WUHAN OPEN 2023: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN CRUISES PAST MARK DAVIS, JOHN HIGGINS STUNNED BY MARK O’DONNELL, DING DUMPED OUT
BY JAMES HILSUM
Ronnie O’Sullivan secured his place in round three of the Wuhan Open in a fairly straightforward manner after overcoming Mark Davis 5-1. Elsewhere, John Higgins was sent packing in round two after losing by the same scoreline to Mark O’Donnell, in a day of shocks following the exits of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson. Meanwhile, Chinese player Ding Junhui lost 5-0 to his compatriot Yuan Sijun.
Ronnie O’Sullivan cruised into the third round of the Wuhan Open after claiming a comfortable 5-1 win over Mark Davis.
It was a second successive 5-1 victory for the Rocket after beating Ken Doherty on Monday, with breaks of 69, 101 and 62 doing the damage.
O’Sullivan will next face Pang Junxu on Wednesday.
The Rocket won the first frame after Davis left a long green over the centre pocket, which he potted, before moving onto the brown and blue to move 1-0 ahead.
That lead was doubled with a break of 69 after Davis relinquished his hope of restoring parity after missing a black, and the Rocket potted the yellow and green.
The world No. 1 was motoring towards a whitewash victory when he extended his advantage with a break of 101 to claim a first century appearance of the week.
Those hopes of a whitewash were extinguished though, as O’Sullivan could only watch Davis build up a very respectable frame-winning break of 75 to get off the mark.
Davis then left a red over the middle pocket and Ronnie motored to break of 68, only to be thwarted be a red himself and give Davis a chance to save the frame.
It would be a brief reprieve though, as Davis failed on a pink, and O’Sullivan cleared up the remaining reds and all the colours up to the black to move one frame away from victory.
The fifth and final frame gave O’Sullivan some nervy moments after he missed a red, before Davis left another over a corner. There was hope for Davis again, as the Rocket missed an awkward blue.
A brief safety battle ensued, before the world No. 1 eventually prevailed 78-50 to win the match with relative comfort.
WUHAN OPEN 2023: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN AFTER MARK DAVIS WIN – I’LL KEEP PLAYING SNOOKER UNTIL I DIE
BY EUROSPORT
Ronnie O’Sullivan insists he is happy to compete on the snooker table even when he is not at his free-flowing best. The seven-time world champion eased into the last 32 of the Wuhan Open in China on Tuesday with a 5-1 win against Mark Davis. He next faces Pang Junxu on Wednesday afternoon. “I love competing. This is a big tournament and you want to do well in the big tournaments,” said O’Sullivan.
Snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan insists he will happily keeping playing snooker until he dies.
Speaking after his 5-1 win over fellow Englishman Mark Davis in the last 64 of the Wuhan Open on Tuesday, the world No. 1 admitted he has no plans to hang up his cue as long as he is fit and healthy.
“I love the game, I enjoy it,” O’Sullivan told reporters. “Sometimes it frustrates me, but I love the game, so why not? Keep playing until I die.“
“I can’t really comment on my form. I’m just playing and trying to be resilient,” said O’Sullivan as he remained in the hunt for the £140,000 first prize.
“I try to fight for every ball and every match. You don’t always play great, but sometimes you have to find a way to win.
“I love competing. This is a big tournament and you want to do well in the big tournaments.”
“I don’t look no further than my next match,” added the Shanghai Masters winner, whose last ranking title success came with his seventh world title victory in May 2022.
“Sometimes you win, but I lose in 90% of the tournaments I play in.
“I probably win one in 10. So you try to do well in the big tournaments. When we play in a venue like this, good crowd and good venue, it makes you want to play well.
“That is what is important to the top players when you have a good crowd watching..the top players usually respond to that occasion.”
And they shared the end of the match on their YouTube channel
There were alsome some pictures shared on weibo
That came on a day where Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, John Higgins and Neil Robertson all bowed out, whilst a lot of Chinese players, including young ones, are doing well.
Neil Robertson admitted that being away from his family has been taking his toll on him and he intends to skip a few events to to back to Australia for some family time.
Meanwhile the sport we love is facing a major crisis and I’m not sure that WST answer to it is the right one but that’s for another post probably later today …
Ronnie O’Sullivan scored a 5-1 win over Ken Doherty on day one of the inaugural Wuhan Open, to prevent himself falling from the summit of the world rankings.
Defeat for the Rocket would have seen World Champion Luca Brecel become world number one for the first time. O’Sullivan will stay on top for now, but Mark Allen could still dislodge him this week if he were to win the event.
