The 2025 English Open – Day 9

Monique Snooker

Day 9 at the 2025 English Open in Brentwood was “quarter-finals” day and here is the report shared by WST on what happened on the baize:

Zhou Into Seventh Semi-Final

Zhou Yuelong staged a superb fightback to overcome 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel 5-4 and earn his place in the last four of the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.

The three-time ranking event runner-up hasn’t made it this far in an event since the 2023 Scottish Open. However, having recently started working with coach Steve Feeney, Zhou appears to be back to his best.

Zhou’s struggles in recent times have seen him drop to 32nd in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. He failed to go beyond the last 16 in a ranking event last season. In a welcome return to the business end of a tournament, the Chinese cueist will now play either Mark Selby for a place in the final.

Brecel was competing in the final stages of a ranking event for the first time this season. The Belgian revealed earlier this week that he has been struggling with an undiagnosed illness this season, which was his reason for missing the first few events.

He will need time to hit top gear, but despite this he looked to be in command this afternoon when he raced 4-2 ahead.

Breaks of 81 and 75 helped Brecel to the verge of victory, before Zhao fired in runs of 94 and 113 to force a decider. The final frame lasted 52 minutes, before Brecel eventually left Zhou a routine black to the yellow pocket and handed him a place in the last four.

Zhou said: “I know Luca is a very aggressive player, so I had prepared myself with more patience, focusing on tactical exchanges and waiting for his mistakes. When I was 4-2 down, I managed to make the most of my chances and force a decider.

“It’s been almost two years since I last reached this stage of a ranking event. When you win matches, your confidence grows. However, last season my performance was very poor and I never really found my game. The season has just started, so I’m very happy to have found some form early.

“Working with Steve Feeney has helped me a lot, especially mentally. Sometimes I don’t believe in myself enough, or I’m not sure about my decisions. Having someone with so much experience and success by my side makes a big difference. He sees my weaknesses, both in personality and in how I think about the game. He gives me positive ideas.”

Selby earned his progression with a stunning 131 in the decider to overcome Welshman Jackson Page 5-4. 

Victory for the Jester from Leicester sees him earn a 67th ranking event semi-final slot. He’s just two games away from capturing a 25th career ranking crown. 

Jak Jones admitted that the birth of his son Harry earlier this year has provided a renewed source of inspiration, after he ended the fairytale run of Aaron Hill with a 5-2 victory. 

Jones now progresses to the semi-finals for the first time since making the World Championship final in 2024, when he was denied the sport’s biggest prize by Kyren Wilson. Although Hill’s week has come to an end, he can reflect on making the first ever 147 of his career en route to a third quarter-final. 

Jones said: “Last season I wasn’t in a good place mentally at all. This season I feel like a completely different person and my life is good. I feel happier when I’m playing and I’m more focussed. I feel that I’m playing well and I’m confident.

“My son was born seven months ago. That has had a massive impact on me. I feel a different person and it has changed my life. Me, my wife and my son are really happy now. It gives you a different perspective on life and I’m practising happier and feel more motivated.“

Next up for Jones is a showdown with Mark Allen, who once again came back from the brink, this time beating Elliot Slessor 5-4 from 4-0 down. That follows yesterday’s win over Ding Junhui, where he trailed 3-0 before winning 4-3. 

With only four matches played yesterday, the report by WST covers them all. I only watched in the afternoon, and followed Zhou v Luca. It was a good, hard fought match that featured five breaks over 751. There were no “Luca antics” and even if there had been, I doubt that it would have affected Zhou2. The crowd in Brentwood seemed to duly enjoy it. They have been very good all week, both in numbers and in the way they have supported all players no matter their nationality.

  1. Zhou had three breaks over 95 including the only century of the match, a 113. ↩︎
  2. Luca probably knew that too which may well be the reason there weren’t any… ↩︎

The 2025 English Open – Day 8

Monique Professional snooker

Here is the report shared by WST about day 8 in Brentwood:

BetVictor English Open Day Eight

Elliot Slessor extended his 100% win rate in deciders this season, prevailing in a final frame for the sixth time and beating world number one Judd Trump 4-3 at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood. 

