Seeded Condor Reversal Equals 'Crucible Record'
In the opening round of the World Championship, Ryan Day beat Barry Hawkins 10-8 from 5-8 down, a result that meant the seeded player's record of an upset exit in the first round was tied.
Back in 1980, eight seeded players lost their first match, a figure that has appeared in 1992, 2012 and now 2024. That record could be broken, with John Higgins narrowly leading Jamie Jones 5-4 at the end of the first period, while Ronnie O'Sullivan led Jackson Page 8-1. If one of Higgins or O'Sullivan is eliminated, the total number of top-16 seeded players eliminated will reach nine.
If world number one O'Sullivan advances, he will face Welsh's Ryan Day for the sixth time in his career to reach the round of 16. The 44-year-old hasn't won a bout at Crucible since 2014, but he was strong tonight and world No. 15 Hawkins lost his way. Ryan Day has rarely been at his best since winning the British Open earlier last season, but he showed his fighting prowess with a 10-9 win over Donaldson in the final qualifying round and another knockout of 2012 finalist Hawkins.
The theme of the game was a change of momentum, Ryan Day broke four games in a row to take a 5-2 lead, Hawkins launched a crazy counterattack and took an 8-5 lead after responding to the opponent's six-game attack, but Ryan Day fought back in the last five games and then hit the opponent with a wave of five consecutive hits to directly seal the victory. It was a painful end to the season for Londoner Hawkins, who started the season with a victory at the European Masters.
In the second stage, Hawkins started with a strong single-stroke score of 92, 50 and 59 points to win the first four games and take an 8-5 lead. After halftime, Ryan Day broke the cauldron and counterattacked with a single stroke of 78 and 62 points to chase the score to 7-8. In the 16th game, Hawkins played a 33-15 lead when he moved off, and then the defense committed another heinous crime to give the opponent a chance to equalize the score with a single stroke of 68 points.
Toward the end of the 17th inning, Hawkins trailed 37-39 after he couldn't hit the last green ball into the top pocket, and then both teams hit the same ball into the same pocket. In the end, Ryan Day spun hard to fight into the far platform and successfully called the coffee ball, which allowed him to clear the table to take a 9-8 lead. At the beginning of the 18th game, Hawkins fell behind 0-15, and he was not strict in doing safety again, and Ryan Day scored a red ball in the middle table to add a single stroke of 61 points to seal the victory.
Ryan Day, who reached the quarter-finals three times, said after the game: "It's been a long time since I've won a game here and I'm working with coach Thierry Henry. I didn't find my form when I was 5-8 down, but half-time changed everything. I think a lot of the seeded players are out because the top 50 players are at a good level, and even though Robertson didn't make the cut, it's still probably the strongest qualifying squad ever. If I hit a rocket next, it will be a mountain to climb. I'm going home and resting for a few days, hopefully to be ready. He's had a record-breaking professional lifespan – seeing him play so well at 48 makes me think I have a few more years to play. My job is to focus on what I can control. I can't wait to take on him. ”
"I made so many mistakes and we all missed a lot of easy balls," Hawkins said. I had a good momentum at 8-5 but then I lost confidence and the opponent started to rise, so it was a fair game. It's a frustrating way to end the season. The qualifiers are sharp and not afraid of anything – most of them are good enough to finish in the top 16 in terms of quality. ”
At the next table, four-time world champion John Higgins went from 3-1 down to a 5-4 lead over Jones. It will be a crucial game for Higgins, as defeat would mean he will fall out of the seeds at the end of the season, having been one of the elite since 1995.
Jones beat Robertson 10-9 in the final qualifying round, and he opened the game with 118 points to take a 3-1 lead. Higgins responded with a single stroke of 57, 62 and 66 points to blow up four games in a row. But Jones was down 0-38 and scored 82 points in a single stroke to win back the final game. The second phase of the two sides will begin at 3 a.m. on Thursday. (Welcome to click to pay attention to moisturizing AB, please indicate the source for reprinting, thank you)