The Wuhan Open marks a significant return to ranking event action in Asia, after four years off the calendar. A raucous crowd welcomed two snooker superstars to the show tables this evening, with 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan competing in tandem with Chinese number one Ding Junhui’s game against Ashley Hugill.
It was 1997 Crucible king Doherty who took an early lead, but a break of 88 saw O’Sullivan restore parity and he then took a tight third to move 2-1 in front.
From there, the seven-time World Champion blitzed to the line. He crafted further breaks of 89 and 82 on his way to making it five on the bounce and ran out a comfortable victor.
Afterwards he admitted he enjoyed sharing the stage with his old practice partner Doherty and playing on the table next to Asian legend Ding, who progressed with a 5-3 defeat of Ashley Hugill.
“I played a lot with Ken when I was a kid, well I was a kid and he was an adult. I learned a lot from him,” said the now 47-year-old O’Sullivan.
“I call Ding the Godfather of snooker in China. He put snooker on the map here. He came along at an early age and was winning tournaments. He is a great player and has been a constant of the game for 20-years, so Ding is a legend in China. He is a credit to himself, his family and everyone in China. To share the venue with Ding was nice. He got an amazing cheer which was nice to see.”
Here are the scores:
Ronnie also praised the arena. In the early rounds, there are 2 TV tables and 5 outside tables.
This is the end of the match as shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel:
Ronnie’s post-match interview shared by WST on YouTube
And pictures shared on social media, mainly on weibo:
There weren’t any big surprises yesterday in Wuhan, and all the results are on snooker.org
Snooker in CRISIS with Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel leading a player mutiny – as Ronnie O’Sullivan brands governing body’s stance ‘b****cks’
Selby, Higgins and Brecel are among five players to have snubbed a key event
The trio have shunned this month’s Northern Ireland Open to play in Macau
Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel are leading a player mutiny – handing an embarrassing snub to snooker bosses.
Four-time world champions Selby and Higgins plus the reigning Crucible king Brecel – along with Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – have shunned this month’s official Northern Ireland Open.
Despite threats of legal action from World Snooker Tour, the five decided not to enter Belfast and opt instead for a lucrative Macau exhibition.
WST bosses sent first emails and then strongly-worded letters claiming if the players took part in Macau they would be breaching contracts, harming the game and facing disciplinary action.
But lawyers representing the players reckon the threats are baseless since they did not enter the Northern Ireland event, and believe they are just doing what they want on their own time.
Both John Higgins (left) and world champion Luca Brecel have shunned the Northern Ireland Open
And world No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan, himself playing in a Shanghai exhibition this month, has backed the ‘Macau Five’ – describing WST’s stance as ‘b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that’.
Many of the players involved are furious over what they see as heavy-handed tactics. Part-organiser Victoria Shi, owner of a Sheffield academy, has also been threatened with action.
Selby, who has suffered badly with mental health issues in recent years, is understood to have requested he receive no further correspondence on the matter.
This comes with another highly-paid unofficial event featuring O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski and Ding Junhui looming even sooner this month in Shanghai.
The Shanghai exhibition takes place during the Northern Ireland Open qualifying event. Top-16 players involved could still appear at the final stages given their opening rounds are held over.
But WST were also unhappy with big names playing this event – believing it will leave the qualifiers in the shade. They originally banned the players from taking part – before softening their stance.
And they issued similarly threatening letters to players insisting they keep all involvement in Shanghai quiet demanding a social media and news blackout – and participation in Belfast, for which only Williams is confirmed.
The player-power situation presents a huge challenge for the governing body going forward, with big-name stars openly flouting their authority – and lawyers no doubt licking their lips.
With Chinese tournaments back in the calendar this season after three years following the Covid pandemic, WST had been hoping for a smoother ride in 2023-24.
But after those years of reduced earnings new opportunities are opening up in the Far and Middle East. Players want to cash in – leading to the current row.
And events of the week have highlighted a chasm between the best players and the game’s rulers. There has even been hushed talk of a boycott of January’s prestigious Masters.
O’Sullivan has been among those fiercely critical of some aspects of the way the tour is organised, the venues used in the UK, and the treatment of the players outside Asia.
He has even in the past suggested the possibility of a breakaway tour – which today sounds less fanciful than it did.
WST were accused earlier this year of attempting to gag players and bar them speaking to the media about a large meeting discussing the future of the sport.
But on this occasion it appears any similar attempts have backfired, with the players involved calling WST’s bluff over both Macau and Shanghai.
O’Sullivan, the sport’s biggest draw, has led calls for players to be able to maximise their earnings.
On the Shanghai exhibition, he said: ‘There is absolutely no reason to try and stop me and other players going to Shanghai during the Northern Ireland qualifiers.
