Noppon Saengkham remains on course for a fourth Crucible appearance following a 10-6 victory over Martin O'Donnell.

2020 Crucible semi-finalist Anthony McGill recovers from 9-7 down to defeat John Astley 10-9 in their third qualifying round tie with crucial breaks of 136 and 98 in the process.

Cao Yupeng, whose sole Crucible appearance to date came back in 2012, defeats Ben Woollaston 10-6 to reach the final qualifying round.

Last Qualifying Round Scores:

 

Anthony McGill (Scotland) 6-3 Cao Yupeng (China)

Noppon Saengkham (Thailand) 4-5 Zhang Anda (China)

Graeme Dott (Scotland) 4-5 Matthew Selt (England)

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand) 5-4 Ricky Walden (England)

Si Jiahui (China) 4-4 Jordan Brown (NI)

Chris Wakelin (China) 6-3 Wu Yize (China)

Fan Zhengyi (China) 5-4 Stephen Maguire (Scotland)

Jak Jones (Wales) 5-4 Barry Hawkins (England)

All seems to be going to the script so far - Andrew Higginson the only player from the first qualifying round still in.

First Round Draw:

 

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) v Pang Junxu (China)

Ding Junhui (China) v Hossein Vafaei (Iran)

Luca Brecel (Belgium) v Ricky Walden (England)

Mark Williams (Wales) v Jimmy Robertson (England)

Judd Trump (England) v Anthony McGill (Scotland)

Jack Lisowski (England) v Noppon Saengkham (Thailand)

Robert Milkins (England) v Joe Perry (England)

Shaun Murphy (England) v Si Jiahui (China)

Mark Allen (NI) v Fan Zhengyi (China)

Stuart Bingham (England) v David Gilbert (England)

Ali Carter (England) v Jak Jones (Wales)

Neil Robertson (Australia) v Wu Yize (China)

Kyren Wilson (England) v Ryan Day (Wales)

John Higgins (Scotland) v David Grace (England)

Gary Wilson (England) v Elliot Slessor (England)

Mark Selby (England) v Matthew Selt (England)

Odds: (Coral)

 

 

Ronnie O’Sullivan 4/1f

Mark Selby 5/1

Judd Trump 13/2

Neil Robertson 15/2

Shaun Murphy 8/1

Kyren Wilson 12/1

Mark Allen 12/1

John Higgins 16/1

Mark Williams 16/1

Ding Junhui 20/1

Ali Carter 33/1

Jack Lisowski 33/1

Anthony McGill 40/1

Luca Brecel 40/1

Stuart Bingham 40/1

David Gilbert 50/1

Gary Wilson 66/1

Hossein Vafaei 66/1

Ryan Day 66/1

Noppon Saengkham 80/1

Ricky Walden 80/1

Robert Milkins 80/1

Pang Junxu 100/1

Fan Zhengyi 125/1

Joe Perry 125/1

Jak Jones 150/1

Matthew Selt 150/1

Si Jiahui 150/1

Wu Yize 150/1

Jimmy Robertson 200/1

David Grace 300/1

Elliot Slessor 300/1

82 break from Ronnie and he leads 7-3

Luca will play the winner of Mark Williams vs Jimmy Robertson.

Results:

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) 10-7 Pang Junxu (China)

Stuart Bingham (England) 10-4 Dave Gilbert (England)

Ali Carter (England) 6-10 Jak Jones (Wales)

Luca Brecel (Belgium) 10-9 Ricky Walden (England)

 

 

Monday 17th

 

Order of Play:

10am

Ding Junhui v Hossein Vafaei **

Mark Allen v Fan Zhengyi

 

2.30pm

Mark Williams v Jimmy Robertson **

John Higgins v David Grace

 

7pm

Robert Milkins v Joe Perry

Mark Allen v Fan Zhengyi **

Luca Brecel up to sixth, Jak Jones up to 40th in the updated provisional end of season rankings.

What has snooker got to do with Just Stop Oil:

 

@1648031171249336339

 

 

A pretty harmless target, that a lot of otherwise unengaged people watch, that'll put the idea of stopping oil in their heads no matter whether they think the protester is an idiot or not.

 

also I guess they were trying to make snooker interesting or something

I was thinking was it because Cazoo are sponsoring the tournament.

Former World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn said sport was an "easy target" after protesters disrupted snooker's World Championship on Monday.

 

One protester covered a table with orange powder - causing a match to be postponed - as another caused a delay by trying to glue herself to the table.

 

A man and a woman have been arrested and remain in custody.

 

Play resumed as normal on Tuesday at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, with increased security and bag searches.

 

The protesters wore T-shirts apparently in support of climate change activists Just Stop Oil, which subsequently posted online to claim responsibility for the disruption to the event.

 

It came two days after animal rights activists delayed the start of the Grand National by getting on to the Aintree course.

 

Just Stop Oil has disrupted a number of sporting events in recent times, with individuals attempting to tie themselves to goalposts during Premier League matches, and a group of protestors invading the track during last year's Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

 

"Am I surprised? Not really," Hearn, who founded promotions company Matchroom Sport, told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. "Sport is such an easy target.

 

"Something that is so accessible like the Crucible. So small, so private - you can reach out and almost shake hands with the players.

 

"In my mind, it didn't do their cause anything but harm. They're not making a point at all. They're just disruptive and when protest is so disruptive that it stops people getting value for money and having bought tickets, they are robbed of that opportunity. It is a form of theft."

Trump vs. McGill should be one of the most interesting matches of the first round and a real challenge for Trump since McGill always plays his best snooker at the World championship.

Four-time World Champion John Higgins produces two centuries in the second session on his way to sealing a 10-3 rout of David Grace for a place in the Last 16.

The winner of Judd Trump/ Anthony McGill will face Lisowski or Noppon.

4-0 Perry.