European Masters Qualifiers: Day 1 Round-up

Ken Doherty kept his brilliant run going this season by qualifying for the European Masters, beating Barry Hawkins 4-3 for the privilege. Doherty produced a well controlled 69 in the decider to get over the line and add to his win over Ali Carter in the Indian Open qualifiers on Tuesday, keeping the Irishman on cloud nine.

Jimmy Robertson fell 4-3 to Sam Baird despite a break of 130 in a match that looked to have a lot of high quality throughout. Adam Duffy produced a 4-2 win over Liam Highfield to make it two out of two for him this week in the qualifiers, having beaten Noppon Saengkham earlier in the week, who he will play again in the World Open qualifiers for their third meeting of the season already.

Chen Zifan meanwhile won his third qualifier out of four this season as he saw off Hammad Miah 4-2. In the afternoon session, Yuan Sijun secured his first win as a tour professional, the 17-year-old beating Allan Taylor 4-2 in a match that did not necessarily have the highest quality, but did again show flashes of the talent with Yuan that can certainly be honed.

Ben Woollaston looked in much better form yesterday in a 4-0 win against Ian Burns than he had earlier in the week. Whenever I glanced over to that table he seemed to be in and scoring, and sealed victory in little over an hour, finishing with a century break that accompanied to other 60+ breaks in the match. Kyren Wilson was able to put the disappointment of Wednesday afternoon's defeat behind him as he took care of Xu Si 4-0.

Gerard Greene managed to grab a 4-3 victory Andrew Higginson in a ding dong battle where Gerard was on top for much of the play but could not shake off his opponent. After winning the first two frames, with Higginson missing a few chances, he was then able to claw his way back in and steal the next two despite decent breaks from Greene in each. The Northern Irishman edged back in front in a fifth frame that Higginson again had chances, but a magnificent century from Higginson forced the decider. It was the higher ranked player who had the first chance in the decider but missing in the thirties and leaving the red over the hole handed that over to Greene. His first move was to go into the pack from the red over the corner and having split the reds he did not back. A run of 76 was more than enough to secure a deserved win.

My first feature match of the afternoon saw Robin Hull defeated 4-2 by Zhang Yong. The Finn had started well with an excellent 99 to settle into the match immediately, and he looked to be cueing very nicely early on. This was backed up by a good 63 to quickly double his lead, and at this stage you thought that the match would be over very quickly. The turning point came in frame three which Zhang Yong won on the pink and that gave him a huge boost of confidence, as would the support of some of his fellow Chinese players in the crowd. A run of 90 in the fourth not only squared the match up but showed how well Zhang was cueing as he continued to pull out shot after shot. He did not waste his opportunity in frame five either with 68 to edge ahead for the first time, and by now Hull was left to wonder how this had come about after a great start. When Zhang completed victory Hull will have been left very disappointed and frustrated not to have converted a good start into a Belgium trip, but Zhang played very well from the third frame onwards and looked a lot more comfortable.

Later in the afternoon I was treated to another great battle as Gary Wilson took on Hossein Vafei. Both players were in top scoring form, with Wilson looking very comfortable and confident as he took the opening frame, despite needing two chances. Hossein needed two chances to take the second but a run of 50 from the second chance squared up the affair and at this stage they were playing at a great speed. 82 from Wilson put his nose back in front before Hossein made a brilliant 93 to level with both players going blow for blow and answering the others great play. Hossein then took the lead in frame five but let Wilson back in with a chance to steal and even though he let that one slip by, another came to his cue pretty quickly but a was left this time to rue a missed yellow and Hossein would have been relieved to pot the colours he needed for the frame.

Hossein built a 50 point lead again in the sixth frame and it looked like it could be curtains for Wilson, but when the Iranian missed a tough one, Wilson cleared down to the final red before playing safe with his hat firmly back in the ring. In the end a snooker behind the black forced the critical mistake and Wilson did the rest to take the match to a deserved deciding frame. The decider deserves a blog of its own in many ways to cover all of the drama. Wilson had the first chance and built a strong lead of 55 but lost position shortly after opening the pack, and this let Hossein back in to claw back the deficit. A run of 50 down to the yellow was good to get back into the frame but a critical miss was not. Wilson got the upper hand back by potting the yellow and playing a clever snooker on the green. This got him eight foul points and a ball in hand from which he potted the green from range. Brown would have been match ball but Hossein won the safety battle on that but could not get on the blue. More safety was played and Hossein again won the battle and followed with a decent pink, but left the black at long range, but still produced a top pot to win the match, much to his delight and that of fellow countryman Soheil Vahedi who was watching on. Meanwhile, Wilson wondered what might have been and let the table feel some of his frustration on the way out of the arena.