‘That is a small event, we are not involved, and we could still play in the final stages with our matches being held over.
‘Players are just trying to earn money, it is their choice. And they are realising their value. They are trying to restrict us. Those involved in Shanghai were sent letters advising them not to play.
‘I know for the tournament in Macau players were also sent even stronger threatening letters telling them it was in breach of their contract.
‘That with an opportunity to play in an official tournament they were turning it down and choosing to go somewhere else, and it was damaging for the sport.
‘It is b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that. It’s wrong and I am glad they have taken a strong stance.
‘This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play. They can enter a tournament – but they don’t have to.
‘They used to try and tell me what to say, until I got a really good lawyer who kicked back at them. If they want to play silly games, we can all play silly games.’
WST were asked a number of pertinent questions, and given the opportunity to respond to the story. A spokesperson would say only: ‘WST does not publicly discuss private conversations with the players, or share contractual information.’
I’m not sure why this is seen as a “mutiny”. My understanding was always that players are not obliged to enter any event, and can play in what they want in their “free” time provided that it is not televised or streamed, unless they get permission from WST. After all they are essentially self-employed, although the guaranteed 20000 pounds may have changed that situation slightly. But, as far as I know, the players don’t get anything from WST/WPBSA, when they retire, so they need to secure their financial future whilst they still can. Higgins, Selby and Carter are all over 40 and in the last part of their professional career.
The streaming/television restriction was applied with sometimes ridiculous rigour in the past, notably when Paul Mount was forced to stop streaming the Pink Ribbon, a big charity pro-am, raising funds to support breast cancer research and care, that was happening in the middle of the summer when nothing else was on or even close to happen. But this is much higher profile and it does clash with a WST event.
What has changed of course in recent years is that, even if promoters do not stream or televise events, fans are now taking and sharing a lot of images and videos over social media providing huge exposure totally out of the control of the governing body.
Judd Trump came from 7-3 down to beat Zhang Anda 9-7 in the final of the BetVictor English Open to land his 24th ranking title and first for 19 months.
China’s Zhang, who had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event, threatened the biggest upset in a final since Fan Zhengyi beat Ronnie O’Sullivan to win the 2022 European Masters. But a missed blue when he had the chance to lead 8-3 proved the turning point as his opponent stormed back to win the last six frames. Trump came from 5-2 down to win his semi-final against John Higgins 6-5 on Saturday, and proved again tonight what a dangerous force he is with the wind in his sails.
Victory ends a long wait for ranking silverware for Bristol’s 34-year-old Trump, stretching back to the Turkish Masters in March 2022. He did win snooker’s biggest invitation event, the Masters, in January this year, but his performances in ranking events had left him disappointed, notably when he was beaten by Barry Hawkins in the final of the BetVictor European Masters in August.
With 24 ranking titles he moves into sixth place on his own on the all-time list, one ahead of Neil Robertson and just one behind Mark Williams. It’s his second English Open crown and he moves top of the BetVictor Series rankings after three of the eight counting events. The series leader after the BetVictor Welsh Open in February will bank the £150,000 bonus which Trump scooped in both 2020 and 2021. He moves up one place to fourth in the world rankings and climbs to second on the one-year list.
Zhang, age 31, has enjoyed the best week of his snooker life, notably knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 16. He looked composed and in control at 7-3, but faded in the closing stages as he let slip the chance to become the sixth player from mainland China to win a ranking title. The £35,000 runner-up prize is by far his biggest pay day and boosts him from 57th to 40th in the world rankings.
Leading 5-3 after the first session, Zhang raced clear in the first two frames tonight with breaks of 109 and 98 for 7-3. In frame 11 he was on 19 with the reds nicely spread when he missed a tricky blue to a centre pocket. Trump later led 39-26 when he played a clever cross double on the third-last red to a centre pocket which set him up for a break of 29 to take his first frame of the night. And he built momentum with a 135 total clearance to trail 7-5 at the interval.
Frame 13 was a scrappy affair, resolved when Trump dropped the last red into a centre pocket as he closed the gap to just one frame. A run of 53 gave the Englishman control of the 14th and he later added 17 to square the match for the first time since 1-1. A fragmented 15th frame also went Trump’s way as he edged 8-7 ahead, before wrapping up the contest in style with a break of 92, drawing cheers from the packed crowd with a series of flamboyant shots in the victory lap.
