English Open snooker 2022 LIVE – Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby in action; Ronnie O’Sullivan out

Righto, that’s us done for tonight

Join us again tomorrow at 12.45pm GMT. Thanks for your company, and goodnight.

Judd speaks

He says Thepchaiya’s always been a brilliant player but he’s playing with more confidence now so Judd was under pressure from the get-go. But he thinks that was the best he’s played this week, and says against Thepchaiya, his long potting is so good instead of concentrating on your own game, you’re looking over your shoulder thinking please don’t go for it. He also notes that his opponent played some dreadful shots, especially off the break, and got away with them, so the luck still isn’t going his way, and that this season, it’s the same players – the best players – doing well. The standard is high, and he’s happy to reach another quarter, which tells him he’s doing alright, but hopes to get through it for the first time. For some reason, he says, he’s a best-of-seven specialist, wondering if it’s because he doesn’t like intervals, he just wants to play through.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 2-4 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 4-1 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 4-2 Ryan Day
• John Astley 0-1 Mark Allen
• Luca Brecel 0-0 Jamie Jones

Judd Trump beats Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-2!

He didn’t play that well, partly because he isn’t playing that well, and perhaps also because of what happened the last time these two played. Though I’d not be surprised if he won here, there are others who look more likely; but he’s into the last eight, where he meets Jamie Jones or Luca Brecel.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (76-23)

Judd deposits one of those difficult reds, and that is surely the match. He’s been the better, more tenacious player here – Thepchaiya’s had some good moments and a few good runs, but he doesn’t have Judd’s patience and that’s been the difference here. Judd then batters in a yellow, misses the green, and that’s that.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (45-23)

a mistake from Thepchaiya allows Judd to nick home the red that’s nearest to left corner and he gets position on the black which, when it goes down, frees two more balls. He will still need one of the two reds left on the top cushion, but he’s building a useful lead here.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (29-23)

Up in baulk, Judd foul-misses twice seeking a thin connection on a lone red, so has to change his target and develop one he’d rather have left. No matter: Thepchaiya pushes it back onto the cushion, then Judd misses that same ball again and this frame, already 27 minutes long, isn’t anywhere near resolution. Of the six remianing reds four are on or right above the top rail, one is stuck to the black, and the other has its route to the pocket blocked by them.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (29-11)

And there we go: Thepchaiya misses a difficult one down the side rail with the rest … then raises a hand because he’s been lucky, leaving nowt. Judd, though, has some fortune of his own – he might call it skill – leaving the white in the jaws of the yellow pocket, one roll away from going down. If anything, the reds are even trickier now, close to black cush, but Judd manages to cut home the one that’s nearest to left corner. He can’t, though, see away the next one and … but nor can Thepchaiya!

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (26-11)

Thepchaiya takes on a long diag to right corner, rolling it dead slow … it hits the near knuckle … and somehow drops! The reds are problematic, though, either near cushions or near each other, so converting this into a serious contribution will take some doing.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (25-0)

But this Judd isn’t the Judd who went on the rampage between 2019 and 2021, winning 11 titles – even he knew that wasn’t sustainable – and he can only add 10 points before leaving a red to left corner … that Thepchaiya directs into the knuckle! It doesn’t stay over the bag, but, so we’re back palying safety and again, this is edgy.

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh (15-0)

A tactical start to frame six, then Judd knocks in a red and tucks in behind the yellow. Thepchaiya, though, has absolutely no need to do what he does, missing his escape and leaving a free ball. So off goes Judd, but the table is far from easy, and when he plays for the blue but gets wrong side, he misses the pink to right corner! A reprieve for Thepchaiya, who promptly misses a starter to the same pocket, looking back anxiously as he walks back to his seat; yes mate, you’ve left it, and you’re in big trouble.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 2-4 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 3-0 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 3-2 Ryan Day

Trump 3-2 Un-Nooh

Yup, Thepchaiya does more than enough to get back into the match; his fluctuations have been quite something tonight.

