Ding Junhui came from 5-4 down to beat Mark Williams 6-5 in the opening round of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, boosting his hopes of doubling his tally of titles in snooker’s biggest invitation event.
The result means that, for the first time since 2011, none of the ‘Class of 92’ of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Williams are in the line up for the quarter-final stages. In that year, Ding went all the way to the title, and the Chinese ace will hope that’s a good omen. The 37-year-old certainly had his fair share of good fortune today, enjoying a string of lucky moments in the closing stages of an exciting contest.
It’s the second match already this year to go to a deciding frame, and Ding finished in style by taking it in one visit. He already has a huge title under his belt this season having won the International Championship in November and can now look forward to a meeting with Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins at Alexandra Palace on Friday.
After sharing the first two frames, Williams led 41-7 in the third when he mid-cued, attempting blue to centre, and Ding punished him with 69 to go ahead. Williams responded with breaks of 57 and 70 to go 3-2 up, then Ding made 64 and 60 to edge ahead at 4-3.
A tremendous 136 total clearance, the new front-runner for the £15,000 high break prize, gave Williams frame eight. Ding looked set to go 5-4 up until he missed a straight-forward black at 66-0 in the ninth, and Williams eventually cleared from the last red to black to pinch it by a single point.
In the last two frames, Ding missed three attempts at difficult reds, but each time was lucky not to leave his opponent a clear chance. Williams twice attempted awkward reds to a centre pocket, but couldn’t find the target and Ding capitalised with breaks of 76 and 90 to reach the second round for the eighth time in all and first since 2019.
Williams turns 50 in just two months and victory today would have made him the oldest winner of a match at the Masters since a 56-year-old Eddie Charlton in 1986. The Welshman said: “Ding had a hell of a run of the ball, especially in the last two frames when he could have left me in. I lost count of the number of times he held his hand up to say ‘sorry’, it must have been ten or 11 times. Those are the fine margins. I have had plenty of run in my time, that’s the game. He still had to make two really good breaks.
“I tried my best. It’s a great venue and the reception when I came in was unbelievable. I loved it, it’s the best venue we play in and I hope I get back next year.“
Ding said: “At 5-4 down, I missed a long red and the balls went everywhere, and I thought maybe today is done. Then I saw a bit of luck, Mark didn’t have an easy one. He had to take a difficult one under pressure, and when he missed I saw my chance was there. It was the same in the last frame. My concentration and confidence was good after the interval, I didn’t think too much about winning or losing.
“I still want to be the best I have ever been. I’ve been watching videos of myself when I was young and I am trying to get that feeling back. I used to just pot the balls without thinking too much, just playing the shots very clearly. I still struggle sometimes but I am feeling better than before.“
Mark Selby hasn’t reached the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace since 2014 but on today’s evidence he is among the favourites for the Johnstone’s Paint Masters title as he romped to a 6-1 victory over Ali Carter in the opening round.
Selby looked close to his best last week at the BetVictor Championship League, notably making six centuries in a single day. And he carried that momentum into tonight as he outplayed Carter, rattling in two tons and three more breaks over 50. The Leicester cueman’s reward is a quarter-final meeting with Mark Allen or Si Jiahui on Thursday.
World number five Selby had a tremendous record at the Masters between 2008 and 2014, winning it three times and reaching two further finals. Since then it has been slim pickings in London as he has failed to go beyond the quarter-finals. Selby, winner of the British Open in September, will be quietly confident of a deep run this time as he seeks to become the only player other than Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry to lift the trophy for a fourth occasion.
He took the opening frame tonight with a break of 62, and added the 41-minute second by getting the better of a safety exchange on the final brown. Stepping up a gear, Selby fired breaks of 108 and 93 to lead 4-0 at the interval.
In frame five, Carter led by 62 points with four reds left when he failed to double a red to centre, and his tenacious opponent battled back and gained the snooker he required, then could have forced a respotted black but failed to pot the blue along the top cushion, allowing a relieved Carter to pull one back. But Selby regained the initiative with a 126 for 5-1, and he made an excellent 53 clearance in frame seven to settle the result.
“I felt a bit edgy at the start but winning the second frame was huge, if Ali had gone 1-1 it could have been very different,” said Selby. “I kicked on after that and felt comfortable. It’s always great playing in front of a full house here and it gives you motivation.
