In the early morning of December 3, Beijing time, the 2023 Snooker British Championship continued. In the first semifinals, "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan eliminated Wafi Ayuri 6-2 to advance to the final. After the provisional world No. 17 Ayuri was out, Ding Junhui, who was temporarily ranked No. 16 in the world, locked up the qualification for the Masters in January next year. Of course, this is also thanks to the help of my good friend O'Sullivan!
The Snooker British Championship is one of the three major snooker events and the oldest important snooker event. Zhou Yuelong, ranked 26th in the world, won two consecutive victories in the previous qualifying round to advance to the main event. In the first round of the main event, Zhou Yuelong defeated the bitter master Robertson 6-2.
In the 1/8 finals, Zhou Yuelong faced 4-time World Champion and 3-time British Champion "Wizard" John Higgins. Higgins eliminated Joe O'Connor 6-3. Higgins' opponent O'Connor had a bye in the first two rounds of qualifying and Oliver Lines in the third round of qualifying, and O'Connor was in extremely hot form during the game.
In this campaign, O'Connor lost one game at the beginning, and then shot two shots to break 100 and one shot of 50+, overtaking the score 3-1. After that, O'Connor won two match points 5-3, and after Lines saved two match points, O'Connor sealed the victory with a single shot of 68, and the overall score was 6-5 to advance.
In the fourth round of qualifying, O'Connor's opponent was Stephen Maguire, who competed for the title with Ding Junhui in the 2019 British Championships. In this game, O'Connor continued his good form and won 6-3 to advance.
But in the first round against Higgins, he missed out on the cut 3-6. Coming to the 1/8 finals, Zhou Yuelong faced the "wizard" Higgins, who had won the British Championship 3 times, and he advanced to the top 8 with a total score of 6-3 with a total score of 50+.
In the 1/4 finals, Zhou Yuelong faced the 7-time British Championship champion "Rocket" O'Sullivan, and when he got the match point 5-4, he was reversed 5-6.
After O'Sullivan reversed Zhou Yuelong, the semifinals ushered in the dark horse Wafi Ayuri, who defeated Zhang Anda 6-4 in the quarterfinals. In this semi-final, O'Sullivan easily advanced to the final 6-2. Due to Ayuri's exit, Ding Junhui returned to No. 16 in the world and locked up the qualification for the Masters.