2016 World Snooker Championship

[crispy1978]

Kicks off at the Crucible on 16 April, but the qualifying kicks off today (6 April) at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield - there's been a lot of discussion about players outside the top 16 having to play three matches purely to qualify for the event. I think those seeded 17-32 think they probably think they should only have to win one match to qualify as it used to be - but this is the second year of it being like this.

All matches in the qualifiers are best of 19, which sounds an incredibly long format for a qualifier to me - considering that these can often take 8 hours+ at the Crucible in Round 1.

Round 1
China Ding Junhui – Republic of Ireland Greg Casey
Scotland Ross Muir – England Sean O'Sullivan
England Andrew Higginson – England Nigel Bond
England Gary Wilson – Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez

Wales Jamie Jones – Pakistan Hamza Akbar
England Ian Burns – Wales Duane Jones
Northern Ireland Gerard Greene – England Jimmy White
England Peter Ebdon – Thailand James Wattana

England Ben Woollaston – England Chris Wakelin
England Anthony Hamilton – England Sydney Wilson
England Robbie Williams – Wales Gareth Allen
England Mark Joyce – England Zak Surety

England Mike Dunn – England James Cahill
China Li Hang – China Lu Chenwei
England Michael Georgiou – Thailand Noppon Saengkham
Scotland Graeme Dott – England Brandon Sargeant

England Robert Milkins – Hong Kong Ka Wai Cheung
England Joel Walker – Scotland Scott Donaldson
Norway Kurt Maflin – England Sanderson Lam
England Rod Lawler – China Zhao Xintong

England Mark King – Scotland Fraser Patrick
England David Grace – Republic of Ireland Brendan O'Donoghue
England Peter Lines – Hong Kong Ng On Yee
England Michael Holt – England Michael Wild

Scotland Alan McManus – England Michael Wasley
Republic of Ireland David Morris – England Chris Melling
England Stuart Carrington – England Hammad Miah
England Jimmy Robertson – Wales Tyler Rees

China Tian Pengfei – Iran Hossein Vafaei Ayouri
Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty – England Andy Hicks
England Alfie Burden – Malta Tony Drago
Wales Ryan Day – Wales Daniel Wells

England Kyren Wilson – England Jason Weston
England Martin O'Donnell – England Kuldesh Johal
Northern Ireland Joe Swail – China Zhang Yong
Wales Matthew Stevens – Republic of Ireland Josh Boileau

Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – Thailand Akani Songsermsawad
China Yu Delu – England Paul Davison
England Craig Steadman – Scotland Michael Leslie
Scotland Anthony McGill – Egypt Hatem Yassen

Belgium Luca Brecel – England Steven Hallworth
England Liam Highfield – England Luke Simmonds
England Sam Baird – Malaysia Thor Chuan Leong
England Tom Ford – Isle of Man Darryl Hill

England Jack Lisowski – Wales Alex Taubman
England Rory McLeod – Germany Lukas Kleckers
Wales Lee Walker – Northern Ireland Conor McCormack
England David Gilbert – Scotland Rhys Clark

England Matthew Selt – Brazil Igor Figueiredo
England Mitchell Mann – Wales Kishan Hirani
Finland Robin Hull – England Barry Pinches
Thailand Dechawat Poomjaeng – Scotland Eden Sharav

Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien – England Steve Davis
China Zhou Yuelong – Scotland Dylan Craig
China Zhang Anda – Bulgaria Bratislav Krustev
England Mark Davis – England Adam Duffy

England Ali Carter – Poland Mateusz Baranowski
China Cao Yupeng – Latvia Rodion Judin
England Oliver Lines – China Lu Ning
Wales Dominic Dale – England Ian Glover

China Xiao Guodong – England Allan Taylor
Scotland Jamie Burnett – Wales Jamie Rhys Clarke
England Jamie Cope – England Ashley Hugill
China Liang Wenbo – England Joe O'Connor


The 16 who have qualified by right are:
1 - Stuart Bingham
2 - Mark Selby
3 - Shaun Murphy
4 - Neil Robertson
5 - Judd Trump
6 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
7 - Mark Allen
8 - John Higgins
9 - Ricky Walden
10 - Joe Perry
11 - Barry Hawkins
12 - Martin Gould
13 - Mark Williams
14 - Marco Fu
15 - Michael White
16 - Stephen Maguire

The final will be played on 1 and 2 May, refereed by Paul Collier.