“I was up against it the whole day,” said Trump. “In the end I managed to find some momentum and clawed it back. Zhang played well until 7-3 and put me under a lot of pressure, it was only when he missed a couple that I started to turn it round. After he beat Ronnie I knew he was comfortable to get over the line against anyone. He looked at home, I was just hoping that something drastic was going to happen because he was looking like the best player in the tournament. I had to stay patient and dig in because losing in a final is not a nice experience when you have to watch your opponent pick up a trophy.
“I wasn’t getting chances and even when I did I wasn’t scoring. The two frames to get back to 7-5 at the interval, that kept me in it and I was hoping he would feel the pressure of his first final.
“I was struggling with my tip and I lost two of the frames in the first session because of that. After the session I decided to change it and (tournament director) Paul Collier put on a great new tip. I stayed at the venue from 4pm to 7pm just practising with the new tip, I didn’t go back to the hotel at all. I feel rewarded now because I could have just decided it wasn’t my day, or not played with the new tip. I have never had to do that during a match before.
“The crowd here was brilliant all week, it’s great to play in front of a full house and the atmosphere for the semis and final this weekend was incredible.”
In the past, I have often criticised Judd Trump’s attitude when things weren’t going his way, and his seemingly arrogance when they were, but in recent years there has been none of it. He has matured a lot and that makes him much more likeable. It also makes it easier for me to appreciate what he does at the table. It was alway puzzling me that public persona of Judd, because I had met him several times, away from the snooker spotlights, and in those occasions he always came across as a rather shy, well mannered young man.
We had two completely different semifinals yesterday in Brentwood. The afternoon match saw two multiple ranking events winners and established British top players do battle, the evening match opposed two Chinese players, one in his first year as a professional, the other, one on the tour for 14 years, had never gone past the quarter-finals before. Here are the reports by WST:
Judd Trump made a sensational recovery from 5-2 down to beat John Higgins 6-5 in the semi-finals of the BetVictor English Open, as he remained on course to win a first ranking title for 19 months.
Higgins had a chance to close out the tie 6-2 but crucially ran out of position from black to yellow in frame eight then missed a difficult pot. That proved the key moment as he failed to score another point, instead watching from his chair as Trump made a series of superb breaks. Higgins admitted afterwards that he felt he had been “hit by a truck”, so good was his opponent’s performance in the closing stages.
Trump goes through to Sunday’s final at the Brentwood Centre where he will face either Zhang Anda or Liu Hongyu, with the winner to receive £80,000 and the Steve Davis Trophy. Bristol’s 34-year-old Trump will be playing in his 39th ranking final and aiming for his 24th title, which would put him one ahead of Neil Robertson and one behind Mark Williams on the all-time list.
The 2019 World Champion has not won a ranking title since the Turkish Masters in March 2022, though he did win snooker’s biggest invitation event, the Masters, in January this year. Trump was runner-up to Barry Hawkins at the BetVictor European Masters in Germany in August and will have high hopes of picking up the silverware this time.
Higgins and Trump so often produce classic matches – notably their Crucible finals in 2011 and 2019 and more recently the semi-final in Germany two months ago when England’s Trump came from 4-2 down to win 6-5. Today’s battle was another sizzler to add to the list.
Scotland’s 48-year-old Higgins started strongly with a break of 124. Frame two came down to the colours and a rare safety error from Higgins, leaving the blue close to a top corner, allowed Trump to clip it in for 1-1. Higgins dominated the next two with 53 and 137 to lead 3-1 at the interval.
Frame five came down to the last red and Trump trailed by 34 points when he converted an excellent long pot the a baulk corner, but then overcut a tricky black to a top corner, swiping away the cue ball in annoyance as he conceded the frame and went 4-1 behind. Higgins looked set for 5-1 until he ran out of position after potting the last red, trailing 42-59. He later trapped his opponent in a snooker on the brown, but Trump escaped and fluked the brown to a baulk pocket, then added a cracking long blue to close to 4-2.
A run of 77 put Higgins three up with four to play. His match winning chance came in frame eight, but his position from black to yellow was imperfect and, trailing 46-55, he missed a difficult thin cut to the far baulk corner. Trump later made a fine yellow-to-pink clearance to keep his hopes alive, and that changed the momentum as he rattled in breaks of 88 and 111 for 5-5. A cracking long red early in the decider set him up for a run of 68, and Higgins’ hopes ended when he missed a tough long red which might have allowed him to counter.
“John put me under a lot of pressure early on and he didn’t look like missing,” said Trump. “He gave me a lifeline to go 5-3 and I felt I was still in it. I just went for everything and they went in. It helps when you have another tournament the next week because if you lose you know you have another match in two or three days. Early in the game I was tense and trying too hard, then from 5-2 I changed my mindset and relaxed. At 5-4 I went to the toilet and when I came back in the reaction was so loud, that inspired me to put on a show for them. That’s when I play my best.
