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Wonderful Wu Yize is the 2025 International Championship Champion

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:04:34 +0000

Wu Yize won his first ranking title in Nanjing as he prevailed at the 2025 International Championship!
Here is the report shared by WST:

China’s Wu Yize blitzed to a 10-6 victory over Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins to capture his maiden ranking title by winning the International Championship in Nanjing.

The supremely talented 22-year-old’s potential has been clear for many years. He became World Under-21 Champion back in 2018, aged just 14. Four years later, in 2022, he was named Rookie of the Year after his debut season on tour.

However, this has been Wu’s coming of age week. Having also beaten the likes of compatriots Zhang Anda and World Champion Zhao Xintong, it was against two of England’s finest where he displayed his blistering best.

From 4-0 down in his last 16 tie with world number one Judd Trump, Wu strung together 12 consecutive frames to win 6-4 and then whitewash Barry Hawkins 6-0. Each of those frames contained a break over 60. The question was could he carry that form into his final with experienced 50-year-old Higgins?

Today’s clash was the fourth biggest ever age gap in a ranking final, the biggest was 30 years between Ding Junhui and Steve Davis in the 2005 UK Championship final.

Wu’s previous two final appearances ended in defeat. He lost 9-7 to Neil Robertson in the 2024 English Open final and a few months later was beaten 9-5 by Lei Peifan in the 2024 Scottish Open final.

This win makes Wu the ninth ranking event winner from mainland China and he pockets a £175,000 top prize. That catapults Wu from 22nd to 13th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. He now qualifies automatically for the UK Championship, at Chris Wakelin’s expense.

It’s a disappointing end to a very strong week for 33-time ranking event winner Higgins. He will have to settle for the £75,000 runner-up cheque in his 59th ranking final. His run included a 9-2 win over close friend Stephen Maguire in the semis and a 6-2 defeat of Shaun Murphy in the quarters.

The afternoon session saw Wu dominate large chunks of the play, but Higgins showed his grit and experience to claim the last two frames leave the match in the balance at 5-4 to Wu.

When play got underway this evening, Wu immediately regained the initiative with a break of 87 to go two ahead.

A dramatic 11th frame proved to be a crucial juncture in the match. Higgins had the frame under control when he missed a tricky brown to the left hand baulk corner. After a brief exchange, Wu took on a double which led to a tremendous clearance of 43 to steal on the black and move 7-4 ahead.

Wu compounded that frame with a maximum attempt in the 12th. His run ended on 80, but it left him needing just two frames for glory at 8-4 as they went in for the mid-session.

After play resumed, the next two frames were traded, as Wu moved to the verge of victory at 9-5. Higgins crafted a defiant 53 to make it 9-6, but this evening was Wu’s moment. He went out with a bang, hammering home 108 to get over the line and become the International Champion.

“Honestly, it feels unbelievable. After beating Judd Trump, I started thinking about the whole journey and it was surreal,” said an elated Wu.

“I think one of the good things was that I started both sessions of the final really well. Having a lead helped me to relax. Everything went pretty much the way I wanted.

“It has been a long wait since reaching the final at the Scottish Open and the English Open last year. At times I honestly felt quite desperate, but deep down I always believed I had the ability to win a title. Every day I kept thinking about it. I had a strong will to lift a trophy. That belief carried me through this week.

“My parents are everything. My dad (Wu Jiepin) has been with me since I was a kid, always by my side. He’s helped me so much, especially during difficult times in the UK. I’m so grateful for what he has done for me.”

Higgins said: “I was nowhere near good enough all day. He was striking the ball beautifully. He was by far the better player. It reminded me so much of playing Paul Hunter. The way he gets through the ball and gets so much action on it. He is a brilliant player.

“There’s no point in getting too down. I’ll get home and have a couple of days off before the Champion of Champions. After that it is the Riyadh tournament and then building up to the UK. I’m disappointed with how I played today.

“I’m delighted his mum and dad are here. It brings back memories for me. It could open the floodgates. It goes to show the good hands snooker is in. I’m glad that I’ll probably be retiring in a couple of years with guys like that potting them off the lampshades. He is a total star.”

