing in the 44th ranking final of his 33-year career and aiming for a 27th title, which would leave him just one behind Steve Davis on the all-time list. Runner-up to Zhao Xintong at the Crucible last season, Williams remains a strong contender for titles and is into his first final of the new campaign.
An all-Welsh battle saw world number 47 Wells contesting his fourth ranking event semi-final, and he is still yet to reach a final. After sharing the first four frames, Wells edged ahead by potting the final blue and pink to take the fifth. Williams won a scrappy sixth for 3-3, at which point the highest break of the match was just 42.
World number five Williams finally found some rhythm as a superb run of 129 gave him the lead, and a 53 in the next helped make it 5-3. In frame nine, Williams led by 33 points with just the colours left, then Wells got the snookers he needed on the yellow. But Williams later laid two tough snookers on the brown and when Wells missed the second, he offered the handshake.
“Most of my games this week have been the same, pretty poor,” admitted Williams. “I scraped over the line again, I’m glad to win. Apart from the one century break, it was tough out there. I might have looked calm but you wouldn’t want to know the names I was calling myself in my head. I struggled all match, I just stuck in there. Honestly, I don’t know how I am in the final. Can I do it once more? Probably not, I would have to play a lot better otherwise I’ll get trampled on. I will try my best.
“I have played some unbelievable matches this season and lost 5-4 or 5-3. In this tournament I haven’t looked like making breaks but I’m in the final. I’ll take winning like this over playing out of my skin and losing.
“I suppose if I take that record as the oldest winner, Ronnie or John Higgins will beat it in a few months time. It’s just nice to be in a final, and to win a tournament would be great. At the start of this week if you had offered me the quarter-finals I would have bitten your hand off, so for the final I would have bitten your whole body off“.
I don’t really have anything to add about the matches.
The Final today will be contested between two players with a combined age of 93. Snooker at the top nowadays is definitely not exactly a “young man’s game”, despite the fact that we do have some very good youngsters on the tour. But those “darn oldies” refuse to go away!
The conditions in Xi’An have been problematic all week. WST will probably say that the number of centuries and high breaks say otherwise, but what we have seen and the reactions of the commentators witnessing the outcome of some shots do tell a different story. It’s a shame for the players, but it probably can’t be helped.
Normally, the monsoon season should be over by now and the conditions should be dryer but it seems that the snooker gods have decided otherwise. Indeed, this is the weather forecast for this week in Xi’An …
It was an eventful day in Xi’An , with some really unexpected results coming our way. Indeed, as we enter the round of 32, only 8 of the top 16 players are still in the draw.
Robert Milkins boosted his tour survival hopes with a stunning 5-2 win over World Champion Zhao Xintong at the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Milkins first turned professional in 1995, but he now finds himself ranked 56th in the world. He’s currently projected to end the season in 74th position on the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and faces potential relegation.
A miserable current campaign had seen Milkins only manage to register three match wins heading into today. However, four frames on the bounce, from 2-1 down, saw him overcome China’s first ever Crucible king. He now faces close friend Jimmy Robertson.
2023 Welsh Open winner Milkins said: “It does feel good. I was expecting Zhao to play better, but he struggled. You just have to take it. I’ve lost a lot of deciders this season and it has put me in a bad position. I’ve really been struggling and everything is like a pint of blood at the moment.
“I’ve been playing well when practising. I’ve been waiting for something to happen, but I haven’t taken it into any matches at all this year. It has been a bit of a shambles. A couple of deciders the other way and it could be different.
“Tournaments are very tough to win nowadays. I was lucky to win a couple and I’ll never forget that. I could do with winning one now. I don’t want to be going into the World Championship knowing I have to win matches to stay on tour.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he is hitting the ball the best he has in 13 years, after a 5-1 demolition of Yao Pengchang.
The Rocket hammered home two 147 breaks during a remarkable semi-final win over Chris Wakelin at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, exhibiting his brilliant best on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Breaks of 63, 128, 53 and 54 helped him to victory today and earned a last 32 clash with Stephen Maguire.
O’Sullivan said: “I feel like I’m cueing as well as I have done since 2012. I played well between 2016 and 2019, but the last few years were pretty awful. I know I had some good wins but I was struggling with ball striking. At the moment I’m hitting the ball so pure and so clean. Sometimes when I’m practising I hit the ball so well I feel bored.”