“John and I have had so many great games and it’s often the toss of a coin in the end. Him, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan are all idols of mine, at the end of my career I just hope I can be up there with them.
“If I play (19-year-old) Liu Hongyu tomorrow I will feel like an old man! I feel that with a lot of players now, I have been around for a long time. I try to remember what it was like to be that age and how much I enjoyed it, it felt like it would go on forever. As you get older you put more expectation on yourself and you are desperate to win, so you forget to have fun out there. When I’m having fun I play my best. Whoever wins tonight is going to be very excited about playing in their first final, so I need to remember that feeling too.”
Higgins was playing in his 82nd ranking event semi-final but saw his hopes of a 32nd title end. He told Eurosport: “I was hit by a truck. Judd started smashing them in. I had the chance at 5-2, I didn’t play a great positional shot to get to the yellow, then I cued across it. I tried to play it positive and come off two cushions for the green, but I butchered it. From there I didn’t get a sniff because Judd started flying. You can only take your hat off to him, great champions can do that to you.”
Zhang Anda kept his best run in a ranking event going as he won a Chinese derby against Liu Hongyu 6-2 to set up a final clash with Judd Trump at the BetVictor English Open.
World number 57 Zhang knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 16 earlier in the week and carried his momentum into the quarter and semi-finals to set up the biggest day of his career so far. He will battle Trump over a possible 17 frames at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday, with an £80,000 top prize and the Steve Davis Trophy at stake.
Zhang had never been past the quarter-finals of a ranking event before this week, but he kept his composure tonight to outplay tour rookie Liu. His previous career highlights include appearances at the Crucible in 2010, 2015 and 2016 as well as victory in the Asian Under-21 Championship back in 2009 and making his first official 147 in 2022. But the player who first turned pro 14 years ago is now breaking new ground at the age of 31.
Trump will start the final a strong favourite, though Zhang can take confidence from the fact that he has won two of their six previous meetings.
In the opening frame tonight, Zhang trailed 52-8 but hit back to take it with a 59 clearance. In the second, he was 39-54 behind when he trapped his opponent in a tough snooker on the yellow, and from the chance that followed he went 2-0 ahead. Liu had first chance in the third but missed a red to top corner on 29, and Zhang’s runs of 27 and 41 extended his lead.
Frame four came down to the colours and Zhang was fortunate to snooker Liu after missing a tricky pot on the blue to a baulk corner. Liu hit the blue, but left it close enough to a centre pocket for Zhang to go 4-0 up at the interval. World number 57 Zhang had a chance in the fifth but missed a mid-range pot on the last red when he trailed 22-45, and Liu got one on the board.
Zhang’s run of 52 helped him dominate the seventh, then Liu added some respectability to the scoreline with a 68 for 5-2. But Zhang soon wrapped up the result with runs of 31 and 46 in frame eight.
“Neither of us played well today and I felt a bit nervous,” admitted Zhang. “I was playing the one table set-up for the first time. Liu wasn’t able to clear up when he got chances. His safety was good but I was more aggressive.
“I’m not feeling surprised, this wasn’t unexpected for me. I feel fine about the final. This is what I have been trying to achieve for years and I’ve put in a lot of effort.
“Judd is an aggressive player and he’s got that fighting spirit, he is also very good at break building. He’s pretty much flawless. Maybe he’s not the best tactical player, but he still plays much better safety than me.
“I won’t have too much on my mind because I’ve done well this week anyway. I’m happy with myself, but it would be a dream come true tomorrow if I win, to become a champion.”
I can’t comment on those matches as I din’t see any of the action yesterday. However, it has been at bit of a trend for John Higgins recently to lose from winning positions and, surely, it must be a concern for him.
Going by their respective records, and history in the sport, Judd has to be a massive favourite today but you never know in this sport. I just hope that Zhang can keep his composure and plays well. The crowds have been good all week in Brentwood and they deserve a good final. It would be a shame if it turned to be a completely one-sided affair. Zhang is very capable of springing a surprise: in 2010, in his first year as a professional, he reached the television stages at the Crucible, and only lost by 10-9 to Stephen Hendry in the first round. He has a cool head and won’t mind being the under-dog today. All the expectations will be on Judd Trump.
… in other news …
This is poster shared on weibo today. It’s for an exhibition tournament, organised by Wynn in Macau. As you can see it features Ali Carter, Ryan Day, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, John Higgins, Luca Brecel and Mark Selby. All those players, according to weibo, are set to skip the 2023 Northern Ireland Open to play in this most certainly much lucrative event… Something to think about for WST maybe?
