The 2023-24 Snooker World Championship Qualifying Tournament has entered a fierce decisive stage, in which Chinese players Lu Haotian and Zhou Yuelong have attracted much attention. In the promotion round, Lu Haotian and Zhou Yuelong had very different fates, showing the stark contrast between their skills and strategies.
Let's focus on Lu Haotian's game. Lu Haotian showed excellent skill and consistent mentality against Jenson Kendrick. He not only scored two shots to break the 100 points, but also scored four consecutive shots with a high score of more than 50 points, defeated his opponent with a total score of 10-7, and successfully advanced to the main draw of the World Championships. Lu Haotian's outstanding performance in this game not only showed his high-level skills, but also reflected his precise control of the game and strong psychological quality.
On the other hand, Zhou Yuelong's performance was more volatile. While he swept past James Cahill with a stunning 10-0 score in his previous matchup, he looked a little struggling against Jack Jones. Early in the game, Jones hit two consecutive shots to go over 50 and quickly take a 2-0 lead. Although Zhou Yuelong once overtook the score to 4-2 with four consecutive wins, he has not been able to maintain this momentum since then. Jones scored high scores in the next three games in a row, and finally ended the first stage 5-4, and showed a stronger offensive in the second stage, winning five games in a row to end the game 10-4, and Zhou Yuelong unfortunately lost.
This season's qualifying tournament once again demonstrated the unpredictability of the snooker arena and the technical differences between the players. The performances of Lu Haotian and Zhou Yuelong are in stark contrast, and Lu Haotian's stability and Jones's explosiveness have added to the highlights of this World Championships. Zhou's failure to qualify reminded him that maintaining mental stability and continuous improvement in skill are the keys to success in the high-level international arena.