Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Luca Brecel 9–6 in the 2022 final, but he lost 2–4 to Martin O'Donnell in the last 64. Judd Trump won the event, coming from 1–5 and 3–7 behind in the final to defeat first-time ranking finalist Zhang Anda 9–7. It was Trump's second English Open title and his fifth Home Nations tournament win. It was the 24th ranking title of his career and his first win at a ranking event since claiming the 2022 Turkish Masters 19 months earlier.
The main stage of the event produced 57 century breaks, in addition to the 14 centuries made in qualifying. John Higgins made the tournament's highest break, a 145 in his last-16 match against Oliver Lines.[1]
All matches were played as best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best-of-17-frame match played over two sessions.[6]
Mark Allen (pictured) became the second player, after Neil Robertson in 2013, to win a best-of-seven-frame professional match with four consecutive century breaks.
The held-over qualifiers were played on 2 October, although the matches featuring Mark Williams and Mark Selby—who had contested the 2023 British Open final on 1 October—were moved to 3 October to give the players time to travel and prepare.[15] After winning the invitational 2023 Shanghai Masters two weeks previously,[16] world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan competed in his first ranking tournament of the season. He defeated Andrew Pagett 4–0, but stated that he was suffering from tennis elbow and had to take painkillers to play shots requiring cue power.[17]
World number 73 Sanderson Lam defeated sixth seed Neil Robertson 4–2, meaning that Robertson had failed to progress beyond the last-64 stage of any ranking event in the season to date.[17]John Higgins defeated Marco Fu 4–3, clinching the deciding frame on the colours after a safety battle on the green.[17]Mark Allen made breaks of 104, 127, 114, and 104 as he whitewashed Mostafa Dorgham 4–0, becoming the second player, following Neil Robertson at the 2013 Ruhr Open, to win a best-of-seven-frame match with four consecutive centuries.[18][19]
Ding Junhui appeared for his match against Ma Hailong wearing a brown suit with a bow tie and waistcoat, having forgotten that the Home Nations Series dress code stipulated a black shirt and black trousers. His friend purchased the required attire from a nearby Marks & Spencer, but Ding forfeited the opening frame after missing the match's scheduled start time.[19][20][21] From 1–3 behind at the mid-session interval, Ding won three consecutive frames for a 4–3 victory.[19]Stan Moody, who had turned 17 the previous month and was playing his first season on the professional tour, lost the first two frames against reigning world champion Luca Brecel, but then won three consecutive frames to lead 3–2. Moody made a 121 break in frame four, the highest of his professional career to date. He had an opportunity to win the match in the sixth frame but missed a red while on a break of 30, and Brecel tied the scores at 3–3. Brecel won the 36-minute deciding frame on the pink for a 4–3 victory.[22]
Liu Hongyu, also playing his first season on the tour, came from 1–3 behind to defeat seventh seed Shaun Murphy 4–3, despite having trailed by 57 points in the decider.[22] Selt defeated Michael White 4–3 in a match that featured two centuries and five more half-centuries.[22]Judd Trump whitewashed Sean O’Sullivan 4–0, making a highest break of 102.[22] Eighth seed Kyren Wilson lost 3–4 to Oliver Lines.[23] Williams whitewashed Ian Burns 4–0 in 49 minutes, making a century and three more breaks over 60.[24] Selby advanced with a 4–1 win over Xing Zihao, making a highest break of 127.[24]
Last 64
The round of 64 was played on 3 and 4 October.[25] Brecel attempted a maximum break in the opening frame of his match against Andy Hicks. He potted 15 reds and 15 blacks, but went in-off after potting the yellow, ending the break on 120. Brecel won the match 4–1.[26] Trump defeated Scott Donaldson by the same score, making a 140 break in the third frame.[26] Vafaei made a 76 break to win the deciding frame against Julien Leclercq.[24] The defending champion Selby, playing his ninth match in nine days, lost 2–4 to world number 104 Martin O’Donnell.[26][23] It was the first time O'Donnell had beaten Selby in a professional match, having lost all six of their previous encounters.[27] Lines beat Martin Gould 4–1 and Allen defeated Wu Yize by the same score.[23]
The 13th seed Barry Hawkins made a 134 break while playing Graeme Dott, but lost the match 2–4.[27] Trailing Adam Duffy 2–3, Robert Milkins made a 129 break in the sixth frame and a 64 in the decider to win 4–3.[27] O'Sullivan defeated Page 4–1 in under 50 minutes. The match produced four centuries, three by O'Sullivan and one by Page.[28] Afterwards, O'Sullivan described Page as "a fantastic talent who will win tournaments".[29]Si Jiahui, a 2023 World Championship semi-finalist, whitewashed Fergal O'Brien 4–0.[29] Williams made a 123 break in the opening frame against Xiao Guodong, but Xiao won the next three. However, Williams made breaks of 65, a second 123, and 73 to win 4–3.[29] Liu progressed with a 4–1 win over Joe O'Connor, while Muhammad Asif recovered from 2–3 behind to defeat Fan Zhengyi 4–3, winning the decider on the colours.[29]Elliot Slessor trailed the 14th seed Jack Lisowski 1–2 but won three of the last four frames for a 4–3 victory.[30]
Last 32
Ricky Walden (pictured) trailed 0–3 and was 70 points behind in frame four, but recovered to defeat Graeme Dott 4–3 in the last 32.