Trump 3-1 Un-Nooh (1-52)

Not in terms of points, but given where the balls are, and obviously as I type that, Thepchaiya runs out of position. No matter, he gets Judd in a nasty reverse-snooker, blue up in baulk and stuck to the white from behind. Judd foul-misses twice then, when he hits, he leaves a third brutal chance to the middle … and again, it’s slotted beautfully.This is another chance for Thepchaiya to close to within one.

Trump 3-1 Un-Nooh (1-30)

That’s more like it! Thepchaiya picks a red to right-middle, hammers brown to yellow pocket, and have those two terrific shots got him back into the match? That’s the thing with him: he can do pretty much anything and everything, he just needs to up his B-game and he’ll be one of the best players around. But taking a pink off the blue spot, he goes to hard and an infelicitous kiss means he’s to play another tricky one to the middle … and it’s there! That’s a great shot, and another on the pink means he’s close to the frame here.

Trump 3-1 Un-Nooh (1-0)

Yeah, Thepchaiya has lost it a bit here. He goes at a long red – fair enough – but he misses it thin, meaning he loses control of the white. This allows Judd to get away, except he then misses a long green and a bit of bad luck – it kisses the white – leaves one to right corner. Thepchaiya, though, suddenly can’t pot anything, missing it by plenty, but another stroke of luck means there’s nothing on for Judd.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 2-2 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 3-0 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 3-1 Ryan Day

Trump 3-1 Un-Nooh

Thepchaiya looks pensive as Judd clears to the black, and well he might. He needs to be playing close to his best to compete with Judd, whereas Judd knows how to do enough to win. He’s one away,

Trump 2-1 Un-Nooh (43-24)

Judd can play much better than this, but he’s doing enough.

Trump 2-1 Un-Nooh (21-24)

Another good starter for Thepchaiya, but he misses the green to left-middle; Judd, though, can only manage one, a poor positional shot ruining what looked for a second like a decent chance. He gets in again, though, soon redeeming a poor green with a decent red. A yellow to right-middle – not unlike the ball Thepchaiya missed on the other side – and though he can’t parlay it into much more, Thepchaiya has gone off the boil here, leaving a long red – he knows he’s in trouble – that Judd deposits in left corner. A tremendous blue takes him round the angles, though, and after a red just about wobbles in, he’s looking decent for a two-frame advantage.

Trump 2-1 Un-Nooh (1-23)

A dreadful break has Thepchaiya with hand over eyes, as the white sits in among the reds. But Judd can only manage one and it’s Thepchaiya who gets in next, forced to pot a succession of excellent balls for 23 before running out of position and playing safe.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 2-1 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 2-0 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 2-0 Ryan Day

Trump 2-1 Un-Nooh

Thepchaiya will be raging at that miscue, but both players look much better than they did in frame one.

Trump 1-1 Un-Nooh (72-27)

A black away from the frame, Judd sees it away easily and he’s looking good now, tonhunting. But as I type, he ends up sticking the red to the pink and instead of trying a double, lays a snooker.

Trump 1-1 Un-Nooh (31-27)

Thepchaiya gets in again and misses a tricky cut-back red, then Judd clatters the white long and dead straight to get himself away. He’s starting to get warm, I think, and with red-blacks disappearing, his opponent will be fearing the worst.

Trump 1-1 Un-Nooh (0-15)

Ooh yeah! Thepchaiya rolls the white almost the full length of the table to get away in frame three – that’s a fine effort – but down on the black a few shots later, he miscues! What a waste! His wry smile says is, I imagine, a lot more moderate than his internal monologue.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 1-1 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 2-0 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 1-0 Ryan Day

Trump 1-1 Un-Nooh

Lovely stuff from Thepchaiya, who missed the final pink that deprives him of a total clearance, but he still disburses a marvellous 129 and this is hotting up!

