China News Service, Beijing, February 20th. The 2024 Snooker Welsh Open has just concluded, and another snooker event is coming one after another. On the morning of the 20th, Beijing time, the first day of competition for the 2024 Snooker Players Championship ended in the UK. Chinese billiards star Ding Junhui was eliminated in the first round again, while John Higgins and Judd Trump took the lead in advancing to the quarterfinals.
The 2024 Snooker Players Championship kicked off in the early morning of the 20th, Beijing time. The first Chinese snooker "big brother" Ding Junhui faced John Higgins, the four-time World Championship champion. Although the 48-year-old "Wizard" Higgins ranks behind Ding Junhui (11th) this season, he is still as good as ever. In the first 8 games of this battle, the two sides tied 4 to 4. Higgins then won two games in a row to seal the victory 6-4, while Ding Junhui suffered a first-round elimination in the Players Championship for two consecutive seasons.
In another match at the same time, Trump, who topped the season rankings, defeated Chris Wakeling, who was ranked 16th in the season, 6-2, and joined Higgins to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Snooker Players Championship is a highly valuable ranking event. Only the top 16 players in the world rankings in a single season can qualify. After the end of this season's Welsh Open, a total of three Chinese players ranked among the top 16 in the season rankings, namely Zhang Anda in the third place, Ding Junhui in the sixth place, and Zhou Yuelong in the 15th place. Among them, Ding Junhui and Zhou Yuelong have qualified for the Players Championship for two consecutive seasons. This season, Zhang Anda, who has won the Tianjin International Championship and the English Open runner-up, participated in the Players Championship for the first time.
Unfortunately, the other two Chinese players Lu Haotian and Si Jiahui ranked 17th and 18th respectively in the season rankings and missed the Players Championship. Among the top ten players in the world, three have missed the competition due to poor performance this season. They are: defending champion Sean Murphy ranked sixth in the world, fourth Luca Brecher, and tenth Karen wilson.
On the second day of the Players Championship, there will be four 16-to-8 rounds. Among them, the most watched one is "Rocket" O'Sullivan, who is ranked first in the world and second in the season, facing Chinese player Zhou Yuelong. Before the just-concluded Welsh Open, O'Sullivan withdrew due to physical reasons. The other three games were between Mark Williams and Mark Allen, Gary Wilson and Hussein Wafi, and Tom Ford and Ali Carter. Another Chinese player Zhang Anda will face Thailand's famous player Sankham on the evening of the 21st, Beijing time. (over)