The draw for the new Wuhan Open has been made, with first round ties including World Champion Luca Brecel against China’s Xing Zihao, and former Crucible kings Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ken Doherty going head to head.
The qualifying round* will run from September 1-5 in Leicester, followed by the final stages from October 9-15 in the city of Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province.
The Wuhan Open will be the first ranking event staged in mainland China since 2019, and it will be one of three ranking events in China during the 2023/24 season, alongside the International Championship and World Open. These will follow the invitational Shanghai Masters, to take place in September.
Brecel’s match against Xing and O’Sullivan’s clash with Doherty will be held over to the final final venue, along with the matches involving the four local wild cards, as well as the top two ranked Chinese players. Ding Junhui will take on Ashley Hugill, while Zhou Yuelong has been drawn against World Women’s Champion Baipat Siripaporn.
Notable matches in the qualifying round include:
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei v Hong Kong’s Marco Fu John Higgins v Dylan Emery Mark Selby v Hong Kong’s Andy Lee Judd Trump v Lukas Kleckers Mark Allen v John Astley An Australian derby between Neil Robertson and Ryan Thomerson Shaun Murphy v Ben Mertens Mark Williams v Andres Petrov
Details of how to watch the qualifying rounds will be announced soon.
Wuhan Open Prize Money Winner: £140,000 Runner-up: £63,000 Semi-finals: £30,000 Quarter-finals: £16,000 Last 16: £12,000 Last 32: £8,000 Last 64: £4,500 High break: £5,000 Total: £700,000
There is an interesting change of format here with only the World Champion and the World Number 1 guaranteed to have their matches held-over at the venue. Other than the top Chinese players, the rest have to hope to be drawn against a wildcard. It’s probably a good idea as the first two days in China were often absolutely hectic and, of course, because the Chinese fans deserve to be able to watch “their ” players live.
Apparently WST definition for “Notable match” is basically that it features a top player. There are at least three matches in that list above that I see as totally uninteresting because they will almost certainly be heavily one-sided.
Stephen Hendry hails ‘sponge’ Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘A lot of it goes over my head’
Phil Haigh Tuesday 8 Aug 2023 3:50 pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been labelled ‘a massive snooker geek’ (Picture: PA)
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s sponge-like qualities have been hailed by his fellow seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who admitted he has struggled to be coached over his career.
O’Sullivan and Hendry are widely considered the two greatest snooker players of all-time, sharing the record for most Crucible titles and with the Scot (36) only behind the Englishman (39) on the all-time list of ranking title wins.
They have had very different careers, though, with Hendry’s seven Crucible crowns coming between 1990-99, while the Rocket’s have spanned 2001-22 and he still remains in contention to add more to his CV.
There are also plenty of differences in their games, with Hendry noting that he succeeded when doing everything his natural, instinctive way and felt that some coaching may have cost him later in his career, while O’Sullivan soaked up positive aspects for his game.
Speaking to Michael Holt about coaching and technique on his Cue Tips channel, Hendry said: ‘I couldn’t tell you one thing technically. I’ve had four coaches in my career and each time it’s like, “do I really understand that?” A lot of it goes over my head.
‘I sometimes think, would I have been alright without…I had my first coach Frank Callan because I didn’t think my long game was good enough to compete with the likes of Steve [Davis]. I could pot balls obviously, but [couldn’t] consistently rely on my long game.
‘So he brought a pause into my backswing, but I don’t know whether…I got deceleration at the end of my career, I call it the yips, and I don’t know if that came from the pause.
‘[O’Sullivan] He’s like a sponge, he takes things in from everywhere.’
Holt, a ranking event winner who now works as a snooker coach, said one of O’Sullivan’s great traits is his ability to learn from others, but only take what is a positive to his own game and ignore anything that could hamper him.
‘Ronnie’s a massive snooker geek, he knows everything. He’s like a robot,’ said the Hitman.
‘What he’s amazing at is disregarding the stuff that he’s not interested in and trusting what he believes in and then he just goes out there and plays, which is a talent in itself.
