It is no great surprise that 2012 runner-up Judd Trump has successfully navigated his way through to draw to reach his ninth career ranking event final at the Shanghai Masters, but few would have expected his opponent tomorrow to be world number 54 Kyren Wilson who today defeated Mark Allen 6-1 to reach his first final.
Three days down in Shanghai and the last 32 stage has now been completed with the loss of nine of the 16 seeded players.
Continue reading for a round-up of the opening round action from Shanghai…
World Snooker has today published the entry pack for the 2015 Haining Open and in amongst the standard conditions of entry there are a couple of important changes to note concerning qualification for the 2016 Players Championship and the 2016/17 main tour.
Continue reading for a summary of what has changed…
Congratulations to Ricky Walden and wife Natalie, who as revealed on Twitter a short time ago, yesterday became parents for the first time following the birth of his son.
Ricky has now withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters, the tournament that he of course won back in 2008, meaning that Matt Selt receives a walkover to the last 16 and a meeting with either Judd Trump or Robert Milkins.
Ricky spoke to World Snooker about his new arrival a few weeks ago ahead of the Paul Hunter Classic.
Following my rankings preview of the Shanghai Masters event, today I turn to the draw itself as I pick out some of the most interesting matches in prospect and with a bit of luck, try to pick out a winner…
Congratulations to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who has this morning defeated Liang Wenbo 8-2 to become the first Thai player to win the Sangsom Six Red World Championship on home soil in Bangkok.
It feels like a long time since we last saw the players in ranking event action and indeed it has been, as over two months have passed since July’s Australian Goldfields Open.
Next week though the professionals will be back in action at the 2015 Shanghai Masters, with Stuart Bingham looking to defend the title that he won 12 months ago and following the event will also come the second mid-season seeding revision of the current season.
As well as being a remarkable achievement in its own right, Ali Carter’s victory at the recent Paul Hunter Classic, also secured him a place in the Champion of Champions event for the third successive year.
Click below for a look at who will be joining him with just five counting events still to be played…
UPDATE: An interesting snippet out today from last year’s winner Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has indicated on Twitter that he will not be taking up his place in this year’s tournament:
Heard a rumour going around that I'm playing The Champions Of champions. Not true
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) September 8, 2015
Original article follows…