The qualifying rounds for the 2025 northern Ireland open concluded yesterday, and World Snooker Tour (WST) has published a report.
Brecel Notches First Win
Luca Brecel registered his first win of the season by beating Liam Davies 4-0 to qualify for the final stages of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
…
After skipping the first few ranking events of the campaign,Brecel made his return at the xi’an grand Prix qualifiers but conceded his tie with Sunny Akani when 2-0 behind. This time the 2023 World Champion stuck to the task and completed a whitewash over Davies with top breaks of 79 and 52. Brecel, who lies 41st in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, will head to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast next month for the televised stages.
Steven Hallworth, who enjoyed a career-high payday at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters by reaching the last 32, scored another impressive win with a 4-3 defeat of Matthew Stevens. From 3-2 down, Hallworth fired breaks of 136 and 64 in the last two frames.
Two-time ranking event winner Anthony McGill could be in danger of relegation later in the season,so a 4-1 win over Alexander Ursenbacher,with a top run of 88,was a much-needed boost. Robert Milkins also needs positive results to keep his tour card and he saw off Patrick Whelan 4-2. Ben woollaston closed with a 109 in a 4-0 win over Mateusz Baranowski.
Liam Pullen made a career-high break of 143 but still lost 4-2 to Long Zehuang.
Detailed results are available on snooker.org.
it appears the WST reporter remained on-site until most matches concluded yesterday.
Among the results not highlighted above is Ashley Hugill’s 4-3 win over Ricky Walden, playing as an amateur. Walden, a former top 16 player, has seen his career hampered by recurring back injuries. This is unfortunate, as Walden is a beautiful player to watch and clearly loves the sport. he also intensely dislikes losing – it’s best to give him space for a few hours after a defeat!
The Hallworth v Stevens match was a good contest, and I’m pleased with the outcome. Steven Hallworth excels in his role with Eurosport/TNT, and I believe this benefits him. He isn’t solely reliant on tournament results for income, and his studio work likely helps him process defeats and move forward.