I forgot to add as I expected Ronnie pulled out of the Scottish Open earlier today, so Daniel Wells will be happy a bye to 2nd round and a guranteed £2,500
Michael Georgiou 4-3 Sean O'Sullivan Robbie Williams 4-2 Liam Highfield Sam Baird 4-3 Rod Lawler Dave Gilbert 4-2 Craig MacGillivary Martin O'Donnell 4-1 Chris Wakelin Ross Muir 4-1 Alexander Ursenbacher Zhang Yong 4-2 Anthony McGill Nigel Bond 4-2 Andy Lee Michael Holt 4-2 Sam Craigie Lyu Haotian 4-2 Fan Zhengyi Zhou Yuelong 4-3 Barry Hawkins Paul Davison 4-3 Li Hang Neil Robertson 4-1 Peter Lines Michael White 4-2 Allan Taylor Stuart Carrington 4-3 Gary Wilson Ding Junhui 4-0 Niu Zhuang Eden Sharav 4-0 Hossein Vafaei Robin Hull 4-2 Kishan Hirani Marco Fu 4-3 Chen Zifan Yan Bingtao 4-0 Basem Eltahhan Billy Joe Castle 4-1 Stephen Maguire Soheil Vahedi 4-2 Hamza Akbar John Higgins 4-3 Adam Duffy Zhang Jiankang 4-1 Simon Lichtenberg Jak Jones 4-1 Sanderson Lam Lu Ning 4-3 Duane Jones Mike Dunn 4-2 Joe O'Connor Ian Burns 4-3 Matt Selt Ali Carter 4-0 Luo Honghao Graeme Dott 4-1 Xu Si Shaun Murphy 4-1 Akani Songsermsawad
We also now know the 16 players who will be at Ally Pally in January
Mark Allen Mark Williams Mark Selby Ronnie O’Sullivan John Higgins Judd Trump Barry Hawkins Ding Junhui Neil Robertson Kyren Wilson Shaun Murphy Stuart Bingham Ryan Day Stephen Maguire Luca Brecel Jack Lisowski (debut)
I am going to this with my mates on the Monday, Ronnies game too which was a bit of good fortune
Lee Walker 4-2 Jordan Brown Alfie Burden 4-2 Peter Ebdon Ashley Carty 4-2 Craig Steadman James Cahill 4-2 Thor Chuan Leong Mark King 4-2 Mei Xiwen Joe Perry 4-0 James Wattana Gerard Greene 4-1 Chris Totten Ben Woollaston 4-1 Harvey Chandler Mark Allen 4-2 Liang Wenbo Chen Feilong 4-3 Fraser Patrick Scott Donaldson 4-2 Rory McLeod Alan McManus 4-3 John Astley Rob Milkins 4-0 Fergal O'Brien Luke Simmonds 4-0 Dechawatt Poomjaeng Dominic Dale 4-3 Noppon Saengkham Zhao Xintong 4-3 Ashley Hugill Anthony Hamilton 4-1 Kurt Maflin Ryan Day 4-3 Rhys Clark David Lilley 4-3 Tom Ford Yuan Sijun 4-0 Xiao Guodong Luca Brecel 4-0 Hammad Miah Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Lukas Kleckers Zhang Anda 4-0 Ken Doherty Mark Davis 4-3 Jamie Rhys Clarke Mark Joyce 4-2 Ricky Walden Jack Lisowski 4-3 Adam Stefanow Elliot Slessor 4-1 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Matthew Stevens 4-2 Li Yuan Joe Swail 4-2 Andrew Higginson Judd Trump 4-0 Jimmy White Tian Pengfei 4-0 Stuart Bingham Kyren Wilson 4-2 Oliver Lines
For my sanity and the constant checking of spelling i am so glad we have lost all the tricky names in round 1
Basem Eltahhan Simon Lichtenberg Akani Songsermsawad(although I have learnt a trick with him so I get it right first time now) Dechawatt Poomjaeng Noppon Saengkham Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Quarter 1 Neil Robertson(10) v Ross Muir(94) Martin O'Donnell(41) v Sam Baird(101) Ali Carter(20) v Michael Georgiou(59) Mark King(26) v David Lilley(A) Joe Perry(17) v Robbie Williams(63) Paul Davison(85) v Kyren Wilson(9) Nigel Bond(81) v Michael White(36) Michael Holt(43) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Quarter 2 Zhou Yuelong(30) v Lyu Haotian(39) Stuart Carrington(42) v Eden Sharav(70) Tian Pengfei(79) v Robin Hull(83) Lu Ning(88) v Jak Jones(89) Ian Burns(72) v Mike Dunn(58) Soheil Vahedi(105) v Billy Joe Castle(98) Zhang Jiankang(118) v Lee Walker(99) Ben Woollaston(44) v Judd Trump(5)
Quarter 3 John Higgins(4) v Gerard Greene(73) Ashley Carty(115) v Yan Bingtao(22) Marco Fu(25) v Alfie Burden(95) James Cahill(A) v Zhang Yong(75) Scott Donaldson(49) v Graeme Dott(21) Alan McManus(61) v Luca Brecel(13) Luke Simmonds(A) v Yuan Sijun(68) Chen Feilong(114) v Mark Allen(6)
Quarter 4 Ding Junhui(8) v Rob Milkins(32) Dominic Dale(67) v Zhao Xintong(69) Ryan Day(14) v Anthony Hamilton(56) Mark Davis(34) v Zhang Anda(84) Matthew Stevens(46) v Elliot Slessor(107) Jimmy Robertson(23) v Jack Lisowski(16) Joe Swail(91) v Mark Joyce(47) Dave Gilbert(18) v Daniel Wells(64)
3 Amatuers remain and all 3 have a shot at winning imo
James Cahill-beat Selby at York at took Akani to a final.frame decider, had a nice victory in round 1 here and is facing Yong who beat McGill but McGill has been poor all season so that wasnt a surprise to me and I think Cahill has a chance of beati g Yong who is ranked 75th