“My only concern was not getting in my own way and freezing, which I do sometimes. That’s something I am trying to work on. I enjoyed it and felt I was zoned in and focused. I have been there and done it in this event which will stand me in good stead if I get to the business end.“
Carter said simply: “Mark was very good and I was absolute rubbish. He strangles you and zaps you of confidence. I just wanted to get out of there in the end.“
Neither Willo nor Ding played really well. Maybe they were still a bit tired from their Tibetan adventure. The match was very eventful with all sorts happening at the table. It was certainly entertaining albeit not of the highest quality despite some big breaks from both.
In the evening, it was the complete opposite. Mark Selby delivered a master class. If he can keep that level, he will probably win the tournament. Ali had no answers and, although he continued to apply himself, it was plainly evident that he was frustrated and, after the MSI, had given up hope and didn’t want to be there.
Ronnie was in the studio in the evening and gave an update about his own state of mind. He’s OK. He explained that by Sunday he was feeling OK to play, but had not wanted to delay making his decision in order to give whoever would replace him enough time to prepare. That was the right thing to do indeed. All things considered, he looked settled and thinking clearly. It’ reassuring.
Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘lost the plot’ as he explains Masters withdrawal and gives update on future
Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters on the eve of the tournament with snooker fans and his fellow pros concerned about the seven-time world champion
Image PA
Ronnie O’Sullivan has explained his decision to withdraw from the Masters – and insists he WILL be back on the baize.
Snooker icon O’Sullivan was due to defend his title at Alexandra Palace with his first-round match against John Higgins slated to get the tournament underway on Sunday. But he unexpectedly pulled out after snapping his cue following a defeat by Robert Milkins in the Championship League on Thursday.
O’Sullivan has had well-documented mental health issues in the past, and there were concerns for his wellbeing from fans and fellow pros alike. But the seven-time world champion insists he is OK and will return to the sport.
“I’m alright, not too bad,” he said while working for Eurosport on Monday evening. “It was a nightmare decision really to make, if you’d have asked me Sunday if I was ready to play I’d probably have been ok to play. But it’s such a massive tournament.
“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.
“I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable, so I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play and such a big tournament that I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days notice.”
Neil Robertson was the man to take O’Sullivan’s place, and he staged a miraculous comeback from 5-1 down to pip Higgins 6-5 and advance to the quarter-finals.
I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was to not play” .
On his cue, the Rocket added: “It was in the bin, one of them wheelie bins, but my mate said we can’t leave that here, so he got it out and brought it with us.”I’ve got a couple of other cues that I can start practicing with because there’s some tournaments coming up. I’m going to continue to play so I need to get used to the cue now.”
In words O’Sullivan fans will be relieved to hear, the 49-year-old even talked of a return to Ally Pally next year and still harbours aspirations of lifting a ninth Masters title.
“This is an unbelievable tournament, top 16, best players in the world, amazing crowd, I’ve won this tournament many times, been in 14 finals,” he said. “I’d love to come here and play again and hopefully be lucky enough to win the trophy again, that would be great.
After the evening match, in the studio, Mark and Ronnie had a very interesting and honest discussion about mental health
In the news there is also suggestion that Ronnie “faces” a lawsuit … This is misleading as I explained in this previous post.
Neil Robertson completed one of his best ever fight-backs as he recovered a 5-1 deficit to beat John Higgins 6-5 in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters.
Robertson was a late entry into the draw when Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled out on Friday morning, and the Australian insisted he could be “very dangerous” with the sense of having nothing to lose. He was frozen out in the early stages today, but then played tremendous snooker to reel off five frames in a row and set up a quarter-final with Shaun Murphy or Gary Wilson on Thursday.
Higgins was making a record-extending 31st consecutive appearance in this elite event but has now lost 16 times in the opening round. Today’s turnaround will bring back painful memories for the Scot as his previous meeting with Robertson was the 2022 Tour Championship final when he let slip a 9-4 advantage and lost 10-9. Two-time Masters champion Higgins, who turns 50 in May, has now lost nine of the 11 deciders he has played in this tournament.
It’s only the sixth time in Masters history that a player has come from 5-1 down to win 6-5. Ironically, the previous occasion was in 2020 when Robertson himself lost the last five frames against Stephen Maguire. World number 20 Robertson has already lifted a trophy this season, at the BetVictor English Open in September, and the 42-year-old will hope that today’s momentum could launch him towards a third Masters crown having won it in 2012 and 2022.