Trump 1-0 Un-Nooh (0-71)

In co-comms, Uncle Joe can’t believe it when Thepchaiya plays for a black he now needs to attempt with side, when he could easily have gone down for the blue. But he eases in an excellent recovery-cut and quickly sets about making the frame safe.

Trump 1-0 Un-Nooh (0-43)

Thepchaiya gets in while I was taking a comfort break, and he’ll want to do something proper here to eradicate the memory of scrappy first frame he had numerous chances to win. It looks like he’s run out of position early doors, but fine recovery red t the green pocket keeps him going and he’s soon “in and around” the black spot, racking up points.

Around the tables

• Barry Hawkins 1-1 Mark J Williams
• Ashley Hugill 1-0 Martin Gould
• Neil Robertson 1-0 Ryan Day

Trump 1-0 Un-Nooh

And Thepchaiya stays in his seat! That’s a surprise – if he’d potted the blue, he’d only have needed one snooker. But here we are, with Judd in front.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (65-41)

Judd rattles in a decent brown to right corner but can’t get at the blue so plays safe.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (61-41)

Really? Judd plays a poor positional shot off the green but is still on the brown … and it’s indicative of his current state that rather than go at it, he plays safe. Both players are living in their nerves here. This frame has already lasted close to half an hour.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (58-41)

Seeking an ultra-thin cut of red to middle, Judd misses it altogether; can Thepchaiya find a telling safety? Er no: instead he leaves a long to the green pocket … which Judd can’t drain. A succession of decent safeties follow, but then both players miss long pots you’d expect them to handle; Judd is baffled by his, object-ball close to right corner, and he’s punished with a decent safety. He hits well, but allows Thepchaiya to go again … he escapes, and when the potting chance is missed, Judd gets in again! He should clear up here, but this is so edgy now it’s impossible to say what’s going to happen.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (48-37)

Judd nudges out the final red – but too far, so all he can do is knock it behind the black and, with all the colours save the green on their spots, there’s a strong chance that whoever sends it down will go a frame in front.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (28-37)

A classic Judd recovery, a red to left-middle … except he overscrews a touch, making a green to left corner harder than it needed to be … and he misses it! But when Thepchaiya misses one of his own to left-middle – he’s had a fair few chances to take this opener – he leaves Judd a chance that he surely won’t spurn.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (14-37)

Thepchaiya misses a long green and covers a red to left corner … but leaves one to right, which Judd bags. He quickly liberates the black, turning a chance for some points into a chance to take the frame.

Trump 0-0 Un-Nooh (0-36)

Thepchaiya starts in typical style, thundering in an opener to left corner. He races to 13, then plays a poorish shot that leaves him with too shallow an angle on the blue to break the pack. So he plays safe, initiating a high-quality exchange … until Judd, seeking a thin edge on a red, flicks the blue first, and leaves one. Thepschaiya downs it, sees off a fine pink, and he’s in a pretty good spot here.

The boyz are baized

So off we go!

A fun one from earlier

Mopping up the afternoon sesh

• Marco Fu 2-4 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-4 Ashley Hugill
• Anthony McGill 2-4 Shaun Murphy
• Jack Lisowski 2-4 Ali Carter
• Zhao Xintong 0-4 John Astley
• Scott Donaldson 1-4 Luca Brecel

Our main match tonight

Is a belter: Judd Trump v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. They met just a couple of weeks ago in the last eight of the Scottish Open and it was Thepchaiya who brought it home, winning 5-4 on a respotted black. Judd was visibly gutted at the end of that one, and will be desperate to redeem it tonight. Thepchaiya, meanwhile, after almost dropping off the tour, is in pretty decent nick and will fancy his chances of putting in a repeat performance.

Evening all!

And welcome to another evening of glorious snook!

That’s us done for the afternoon

See you again this evening at 6.45pm GMT for a spot of Neil and Judd.