Elsewhere, there was victory for Mark Allen in a tough game with Daniel Wells, though Allen produced a nice clearance in the third frame, and made a 91 in the sixth before signing for a 4-2 win. Peter Ebdon clung on for a deciding frame win against the unorthodox Akani Songsermsawad who certainly has a unique style that I've never seen the like of before.

In the evening session there was a good victory for Noppon Saengkham who continues to improve, progress and look like a dangerous player every time I see him. A 130 break along the way was testament to that. Michael Holt eased to a 4-0 victory against Paul Davison, who made Holt work hard in a couple of frames but could not really string anything together.

Match of the evening saw Billy Castle get his first win as a professional by beating Jimmy White 4-3. It was a close affair all the way through with a number of frames coming down to the colours, with a critical moment coming in frame four when Castle needed snookers to avoid going 3-1 down, but played a brilliant snooker on the pink and ended up squaring the match at 2-2. White went back in front, but Castle stayed with him making a gritty 56 to force the deciding frame. After chances for both players, Castle was left in with all the reds open and in the middle of the table almost how you would set them up in practice. However, there was much more pressure than that but Castle was equal to it securing a brilliant win against a frustrated Whirlwind.


Today is the final day of European Masters qualifying, with World Open qualifying then starting on Sunday, while I depart from Preston tomorrow. Before that I may have a live blog or two from the afternoon session so once again, keep on the look out for that.

LIVE BLOG: European Masters: Gary Wilson vs Hossein Vafei and Others

HOSSEIN VAFEI 4-3 GARY WILSON - Hossein made a nice break and got all the way down to the yellow before making the error and missing the pot. Wilson potted yellow and then played a snooker behind the green yielding 8 foul points and a pot on the green but couldn't get on match ball brown. Hossein then won battles on the brown and the vital battle on the blue as he followed with pink and a long black to win the match. He's delighted as is Soheil watching on, while Wilson smashes the table with his hand while picking his cue case up before leaving the arena.

Hossein eats into Wilson's lead in the fascinating deciding frame

- Wilson got the pack open but couldn't stay in good position, leaving him a tough red with the rest which went wide. A chance now for Hossein to certainly eat into Gary's lead and possibly make a run for the line himself.

- Wilson in first in the decider and the outcome of the break will hinge on whether he can get the pack in play. Otherwise he's building a very strong lead.

TABLE 5 UPDATE - Peter Ebdon is going to be back in front barring snookers in a pedestrian frame that took 35 minutes to get to snookers required. A snooker on the last red from Ebdon got Akani in trouble and his eventual escape pushed the red over the corner. Should be 2-1 Ebdon.

Frame Wilson - After playing safe on the last red, a good snooker behind the black from Wilson forced a miss and the error as the red was easily left on. A comfortable clearance from Gary ensued and we're going the distance here 3-3

- Hossein lost position and missed a tough one with the rest. He had a 50 point lead but he's left Wilson in who's rapidly eating into the deficit. Last red could be an issue but colours again on their spots for the clearance

- Hossein is in first again in frame six and looking to build at least a sizeable lead as he hopes to make this the last frame. The reds need some work to kill it off in one visit... But now he has the split and landed on a red. Could be the end for Wilson here.

Frame Hossein - Wilson missed his first chance at the counter clearance after trying to power a pink into the corner for reasons I couldn't work out as he left nothing for Hossein. Another chance came to Wilson's cue and he cleared the three remaining reds before missing a straightforward enough yellow by the standards of the afternoon. He stuck the yellow up too and the Iranian had a comfortable run to a 3-2 lead. 3-2 Hossein

Wilson was unable to capitalise on Hossein's mistakes in frame five

- Hossein made a positional error and was forced to play safe 53 ahead with plenty on. Both players then had chances at reds with a little difficulty. When Hossein missed his he left over the middle and Wilson now has a chance for the counter. 1 red could be an issue but the rest ideally placed and colours on their spots.

- This match has been a pleasure to watch so far and it's far from done yet. Hossein has a nice lead in frame five and is at the table with reds in decent positions and the black and pink fully available. By this games standards he probably won't be far from taking a 3-2 lead.

TABLE 5 UPDATE - Nice contribution from Akani just now, took what was there very nicely. By the time he misses with his unique rest technique Ebdon needs a snooker with three reds left. Should be 1-1.