Robertson took the opening frame with a 48 clearance, but registered just 16 points in the next five as Higgins took control with breaks of 54, 78, 59, 86, 54 and 66 to lead 5-1. The Wishaw potter had a chance to turn the screw in frame seven, but missed a short range red to a centre pocket and Robertson finally got a rhythm going with a break of 63 to pull one back.
Higgins trailed 45-21 in the eighth when he over-cut a difficult red to a top corner, and again his opponent punished him to close to 5-3. Just 20 minutes later it was 5-5 as Robertson rattled in runs of 118 and 80. A superb long red set Higgins up for first chance in the decider, but on 35 a tough red to centre hit the far jaw. Robertson replied with 57 before running out of position, but then got the better of a safety exchange on the penultimate red and added the points he needed.
“I don’t think I could have hoped for better, it was a brilliant atmosphere and to be a part of that match was an amazing feeling,” said Robertson. “John didn’t do that much wrong from 5-1. Once it got to 5-3 the crowd were getting behind me. What makes this tournament so great is the fans.
“I will try to maintain this mindset and try to find the flowing state as soon as I can in a match. Hopefully this lays down a marker. I won’t get too excited or think too far ahead because every match here is against a great player.”
Higgins, who is 14th in the rankings and will hope to make it 32 consecutive appearances next year, said: “It’s a tough one to take. My concentration went a little bit at 5-1 up when I missed that red over the middle trying to play down for the black. I have no complaints. It’s fine margins. Neil played tremendously well to come back. He really put the pressure on me. I maybe played the wrong shot when I went into the pack in the last frame. But Neil played great to come back. You’ve got to hold your hands up sometimes.”
Shaun Murphy reached the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters for the 14th time with a 6-3 victory over Gary Wilson and predicts it will be a “delight” to meet Neil Robertson next.
Murphy, champion here in 2015, eased into a 4-0 lead tonight then fended off a Wilson comeback to take the last two frames and set up a tie with Robertson on Thursday. The pair have met twice in the final at Alexandra Palace, Robertson winning the title in 2012 and Murphy gaining revenge three years later.
So far this season, Murphy has enjoyed several deep runs, notably reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters and the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. He will hope that this week he can go all the way to the £350,000 top prize and join the group of just 11 players to have won the Masters on multiple occasions.
Wilson had chances in all four frames before the interval, but couldn’t take them and Murphy punished him, compiling runs of 69, 56 and 64 as he built a 4-0 advantage. After the break, the momentum changed as Wilson fired runs of 101 and 92, then took frame seven on the colours to close to 4-3.
The Tyneside cueman also had a clear scoring opportunity in frame eight but missed a straight-forward red to a top corner leading 20-1, and Murphy punished him with a break of 103. And another error from Wilson in the ninth, failing to pot the pink to corner when he trailed 45-24, ended his hopes.
“It was a match of momentum,” said world number seven Murphy. “I knew I had the advantage of more experience at this venue and I used that in the first four frames, I was pleased to be clinical with my chances. I was expecting Gary to make a run after that and when it got to 4-3 it wasn’t red alert, but it was yellow alert. So I was pleased to make a good break for 5-3. My game is in good shape.
“It will be a delight to play Neil. We turned pro in the same year in 1998 and I have immense respect for him. We take the mickey out of him a bit because he doesn’t know how sat-nav works so isn’t guaranteed to be here. But I’ll be here and hoping to bring my A game. Over the last couple of days people have been saying that Neil is on a freeroll. But he’s a multiple winner, not a wild card who has never been here before.”
Wilson was making his first appearance at Alexandra Palace as his only previous Masters match was behind closed doors in 2021. But he finished the night dejected. “I couldn’t even enjoy the occasion because I’m frustrated with the way I’m playing,” he said. “I have been going through it for a while and it seems to be getting worse.”
There are interviews with Neil and Shaun in the original articles that for some reason I can’t include here
The Robertson vs Higgins match was truly excellent. The first frame was a close affair and Neil won it. Then John embarked in an incredible 5 frames streak: he won them with a break over 50 in each , restricting Neil scoring to only 16 points. And then it all turned and it was Neil who won consecutive five frames, four of them featuring a break over 50, to take the match.