Luke Simmonds- he is facing Yuan Sijun who is a class player on his day but I think Luke has a chance to take it close maybe to a decider and then who knows
David Lilley- brilliant win against Tom Ford who played so well at York and David who is an amatuer but has made the most of the Challenge tour and has won an event in that, he has a very tough match against Mark King but I think David could cause Mark some problems
I did catch the end of Ryan Day vs Rhys Clark, Day was 3-1 up with 2 centuries and 90 break but went down to the decider. Why i mention this is Rhys Clark is 24 has been playing since 11ish (cant remember exactly) but already said he is going to retire from snooker at a young age, was really willing him to win yesterday. I like Day but shame someone in their early/mid twenties is going to call it a day, this kind of contradicts the fact the tour is more open to lower ranked players.
I did catch the end of Ryan Day vs Rhys Clark, Day was 3-1 up with 2 centuries and 90 break but went down to the decider. Why i mention this is Rhys Clark is 24 has been playing since 11ish (cant remember exactly) but already said he is going to retire from snooker at a young age, was really willing him to win yesterday. I like Day but shame someone in their early/mid twenties is going to call it a day, this kind of contradicts the fact the tour is more open to lower ranked players.
Any thoughts?
Yeah Rhys has said he has fallen out of love with the game, Barry Hearn made a good comment last week which I think relates to this well, its brutal down the bottom of the rankings and only those with will and those who want it will survive.
I actually agree with Barrys statement, you dont want players who are just plodding along, you want players who want to be the best they can be and put the effort in and yes it is brutal down the bottom and you grt no money if you lose in the 1st round, but if you want to progress you put the practice hours in.
Last season Rhys won 1 outbof 15 matches he played, this season he has only entered 4 competitions so far and won 1 match, he has said he doesnt practice anymore either and he only entered this event as he lives 30 minuted from venue.
Whilst I agree you dont want to see a 23 year old fall out of love with the game, I also think desire has alot to do with it and you dont want people on the tour with no desire.
Ask anyone on the challenge tour and they would say they would swap with Rhys in a heartbeat, players who play in these small events are desperate for a place in the tour and a chance to make it big.
Rhys has alot of talent, he showed that yesterday against Day and I would love for him to change his mind as long as he putd the hours in and fully commits.
I did catch the end of Ryan Day vs Rhys Clark, Day was 3-1 up with 2 centuries and 90 break but went down to the decider. Why i mention this is Rhys Clark is 24 has been playing since 11ish (cant remember exactly) but already said he is going to retire from snooker at a young age, was really willing him to win yesterday. I like Day but shame someone in their early/mid twenties is going to call it a day, this kind of contradicts the fact the tour is more open to lower ranked players.
Any thoughts?
Yeah Rhys has said he has fallen out of love with the game, Barry Hearn made a good comment last week which I think relates to this well, its brutal down the bottom of the rankings and only those with will and those who want it will survive.
I actually agree with Barrys statement, you dont want players who are just plodding along, you want players who want to be the best they can be and put the effort in and yes it is brutal down the bottom and you grt no money if you lose in the 1st round, but if you want to progress you put the practice hours in.
Last season Rhys won 1 outbof 15 matches he played, this season he has only entered 4 competitions so far and won 1 match, he has said he doesnt practice anymore either and he only entered this event as he lives 30 minuted from venue.
Whilst I agree you dont want to see a 23 year old fall out of love with the game, I also think desire has alot to do with it and you dont want people on the tour with no desire.
