Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum break of his career during a 6-3 victory over Artemijs Zizins in the qualifying round of the International Championship.
World number 17 Wilson made his perfect break in the final frame, having earlier scored runs of 133, 61 and 79. He becomes the tenth player to reach six official 147s and is now in line for the £5,000 high break prize.
It’s the 228th maximum in snooker history and 11th of the season, just four short of the record of 15 set last season.
Ali Carter top scored with 105 in a 6-0 defeat of Liam Graham, booking a place in the final stages in Nanjing in November. Michael Holt saw off Reanne Evans 6-2 with a top break of 110, while Aaron Hill won an all-Cork derby with Leone Crowley by a 6-1 scoreline.
The completed draw and match schedule for the final stages will be announced soon.
I really don’t have much to add. There were only two sessions yesterday and most matches went the way I expected them to go. Actually, all the matches except the last two on the day went to the highest seeded player. Indeed Louis Heathcote beat Jamie Jones by 6-2 and Oliver Lines beat Jordan Brown by the same score.
Louis has been in excellent form this season so far. According to Cuetracker he has won 15 of the 21 matches he has played so far, and if we look at “straight knock-out” events only, he has won 14 matches out of 18. That’s a 78% win rate in straight knock-out and, believe me, that’s a very, very high success rate. Therefore, even if Jamie Jones is currently ranked higher than Louis, the outcome of their match did not surprise me at all.
Oli Lines and Jordan Brown can both play at a very high standard, but both tend to be a bit inconsistent/unpredictable. No “shock” there either.
Scott Donaldson has withdrawn from the event, so the winner of the match between Mark Williams and Chatchapong Nasa or Zhou Jinhao will rceeive a bye to the last 32.
Details of how to watch the event will be announced soon.
Mitchell Mann kept his recent momentum going as he scored an impressive 6-4 victory over Mark Allen to reach the final stages of the International Championship.
Allen won the BetVictor English Open last month but he misses out on a trip to Nanjing, China for this ranking event which boasts a top prize of £175,000. World number 84 Mann was a quarter-finalist at last week’s Unibet British Open and enjoyed another fine performance today in Sheffield. From 4-2 down, Allen made breaks of 85 and 82 to level at 4-4, but Mann got the better of two tight frames to clinch the result.
Stuart Bingham top scored with 90 in a 6-3 success against Ian Burns, while Sam Craigie enjoyed a superb 6-1 win over Joe O’Connor with a top run of 128. Wu Yize won a Chinese derby against Lan Yuhao 6-3 with a top break of 100 while Elliot Slessor made a 122 in a 6-2 defeat of Alexander Ursenbacher. Liam Highfield came from 3-1 down to edge out Jackson Page 6-5.
Again the “late session” is not covered by WST report. Most matches in that late session went the way you would expect although Bothh David Gilbert and Stephen Maguire were taken the full distance by their much younger and less experienced opponents, Liam Davies and Kreishh Gurbaxani. But the very last match of the day saw 14 years old Michal Szubarczyk beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha by 6-4 in a hard fought affair where both players scored four breaks over 50. The match score however doesn’t tell the whole story: Michal lead by 5-1 before Ishpreet came back at him to make it 5-4 with breaks of 55, 68 and 68. For a 14 years old child, to find it himself to take the next after that onslaught, at about 10 minutes short of midnight, when he probbly should be fast asleep in bed, is truly remarquable.
Marco Fu has pulled out of the upcoming International Championship qualifiers and Xi’an Grand Prix having fractured his elbow.
The three-time ranking event winner from Hong Kong posted on social media to say: “Ouch I’ve just fractured my elbow haha…..don’t ask me how. Nothing too serious, but will be out of action for roughly 2 months. Sadly l need to withdraw from a number of tournaments, hopefully l can get back on the table ASAP. Thank you for your support, take care and see you soon.”
In the International Championship qualifiers, Fu was due to face Neil Robertson on Tuesday September 30th, and he has been replaced in the draw by Umut Dikme.