Martin speaks

‘It was good; I enjoyed it,” said Martin. He says he’s played Ronnie a few times but he felt good today, and though Ronnie missed a few balls he wouldn’t normally clearing up in the first frame really settled him down. Fouldsy asks him about how it was practising with Ronnie; he says if you can’t enjoy that, and be inspired by it, you’ve got a problem. In the main, though, he’s concerned with his own performance, though hopes lightening strikes twice: Gary Wilson beat Ronnie for the first time at the Scottish Open and went on to win the title. Asked about his sore knee, Martin says sometimes he can’t walk, but he can’t even blame booze because he hasn’t touched a drop in 18 months – it’s just old age. Anyhow, he’ll meet Pang or Ashley later, and I’d back him to beat either.

Around the tables

• Marco Fu 2-3 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-2 Ashley Hugill
• Matthew Selt 0-4 Mark J Williams

Martin Gould beats Ronnie O’Sllivan 4-1!

What a win! His first against the GOAT in six career meetings, and he faces Pang Junxu or Ashley Hugill next – which is to say he’s got a proper chance of getting somewhere this week!

O’Sullivan 1-3 Gould (7-69)

On 61, Martin runs out of position – there are three reds left, all of them tight to black cush. So Ronnie returns to the table needing two snookers and, forced to develop the remaining balls, leaves a mid-distancer to left corner. Martin boshes it down, and he’s won! Martin has plenty of talent, so can he go on from here?

O’Sullivan 1-3 Gould (7-58)

More good work from Martin, who’s been the perfect mix of aggressive and composed today. He is going to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan for the first time!

O’Sullivan 1-3 Gould (7-11)

Yeah, as I published that last post, Martin plays safe, but a few shots later the table has changed, and when Ronnie tries to send one long to the yellow pocket and misses, he leaves a chance to secure f&m! Can the Pinner Potter pull it off?

O’Sullivan 1-3 Gould (7-4)

Martin misses a starter, just, and Ronnie drains it, risks everything on a tough blue to the green pocket that he gets nowhere near, and when it clobbers the pack, Martin has a chance to edge closer to the line. But though there balls available, the table is not an easy one, so I’d be surprised if this were the final visit of the match.

Around the tables

• Marco Fu 1-3 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-1 Ashley Hugill
• Matthew Selt 0-3 Mark J Williams

O’Sullivan 1-3 Gould

Martin is playing beautifully, but can he hold his nerve?

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (19-68)

Oh, Martin! He misses the next red, Ronnie removes it, and with the rest imposes a nasty snooker tight behind the brown, which is up the table near the side cushion. Martin mustn’t leave a free ball – that cost Elliot Slessor a snooker and the frame against Robertson last evening – he doesn’t, then Ronnie accidentally pots the final red, smashes the blue off the table, and he needs three in a row to avoid elimination!

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (18-63)

Whaaaat?! Gasps from the crowd as Ronnie misses a cut to right corner – I wonder if he got a bad contact there – and red and blue mean Martin is 3-1 up, barring a snooker!

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (18-57)

A good safety from Ronnie leaves Martin with few retaliatory options, and all he can do is leave a nasty one to right-middle; Ronnie clobbers it home, and this would be a colossal pilfer.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (12-57)

Ach, Martin gets an unfriendly kiss coming up the table for the black, but he doesn’t sulk, he plays a telling safety … but is too thick when it yields another chance, not only missing but also bringing the brown into play. Ronnie, though, misses his starter to right corner … but this is genius: he blocks the route to it with the pink, so it costs him nowt.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (12-41)

We learn from Phil Studd that Martin’s felt in good nick for a while, he’s just come up against opponents having a day out against him. I saw him play Mark Allen at the Scottish Open and he did alright in losing 4-2 to the tour’s form player; but he’s much more on it today. Can he convert this lead into the frame?

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould (12-15)

Martin takes on an unlikely cut and misses, but Ronnie only profits to the tune of 12 and when a long one to left corner doesn’t work out, Martin has a chance; he confidently clips a starter to that some bag, sees away the blue, adds another red, and then digs into the pack off the black! This is now a great chance to go two up with three to play!