All the detailed results are on snooker.org

Neil Robertson is the 2025 Saudi Arabia Master

monique — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:55:01 +0000

Neil Robertson has won the first “major” event of the 2025/26 season as he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan by 10-9 in the final of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters. Congratulations Neil!

All Grove players were involved in the tournament except Luca Brecel who withdrew citing health issues.
The event was played at the main venue right from the start which is great.

Wu Yize beat Ashley Hugill by 4-1 and Matthew Stevens by 5-1 before exiting the tournament in the round of 32, losing by 5-3 to Si Jiahui.
Ding entered the tournament in the last 32, where he beat Stephen Maguire by 5-2, but he lost to Barry Hawkins by 6-5 in the next round.
Mark Selby also entered the tournament in the last 32, where he beat Long Zehuang by 5-3. In his next match he faced Neil Robertson, the eventual champion. Mark was beaten by Neil by 6-4 but his 119 break in frame 2 was his 900th career century. He’s only the 5th player in history of the sport to reach this milestone.

As for Neil … he was obviously over the moon to win such a prestigious event. Here is what he had to say after the match: “This surpasses winning the World Championship. I have had to answer a lot of questions like whether I can still beat someone like Ronnie in a final of this magnitude. To beat him here with so much on the line, it’s definitely my best win.” And he added: “I can’t explain what this means to me,” said Robertson. “When I was a kid back in Australia there’s no way I could have dreamed of beating Ronnie in a final like this. The way he played from 7-2 down, it was unbelievable, I barely did anything wrong. Then the brown he knocked in to go 8-8 was incredible. He was unlucky in the last two frames, he had two splits which didn’t go his way. I am so grateful just to share the stage with him and to put on a great match for the people in Saudi. The fans here have certainly got their money’s worth in the last two years! My son will be watching at home, I was trying to stay calm at the end while he would have been jumping up and down on the couch. Mille would have been burying her head in the pillows not able to watch! I am glad that I could be part of something really special. It feels great to be back in this position. Coming here last year I was 28th in the world. Hopefully my story will inspire younger generations because you should never give up, you will get ups and downs but it’s not about how far you fall, it’s about how far you bounce.”

All the detailed results are available on snooker.org

The 2023 World Champion discovers Hong Kong

monique — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 13:17:51 +0000

The reigning World Champion, Luca Brecel, was invited to visit Hong Kong by the General Club, the club that used to host the General Cup, a very high-profile pro-am that saw many top players compete over the years. Accompanied by his girlfriend Laura, and his manager Django Fung, Luca really enjoyed the experience. It was his first visit to Hong Kong. He got to meet the fans, and do exhibition stuff.

Here are pictures, shared by Patsy Cheung, a huge snooker fan and one of the persons involved in the organization of the General Cup in the past.

The last day of the visit was a relaxing one, as Luca, Laura, and Django enjoyed a day at sea…

Happy Days!

Great Interview with Neil ahead of the new season

monique — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 13:56:01 +0000

This very nice interview was published today by Worldsnooker

Thursday 28 Jun 2018 11:15AM

With a new cue and recharged batteries, Neil Robertson is full of optimism as he looks ahead to the 2018/19 season.

We caught up with the 2010 World Champion to ask about his summer break and his targets for the new campaign…

Neil, how are you feeling overall, looking ahead to the new season?

Very happy – I think all of the players really appreciate the fact that we have had a proper break this time, with no tournaments for a couple of months since the World Championship. It’s important to have time to rest and go on holiday with our families, because we spend so much time away at tournaments once the season gets going. I went to New York with (partner) Mille and had a fantastic time, the best holiday we have ever had. We saw all the sights like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, we went to see Phantom of the Opera….just to go to all the places you see on movies and TV shows was incredible. I didn’t pick up my cue for something like five weeks so now I’m coming back to snooker refreshed and really feeling ready and optimistic for the new season. Last summer I went to Australia for a few weeks early in the season but then when I came back I felt as if I was playing catch-up for a long while, and that set me back. My game wasn’t really in a good place until the UK Championship. So this time I don’t need to put myself in that position again. This is the first season for a while where I feel really good from the get-go.

Have you mapped out your season in terms of which events you will play in?

Not exactly, but I know I’ll be playing in all of the Chinese events because the prize money is so high. I’ll try to play as many events as I can, but probably missing a couple of the smaller ones.

