World Snooker Championship Archives

Trump crushes Vafaei, books second-round spot in Snooker Championship

SHEFFIELD: Former World Champion and the world number three Judd Trump has outclassed his Iranian counterpart Hossein Vafaei 10-4 to move into the last 16 of the ongoing World Snooker Championship, here on Thursday.

The world number three Trump, who faced Iran’s Vaffaei in his first match of the campaign, defeated the latter by 10-4 in the Best of 19.

Trump dominated Vaffaei right from the start as he secured three opening frames including a century in the third frame.

Vaffaei, on the other hand, was quick to respond as he levelled the scores at 3-3 by winning the next three frames. His the then best break came in the sixth frame as he missed on his century by a mere one; scoring 99.

Trump then again showed his class and pulled ahead by a massive margin as the English cueist claimed five consecutive frames to extend the lead to 8-3.

Vaffaei then looked to bounce back as he cut the margin to 8-4 by winning the 12th frame following a sensational century. But only for Trump to win the next two frames to claim the first-round victory in the World Championship.

The third-ranked Trump will now face the 17th-ranked Anthony McGill in the second round.

COMPLETE RESULTS OF ROUND 1

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
Judd Trump 10-4 Hossein Vaffaei
John Higgins 10-7 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Jack Lisowski 10-8 Matthew Stevens
Kyren Wilson 10-8 Din Junhui
Noppon Saengkham 10-5 Luca Brecel

READ: ECB hosts first-ever Iftar Event, Home of Cricket echoed with Azan

World Snooker Championship: Higgins beats Un-Nooh, moves into last 16

SHEFFIELD: The Scottish Snooker player John Higgins secured a hard-fought first-round victory as the fifth-ranked cueist edged past the 53rd-ranked Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to book his spot in the last 16 of the ongoing World Snooker Championship.

The four-time world champion Higgins had to fight hard to claim the first-round victory as he defeated Un-Nooh by 10-7 in the Best of 19.

The two cueists remained involved in a see-saw battle, right from the start with Un-Nooh pulling and Higgins levels. Both the players won two of the first four frames.

Un-Nooh then looked to gain the lead as he won the next two frames, but only for Higgins to level the scores by winning as many frames including a century in the seventh.

The next four frames again followed the same pattern as the Scottish and his Thai counterpart won two each. Un-Nooh scored a century in the ninth, while Higgins scored in the 12th frame.

Higgins, fuelled with momentum, scored another century in the 13th frame before claiming the 14th to take the lead 8-6.

Un-Nooh, on the other hand, was quick to cut the margin to 8-7 as he managed to edge past Higgins in the 15th frame after a close contest.

The two cueists then played another challenging frame but this time Higgins managed to hold his nerve calm and successfully restored his lead to 9-7 and put himself just one short of the glory.

The veteran Higgins then showed his class in the 17th frame; scoring another century to secure his first-round victory 10-7 of the ongoing world championship.

The fifth-ranked Higgings scored five centuries in the match including a break of 98 in the eighth frame.

In another first-round fixture, the seventh-ranked Kyren Wilson secured a close 10-8 victory over the 34th-ranked Ding Junhui.

In a see-saw battle between the two cueists, the English Wilson held his nerve calm to claim a hard-fought victory by 10-8 in the end.

READ: WATCH: Shaheen Afridi takes two in two, castles Labuschagne

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

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

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

READ: ‘Had I played against Kohli, he wouldn’t have scored so many runs’ Akhtar