Ask anyone on the challenge tour and they would say they would swap with Rhys in a heartbeat, players who play in these small events are desperate for a place in the tour and a chance to make it big.
Rhys has alot of talent, he showed that yesterday against Day and I would love for him to change his mind as long as he put the hours in and fully commits.
You are correct, most of what you say.... but again this is supposed to be geared up to the lower ranked players. Admittedly he has only played a few events this year, but i thought they were reducing prizes slightly so they didn't have to pay for the entries so surely it should help them but if they cant win a game it doesn't.
Due to his age , it wouldn't surprise me if he falls of the tour and in a few years time gets the hunger qualifies through Q school and gets on tour again at some point. At his age probably better to do something else and have in the background if he cant afford to put the effort in, or just doesn't want to.
I think alot of the lower ranked players need dedication, if you are in the top 45-50 you could miss majority of events and still know you will be in there at the end of the season, only the top 64 are guranteed a place on the tour the following season remember so if you are at the end of your 2 year tour card and outside the top 64 then thats it Q school it is.
For the life of me I cant remember who its was but there was a lower ranked player last week who lost in york and within halfhour of losing the guys in the studio were talking about him being on the practice table, like I say I cant remember who it was but that shows dedication and the will to improve and make something.
I would love to have Rhys's talent and a tour card.
I know its not the same and they get paid win or lose but think of it like a Footballer with talent but they dont put the effort into training
They dont get paid if they lose first round, they used to now they dont have to stump up the fee. That was changed recently maybe last year, or even this season.
Agree no matter what talent you have, you still need to put the graft in. Must be difficult as they are playing from a young age, i used to play snooker alot and then kind of lost interest and now dont at all and focused on pool. Yes i have never had their talent/ dedication but just goes to show how easily it is to go from one sport to another. Before snooker was golf, then now go through periods of that too, its all competitive just sometimes it can be easy to lose interest if you aren't really testing yourself or taking it too serious.
3 Amatuers remain and all 3 have a shot at winning imo
James Cahill-beat Selby at York at took Akani to a final.frame decider, had a nice victory in round 1 here and is facing Yong who beat McGill but McGill has been poor all season so that wasnt a surprise to me and I think Cahill has a chance of beati g Yong who is ranked 75th
Luke Simmonds- he is facing Yuan Sijun who is a class player on his day but I think Luke has a chance to take it close maybe to a decider and then who knows
David Lilley- brilliant win against Tom Ford who played so well at York and David who is an amatuer but has made the most of the Challenge tour and has won an event in that, he has a very tough match against Mark King but I think David could cause Mark some problems
They dont get paid if they lose first round, they used to now they dont have to stump up the fee. That was changed recently maybe last year, or even this season.
Agree no matter what talent you have, you still need to put the graft in. Must be difficult as they are playing from a young age, i used to play snooker alot and then kind of lost interest and now dont at all and focused on pool. Yes i have never had their talent/ dedication but just goes to show how easily it is to go from one sport to another. Before snooker was golf, then now go through periods of that too, its all competitive just sometimes it can be easy to lose interest if you aren't really testing yourself or taking it too serious.
The big problem is that to compete on the tour, including travelling, hotels etc costs a lot of money, £20,000-£30,000 in some cases. To earn a living you have to win £50k plus. There is a danger that they are creating a pyramid with no base. A lot of people think the WPBSA is not doing enough for the amateur game to ensure that young players will come through.
They dont get paid if they lose first round, they used to now they dont have to stump up the fee. That was changed recently maybe last year, or even this season.
Agree no matter what talent you have, you still need to put the graft in. Must be difficult as they are playing from a young age, i used to play snooker alot and then kind of lost interest and now dont at all and focused on pool. Yes i have never had their talent/ dedication but just goes to show how easily it is to go from one sport to another. Before snooker was golf, then now go through periods of that too, its all competitive just sometimes it can be easy to lose interest if you aren't really testing yourself or taking it too serious.
The big problem is that to compete on the tour, including travelling, hotels etc costs a lot of money, £20,000-£30,000 in some cases. To earn a living you have to win £50k plus. There is a danger that they are creating a pyramid with no base. A lot of people think the WPBSA is not doing enough for the amateur game to ensure that young players will come through.
Exactly my thoughts Lawrie, although it 'appears' to help the lower ranked players the flat system, it actually doesn't. If they have qualifiers rather then playing a top 32 player in the early rounds it would be more fair, it would make it tougher for the main 16/32 as they wont have easy games to warm up, sometimes pointless games as Ronnie says. I know its kind of catch 22, but i dont personally feel the current system is fault proof and the challenge tour i am not sure how serious that has been as it doesn't get much coverage.