The Murphy v Wilson match was less attractive. Shaun played well but Gary’s frustration was palpable. Frame two was important as it somehow set the match “mood”: Gary scored a break of 62, only for Shaun to steal it with a break of 69. Gary had chances in the next two as well but lost them both. He found himself 3-1 down at the MSI. He came back all guns blazing, winning the next three with breaks of 101, 92 and 52, moving 4-3 up. Shaun restored parity with a great 103. The next frame was a rather low key affair but Shaun won it and that was the end of the match…
Q-Tour Event 6
Zhao Xintong won his fourth consecutive Q-Tour event of the season yesterday in Mons (Belgium) … what can you say? It’s really remarkable. He’s in a league of his own out there, if he keeps that form into next season he will be a menace on the main tour! … The detailed results are available on snooker.org.
World Snooker Tour respond with blunt statement after £10m lawsuit against them launched
Snooker bosses have been hit with a lawsuit on the eve of the Masters.
By JACK MCEACHEN
The World Snooker Tour (WST) have bluntly shut down claims from NST Worldwide that “unlawful and anti-competitive practices” have been used to stop their players “playing in tournaments, events, or matches organised by competitor promoters” in a £10.2million lawsuit.
NST Worldwide, which Ronnie O’Sullivan owns a stake in and Jason Francis and Mayus Karia are directors of, launched their claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The Rocket’s withdrawal from the Masters, which starts on Sunday, is not thought to be connected to the lawsuit and Francis claims that he pulled out because of his mental health.
An account on X (formerly known as Twitter) ran by Francis announced the news, writing: “I can confirm that my company NST Worldwide Ltd has launched legal proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (case number 1701/5/7/25) against World Snooker Ltd (WST), it’s holding company World Snooker Holdings Ltd and the WPBSA for abuse of their dominant position contrary to section 18 of the Competition Act 1998 (Chapter II Prohibition) and a further claim that they have engaged in agreements, decisions and/or concerted practices which have as their object of effect the prevention, distortion and restriction of competition, contrary to Section 2 of Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I Prohibition).
“The infringements relate to the setting of unlawful and anti-competitive provisions in the contractual relationships between WSL and professional snooker players, and WSL’s unlawful and anti-competitive practices that have prevented professional snooker players playing in tournaments, events, or matches organised by competitor promoters, including NST (which included broadcasting snooker events on Channel 5 and Channel 4 this depriving snooker fans more chances to watch snooker on free to air TV).
“NST is claiming £10.2m in damages plus interest and declarations from the Court to invalidate terms used by World Snooker Ltd to abuse its dominant position by controlling the players and erecting barriers to entry for competitors such as NST.”
The WST replied with a brief statement to Express Sport which read: “WST rejects the claims and will defend them.“
The lawsuit stems from professional players’ contracts, which state that they are not able to compete in non-WST events while tournaments are being played, unless they are specifically granted permission.
Players do have more freedom than previously, but any potential rivals to the WST are currently restricted solely to dates where WST tournaments are not taking place if they want to attract the sport’s biggest names.
Jason Francis made it clear that Ronnie is NOT involved in that lawsuit.
Jason cites players appearances on Channel 4 and Channel 5. These are the channels that show Jason’s Seniors Snooker events, and 900 events. Recently one of those events overlapped with some qualifiers… but I’m not sure if that is what caused the problem to resurface …
Defending champion Mark Selby eased to victory in Group Four of BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational to secure a place in next month’s Winners’ Group.
Selby will join Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson and three more players in the Winner’s Group in February when the title and a place in the 2025 Champion of Champions will be at stake.
Stuart Bingham finished top of the group phase with five wins out of six, followed by Selby and Joe O’Connor with four apiece, than Jak Jones with three. In the semi-finals, Selby won a Leicester derby against O’Connor with a top break of 120, while Jones came from 2-1 down to beat Bingham 3-2 with 139 and 113 in the last two frames. Selby then dominated the final, beating Jones 3-0 with breaks of 84, 134 and 80.
Bingham, Jones, O’Connor and Matthew Selt advance to Group Five, where they will join world number one Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Tom Ford. The action resumes on Monday, 20th January.
Zhao Xintong is now guaranteed to finish top of the WPBSA Q Tour Europe ranking list and has secured a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card starting from the 2025/26 season.
Following early exits for Dylan Emery (3-4 to Fergal Quinn) and Ryan Thomerson (3-4 to James Cahill) in the sixth Q Tour Europe event in Mons, Belgium, Zhao now cannot be caught in top spot following an incredible campaign.
The 27-year-old from China has lost just a single match in the Q Tour Europe series this season and has picked up a trio titles in Stockholm, Manchester and Vienna. He also made history by compiling the first maximum break in Q Tour history during the event in Sweden, and incredibly followed this up with another 147 in the following event at Club 200 in Manchester.