In the Xi’an Grand Prix, Fu had already won his qualifying match and was due to face Kyren Wilson or Haris Tahir in the second round, so the winner of that tie will receive a bye to the last 32.
Fu had enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning eight of his first 12 matches, and has an average sot time of 15.6 seconds, the fastest on the tour this term.
Ouch indeed! I’m wishing Marco the best possible, a full recovery, without lingering pain and a prompt but not hastily return to the baize.
Shaun Murphy came from 7-6 down to beat Anthony McGill 10-7 in a high quality final to win the Unibet British Open for the first time and his first ranking title in 26 months.
Murphy stepped up a gear in the last four frames of an intriguing contest which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 60. The 43-year-old Englishman receives the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000, landing his first ranking crown since the 2023 Championship League.
Fearing that his career on the baize was on the slide, Murphy began work with fellow former World Champion Peter Ebdon last year, and that partnership has paid dividends as he won the Johnstone’s Paint Masters in January and has now added more silverware to his collection. He moves on to 13 ranking titles in all, one ahead of Mark Allen into tenth place on his own in the all-time list.
Murphy had a tough draw in Cheltenham, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to reach the final, but proved his enduring class with a series of excellent displays. He becomes the first player to complete the ‘grand slam’ of ITV-televised events having previous won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions. Moving from 16th to 12th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, he is up to fourth on the Sportsbet.io One-Year list.
Victory for McGill would have been the biggest triumph of his career – though he has previously won the Indian Open and the Shoot Out – and he looked composed at 7-6 ahead. But the contest slipped away from him and he had to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize. Having struggled with his game over the past three years and fallen to 57th in the world, this is a much-needed boost for the Scot and he jumps back to 45th.
Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Murphy started strongly with a break of 78 to take the opening frame tonight. Ahead for the first time, the Englishman had another scoring chance in frame ten, but missed the black to a top corner on 15 and McGill responded with a run of 81 for 5-5. In the 11th, Murphy once again missed the black to corner when he led 37-0, and McGill took advantage with a break of 77.
Frame 12 was in the balance until McGill, leading 32-31, missed a long pot on the fourth-last red and Murphy added the points he needed to square the tie. After the interval, McGill’s run of 73 put him 7-6 ahead and he was among the balls early in frame 14 but failed to pot the pink to centre and Murphy restored parity again with a 76. McGill led 30-0 in the 15th when he ran out of position and missed a tough red to a baulk corner, letting Murphy in for a run of 72 which proved enough for 8-7.
Leading 34-0 in frame 16, Murphy converted a clever cross double on a red to centre, creating the chance for a break of 66 to go two up with three to play. McGill was on 43 in the next when he overcut a red to top corner, and he was later out-foxed in a safety exchange on the last red. Murphy slotted the red into a top corner to initiate the winning clearance.
“When you haven’t been in a ranking final for a long time, I was grateful for the opportunity and so pleased that my game was there today when I needed it,” said Murphy. “I have a great team behind me who help me so much, when I am not feeling 100 per cent they push me on. For it all to come together today is extremely rewarding. Having Peter Ebdon in my corner was invaluable because he has done it himself so he understands how I am feeling out there.
“I have been watching the likes of Trump, Selby and Robertson winning multiple titles in a season and I would like to get back to that level. I still think I am dangerous on my day, as I have proved this week so I just need to add consistency. I’ll be back on the practice table tomorrow.
“I have to give Anthony credit because he is so tough to beat, I respect him so much as a player and I’m sure there will be more titles for him in the future.“
McGill said: “I felt like the stronger player all day. I’m not sure what happened towards the end, I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just didn’t seem to participate in the last few frames. Shaun is a quality player. I have got my ranking back up so there are some positives, I feel a lot better about my game.”
I have nothing to add. I didn’t watch any of the final, because at the moment life is really coming in the way of snooker … and of any other hobby as well BTW. Also, I don’t particularly like or dislike any of the two finalists.
