Live now! Snooker Grand Prix schedule: Round of 16 to be decided, Si Jiahui takes the stage & Zhao Xintong faces tough challenge

On February 4th Beijing time, the first round of the Snooker Grand Prix is underway. According to the latest schedule, the full lineup for the last 16 will be determined today with 8 matches planned. These matches are split into two sessions, and we still have 4 players yet to compete. Si Jiahui will kick off at 1 PM, followed by three more players in the evening. Zhao Xintong’s match against Higgins is attracting significant attention!

During the previous match day, the Chinese team had a spectacular home performance, with 6 players competing and achieving an impressive 5 wins and 1 loss. This is truly rare, though it was disappointing that only Ding Junhui lost his match. Such a strong record shows great momentum towards challenging for the championship. Today, the remaining four players competing in the first round are Si Jiahui, Zhao Xintong, Yuan Sijun, and Pang Junxu!

Si Jiahui will start at 1 PM against Gary Wilson. Although Wilson is not a top-tier player, he is tough to beat, having won a ranking tournament before. His defensive style will put pressure on Si Jiahui, so Si will face a real test and needs to hold firm. At the same time, three other matches will begin, including the Rocket O'Sullivan making an appearance. The four matches at 1 PM are already underway!

At 7 PM, four more matches will start, featuring three of our players. The new World Championship winner Zhao Xintong will face the evergreen Higgins in what promises to be a tough battle. It’s worth noting that Higgins recently reached the Masters final and is the most formidable and consistent of the “Big Three” from ’75, making qualification extremely challenging. Yuan Sijun will take on world number one Trump, who just won the German Masters, ending a 14-month title drought and is currently in great form. Trump’s strength far surpasses Yuan’s, so Yuan is likely to be eliminated. Pang Junxu will play Murphy, a world champion who recently finished runner-up at the German Masters. Murphy is very strong and particularly skilled against Chinese players. Pang will need to slow down the pace and wear down his opponent’s momentum to have a chance!

Written by / Sports Novels