Around the tables

• Marco Fu 0-2 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-0 Ashley Hugill
• Matthew Selt 0-2 Mark J Williams

O’Sullivan 1-2 Gould

On 78, Ronnie misses a blue and is visibly aggravated – a great sign for us, because it tells us he’s seriously into this match. So are we, old mate, so are we.

O’Sullivan 0-2 Gould (65-0)

We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? In double-quick time, Ronnie eases through the frame, and he’s played alright today, he’s just missed two balls.

O’Sullivan 0-2 Gould (14-0)

Martin’s feeling himself now, spanking a starter to right corner … only for the white to deposit itself in the yellow pocket! He didn’t deserve that, and Ronnie, who’ll be rueing crucial missed reds in each frame, has a chance to do some work.

Around the tables

• Marco Fu 0-2 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-0 Ashley Hugill
• Matthew Selt 0-1 Mark J Williams

O’Sullivan 0-2 Gould

Martin misses a red to the green pocket, but a run of 60 is more than enough for a two-frame lead and he’s halfway to his first-ever win over TMNTPETPUAC!

O’Sullivan 0-1 Gould (7-73)

Martin’s enjoying this, and rightly so. He’s thrown everything at everything so far, had the rub of the green, and it’s paying off!

O’Sullivan 0-1 Gould (7-24)

There are reds scattered all over the show now, which makes you think that whoever gets in first will take the frame. Except Ronnie clobbers a ridiculous red to the green pocket from close to black cush knowing he’ll land on nowt, so he looks to tuck in behind the black. He actually misjudges the shot, which serves him well because Martin plays a different one to the escape he’d otherwise have been forced into and that hands Ronnie an opportunity! But what?! He misses to left-middle, Martin wobbles one that looks wide, but somehow takes the outside knuckle and, played so slowly, it wriggles in! This is now a proper chance for 2-0!

O’Sullivan 0-1 Gould (1-20)

Cueing down the table, Ronnie tries to send a red scooting into right corner, leaves it, and Martin is back in! But after breaking the pack off the black, he’s tight to the cushion and can’t force home his next ball, which Ronnie cuts-back to left corner. He then plays a delicate brown, clipping it fine and fast to the green pocket … only to see the white dash into left corner! There’s nothing on for Martin, but already, this is a really fun match.

Around the tables

• Marco Fu 0-1 Barry Hawkins
• Pang Junxu 1-0 Ashley Hugill
• Matthew Selt 0-1 Mark J Williams

O’Sullivan 0-1 Gould

What a great opening frame that was, and it goes to the underdog by way of burglary! Great stuff!

O’Sullivan 0-0 Gould (67-48)

Martin goes for another ball, a long red to the yellow pocket, misses, but then so does Ronnie; will Martin try rolling it home down the side, white closer to the rail than it? Yes he will and yes he does! That’s a terrific pressure-pot, the black follows, and it can’t be often Ronnie O’Sullivan loses a frame having made a 67, but that looks odds-on now!

O’Sullivan 0-0 Gould (67-35)

Nause, Martin deals with the first cushioned red but then leaves himself on one side of the black, snookered on the other. If he can’t hit it, he’ll need a snooker, but he does, so the chase for it is on.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Gould (67-22)

Martin has clearly decided to go for his shots and go for them properly – rather like the way Stan Wawrinka has done in beating Novak Djokovic in two major finals. But if you do that and miss, you’re in trouble, and Ronnie is quickly taking the frame away from him … but as I type that, he loses the white slightly, has to cut an oblique one to left-middle … it’s frame-ball … and he misses! Can Martin capitalise? There are two reds on the cushions, but points available before he has to deal with them.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Gould (12-7)

But Ronnie soon runs out of position and, rather than take on something risky, he plays safe; this is very different from his performance last afternoon, in a match he knew it was impossible for him to lose. But och, Martin tries to slam in a red close to left corner but also close to the side, he misses, and Ronnie is in again.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Gould (6-7)