Frame Hossein - Like I say these two guys are not missing. Hossein taking it all in his stride with a quality response. 93 break and only denied a century by his failure to hit the yellow hard enough for it to get to the pocket. 2-2

- After a bit of early pendulum swinging Hossein now looks to have a decent opening here in frame four. The reds need perhaps a little work but like I've said both guys look in good form.

Hossein at the table in the fourth frame, trailing Wilson 2-1

Frame Wilson - Meanwhile there was no positional error from Wilson and as previously mentioned he didn't look like missing. So, an 82 clearance it is to put him back in front. 2-1 Wilson

TABLE 5 UPDATE - Ebdon wins the black ball opener. I'm not sure what Akani tried on the black. It was either the cross double onto the back cushion or for the pot. Either way it went straight toward the corner rattled and stayed close to the corner. Ebdon wobbled it in on the stretch for 1-0.

- Hossein's mistake could be Wilson's gain here. After both players have had chances, Wilson earns his second and has the reds pretty handy as he tries to regain the lead. Neither looks like missing when in so the Iranian must hope for a positional error.

TABLE 5 UPDATE: A pedestrian first frame between Ebdon and Akani and easy to see why. We know about Ebdon while Akani has an odd pre shot routine that sees him rehearse his action almost, before he gets down. Anyway the opener all hinges on the black.

Frame Hossein - 50 he makes in his ever cool style and with the earlier 31 that's more than enough to make it 1-1 in double quick time. If it wasn't quick enough, Hossein is helping the referee set the balls up for frame three. Somewhere to be have we lads? 1-1

- Hossein is looking to strike back straight away here in frame two. After an early 31 he's now back in and the reds aren't looking too bad. He'd certainly be hoping to level the match at this visit.

Frame Wilson - Another chance for Wilson having already got a 26 point lead. Hossein missed a long red to leave him in. An assured run of 39 was more than enough to take this opening frame 1-0

(Side note: Hossein's World Cup partner and fellow countryman Soheil Vahedi has come and sat two seats to my right to watch his good friend).

- We're underway and Gary Wilson is first in and scoring after a great finish yesterday. He'll be feeling confident coming into this and think this will be a high scoring game all round. Wilsons missed on 33 but not many loose reds left and Hossein plays safe.

We're just a few moments away from my second live blog of the afternoon with Gary Wilson taking on Hossein Vafei of Iran on table 6. Both of these guys qualified for India but only one can secure a Belgium trip. Should be a blockbuster.

I'll also have updates from Peter Ebdon and Akani Songsermsawad on table 5 whilst table 7 is the streamed game with Mark Allen and Daniel Wells.

LIVE BLOG: European Masters: Robin Hull Vs Zhang Yong and others

YUAN SIJUN 4-2 ALLAN TAYLOR - All over now. Allan Taylor did have another chance after knocking in a good long red but when attempting to split the final 5 reds from the blue he knocked one in the corner. This bit of luck handed Yuan the chance he needed to seal a first tour victory and three reds and blacks was enough to need Taylor needing several snookers on the last red.

TABLE 4 UPDATE - First chance in this frame went to Yuan Sijun but he lost position on 29 and played safe. Allan Taylor went for a long red from that safety and fluked it in the middle but faltered on 6. Yuan back in now for a match clinching opening.

TABLE 4 UPDATE - In a very scrappy frame, Yuan Sijun potted a good final red and black but missed frame ball yellow on the side cushion. Taylor got the youngster in a good snooker but he escaped well. Taylor then played a shot and called a foul on himself I believe, meaning he needed a snooker to win the frame. Should be 3-2 Yuan Sijun.

ZHANG YONG 4-2 ROBIN HULL - All over here as Zhang takes his second chance for the frame. Hull potted a decent red but missed a tricky yellow and Zhang was able to do the rest and fluking the final red to make sure Hull couldn't carry on. A very solid performance from Zhang Yong and unfortunate for Hull.

- Zhang Yong is in again here after Hull missed a red near the cushion to leave the chance. There's work to do though but he's knocked a fabulous mid range ball in keep it going. Not far away now.

Frame Zhang - Zhang hasn't looked back since winning the third on the pink, backing up a 90 clearance in the fourth with a run of 68 here to lead for the first time. Knocking everything in now like it's no problem and looking very confident. 3-2 Zhang

- Zhang Yong growing in confidence all the time here. Hull missed a black with the spider to give him this opening and he's taking full advantage. Reds aren't too badly situated, especially having now split them perfectly on 45. Would now expect this to go 3-2 to the Chinese player.

