BEIJING, March 3 (ZXS) -- The much-watched opener of the 28 Snooker Tour Championship ended with the successful "revenge" of Chinese billiards star Ding Junhui. With this victory, Ding Junhui retains his hopes of going straight to the main event of this season's World Championships.
On the morning of the 28th, Beijing time, the 2023 Snooker Tour Championship ended on the first day of the tournament in the United Kingdom, and Ding Junhui defeated Mark Allen, the "Little Steel Cannon" of Northern Ireland, 10:5, becoming the first player to advance to the final four.
The 2023 Snooker Tour Championship is the 14th ranking tournament of the World Snooker Tour this season, and only the top eight players in a single season are eligible to participate, and only Ding Junhui of the Chinese players is shortlisted as the eighth in the season.
The tournament was a best-of-19 innings and a serpentine match in the first round, with eighth-placed Ding Junhui challenging Mark Allen, who won three ranked tournaments this season and led the season by far the rankings. This is also the third time the two have met this season, the first two times, Ding Junhui regrettably lost. Especially in the final of the British Championship last November, Ding Junhui was reversed by the opponent when he was leading by a large margin, and did not win the 10th ranking tournament. Therefore, this game is also considered to be Ding Junhui's "revenge" battle.
Mark Allen took the lead from the start of the battle, leading 2-0 in the first two sets. Ding Junhui started the third set and finished the first stage with a 2-2 lead after tying the score 5-3.
In the second stage, Ding Junhui continued his good form and feel, extending his lead to 3:8 after winning three consecutive games. Although the "small steel cannon" chased two more rounds after that, it was already the end of the strong crossbow. In the end, Ding Junhui successfully "took revenge" 3:10, advancing to the final four of this tournament while retaining the hope of going straight to the main event of this season's World Championships.
The Tour Championship is also the last ranking event before the World Snooker Championship this season, with the top 16 players in the world ranking (TOP16) qualifying for the main event of the World Championship. As the two non-top 16 players in this tour, Ding Junhui and Welsh star Ryan Day have hopes of going straight to the World Championships, and the two are also major contenders. If Ryan Day loses to Britain's Mark Selby in the subsequent first round, Ding Junhui will go straight to the World Championship main event. However, if Ryan Day wins the first round, Ding Junhui will need to advance to the final to qualify directly.
The 2023 Tour Snooker Championship is a daily match, with the second match of the first round between Ali Carter and Kyren Wilson, and the winner of this match will be Ding Junhui's opponent in the semifinals. (End)