Teenager Stan Moody continued his tremendous start to the season with a 5-3 win over two-time world finalist Ali Carter at the Xi’an Grand Prix, but played down headlines dubbing him the “Luke Littler of snooker”.
World number 49 Moody went on a stunning run to the quarters of the Wuhan Open earlier in the campaign and followed that up by making the same stage at the British Open. That has sparked a frenzy of media interest in the talented Englishman.
Next up this week for Moody is 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham. After today’s game he was keen to talk down the Littler links and admitted the recent surge in 147s has left him craving one of his own.
“I’ve seen a few of the headlines. I’ve got a long way to go to be a Luke Littler of snooker yet, but I’m on my way,” said 19-year-old Moody. “I want to be top 32 by the end of the season and go deeper in tournaments. I’m doing alright.
“I want one. I’ve only ever had one 147 which is a bit mad, but if I get a chance I’ll go for it. I only made my first one about five months ago, in a practice match, which is a bit mad.”
.World number one Judd Trump did make a maximum yesterday, but he tumbled out 5-4 at the hands of Matthew Stevens today, while Mark Selby suffered a shock 5-4 exit against Mark Davis
Strangely not mentioned in the above report is the 5-4 victory by Oliver Lines over Mark Allen.
Here, two more videos shared on Youtube and some pictures shared on social media. The first of the two videos presents the same frame as the one in the above WST report, but in full.
Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum break of his career during a 6-3 victory over Artemijs Zizins in the qualifying round of the International Championship.
World number 17 Wilson made his perfect break in the final frame, having earlier scored runs of 133, 61 and 79. He becomes the tenth player to reach six official 147s and is now in line for the £5,000 high break prize.
It’s the 228th maximum in snooker history and 11th of the season, just four short of the record of 15 set last season.
Ali Carter top scored with 105 in a 6-0 defeat of Liam Graham, booking a place in the final stages in Nanjing in November. Michael Holt saw off Reanne Evans 6-2 with a top break of 110, while Aaron Hill won an all-Cork derby with Leone Crowley by a 6-1 scoreline.
The completed draw and match schedule for the final stages will be announced soon.
I really don’t have much to add. There were only two sessions yesterday and most matches went the way I expected them to go. Actually, all the matches except the last two on the day went to the highest seeded player. Indeed Louis Heathcote beat Jamie Jones by 6-2 and Oliver Lines beat Jordan Brown by the same score.
Louis has been in excellent form this season so far. According to Cuetracker he has won 15 of the 21 matches he has played so far, and if we look at “straight knock-out” events only, he has won 14 matches out of 18. That’s a 78% win rate in straight knock-out and, believe me, that’s a very, very high success rate. Therefore, even if Jamie Jones is currently ranked higher than Louis, the outcome of their match did not surprise me at all.
Oli Lines and Jordan Brown can both play at a very high standard, but both tend to be a bit inconsistent/unpredictable. No “shock” there either.
Scott Donaldson has withdrawn from the event, so the winner of the match between Mark Williams and Chatchapong Nasa or Zhou Jinhao will rceeive a bye to the last 32.
Details of how to watch the event will be announced soon.
Mitchell Mann kept his recent momentum going as he scored an impressive 6-4 victory over Mark Allen to reach the final stages of the International Championship.
Allen won the BetVictor English Open last month but he misses out on a trip to Nanjing, China for this ranking event which boasts a top prize of £175,000. World number 84 Mann was a quarter-finalist at last week’s Unibet British Open and enjoyed another fine performance today in Sheffield. From 4-2 down, Allen made breaks of 85 and 82 to level at 4-4, but Mann got the better of two tight frames to clinch the result.
Stuart Bingham top scored with 90 in a 6-3 success against Ian Burns, while Sam Craigie enjoyed a superb 6-1 win over Joe O’Connor with a top run of 128. Wu Yize won a Chinese derby against Lan Yuhao 6-3 with a top break of 100 while Elliot Slessor made a 122 in a 6-2 defeat of Alexander Ursenbacher. Liam Highfield came from 3-1 down to edge out Jackson Page 6-5.