As I mentioned in an earlier post this week, I have a lot going on in my private life at the moment and I haven’t been able to watch as much snooker as I usually do. Except for Ronnie’s matches I haven’t reported on the 2023 English Open developments. We have now reached the semi-finals and it’s time to (try to) catch up.
Most of the top players negotiated round 3 (Last 32) safely, albeit no always easily. There were two notable exceptions: Mark Allen was beaten by Matthew Selt (4-2) and Hossein Vafaei was beaten by He Guoqiang a 23 years old rookie from China.(4-3).
Round 4 (last 16) was played on the same day as round 3 for half of players who reached that round and proved to be the stumbling block for a number of top players: most notably for Luca Brecel, the reigning World Champion, Ronnie, the current number one Mark Williams whose last 16 match finished at about 1:30 in the Friday morning. All three above mentioned top players had two matches to play on “moving day”, the second one coming in the late evening session. It is absolutely obvious that fatigue was a factor, especially for those in their late 40th (Mark Williams went on a rant on twitter about it). So much so that it triggered high profile withdrawals from the 2023 Wuhan Open. More on that later.
All that yielded a rather unexpected, and somewhat strange, quarter final line-up: indeed all four remaining British players competed in one half, whilst, the other half featured four Chinese players.
John Higgins and Judd Trump, who have met in two Crucible finals, will go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the BetVictor English Open after both scored emphatic 5-1 wins in Brentwood on Friday afternoon.
Higgins saw off Martin O’Donnell while Trump got the better of Matthew Selt, setting up an intriguing contest on Saturday at 1pm. The pair last met in the semi-finals of the BetVictor European Masters in August when Trump edged through 6-5, and the Englishman will hope for a repeat result against all-time legend Higgins.
Scotland’s 48-year-old Higgins will contest his 82nd ranking event semi-final and is two wins away from a 32nd title and first since the 2021 Players Championship. He has already seen Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams win titles this season and hopes to become the third member of the famed ‘Class of 92’ to lift a trophy within the space of three weeks.
Higgins started strongly with breaks of 67 and 59 to take the opening frame. O’Donnell levelled, only for his opponent to make 82 and 77 to lead 3-1 at the interval. Frame five was in the balance until Higgins, leading 49-27, dropped a tricky red into a centre pocket and added the points he needed to extend his advantage. And the four-time World Champion sealed the result with a run of 70 in the sixth.
“In my last couple of matches I have hit the ball really well,” said Higgins. “Martin will be disappointed because it was a big match for him and he missed a couple which he has not been missing this week. I will need to take my chances against Judd tomorrow. I love playing him, I have brought the best out of him in some of our matches and he has done the same to me. I love competing against him because he has been a breath of fresh air for our game for many years. It’s a game I relish.
“At the end of last season I made some tweaks to my cue and then I started playing to a better standard, I have been more compact and had more confidence. I want to try and win big titles. It would be great to join two great champions in Mark and Ronnie, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Trump is seeking his first ranking title since the Turkish Masters in March 2022, and he enjoyed another comfortable victory over the same player he beat in that final in Turkey. The Bristol cueman shared the first two frames with Essex potter Selt, but then pulled away to take four in a row with top breaks of 137 and 103.
World number five Trump is through to his 55th ranking event semi-final and the left-hander remains on course for a 24th career ranking title.
“It was a tricky start to the game,” said 34-year-old Trump. “Matt missed a ball at 1-1 and it changed after that, I punished him. Every time he missed the balls were going over the pocket. I upped my game in the second half of the match.
“I don’t think I’m too far away from really enjoying my snooker. I’ve had a good start to the season and it would be nice to convert one of these into a tournament win. When you lose, people think you’re not playing well. But they aren’t actually looking at how you played. I haven’t played my best yet, it’s there in spells. Hopefully I’ll save that for the semi-final and final.”
Just three months into his professional career, promising rookie Liu Hongyu reached his first ranking event semi-final with a 5-2 victory over China’s greatest ever player Ding Junhui at the BetVictor English Open.
Liu, 19, becomes only the fifth rookie since 2011 to reach a ranking event semi-final, and he is just two wins away from becoming the first player to win a ranking title during his debut season since Terry Griffiths at the 1979 World Championship.
Already this week in Brentwood, Liu has knocked out Shaun Murphy, Joe O’Connor, Chris Wakelin and Mark Williams, before getting the better of an out-of-sorts Ding. His next match will be another Chinese derby against Zhang Anda, who followed up yesterday’s defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan by edging out Zhou Yuelong 5-4.