‘Ultimately that’s why he’s played for so long because he knows everything about his game.
‘I think that’s where the next level might come from, players will be more aware of what they do and how they do it. Disregard the myths.’
It is interesting that Hendry appears to believe that coaching might actually have damaged his game.
Anyway … Ronnie, it seems, has decided to share his experience and, whilst he’s not coaching, he has been working with a huge team on “The Rocket Method”…
The Rocket Method™ will be the premium online snooker training program, taught by the greatest player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
With our course, you’ll be set to truly understand and learn snooker.
We have also hired Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregg Helvey to provide a stunning production quality, so that you can enjoy the learning process.
Despite these immense costs, it was important to us to price the offering so that it remains well within the affordability of the majority of snooker fans.
Thanks.
Alan McManus is strongly involved in this project as well.
Now … in another “cuetips” podcast, Hendry was asked if it’s worth investing yourself in top sports if you don’t have an exceptional talent and his answer was quite short and clear: NO.
I agree but that doesn’t mean though that you should not invest in an activity or sport you like and enjoy, it’s always good and satisfying to learn and try improving. But also, you have to know and accept your own limitations. I, for instance, know that I wouldn’t benefit from this at all because I’m utterly useless at anything that requires hand-eye coordination, having a poor eyesight and being one of those lefties who were forced into using predominantly their right hand back in the days (1).
Bai Yulu wins in Russia…
Bai Yulu has won the Russian “15-Reds” International Championship, beating home favourite Ivan Kakovskii 4-2 in the final. There were 32 competitors from 10 countries. The event was played in Tyumen, Siberia, from 24-28 August. (source Lewis Pirnie on twitter). Lewis also added: For details, and videos of some matches, see: https://bill4you.ru/en/snooker/tournament/item?id=1587
The above images were shared on Weibo by Ba Yulu herself.
Congratulations Bai Yulu!
Thankfully such practices are rare nowadays. No level of constraint or violence will change your brain wiring. ↩︎
For several years now I have tried – with not as much success as I wished – to promote the Seniors Snooker Tour. I feel it’s important, I feel that as much as it is important to develop the game by supporting young aspiring players, it’s equally important to give those who have served the game for years, and older players in general, a good platform, allowing them to continue to play competitively and enjoy the game they love.
Someone like Lee Walker who dedicated his whole life to the sport probably got the best “reward” for his efforts by winning the Seniors World Championship at the Crucible in front of his family. Other deserve that chance too. Maybe I feel this way because I’m 68 and still feeling full of energy with many projects? Maybe, but I’m not the only one and life doesn’t stop when your hair turn grey.. or white.
Jason Francis created such a “playing platform” … the Seniors tour, that was later taken under the umbrella of WPBSA. Pre-covid the Seniors tour was thriving, but last season there was just the one “main event”, the World Championship at the Crucible. That tour needs rebuilding. There is a demand for it.
As you can see only amateurs can enter the qualifying events … what happened?
Well … here is a screenshot of (part of) the conversation Jason Francis had on Facebook with some very unhappy older professionals. That conversation explains a lot.
I know for certain that Jason’s proposal – the one he refers to in that conversation – comprises many more events. But he can’t promote them properly if people don’t find recognisable names in there, and if he can’t promote them, of course, they would be financially unsustainable.
The older Legends he started his tour with – Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, John Parrott, Steve Davis … – are no more available, either because they decided to retire for good because their game isn’t anymore where they want it to be, or because they have developed totally different interests in life.
People like Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, Marco Fu or the reigning Seniors World Champion, Jimmy White are currently prevented to enter or play in those events. If the situation doesn’t change, Jimmy will not have the opportunity to defend his title come May.
So why doesn’t WST agree to allow some of his older pros, who are outside the top 64, to play on that tour? Maybe allowing players over 45 only? I’m sure Jason would be OK with that.
I can’t really come up with an explanation, or any sort of rationale to it, especially as Jason is absolutely adamant that the Seniors events will not clash with main tour events.
