2019 English Open, 14th-20th October - Eurosport & Quest

Frank O. Pinion · 02-10-2019 10:25am #1

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First leg of this season's Home Nations Series, (if someone can win all four, they'll get a £1,000,000 bonus). Defending champ is Stuart Bingham, who defeated Mark Davis in the final, 9-7. Davis defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semis, to make his first ranking final. Top prize is £70,000, runner-up gets £30,000. Best-of-7s until the QFs, which are best-of-9, semis are best-of-11, and the final is a best-of-17. All the top players have entered, except for some reason John Higgins, which in turn, gave #17 in the world Ali Carter, a place among the 16 seeded players.

Section 1:

Stuart Bingham (#1 seed as defending champion) v Kacper Filipiak (current Amateur European Snooker Champion, which earned him his professional tour card, from Poland)
Si Jiahui v Soheil Vahedi
Zhou Yuelong v Michael White
Ben Woollaston v Andrew Higginson
Ali Carter (#16) v Alan McManus
Gerard Greene v Tian Pengfei
Ding Junhui (no longer in Top 16) v Dominic Dale
Matthew Stevens v Xu Si

Section 2:

Duane Jones v Lu Ning
Tom Ford v Peter Lines
Bai Langning v Jimmy White
Kyren Wilson (#9) v Liang Wenbo
Fan Zhengyi v Riley Parsons
Anthony McGill v Chris Wakelin
Martin Gould v Sunny Akani
Shaun Murphy (#8) v Chang Bingyu

Section 3:

Neil Robertson (#5) v Kishan Hirani
Marco Fu v Ken Doherty
Scott Donaldson v Zhao Xintong
Anthony Hamilton v Zhang Jiankang
David Gilbert (#12) v Stuart Carrington
Ryan Davies (amateur 17-year old wildcard) v Lei Peifan
Jimmy Robertson v Robert Milkins
Kurt Maflin v Noppon Saengkham

Section 4:

Harvey Chandler v Mike Dunn
Graeme Dott v Mark Davis (last year's runner-up)
Joe O'Connor v Ian Burns
Stephen Maguire (#13) v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Luo Honghao v Sam Craigie
Ricky Walden v Alex Borg (50-year old from Malta, who has failed to qualify for the Crucible 15 times)
Michael Holt v James Cahill
Mark Williams (#4) v Jamie Clarke

Section 5:

Ronnie O'Sullivan (#3) v Jamie O'Neill
Yuan Sijun v Igor Figueiredo (41-year old Pan-American Champion, from Brazil)
Hossein Vafaei v Simon Lichtenberg
Thor Chuan Leong v Chen Feilong
Yan Bingtao (#14) v Mei Xiwen
Li Hang v Fraser Patrick
Ryan Day v Eden Sharav
Ashley Carty v Elliot Slessor

Section 6:

Jak Jones v Brandon Sargeant
Xiao Guodong v Rod Lawler
Alfie Burden v Andy Hicks
Jack Lisowski (#11) v Jackson Page
Hammad Miah v Mitchell Mann
Matthew Selt v Craig Steadman
Alexander Ursenbacher v Martin O'Donnell
Mark Selby (#6) v Barry Pinches

Section 7:

Mark Allen (#7) v James Wattana
Andy Lee v David Lilley
Luca Brecel v Adam Stefanow
Jordan Brown v Louis Heathcote
Barry Hawkins (#10) v Amiri Amine (new on the tour, after winning a gold medal in the African Games, from Morocco)
Michael Georgiou v David Grace
Lyu Haotian v Zhang Anda
Fergal O'Brien v Nigel Bond

Section 8:

Billy Joe Castle v John Astley
Gary Wilson v Mark Joyce
Liam Highfield v Oliver Lines
Joe Perry (#15) v Mark Lloyd (amateur wildcard)
Lee Walker v Chen Zifan
Mark King v Robbie Williams
Sam Baird v Daniel Wells
Judd Trump (#2) v Peter Ebdon

Frank O. Pinion · 03-10-2019 9:00am

New dress code for the Home Nations Series:

WorldSnooker.com wrote:

"You can have any colour you want, as long as it's black", said Henry Ford about his Model T cars back in 1909.

Snooker players will have a similar choice throughout this season's Home Nations Series. World Snooker has joined forces with renowned clothing firm Hawes & Curtis to create a new dress code for the four Home Nations events, starting with this month's 19.com English Open. All 128 players will wear black tailored long-sleeved shirts together with black or dark tailored trousers. Snooker's traditional attire of waistcoats and bow ties has been dropped for this series.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "The new dress code for the Home Nations events will help the series become distinctive and develop a unique identity. We know that waistcoats and bow ties are closely associated with the traditions of our sport and we have no plans to change the dress code for the majority of our key events. But we have decided to make this change for the Home Nations and we hope the black shirts will be stylish and practical for the players. We're thrilled to be working with Hawes & Curtis and we're delighted with the product they have designed."

http://www.worldsnooker.com/world-snooker-teams-up-with-hawes-curtis-for-new-home-nations-dress-code

Frank O. Pinion · 07-10-2019 9:31pm

WorldSnooker.com wrote:

Luo Honghao - Playing O'Sullivan Was Unforgettable

Chinese ace Luo Honghao is looking forward to returning to Crawley for next week's 19.com English Open, having reached the quarter-finals last year. Luo, 19, enjoyed a promising debut season on the pro tour in 2018/19, highlighted by his fine run in Sussex as well as a first appearance at the Crucible.