After leading 2-0, Hull now looks to hit back and regain the lead against Zhang

TABLE 4 UPDATE - 2-2 here now as well after both players had good chances. Taylor potting a nice yellow leads a clearance to the pink that gets him back on level terms.

Frame Zhang - Zhang Yong has capitalised on Hull's miss to level this match up in style and he's gotten into this game nicely now. A 90 clearance in very stylish fashion. 2-2

- Good chance for Zhang Yong to level the match up here after Hull misses a tricky red with the rest having gone out of position from a bad contact. Reds are open here and it should be 2-2.

TABLE 4 UPDATE - Brilliant and motoring 72 clearance from Yuan Sijun from a chance midway through the frame sees Yuan Sijun edge 2-1 ahead at lightning quick speed there.

Frame Zhang - Much needed frame for Zhang who pots the pink from range after Hull's thin safety leaves it near the corner. 2-1 Hull

- The frame has come down to the colours here. Zhang Yong couldn't quite kill the frame off from the last red and then after potting the yellow shortly after he played a poor safety on the green. Hull potted green, brown and blue before trying to double the pink and missing. Battle on the pink now.

- Decent chance goes astray for Zhang Yong as he misses on 25, 33 ahead with 7 reds left. Hull in now but plenty of work to do before he can win this frame.

TABLE 4 UPDATE - A miss on the green with two reds left could have been the vital moment in the second frame for Yuan Sijun but later on when Taylor missed the green looking to clear, he missed and left it for Yuan who did more than enough to level the game.

Frame Hull - Hull isn't messing about here. A nice little break with the reds already well placed and he clears to the last red to do more than enough to take the second frame. He's cueing pretty close to 

perfect. 2-0 Hull

- Another chance here for Hull. Into the twenties with the remaining reds open and already had a small lead when he came to the table. After the way he cued in frame one I fancy him to double his lead.

Robin Hull is off to an impressive start as he takes the opener against Zhang Yong

TABLE 4 UPDATE - Neat start for Allan Taylor as he secures the frame with a cross double on the penultimate red. Both players just warming up there you feel.

Frame Hull - Brilliant start from the Finn here. A good split as he entered the fifties allowed him to kill the frame in one visit eventually making 99 before missing the final red. Zhang Yong played on for a bit of potting practice. 1-0 Hull

- Robin Hull is in with the first chance here after being left in by Zhang Yong. Seems to be cueing pretty well so far as the break goes into the thirties and this is developing into a decent chance.

- About 15 minutes to go here until we get underway with the live blog. Robin Hull and Zhang Yong will be on table 3 and another match I was eyeing up between Yuan Sijun and Allan Taylor is on table 4 so I will have the odd update from there too.

Also on table 8 I'll have a view of Andrew Higginson and Gerard Greene so may provide the odd update from there too.

This afternoon's first live blog comes from the 1pm session and a match with Finland's Robin Hull taking on Zhang Yong. It should be another good game here. Hull was seen most recently in the World Cup, while Zhang played yesterday and lost out to Dominic Dale in the Indian Open qualifiers.

Once I see the order of play with table numbers I will be able to see if there are any other matches I can provide updates with on the side, depending of course on whether all matches start on time etc.

As well as this I am aiming to do another live match from the 4pm session. This match may be Gary Wilson Vs Hossein Vafei depending on again if all matches start on time. Peter Ebdon Vs Akani Songsermsawad and Yan Bingtao Vs David Grace are also possibilities but whatever match is chosen it will be brought in a separate post.

Indian Open Qualifiers: Day 2 Round-up

The line-up for the final stages of the Indian Open is complete after conclusion of the final day's qualifiers yesterday. Once again there were plenty of close contests and tight tussles, including for some of the top players.

Mark Allen had a big battle on his hands against Thor Chuan Leong. After taking 2-0 and 3-1 leads the Northern Irishman was pegged back to a decider by the Malaysian. It looked like a battle for Allen who did not find top scoring gear until a superb 88 got him over the line for a 4-3 victory. For the top players playing in these qualifiers it is not setting down a marker that is important, but simply getting the job done and Allen was able to do that here in the end.

Kyren Wilson though was not able to get the job done as he fell 4-2 to Boonyarit Kaettikun. The Thai held his own despite going 1-0 and 2-1 behind, making a couple of nice breaks in the match, and generally showing more form than he has done for much of his time on tour. Having been short of wins and playing his first match of the season, none of this came into the equation as he kept his cool against the World Games gold medallist.