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Slessor’s exploits at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters saw him beat three World Champions, all by a single frame, en route to the semi-finals. The Tyneside cueman defeated John Higgins 5-4 before consecutive 6-5 wins over Stuart Bingham and Mark Williams. He then went out in the last four at the hands of Neil Robertson. Across two seasons, Slessor has now won 13 of his last 18 deciding frames. 

The 31-year-old will now face Mark Allen in the semi-finals. Slessor has reached five ranking semis without tasting success and making a maiden ranking final. Victory tomorrow will earn him a sixth crack at achieving the feat. 

Slessor took the opening two frames this afternoon and then led the third 68-0, before a break of 69 saw Trump claw his way back into contention at 2-1 down. That appeared to be a crucial turning point, with Trump taking the following two frames to lead 3-2. However, runs of 79 and 64 were enough to see Slessor claim two on the bounce and get over the line. Afterwards he admitted his strong desire to capture silverware adds pressure.

“It is tough because my Grandad comes everywhere with me. He’s 74 years old and I know he won’t be here forever. Hopefully he’s here for a long time to come, but he’s more deserving. He has driven me around since I was nine. I would love to be in the position to give him a trophy. The money means nothing compared to what a trophy would mean. I’ll keep knocking on the door, keep trying my best and see what happens,” said world number 23 Slessor. 

“They are all tough games. You never get to this stage and find someone here by fluke. I will give it my all and see how far it takes me.”

Allen came from 3-0 down to overhaul China’s Ding Junhui 4-3. The Pistol rallied with breaks of 52 and 52 en route to his comeback win. Afterwards he admitted that he’s taking nothing for granted in his quest for a return to the winner’s circle, following over a year without a ranking title.

Allen said: “I had a few years of winning quite a lot. I fancied winning all the time  but this game has a way of biting you on the backside sometimes. It isn’t that easy. The serial winners like Ronnie, Hendry, Trump and Selby make it look easy. It isn’t. You have to enjoy every time you can get a victory and not get too down on yourself. I’m a perfectionist and I always will be. I won’t stop trying to find ways of improving.”

Aaron Hill continued his impressive week with a 4-1 win over Jack Lisowski, who conquered World Champion Zhao Xintong yesterday evening. 

Hill has displayed fine form so far this season, which includes a win over Kyren Wilson at the recent Wuhan Open. He made the first maximum break of his career earlier in the tournament here in Brentwood and this evening’s result sees him reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the third time in his career. He faces former Crucible finalist Jak Jones, who defeated Ricky Walden 4-3.

Jackson Page came through a final frame against Shaun Murphy to win 4-3 and make the quarter-finals. He can now look forward to a quarter-final meeting with Mark Selby, who was a 4-2 winner over Wu Yize.

Luca Brecel beat Robbie Williams 4-3 and that earns the Belgian a quarter-final clash with China’s Zhou Yuelong, who overcame Barry Hawkins 4-2. 

Again this report is quite exhaustive, unlike the ones WST published earlier in the week.

I watched the Trump v Slessor match. There is not doubt that Judd is going through a “lesser form” period. It’s entirely normal. The players are human beings and none of us is at the top of their form all the time, be it physically, intellectually or emotionally. I must admit that I struggled for a long time to appreciate Elliot. As a younger player he was quite prone to angry reactions, not exactly tantrums but not that far from that either. This can be off-putting for the opponent and often was when he played fellow juniors back in the days. I never knew that his grand father was the one going everywhere with him, what I know though is that his grand mother is his biggest fan on social media and a very charming lady 😊.

Ding once again lost a match from a strong winning position. I didn’t watch his yesterday match, so can’t comment on this occurence. But, in recent years, it happens far too often to be “statistically” normal. What’s behind this, I’m not sure. Maybe carrying all the hopes of his country for years has taken its toll, maybe having done so much to grow snooker in China, he now aspires to more family time and his motivation isn’t what it used to be, or maybe it’s a psychological thing. Maybe, because it’s been happening so often in recent years, negative thoughts creep in as soon as he loses a couple of frames, and those thoughts about losing again from the brink of victory induce a kind of “self fulfilling prophecy” mental process… if that makes sense.