At K2 Crawley he beat four players including Anthony McGill and Neil Robertson, then pushed Ronnie O’Sullivan hard in the quarter-finals. Luo led the Rocket 3-2 but eventually lost 5-3. "My dream as a young child came true, to play against O'Sullivan at a venue", said Luo. "There were so many spectators watching me play. It's an unforgettable memory and I wish to experience more of the same. Ronnie is a nice person. We added each other on WeChat and talked a lot. I sent him clips of myself playing piano. What I need to learn from him is his perseverance and determination. He used to run 10km a day and practise for ten hours without touching his phone. You have to say 'no' to socialising and dedicate yourself to the game, I don't think many players can really do that."

http://www.worldsnooker.com/luo-playing-osullivan-was-unforgettable

Also talks about his 10-0 Crucible debut loss to Shaun Murphy. Blames it on Lu Ning treating him to a big sea food dinner, where he ate too much, and was allergic to some of the food.

zuutroy · 08-10-2019 11:13am

Not sure I'm liking the new wardrobe. Seems like it might be the thin end of the wedge.

Frank O. Pinion · 14-10-2019 10:08am

Event has just started...today's TV matches:

10am
Barry Hawkins v Amiri Amine
Yan Bingtao v Mei Xiwen

1pm
Judd Trump v Peter Ebdon
Joe Perry v Mark Lloyd

2pm (approx.)
Mark Selby v Barry Pinches
Stuart Bingham v Kacper Filipiak

7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Jamie O'Neill
Jimmy Robertson v Robert Milkins

9pm (approx.)
Shaun Murphy v Chang Bingyu
Luca Brecel v Adam Stefanow

zuutroy · 14-10-2019 10:44am

Camera angle has gotten even shallower to fit all the peripheral nonsense in.

Joe_ Public · 14-10-2019 2:25pm

Watching Ebdon, god he's hopeless. I know he's playing the world No.1 but trump looks to be in about fourth gear out there. Table angle is indeed horrendous.

Inviere · 14-10-2019 5:12pm

zuutroy wrote: »

Camera angle has gotten even shallower to fit all the peripheral nonsense in.

Ugh, really? Haven't gotten to see a session yet but was dreading the shallow 'sponsor friendly' angle

zuutroy · 14-10-2019 7:09pm

Looks like we've got unhinged Ronnie this evening.

Joe_ Public · 14-10-2019 7:15pm

This guy Jamie O'Neill was an absolutely fantastic junior but that was a long time ago. Dont think he was the most, ahem, dedicated player on the circuit, but maybe belatedly get it together somewhat.

Joe_ Public · 14-10-2019 7:25pm

Ronnie going for 3 foot plants....has the look maybe of being one of those nights?

zuutroy · 14-10-2019 8:14pm

What was that pink about? What an infuriating man!

Arthur Daley · 14-10-2019 8:16pm

Surprised he even turns up at Crawley after his comments about the place last year.

hetuzozaho · 14-10-2019 8:30pm

Kicking the rest under the table, why oh why does he do it

waynescales1 · 14-10-2019 8:37pm

They've done away with the waistcoats and bow ties. Further evidence of the moral decay in society.

The change of dress code is most noticeable in the referee's outfit I think. It's kind of unprofessional looking. The white shirt and white gloves don't go together either.

hetuzozaho · 14-10-2019 8:53pm

Car crash interview with Ronnie now. He's so rude.

zuutroy · 14-10-2019 8:59pm

hetuzozaho wrote: »

Car crash interview with Ronnie now. He's so rude.

For all the talk of balance and all that, he's still very up and down. Decided live on air he's not working on Eurosport tomorrow.

hetuzozaho · 14-10-2019 9:02pm

zuutroy wrote: »

For all the talk of balance and all that, he's still very up and down. Decided live on air he's not working on Eurosport tomorrow.

Yeah it's awful to watch. Every time they interview him after a match he is the same.

Complaining that his opponent was just happy to be there and then saying he is just doing it for fun. What does he be going on about at all?

zuutroy · 14-10-2019 9:16pm

I'd say a lot of it is a distorted version of what Steve Peters preaches to him. A weird attempt to 'relieve the pressure' that ends up making him look terrible.

He went out with a whimper 2 or 3 times last year to guys he had no business losing to, and every time he was going for stupid shots. It's almost like he resents having to play these guys and acts out by showing them no respect. He then goes behind, sets up a bit of a challenge for himself and tries to pull it out of the fire.

waynescales1 · 14-10-2019 9:34pm

Ding knocked out by Dominic Dale. Just noticed his world ranking has dropped to number 18. He's in sharp decline.

Slippin Jimmy · 14-10-2019 10:23pm

Watched bits and pieces of it when I got a chance at work. Sounds like a standard o Sullivan interview.

