World Number One Judd Trump ensured that he would end the season on top of the pile after coming from behind to defeat Gary Wilson 10-5, becoming the latest seed to successfully come through what looked like a particularly difficult first round encounter. Indeed, Wilson had started Tuesday morning's session in fine form, going 3-1 up at the first mid-session interval, and then taking the first frame after the break before Trump, with the aid of two flukes which very much helped his cause, turned things round to lead 5-4 going into the concluding session. In what turned out to be a less than fluid concluding session, Wilson took the first frame of the night before Trump took complete command, winning five successive frames to book his place in the last sixteen.
Ronnie O'Sullivan, who somehow managed to find himself walking towards the wrong table upon being introduced into the arena by MC Rob Walker, is on the brink of heading into what could be an enthralling second round clash with fellow 'Class of 92' legend John Higgins, as he leads qualifer He Guoqiang 7-2, O'Sullivan started like a house on fire, taking the first five frames, before going slightly off the boil as Guoqiang claimed the next two to avoid what was distinctly looking like a possible whitewash before Ronnie again took firm control and won the last two frames of the session.
Wu Yize took very little time in completing victory over fellow Chinese player Lei Peifan, having gone into Tuesday afternoon's session with a commanding 8-1 lead, he finished the job by taking two of the first three frames on offer and demolishing his compatriot 10-2. Meanwhile, debutant Liam Pullen will be pleased with his efforts, as he trails Scottish Open winner Chris Wakelin 5-4 heading into Wednesday morning's concluding session.
2005 world champion Shaun Murphy punched the air in a mixture of both delight and relief at getting over the line and reaching the last sixteen after defeating Fan Zhengyi 10-9 in the first match which has gone all the way at the Crucible this year. Shaun was always a frame ahead of his opponent right until the very end, never managing to pull away from him, despite the fact that he made the highest break so far at the Crucible with an impressive 140, but he will be mightily relieved at having triumphed when, at one stage in the deciding frame, it seemed as if Zhengyi was going to cause the first seed to fall before missing a tricky red into the right centre pocket and which opened the way for Murphy to clear up.
Wednesday will also see the last of the first round matches start at the Crucible, with 2010 champion Neil Robertson opening his champion against the very talented Pang Janxu; Si Jiahui, who made a quite remarkable and memorable run to the semi-final in 2023, faces a tough opponent in Iranian Hossein Vafafei, who will be hoping to bring some joy to his war-torn nation, and, finally, multiple world champion Mark Selby faces one of the most difficult qualifers he could have drawn as he takes on 2024 runner-up Jak Jones, who looked very impressive in defeating 2023 world champion Luca Brecel in the final qualifying round on Judgement Day last week.
WEDNESDAY 22ND APRIL 2026
10AM
Mark Selby v Jak Jones
Chris Wakelin (5) v (4) Liam Pullen - Play to Finish
2.30PM
Ronnie O'Sullivan (7) v (2) He Guoqiang - Play to Finish
Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei
7PM
Mark Selby v Jak Jones - Play to Finish
Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu
No comments:
Post a Comment