Barry Hawkins claimed ranking silverware for the first time in six years, scoring a momentous 9-6 win over 2019 World Champion Judd Trump in the BetVictor European Masters final in Nuremberg.
The Hawk was competing in the European Masters final for a second consecutive year. He made the title match 12 months ago, where he succumbed to a 9-3 loss at the hands of Kyren Wilson.
That was the fourth in a chain of final defeats which frustrated the 44-year-old. Since beating Ryan Day 10-7 in the 2017 World Grand Prix final, Hawkins was runner-up at the 2018 Welsh Open, 2018 China Open and 2022 Players Championship. This evening he finally returned to the winner’s circle.
Hawkins had to tread a perilous path this week to capture a fourth ranking crown. The Londoner came from 3-1 down to beat James Cahill 5-3 in his opening tie. He then went on to inflict Luca Brecel’s first defeat as World Champion by a 5-4 scoreline and defeated four-time Crucible king Mark Selby 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Victory sees Hawkins pick up the £80,000 top prize. It will move straight to the top of the one-year list and the BetVictor Series standings. Whoever accumulates the most prize money across the counting events in the BetVictor Series will pocket a bumper £150,000 bonus.
Defeat for Trump extends his wait for ranking silverware. The Ace in the Packs’s most recent ranking title came over a year ago at the 2022 Turkish Masters. However, he can reflect on a week that has seen him build a strong platform for his season ahead, which included a thrilling 6-5 win over John Higgins in the semi-finals.
Trump came into the evening session 5-3 behind and the deficit was soon extended when he fouled on the final black in the opening frame, handing Hawkins a 6-3 advantage.
A break of 53 in the 10th then saw Hawkins move two frames from the title at 7-3. However, Trump dug deep and won the last before the mid-session to close within three frames.
When play resumed Trump made it 7-5, before an edgy 13th frame where both players missed opportunities. Eventually it was Hawkins who spurned a pivotal brown to the middle and Trump cleared up to make it 7-6.
From there Hawkins showed his steel and crucially took the 14th without conceding a point to move 8-6 ahead. After leaving Trump needing snookers in the next and having seemingly got over the line, a safety battle ensued and Hawkins was made to wait for the winning moment. He eventually deposited a red to the top left and looked to the sky in relief. The 44-year-old had finally got over the line and captured the title.
“It feels amazing. There was a stage of the match where I thought it was happening again. I lost my way, but towards the end I got my focus back and it was a weird feeling. I started feeling calm again. It was strange. I obviously got a bit of help from Judd today which I am thankful for, because once he gets going he is so dangerous. I battled hard today. It wasn’t a free flowing match but it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. I’m just so happy to pick up another trophy,” said an elated Hawkins.
“When he is coming back at you it is hard not to think the worst sometimes. It has been such a long time since I was in the winner’s enclosure. You forget how it feels. I managed to stay as calm as possible and I fell over the line in the end.
“It is hard to describe the feeling. It is massive elation and massive relief. I’ve finally won a tournament, but all of a sudden you come down again. It is back down to earth again now and onto the next one.
“It is up there with, if not the best win of my career. All the great players were here this week and the match against Selby was such a feather in my cap. It was a high quality game and put me under so much pressure. I stood up to it and was really pleasing.”
Trump said: “I am happy to have been in the final. I would have liked to play better and pushed Barry a little bit. It wasn’t to be. His safety was very good and put me under pressure. I knew it was going to be difficult. I gave it my all but I wasn’t there today. Congratulations to Barry and his family. I hope he has a good celebration.”
Barry was the best player in the tournament IMO, not the most spectacular but the strongest under pressure. He’s an all-rounder with one of the best defensive game in the sport when he needs it. That he has won only four titles is a bit surprising, but then, a few years back, after he made the final against Ronnie at the Crucible in 2013, he had some issues off the table that held him back.
The images above were shared by World Snooker on social media ( X and Facebook)
Liam Davies has defeated Craig Steadman 5-2 to win the opening event of the 2023/24 WPBSA Q Tour UK/Europe Series at the North East Snooker Centre, North Shields.
