Yan Bingtao has crashed out in the second round of qualifiers for the upcoming World Championship after losing out 10-9 to Tian Pengfei.
Yan had at one stage led 6-1 in the all-Chinese clash but could not keep going and soon found himself 8-7 behind in the final session. He won the sixteenth from behind to level at 8-8, only to fall behind again at 9-8. A break of 72 from Yan took the game to 9-9, only for Tian to produce the highest break of the match, a 127, and take the frame at one visit to progress.
Ryan Day benefited from a withdrawal when he took on Mitchell Mann. The pair played eight frames, after which Day was 7-1 up and this was the point that Mann chose to withdraw due to ill health. Having spoken in the past about his battles with mental health, and given that he was battling to stay on the professional tour in this game, I sincerely hope that whatever the true cause of his withdrawal was, he gets the help he needs to recover.
Meanwhile, the dreams of Jimmy White fans were dashed as he failed to back up victory over Sam Craigie, falling 10-5 to Joe Perry. The gentleman will now face Mark Davis who has recorded the only 10-0 win of these World Championships so far, whitewashing the Shoot-Out winner Michael Georgiou.
2006 World Champion Graeme Dott is also into the final round after a convincing 10-2 win against Akani Songsermsawad that has set up a final round tie with Mike Dunn. Another former World Champion in 1997 winner Ken Doherty has made it through to the final round. Doherty saw off Gerard Greene by a comfortable 10-4 margin, making high breaks of 102 and 133 in successive frames during the first session.
Doherty faces former World finalist Matthew Stevens in the final round after the Welshman won the final three frames from 9-7 adrift to overcome Yuan Sijun in a deciding frame. There was also defeat for another Chinese youngster as Zhao Xintong exited 10-5 against first round maximum man Liang Wenbo. Liang made two centuries in the contest, while defeat for Zhao now means he will have to go to Q School in May to regain his professional playing rights.
There was tour survival success though for Zhang Anda as he caused one of the rounds other big upsets by soundly defeating Martin Gould 10-4. Zhang compiled three centuries in the contest as he moved up to 66th on the provisional end-of-season list, just shy of the top 64, but inside the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for next season. Now, the 26-year-old will be looking to secure a fourth Crucible appearance after booking his place in the final round.
Alfie Burden has also taken a huge step towards tour survival after overcoming David Gilbert 10-9 in a late night thriller. Burden is now further inside the top eight on the one-year money list not already qualified for this season, after winning the final two frames from 9-8 down, despite leading 8-5 at one stage.
Lee Walker remains in a good position for tour survival despite losing 10-7 to formal World Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden. Walker had led 6-4 at one stage but lost six of the last seven frames as Walden made two centuries in the match including a high of 135.
Second Round Results:
Ryan Day 10-1 Mitchell Mann
Peter Ebdon 10-5 Robbie Williams
Daniel Wells 10-8 Zhou Yuelong
Liam Highfield 10-6 Tom Ford
Adam Duffy 10-6 Matthew Selt
Xiao Guodong 10-4 Mei Xiwen
Stuart Carrington 10-8 Ben Woollaston
Zhang Anda 10-4 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 10-2 Akani Songsermsawad
Mike Dunn 10-3 Dominic Dale
Michael Holt 10-7 Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins 10-8 Scott Donaldson
Rory McLeod 10-9 Li Hang
Lu Haotian 10-9 Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens 10-9 Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty 10-4 Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo 10-5 Zhao Xintong
Jamie Jones 10-7 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 10-3 David Grace
Alan McManus 10-9 Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson 10-5 Robin Hull
Ricky Walden 10-7 Lee Walker
Mark Davis 10-0 Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry 10-5 Jimmy White
Tian Pengfei 10-9 Yan Bingtao
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Kurt Maflin
Alfie Burden 10-9 David Gilbert
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-4 Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson 10-7 Sam Baird
Michael White 10-7 John Astley
Hossein Vafei 10-5 Noppon Saengkham
Stephen Maguire 10-4 Hammad Miah
Final Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ryan Day Vs Peter Ebdon
Daniel Wells Vs Liam Highfield
Xiao Guodong Vs Adam Duffy
Stuart Carrington Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Robert Milkins
Rory McLeod Vs Lu Haotian
Matthew Stevens Vs Ken Doherty
Liang Wenbo Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs Alan McManus
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Chris Wakelin Vs Tian Pengfei
Thepchiaya Un-Nooh Vs Alfie Burden
Michael White Vs Jimmy Robertson
Stephen Maguire Vs Hossein Vafei
Ryan Day will be fresh coming into the final round here and he will need to be as he goes up against the experience of Peter Ebdon. Day has only played twenty frames after an easy round one victory followed by Mitchell Mann's withdrawal after eight frames. Ebdon meanwhile has taken care of James Wattana and Robbie Williams quite comfortably and seems to be coming into form at the perfect time once again. His huge experience is a big factor here but with Day in the form of his life at the moment it is still going to be an incredibly tough task for Ebdon here.