Again the “late session” is not covered by WST report. Most matches in that late session went the way you would expect although Bothh David Gilbert and Stephen Maguire were taken the full distance by their much younger and less experienced opponents, Liam Davies and Kreishh Gurbaxani. But the very last match of the day saw 14 years old Michal Szubarczyk beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha by 6-4 in a hard fought affair where both players scored four breaks over 50. The match score however doesn’t tell the whole story: Michal lead by 5-1 before Ishpreet came back at him to make it 5-4 with breaks of 55, 68 and 68. For a 14 years old child, to find it himself to take the next after that onslaught, at about 10 minutes short of midnight, when he probbly should be fast asleep in bed, is truly remarquable.
Shaun Murphy came from 7-6 down to beat Anthony McGill 10-7 in a high quality final to win the Unibet British Open for the first time and his first ranking title in 26 months.
Murphy stepped up a gear in the last four frames of an intriguing contest which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 60. The 43-year-old Englishman receives the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000, landing his first ranking crown since the 2023 Championship League.
Fearing that his career on the baize was on the slide, Murphy began work with fellow former World Champion Peter Ebdon last year, and that partnership has paid dividends as he won the Johnstone’s Paint Masters in January and has now added more silverware to his collection. He moves on to 13 ranking titles in all, one ahead of Mark Allen into tenth place on his own in the all-time list.
Murphy had a tough draw in Cheltenham, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to reach the final, but proved his enduring class with a series of excellent displays. He becomes the first player to complete the ‘grand slam’ of ITV-televised events having previous won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions. Moving from 16th to 12th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, he is up to fourth on the Sportsbet.io One-Year list.
Victory for McGill would have been the biggest triumph of his career – though he has previously won the Indian Open and the Shoot Out – and he looked composed at 7-6 ahead. But the contest slipped away from him and he had to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize. Having struggled with his game over the past three years and fallen to 57th in the world, this is a much-needed boost for the Scot and he jumps back to 45th.
Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Murphy started strongly with a break of 78 to take the opening frame tonight. Ahead for the first time, the Englishman had another scoring chance in frame ten, but missed the black to a top corner on 15 and McGill responded with a run of 81 for 5-5. In the 11th, Murphy once again missed the black to corner when he led 37-0, and McGill took advantage with a break of 77.
Frame 12 was in the balance until McGill, leading 32-31, missed a long pot on the fourth-last red and Murphy added the points he needed to square the tie. After the interval, McGill’s run of 73 put him 7-6 ahead and he was among the balls early in frame 14 but failed to pot the pink to centre and Murphy restored parity again with a 76. McGill led 30-0 in the 15th when he ran out of position and missed a tough red to a baulk corner, letting Murphy in for a run of 72 which proved enough for 8-7.
Leading 34-0 in frame 16, Murphy converted a clever cross double on a red to centre, creating the chance for a break of 66 to go two up with three to play. McGill was on 43 in the next when he overcut a red to top corner, and he was later out-foxed in a safety exchange on the last red. Murphy slotted the red into a top corner to initiate the winning clearance.
“When you haven’t been in a ranking final for a long time, I was grateful for the opportunity and so pleased that my game was there today when I needed it,” said Murphy. “I have a great team behind me who help me so much, when I am not feeling 100 per cent they push me on. For it all to come together today is extremely rewarding. Having Peter Ebdon in my corner was invaluable because he has done it himself so he understands how I am feeling out there.
“I have been watching the likes of Trump, Selby and Robertson winning multiple titles in a season and I would like to get back to that level. I still think I am dangerous on my day, as I have proved this week so I just need to add consistency. I’ll be back on the practice table tomorrow.
“I have to give Anthony credit because he is so tough to beat, I respect him so much as a player and I’m sure there will be more titles for him in the future.“
McGill said: “I felt like the stronger player all day. I’m not sure what happened towards the end, I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just didn’t seem to participate in the last few frames. Shaun is a quality player. I have got my ranking back up so there are some positives, I feel a lot better about my game.”
I have nothing to add. I didn’t watch any of the final, because at the moment life is really coming in the way of snooker … and of any other hobby as well BTW. Also, I don’t particularly like or dislike any of the two finalists.