Martin has never beaten Ronnie, losing all six matches. But they often practise together, which is to say Ronnie knows Martin can play, and Martin knows Ronnie knows that. He also played brilliantly in the last round, coming back from 0-2 down to beat Gary Wilson, finishing the match with a pair of tons, and in the early stages we can see Ronnie showing him respect, laying a snooker behind the yellow then continuing to play safe. AND HAVE A LOOK! Martin absolutely demolishes a long red to right corner! That is a ludicrous pot and the pink follows, but when it goes back on its spot, it leaves just a red that needs sending long to the yellow pocket … and it’s jawsed. With that, Ronnie is left the table.

Boyz/baize

And Ronnie sprints out. Here we go!

First up today

We’ve got Ronnie O’Sullivan v Martin Gould. That should be a lot of fun, because Ronnie is Ronnie and Martin will not hang about.

Afternoon all!

And welcome to day four of the 2022 English Open!

Follow all the action live from 13:00

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90 seconds of madness from O’Sullivan and Poomjaeng on re-spotted black

A re-spotted black saw O’Sullivan and Poomjaeng serve up some entertaining snooker during their second-round encounter.

The Rocket eventually took the win 4-2, but only after falling two frames behind after a frantic second frame ending in thrilling, and unorthodox, fashion.

With 130th-ranked Poomjaeng a frame up, the two men exchanged errors and fouls in the second, eventually leading to a re-spotted black to decide it.

What followed was 90 seconds of snooker to leave the Brentwood crowd dumbstruck and Eurosport commentators Philip Studd and Alan McManus stunned.

Poomjaeng began with an attempt to smash the black home off the break-off shot, sending it careering round the table.

“Oh my goodness, what is going on? Where is the cue ball?” gasped a shocked McManus.

“Well, all bets are off, aren’t they? It’s snooker, but not as we know it,” remarked Studd.

After a wayward O’Sullivan shot left the black over the corner, Poomjaeng failed to capitalise initially but almost fluked it across the bottom of the table.

“Nearly potted into the opposite corner. It’s all happening!” said Studd.

As O’Sullivan returned to the table, McManus was baffled by the Rocket’s shot choice from a difficult angle.

“He’s going for this, I can’t believe it. He’s going for the double!”

Poomjaeng was finally able to clip home the black to end the chaos and Studd summarised a remarkable sequence of snooker.

“The snooker is almost as frightening as the weather outside.”

‘It’s not a foul is it?!’ – Robertson left stunned by controversial call from referee

But it could easily have been a different outcome after Robertson was called for a dubious foul while he was using the spider to bridge over the blue in the opening frame. Referee Tatiana Woollaston immediately called a foul, much to the Australian’s shock and dismay.

Robertson demonstrated his surprise by asking “on what?” after the decision, before trudging off to leave Slessor an open table with a deficit of just 26. Fortunately for Robertson, his opponent could not capitalise on the opportunity and later let him back in to take the frame en route to the thrashing.

Dave Hendon, on commentary for Eurosport at the time, exclaimed: “Wow! A foul has been called by the eagle-eyed referee, Tatiana Woollaston, but Robertson clearly did not feel it.”

Former world champion Joe Johnson added: “Well, he did not know it. Normally, he would stand up straight away. But an unexpected chance for Slessor.”

Speaking after the match, Robertson complained about the extremely late 10pm start time of the match and also questioned Woollaston’s decision to call the foul on him in the first frame.

“I couldn’t feel one [a foul],” he said in the Eurosport studio.

“Usually, you feel the cue touch but I never felt anything, Tatiana called it a foul.

“It’s not a foul, is it?!” Robertson continued after he was shown various angles of the incident.

How to watch the English Open 2022?

Jimmy White, Alan McManus and Neal Foulds are among the pundits who will provide analysis before, during and after the afternoon and evening sessions.

Daily reports and news will be published online at eurosport.co.uk.

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