There were much easier paths for Stephen Maguire who won 4-0 against Hu Hao, while John Higgins got through 4-1 against David John, though it seemed from the other side of the arena that David will be left frustrated by missed opportunities to make that one closer. Luca Brecel was given very little challenge in a comfortable 4-0 win over Christopher Keogan, and Brecel can now enjoy a rest as his European Masters qualifier is held over to the venue in Belgium.

One of the matches that I focused on yesterday was that of Robert Milkins against Yuan Sijun. This was a cracking tie that started in cracking fashion with Yuan coming straight out of the blocks with a superb break of 84 and generally seeming comfortable and confident amongst the balls at this early stage of the match. He had his chances at doubling that lead but looked less assured when it came to safety play, which is obviously something that can be said for a lot of young players. Milkins then hit the front with a good 66 and when amongst the balls he looked very fluent and dangerous as always.

There was perhaps a little rust in his game which festered in frame four when Yuan came back to steal a black ball frame, after being left two or three opportunities at the black before knocking it in from mid-range. After an earlier 58, Milkins will have been fuming when frame five then went to a re-spotted black, especially after missing on 58 when he was in to clinch the frame in one visit. Yuan showed a little of that safety inexperience on the black though as he tried to double the black up the table and onto the side cushion but instead caught it horribly and left it close to the corner, gifting Milkins the frame. That was the blow that knocked the wind from the teenager's sails as Milkins soon cleaned up a 4-2 victory. Yuan will continue to improve though and learn from his experiences and he has remained competitive in all three matches he has played on tour so far, and he will not be far away in the European Masters qualifier with Allan Taylor I would imagine.

From what I saw of Liam Highfield and Matthew Bolton, Bolton may take some time to acclimatise to the conditions at the top level as he did not really trouble Highfield in a 4-0 defeat. Equally it was a poor day at the office for Lee Walker who was well beaten 4-1 by Niu Zhuang. Walker had mulitple chances in most of the frames throughout the match but missed too many even against a new tour professional like Niu Zhuang. Niu did pretty well making a nice break in the opener to show that he was not going to be rolled over and then potting some big pressure balls in a couple of the later frames, including a marvellous yellow in the final frame.

Then there was Gary Wilson's victory over Lukas Kleckers, where Wilson found his feet at the back end of the game after a start that was a little scrappy in the opening couple of frames. Wilson's 114 in frame four was one of the highlights of the day from start to finish, getting in from a very confidently played long red, rolling it in for the black, especially as he had missed a few similar to that in the early stages. The only disappointment was that he missed on the colours when a high break was possible. The final frame did not look pretty with reds being pushed up the table, but the break that eventually clinched it for Wilson was assured and for Kleckers, he simply could not get going all day really and did not make enough when his chances came.

Cao Yupeng looked good for the most part in a 4-2 win over Mark Joyce. Cao has had a lean couple of years by all accounts, but it looks like he could be back in business this year and will perhaps begin climbing back up the rankings as he attempts to keep his tour card.

In the evening, Mike Dunn was very impressive against Jamie Clarke. He looked to be striking the ball very solidly and he pounced on every single mistake that Clarke made, to really pile the pressure on his opponent any time that he did get a chance. A lovely century break was added to by an 80 and a decent 65 in the final frame as well to clinch the match in quick time. If he keeps this form up, the match-up with Soheil Vahedi tomorrow afternoon is going to be a cracker, especially since Soheil saw to Martin Gould 4-1 on Tuesday.

In the matches of father and son, Oliver and Peter Lines, that were on adjoining tables in the evening it was a tale of two defeats. Oliver was playing Ian Preece and he never looked to settle in the match. Preece had beaten the younger Lines in the English Open last year and he repeated the dosage here as Oliver missed too many opportunities to remain competitive. Preece took his opportunities when they came along, making a couple of nice 50+ breaks and controlling the contest from start to finish. Oliver will have to up his game for this afternoon's match with Scott Donaldson, while Ian Preece will look to carry on strong against Sanderson Lam, with Preece already beating Ricky Walden in style this season, and running Thepchaiya Un-Nooh close in the Riga Masters qualifier.

As for Peter, he again had his chances against Michael Holt who seemed to be struggling. There was a lot of gesticulation from Holt after his mistakes to confirm the point that he did not ever really get comfortable in this match, though it was Lines who was left giving himself a talking to and pulling the faces as he let a 2-1 lead slip to a 4-2 loss. There were mistakes aplenty from both players, but when the crunch time came, Holt was up to the pressure producing the only notable contribution of the match in the final frame to secure the win.



