Shanghai, September 9 (ZXS) -- The 17 World Snooker Shanghai Masters (hereinafter referred to as the "Snooker Shanghai Masters") ended on the evening of the 2023th. In the final held that day, "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Luca Brecel 17-11 to claim his fourth consecutive title in the tournament.
During the seven-day competition, the Chinese players were surprised and delighted. Ding Junhui lost to world champion Neil Robertson and missed the quarterfinals; The 7-year-old won world number three Mark Allen, breaking the big upset of this tournament and becoming China's "only seedling" in the top eight seats.
On September 9, O'Sullivan hit the final of the 17 Shanghai Snooker Masters. Photo by Yin Liqin, reporter of China News Agency
The final of the day became a battle between the top two players in the world snooker rankings. O'Sullivan is currently ranked No. 2023 in the world, while Brecel is the new champion of the 6 World Snooker Championship. In previous professional matches, the two met six times, O'Sullivan won 4-2, slightly advantageous, but the most recent clash was at this year's World Championships, where Brecel defeated O'Sullivan 13-10.
In the match, the two sides went back and forth and entered the halftime with a 7-draw draw. Then O'Sullivan burst out and won three consecutive games with a 2-shot break to win 3:10. Brecel saved the match point and won two consecutive sets to tie the score to 7:9. At the crucial moment, O'Sullivan steadied his position, and after some fighting, finally sealed the championship. This is O'Sullivan's fifth victory and his fourth consecutive title in the event.
In an interview after the game, O'Sullivan said that compared to previous victories, his form was not very stable. "I feel very lucky to win today and I'm excited at the same time," he said. This race has been stumbling along the way, I keep telling myself to calm down and calm down, I'm a very frustrated person, it's a bad feeling. I can't expect to be in good shape all the time, so I keep trying and fighting for opportunities. ”
On September 9, O'Sullivan won the 17 World Snooker Shanghai Masters. Photo by Yin Liqin, reporter of China News Agency
Ding Junhui's most recent professional competition was at the 2023 World Snooker Championships, when he suffered a "round trip". The latest world ranking of snooker shows that Ding Junhui is ranked 17th.
Before the Shanghai Snooker Masters, Ding Junhui admitted that he was not sure of his form, "I think I should maintain a long game condition, I gave up the European Masters and the Champions League at the beginning of the season, and many players will slowly find their rhythm with those two matches." ”
In the first round, Ding Junhui defeated rising star Si Jia Fai 6:2 to win the "China Derby". Ding Junhui summed up the performance after the game and said with a smile that every year he would expect it to be better than last year, but the reality is often more cruel.
In the subsequent 16-8 match, Ding Junhui's form fluctuated, and although he shocked four with a one-shot striking skill, he finally lost to Neil Robertson of the "Melbourne Machine" 5:3 due to too many mistakes and missed the quarterfinals.
If Ding Junhui's performance at this year's Shanghai Snooker Masters is not satisfactory, then Fan Zhengyi is remarkable.
According to the latest world ranking of snooker, Fan Zhengyi ranks 34th. In this tournament, Fan Zhengyi defeated world No. 6 Gary Wilson 2:15 in the first round, and then defeated world number three Mark Allen 6:3 to reach the quarterfinals with a four-game winning streak. But in the end, he lost 1:6 to Robertson, and regret stopped.
Fan Zhengyi is Ding Junhui's junior brother and one of the more promising young players among Chinese snooker players. He became famous at the 2022 European Snooker Masters, where he defeated O'Sullivan 10-9 in the final, becoming the sixth player in Chinese history to win the snooker ranking tournament.
Despite not reaching the semi-finals, Fan still made some gains, saying in a post-match interview: "I beat two of the higher ranked players, which gave me a boost in confidence. If I can play at my best, I can beat anyone. Next, all aspects of training need to be strengthened. (End)