Mitchell Mann overcame a broken down car and being docked a frame to beat Gao Yang 4-3 and reach the last 32 of the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham.
…
Mann will be back at the table to face Antoni Kowalski in the third round on Wednesday night, and at least will have a much less stressful journey to the baize. The 33-year-old set out from Birmingham to drive to Cheltenham at 8am this morning, but just 20 minutes later saw a ‘flat tyre’ warning light on his dashboard.
“Within a minute I was on the hard shoulder and had no spare type, I was completely stranded,” said the world number 91. “Luckily my friends Tom and Jack, who are greenkeepers at the golf club where I have my practice table, answered my call and they came to pick me up. One of them drove me to Cheltenham and the other waited with my car for the RAC. I should have driven down last night, it’s a lesson learned. I have no idea where my car is now!“
Arriving ten minutes late, Mann started the match 1-0 down, but battled back for victory, taking a tense deciding frame by clearing from the last red.
Judd Trump recovered from a slow start to beat tour rookie Leone Crowley 4-1. Ireland’s Crowley won the opening frame and had a chance in the second but missed a tricky final yellow. World number one Trump stole the frame to gain a foothold then took the last three with a top break of 100.
Mark Allen made it nine wins in a row as he beat Bulcsu Revesz 4-1 with a top break of 69. Allen won the BetVictor English Open last week and is into the third round here and a tie with Mark Williams at 1pm on Thursday. Shaun Murphy saw off Scott Donaldson 4-1 with a top run of 80 and will meet Neil Robertson in another huge last 32 clash.
Defending champion Mark Selby top scored with 115 in a 4-3 win over Liu Hongyu, while Cheung Ka Wai made an 83 in the decider to beat Matthew Stevens 4-3.
John Higgins took a huge scalp in round three of the Unibet British Open as he beat World Champion Zhao Xintong 4-2 to reach the last 16.
…
Four-time Crucible king Higgins admitted that he was “really struggling for motivation” at last month’s Wuhan Open but looks to have regained his hunger this week in Cheltenham. After edging past Mark Davis and Jack Lisowski by 4-3 scorelines, tonight was Higgins’ best performance of the week as breaks of 76, 82 and 55 helped him outplay Zhao. Scotland’s Higgins will now face Ben Mertens or Robbie McGuigan on Thursday evening.
Barry Hawkins recovered deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to beat Jak Jones 4-3, finishing superbly with an 88 in the decider. “I was cueing terribly at the start of the match and felt jaded,” said Hawkins, who was runner-up in the UK Championship and German Masters last season. “It was a late start for me, usually at 9pm I’m tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and the TV on, then I’m snoring by 10pm!
“It was only in the last frame that I switched on and made a really good break, so I’m delighted to still be in the tournament. I have been consistent for a while. When I get to this stage of tournaments I need to push on and try to win more, rather than relaxing.”
Liam Davies kept the best run of his pro career going with a 4-2 defeat of David Lilley, highlighted by breaks of 123, 59 and 63. The 19-year-old Welshman’s only previous appearance in the last 16 of a ranking event came at the 2023 Shoot Out.
Anthony McGill top scored with 91 in a 4-1 defeat of Oliver Lines. Mitchell Mann, who almost failed to make it to Cheltenham at all as his car broke down on the way to the venue this morning, is into the last 16 of a ranking event for the fifth time in his career after beating Antoni Kowalski 4-2 with a top break of 101. Louis Heathcote stormed to a 4-0 whitewash of Zak Surety, his top run 105.
Two close matches finished past midnight local time and aren’t mentioned in the above report:
Stan Moody beat Ian Burns by 4-2 in a close match. Most frames were hard-fought. The highest break of the match was only a 70 by Burns. Moody came out the winner with a match high break of 66.
Chang Bingyu beat Noppon Saengkham by 4-3. The match too was hardfought, close and rather low scoring.
