Yesterday, the top 16 players started their campaign in Jeddah.
Ronnie won his opening match, beating Joe O’Connor by 5-0! He played well, not at his best but certainly well enough considering this is the first “ranking” match he played this season and it was a really important one. Indeed, ahead of this event looked in real danger to need to qualify for the Crucible and to finish the season out of the top 16. This event is a very lucrative one and winning his opening match has significantly improved his position. As it stands now, he’s provisionally back in the top 16 in the “end of season” projected list, and, a win today would see him back in the “top 16” in the “Crucible” projected list. It also helps that Ronnie is now 16th in the “World Grand Prix” projected list as ranking points are available for those who qualify for the event, even if they lose their opening match.
Here is the report shared by WST:
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Five: O’Sullivan Storms To 5-0
Playing with a new cue which he hopes will inspire a return to his best, Ronnie O’Sullivan raced to a 5-0 victory over Joe O’Connor in his opening match at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Jeddah.
The fans’ favourite, who described this as his home tournament as he now lives in Dubai and has an academy in his name in Riyadh, delighted his supporters as he eased into the last 16 where he will face Chang Bingyu.
O’Sullivan was low on confidence for most of last season and played in only a handful of events, suffering a nadir at the Crucible when he was crushed 17-7 by Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals. But a new campaign always brings new hope and the 49-year-old is planning to rebuild his game by competing more regularly.
O’Connor had chances to take the first frame tonight, notably missed the black off its spot after potting the last red when he trailed 42-50. That proved a key early turning point as O’Sullivan pinched the frame and went on to take the next four with breaks of 116, 89, 53 and 90.
O’Sullivan, whose new cue is made by fellow pro Sunny Akani, said: “This one is great so I asked Sunny to make a couple more, he has given me three or four which are all good. Making cues is like being an engineer with wood – I wouldn’t have a clue but Sunny is a very intelligent guy and makes unbelievable cues.
“I have had such a poor form so what’s important to me now is to play some good matches, one after another, I’d be really happy with that. After that then I’d start to want to win tournaments.”
Asked about the standard of the current top players, O’Sullivan added: “Kyren Wilson was phenomenal in Shanghai, he plays at John Higgins’ level which is probably the biggest compliment you can give someone. I’d like to think if I am ‘on it’ I can always find a way to win. But it’s great to still be playing at this stage of my career.“
China’s 23-year-old Chang is the only remaining player who started in round one, with five wins now under his belt. The world number 104 scored a surprise 5-4 victory over Mark Allen to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. He took a 3-1 lead with a top break of 128 then Allen fought back to go 4-3 ahead, only for Chang to win the last two frames.
Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson narrowly avoided a shock defeat against Iulian Boiko, coming from 4-2 down to win 5-4. Ukraine’s 19-year-old Boiko compiled runs of 73 and 93 in going 4-2 ahead and he had match-winning chances in each of the last three frames but couldn’t take them. Wilson made breaks of 76, 72 and 54 as he earned a fixture with Si Jiahui.
“I felt a bit flat going out there, that’s sometimes the case after winning a big tournament,” said world number two Wilson, who is now sure to close the gap on rankings leader Judd Trump who was knocked out earlier in the day. “I had to gee myself up and remind myself that this is a massive tournament as well. At 4-2 I had to dig in, keep my head and believe that it might turn around. I made some good clearances under pressure.”
World Champion Zhao Xintong cruised to a 5-0 success against Steven Hallworth in just 55 minutes, rattling in breaks of 92, 132, 97, 94 and 106. Chris Wakelin top scored with 102 in a 5-1 victory over Farakh Ajaib, while Ding Junhui came from 2-1 down to beat Stephen Maguire 5-2. Si Jiahui, a semi-finalist in this event last year, won an all-Chinese battle against Wu Yize 5-3. Barry Hawkins top scored with 83 in a 5-3 win over Martin O’Donnell.
Here are the scores for the match:
And a couple of images
Several videos have been shared on YouTube by WST and TNT:
Earlier in the day there had been a surprise as Judd Trump the defending Champion, was beaten by Oliver Lines. Here is WST report on the first session of the tournament:
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Five: Trump Flattened By Lines
Judd Trump’s hopes of defending his Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters title crashed at the first hurdle as he lost 5-3 in the opening round to world number 68 Oliver Lines.
World number one Trump beat Mark Williams 10-9 in an epic final last year to bank the £500,000 top prize but this time he faces an early flight out of Jeddah after a shock reverse against a player who has never reached the final of a ranking event. John Higgins is also out, losing 5-4 to Elliot Slessor.
After taking the opening frame, an out-of-sorts Trump made uncharacteristic errors over the next four as Lines surged into a 4-1 lead with top breaks of 125, 63 and 71. Trump pulled two back, making a 102 in frame seven, but Yorkshire’s 30-year-old Lines slotted in an excellent long red early in the eighth to set up a match-winning 100. He’s into the last 16 to face Ali Carter and is guaranteed his biggest ever pay day of £30,000.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I am really proud of the way I played today and the way I handled the occasion. It’s a massive achievement,” said Lines, who also knocked Trump out of the UK Championship in 2016. “At 4-1 I was searching for the line too quickly. The pressure was ramping up so it was a really good break in the last frame.
“It’s the best win of my career. I haven’t done as well as I would like in the last few years so to beat Judd on the TV table is a big step. There’s no pressure now so hopefully I can relax and play my best stuff.”
World number four Higgins won two ranking titles at the end of last season but misses the opportunity of a deep run in Jeddah. From 4-3 down against Slessor, he potted 12 reds with blacks in frame eight before missing the 13th red on 96. In the decider, Higgins trailed 47-0 then had the chance of a trademark clearance but rattled the last red in the jaws of a top corner on 34. Slessor held his nerve to add the points he needed to book a fixture with Stuart Bingham.
“John was my hero when I was growing up, so any win against him is incredible,” said world number 29 Slessor. “I am lucky enough now to call him a friend and have him as a practice partner, he has helped me a lot. I was expecting him to clear in the last frame, so luckily for me the one in a hundred time he missed was against me.“
Bingham, who has lost three and a half stone in weight this year, saw off Zhang Anda 5-2 with runs of 80, 70, 52, 50 and 63. “Losing the weight might have given me more confidence because I am seeing the shot differently,” he said. “I was having trouble with my knee and back and that is better now. My game is getting stronger each round here.”
Shaun Murphy eased to a 5-1 victory over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in just 72 minutes with top breaks of 125, 66 and 118. Un-Nooh made a 147 on Sunday and had a chance for another maximum in frame five today, which would have earned him a mammoth £147,000 bonus, but missed the 13th red on 96.
Murphy travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday and had a brief panic when his cue did not arrive at Jeddah airport as it was stuck in Dubai. “My suitcase made it all the way but not my cue,” he said. “Cues seem to go missing quite often and in those moments you just think ‘please not me, not this time’. At least with air tags now we can see where the cue is. Luckily it arrived at the airport yesterday afternoon and I was able to go and pick it up.
“This event is an amazing opportunity for everyone. Winning it would send you flying up the rankings and set you up for the whole season and get you into every other tournament.“
Murphy will now meet Mark Williams, who beat Yuan Sijun 5-3. Shanghai Masters runner-up Ali Carter made a superb 132 in the decider to beat Gary Wilson 5-4.
Neil Robertson fired three centuries, 120, 114 and 106, to take his career tally to 988 as he beat Ben Woollaston 5-2. He now faces a huge last 16 clash with Mark Selby, who beat Long Zehuang 5-3.
As usual, all the detailed results are available on snooker.org
On a different topic …
Ronnie O'Sullivan 