It could work better like in pool, there 3 events Open (for anyone not just professionals and qualifiers, doesnt exclude the pros) Professionals (Pros only, probably odd qualifier), Amateur event (No pros) if there was a system similar where the amateurs still play their own event leading up to the main events and then also can qualify into the main or top amateurs get entrance that would work.
At present they can play anyone, which in some cases just isn't worth it as they rarely win.
I appreciate at present Barry Hearn is trying to change this , but he is a bit blinded as they need to win matches/ events to make it worthwhile. If Ronnie presented his arguments better more people would understand rather than calling people numpties
In regards to your 3 tier suggestion @johnnybev1987 they have a system like that ATM,
you have amateur events all around the world and players like Luo Honghao earned his tour card by winning the WSF World Championship, Adam Stefanow as the WSF runner up also have the winners of EBSA World Champion and world under 21 champion plus a few other events that give winners a place on the tour.
Also the Challenge tour which the top 2 at the end of the season earn a 2 year tour card, plus these players can make up numbers in events if they are needed like Lilley,Cahill and Simmonds in the current Scottish Open.
Then there are currently 127 professionals so people like Rhys Clarke may be down in the 120s but he is still a professional player and gets the pros that come with it, and place in any event they want to enter(apart from the invitationals)
In regards to money for travel and flights, it may be smaller amounts lower down the rankings but sponsorship will help alot woth that, even players like Rhys Clark has at least 2 names on his waistcoat so will be getting some money to cover it, academys help alot as well, there is a couple of good ones in Sheffield, 1 Called the Vic Snooker Academy which has alot.of the young chinesse talent and Ding used to be part of it when he 1st came over, they pay flights housing cost, food everything and they take a percentage of yearly earnings, so if there players dont win to many events they get less money, so they make sure you put the dedicatiom in.
Barry Hearn made a good comment the other day, he only wants the best on the tour, and he isnt gonna make it easy and let people get confortable with mediocre performances, he said if you keep losing then maybe snooker isnt for you and I agree if you are always losing to people ranked in the top 64 and never improving then whats the point, James Cahill beat Mark Selby, Billy Joe Castle just yesterday beat Stephen Maguire they are improving because they want to break into the top 64 in Billys case and Cahill wants to get a place on the tour.
Again Barry Hearn said if you are ranked 80th and the 1st couple of rounds you are playing players below you and getting a few thousand pounds for winning the games then you settle for that, but they way it is now it pushes the lower ranked players 1 tournament they may have 1st round match against someome in the 100s and then next event they are playing a Selby in round 1,people who are settled and not challenged end up taking it easy and he wants to challenge people.
I watched the interview with Barry last weekend and i agreed with pretty much everything he said.
You are missing the point here, i know there is something in place but it doesn't work how it should.
top 2 players might get onto the tour, but they will have tough games or still might struggle to win enough to cover hotels/ travel. Its one of those things, people have always struggled unless you are an elite player, top 32 player normally means you live a comfy life.