The first of a record seven Q Tour UK/Europe events set to take place this season saw 115 players contest the title with the top ranked player at the end of the season set to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour, with at least a further 16 players to qualify for a newly expanded Global Playoff later this season.
Welsh youngster Davies began his campaign with a bye in the last 64, before dramatically winning four deciding-frame matches against Aidan Murphy, Bulcsú Révész, Duane Jones and Ryan Davies to reach his first Q Tour final.
Awaiting him was former Shoot Out semi-finalist Craig Steadman, who was playing in his first Q Tour event after dropping off the professional circuit at the end of last season. The English player defeated Mitchell Travis, Ayaan Iqbal, Simon Bedford, Iulian Boiko and Tyler Rees to reach the title match.
It was 17-year-old Davies who made the stronger start with runs of 47 and 109 to claim a 2-0 lead, before Steadman pounced upon a missed blue in the next with 98 of his own to close to 1-2.
The following two frames were split either side of the interval, but Davies needed just 19 further minutes to add the following two frames and surge to a sensational breakthrough victory.
The victory earns Davies the top prize of £3,000 and a guaranteed place in the season-ending Global Q Tour Playoff, which will see 24 players contest three places on the professional circuit. The top ranked player in the Q Tour UK/Europe rankings will automatically earn a two-year card.
The highest break of the event was compiled by Simon Bedford, who hit 136 during his last 16 defeat to Steadman.
Liam has been talked about for many years. As a young kid already, his huge talent was evident. I first watched him play when he was probably about 7. He has a lot of good people around him too. Hopefully he can get on the tour next season
The next professional event, the 2023 English Open Qualifiers, will start on Friday, September 1.
Judd Trump prevailed in yet another classic contest with John Higgins, rallying from 4-2 down to win 6-5 and clinch his place in the final of the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg.
The clash was the latest in a storied rivalry between the pair, which has included two World Championship finals in 2011 and 2019. Victory for 23-time ranking event winner Trump sees him edge in front in their head-to-head standings, now leading his counterpart 15-14.
Both players came into this week seeking to capture ranking silverware for the first time in over a year. Trump claimed his last ranking crown back at the 2022 Turkish Masters, while the most recent of Higgins’ 31 ranking event wins came at the 2021 Players Championship.
Trump is now just one win away from returning to the winner’s circle, he faces either Mark Selby or Barry Hawkins over the best of 17 frames in the final. The victor will take home the £80,000 top prize.
It was Higgins who started best this afternoon, breaks of 59, 50 and 70 saw him sweep the first three frames and move 3-0 up. However, Trump responded emphatically with contributions of 111 and 93 to pull within one at 3-2. Higgins responded in kind and a brilliant 114 saw him reassert himself on proceedings and lead 4-2.
Trump hit back in the next two frames and drew level at 4-4, but breaks of 54 and 60 helped Higgins to take the ninth and close in on the win at 5-4 in front. He was made to wait for his chance, when Trump was aided by a fluked red which set him up to force a decider. Both players had chances in the final frame, but it was the Bristolian who made a crucial break of 73 to clinch the 6-5 win.
“It is always an incredible game with John. I said before the game that it is a match I always cherish. I know that I need to play somewhere near my best. Obviously today I wasn’t at my best, but I managed to dig in and do what John and Mark Selby do. They don’t give in. I waited for my chances and they came. I had a pressure shot on the pink in the last frame. If I missed, all the balls were there. It was nice to pot that under the upmost pressure,” said 33-year-old Trump.
“When you don’t win early on it depletes your confidence and your belief. The difference this season has been night and day. I could have easily been out in the game against Chris Wakelin when I was 4-0 down and now I am here and playing in the final. That is how fine the line is. There were so many times last season when I should have won and I went out. This time I should have been out and I’m in the final.
“It is important to try and get off to a good start. There is nothing better than winning a tournament at the start of the season. Winning these big ones nowadays puts you in all of the other events. Anyone that gets an event early on seems to have the season of their life. We saw it with Mark Allen last season and me a couple of years before. It just shows how important it is to get off to a good start.”