The 2025 English Open – Day 7

Monique Snooker

Here is the report shared by WST on day 7 at the 2025 English Open

BetVictor English Open Day Seven

World number one Judd Trump admitted his 2019 World Championship winning cue was beginning to wane in power, after he overcame Yuan Sijun 4-1 with new equipment at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.

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The Ace in the Pack is using a different cue this week, having decided to hang up his old one, which served him for over seven years. Trump is hoping this tournament marks the moment when his season clicks into gear.

His deepest run so far saw him make the quarters of the Shanghai Masters, but this time last season he’d already won two trophies in Shanghai and at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. 

Trump lost the opener today, but from then he assumed control of proceedings. Breaks of 101, 69 and 61 helped the 36-year-old to a comfortable win and ensured he progressed to face Elliot Slessor, who defeated North East of England rival Gary Wilson 4-0. 

Trump said: “The old one lost some of its power. There are some great new cue makers which are making powerful cues. I feel these days you need as much power as you can get. This cue is a different ferrule and feels very good in the balls. Once I get used to it hopefully I won’t miss. 

“I’m not someone that really shines a light on a cue as much as the other players. My last cue was very important in my career though. Every single major title pretty much apart from the 2011 UK Championship I won with that cue. I must have won 20 to 25 tournaments in a short space of time. I’m not looking to sell it, I will keep it and treasure it. Who knows, one day I might go back to it. For this moment it is rested up though.”

Aaron Hill recovered from 3-1 down to score a tremendous 4-3 win over Ali Carter and earn his last 16 slot. 

The Irishman was dealt with a double blow in the fourth frame when Carter hammered home the fourth 147 of his career. That took £2,500 away from Hill, who is now set to share the high break prize having made the first 147 of his career earlier in the week.

Hill showed great character to claim three on the bounce and keep his hopes of lifting the Steve Davis Trophy alive. Having beaten Stephen Maguire already this week and Kyren Wilson in the recent Wuhan Open, the 23-year-old is growing in belief that a big breakthrough could be around the corner. He now faces another stern test against Jack Lisowski, who beat World Champion Zhao Xintong 4-1. 

Hill said: “I feel like my game is as good as anyone else’s when I’m on it. I just have to do it more often. I’m getting stronger and growing in experience. I really feel like I can mix it with these boys week in and week out. It doesn’t surprise me to get wins like this but I’m absolutely over the moon with how I did that there. 

“When he made the maximum I thought he would be full of adrenaline, so I said to myself this could be my chance to nick it. I managed to steal a frame to get 3-2 and made a good break to force a decider. I played a solid enough last frame as well.”

Jackson Page produced a fine display to oust defending champion Neil Robertson 4-1 and set up a last 16 clash with Shaun Murphy. 

They were locked together at 1-1 when Page made his move. Breaks of 65, 51 and 70 gave him three frames on the bounce and sealed a significant triumph. 

Four-time World Champion Mark Selby produced a dominant display to beat Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan 4-0. Contributions of 119, 75, 55 and 87 saw the Jester from Leicester sweep to victory in just an hour and 15 minutes. He now plays Wu Yize, who defeated Chris Wakelin 4-2. 

Zhou Yuelong stunned three-time Crucible king Mark Williams 4-1 and earned his last 16 slot. Zhou top scored with 136 and now faces Barry Hawkins, who was a 4-0 victor against Tom Ford.

As usual all the detailed results are available on snooker.org

Once again there is nothing about the “late matches” … despite yet another 147, this time by Ali Carter

This is Ali’s fourth max and it’s the 227th in professional snooker but it didn’t win him the match as he lost by 4-3 to Aaron Hill.

Luca Brecel’s resurgence continued as he beat Si Jiahui by 4-2.

Jack Lisowski got the better of the reigning World Champion, he beat him by 4-1. Jack scored breaks of 92, 84 and 86 during that match, Zhao made a 54 in the only frame he won.

Mark Allen also progressed with a 4-3 victory over Stuart Bingham. This was a “high scoring” affair: 59, 56, 65 and 118 by Allen, 75 and 54 by Bingham.

