Cheung Ka Wai upsets Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s frustrating run of results continued as he lost 4-3 to world number 110 Cheung Ka Wai in the opening round of the Northern Ireland Snooker Open in Belfast.
Shock results continued at the Open as Martin O’Donnell, recovering from a neck injury, edged out Judd Trump 4-3 to reach the last 32.
World number three Trump joins Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Barry Hawkins, Chris Wakelin, Xiao Guodong and Ali Carter as the top-16 ranked players already knocked out in the opening round at the Waterfront Hall.
Playing in a UK tournament for the first time this season, O’Sullivan looked short of confidence as he let slip a 3-1 lead. The seven-time World Champion has played in four events in China this term and reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, but then suffered a first round defeat against Jiang Jun at the Shenzhen Open.
O’Sullivan has spoken of his poor form as a “disease” for which he is yet to find a cure. Though he scored heavily today when he had chances, the 50-year-old also made unexpected errors which allowed his underdog opponent to pull off the best result of his career.
Hong Kong’s Ka Wai, age 27, was relegated from the tour at the end of last season but regained his card via Q School and now hopes to prove his ability on the big stage. He is through to the last 32 of a ranking event for the second time and will meet Stuart Bingham or Yao Pengcheng next.
Ka Wai got the better of a scrappy opening frame before O’Sullivan compiled breaks of 56, 138 and 72 to go 3-1 ahead. He had a scoring chance in frame five but made just 16 before missing a red to a top corner and Ka Wai took advantage with a run of 88, then made a 77 in the next for 3-3. In the decider, O’Sullivan was on 6 when he overcut a short range blue to a centre pocket, and Ka Wai kept his cool in an excellent break of 60 which proved enough.
“It’s the best moment for me on the snooker tour,” said Ka Wai. “I played here last year, this arena is amazing, so to beat Ronnie here, I’m very happy. In the last frame I was nervous but for the whole match my safety and long game were not as good as Ronnie’s, but sometimes he was unlucky not to get on a colour, and then I had chances.
“To be honest I am a little bit scared of playing him because he has a lot of fans in the arena. My coach David (Roe) said no matter if I win or lose, I should just get the best experience. David has a lot of experience and always helps me on the table and on the mental side. My goal is to get into the top 64. I just look forward to playing every game and enjoying every moment.”
A record four-time winner of this event since 2018 – and runner-up in each of the last two seasons – Trump falls early this time and remains without a ranking title since the German Masters in February.
O’Donnell had lost all eight of his previous meetings with Trump but the former Welsh Open finalist took one of the biggest scalps of his career as he set up a clash with Luca Brecel.
World number 56 O’Donnell won the opening frame with a break of 64 before Trump levelled with a 91. The next two were shared then O’Donnell regained the lead with a 52 before Trump’s 94 made it 3-3. The decider was a fragmented affair but it was controlled by O’Donnell, winning it 87-5.
“I was really looking forward to the game tonight,” said the 40-year-old. “We play behind closed doors at qualifiers a lot so it was exciting to play in a great occasion like this against Judd, who I believe is the best player in the world. It was a great opportunity to test my game against his and thankfully I finally got one over on him. It’s up to me to put myself in these situations more often, getting the job done in the qualifiers and then I can enjoy it at the venues.
“Over the last ten days I felt I was starting to hit the ball really well and I’m delighted that showed tonight. When you beat Judd you feel you can have a deep run, but the results over the last two days show the strength in depth on the tour – everyone is tough.”
O’Donnell was recently diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in his neck and has battled through pain in several matches this season. “It’s not great – I don’t know if it will ever go back to normal without an operation,” he said. “I am doing everything I can, I have had physiotherapy, acupuncture and injections.
“I am managing it and not practising as much – just doing enough to feel competitive. I love this game and when it gets taken away from you for a while it’s tough. It might be a good thing for me at my age. Maybe six hours a day for six days a week is not going to be right for me going forward.”
Jak Jones top scored with 103 in a 4-1 victory over Tom Ford, boosting his hopes of a third ranking title this season having already landed the Championship League and British Open.
Stuart Bingham registered the 1,000th professional match win of his career, only the sixth player to reach that tally, as he beat Yao Pengcheng 4-2 with a top run of 68. Zhang Anda scored breaks of 64, 110 and 72 in a 4-2 defeat of Liam Pullen.
Kyren Wilson, champion here two years ago, top scored with 81 in a 4-0 defeat of Ben Mertens. Wilson needs a deep run in at least one event this season otherwise he could face having to qualify for the Crucible in the Spring as he currently lies 23rd on that list.
“I feel my consistency is coming back, I have beaten a few of the top players this season,” said Wilson, who now meets Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. “The first round matches here are all potential banana skins and Ben is a very good up and coming player. This is one of my favourite venues and I would love to get to the weekend again.”
Daniel Wells enjoyed a 4-2 victory over Barry Hawkins and at that point – before Wilson’s result – all seven of the top-16 ranked players to have completed their first round matches had been eliminated. Wells made breaks of 61 and 106 as he earned a meeting with Chang Bingyu or Ryan Day. “Any win over a top 16 player is a good one,” said Wells. “I am on the border of qualifying for the World Grand Prix at the moment (the top 32 on the one-year ranking list earn a place) so that’s in the back of my mind.”
Jamie Jones scored a 4-1 win over Chris Wakelin with top runs of 64, 65 and 63, while Pang Junxu saw off Alfie Burden 4-2. Luca Brecel’s return to form continued as he beat Lei Peifan 4-1, while David Gilbert fired three centuries – 106, 111 and 104 – in a 4-1 defeat of Oliver Sykes.
