Yesterday saw the conclusion of the 2013 Shanghai Masters qualifiers at the Doncaster Dome and with nine of the 16 ‘seeded’ players losing in the final round, it was something of a day for the underdogs.
Click below for a round-up of the action…
- Click here to view all of the results from the Shanghai Masters qualifiers
- Click here to view the draw for the final stages of the Shanghai Masters
- Click here to view the latest projected seedings
- Click here to view the latest provisional money list
Billed as the tie of the round at the start of the day, the match between recent Roiterdam Open winner Mark Williams and David Gilbert always had the feel of a 50-50 encounter and so it proved as Gilbert was eventually able to edge through a decider.
It was Williams who made the stronger start by moving into a 2-0 lead, but with just one break over 50 during the match compared to the six 50+ breaks by Gilbert, he could not maintain that advantage. Next up for Gilbert at the venue will be a clash with local favourite Ding Junhui, who it must be pointed out has not got the best record in Shanghai during recent years.
While Williams was to exit the tournament, there was to be no upset for Ali Carter, who on his return to the baize, came through 5-4 against Sheffield’s Adam Duffy yesterday afternoon. The match had been a close one throughout, but it was a strong finish from the Captain who responded to an early break of 28 from Duffy in the decider with a run of 64 to book his place at the venue stages of the event that he won back in 2010.
Also coming through deciders were Michael Holt and Mark Joyce, against Rory McLeod and Fergal O’Brien respectively, while China’s Cao Yupeng won five straight frames from 0-3 against Ben Woollaston to reach another main tour venue.
Having both made it through to the final qualifying round, there was to be disappointment for legends Steve Davis and Jimmy White, who lost to Andrew Higginson and Ryan Day. Steve had actually made the stronger start in his match to lead Higginson 2-0, before the former Welsh Open finalist hit back to win the next five, while White similarly won the opener before Day claimed a 5-1 victory.
Elsewhere, it was not to be the best day for Irish snooker as their three players all failed to make it through to the venue yesterday. Former world champion Ken Doherty and David Morris were to win just one frame between them against Yu Delu and Martin Gould, while Fergal O’Brien lost a decider in the final match of the day to finish against the increasingly consistent Mark Joyce.
Despite an interval tweet to the effect that he could not hit a ball, there was to be a welcome victory for Mike Dunn, who defeated Welshman Dominic Dale 5-3 to book his place at the venue. Needing results in the big matches in order to stand a chance of remaining on the main tour, Dunn has given those chances a timely early season boost and will now meet top seed John Higgins in Shanghai.
Finally, there were also to be noteworthy wins for Kyren Wilson and David Grace, who both came through from the first qualifying round to make it to the venue. Kyren in particular is a player who I am very impressed with and he underlined his promise with a 5-3 victory against Scotland’s Marcus Campbell to book a tie with Stuart Bingham in Shanghai.
Grace meanwhile has been working hard for a long time and in fact came close to qualifying for this event last year, losing out to Peter Ebdon in a decider in the final qualifying round. This time however, he has gone one better and will be rewarded with a clash against Crucible finalist Barry Hawkins at the venue.
And so on to India. Or should I say Doncaster, as the next two days will see the Dome continue to host ranking event snooker with the two-day qualifying event for the India Open. With matches to be played over the best of 7 frames, the pressure will be on and you can view the draw for the event by clicking here.