Higgins said: “He deserved it and potted some pressure balls in the last couple of frames. If I am being hyper critical, I missed a bad red in the fourth frame, but I’m not looking at the negatives. I’m looking at the positives and he played really well in that game. He just managed to pip me and he is a great champion. We always have good games, but I’ve come out losing this time.”
It’s hard to explain rationally but my feeling was that, yes, Judd Trump played well, but the pre-covid Higgins wouldn’t have lost that match from 3-0 up. That said, Judd has matured a lot and for the better. There is no more surrendering to frustration when things don’t go his way, no more wild smashing the balls. He’s a lot more in control of his emotions and it’s a while since we’ve heard him bemoaning his bad luck. He prefers an open game but when he must, his safety game is there amongst the best currently.
Barry Hawkins scored a 6-4 win over close friend and four-time World Champion Mark Selby in Nuremberg to make the BetVictor European Masters final for a second consecutive year.
The Hawk is now one win away from ending a ranking title drought which extends back six years to the 2017 World Grand Prix. Since then he has appeared in a further four ranking finals, but was runner up at the 2018 Welsh Open, 2018 China Open, 2022 Players Championship and 2022 European Masters. His defeat in last year’s European Masters final came 9-3 at the hands of Kyren Wilson.
Hawkins must now face 2019 World Champion Judd Trump over the best of 17 frames, with a top prize of £80,000 on the line. The Ace in the Pack is aiming to break a drought of his own, having not won a ranking title since the 2022 Turkish Masters.
Despite defeat this evening, it has been a strong outing for Selby in his first appearance of the season. He ended last term falling short in snooker’s biggest match, after being beaten 18-15 by Luca Brecel in an all-time classic World Championship final. The four-time Crucible king appears to be gearing up for another big campaign in 23/24.
The match began at a ferocious pace, Selby took an early lead with a sublime 134 in the opener. However, Hawkins responded with 106 to restore parity. Selby moved 2-1 ahead, before Hawkins battled to take a 38-minute fourth to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
They traded the first two frames after the interval, with Hawkins then crafting a run of 70 to take the lead for the first time in the match at 4-3. With the finish line coming into view, Selby stepped it up a gear. A contribution of 94 saw him draw level and he had looked set to move one from the win, when he strung together a break of 59 in the ninth. The frame was turned on its head though, when Hawkins hit back with an incredible clearance of 66 to steal on the black.
Selby had the first chance to force a decider in the next, but broke down on 32. Hawkins stepped in and ruthlessly wrapped up the match with a fine break of 73.
“I’m delighted. I thought it was a high quality game with not many balls missed. Overall I thought the standard was very good. To beat Mark, when it looked like he was playing well, is a feather in my cap,” said 44-year-old Hawkins.
“I’ve watched all of the greats over the years and those are the sorts of frames they win (the two at the end of the match). It looked like I was going 5-4 down and Mark had the momentum with him. It would have been an uphill battle from there. To win those sorts of frames is a massive boost in confidence. I held myself together under the utmost pressure.
“It doesn’t get any easier. I’m looking forward to the final though. It is another big match and I’ve had some great games with Judd over the years. I know what to expect. I just need more of the same from what I did tonight really. I won’t worry about who I am playing and just go out there and enjoy the occasion.”
The semi-finals today in Nuremberg will see Judd Trump face John Higgins and Mark Selby do battle with Barry Hawkins. Here is how yesterday on the baize unfolded as reported by WST.
Barry Hawkins inflicted Luca Brecel’s first defeat as World Champion, coming through a deciding frame to win 5-4 in their last 16 clash at the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg.
Defeat for Brecel ends his ambitions of emerging from this event as world number one. The 28-year-old had to make the semi-finals to leapfrog Ronnie O’Sullivan, but ended up falling two hurdles short.
Hawkins is seeking a first ranking title in six years, having last lifted silverware at the World Grand Prix back in 2017. Next up he faces a quarter-final clash with Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham this evening, who edged out former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson 5-4.