So, onto the European Masters the players go with plenty of names in action over the next two days of qualifying so keep your eyes peeled for some more live blogs and round-ups in the next couple of days.

LIVE BLOG: INDIAN OPEN: Gary Wilson vs Lukas Kleckers

GARY WILSON 4-1 LUKAS KLECKERS - An additional 39 was good enough for Wilson to leave his German opponent needing a couple of snookers. Again Kleckers attempted the snookers but with no success and Wilson signs for a 4-1 win and books the trip to India.

- Perfect match clinching chance now for Wilson. After an earlier 29 he was then fortunate in the safety battle to leave a red over a corner and cover it. Kleckers attempted the swerve, missed and clattered into the reds and leaving them all on for Wilson. Should be all sealed in this visit.

Frame Wilson - In no time at all, Wilson notches up a brilliant and fluent 114 to move a frame away from victory. A great break to press home his advantage. 3-1 Wilson

- Frame four starts off with Gary Wilson dropping in a lovely long red to finish on the black and he quickly gets into the reds off a red and has a perfect scoring chance.

Frame Wilson - A break of 31 was all it was but with a number of reds and baulk colours it was enough to leave Kleckers needing snookers. After a valiant effort he couldn't quite get them and Gary takes the frame comfortably in the end. 2-1 Wilson

- A slow burner in the third here with reds largely being sent into the baulk half. Gary Wilson has chipped away and started building a reasonable lead but now has a chance to put the frame safe or very close to that.

Frame Kleckers - An assured run of 44 with a good lead in the bank was more than enough for the German to level. I think this could go right to the wire this afternoon. 1-1

- A couple of chances have come for Kleckers in the second frame. Now he's on his third with reds nicely placed and should level this match up.

Frame Wilson - After a long battle on the green, a poor safety from Kleckers left it on from range. Wilson duly potted it with brown and blue before failing to land on the pink. Another safety was off from Kleckers shortly after to leave the pink on again from range, and again Wilson was up to it. 1-0

- It took a few pendulum swings but eventually after a poor shot on the final red from Wilson, Kleckers earned a frame clinching chance but missed the yellow with a 16 point lead. Still plenty of life in this frame on the colours.

- Kleckers chance soon goes begging as he plays a thin red and doesn't land on a colour. Safety battle in play now.

- Best opening chance goes to Kleckers after Wilson went all out for a long pot with reds open and missed. Black and pink off their spots but that can be sorted soon down the line making this a nice opening.

In a new post as promised here is my second live blog of the afternoon, Gary Wilson vs Lukas Kleckers and we're about 10 minutes away from the start.

Wilson will just be happy not to have drawn Ken Doherty again after losing to him in the China Championship qualifier and at the venue in Riga.

New professional Kleckers meanwhile scored a notable victory in Riga over Neil Robertson, so the German will have plenty of confidence coming into this one.

I can't see much of any other non-stream matches that I'm overly interested in so will mostly feature this one only. Enjoy!

LIVE BLOG: Indian Open: Robert Milkins Vs Yuan Sijun and Others

TABLE 4 RESULT: NIU ZHUANG 4-1 LEE WALKER: Walker wasn't at his best today. Certainly had his fair share of chances but just couldn't find his range nor rhythm. Niu Zhuang knocked in some good balls at key times but wasn't the most consistent amongst the balls. The yellow and green to win from Niu though was pure class. Both difficult range pots.

ROBERT MILKINS 4-2 YUAN SIJUN - A closing break of 36 to the yellow was enough for Milkins to get the job done. A bit of inexperience and poor safety probably cost Yuan Sijun but seeing him today confirms the talent is there for sure. On the day it's Robert Milkins who will be making the trip to India.

- It's been a pretty disjointed start to frame six. Now though Milkins has been left a decent chance from a disappointing Yuan safety and one he should be looking to clinch the match from.

Frame Milkins - After missing on 58 leading by 35 with one red left Milkins had Yuan in a position where could only force a re-spot. However, he left the red over the yellow pocket with the black on its spot for Yuan, who negotiated it well enough but still had to make a thin cut on it. A tricky pink was also negotiated on the way to forcing a re-spot. Yuan made the vital error though getting a safety on the black too thick and leaving it over the corner with an easy pot for Milkins. 3-2 Milkins

CHANCE MILKINS - Another good chance here for Robert after an early effort for Yuan. Break goes to 50 with a delicate cut on the side cushion but with the final two reds on cushions too there's plenty of work left here.

