Snooker Scottish Open: Ding Junhui made a strong advance and 12 Chinese players ranked among the top 64 – Sports – China Engineering Network

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Snooker Scottish Open: Ding Junhui advanced 12 Chinese players to the top 64

China News Service, Beijing, December 12th. On the morning of the 12th, Beijing time, the first day of the 2023 Scottish Open ended. The four Chinese players who participated in the postponed qualifying round had 3 wins and 1 loss. Among them, Chinese billiards star Ding Junhui swept his opponents 4-0, and 19-year-old Chinese youngster Liu Hongyu once again upset world champion Sean Murphy. So far, the number of Chinese players among the top 64 in the main draw has increased to 12.

A total of 21 Chinese players participated in this season’s Scottish Open, 17 of whom played in the qualifying round a month ago, and 9 were the first to advance to the main draw; Ding Junhui, who is ranked TOP16 (top 16 in the world), and 3 others The Chinese players whose opponents are the top 16 players will participate in the postponed qualifying match during the main competition.

Ding Junhui’s opponent that day was English player David Grace. In the English Open two months ago, Ding Junhui defeated Grace 4-1 and advanced to the top 32. Now they met again. Ding Junhui, who had just won the runner-up in the British Championship, performed even stronger, sweeping his opponent 4-0 and successfully advancing.

What’s even more surprising is that the other three Chinese players who encountered strong opponents in the postponed qualifying rounds were strong and defeated in a row.

As a professional rookie this season, Liu Hongyu, ranked 81st in the world, once again encountered the “Magician” Sean Murphy, ranked 7th in the world. In this season’s English Open postponed qualifying match, Liu Hongyu narrowly defeated Murphy 4-3. This time, the 19-year-old Chinese teenager reappeared as a “dark horse” and won 4-1, achieving two consecutive victories against the first world championship champion born in the “80s”.

Another Chinese “post-2000” player Pang Junxu challenged Barry Hawkins, ranked 15th in the world. The two sides were tied at 3-3 in the first 6 games. In the tug-of-war of the deciding game, Pang Junxu seized the last chance and defeated his opponent 4-3.

The defeat of Long Zehuang, another “professional newcomer” of the Chinese Legion, is regrettable. Facing “Captain” Ali Carter, ranked 11th in the world, Long Zehuang fell short when he took the lead to get the match point 3-2, and regretfully lost 3-4. Despite this, Long Zehuang, who is ranked outside the top 100 in the world, once had the upper hand in this seemingly disparate match, and it was considered an honor to lose.

In addition to Murphy and Hawkins being eliminated by two Chinese teenagers that day, top 16 players such as Mark Allen, Mark Williams, and Robert Milkins also stopped qualifying. “Rocket” O’Sullivan, who topped the world rankings, once again withdrew due to “medical reasons.”

On the next match day, the Scottish Open will feature 64-32 rounds, and many Chinese players will compete. Among them, Ding Junhui will face England player Jason Kendrick, who defeated world champion Bingham 4-1 in the qualifying round. Chinese player Zhang Anda, who has entered the TOP16, will have a strong dialogue with the world’s second-ranked Judd Trump, while Pang Junxu and Xu Si will bring a “China Derby”.