Snooker Grand Prix Chaos: Three World Champions Eliminated, Five Chinese Players Reach Last 16, Zhao Xintong Competes

On February 4th Beijing time, the Snooker Hong Kong Grand Prix kicked off fiercely. After a day of intense battles, 8 spots out of 16 matches were decided. The Chinese team performed excellently with five players advancing to the last 16. Meanwhile, three world champions—Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, and Mark Williams—were surprisingly knocked out. Chinese star Ding Junhui fell short, losing 3-5 to last-16 player Hawkins!

In the opening match, the post-90s world champion Kyren Wilson faced the late-blooming Chinese talent Xiao Guodong. As the game progressed, Wilson gradually lost control and was defeated 2-5 by Xiao Guodong, who scored four breaks over 50, resulting in a shocking first-round exit!

World champion Mark Selby faced the dark horse player Slater and initially took a perfect 2-0 lead. However, he then faltered, with inconsistent attacks and loose defense. Slater showed incredible stability and launched a 5-0 scoring streak with combined offensive and defensive play, overturning the match to win 5-2 and advance!

The evergreen 75-year-old world champion Mark Williams played against Chinese player Zhang Anda. Although they were tied 2-2 after four frames, Williams lost momentum afterward, failing to find his rhythm. He quickly dropped three straight frames and was upset 2-5 by Zhang Anda, resulting in a surprising first-round exit!

On this competition day, 8 spots for the last 16 were decided, with the Chinese team securing 5 of them. Those advancing are Xiao Guodong, Zhang Anda, Chang Bingyu, Wu Yize, and Zhou Yuelong. Only Ding Junhui was eliminated. The other three advancing players are Selby, Slater, and Hawkins. Young player Chang Bingyu reached the Scottish Open final this season, showing steady improvement. In the first round, he faced Lisowski, who recently ended his career title drought. Chang fell behind 0-2 early but stayed composed, rallying with a 3-1 scoring burst to tie at 3-3. Lisowski took the seventh frame to put Chang under pressure, but Chang showed great resilience, leveling the match 4-4 in a fierce battle. The deciding frame was intense with chances for both, but Chang edged ahead with a 62-44 win, completing a 5-4 comeback to clinch victory over Lisowski, a huge morale boost!

The Grand Prix continues today. According to the latest schedule, four more Chinese players will compete for spots in the last 16: Zhao Xintong, Si Jiahui, Pang Junxu, and Yuan Sijun. All four face tough opponents, making advancement very challenging, but we hope for some surprises!

Written by / Sports Fiction