Frame Yuan - Yuan won the battle on the pink by cutting it in from range. The black was on the cushion though and while he could have gone for it he wisely chose against. After some decent safety and a couple of missed attempts that he left safe, the Chinese player knocked the black in from mid range to square it up. 2-2

TABLE 4 UPDATE - Lee Walker 3-0 down and firmly on the back foot now. He had a chance at the start of the frame after Niu missed a long red and clattered into the bunch but only made 16. Another chance came to canter late in the frame and he got down to the green which had the pink next to it and was awkward. After some safety on the green Niu knocked it in from range and added a good mid range brown to make sure Walker didn't come back for snookers.

- Yuan gets himself back in the frame by clearing the last few reds. The blue was awkward though and he attempted it at a tight angle missing it but leaving it safe. Milkins pots the blue after some safety though but misses a tricky pink in the middle. He needs pink. Yuan both balls.

- Another good chance now for Milkins. The youngsters inexperience starting to show here and Milkins is continually growing in confidence in this match. Break into the thirties with all the reds he needs in the open. Should move 3-1 and one away from booking the India trip.... Until he makes a positional error leaving a tricky red with the rest which he misses. Still controlling the frame and match though.

Frame Milkins - Just after that post Milkins pots the final balls needed for the frame and makes a 66 to lead and looking more comfortable now. 2-1

- Nice little chance for Milkins in frame three. His opponent let him in with an easy starter and thus far he's taken advantage. Nice cannon has just got the black in play and he's not far from taking the frame now.

TABLE 4 UPDATE - 2-0 now to Niu. He looks comfortable and is being made more so by Walkers errors. The fatal one being a safety on the final red caught too thick.

Frame Milkins - After offering chances on the green and leaving it over the middle for Yuan, Milkins gets a reprieve as the youngster misses a sitter of a blue in the middle. A couple of safeties follow before Yuan leaves the blue on in the middle and Milkins clears. 1-1

- Both players have now had good chances. Milkins with a good lead saw Yuan get in and then play a nice safety come snooker when he lost position. From that Milkins was a little unlucky to leave him another opening and after potting a good final red and a good yellow he misses the green. Remaining colours in the open so almost a green ball frame.

MILKINS CHANCE - Milkins gets in with the opening chance and makes 30 before missing a red with the white near the side rail. Chance now for Yuan to get his arm going again, but misses a cutback black on 9. Milkins back in.

TABLE 4 UPDATE: Lee Walker looked to have the reds at his mercy in the opener but misses a pretty straightforward pink to middle only for Niu to pass up the chance. Walker then misses a red he took a long time over and Niu gets back in and makes it 1-0.

Frame Yuan Sijun - 84 is more than enough for Yuan Sijun in a quick and confident break. Milkins plays on purely for some table time but doesn't get much. 1-0 Yuan

- Yuan Sijun in first here and has got the reds open early. He looks even younger than 17 but the early sign is it won't show in his play. Seems a confident player and should make plenty from this opening chance.

- 10 minutes to go until the start here. Milkins and Yuan are on table 3, there is no match in this session on table 1, table 2 is the stream match, and Lee Walker vs Niu Zhuang is on table 4 so I will have the odd update from there. The other matches are on the other side and the only one I'll have any reasonable view at is Liam Highfield and new professional Matthew Bolton. I'm all set and raring to go.

It's time to introduce today's Live Blog. Starting at 1pm I will be featuring Robert Milkins match with 17-year-old new tour professional Yuan Sijun.

Yuan was one of my players to watch for this season, and even though he started with two defeats he will have something to take having lost 4-3 to Oliver Lines and 5-3 to Tom Ford both matches he kept very competitive.

Robert Milkins won his two Preston qualifiers beating Aditya Mehta to qualify for Riga, where he had a Last 64 walkover before losing 4-1 to eventual champion Ryan Day in the Last 32. He also overcame Zhao Xintong to make the upcoming China Championship.

The "and others" in the title of this blog refers to the fact that I will look to provide updates from other 1pm non-streamed matches depending on where the Milkins game is situated in the arena and what matches are near it. I also hope to cover a 4pm start which will be dependant on if the Milkins game runs over (which is unlikely given his pace) and again which matches are situated where in the arena and whether or not all matches start on time. That's the boring explanation over, updates will start from 1pm with the nearest update at the top of the page so you readers don't have to scroll to find the latest details. Enjoy!!!

Indian Open Qualifiers: Day 1 Round-up

The first day of Indian Open qualifying produced a mixture of results that certainly included a few surprises. One of these unexpected outcomes saw Jackson Page, who celebrates his 16th birthday next week, thrash Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-0.