Barry Hearn is doing a great job putting something in place, but still think Ronnies argument is valid. But suppose this is one of those things you will always get different opinions on what could be better, he is still doing well and you cant please everyone / Ronnie
Nigel Bond 4-1 Michael White Ian Burns 4-1 Mike Dunn Stuart Carrington 4-2 Eden Sharav Ali Carter 4-2 Michael Georgiou David Lilley 4-3 Mark King Lu Ning 4-3 Jak Jones Sam Baird 4-1 Martin O'Donnell Zhou Yuelong 4-2 Lyu Haotian Ding Junhui 4-1 Robert Milkins Joe Perry 4-2 Robbie Williams Ross Muir 4-2 Neil Robertson Bill Joe Castle 4-1 Soheil Vahedi Zhang Jiankang 4-2 Lee Walker Yan Bingtao 4-0 Ashley Carty Zhang Yong 4-2 James Cahill Yuan Sijun 4-3 Luke Simmonds Zhao Xintong 4-3 Dominic Dale Luca Brecel 4-2 Alan McManus Graeme Dott 4-1 Scott Donaldson Daniel Wells 4-1 Dave Gilbert John Higgins 4-0 Gerard Greene Tian Pengfei 4-0 Robin Hull Alfie Burden 4-3 Marco Fu Kyren Wilson 4-0 Paul Davison Zhang Anda 4-2 Mark Davis Mark Allen 4-1 Chen Feilong Shaun Murphy 4-0 Michael Holt Jimmy Robertson 4-1 Jack Lisowski Matthew Stevens 4-1 Elliot Slessor Mark Joyce 4-2 Joe Swail Judd Trump 4-0 Ben Woollaston Ryan Day 4-1 Anthony Hamilton
Quarter 1 Ross Muir(94) v Sam Baird(101) Ali Carter(20) v David Lilley(A) Joe Perry(17) v Kyren Wilson(9) Nigel Bond(81) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Quarter 2 Zhou Yuelong(30) v Stuart Carrington(42) Tian Pengfei(79) v Lu Ning(88) Ian Burns(72) v Billy Joe Castle(98) Zhang Jiankang(118) v Judd Trump(5)
Quarter 3 John Higgins(4) v Yan Bingtao(22) Alfie Burden(95) v Zhang Yong(75) Graeme Dott(21) v Luca Brecel(13) Yuan Sijun(68) v Mark Allen(6)
Quarter 4 Ding Junhui(8) v Zhao Xintong(69) Ryan Day(14) v Zhang Anda(84) Matthew Stevens(46) v Jimmy Robertson(23) Mark Joyce(47) v Daniel Wells(64)
Ian Burns 4-1 Billy Joe Castle Ali Carter 4-1 David Lilley Graeme Dott 4-3 Luca Brecel Sam Baird 4-2 Ross Muir Kyren Wilson 4-3 Joe Perry Stuart Carrington 4-0 Zhou Yuelong Shaun Murphy 4-2 Nigel Bond Alfie Burden 4-3 Zhang Yong Ryan Day 4-2 Zhang Anda John Higgins 4-0 Yan Bingtao Daniel Wells 4-1 Mark Joyce Tian Pengfei 4-3 Lu Ning Ding Junhui 4-3 Zhao Xintong Judd Trump 4-1 Zhang Jiankang Mark Allen 4-1 Yuan Sijun Matthew Stevens 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Sam Baird 4-3 Ali Carter Stuart Carrington 4-3 Tian Pengfei Alfie Burden 4-2 John Higgins Daniel Wells 4-0 Matthew Stevens Shaun Murphy 4-3 Kyren Wilson Ryan Day 4-2 Ding Junhui Mark Allen 4-2 Graeme Dott Judd Trump 4-1 Ian Burns
Comments
Poomjaeng v Simmonds good chance for 1 of those to get to 2nd round and earn a bit.
The Scottish Open 1st round losers get nothing but if you get to last 64 its £2,500
Winner: £70,000
Runner-up: £30,000
Semi-final: £20,000
Quarter-final: £10,000
Last 16: £6,000
Last 32: £3,500
Last 64: £2,500
Highest break: £2,000
Total: £366,000
Round 1
Results
Michael Georgiou 4-3 Sean O'Sullivan
Robbie Williams 4-2 Liam Highfield
Sam Baird 4-3 Rod Lawler
Dave Gilbert 4-2 Craig MacGillivary
Martin O'Donnell 4-1 Chris Wakelin
Ross Muir 4-1 Alexander Ursenbacher
Zhang Yong 4-2 Anthony McGill
Nigel Bond 4-2 Andy Lee
Michael Holt 4-2 Sam Craigie
Lyu Haotian 4-2 Fan Zhengyi
Zhou Yuelong 4-3 Barry Hawkins
Paul Davison 4-3 Li Hang
Neil Robertson 4-1 Peter Lines
Michael White 4-2 Allan Taylor
Stuart Carrington 4-3 Gary Wilson
Ding Junhui 4-0 Niu Zhuang
Eden Sharav 4-0 Hossein Vafaei
Robin Hull 4-2 Kishan Hirani
Marco Fu 4-3 Chen Zifan
Yan Bingtao 4-0 Basem Eltahhan
Billy Joe Castle 4-1 Stephen Maguire
Soheil Vahedi 4-2 Hamza Akbar
John Higgins 4-3 Adam Duffy
Zhang Jiankang 4-1 Simon Lichtenberg
Jak Jones 4-1 Sanderson Lam
Lu Ning 4-3 Duane Jones
Mike Dunn 4-2 Joe O'Connor
Ian Burns 4-3 Matt Selt
Ali Carter 4-0 Luo Honghao
Graeme Dott 4-1 Xu Si
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Akani Songsermsawad
Ronnie is GOAT - That is all
Yes i flagged you for your biased view with Ronnie ... even though i know you put a winky face...
