World Snooker Championship 2022 Archives

‘I didn’t come to equal Hendry’s record but to play Snooker’ O’Sullivan

SHEFFIELD: The seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed that he did not come to Crucible to equal Stephen Hendry’s record but to play the snooker.

The newly crowned world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, who equalled Hendry’s record of seven world championships following his 18-13 victory against Judd Trump in the final of the World Snooker Championship 2022, claimed he did not think about equalling Hendry’s record.

“I didn’t really feel like the favourite to win. I doubted myself a little bit, so to finally get a result like I did is special,” O’Sullivan said.

“Honestly, it [the record] has never been something on my mind. I didn’t come here to equal Stephen Hendry’s record, I came here to play snooker and to be honest I found it very, very tough,” he added.

2001. 2004. 2008. 2012. 2013. 2020. 2022. Ronnie O'Sullivan is a seven-time champion of the world!

📺💻📱 @BBCSport, @Eurosport & @DiscoveryPlus #ilovesnooker | @Betfred pic.twitter.com/enDYbVSFcY

— WST (@WeAreWST) May 2, 2022

O’Sullivan also shared the story behind his emotional moment with Trump after securing his seventh world title, saying the latter said some words which made me realize what this meant to him.

“I’ve grown up with Judd, we’ve shared a lot of time on the practice tables so to hear the words he said to me afterwards, I didn’t realise what that meant to him. It was nice to hear I was part of his development and it was a special moment – he choked me up,” he shared.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Englishman O’Sullivan, with his triumph in the recently concluded World Snooker Championship 2022, has finally managed to level with his childhood hero Hendry, who won his seventh world title in 1999.

The 46-years-old also produced more century breaks than any other in World Championships history.

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Higgins beat Lisowski in a thriller to set semi-final clash with Ronnie

SHEFFIELD: The Scottish Snooker player John Higgins secured a hard-fought victory as the fifth-ranked cueist edged past the 10th-ranked Jack Lisowski to book his semi-final clash with his English counterpart Ronnie O’Sullivan in the ongoing World Snooker Championship.

The four-time world champion Higgins experienced another tough competition in the championship as he had to fight hard to claim the quarter-final victory by defeating Lisowski 13-12 in the Best of 25.

With the scores levelled at 12-12, Higgins held his nerves calm and brought his experience into play as the veteran secured the deciding frame by the scores of 72-18.

The two cueists remained involved in a see-saw battle with Lisowski pulling ahead and Higgins levels and vice-versa.

In the last two frames, Lisowski was just one shy away from the victory but Higgins scored a brilliant century in the 24th frame before following up with an important 72 to book his spot in the semi-finals.

Higgins scored three centuries, including ten fifty-plus breaks and the best of them (123) came in the ninth frame.

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Robertson outclasses Hugill in first-round of World Snooker Championship

SHEFFIELD: Australian cueist and the tournament’s favourite Neil Robertson has defeated the debutant Ashley Hugill by 10-5 to proceed to the second round of the ongoing World Snooker Championship 2022, here on Tuesday.

The world number two Robertson, who faced the Englishman Hugill in his first match of the campaign, defeated the latter by 10-5 in the Best of 19.

The in-form Robertson started his world championship campaign with a century as the second-ranked cueist piled 127 points in the opening frame.

The debutant then bounced back swiftly and took an early lead by claiming the next three frames.

Robertson, however, hit back in devastating fashion as a run of eight frames in a row put him just one short of a comfortable victory.

Hugill then looked to pull things back into his favour by winning the next two frames and cutting the margin to 9-5.

In the 15th frame of the match, the tournament’s favourite Robertson then sealed the victory as the second-ranked scored another century to increase his total match tally to five. His best break of 132 in this match came in the ninth frame.

The 2015 champion Stuart Bingham, on the other hand, also made it to the second round after securing a convincing victory over China’s Lyu Haotian.

ROUND 1 RESULTS

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-5 David Gilbert
Mark Selby 10-7 Jamie Jones
Jackson Page 10-7 Barry Hawkins
Zhao Xintong 10-2 Jamie Clarke
Stephen Maguire 10-8 Shaun Murphy
Mark Williams 10-3 Michael White
Anthony McGill 10-7 Liam Highfield
Mark Allen 10-6 Scott Donaldson
Neil Robertson 10-5 Ashley Hugill
Stuart Bingham 10-5 Lyu Haotian
Yan Bingtao 10-6 Chris Wakelin

Barry Hawkins suffers first round exit after shock loss

SHEFFIELD: The English cueist Barry Hawkins suffered a first-round exit from the ongoing World Snooker Championship after suffering a shock loss by his Welsh counterpart Jackson Page.