[Ginge]

Its been best of 19 at the qualifiers for ages now - qualifiers are usually played to the same format as the first round of the event proper, for all the events on the tour. So its fair enough.

Do you really want someone pitching up at the Crucible having never played a best of 19 game in his life?

[crispy1978]

Its been best of 19 at the qualifiers for ages now - qualifiers are usually played to the same format as the first round of the event proper, for all the events on the tour. So its fair enough.

Do you really want someone pitching up at the Crucible having never played a best of 19 game in his life?

Fair point - I just thought that knowing how long a frame of snooker can take the qualifiers could potentially take forever to play. Suppose that's your difference between darts and snooker. A Bo19 in darts compared to a Bo9 isn't much timewise, but could potentially be 5 hours in snooker and you need to think of concentration, etc which the winner will need to display at the Crucible.

[Ginge]

I see the woman is doing well - losing 9-0 overnight.

Jamie Jones got knocked out by some bloke called Hamza.

[nikkiboy]

He hooked his first shot apparently

[fling]

I see the woman is doing well - losing 9-0 overnight.

Jamie Jones got knocked out by some bloke called Hamza.

But she isn't the only one presently being whitewashed.

Good to see local lad Joel Walker leading overnight.

[Ginge]

Given some of the names they had to invite to get the field up to 128, Im not surprised!!!

[Deleted User]

Stevens 8-0 up

[Ginge]

Make it nine.

[crispy1978]

Names of note out in Qualifier Rd1:

Andrew Higginson
Jamie Jones (out to Hazma)
James Wattana
Ben Woollaston (married to one of the referees on the circuit, Belarusian Tatiana)
Rod Lawler (out to one of the many Chinese players)
Ng On Yee (the lady player - at least she won a leg in the end)
Jimmy White (out 10-9 to Gerard Greene)
Andy Hicks
Joe Swail

[crispy1978]

More QR1 losers:

Steve Davis (lost 10-4 to Fergal O'Brien)
Tony Drago
Barry Pinches
Tian Pengfei

[crispy1978]

Round One:

China Ding Junhui 10–4 Republic of Ireland Greg Casey
Scotland Ross Muir 10–5 England Sean O'Sullivan
England Andrew Higginson 9–10 England Nigel Bond
England Gary Wilson 10–4 Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez
Wales Jamie Jones 5–10 Pakistan Hamza Akbar
England Ian Burns 10–8 Wales Duane Jones
Northern Ireland Gerard Greene 10–9 England Jimmy White
England Peter Ebdon 10–6 Thailand James Wattana
England Ben Woollaston 9–10 England Chris Wakelin
England Anthony Hamilton 10–3 England Sydney Wilson
England Robbie Williams 10–7 Wales Gareth Allen
England Mark Joyce 10–7 England Zak Surety
England Mike Dunn 10–7 England James Cahill
China Li Hang 10–8 China Lu Chenwei
England Michael Georgiou 6–10 Thailand Noppon Saengkham
Scotland Graeme Dott 10–8 England Brandon Sargeant
England Robert Milkins 10–3 Hong Kong Ka Wai Cheung
England Joel Walker 6–10 Scotland Scott Donaldson
Norway Kurt Maflin 10–8 England Sanderson Lam
England Rod Lawler 9–10 China Zhao Xintong
England Mark King 10–3 Scotland Fraser Patrick
England David Grace 10–5 Republic of Ireland Brendan O'Donoghue
England Peter Lines 10–1 Hong Kong Ng On Yee
England Michael Holt 10–6 England Michael Wild
Scotland Alan McManus 10–5 England Michael Wasley
Republic of Ireland David Morris 10–5 England Chris Melling
England Stuart Carrington 10–9 England Hammad Miah
England Jimmy Robertson 10–0 Wales Tyler Rees
China Tian Pengfei 7–10 Iran Hossein Vafaei Ayouri
Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 10–6 England Andy Hicks
England Alfie Burden 10–7 Malta Tony Drago
Wales Ryan Day 10–2 Wales Daniel Wells
England Kyren Wilson 10–3 England Jason Weston
England Martin O'Donnell 10–8 England Kuldesh Johal
Northern Ireland Joe Swail 7–10 China Zhang Yong
Wales Matthew Stevens 10–2 Republic of Ireland Josh Boileau
Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10–9 Thailand Akani Songsermsawad
China Yu Delu 9–10 England Paul Davison
England Craig Steadman 10–3 Scotland Michael Leslie
Scotland Anthony McGill 10–1 Egypt Hatem Yassen
Belgium Luca Brecel 10–8 England Steven Hallworth
England Liam Highfield 10–2 England Luke Simmonds
England Sam Baird 10–8 Malaysia Thor Chuan Leong
England Tom Ford 10–2 Isle of Man Darryl Hill
England Jack Lisowski 10–2 Wales Alex Taubman
England Rory McLeod 10–7 Germany Lukas Kleckers
Wales Lee Walker 10–0 Northern Ireland Conor McCormack
England David Gilbert 10–5 Scotland Rhys Clark
England Matthew Selt 10–2 Brazil Igor Figueiredo
England Mitchell Mann 10–7 Wales Kishan Hirani
Finland Robin Hull 10–7 England Barry Pinches
Thailand Dechawat Poomjaeng 10–4 Scotland Eden Sharav
Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien 10–4 England Steve Davis
China Zhou Yuelong 10–3 Scotland Dylan Craig
China Zhang Anda 10–2 Bulgaria Bratislav Krustev
England Mark Davis 10–7 England Adam Duffy
England Ali Carter 10–2 Poland Mateusz Baranowski
China Cao Yupeng 10–0 Latvia Rodion Judin
England Oliver Lines 10–5 China Lu Ning
Wales Dominic Dale 10–6 England Ian Glover
China Xiao Guodong 10–6 England Allan Taylor
Scotland Jamie Burnett 9–10 Wales Jamie Rhys Clarke
England Jamie Cope 10–4 England Ashley Hugill
China Liang Wenbo 10–2 England Joe O'Connor