Leading 2-1, Hawkins composed a fine break of 70 to head into the mid-session interval with a commanding 3-1 advantage this afternoon. However, when play resumed, Brecel responded by taking the fifth and sixth frames to restore parity at 3-3. The Crucible king then made it three on the bounce to move just a frame from victory at 4-3.
Hawkins showed his class with a stunning 133 to force a decider, where both players spurned opportunities for victory. Eventually the Londoner got himself over the line and wrapped up a 5-4 win.
Defeat left Brecel disappointed to miss out on the world number one spot. However, that blow was softened after finding out the cue he won the World Championship had been found, after it was lost on a recent flight from Seattle to Frankfurt.
“Missing world number one and the chance to get a trophy was quite disappointing. I think it would have been quite gettable. It wasn’t to be,” said four-time ranking event winner Brecel.
“It was surprising that after ten days I have got my cue back. It is going to be delivered to my home. That is good news. With this cue it is no fun, it would have been a horrible season for me so I’m glad I’ve got the old one back.”
Mark Selby secured his place in the last eight with a 5-2 win over Ashley Hugill. The four-time World Champion composed breaks of 69, 84, 60,103 and 68 on his way to the win. He now plays China’s Lyu Haotian, who thrashed David Gilbert 5-1.
Judd Trump saw off Ashley Carty 5-1 to make the semi-finals of the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg, where he will face a blockbuster clash with John Higgins tomorrow.
The Ace in the Pack is aiming to secure a first piece of ranking silverware in over a year if he can claim the title this weekend, with his last ranking win coming at the 2022 Turkish Masters.
Trump has enjoyed fantastic success against tomorrow’s opponent Higgins in recent times. He has won seven of their last eight meetings, dating back to his victory in the 2019 World Championship final. However, Higgins did get the better of their most recent encounter at the Hong Kong Masters last season.
Defeat for Carty draws the best week of his career so far to a close. The Rotherham cueman regained professional status last season by winning the Q Tour Playoffs. His run here in Nuremberg has seen him make the quarter-finals of a professional event for the first time in his career.
Breaks of 68 and 113 helped Trump secure victory this afternoon. He is eagerly looking forward to what is set to be a showpiece meeting with Higgins tomorrow.
“It is always an incredible occasion against him and always a game I cherish. We played each other a couple of weeks ago in China and it is something I always get up for. The games always seem to be pretty close. Whoever plays their best snooker normally comes out on top and it is always a great standard. Some of the best games I’ve ever been involved with have been against him and probably some of the best of all time. I think he enjoys me and I enjoy playing him,” said 34-year-old Trump.
“Something that I have learned from being a professional for so long is that you feel you have a lot of time and a lot of tournaments, but you really haven’t. If you lose your first couple of games then nine times out of ten it will dictate the whole season. Often it is the other way round and you have a good season if you get a good start. So much is down to the first couple of events and getting that confidence early on. It is nice to get off to a good start.”
Higgins secured his passage through thanks to a narrow 5-3 defeat of defending champion Kyren Wilson. The Wizard of Wishaw has now won all of the last four meetings between the pair.
Despite losing the opener, Scotland’s four-time World Champion Higgins composed breaks of 105, 74 and 52 as he took the next three frames to lead 3-1 at the mid-session.
When play resumed Wilson clawed his way back into contention to trail by one at 4-3, but Higgins closed out the tie in style with 118 to run out a 5-3 victor.
Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins will have to put their friendship to one side when they meet in tomorrow’s BetVictor European Masters semi-finals, after the pair secured respective last eight victories in Nuremberg.
Selby booked his place in the semis with a 5-2 win over China’s Lyu Haotian. Today’s victory sees him reach the 60th ranking event semi-final of his career.
The four-time World Champion is gunning for a second European Masters crown. He took home the trophy back in 2020, when he edged out Martin Gould 9-8 in the final.
It was Lyu who took a hard fought 30-minute opening frame this evening, before Selby replied with a century run of 106 to restore parity at 1-1. The Leicester cueman then added a further two on the bounce to head into the mid-session interval 3-1 in front.