The 2025 English Open – Day 6

Monique Snooker

Here is WST report on day at the 2025 English Open

BetVictor English Open Day Six

Stuart Bingham emphatically ended a four-year BetVictor English Open losing streak, thrashing Dylan Emery 4-0 in Brentwood.

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Bingham lives just 25 minutes along the road in Basildon, but since the English Open moved to the Brentwood Centre in 2022, he hasn’t won a game in the event.

The 2015 World Champion recently opted to shelve plans for lens replacement surgery, for fears it could be detrimental to his game. However, Bingham appeared to have his eye in from the get go this afternoon.

Breaks of 116, 86, 103 and 61 saw the Ball run blitz to four straight frames and set up an intriguing clash with Mark Allen, who beat Scott Donaldson 4-1. Bingham will be hoping to rectify a poor record against the Northern Irishman, who he hasn’t beaten since 2015.

“I’ve broken the duck here in Brentwood. The first win in four years on my doorstep. I’m over the moon. I kept my concentration and made four good breaks,” said 49-year-old Bingham.

“Playing any top 16 player will be a battle and you find out where your game is as well. A top opponent like Mark is a real test and I’m looking forward to it.”

Defending champion Neil Robertson got his campaign underway with a 4-1 defeat of Thailand’s Sunny Akani. 

The Melbourne cueman is riding the crest of a wave currently, having scooped the £500,000 top prize jackpot at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. He also travelled home last week to be honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia. 

Robertson crafted contributions of 105 and 136 en route to this evening’s win. He now faces Welshman Jackson Page, who beat Zhao Hanyang 4-1.

Robertson said: “It was the first time I’d practised since being in Australia. With the jet lag and everything, I’ve been asleep by this time the last couple of days. I played really well and I couldn’t have expected to play any better than that. I’m delighted.

“The fact that the match was open and with good scoring meant I was able to sustain my concentration. I was worried that if the match went on I would lose focus, but there was a really good crowd and that helped.”

World Champion Zhao Xintong set up a blockbuster showdown with Jack Lisowski by whitewashing India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4-0. 

Zhao was in sparkling form this evening, cruising to victory in just 46 minutes with century runs of 105, 134 and 110. Lisowski top scored with 128 in a 4-2 defeat of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, where both players averaged under 15 seconds a shot.

World number one Judd Trump crafted his 1,100th and 1,101st career centuries during a 4-0 whitewash win over Michael Holt.

The 2019 Crucible king’s season is yet to catch fire, with one solitary quarter-final at the Shanghai Masters his best showing so far. He will be hoping to capture his 31st ranking title this week though and faces Yuan Sijun up next.

Trump said: “It was a decent performance. If he won the first frame it could have been different, but I got a bit of confidence and played well after that.

“It is so nice when you are able to win tournaments early in the season. It takes the pressure off immediately and you are able to relax. When you don’t do that you feel you are chasing. Until you get that big prize, you are always a little bit on edge as the tournaments seem to fly by. You don’t want to leave it too long.”

Gary Wilson progressed courtesy of a 4-2 win over Sanderson Lam. That sets up a North East of England derby with Elliot Slessor, who beat Jimmy Robertson 4-2.

I don’t have much to add … for once WST report was pretty comprehensive.

That said, the match I watched in the afternoon isn’t reported on: Ricky Walden beat Joe O’Connor by 4-1 with breaks of 50, 63, 52 and 99. When on form Ricky is a very fluent player and very good to watch as well. He’s very tall and, because of that, his stance and cue action look peculiar but they are effective. He could, and probably would have a brighter prize list if it wasn’t for back pain, something he suffered from for most of his career and that is certainly caused by his very tall stature forcing him to adopt a rather awkward and uncomfortable stance at the table.

As usual, you will find all the detailed results on snooker.org.

Ronnie has withdrawn from the 2025 British Open

Monique Professional snooker tournament, Snooker

Here is the announcement shared by WST:

O’Sullivan Withdraws From Unibet British Open

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.