Round 1
Results
Lee Walker 4-2 Jordan Brown
Alfie Burden 4-2 Peter Ebdon
Ashley Carty 4-2 Craig Steadman
James Cahill 4-2 Thor Chuan Leong
Mark King 4-2 Mei Xiwen
Joe Perry 4-0 James Wattana
Gerard Greene 4-1 Chris Totten
Ben Woollaston 4-1 Harvey Chandler
Mark Allen 4-2 Liang Wenbo
Chen Feilong 4-3 Fraser Patrick
Scott Donaldson 4-2 Rory McLeod
Alan McManus 4-3 John Astley
Rob Milkins 4-0 Fergal O'Brien
Luke Simmonds 4-0 Dechawatt Poomjaeng
Dominic Dale 4-3 Noppon Saengkham
Zhao Xintong 4-3 Ashley Hugill
Anthony Hamilton 4-1 Kurt Maflin
Ryan Day 4-3 Rhys Clark
David Lilley 4-3 Tom Ford
Yuan Sijun 4-0 Xiao Guodong
Luca Brecel 4-0 Hammad Miah
Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Lukas Kleckers
Zhang Anda 4-0 Ken Doherty
Mark Davis 4-3 Jamie Rhys Clarke
Mark Joyce 4-2 Ricky Walden
Jack Lisowski 4-3 Adam Stefanow
Elliot Slessor 4-1 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Matthew Stevens 4-2 Li Yuan
Joe Swail 4-2 Andrew Higginson
Judd Trump 4-0 Jimmy White
Tian Pengfei 4-0 Stuart Bingham
Kyren Wilson 4-2 Oliver Lines
Basem Eltahhan
Simon Lichtenberg
Akani Songsermsawad(although I have learnt a trick with him so I get it right first time now)
Dechawatt Poomjaeng
Noppon Saengkham
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Round 2
Quarter 1
Neil Robertson(10) v Ross Muir(94)
Martin O'Donnell(41) v Sam Baird(101)
Ali Carter(20) v Michael Georgiou(59)
Mark King(26) v David Lilley(A)
Joe Perry(17) v Robbie Williams(63)
Paul Davison(85) v Kyren Wilson(9)
Nigel Bond(81) v Michael White(36)
Michael Holt(43) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Quarter 2
Zhou Yuelong(30) v Lyu Haotian(39)
Stuart Carrington(42) v Eden Sharav(70)
Tian Pengfei(79) v Robin Hull(83)
Lu Ning(88) v Jak Jones(89)
Ian Burns(72) v Mike Dunn(58)
Soheil Vahedi(105) v Billy Joe Castle(98)
Zhang Jiankang(118) v Lee Walker(99)
Ben Woollaston(44) v Judd Trump(5)
Quarter 3
John Higgins(4) v Gerard Greene(73)
Ashley Carty(115) v Yan Bingtao(22)
Marco Fu(25) v Alfie Burden(95)
James Cahill(A) v Zhang Yong(75)
Scott Donaldson(49) v Graeme Dott(21)
Alan McManus(61) v Luca Brecel(13)
Luke Simmonds(A) v Yuan Sijun(68)
Chen Feilong(114) v Mark Allen(6)
Quarter 4
Ding Junhui(8) v Rob Milkins(32)
Dominic Dale(67) v Zhao Xintong(69)
Ryan Day(14) v Anthony Hamilton(56)
Mark Davis(34) v Zhang Anda(84)
Matthew Stevens(46) v Elliot Slessor(107)
Jimmy Robertson(23) v Jack Lisowski(16)
Joe Swail(91) v Mark Joyce(47)
Dave Gilbert(18) v Daniel Wells(64)
James Cahill-beat Selby at York at took Akani to a final.frame decider, had a nice victory in round 1 here and is facing Yong who beat McGill but McGill has been poor all season so that wasnt a surprise to me and I think Cahill has a chance of beati g Yong who is ranked 75th
Luke Simmonds- he is facing Yuan Sijun who is a class player on his day but I think Luke has a chance to take it close maybe to a decider and then who knows
David Lilley- brilliant win against Tom Ford who played so well at York and David who is an amatuer but has made the most of the Challenge tour and has won an event in that, he has a very tough match against Mark King but I think David could cause Mark some problems
I did catch the end of Ryan Day vs Rhys Clark, Day was 3-1 up with 2 centuries and 90 break but went down to the decider. Why i mention this is Rhys Clark is 24 has been playing since 11ish (cant remember exactly) but already said he is going to retire from snooker at a young age, was really willing him to win yesterday. I like Day but shame someone in their early/mid twenties is going to call it a day, this kind of contradicts the fact the tour is more open to lower ranked players.
Any thoughts?
I actually agree with Barrys statement, you dont want players who are just plodding along, you want players who want to be the best they can be and put the effort in and yes it is brutal down the bottom and you grt no money if you lose in the 1st round, but if you want to progress you put the practice hours in.
Last season Rhys won 1 outbof 15 matches he played, this season he has only entered 4 competitions so far and won 1 match, he has said he doesnt practice anymore either and he only entered this event as he lives 30 minuted from venue.
Whilst I agree you dont want to see a 23 year old fall out of love with the game, I also think desire has alot to do with it and you dont want people on the tour with no desire.