Last season you won the Hong Kong Masters and Scottish Open, but finished on a low note when you lost to Robert Milkins in the first round at the Crucible. How do you reflect on that?

It was disappointing because a lot of people judge your season on how well you do in the World Championship. In the second half of the season I found some consistency and had some good runs, I felt my game was in great shape heading to Sheffield. The first round there is very tough for the seeds. The guys who come through the qualifiers come out very positive, confident and enjoying it. They are in great form because they have just won three matches. The days when the seeds would be the big favourites in the first round are gone and I think every year now we will see at least five or six of the top 16 going out. This year there were six – and it could have been more because the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Ali Carter and Anthony McGill won narrowly. In the second round it’s a lot harder for the qualifiers and that’s when you tend to see the best players stepping up. I went into the match thinking Robert might feel nervous and might not play well. My mindset was trying not to lose rather than trying to win, which was a mistake. In the first session he was all over me, he played a great match.

Last season you missed the Masters because you dropped out of the top 16 after the UK Championship. Is one of your goals for the next few months to make sure that doesn’t happen again?

Yes. Last season I was defending the money I won at the 2015 UK Championship. It wasn’t until around October that I really appreciated what I needed to do to stay in the top 16. A little bit of panic started to set in because I knew I needed something like a semi-final run to make sure of my place, but that never happened. I was actually playing pretty well but lost a few deciders or my opponents were flying against me. In the UK Championship Mark Joyce played unbelievably well to beat me in the last 32. The lower ranked players aren’t scared of the top 16 any more. This season I’m in a much better position because I haven’t got much money to defend as I had a poor season in 2016/17. It’s time to take advantage of that and make sure of my Masters place as soon as possible. I actually really enjoyed doing the studio work for Eurosport at Ally Pally and seeing the game from a different perspective, but it’s still not much fun when you are not playing in the tournament.

After that, in February and March, we have the series of the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and the new Tour Championship which are all lucrative events. Are you thinking about the one-year ranking list from the start of the season and trying to make sure of your place in those tournaments?

It’s going to be really tough to get through to the final eight-man event, which is one of the reasons I want to play in as many tournaments as I can this season.

You are playing with a new cue, what was the thinking behind that?

I’d had the previous one for 20 years and I have been suffering with it for the past few seasons. It had lost about 20 percent of the power I had with it six or seven years ago, and there was some damage to it at the top near the tip. It’s a very hard decision to change cues but as there is a bit of a break before the new season starts I felt this was a good time. The new one is from John Parris, it’s ‘one piece’ which again is new for me. So far it feels absolutely fantastic. I’m getting a lot more reaction on the cue ball. Within the first couple of days of using it I had a 147. It has given me a lot of enthusiasm for practice. The next step will be getting used to playing with it in tournaments.

Do you see one player dominating this season or do you think the titles will be shared around?

What Ronnie O’Sullivan did last season was incredible, winning five events. It’s very difficult for anyone to dominate now because so many of the matches are tough. When I was coming through it was a lot easier for the top players to get to the quarter-finals of almost every event, these days you can play well and not even get to the last 32. When the luck goes your way you have to take advantage. At the Scottish Open I played well but still needed the slice of luck against Cao Yupeng in the final to win the title. Without that it would have been a disappointing season for me. When you get to semis and finals you have to convert them into wins, and that’s what the very best players seem to do.

You mentioned your role for Eurosport last season, how much television work do you see yourself doing in the future?

The feedback from Eurosport was good. The chemistry I had with Ronnie and Jimmy White was good, we all had fun with each other. I learned a lot from Ronnie just talking to him off-camera about the game in general. It’s definitely something I want to do when I finish playing, but hopefully I won’t be doing it at the Masters again this season!

The prize money in snooker is higher now than it has ever been, with 13 players last season earning over £300,000. Does that provide extra motivation?