Zhao remains in contention for a fourth successive title in Mons following victories over Edwin Depoorter (3-0), Olivier Pechenart (3-1) and Hamin Hussain (4-2) to reach the last 32 stage where he will face Asutosh Padhy on Saturday evening.
Upon confirmation of his return to the professional tour, Zhao said: “I am very happy because I have hoped for this day for a long time. I knew it would be very hard to get back on to the tour and I needed to play very well because all the players on Q Tour are really good.”
Zhao added: “I went a long time without playing a competitive match and I have really enjoyed being back. To play on the tour, I need to be winning and gain some confidence. I will do my best to win this title, I am guaranteed to be on the tour next season now but I still want to do the best I can.”
As a result of his success in the amateur game this season, Zhao was invited to take part in the qualifying rounds of the 2024 UK Championship and successfully won four matches to reach the televised stages before losing out to 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy in the last 32.
The former UK Championship and German Masters winner believes he can pick up silverware in the professional ranks once more, saying: “I just want to enjoy the matches but if I play well, I know I can be a champion again on the tour. I believe in myself so lets do it.”
Not everyone is happy to see Zhao back, but I am. He’s served his WPBSA suspension, has certainly worked very hard to come back in this form. He’s a beautiful player and snooker is better with him than without him.
Iulian Boiko has made a maximum break at the Q-Tour event in Mons
Iulian Boiko has compiled only the third maximum break in WPBSA Q Tour history during event six of the Q Tour Europe series at the Delta Moon Snooker Club in Mons, Belgium.
The 19-year-old Ukrainian scored the 147 in the third frame of his last 64 stage match against home nation player Dan Leyssen2 en route to a 4-2 victory. The impressive teenager had also made a break of 134 in frame two of the same match.
The achievement sees Boiko become only the second player in history to make a maximum break on the WPBSA Q Tour after China’s Zhao Xintong, who incredibly scored 147’s in consecutive Q Tour events in Stockholm and Manchester earlier this season.
Q TOUR MAXIMUM BREAKS
Zhao Xintong – Q Tour Europe – Event 3 (Stockholm, Sweden)
Zhao Xintong – Q Tour Europe – Event 4 (Manchester, England)
Iulian Boiko – Q Tour Europe – Event 6 (Mons, Belgium)
O’Sullivan looked extremely frustrated while playing in the Championship League earlier this week, smashing his cue after defeat to Rob Milkins and then withdrawing from that event before pulling out of the Masters, causing concern over his state of mind.
Murphy says no one in the sport has to deal with the pressure that O’Sullivan has been under for over 30 years and wishes him well.
‘Ronnie has been at the top end of the game since bursting on the scene in 1992, and I’ve often criticised his antics on and off the table, but one of the things I’ve always been clear about is that nobody has carried the weight of expectation that he does,’ said the Magician.
‘I had it for a little bit, Mark Selby did, Judd Trump has it for a bit, there are players who have had that weight of public expectation for periods of time, but he has carried it since he turned professional.
‘To achieve what he has achieved while carrying that weight of expectation must take immense strength of character and it can’t be easy to do that all the time. To be under such scrutiny and in the light so much must take a toll.
‘I hope that he’s okay and nothing too seriously wrong with him and we’ll see him back to his best sooner rather than later. …
As usual I have replaced the original links by the “snooker.org” ones that will remain valid over time ↩︎
I have corrected Dan’s name … I should know how to spell it. I’m Belgian too. ↩︎
David Hendon was, still is probably, in Leicester where he comments on the action.
Following Ronnie’s withdrawal from the Masters, and reading peoples’ reactions to it, David decided to explain what he witnessed during Group 3 at the 2025 invitational CLS: you can listen to it here.
Thank you David for sharing this and your balanced views on what happened.
In a repeat of last year’s Crucible final, Kyren Wilson came from 2-1 down to beat Jak Jones 3-2 to win Group Three of BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational.
Wilson is enjoying a fine season as reigning World Champion having already landed two more titles at the Xi’an Grand Prix and BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, and he’ll have the chance for further silverware in February’s Winners’ Group, joining Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui and four others.
He finished second in the group phase today with four wins from five, behind Mark Selby who reeled off five victories in a row, with Ali Carter third and Jones fourth. In the semi-finals, Wilson edged out Carter 3-2 with a break of 77 in the decider while Jones impressed in a 3-1 defeat of Selby.