Ask anyone on the challenge tour and they would say they would swap with Rhys in a heartbeat, players who play in these small events are desperate for a place in the tour and a chance to make it big.
Rhys has alot of talent, he showed that yesterday against Day and I would love for him to change his mind as long as he putd the hours in and fully commits.
Due to his age , it wouldn't surprise me if he falls of the tour and in a few years time gets the hunger qualifies through Q school and gets on tour again at some point. At his age probably better to do something else and have in the background if he cant afford to put the effort in, or just doesn't want to.
I think alot of the lower ranked players need dedication, if you are in the top 45-50 you could miss majority of events and still know you will be in there at the end of the season, only the top 64 are guranteed a place on the tour the following season remember so if you are at the end of your 2 year tour card and outside the top 64 then thats it Q school it is.
For the life of me I cant remember who its was but there was a lower ranked player last week who lost in york and within halfhour of losing the guys in the studio were talking about him being on the practice table, like I say I cant remember who it was but that shows dedication and the will to improve and make something.
I would love to have Rhys's talent and a tour card.
I know its not the same and they get paid win or lose but think of it like a Footballer with talent but they dont put the effort into training
Agree no matter what talent you have, you still need to put the graft in. Must be difficult as they are playing from a young age, i used to play snooker alot and then kind of lost interest and now dont at all and focused on pool. Yes i have never had their talent/ dedication but just goes to show how easily it is to go from one sport to another. Before snooker was golf, then now go through periods of that too, its all competitive just sometimes it can be easy to lose interest if you aren't really testing yourself or taking it too serious.
1 through
David Lilley beat Mark King 4-3
Both Cahill and Simmonds are up this afternoon
It could work better like in pool, there 3 events Open (for anyone not just professionals and qualifiers, doesnt exclude the pros) Professionals (Pros only, probably odd qualifier), Amateur event (No pros) if there was a system similar where the amateurs still play their own event leading up to the main events and then also can qualify into the main or top amateurs get entrance that would work.
At present they can play anyone, which in some cases just isn't worth it as they rarely win.
I appreciate at present Barry Hearn is trying to change this , but he is a bit blinded as they need to win matches/ events to make it worthwhile. If Ronnie presented his arguments better more people would understand rather than calling people numpties
you have amateur events all around the world and players like Luo Honghao earned his tour card by winning the WSF World Championship, Adam Stefanow as the WSF runner up also have the winners of EBSA World Champion and world under 21 champion plus a few other events that give winners a place on the tour.
Also the Challenge tour which the top 2 at the end of the season earn a 2 year tour card, plus these players can make up numbers in events if they are needed like Lilley,Cahill and Simmonds in the current Scottish Open.
Then there are currently 127 professionals so people like Rhys Clarke may be down in the 120s but he is still a professional player and gets the pros that come with it, and place in any event they want to enter(apart from the invitationals)
In regards to money for travel and flights, it may be smaller amounts lower down the rankings but sponsorship will help alot woth that, even players like Rhys Clark has at least 2 names on his waistcoat so will be getting some money to cover it, academys help alot as well, there is a couple of good ones in Sheffield, 1 Called the Vic Snooker Academy which has alot.of the young chinesse talent and Ding used to be part of it when he 1st came over, they pay flights housing cost, food everything and they take a percentage of yearly earnings, so if there players dont win to many events they get less money, so they make sure you put the dedicatiom in.
Barry Hearn made a good comment the other day, he only wants the best on the tour, and he isnt gonna make it easy and let people get confortable with mediocre performances, he said if you keep losing then maybe snooker isnt for you and I agree if you are always losing to people ranked in the top 64 and never improving then whats the point, James Cahill beat Mark Selby, Billy Joe Castle just yesterday beat Stephen Maguire they are improving because they want to break into the top 64 in Billys case and Cahill wants to get a place on the tour.
Again Barry Hearn said if you are ranked 80th and the 1st couple of rounds you are playing players below you and getting a few thousand pounds for winning the games then you settle for that, but they way it is now it pushes the lower ranked players 1 tournament they may have 1st round match against someome in the 100s and then next event they are playing a Selby in round 1,people who are settled and not challenged end up taking it easy and he wants to challenge people.
I watched the interview with Barry last weekend and i agreed with pretty much everything he said.
top 2 players might get onto the tour, but they will have tough games or still might struggle to win enough to cover hotels/ travel. Its one of those things, people have always struggled unless you are an elite player, top 32 player normally means you live a comfy life.