The round of 32 was played on 4 and 5 October.[25] Dott won the first three frames against Ricky Walden and took a 70-point lead in the fourth to leave Walden requiring a snooker. However, Walden obtained the foul points he needed after snookering Dott on the pink, and then potted pink and black to win the frame. Walden won frame five, made a 134 break to take the sixth, and won the deciding frame on the pink for a 4–3 victory. Walden later described the win as the best comeback of his career.[31] Trump came from 2–3 behind to defeat Jimmy Robertson in a deciding frame, while He Guoqiang defeated Vafaei, also in a deciding frame.[31] Higgins advanced with a 4–0 whitewash of Mark Davis, who scored only seven points in the match.[32] The 12th seed Milkins lost 1–4 to Yuan Sijun.[32] Selt lost the first two frames against fourth seed Allen, but then won four consecutive frames with breaks including 79, 114, and 72 for a 4–2 victory.[32]
Brecel advanced with a 4–0 whitewash over Muhammad Asif.[33] O’Sullivan played Si, who made a 101 break in the first frame and took a 2–1 lead. O'Sullivan won the next three frames for a 4–2 victory, making his highest break of 78 in the final frame, but afterwards called his performance "awful".[34][33]Ali Carter and Zhou Yuelong progressed with whitewash victories over Kendrick and Lam respectively.[33]Zhang Anda defeated Slessor 4–1 while Ding secured a 4–2 victory over Gary Wilson.[33] Williams made breaks of 111 and 81 as he defeated Emery 4–2, his 11th consecutive professional victory.[33] Liu recovered from 1–3 behind to defeat Chris Wakelin in a deciding frame.[33]
Last 16
The round of 16 was played on 5 October.[25] Second seed Brecel and third seed O'Sullivan both lost at this stage, which meant that O'Sullivan retained the world number one position following the tournament.[35] Facing Ding, Brecel won the first two frames, but Ding then won three consecutive frames to lead 3–2. Brecel forced a decider, but Ding clinched a 4–3 win with a 58 break.[36] O'Sullivan led Zhang 2–1, but Zhang responded with breaks of 97, 50, and 116 to win 4–2.[36] Disturbed by people moving in the crowd, O'Sullivan complained to referee Ben Williams that it felt as if a sponsored walk was taking place at the venue. He bit the tip off his cue at the end of the match and left it on the floor of the arena.[37] Higgins defeated Lines 4–1, making the tournament's highest break of 145 in the opening frame and following it with breaks of 71, 91, and 132.[35][38] Walden lost the first two frames against Selt but then won three in a row to lead 3–2. However, Selt took frame six on the colours and then won the decider for a 4–3 victory.[35] Trump recovered from 1–2 behind to defeat Yuan 4–2, while O’Donnell defeated He by the same score to reach the sixth ranking quarter-final of his career.[35] Williams's winning streak ended when he lost 3–4 to Liu in a match that started after 23:00 BST and finished shortly before 01:30 BST on 6 October. Williams complained on social media about the match's late start time, calling it "crazy" and asking how players could be expected to perform well at that hour.[35][39]
Later rounds
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals were played on 6 October as best of nine frames.[25] All quarter-finalists in the bottom half of the draw were Chinese players.[35] Trump won the 30-minute first frame against Selt, but his opponent tied the scores at 1–1. Trump then won four consecutive frames, making a 137 total clearance in frame four and adding a second century of 103 in the final frame, for a 5–1 victory.[40][41] Higgins made five half-century breaks as he defeated O'Donnell, also by a 5–1 scoreline.[41] Liu won the first three frames against 15th seed Ding, and led 3–1 and 4–2. In the seventh frame, Ding had a 56-point lead, but twice missed pots that would have left Liu requiring snookers. Liu made a 57 clearance to win the match 5–2 and reach his first ranking semi-final.[42] Zhang played Zhou in a match that produced two centuries (both by Zhou) and six other half-centuries. Zhang clinched a 5–4 victory with an 80 break in the deciding frame. He also reached the first ranking semi-final of his 14-year professional career, his previous best performance having been a quarter-final place.[43][42]
Semi finals
Zhang Anda (pictured) defeated fellow Chinese player Liu Hongyu in the semi-finals to reach the first ranking final of his 14-year professional career.