When play resumed a break of 64 helped 25-year-old Lyu claw back within a frame at 3-2. He then looked set to draw level when leading 65-8 in the sixth. A break of 51 saw 22-time ranking event winner Selby take the frame down to the black, where a safety battle ensued. Eventually Selby deposited the black to the green corner and moved one from the win. He then got over the line with a break of 74 in the seventh to clinch a semi-final berth.
“Barry is one of my best mates on the tour so it is great he is in the semi-finals as well. The positive out of the match is one of us will be in the final. We will both be trying to beat each other out there, but hopefully it is a good game and we both put on a good performance,” said 40-year-old Selby.
“Once you are out there you have a job to do. He will be thinking the same as well. We have been going out for food every day this week. I’ll probably eat on my own tomorrow!
“I always say to win one tournament in a season, where the standard is now, you have to class that as a good season. If you can get it out of the way early doors then it would be great, you can relax for the rest of the season at that point.”
Hawkins earned his semi-final spot with a 5-2 defeat of Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham. The Londoner fired in breaks of 89, 52, 70 and 70 on his way to victory this evening in an impressive performance, having already beaten World Champion Luca Brecel 5-4 earlier in the day.
The Hawk is aiming to land silverware for the first time in six years this weekend. He last won a ranking title all the way back at the 2017 World Grand Prix. Since then he has been to four finals without getting over the line, including last year at the European Masters when he came up short against Kyren Wilson.
WST shared some images on Twitter (yeah I know it’s X now … how stupid!)
So then, as we arrive at the SF stage all players remaining on course are in the top 16, except for the Hawk and we all know that somehow his current ranking (19) is not a true reflection of his actual strength.
There are many former pros in the draw. It’s a shame those events are not streamed.
Someone who isn’t there despite being eligible is Bai Yulu … she has been sent to Russia to represent her country in a tournament featuring the BRIC nations (Russia, Brazil, India and China… a very democratic club is BRIC).
The event started with a group stage and has now reached the knock-out stage. Bai won all her group matches.
The following images were shared by Bai Yulu on weibbo:
It seems that no matter what there will be a Russian finalist… pure luck of the draw surely 😇.
Also this podcast is worth listening to … it explains how the enquiry ending in 10 Chinese players being banned started and unfolded. Reminds me… any news about Mark King?
World Champion Luca Brecel remains in contention to move to the summit of the world rankings, after a rousing fightback saw him beat Robbie Williams 5-4 at the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg.
Belgian Brecel must make the semi-finals to surpass Ronnie O’Sullivan this week, he can do that tomorrow if he comes through the two scheduled rounds. First up, Brecel faces three-time ranking event winner Barry Hawkins, who beat Zak Surety 5-1.
It had looked as if the Crucible king was set to exit the event this afternoon when breaks of 91, 53 and 67 moved world number 47 Williams into a surprise 3-0 lead. Brecel responded with four on the bounce to move one from victory at 4-3, before Williams took the game to what would prove to be a memorable decider.
With the pressure on, Brecel stepped up and fired home the 200th century break of his career, with a sublime total clearance of 134, to ensure his progression to the next round.
“It was a brilliant moment. At 3-0 down, I wasn’t in the game and he was playing really well. I think I had to take my chance in the frame before the interval. At 4-0 down there is probably no chance. I’m really proud of myself to keep fighting,” said 28-year-old Brecel.
“There have been World Champions that have struggled in the past, but I kind of like it. Always being on table one focusses me. Maybe on a different table at 3-0 down I would have given up easier. Now I am a World Champion, I have a responsibility to the crowd and snooker in general.
“I have a good chance now (to become world number one). I’m only two games away and there is a lot to play for. It is something new for me to play for so much. The World Championship and now the world number one spot. It’s exciting times.”
Elsewhere in the afternoon session, former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson defeated three-time World Champion Mark Williams 5-4 and Mark Selby defeated Anthony Hamilton 5-1.
John Higgins defeated old rival Shaun Murphy 5-2 to seal his place in the quarter-finals of the BetVictor European Masters in Nuremberg.