The 90th ranked Page pulled off an upset victory over the ninth-ranked Hawkins by the scores of 10-7 in the Best of 19.

Page was off to a flying start in his first match of the World Championship campaign by winning the first three frames including a century in the first to pull 3-0 ahead of Hawkins.

Hawkins then looked to bounce back but the two remained involved in a see-saw battle in the next four frames as both managed to claim two each.

Page’s momentum carried him to a century in the eighth frame, extending his lead to 6-2, only for Hawkins to win three straight frames and cut the margin to 6-5, including a thrilling ninth frame.

In the next four frames, the two engaged in another see-saw struggle, each winning two frames, with Hawkins scoring a century in the 13th frame.

Page then held his nerve calm and scored back to back centuries in the next two frames with his best break of 135 in the 17th frame to secure a stunning victory over the better-ranked Hawkins by 10-7.

READ: Mark Williams breezes into last 16 in World Snooker Championship

Mark Williams breezes into last 16 in World Snooker Championship

SHEFFIELD: Welsh Snooker player Mark Williams secured a convincing first-round victory as the eighth-ranked cueist thumped the unseeded Michael White to book his spot in the last 16 of the ongoing World Snooker Championship.

The world number eight Williams, who faced his countryman White in his first match of the campaign, defeated the latter by 10-3 in the Best of 19.

Williams dominated White right from the start as the veteran secured seven opening frames including three centuries with the best break of 138 in the fifth frame.

White then looked to bounce back by winning the next two frames to reduce the lead to 7-2. Williams, on the other hand, responded with a century in the 10th frame as he finished at 104. He then scored 99 in the 11th frame to restore his lead to 9-2.

With Williams just one shy from securing the victory, White showed the sign of fightback as he claimed his third frame of the match with his first century of the championship.

White, however, could not keep his momentum with himself and Williams claimed his 10th frame to secure a first-round triumph with his fifth century in the match.

In another first-round fixture, the 13th ranked Anthony McGill secured a comprehensive 10-7 victory over the 43rd-ranked Liam Highfield.

In a see-saw battle between the two cueists, the Scottish McGill held his nerve calm to claim a comprehensive victory by 10-7 in the end.

McGill could not score any century in his first match of the World Championship, with the best break of 71, which came in the 5th frame.

ROUND 1 RESULTS

Mark Williams 10-3 Michael White
Anthony McGill 10-7 Liam Highfield
Mark Allen 10-6 Scott Donaldson

READ: Ronnie, Selby secure first-round wins in World Snooker Championship

Ronnie, Selby secure first-round wins in World Snooker Championship

SHEFFIELD: The top-ranked cueists Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby beat David Gilbert and Jamie Jones respectively in the first round to further proceed in the ongoing World Snooker Championship 2022.

The world number one Ronnie, who faced Gilbert in his first match of the campaign, defeated the latter by 10-5 in the Best of 19.

The 19th ranked Gilbert was off to a flying start as the English cueist secured the first three frames by the scores of 129, 94, and 65.

Ronnie, on the other hand, responded swiftly and scored a century in the fourth frame to reduce the lead to 3-1. He then claimed the next two frames by 73-35 and 96-23 to level the scores at 3-3.

Fuelled with momentum, the top-ranked cueist claimed three more frames including a century in the seventh frame to take the lead 6-3.

Gilbert then looked to bounce back and shone in the next two frames to reduce the lead to 6-5 only for Ronnie to claim the next four frames and the victory. The top-ranked scored two more centuries in the 12th and 14th frames to increase the total match tally to four.

The second-ranked Selby, on the other hand, defeated the 37th-ranked Jones by 10-7 in the Best of 19.

In a see-saw battle between the two cueists, the veteran Selby held his nerve calm to claim a comprehensive victory by 10-7 in the end.

Selby scored three centuries in his first match of the World Championship, with the best break of 137, which came in the 15th frame.

ROUND 1 RESULTS

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-5 David Gilbert
Mark Selby 10-7 Jamie Jones
Jackson Page 10-7 Barry Hawkins
Zhao Xintong 10-2 Jamie Clarke
Stephen Maguire 10-8 Shaun Murphy

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