O’Sullivan loses to Dort in the Grand Prix, Zhao Xintong loses 1-4 to Higgins
On February 6, 2020, the Snooker World Grand Prix continues. In the last 4 1/8 finals, Higgins defeated Zhao Xintong 4-1, and the Chinese players were wiped out; Trump lost to Karen Wilson 3-4, and the journey of defending the title ended. In the subsequent quarter-finals, O’Sullivan was eliminated 3-5 by Dortmund, and his qualifications for the Players Championship were in a hurry.
The last 4 1/8 finals were played in the local afternoon. Trump and Karen Wilson had been quite contentious in their speech before, so the duel between the two had a touch of gunpowder. In the game, Wilson took the lead to win the match point 3-1, Trump then hit a 100 points and chased the score to 3-3. In the deciding game, the two struggled until the color ball stage. After Wilson scored the difficult coffee ball, he missed a relatively simple blue ball. Trump also failed to score the blue ball and stayed behind. With a simpler chance, Wilson cleared the ball to the pink ball and finally won 4-3. After frequent reversals, “Warrior” Wilson seized an opportunity to rectify his name, and Trump’s journey to defend the title ended.
Higgins won 3 games in a row after a 1-1 draw, defeating “China’s only seedling” Zhao Xintong 4-1. So far the Chinese players have been wiped out in this competition. Williams, who appeared on the stage with gout, was unable to stop Robertson, who scored 100, 100 and 105 points with three strokes to break the 100, and easily swept Williams 4-0. Donaldson scored 2 shots and broke 100, but lost 2-4 to veteran Joe Perry.
In the quarter-finals that started in the evening, O’Sullivan faced Dortmund. This was a world championship-level duel. O’Sullivan has an absolute advantage in the past record of 16 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. These victories also include the 2004 World Championship finals. However, in Cheltenham, Dortmund is the better player. Dortmund scored 70 and 60 points in a single stroke to get a 3-1 lead. O’Sullivan replied with 52 and 102 points to chase the score to 3-3. At the critical moment, Dortmund showed the strength that the world champion should have. He got the match point 4-3 and left no chance for O’Sullivan after getting started in the 8th game. He directly scored 91 points to complete a single game. Zero seal. In the end, Dortmund eliminated O’Sullivan with a score of 5-3.
For O’Sullivan, this defeat is particularly special. After missing the top 4 of the World Grand Prix, O’Sullivan’s single-season ranking will rise to 20th, but he will still be unable to participate in the Players Championship. O’Sullivan needs to win the Welsh Open to ensure his qualification for the Players Championship, otherwise he will have to struggle in the quagmire of a single limited time match full of uncertainty. Once O’Sullivan is absent from the Players Championship, he will also lose his qualification for the Tour Championship. With the postponement of the Indian Open and the Chinese Open, the only games that Osali Text can play in this season will be the Gibraltar Open and the World Championships.
6th (1/8 final + 1/4 final) schedule
J. Trump 3-4 K. Wilson, J. Perry 4-2 S. Donaldson, J. Higgins 4-1 Zhao Xintong, N. Robertson 4-0 M. Williams, G. Dot 5-3
R. O’Sullivan, T. Ford 5-2 G. Wilson
7th (1/4 final + semifinal) schedule
21:00, K. Wilson VS J. Higgins, N. Robertson VS J. Perry
3:00, G. Dort VS T. Ford