Another slight surprise saw Martin Gould lose out 4-1 to recent World Games bronze medal winner Soheil Vahedi who had clearly taken a lot of confidence from that success in Poland. Ken Doherty continued his fine start to the season, backing up a run to the semi-finals at the Riga Masters in June by beating the World Games silver medal 4-2.

There were also four walkovers on the day, which included 2015 Indian Open champion Michael White withdrawing from his match with Gerard Greene through illness and recent Hong Kong Masters winner Neil Robertson handing Robin Hull a free ticket to India. Robertson's withdrawal was an interesting one as he later posted about being on the practice table with Joe Perry.

Anthony Hamilton and Hossein Vafei came through in deciding frames against Alex Borg and Sanderson Lam respectively. Zhang Anda made short work of Lyu Haotian thanks to breaks of 67, 75, 83 and 102 so he was clearly in top form.

Once I arrived at the venue for the late afternoon and evening games one man in particular impressed me. Jimmy Robertson saw off Jak Jones 4-2 and was in fine scoring form. He completed the match with a century clearance and could and should have had two before that missing simple shots on 92 on both occasions. As well as this he might have finished the match 4-1 but for some misfortune when attempting to bring the last four reds into play, going in-off in the process.

Graeme Dott really had to dig in against China's Fang Xiongman. Dott relinquished a 2-0 lead and soon found himself 3-2 behind. In the sixth he needed to produce a good clearance on the colours to keep himself in the contest, before again coming from behind in the decider to win it on the colours and scrape through to the final stages.

Jack Lisowski looked good in patches of a 4-1 win against Joe Swail after a pretty scrappy start to the match. He made a couple of good breaks in the last two frames but seemed to be missing top gear, but after a stop start season for many of these players with tournaments being sparse over the summer, many players will be clearing the rust in their opening qualifier of the week.

You could certainly forgive Ricky Walden for being rusty in his evening match with Jimmy White, but from what I saw of that one from the other side of the venue, he looked to be playing comfortably. The reason to bring this up is of course as Walden has had some back trouble over the course of the year and (without confirmation) this may have been the reason for 4-0 and 5-0 defeats in his opening qualifiers of the season two months ago to lower ranked players. He certainly did not look to have much trouble getting down on the shot and no winces in pain were noted on the way to a 4-2 victory that he completed with a good clearance in the final frame.

Josh Boileau's 4-3 win over David Grace was a match I had a good view of on table four. Boileau impressed with a century to come back and force the deciding frame after a big break from Grace to go 3-2 ahead. Both players took their time to get into the match, but once the Irishman was able to he actually seemed more comfortable in the final two frames here than he did in beating Shaun Murphy in Cardiff, one of his most notable wins on tour.

Sean O'Sullivan had to dig in against Xiao Guodong as he also came from 3-2 behind. Guodong lost the opener but certainly found his feet in winning the next two with a high break of 82. The twice Shoot-Out runner-up lost the fourth despite chances, and that was the lifeline that O'Sullivan needed. Despite losing the fifth, he controlled the sixth and looked confident as he entered the decider, having seen of everything that Xiao had thrown at him so far. The 56 he made in the decider to seal victory was very classy and the mark of a man that seems to have improved in the last year.

Finally, the match I focused on in the evening between Sam Craigie and Ben Woollaston turned into a tactical affair with a few errors from both players. Craigie had chances in the opener before Woollaston took that one on the colours, but it did not faze the young man who produced the biggest bit of quality in the match in the second frame. A marvellous 126 break was one of pure class that also featured a pot on the yellow from its spot that saw him screw back directly into the pack of reds and opening them all up to complete the break. Even after Woollaston went ahead again, Craigie still looked the stronger player as he squared once more at 2-2. The fifth frame was another case of what might have been though as Woollaston again took it on the colours after Craigie had a big chance to move 3-2 in front and one from victory. That appeared to take the wind from his sails and the higher seeded Woollaston was able to capitalise and get over the line fairly convincingly in frame six for a 4-2 victory.

However, if you have not had enough Sam Craigie for this week, you can still read our guest blog that I put up on Monday with Sam's thoughts on how the early season has gone for him:

http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/guest-blog-sam-craigie.html


As for me, I will be back in the venue at 1pm and will be doing a live blog of Robert Milkins Vs Yuan Sijun and a couple of other matches either in that session or the 4pm session depending on table situations and how long my initial match goes on for, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Otherwise it should be another intriguing day of qualifiers that features the likes of John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Michael Holt and recent World Games gold medallist Kyren Wilson.