Mitchell Mann overcame a broken down car and being docked a frame to beat Gao Yang 4-3 and reach the last 32 of the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham.
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Mann will be back at the table to face Antoni Kowalski in the third round on Wednesday night, and at least will have a much less stressful journey to the baize. The 33-year-old set out from Birmingham to drive to Cheltenham at 8am this morning, but just 20 minutes later saw a ‘flat tyre’ warning light on his dashboard.
“Within a minute I was on the hard shoulder and had no spare type, I was completely stranded,” said the world number 91. “Luckily my friends Tom and Jack, who are greenkeepers at the golf club where I have my practice table, answered my call and they came to pick me up. One of them drove me to Cheltenham and the other waited with my car for the RAC. I should have driven down last night, it’s a lesson learned. I have no idea where my car is now!“
Arriving ten minutes late, Mann started the match 1-0 down, but battled back for victory, taking a tense deciding frame by clearing from the last red.
Judd Trump recovered from a slow start to beat tour rookie Leone Crowley 4-1. Ireland’s Crowley won the opening frame and had a chance in the second but missed a tricky final yellow. World number one Trump stole the frame to gain a foothold then took the last three with a top break of 100.
Mark Allen made it nine wins in a row as he beat Bulcsu Revesz 4-1 with a top break of 69. Allen won the BetVictor English Open last week and is into the third round here and a tie with Mark Williams at 1pm on Thursday. Shaun Murphy saw off Scott Donaldson 4-1 with a top run of 80 and will meet Neil Robertson in another huge last 32 clash.
Defending champion Mark Selby top scored with 115 in a 4-3 win over Liu Hongyu, while Cheung Ka Wai made an 83 in the decider to beat Matthew Stevens 4-3.
John Higgins took a huge scalp in round three of the Unibet British Open as he beat World Champion Zhao Xintong 4-2 to reach the last 16.
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Four-time Crucible king Higgins admitted that he was “really struggling for motivation” at last month’s Wuhan Open but looks to have regained his hunger this week in Cheltenham. After edging past Mark Davis and Jack Lisowski by 4-3 scorelines, tonight was Higgins’ best performance of the week as breaks of 76, 82 and 55 helped him outplay Zhao. Scotland’s Higgins will now face Ben Mertens or Robbie McGuigan on Thursday evening.
Barry Hawkins recovered deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to beat Jak Jones 4-3, finishing superbly with an 88 in the decider. “I was cueing terribly at the start of the match and felt jaded,” said Hawkins, who was runner-up in the UK Championship and German Masters last season. “It was a late start for me, usually at 9pm I’m tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and the TV on, then I’m snoring by 10pm!
“It was only in the last frame that I switched on and made a really good break, so I’m delighted to still be in the tournament. I have been consistent for a while. When I get to this stage of tournaments I need to push on and try to win more, rather than relaxing.”
Liam Davies kept the best run of his pro career going with a 4-2 defeat of David Lilley, highlighted by breaks of 123, 59 and 63. The 19-year-old Welshman’s only previous appearance in the last 16 of a ranking event came at the 2023 Shoot Out.
Anthony McGill top scored with 91 in a 4-1 defeat of Oliver Lines. Mitchell Mann, who almost failed to make it to Cheltenham at all as his car broke down on the way to the venue this morning, is into the last 16 of a ranking event for the fifth time in his career after beating Antoni Kowalski 4-2 with a top break of 101. Louis Heathcote stormed to a 4-0 whitewash of Zak Surety, his top run 105.
Two close matches finished past midnight local time and aren’t mentioned in the above report:
Stan Moody beat Ian Burns by 4-2 in a close match. Most frames were hard-fought. The highest break of the match was only a 70 by Burns. Moody came out the winner with a match high break of 66.
Chang Bingyu beat Noppon Saengkham by 4-3. The match too was hardfought, close and rather low scoring.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of next week’s Unibet British Open for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to face Sanderson Lam in the opening round on Monday September 22nd at 7pm. He has been replaced in the draw by the highest available player from the 2025 Q School ranking list, Daniel Womersley.
The tournament at Cheltenham Racecourse runs from September 22-28.
