One Seat in the Masters Semi-Finals is Decided! Murphy Scores 120, Defeats World Champion, Ding Junhui Faces Strong Opponent. The first quarter-final of the 2024 Snooker Masters has concluded, with two world champions facing off in a peak confrontation. Ultimately, Shaun Murphy emerged victorious with a 6-2 win over Neil Robertson, securing the first semi-final spot. Next up, China's top player Ding Junhui will take the stage to face the world number one, Judd Trump. In this Snooker Masters tournament, three Chinese players qualified for participation: Ding Junhui, Si Jiahui, and Zhang Anda. However, apart from Ding Junhui, the other two were eliminated in the first round, leaving only Ding to advance to the second round. In the quarter-finals, Shaun Murphy faced off against Neil Robertson. The two have had similar recent form, with Murphy ranked 7th in the world and Robertson at 20th. In the match, the first game saw Robertson take the lead but only score 35 points before giving up the chance, allowing Murphy to step in and secure the first victory with a single shot of 90 points. In the second game, Robertson responded with a single shot of 79 points to level the score. In the third game, both players made some mistakes at the start, but Murphy took the lead through multiple shots and maintained his advantage to win another game with a score of 68-24. In the fourth game, Murphy continued his aggressive play, scoring a single shot of 67 points to win the game 76-0, leading 3-1 into the second half. In…

In the first round of the Snooker Masters, Chinese players experienced both joy and concern. Ding Junhui faced off against Mark Williams in a decisive battle, narrowly advancing with a 6-5 victory. However, due to the eliminations of "Old Ma" (presumably referring to Mark Selby) and John Higgins, as well as the absence of "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan, the "Three Musketeers of '75" bid an early farewell. Si Jiahui lost to Mark Allen with a score of 2-6, while Zhang Anda, who made his debut last, took on world champion Kyren Wilson. As a late bloomer, Zhang Anda is still improving and unafraid of any top player. In fact, he had previously held an advantage over Wilson in their encounters. In the first game, Zhang Anda displayed three consecutive precise long shots, but this did not secure him the win. Kyren Wilson fought back to reverse the situation with a score of 71-59. In the second game, Zhang Anda did not repeat his mistakes, easily scoring 85 points to seal the game without giving Wilson a chance, showing good form. In the third game, Wilson's high-precision long shot impressed even Zhang Anda, but after scoring 63 points, he missed a bottom pocket red ball. Zhang Anda failed to seize the opportunity and returned the favor by missing a bottom pocket shot himself. Wilson completed the super-score, and after a few rounds of struggle, Zhang Anda conceded, with the score at 70-25 in Wilson's favor, allowing Wilson to take the lead. In the fourth game, Zhang Anda attempted another long shot with…

On January 16, 2025, Beijing time, the first round of the World Snooker Masters concluded. Brechel defeated Wakelin 6-3, while Kyren Wilson narrowly won against Zhang Anda with a score of 6-4. Allen beat Si Jiahui 6-2, and Trump easily defeated Hawkins 6-1. Selby swept Carter 6-1, while Ding Junhui made a comeback to defeat Mark Williams 6-5. Murphy eliminated Gary Wilson 6-3, and Robertson won five consecutive games to reverse Higgins 6-5. Thus, the top eight of the Masters have been determined, including Brechel, Kyren Wilson, Allen, Trump, Selby, Ding Junhui, Murphy, and Neil Robertson. In the next round, Murphy will face Robertson, while Selby will take on Allen. Ding Junhui will encounter Trump, and Brechel will compete against Kyren Wilson for a spot in the semifinals. In the first round of the Masters, Brechel, Kyren Wilson, and Allen all performed well and successfully advanced to the top eight. In the match between Brechel and Wakelin, Brechel announced his strong return. The former world champion defeated Wakelin 6-3 with single-stroke scores of 89, 57, and 73 points, and two consecutive victories. The newly crowned world champion only scored two 69-point shots in the game, but he eliminated Chinese snooker star Zhang Anda, who had scored 141 points and three 50+ shots, with a 6-4 victory to advance. Allen, who is currently in great form, defeated Si Jiahui 6-2 with single-stroke scores of 111, 70, 94, and 80 points, and three consecutive victories to enter the top eight. The biggest highlight of this Masters is the gathering of the "Five…

On October 23rd, Beijing time, the fourth day of the Snooker Northern Ireland Open saw the continuation of the 1/16 matches, which were played in a best-of-seven format. The Northern Ireland Open is part of the British Home Series and is the seventh ranking event of the WST World Snooker Tour. The total prize money for the tournament is £550,000, with the champion receiving £100,000 and the runner-up £45,000. Alongside the English Open, Welsh Open, and Scottish Open, these four Home Series events are the backbone of snooker competitions, and the player who finishes first in prize money across these events receives an additional £150,000 bonus. This has attracted 128 top players from around the world to participate, with this year's defending champion being Judd Trump. This year's Home Series competition rules have been innovated, with the top 32 ranked players directly qualifying for the main event as seeded players. The remaining players must compete through one or two rounds of qualifying matches to secure their place in the main event. This change highlights the advantage of higher-ranked players, which is why professional ranking event players take it seriously. In this competition, seven Chinese players - Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Xiao Guodong, Wu Yize, Pang Junxu, Zhou Yuelong, and Lyu Haotian - qualified directly for the main event as seeded players. Another 17 players needed to go through qualifying matches, making a total of 24 Chinese participants. Unfortunately, Chinese star Ding Junhui did not register for the event and was the only top 16 player not to participate. Additionally, snooker…