World number 89 Liu, from Taishan in China’s Guangdong province, turned pro earlier this year after winning the Asia-Pacific Championship, and has quickly made the transition to the highest level.
In a scrappy opening to tonight’s match he took the first three frames with a top break of 52. Liu had a chance to go 4-0 ahead but missed the last red to a centre pocket when he trailed 33-61 in frame four, and 14-time ranking event winner Ding reduced the deficit.
After the interval, Liu extended his lead to 4-1, then Ding pulled one back. In the seventh, Ding led 57-1, but twice missed frame ball – the blue to a baulk corner and then a tough red to a top corner. The second mistake proved costly as Liu made an excellent 57 clearance for victory.
“I’m very excited and very glad to be able to beat Ding,” said the teenager. “I didn’t expect to make it this far. I’ll try my best to get used to the arena tomorrow and play my own game. I felt nervous entering the arena, after all this is my first time playing in front of so many spectators. When I got these emotions under control I felt fine. After the first three frames I felt less nervous. In the last frame I felt confident to close the match in one visit.
“I thought I had chances to do well this season, but never thought it would come so soon. I can’t pinpoint what’s so different but it’s quite unique, the atmosphere was compact. All those roars from the spectators, I enjoyed it.”
Zhang and Zhou’s contest was higher quality as it included two centuries and six more breaks over 50. World number 57 Zhang took a 3-0 advantage with runs of 73 and 90. Zhou battled back to 3-3 with 61 and 102, and later made it 4-4 with a 106. Early in the decider, Zhang potted a long red then trapped his opponent in a tough snooker, and from the chance that followed he held his nerve in a smooth break of 80.
“I used all my mental strength to stay in the match because Zhou was excellent tonight,” said 31-year-old Zhang. “He was more than capable of winning frames in one visit. I don’t know how I got through the deciding frame but I fancied my chance to close out the match.
“This will be my first semi-final so I have no idea what is it going to be like tomorrow. Liu is from the same province as me so we have met in regional tournaments back home. He has beaten me before so I know how good a player he is.”
Zhang and Liu will both contest their first ranking event semi-final on Saturday at 7pm, with the winner going through to Sunday’s final to face an opponent with vastly more experience – John Higgins or Judd Trump.
Now, some thoughts about the scheduling of all this… yesterday the British players played in the afternoon, and the Chinese players in the evening, meaning that the Chinese fans had little no chance to watch “their” players as the matches were unfolding because this was the middle of the night in China. It will be the same today. I understand that it may not be an easy decision to take by WST, but why not swap those sessions? Of course they couldn’t have foreseen this line-up, and, of course some people might have bought tickets in the hope to watch a specific player or match, but, on the other hand the afternoon session can be watched Chinese fans in China, and most “working people” in the UK are free to attend matches at the venue in the evenings, whilst this isn’t probably the case in the afternoons. I have seen sessions swapped – at the Masters of all events – to allow Chinese fans to watch Ding “live on TV”, so it wouldn’t be a first.
Liu Hongyu is only 19 and this a quite extraordinary run he’s having here in his first year as a pro. It’s good that he was interviewed and I hope that him and He Guoqiang get more exposure by the governing body as the season unfolds. That brings me back to Stan Moody … I got quite some stick on social media for the comments I made when young Stan was showcased on the main table while the defending Champion was playing on an outside table at the 2023 British Open. I’m unrepentant and stand by those comments. I’m all for WST promoting the young players, and putting them under the spotlights, provided they do it for the right reasons, by this I mean on merits. Stan showed promises and talent in his match against Luca Brecel this week. On that occasion people on twitter jumped at me with “See? He’s making progress, WST was right to put him on TV to help his development”. I watched that match and indeed, the young man has talent. The fact remains however that he has played eight matches as a professional so far and is yet to win a single one. In sharp contrast, two young Chines players, Liu Hongyu and He Guoqiang have won plenty. If you look at the provisional season points on snooker.org , Lyu Hongyu is currently ranked World number 13 whilst He Guoqiang is number 25. It’s those two who should be showcased, because they earned it, on merit rather than because a top player, close to the governing body, and to whom they bear some physical resemblance, is their mentor .
A final world about the Wuhan withdrawals. It’s a crying shame and I don’t blame the players. They need to look after their own wellbeing and health, because WST won’t. But the World Champion, Luca Brecel and Mark Williams withdrawing … that’s quite a blow to the first ranking event played in China in years! Ronnie on Weibo confirmed that he would be in Wuhan and was looking forward to it. That said, he looked tired and didn’t exactly ooze enthusiasm… This is all because the shambolic scheduling of the season. The Chinese events should be grouped – this is done in other sports – and the qualifiers or rather round 1, played in China. Make them a 10 days events played in one go. That would give time from travel and rest between events (China is vast). Yes, it would be a long time away from home for the Brit players. So what? It’s even more “long time away from home” for everyone else as it is now, and that is one of the reasons, an important reason, why the main tour remains so predominantly dominated by the Brits.