Barry Hearn is doing a great job putting something in place, but still think Ronnies argument is valid. But suppose this is one of those things you will always get different opinions on what could be better, he is still doing well and you cant please everyone / Ronnie
Round 2
Results
Nigel Bond 4-1 Michael White
Ian Burns 4-1 Mike Dunn
Stuart Carrington 4-2 Eden Sharav
Ali Carter 4-2 Michael Georgiou
David Lilley 4-3 Mark King
Lu Ning 4-3 Jak Jones
Sam Baird 4-1 Martin O'Donnell
Zhou Yuelong 4-2 Lyu Haotian
Ding Junhui 4-1 Robert Milkins
Joe Perry 4-2 Robbie Williams
Ross Muir 4-2 Neil Robertson
Bill Joe Castle 4-1 Soheil Vahedi
Zhang Jiankang 4-2 Lee Walker
Yan Bingtao 4-0 Ashley Carty
Zhang Yong 4-2 James Cahill
Yuan Sijun 4-3 Luke Simmonds
Zhao Xintong 4-3 Dominic Dale
Luca Brecel 4-2 Alan McManus
Graeme Dott 4-1 Scott Donaldson
Daniel Wells 4-1 Dave Gilbert
John Higgins 4-0 Gerard Greene
Tian Pengfei 4-0 Robin Hull
Alfie Burden 4-3 Marco Fu
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Paul Davison
Zhang Anda 4-2 Mark Davis
Mark Allen 4-1 Chen Feilong
Shaun Murphy 4-0 Michael Holt
Jimmy Robertson 4-1 Jack Lisowski
Matthew Stevens 4-1 Elliot Slessor
Mark Joyce 4-2 Joe Swail
Judd Trump 4-0 Ben Woollaston
Ryan Day 4-1 Anthony Hamilton
Round 3
Quarter 1
Ross Muir(94) v Sam Baird(101)
Ali Carter(20) v David Lilley(A)
Joe Perry(17) v Kyren Wilson(9)
Nigel Bond(81) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Quarter 2
Zhou Yuelong(30) v Stuart Carrington(42)
Tian Pengfei(79) v Lu Ning(88)
Ian Burns(72) v Billy Joe Castle(98)
Zhang Jiankang(118) v Judd Trump(5)
Quarter 3
John Higgins(4) v Yan Bingtao(22)
Alfie Burden(95) v Zhang Yong(75)
Graeme Dott(21) v Luca Brecel(13)
Yuan Sijun(68) v Mark Allen(6)
Quarter 4
Ding Junhui(8) v Zhao Xintong(69)
Ryan Day(14) v Zhang Anda(84)
Matthew Stevens(46) v Jimmy Robertson(23)
Mark Joyce(47) v Daniel Wells(64)
Would love to see Stevens win quarter 4
But I cant see past a Semi Final line up of
Kyren Wilson v Judd Trump
Mark Allen v Ding Junhui
The only i am not sure about is quarter 3 I went for Allen but could easily be Higgins
Round 3
Results
Ian Burns 4-1 Billy Joe Castle
Ali Carter 4-1 David Lilley
Graeme Dott 4-3 Luca Brecel
Sam Baird 4-2 Ross Muir
Kyren Wilson 4-3 Joe Perry
Stuart Carrington 4-0 Zhou Yuelong
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Nigel Bond
Alfie Burden 4-3 Zhang Yong
Ryan Day 4-2 Zhang Anda
John Higgins 4-0 Yan Bingtao
Daniel Wells 4-1 Mark Joyce
Tian Pengfei 4-3 Lu Ning
Ding Junhui 4-3 Zhao Xintong
Judd Trump 4-1 Zhang Jiankang
Mark Allen 4-1 Yuan Sijun
Matthew Stevens 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Round 4
Quarter 1
Sam Baird(101) v Ali Carter(20)
Kyren Wilson(9) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Quarter 2
Stuart Carrington(42) v Tian Pengfei(79)
Ian Burns(72) v Judd Trump(5)
Quarter 3
John Higgins(4) v Alfie Burden(95)
Graeme Dott(21) v Mark Allen(6)
Quarter 4
Ding Junhui(8) v Ryan Day(14)
Matthew Stevens(46) v Daniel Wells(64)
Round 4
Results
Sam Baird 4-3 Ali Carter
Stuart Carrington 4-3 Tian Pengfei
Alfie Burden 4-2 John Higgins
Daniel Wells 4-0 Matthew Stevens
Shaun Murphy 4-3 Kyren Wilson
Ryan Day 4-2 Ding Junhui
Mark Allen 4-2 Graeme Dott
Judd Trump 4-1 Ian Burns
Quarter Finals
Sam Baird(101) v Shaun Murphy(11)
Stuart Carrington(42) v Judd Trump(5)
Alfie Burden(95) v Mark Allen(6)
Ryan Day(14) v Daniel Wells(64)
Fantastic.