The semi-finals were played on 7 October as best of 11 frames.[25] Higgins competed in his 82nd ranking semi-final, while Trump contested his 55th.[41] Higgins won the opening frame with a 124 break, but Trump won the second on the colours after Higgins made a safety error on the blue. Higgins made breaks of 53 and 137 to lead 3–1 at the mid-session interval, and also won frame five. Trump won the sixth after fluking the brown while escaping from a snooker, but Higgins went 5–2 ahead with a 77 break. Higgins had a chance to clinch the match in frame eight, but missed the yellow to a baulk pocket and Trump cleared to the pink. Trump then made breaks of 88 and 111 to tie the scores at 5–5. A 68 break helped Trump win the decider for a 6–5 victory. "Early in the game I was tense and trying too hard, then from 5–2 I changed my mindset and relaxed", Trump commented. He also stated that support from the crowd when he was 4–5 behind "inspired me to put on a show for them".[44][45]
In the other semi-final, Zhang played Liu. Zhang trailed by 46 points in the opening frame, but won it with a 59 clearance. He also won the next three frames to go 4–0 ahead at the mid-session interval. Liu won frame five after Zhang missed a pot on the last red, but Zhang made a 52 break in the sixth to go 5–1 ahead. Liu made a 68 break to win the seventh, but Zhang clinched a 6–2 win with breaks of 31 and 46 in frame eight.[43] "I’m not feeling surprised, this wasn’t unexpected for me", commented Zhang about reaching the final. He added: "This is what I have been trying to achieve for years and I’ve put in a lot of effort".[43]
Final
Judd Trump (pictured) won the tournament for the second time. It was the 24th ranking title of his career and his first in 19 months.
The final was played on 8 October as best of 17 frames between fifth seed Trump and world number 57 Zhang.[25] Zhang was competing in his first ranking final, while Trump was contesting his 39th.[44][43] The first two frames were shared, but Trump scored just one point in the next three frames as Zhang made breaks including 85 and 128 to lead 4–1. Trump miscued in the sixth frame while attempting a pot on a red, and Zhang extended his lead to 5–1. However, Trump won the last two frames of the afternoon session with breaks of 56 and 120, reducing Zhang's lead to two frames at 5–3.[46][47] Between sessions, Trump had tournament director Paul Collier replace his cue tip and remained at the venue practicing with it rather than returning to his hotel.[48]
Zhang began the evening session with breaks of 109 and 98 to lead 7–3. He had a chance to win frame 11, but missed a pot on the blue to the middle pocket. Trump then won six consecutive frames, including a 135 total clearance in frame 12, to win the match 9–7 and secure his second English Open title, having previously won the tournament in 2020. It was Trump's fifth win at a Home Nations Series event, his 24th ranking title, and his first win at a ranking event since the 2022 Turkish Masters 19 months previously.[49] "I was up against it the whole day", commented Trump afterwards. "In the end I managed to find some momentum and clawed it back. Zhang played well until 7–3 and put me under a lot of pressure, it was only when he missed a couple that I started to turn it round".[49] "When I was 7–3 up I missed a blue in the middle pocket and Judd came back like a monster", said Zhang.[50] Despite his loss in the final, Zhang received £35,000 as runner-up, the biggest prize of his career to date, and advanced from number 57 to number 40 in the world rankings.[49]
Main draw
The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners.
Qualification for the tournament took place from 6 to 8 September at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, although matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings were held over to be played at the final venue. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners.[14][51][52]
Brentwood
One pre-qualifying match between two English wildcards was played in Brentwood on 2 October. Result as follows:[52][6]
Ryan Davies(ENG)4–2 Bradley Cowdroy (ENG)
The results of the held over matches played in Brentwood on 2 October are as follows:[52][6]
Three held over matches were played on 3 October, two of which were rescheduled because Mark Selby and Mark Williams played the final of the British Open on 1 October. Results as follows:[15]
_logo.jpg){kind=logo}
_2014-02-01_18_(cropped).jpg)