Frank O. Pinion · 14-10-2019 10:56pm

Ronnie didn't take his opponent seriously, and played recklessly, but still won, topped off with another "bizarre/bad mood" interview. That's Ronnie. Looks set to at least make the QFs, who's going to trouble him in section 5? Hossein Vafaei...Ryan Day? And there's not a big challenge from section 6 to meet in the QFs besides Mark Selby.

Joe_ Public wrote: »

This guy Jamie O'Neill was an absolutely fantastic junior but that was a long time ago. Dont think he was the most, ahem, dedicated player on the circuit, but maybe belatedly get it together somewhat.

Just got back on the tour this season, and has lost all his matches so far. I think he's going to have a rough two years before dropping off again.

waynescales1 wrote: »

Ding knocked out by Dominic Dale. Just noticed his world ranking has dropped to number 18. He's in sharp decline.

Provisionally, he's down to #22. Yan Bingtao is now the highest ranked Chinese player, and he lost today to Mei Xiwen.

Tomorrow's TV matches:

10am
David Gilbert v Stuart Carrington
Stephen Maguire v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

1pm
Mark Williams v Jamie Clarke
Scott Donaldson v Zhao Xintong

2pm (approx.)
Kyren Wilson v Liang Wenbo
Marco Fu v Ken Doherty (both players very much in need of ranking points)

4:30pm (approx.)
Jack Lisowski v Jackson Page
Gary Wilson v Mark Joyce

7pm
Mark Allen v James Wattana
Ryan Day v Eden Sharav

9pm (approx.)
Neil Robertson v Kishan Hirani
Graeme Dott v Mark Davis

Very interested in the Wilson/Wenbo match, big fan of both.

GeneralC · 14-10-2019 10:59pm

I found Ronnie very disrespectful towards his opponent in his post match interview. His opponent had every right to be there and nearly beat Ronnie.

Joe_ Public · 14-10-2019 11:19pm

It's a shame because Ronnie is in the best position to offer some constructive criticism on the tour but it gets lost in all this blatant woe is me disregard. These multi table setups are a pox on the game far as I'm concerned, the logistics of 128 player tournaments are way too much to bear. But I hear Ronnie going on about how great the China events are, fairly drab, atmosphere less affairs from what I see though they do have the readies which, I guess, would impress Ronnie.

hetuzozaho · 14-10-2019 11:53pm

GeneralC wrote: »

I found Ronnie very disrespectful towards his opponent in his post match interview.

So disrespectful to him. And to the guys in the studio.

GeneralC · 15-10-2019 9:18am

Joe_ Public wrote: »

It's a shame because Ronnie is in the best position to offer some constructive criticism on the tour but it gets lost in all this blatant woe is me disregard. These multi table setups are a pox on the game far as I'm concerned, the logistics of 128 player tournaments are way too much to bear. But I hear Ronnie going on about how great the China events are, fairly drab, atmosphere less affairs from what I see though they do have the readies which, I guess, would impress Ronnie.

I hate the China events. So boring to watch, zero atmosphere, poor attendance, match times etc

I love the UK/German events. The only ones worth watching, imo.

GeneralC · 15-10-2019 9:20am

hetuzozaho wrote: »

So disrespectful to him. And to the guys in the studio.

Poor aul Neal Foulds couldn't believe how disrespectful and rude Ronnie was. I actually felt bad for Neal.

GeneralC · 15-10-2019 9:27am

https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/14/ronnie-osullivan-reignites-attack-english-open-every-day-crawley-day-lost-life-10918644/amp/

God love him playing in these poor conditions. Tosser.

Frank O. Pinion · 15-10-2019 9:41am

I see Ronnie more as the Bobby Fischer of Snooker, not the Roger Federer or Tiger Woods. I never, ever expect Ronnie to be "normal". He's a flawed genius with mental issues, being the best at a very odd game, that involves great mental skill, besides natural potting ability.

He seems in a bad mood around this time every year recently, after his annual late Summer/early Autumn Asia trip.

Joe_ Public · 15-10-2019 11:49am

GeneralC wrote: »

I hate the China events. So boring to watch, zero atmosphere, poor attendance, match times etc

I love the UK/German events. The only ones worth watching, imo.

The pros seem to love the German Masters, only ever hear glowing reports from it. I think global expansion can only be good for the sport and applaud it, but snooker still has its traditional base over here and old stagers like me will struggle with those china events because they just seem to lack a passion or tradition or atmosphere, or whatever you want to call it. Pumping huge money and resources into it is all very well, but its harder to buy tradition and atmosphere imho.

Joe_ Public · 15-10-2019 11:51am

GeneralC wrote: »

Poor aul Neal Foulds couldn't believe how disrespectful and rude Ronnie was. I actually felt bad for Neal.

To be honest, i doubt Foulds would be all that shocked by what confronted him, it's nothing he hasn't seen before. Last year there was the whole silly aussie accent thing, before that the robot... If you're going to be offended or put out by anything O'Sullivan throws at you during an interview, you probably wouldnt last long i reckon. Ronnie still a big dickus of course, of that there's no doubt.

2019 English Open, 14th-20th October - Eurosport & Quest

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