World number two Wilson took the first frame of the final then Jones hit back with runs of 70 and 115 to lead 2-1. Frame four went to Wilson with a run of 69, and he had first chance in the decider but made just 14 before running out of position and playing a loose safety. But Jones missed a tricky red to a centre pocket and that proved crucial as Wilson’s break of 55 secured the result.
Group Four gets underway on Friday with Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham and Jackson Page joining the action.
Congratulations Kyren Wilson.
Ronnie had two matches scheduled yesterday. He played the first one, lost by 3-2 to Robert Milkins. During that match his frustration boiled over. He savagely whacked his cue on the rail of the table and David Hendon reflected that he might well have been damaged it because he hit it really hard. Whether this was the case or not, I’m not sure, but Ronnie clearly stopped trying at that point, finished the match, and then withdrew from the event. It’s worth mentioning that Ronnie immediately apologised to both the referee, John Pellew and his opponent for his outburst, something the commentators appreciated.
It’s not the first time Ronnie withdraws from the invitational CLS, an event he essentially treats as good paid practice. and I’m sure he would have with drawn at the end of the day, no matter what2 but I can’t remember him doing it in the middle of a day with another match to play. So maybe, Hendon was right and Ronnie didn’t want to risk further possible damage to the cue. He got crucified for it on social media, but by doing it rigth away he actually made sure that Chris Wakelin would get the option to play in the next group although Wakelin apparently didn’t take it.
What’s next for Ronnie?
This season has, so far been a very strange one. Ronnie hasn’t played badly in general, but mistakes have crept into his game and he’s suffered several premature exits from tournaments. He’s clearly not happy and struggling with the whole situation.
Let me try to explain I say that Ronnie has not actually played badly. Here are the scores of the matches he played in the CLS:
Ronnie has played 24 frames in five matches over the last two days. All but one, the match against Kyren Wilson, the eventual group winner, went to a deciding frame. He won 10 of those frames, and made 10 breaks over 50 in the process, including three centuries, a 98 and a 90. That’s heavy scoring. So the scoring isn’t the issue. The issue yesterday was too many odd unexpected, frustrating mistakes … and at one time, after a positional mistake, Steven Hallworth in commentary stated that there was no way Ronnie could have played a certain shot “that way”, that his tip was almost certainly not how/what it should have been for the cue ball reacting the way it had. If Steven was right, then Ronnie certainly took the wise decision, giving himself more time to fix the issue before the 2025 Masters
I have replaced WST links with the ones on snooker.org because the latter will remain valid over time ↩︎
The reason I write that is because he starts his Masters defence on Sunday and I’m certain that he wouldn’t have wanted to stay for two more long tiring days in Leicester, especially if he wanted to fit a new tip on his cue as he was clearly not happy with the one he used at the CLS. ↩︎
Yesterday was the first of group 3 at the 2025 Invitational CLS, a very strong group with World Champion, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Ronnie joining the field. It was not a good day for Ronnie at all. Right from the start he appeared to have issues with his tip and he lost his three first matches. Fortunately, he managed to win the last of the day to keep some sort of hope alive. That left him in fifth place in the group with two matches to play. The two players behind him still have three matches to play… so, it’s far from great!
Having said all that, Ronnie in the past has often played in just one group and then withdrew. That usually happened ahead of an important event. He wanted to play in order to get quality practice. He wasn’t interested in the CLS itself.
Mark Selby scored four wins out of four – and made six centuries – on the opening day of BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational Group Three to top the table.
The winner of the group on Thursday night will go through to the Winners’ Group in February. It’s a strong line up but defending champion Selby shone throughout Wednesday’s play with a quartet of fine wins.
He opened with a 3-1 victory over World Champion Kyren Wilson, making breaks of 63, 120 and 100. Selby then beat Robert Milkins 3-1, before coming from 2-1 down to edge out Ronnie O’Sullivan 3-2, firing runs of 120 and 140 in the last two frames. The four-time Crucible king wrapped up with a 3-1 win over Ali Carter, firing 107 and 127 to take his tally of centuries for the day to six.
Wilson, Carter and Chris Wakelin all scored two wins apiece to stay in the hunt.
The frustrating thing is that Ronnie didn’t actually played that badly. David Hendon reflected on that in commentary and he is the only one who, yesterday, ran mark Selby close. He played 19 frames yesterday, more than anyone else. The most he could have played on the day , win or lose, is 20.
David also reflected that it’s been a bit of a pattern the season: Ronnie playing decent snooker and going out in an early round to an inspired opponent.