Round 2 Draw:

China Ding Junhui 10–1 Scotland Ross Muir
England Nigel Bond 10-6 England Gary Wilson
Pakistan Hamza Akbar 3-10 England Ian Burns
Northern Ireland Gerard Greene 9–10 England Peter Ebdon (sure he was 9-3 down)
England Chris Wakelin 9-10 England Anthony Hamilton
England Robbie Williams 10-4 England Mark Joyce
England Mike Dunn 10–9 China Li Hang
Thailand Noppon Saengkham 8-10 Scotland Graeme Dott
England Robert Milkins 10-8 Scotland Scott Donaldson
Norway Kurt Maflin 10-8 China Zhao Xintong
England Mark King 10–7 England David Grace
England Peter Lines 7-10 England Michael Holt
Scotland Alan McManus 10-6 Republic of Ireland David Morris
England Stuart Carrington 5-10 England Jimmy Robertson
Iran Hossein Vafaei Ayouri 7–10 Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty
England Alfie Burden 9–10 Wales Ryan Day
England Kyren Wilson 10–6 England Martin O'Donnell
China Zhang Yong 3-10 Wales Matthew Stevens
Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10–7 England Paul Davison
England Craig Steadman 9–10 Scotland Anthony McGill
Belgium Luca Brecel 8-10 England Liam Highfield
England Sam Baird 10–7 England Tom Ford
England Jack Lisowski 10–5 England Rory McLeod
Wales Lee Walker 2-10 England David Gilbert
England Matthew Selt 9–10 England Mitchell Mann
Finland Robin Hull 5–10 Thailand Dechawat Poomjaeng
Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien 6–10 China Zhou Yuelong
China Zhang Anda 10–5 England Mark Davis
England Ali Carter 10–8 China Cao Yupeng
England Oliver Lines 6-10 Wales Dominic Dale
China Xiao Guodong 10-8 Wales Jamie Rhys Clarke
England Jamie Cope 5–10 China Liang Wenbo

[crispy1978]

Qualifying Round 3 - winners get a spot at the Crucible:

97 Ding Junhui v Nigel Bond +
98 Ian Burns v Peter Ebdon =
99 Anthony Hamilton v Robbie Williams +
100 Mike Dunn v Graeme Dott =
101 Robert Milkins v Kurt Maflin +
102 Mark King v Michael Holt =
103 Alan McManus v Jimmy Robertson +
104 Ken Doherty v Ryan Day =
105 Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens =
106 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Anthony McGill +
107 Liam Highfield v Sam Baird +
108 Jack Lisowski v David Gilbert +
109 Mitchell Mann v Dechawat Poomjaeng +
110 Zhou Yuelong v Zhang Anda =
111 Allister Carter v Dominic Dale =
112 Xiao Guodong v Liang Wenbo =

+ - matches being played 12/4 and 13/4 (11:00 start)
= - matches being played 12/4 and 13/4 (17:00 start)

[Ginge]

Good job Ebdon has the 5pm match, given he was still playing at 2am this morning. Was 9-3 behind as well!