Ronnie played very well against Jackson Page on day3, but couldn’t reproduce that form on day 4. He managed to win by 4-2 against Si Jiahui in the afternoon, but bowed out of the tournament in the evening, beaten 4-2 by Zhang Anda.
O’Sullivan recovered from a slow start to beat Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui 4-2. China’s Si made a 101 in the opening frame and went on to lead 2-1, but crucially missed chances in frames four and five. That allowed O’Sullivan to go 3-2 ahead and he sealed the result with a 78 in the sixth to earn a tie with Zhang Anda.
WST also shared some more images of that match
The following videos were shared bu Eurosport on their YouTube channel
Frame 4 … Si was leading 2-1 at that point
The final frame
Despite non playing well at all, Ronnie fought well and had a very positive interview with Alan McManus after that match. Despire branding his performance “awful”, he insisted that he wants to play, and still loves to play and compete.
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan suffered a shock 4-2 defeat against Zhang Anda in the last 16 of the BetVictor English Open, while World Champion Luca Brecel was also knocked out, losing 4-3 to Ding Junhui.
Thursday night’s results mean that O’Sullivan hangs on to the official world number one position for at least another ten days. Brecel could have gone above him with a run to the semi-finals, but instead he’ll have another chance to gain top spot at next week’s Wuhan Open.
Shanghai Masters champion O’Sullivan looked on top of his game on Wednesday when he made three centuries to beat Jackson Page, but he had to battle to get past Si Jiahui on Thursday afternoon, before his run was ended by world number 57 Zhang. China’s 31-year-old Zhang is through to the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the fourth time in his career and will hope to reach his first semi-final when he plays Zhou Yuelong, who beat Ali Carter 4-1.
O’Sullivan led 2-1 but his opponent then dominated, firing breaks of 97, 50 and 116. Zhang said: “I played well tonight, my break building was good and I did not make serious mistakes. I felt a bit nervous at the beginning but I was pretty settled after the first frame. I took some extra time lining up the last few shots, thinking about the winning line. From 2-1, Ronnie missed a few and went for a couple of shots when he could have played safe instead, which offered me chances.
“I have won matches recently in qualifiers, playing well, so generally I feel good. The best players are used to the feeling of winning as a habit. I’m getting a bit of that and want to keep this going.”
And one images shared by WST
Towards the end of that match, Ronnie continued to attack, when it could have been wiser to be more cautious, especially a Zhang is extremely reliable in the balls. But there may have been reasons for that, other than the fact that he didn’t particularly like the venue. Playing two matches in a day, only a few hours apart, can be though, especially when players get older. Mark Selby was far from impressed with WST matches scheduling earlier in the week and it’s not like Selby to complain publicly about venues and schedules. In that light, this defeat may prove to be a blessing in disguise, as Ronnie can now travel to Wuhan, without having to rush. I expect him to give it 100% there
As already mentioned by WST, Ronnie will stay World number 1 after this event, as Luca Brecel also lost yesterday.
And there we go again with the “shock defeat” thing. There is no shock defeat. Yes, it’s a bit of an upset, by Zhang is a very capable player. His short stature means that he struggles with some types of shots, but if you leave hin in the balls, he’s extremely reliable. This is a guy who, at 17, played Hendry at the Crucible and only lost in a deciding frame.
“John put me under a lot of pressure early on and he didn’t look like missing,” said Trump. “He gave me a lifeline to go 5-3 and I felt I was still in it. I just went for everything and they went in. It helps when you have another tournament the next week because if you lose you know you have another match in two or three days. Early in the game I was tense and trying too hard, then from 5-2 I changed my mindset and relaxed. At 5-4 I went to the toilet and when I came back in the reaction was so loud, that inspired me to put on a show for them. That’s when I play my best.
Just three months into his professional career, promising rookie Liu Hongyu reached his first ranking event semi-final with a 5-2 victory over China’s greatest ever player Ding Junhui at the BetVictor English Open.
Shanghai Masters champion O’Sullivan looked on top of his game on Wednesday when he made three centuries to beat Jackson Page, but he had to battle to get past Si Jiahui on Thursday afternoon, before his run was ended by world number 57 Zhang. China’s 31-year-old Zhang is through to the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the fourth time in his career and will hope to reach his first semi-final when he plays Zhou Yuelong, who beat Ali Carter 4-1.