Robertson celebrates with partner Mille and son Alexander after beating Cao Yupeng 9-8 in the 2017 Scottish Open final

It definitely motivates you to play longer. Look at Mark Williams, he was talking about retiring a year ago – though who knows whether he really meant it. Then last season he goes and wins £900,000. The amount of money on offer now is where snooker should be and it’s going to keep growing. Players coming towards the end of their careers are going to want to practise hard and keep going as long as they can, because all you need is a couple of deep runs in tournaments and you can win a lot of money. When we first started going out to China, the first prize was around £30,000. Now it’s more like £150,000 or £200,000 and the top players are going to get excited about that kind of prize. It’s important that the players are well rewarded for winning the big titles. The World Championship winner gets £500,000 next year and that’s amazing. The young players coming into the game can see the opportunities available.

Ahead of his match with John Higgins in Sheffield … meet Jack!

monique — Sat, 28 Apr 2018 07:19:40 +0000

Jack Lisowski is starting his second round match at the Crucible against John Higgins. But who is Jack? Most fans only know the top players and today Hector Nunns in the express published this very nice and insightful article about Jack.

World Snooker Championship: Jack Lisowski ready for last-16 clash with John Higgins

JACK LISOWSKI is ready to make the most of his big Crucible chance on Saturday.

By HECTOR NUNNS

The 26-year-old from Gloucester known as ‘Jackpot’ faces the toughest match of his career against four-time world champion John Higgins on Saturday.
But the world No 30 has already won a far bigger battle having been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager.
That required 16 sessions of chemotherapy over six months, and when it was over the lightning-fast player admits he put enjoying life ahead of the hours of practice.

Jack Lisowski faces four-time world champion John Higgins on Saturday

But Lisowski, long tipped as a future winner, has rededicated himself this season and enjoyed his best campaign since turning pro.
Ahead of his Betfred World Championship last-16 clash in Sheffield, Lisowski said: “It is like the worst five-day hangover after your chemotherapy.
“I had it every Tuesday every two weeks for eight months. And by the end of the eight months you are pretty much a walking zombie, and I looked like garbage. It was horrible.
“I was only 16, and took the decision after being given the choice to be treated as an adult because I didn’t want to see little kids being that ill.”

Jack Lisowski is at a career high ranking of world no30

“You were in a room with 60, 70 and 80 year olds and though I met some amazing people it was a very confusing time.
“I still go for regular check-ups and it is still a factor in my life. I still think about it and it stays with you. You are more alert to things happening in your body.
“It was a very nasty thing to go through and it was behind me being lazy with my snooker for a few years. I was enjoying life, and not willing to do what was required.
“I was doing what made me happy off the table, but my career was going downhill. But 10 years have passed since I was ill, and this year I have really got a grip.
“I knew I needed to sort my game out and I do love snooker and wanted to succeed at it. It had all affected me a lot more than I realised.
“So I have set new goals for my career, and I want to break through and win something now.”
Lisowski beat Higgins 6-2 in their most recent meeting earlier this month at the China Open in Beijing.
And since his only previous Crucible appearance five years ago the Teenage Cancer Trust ambassador has also got married.
He added: “I was a free spirit back then in 2013, and now I have got married and have some responsibilities. I am an adult instead of a little boy.
“I met Jamie in Las Vegas where she was working on an event. It was actually a blind date, Judd Trump had met someone and she brought her friend along.”
“So he lost his wing-man, as we ended up getting together and I ended up marrying my blind date. Normally what happens in Vegas stays there – but not this time!
“She is from Seattle so will go over there for a few weeks with her family after the World Championship, and that is an amazing city.
“But one of the biggest incentives to do well in this tournament is that I might be able to do more for the Teenage Cancer Trust and elevate awareness of what they do.
“It is an incredible organisation that does amazing work. While I was world No 60 I wasn’t much help to them. It is obviously something that is really close to my heart.”

Judd supports CIBC Miracle Day and Jessie May

monique — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 08:00:47 +0000

Judd Trump was at the Canadian Imperial Banking and Commerce Miracle Day in London this week helping raise money for Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home.

Friday 8 Dec 2017 07:06PM

Judd Trump was at the Canadian Imperial Banking and Commerce Miracle Day in London this week helping raise money for Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home.

CIBC Miracle Day has helped to improve the lives of millions of children since it began in 1984, raising $241 million globally.

Jessie May was among the charities supported this year and Trump attended as an ambassador. The profits from the day’s trading will be donated to Jessie May through the CIBC Children’s Foundation.

Trump met traders on the trading floor and took them on in a “pot the black” challenge.