No big surprise but disappointing all the same…

The 2025 English Open – Day 5 … and an interesting interview with Neil Robertson

Monique opinion, Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament ,

This is WST report on what happened in Brentwood yesterday

BetVictor English Open Day Five

Shaun Murphy produced a phenomenal burst of 457 unanswered points to beat Zak Surety 4-0 at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.

The Magician was on the cusp of a historic display and total shutout. He fired in three century runs of 125, 135 and 133 in the opening three frames to blitz to the verge of victory. However, two misses in the fourth did allow Surety to get eight points on the board.

Murphy was aiming to join Neil Robertson, who was the only other player to win a best of seven with four centuries and denying his opponent a single point. The Australian achieved that feat in 2013 against Ahmed Saif.

Although Murphy didn’t achieve that feat, it was an emphatic triumph for the Englishman. He recently lost his place in the top 16 of the Johnstone’s Paint World rankings for the first time in 19 years. On this evidence it won’t be long until he’s back, he now faces Fan Zhengyi.

Murphy said: “One of the negatives of me also having a broadcast career is that I am aware of these types of moments or stats. I know that 4-0 with four centuries and without my opponent scoring a point is special.

“It is the performance that you dream of. When you practise for all of those hours you dream of playing like that in front of a crowd like tonight.”

Mark Selby scored a comprehensive 4-1 win over Liam Highfield to get his bid for a third English Open crown underway.

Selby’s victory in 2022 saw him beat Luca Brecel 9-6 in the final. It was a momentous triumph for the Leicester cueman, who was battling mental health struggles away from the table and hadn’t lifted silverware for 19 months on it.

Today’s encounter saw Highfield claim the opening frame, before breaks of 52, 101 and 103 helped Selby to four on the bounce and the win. He now plays Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan.

Selby said: “It was huge to win in 2022. There would have been positives if I’d lost the final, but I’d probably not have seen it that way. When you lose a final it is raw and tough to take. Having won that and turned a corner was a huge asset for me mentally. I think going forward it was important to my snooker career.”

Belgium’s 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel scored a nerve shredding 4-3 win over Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei. Next up for Brecel is Si Jiahui.

Robbie Williams stunned Kyren Wilson 4-2 to book his progression and a meeting with Pang Junxu.

As always all the detailed results are available on snooker.org

I don’t have much to add as, for once, the matches featuring in the report are those I watched. Kyren Wilson had a bad day in office and Robbie Williams can play. Of course he can … all those who qualified for the main tour can play at a very high level

Other than that, Phil Haigh shared a very interesting interview with Neil Robertson

Neil Robertson hopes player power brings more transparency from snooker chiefs

Neil Robertson hopes increased player power can help provide more transparency on how snooker is funded.

The Professional Snooker Players Association (PSPA) has emerged as an independent players’ union, with four-time world champion John Higgins as its chairman and with a string of big names involved.

It is early days for the new association, but they have outlined a number of issues they want to address with World Snooker Tour (WST) and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), mainly surrounding player welfare.

There is concern that the PSPA will clash with the established powers that be, including WPBSA Players, the existing players board, of which Robertson is a member.

However, the Australian has dismissed the idea of infighting becoming an issue between the players and welcomes the new association.

‘I don’t see that happening,’ Robertson said of potential clashes. ‘The (WPBSA) Players board is very small. It’s myself and a handful of others.

‘As far as I know, there’s meant to be a meeting between us to see how we can move things forward and do the right things for the players and for the game. Watch this space, I suppose.’

On whether he could be a member of both WPBSA Players and the PSPA, he said: ‘I’m not too sure what I am allowed to do or not allowed to do, but I’m not completely opposed to the idea at all. I think the Players Board is very good for what it does, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I think the players should have more power.’

Robertson was motivated to join WPBSA Players to help resolve a number of issues he sees in the game, one of the most significant being more transparency on revenue streams in the sport.

The former world champion feels players should be made aware of the finances surrounding television and sponsorship deals, so they can better understand the way the sport is funded.

‘The main thing is players want a lot more transparency with what’s going on,’ he said. ‘When there are these massive deals that are happening, the TV deals etc, I think that the players are certainly within their rights to find out how much these deals are actually worth.