Remarkably the pair hadn’t crossed cues on the World Snooker Tour for seven years prior to today. Victory for Higgins enhances his head-to-head lead over Murphy to 11-5, which includes a World Championship final win back in 2009.
Despite defeat this evening, Murphy will be able to reflect on a strong start to the campaign, having already picked up silverware at the BetVictor Championship League. Higgins is appearing for the first time this season and will hope to begin with a title, after failing to go beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event last term.
Next up for 31-time ranking event winner Higgins is a quarter-final showdown with defending champion Kyren Wilson, who whitewashed Welshman Duane Jones 5-0.
It was 2005 Crucible king Murphy who came flying out of the traps tonight, firing in 113 to take the opener. However, Higgins responded emphatically with a break of 126 to restore parity.
Further contributions of 66 and 120 from Higgins saw him move two ahead, before he took a tight fifth frame to lead 4-1. Murphy kept himself in the contest by taking the sixth, but a frame later four-time World Champion Higgins crossed the line and wrapped up a massive victory.
Higgins said: “It was a brilliant win for me. I was nervous before the game, playing against the form player. I think just watching him in the first frame, the way he was striking the cueball and walking about spurred me on. He hits the ball like a dream. I was taking the positives from watching him and trying to add it into my game.
“Every credit to Kyren. He just seems to be at the latter stages of every tournament now. He obviously believes he is one of the best players and he is one of the best players. He is the defending champion and has won most of his games pretty easily this week. I am going to have to produce that same form again to give him a game tomorrow.”
Judd Trump secured his place in the quarter-finals with a 5-0 win over Ben Woolaston. The Ace in the Pack survived a scare earlier in the day when he rallied from 4-0 down to beat Chris Wakelin 5-4.
It was more straightforward this evening, with breaks of 78, 106 and 76 contributing to the whitewash victory. His last eight opponent will be Rotherham’s Ashley Carty, who scored a superb 5-3 defeat of Ricky Walden this evening. It is the first quarter-final appearance of Carty’s career.
Needless to say , lot of the matches played yesterday not reported on. You will find all the results on snooker.org. Ben Mertens, one of the two the Belgians pros, was in action at the same time as Luca and his fortune was somehow an inverted mirror image of Luca’s fortune. Ben was 3-1 and 4-2 up on David Gilbert but eventually lost by 5-4. He will learn from this match, I’m sure. In the decider he made a couple of shot selections that cost him IMO.
The random draw for the last 64 of the Cazoo British Open has been made. The tournament runs from September 25th to October 1st in the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse.
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If Ronnie O’Sullivan can come through his opening round clash with Jimmy Robertson he will face talented Chinese teenager Wu Yize , while top 16 stars Shaun Murphy and Jack Lisowski will collide if they beat Rebecca Kenna and Joe O’Connor respectively.
The second round draw is below:
Joe O’Connor or Jack Lisowski vs Shaun Murphy or Rebecca Kenna
Gary Wilson or Ahmed Elsayed vs Chris Wakelin
Ryan Day or Sean O’Sullivan vs Thor Chuan Leong
Lyu Haotian vs David Gilbert
John Higgins or Zehuang Long vs Robbie Williams
Stephen Maguire vs Peng Yisong or Mark Williams
Fan Zhengyi vs Ross Muir
He Guoqiang vs Muhammad Asif
Scott Donaldson vs Liam Graham
Judd Trump or Anton Kazakov vs Hammad Miah
Jamie Jones vs Julien Leclercq
Xu Si vs Ali Carter or Allan Taylor
Noppon Saengkham vs Fergal O’Brien
David Grace vs Sanderson Lam
Daniel Wells vs Ashley Carty
Tom Ford vs Ashley Hugill
Ken Doherty vs Matthew Stevens
Hailong Ma vs Mohamed Ibrahim
Tian Pengfei vs Mark Selby or Ben Woollaston
Jun Jiang or Robert Milkins vs Stan Moody or Barry Hawkins
Kyren Wilson or Martin O’Donnell vs Mark Allen or Anthony McGill
