Zhou Yuelong 10-7 Robin Hull - A magnificent 136 total clearance finishes things for Zhou Yuelong. A good finish, especially after the 80 break a couple of frames earlier and important to kill it off after the hear miss the frame before. For Robin Hull it ends in disappointment. He loses his tour card and will have to go to Q School in May if he is to be on tour next year, but his his hints of retirement leave Q School in some doubt. A brave effort though today considering he was not playing his best and on the night Zhou was a worthy winner.
Frame 17 - After the disappointment of not killing this match in the previous frame, Zhou gets in early in the 17th with a good red into the baulk corner and he's now striding round the table hoping that this could be the winning break. Plenty of loose reds to go at so a very good chance.
Frame Hull - After Hull broke down when his cannon went wrong, the poor safety that followed left Zhou in. He cleared to the final red, missing what was virtually match ball brown before it and leaving Hull in to clear. Not even the now slightly awkward brown could halt the clearance and he's still in it trailing 7-9 now.
Hull wins a long safety battle initially but only makes 13 before having to play safe. Poor play from Zhou though leaves reds over both corners and Hull is straight back in with another opportunity. They are all must makes now.
Frame 16 - A tricky miss from Hull early in the 16th leaves Zhou in and he's starting to really find some rhythm now at the right time in this match. If he can get into the bunch nicely in the next couple of shots this could well be the winning moment. He can't get a nice split though and plays safe on 32.
Frame Zhou - The best break of the night by far and at probably the most important time as well. Hull had a chance to get back within one but after missing, Zhou's excellent break of 80 sees him go three ahead now with four to play. A very nice contribution from Zhou with some good recovery pots as he leads 9-6.
Hull leaves a testing red to middle after going into the bunch and after putting it onto the far jaw his break ends on 38 and leaves Zhou in to counter.
Frame 15 - Zhou misses a long pot up into the baulk end at the start of frame 15 which leaves a red on for Hull to get easily in for the first chance of this must win frame. He has to capitalise here if he has much hope of winning this match now.
Frame Zhou - It became a rather bits and pieces frame in the second half of it especially, but after Hull potted the third from last red he left the penultimate red from a looser safety. Zhou potted it from distance and cleared up to the brown to leave Hull needing snookers which he barely had the chance to play for. A scrappy but important frame sees Zhou go two clear at 8-6.
Zhou only pots a couple of reds himself before missing a straightforward black but Hull lets him off almost immediately and leaves the Chinese youngster straight back in.
Frame 14 - For the first time tonight the first chance in a frame goes to Robin Hull after a long range miss from Zhou. He plays a powerful shot through the reds off of his second red but leaves the third red from distance and misses on 14, leaving Zhou with a decent opening.
Frame Zhou - After initially losing position on 33 after an unlucky pack split, a missed long pot from Hull leaves Zhou back nicely in, with the anguish clear on his face. Zhou though was delighted as he added a further 55 to head into the break leading 7-6.
Frame 13 - Both players were warned at the start of this frame for stomping their feet and cue banging but Zhou looks more focused as he thumps in a long red to get a good first opportunity now.
Frame Hull - Zhou pots the green from distance but then misses the brown trying to force round with top spin for the blue. That leaves brown, blue and pink on for Hull who calmly clears the trio to level this match once more. Nothing in this at all at 6-6.
Hull makes 30 before snookering himself on the yellow which is on the baulk cushion. In escaping he pots it cleanly along the rail in a shot that if he played a million more times he probably wouldn't make again. Frame in the balance on the green with Zhou just two ahead.
Hull misses the pink to let Zhou off the hook but he is again unable to clinch the frame, missing a red to middle with four reds remaining and handing the opportunity back to the Finn. Important break now.
Once again Zhou's positional play lets him down as he plays safe on 22 but a couple of safety shots later he throws a bad one in and leaves the cue ball amongst the reds and a chance for Hull to undo the damage of the opening two frames tonight.
Frame 12 - Hull catches his safety off the pack too thick and that allows Zhou the first opening in the twelfth frame and after winning the last he might have settled down here now.
Frame Zhou - Zhou pots the pink initially but goes in-off in the diagonal corner, leaving Hull able to win the frame without a re-spot. The battle continued though and with Hull leaving a cut on to the middle, Zhou pots the pink again and finally clinches the frame to lead 6-5.
Zhou pots the green after Hull leaves it from distance. Hull gets a snooker on the brown though and then pots brown and blue before missing the pink with the rest looking to force a re-spot. They're still battling on the pink now with Hull heading off to the toilet which left Zhou unhappy.
Hull pots the penultimate red well into the middle but then misses the final red along the bottom cushion. That leaves Zhou another chance to clinch the frame but he misses a testing frame ball green this time and the frame is still live here.
Hull misses his second black on just 9, leaving Zhou in for his third chance of the frame but he only adds 24 this time before rattling a pink to middle and allowing Hull back in again. Zhou does not control his anger either this time and gets spoken to by the referee. A long way to go still in this frame.
After losing position very early the first time around, Zhou is back in again now after Hull wobbles a difficult red near the bottom cushion. Zhou misses on 8 this time and restrains himself from smashing his cue on the ground. Hull pots the red but leaves a tough black to continue. He pots it though and will be looking to punish Zhou now.
Frame 11 - A real wide miss from Hull gives Zhou the first chance in the eleventh here. After a couple of loose positional shots he's nicely in now and with plenty of reds to go at here so this is a very good opportunity.
Frame Zhou - Hull breaks down on 49 after missing the final red narrowly into the middle at a tight angle. Both players then miss half chances at the red but Zhou's leaves Hull in a snooker and from that he leaves the red on with the colours on their spots. Zhou then comfortably clears to make it 5-5. Plenty of mileage in this one tonight.
After Zhou breaks down on 36 following a tough black where the cue ball ran away from the reds and leaves him on nothing, he later misses a red and leaves Hull a great chance now. Plenty of reds open at both ends of the table thanks to the safety battle so he could make a few here.
Frame 10 - First chance for Zhou after an excellent long red at dead weight to hold for the black. Certainly a decent chance the way the reds are early on in this first frame of the evening.
Ended up in Sheffield today and have come to the snooker afterwards. Already today there's been a crazy finish with James Cahill beating Andrew Higginson 10-9 and now Robin Hull faces Zhou Yuelong leading 5-4 from this morning.
I caught the last two frames of the morning session and the last was huge for Zhou. After both had missed chances to clear, Hull potted two excellent shots on pink and black to force a re-spot. He had the first chance at the re-spotted black but wobbled it and left it for Zhou. The difference between 6-3 Hull and only 5-4 could be huge but there's still plenty to play for.
Of course if Hull loses this evening he would have to go to Q School in May if he is going to be on the tour for next season so there's a lot on the line here too. He has won the two previous meetings against Zhou though 6-2 and 4-1 and has that slender advantage to start the night.
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