‘When Barry Hearn took over, we were just so grateful to be playing the sport again and to be playing in a lot of tournaments. But that doesn’t mean that the players should be blind to all these deals and sponsorship deals that are coming into these events.

‘That’s probably one of the big issues is that the players just want to know, okay, the prize money breakdown is this. How much was actually contributed by the promoter or the sponsor?’

Another major alteration that Robertson wants to see is around scheduling of tournaments as he feels the calendar should be organised with geography more firmly in mind.

Chinese events are not played consecutively on the calendar, chiefly because promoters want them separated in order to stand out and be more prestigious, but Robertson feels other factors are more important.

‘The scheduling, long-term, is something I want fixed,’ he said. ‘I don’t want us bouncing all over the world. There’s jetlag, but not only that, players are having to pay out double or triple the travel expenses that we really need to. That could be condensed.

‘I’m sure we could get a situation where the calendar is better structured in and around the Asian events and then we work our way back to the UK.

There’s no reason to fly to Shanghai and all of a sudden you’ve got a week gap out of nowhere. Then you go into Saudi and then you go back to UK, then you’re going back to China again. Then you’re going back to UK and then you’re going back to China again.

‘It’s too much and there aren’t many sports which put that kind of demand on players. Just because a promoter says that they want it this way, I don’t think is really enough.

‘These kinds of things we’re trying to get done and change. A bit more empathy towards the players and their travels and all these sorts of things.’

The “bold” highlight is my doing because I feel this is very important ant it’s something I have been saying for years. The players health and wellbeing should come first and bouncing back and forth through time zones isn’t contributing positively to them. and Also, if one does not want to have weeks of “qualifiers” one after another, and then months without a thing for some players, it would force WST, WPBSA and China to accept that events are played in one go, from round one with all 128 players involved at or close to the main venue. Just like the current English Open is right now. That is how it should be. And I will add, there should be a “Mainland Europe” group of events as well, with Belgium, Germany and Poland as obvious candidates to host some tournaments. Scandinavia should certainly be considered too.

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The 2025 English Open – Day 4

Monique Snooker

Yesterday was the last day of the “qualifiers” at the 2025 English Open, although actually, those didn’t exactly feel like qualifiers because of this tournament structure and schedule.

Here is the report shared by WST:

BetVictor English Open Day Four

Michael Holt scored a 4-0 whitewash win over women’s world number one Mink Nutcharut to book a meeting with Judd Trump at the BetVictor English Open. 

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The Hitman hasn’t beaten world number one Trump since 2015, having lost their previous seven meetings. However, a fine performance today earned him another crack at the sport’s premier player. Holt fired in runs of 116 and 106 during his whitewash win. 

Ireland’s Aaron Hill conjured a magical 147 break during his 4-2 win over China’s Yao Pengchang. He now faces an intriguing clash with 2004 UK Champion Stephen Maguire. 

Ricky Walden top scored with 84 in a 4-1 win over Women’s World Champion Bai Yulu. He now faces Joe O’Connor. 

Liam Pullen avenged his 2023 WSF Junior final loss to Stan Moody by prevailing 4-1. Next up he faces a clash with Chinese legend Ding Junhui.

All the results are available on snooker.org

Here is Aaron Hill’s 147 shared by WST on YouTube:

Once again this report’s focus is on the British/Irish players. Not a single match won by a non British/Irish player features in it and yet there were wins for Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Gong Chenzi, He Guoqiang and Ishpreet Singh Chadha. The latter beat Ben Mertens by 4-1 and looked very solid. I was disappointed by Ben’s performance but credits to Ishpreet, he played really well and totally deserved the win.

Liam Pullen also played really well in beating Stan Moody; he scored breaks of 96 and 82 in the process.

Strangely the match between Matthew Stevens and Dylan Emery is missing from the report. That match went to a deciding frame that ended on a 56-57 score and was won by Dylan on the final black. Dylan had breaks of 57, 72, 109 and 130 in that match, Matthew had “only” a 51 and a 71. Some standard… and drama, but not worth reporting on ???