Brecel going out early yet again.

[crispy1978]

Good job Ebdon has the 5pm match, given he was still playing at 2am this morning. Was 9-3 behind as well!

Brecel going out early yet again.

Yeah I thought I saw him 9-3 down late on last night - assumed he would lose. Wouldn't fancy being the referee on that one!!!

[crispy1978]

Overnight scores:

97 Ding Junhui 8 v 1 Nigel Bond
98 Ian Burns 2 v 7 Peter Ebdon
99 Anthony Hamilton 3 v 6 Robbie Williams
100 Mike Dunn 4 v 5 Graeme Dott
101 Robert Milkins 5 v 4 Kurt Maflin
102 Mark King 3 v 6 Michael Holt
103 Alan McManus 7 v 2 Jimmy Robertson
104 Ken Doherty 5 v 4 Ryan Day
105 Kyren Wilson 5 v 4 Matthew Stevens
106 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3 v 6 Anthony McGill
107 Liam Highfield 4 v 5 Sam Baird
108 Jack Lisowski 3 v 6 David Gilbert
109 Mitchell Mann 4 v 5 Dechawat Poomjaeng
110 Zhou Yuelong 4 v 5 Zhang Anda
111 Allister Carter 8 v 1 Dominic Dale
112 Xiao Guodong 5 v 4 Liang Wenbo

[crispy1978]

Round 3 Results:

97 Ding Junhui 10 v 2 Nigel Bond
98 Ian Burns 2 v 10 Peter Ebdon
99 Anthony Hamilton 9 v 10 Robbie Williams (the last frame a right nailbiter - must have taken at least an hour!)
100 Mike Dunn 7 v 10 Graeme Dott
101 Robert Milkins 10 v 7 Kurt Maflin
102 Mark King 8 v 10 Michael Holt
103 Alan McManus 10 v 2 Jimmy Robertson
104 Ken Doherty 6 v 10 Ryan Day
105 Kyren Wilson 10 v 6 Matthew Stevens
106 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 7 v 10 Anthony McGill
107 Liam Highfield 9 v 10 Sam Baird
108 Jack Lisowski 7 v 10 David Gilbert
109 Mitchell Mann 10 v 9 Dechawat Poomjaeng
110 Zhou Yuelong 7 v 10 Zhang Anda
111 Ali Carter 10 v 6 Dominic Dale
112 Xiao Goudong 6 v 10 Liang Wenbo

Draw for the first round proper takes place at 9:30am on Thursday.

[crispy1978]

Draw now 10am apparently, live on YouTube.

Link -

[crispy1978]

Seeds:
1 - Stuart Bingham
2 - Mark Selby
3 - Shaun Murphy
4 - Neil Robertson
5 - Judd Trump
6 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
7 - Mark Allen
8 - John Higgins
9 - Ricky Walden
10 - Joe Perry
11 - Barry Hawkins
12 - Martin Gould
13 - Mark Williams
14 - Marco Fu
15 - Michael White
16 - Stephen Maguire

Non-seeds
Ding Junhui
Peter Ebdon
Robbie Williams
Graeme Dott
Robert Milkins
Michael Holt
Alan McManus
Ryan Day
Kyren Wilson
Anthony McGill
Sam Baird
David Gilbert
Mitchell Mann
Zhang Anda
Ali Carter
Liang Wenbo

[crispy1978]

The Draw:

(conducted by Fred Done of BetFred and Barry Hearn)

Judd Trump v Liang Wenbo
Michael White v Sam Baird
Marco Fu v Peter Ebdon
Joe Perry v Kyren Wilson
Neil Robertson v Michael Holt
Stuart Bingham v Ali Carter
John Higgins v Ryan Day
Shaun Murphy v Anthony McGill
Ricky Walden v Robbie Williams
Martin Gould v Ding Junhui
Mark Selby v Rob Milkins
Ronnie O Sullivan v David Gilbert
Barry Hawkins v Zhang Anda
Mark Williams v Graeme Dott
Stephen Maguire v Alan McManus
Mark Allen v Mitchell Mann