A Crucible debutant is guaranteed when Liam Highfield faces Daniel Wells. Highfield has played very solidly to defeat Chen Zhe comfortably and then overcome Tom Ford who would have been highly fancied for qualification. Wells meanwhile was a 10-6 winner against Kurt Dunham in round one before beating Zhou Yuelong 10-8. The pair have met three times in all with Highfield winning on each occasion, including at this season's UK Championship where Highfield ran out a 6-4 victor. Both are quality players on their day and only one place separates them in the seedings for this event so that is a sign that this could be a very close battle, especially given the nerves of trying to make their respective Crucible debuts. For me though, Highfield is the player I think is improving the most and is probably the most solid over the longer format.
Xiao Guodong stands between Adam Duffy and dreams of a Crucible debut, which would also make him the first man from Sheffield to compete at the Crucible. Duffy has had two very good wins this week so far defeating Mark Joyce 10-4 and then seeing off Matthew Selt 10-6. It is not so long ago that Duffy nearly qualified for the Crucible despite not being on the tour, but he faces a very tough task here against Xiao. The Chinese player has been terrific this season and really improved from around this time last year when he qualified for the Crucible and then thrashed Ryan Day at the venue. Xiao has also made easy work of his first two matches and if he scores as heavily as he has been this season then I can see this going a similar way.
Stuart Carrington and Zhang Anda are two players that you might not have necessarily expected to be meeting in the final qualifying round, despite both having qualified for the Crucible on more than one occasion. Carrington qualified last year and could have taken down Liang Wenbo in round one, so he will be looking to get back and put that right. Zhang Anda though has been very impressive this week. He has needed to win both of his opening two qualifiers in order to get into the top eight on the one season money list that were not already qualified for next season, in order to secure a new two year professional tour card. After beating Zhang Yong in round one he then took down Martin Gould very impressively and will be full of confidence here as he faces Carrington, looking for a fourth Crucible appearance. Zhang really seems to perform over the long format, and while a close match can be anticipated here, it may be the Chinese that has the edge.
Michael Holt and Robert Milkins are again two very experienced players with plenty of Crucible appearances under their belts. In the opening two rounds, Holt has had two 10-7 wins, battling back from 4-0 down to defeat Thor Chuan Leong, before then coming through in a tough tie against Elliot Slessor. Milkins meanwhile had an easy time in round against the World Seniors Champion, though was given much more of challenge in round two against Scott Donaldson before eventually coming through 10-8. There's very little between these two players and this could be one of those tense final round matches that needs a deciding frame to separate the two players. After a quiet season in all honesty, Holt should be able to take some confidence from his opening two wins, particularly given the position he was in early in round one.
Rory McLeod and Lu Haotian is certainly a match that you would put down as a clash of styles and that only plays into one mans hands. A lot of people seemed to write McLeod off prior to these qualifiers, despite the fact he qualified last year and defeated Judd Trump. Some bookies even foolishly had him as an underdog against Ian Burns in round one. He was a big outsider against Li Hang but showed his experience winning the final two frames for a 10-9 victory and he will very much fancy his chances of qualifying again. Lu Haotian has also had two very tough games to get to this stage. After defeating Fang Xiongman 10-8 he then produced a fantastic comeback from 9-5 down to defeat Martin O'Donnell in a final frame decider. As he seeks his Crucible debut though there will be added pressure on his shoulders and the experience of McLeod could prove vital once again.
Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty will do battle in a match that brings plenty of Crucible know-how to the table. Before the start of the qualifiers this is probably the final round match that I had picked out in my mind, before opting for Doherty as the predicted qualifier. After a tough 10-8 victory against Josh Boileau, the 1997 World Champion was excellent in beating Gerard Greene 10-4. Stevens meanwhile had to battle hard from 9-7 down to defeat Yuan Sijun and he will have to raise his game against much more experienced opponent than the first two he has faced to get this far.
Ricky Walden and Andrew Higginson is another tough match to call. Walden has really battled so far coming through 10-8 against Joe Swail before beating Lee Walker 10-7, peaking at the end in both contests which is a very good sign as he has held up well under pressure. For Higginson, his route has been with less drama. After an easy win against David John in round one he defeated Robin Hull 10-5 in a match that could have been much closer if the Finn had taken his chances. Higginson will not be able to afford to give Walden as many chances and I think the style of Higginson will suit Walden much more than his previous two, which could be the difference.
Once more, there is plenty of experience between Mark Davis and Joe Perry. No one has had an easier route than Davis in terms of frames lost this week. In round one he dispatched of Sanderson Lam 10-1 before whitewashing Michael Georgiou in round two, so he has plenty left in the tank for this final push. As for Perry, he too was a 10-1 winner in round one against Ross Muir, ahead of a 10-5 defeat of Jimmy White in which Perry really pulled away in the second half of the match. Perry has scored very well and he is the stronger player of the two in terms of form over the last few seasons so he could edge what sets up as a very close contest on paper.
The match between Chris Wakelin and Tian Pengfei guarantees a Crucible debutant. Wakelin has had two comfortable wins against difficult opposition in Xu Si and Kurt Maflin, while Tian came from 6-1 adrift to defeat Yan Bingtao. For me, Wakelin is in the better form of the two having also defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the China Open recently and he will have plenty left in the tank after his first two matches. Meanwhile, Tian's second round fightback may have taken a bit more out of him, but with both eyeing a Crucible debut, the nerves and how both players handle them will be a much greater factor.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is another player eyeing a Crucible debut when he takes on Alfie Burden who has not appeared at the Crucible for 20 years. Burden has battled hard to be here with his tour card on the line in both games that he has faced so far against Jamie Curtis-Barrett and David Gilbert. Thepchaiya was also under a bit of pressure in round one and only just came through 10-8 against Alexander Ursenbacher, though things were much more comfortable in round two against Adam Stefanow. The worry for Burden fans would be how much mental energy he has left after fighting hard for his tour card, and you could see how much it meant when he potted match ball in the deciding frame against Gilbert, though equally he has had the extra day to recover for this one.
Michael White and Jimmy Robertson was another of the final qualifying round matches you would have predicted at the start of the qualifiers. Both players are very aggressive and heavy scoring players and plenty of high breaks can be expected here. When the draw came out I fancied Robertson given the fact I think he has been very consistent this year. After taking down Alex Borg in round one he overcame Sam Baird in a tough match 10-7. White has really had to fight hard seeing off Niu Zhuang in a decider and then defeating John Astley 10-7, two players that I would not necessarily expect to get near the Welshman at his very best so you sense that there is an extra gear left for him, and he may need to find it if he is to qualify.
Finally, Stephen Maguire faces a tough clash against Hossein Vafei. Maguire was obviously a hot favourite to qualify at the start of the week but he will be up against it here against Hossein. The Iranian overcame Jamie Cope in one of the toughest first round draws out there, before overcoming the in-form Noppon Saengkham in round two. After falling at the final fence last year against Tom Ford, he will be determined to make his Crucible debut this time around and that will make him a tricky opponent for Maguire. The Scot has had a 10-5 win against Allan Taylor and a 10-4 victory over Hammad Miah, but you would certainly expect the Iranian to make this a closer game for Maguire.
DON'T FORGET. The final round of qualifying will be streamed LIVE on both Facebook and YouTube with the excellent coverage fronted by Rob Walker and Neal Foulds who have done an excellent job in previous years. Both sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am and 5pm will be shown on the platform, with eight matches being played per session and all sixteen concluding over the two sessions on Wednesday. With so much on the line, the action is sure to provide plenty of tension and excitement as the 16 Crucible qualifiers are finalised.
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