Mark Allen scored his first ranking event victory for 19 months, beating Zhou Yuelong 9-8 to claim the title at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
In a week of fightback victories for Allen, the shoe was on the other foot this evening. The Northern Irishman led 7-3, before being pegged back to trail 8-7. However, he showed his typical tenacity and grit to claim the final two frames and emerge victorious.
Allen’s heroics in previous rounds saw him defeat Ding Junhui 4-3 from 3-0 down in the last 16, Elliot Slessor 5-4 from 4-0 down in the quarters and Jak Jones 6-5 from 5-3 down in the semis.
It’s the 12th ranking event victory in Allen’s career, in what was his 20th appearance in a ranking final. He now draws level with Shaun Murphy in 10th position on the all-time event winner’s list.
The Pistol had failed to register since the 2024 Players Championship last February. That saw him slip down the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings to tenth spot, having briefly occupied the summit last year. However, the £100,000 top prize now moves him up to seventh position.
It immediately puts Allen top of the BetVictor Home Nations Bonus standings. Whoever accumulates the most prize money across the four events will scoop a bumper £150,000 payout.
Defeat will come as a bitter pill to swallow for Zhou, after his huge efforts to regain the lead this evening. The Chinese cueman will have to wait for that elusive first ranking crown.
Zhou has now lost all four of his ranking final appearances, having suffered previous defeats at the 2020 European Masters and the 2020 Shoot Out. He was also runner-up to Allen at the 2023 Northern Ireland Open.
The first session ended with Allen holding a hefty 6-2 cushion. When play got underway in the evening, it was clear both players realised the importance of a strong start. A cagey 45-minute opener eventually went the way of Zhou, who reduced his arrears.
Allen then extended his advantage, but consecutive frames from Zhou ensured he trailed by just two frames at 7-5 heading into the mid-session interval.
When they returned Allen looked set to be moving one frame for victory before missing a red to the left middle on 60. Zhou stepped up with a gutsy 72 to steal on the black and make it 7-6.
Breaks of 60 and 53 then helped Zhou make it five on the bounce and move one away from a momentous victory at 8-7.
A remarkable 16th frame looked to be going to Allen when he compiled a run of 71, but an in off gave Zhou an opportunity. He got the required foul points to stand a chance of winning on the green, but Allen eventually forced a decider.
It was Allen who fired in a crucial break of 61 and he emerged victorious. Following final frame wins for Neil Robertson at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and Xiao Guodong at the Wuhan Open, it is the first time ever that three consecutive ranking events have come down to deciders.
“It means a lot. To win any tournament these days is good. To do it the way I’ve done this week too, coming from behind a lot,” said 39-year-old Allen.
“I was absolutely shattered. I think adrenaline got me through that first session and tonight I was really tired. It is no excuse for some of the balls I missed, but I was feeling it. At 8-7 I felt something and realised it was my chance to find a bit of form. I’m going to sleep well tonight.
“I think the least you can ask for from any player is application. So many guys would have given up in some of the positions I was in this week. I think other people know now that I am never beat. That is worth a frame itself sometimes.
“I want to win as many different tournaments as I can. The Welsh Open is the only Home Nations event I haven’t won. Then the World Championship. Those are the two that stand out for me that are missing on my CV.”
Zhou said: “Of course it will give me confidence. Mark was very good in the first session. He was 6-2 up and I think I just wanted to give him some trouble this evening. I’m very happy I managed to get 8-7 up. It is a good experience and I will learn from it.”
We have to admire both finalists. Zhou showed tremendous courage. Many would have been dispirited after that first session that left him trailing by 6-2. Not him. He fought, he gave it his all and not only did he come back, he even got ahead. And then Mark showed similar courage and willpower. It took “character” to fight and win those last two frames, after losing five on the bounce. Had Zhou won, he would have totally deserved it just as Mark totally deserves his victory. You often read “It’s a shame there had to be a loser” and it’s not always meaningful, but it certainly is true about this final. Zhou’s positive words in defeat say a lot about him as a person. I hope he wins a “proper” full ranking final soon. He deserves it.
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.
…
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.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 