To find out more about CIBC Miracle Day click here and to find out more about Jessie May click here

Source Worldsnooker

Ali Carter joins the Grove

monique — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 07:46:39 +0000

“The Cap’tain” Ali Carter, winner of 4 ranking events and twice a Crucible finalist, has joined the Grove.

About his move to Grove, Ali said:

I’m delighted to sign a full management contract with Django Fung owner of grove leisure. We have been friends for many years and it particular when I went through my toughest ever battle with cancer. We have lots in common and in turn we spoke and both agreed we could both as value to each other if we teamed up.

I’m excited about our future partnership and together I’m sure we can take my career to the next level. I feel reinvigorated and it’s just the change I need.

Django Fung added:

know Ali for many year, he is from Essex and he used to come down to my club in Romford to play. We always get on well and its because of Ali that I have taken up flying. He introduced me to learn from a very good flying school.

We got on so well and its logical that i should manage Ali. We are delighted to have Ali in our academy. Ali is a successful top 16 player, a tournament winner, his experience and presence will be very valuable to Grove and specially to our younger players.

Personally, I’m thrilled to be part of Ali successful career and looking forward to be working with Ali and helping him to achieve whatever he wants to achieve.

Welcome Ali!

English Open 2016 – Judd makes the final (again!)

monique — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 15:50:00 +0000

Judd reached the final of the first event of the Home Nations Series, the English Open 2016, played in Manchester from October 10 to October 17, 2016, his second final in 8 days. He lost by 9-6 to Liang Wenbo. This defeat put an end to a 14 consecutive wins run. Although Judd was certainly disappointed, he should be able to take a lot of positives from the last 3 weeks: he demonstrated outstanding consistency, remarkable stamina and a very solid all-round game. He is now third in the World ranking list.

Most Judd’s matches in this tournament can be found on youtube.

Here is the final:

Other than for Judd’s excellent run, it was a miserable tournament for the Grove team, with none of the other players getting past the last 32. Neil lost at that stage to Xiao Guodong, by 4-3, despite leading 3-0 at a point and making 2 centuries… The only consolation – if there is one – is that Neil wasn’t alone in his fate: Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, Ali Carter, Marco Fu, Kyren Wilson, Stephen Maguire, Anthony McGill … all fell by the wayside at that stage as well, or even earlier.

All detailed results are available on Cuetracker

World Championship 2016 – Qualifiers

monique — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 06:56:49 +0000

Ponds Forge, Sheffield, 6-13 April 2016.
Every player outside the top 16 had to win three matches to qualify for the television stage of the World Championship 2016. This means that, of course, Judd and Neil qualified automatically, but all other Grove players had to compete in Ponds Forge. Only Zhang Anda managed to win his three matches and will play at the Crucible as a qualifier. The players don’t know their opponents yet, the draw will be made today.

All detailed results are on cuetracker.net as usual

The snooker world is honouring Billy O’Connor

monique — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:16:38 +0000

Today, the snooker world took farewell of Billy O’Connor, a talented young snooker player, but more importantly a very nice, selfless and ever brave person.

Worldsnooker pays tribute to Billy

Tuesday 22 Dec 2015 01:28PM

Friends and family of Billy O’Connor gathered in Dagenham today for the funeral of the former England junior captain who sadly died this month at the age of 18.

Snooker players including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stuart Bingham, Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski, Oliver Lines and Sean O’Sullivan were there to remember Billy, whose brave three-year battle with cancer ended on December 9th.

Billy first played snooker at the age of three and first represented England in 2009. He went on to captain the under-16 team when they won the Home Internationals title in 2012.

Last year he organised an 24-hour snooker marathon at Upton Park Snooker Club which raised £11,000 – for more details click here.

He continued to play snooker in between his treatment for illness, and as recently as September reached the last 16 of an EASB Premier Tour event.

Our deepest sympathies go to Billy’s parents Debbie and Barry and all of his family and friends at this sad time.

To read more about him click here

Mark King should have been there as well, as Billy’s family had asked him to be one of the coffin bearers. Mark was playing in the Senior World Championship qualifiers and did ask Worldsnooker if it would be possible to play his last match early so that he could be back in Essex in time to honour Billy. Unfortunately this couldn’t be arranged (and poor Mark lost his last match as well).