Welsh Open - Rd 3

Morning Session 

Featured Match – Report Written By Graeme Drayton from The 15 Red Podcast team 

Yan Bingtao v Xiao Guodong 4 – 1 – Highest Breaks 113 – Guodong 121 (Frame 1), 113 (Frame 3)

Xiao Guodong kicked off frame 1, and after Yan Bingtao had played a containing safety shot. Guodong potted a red into the left middle and produced a wonderful century break of 121. It was a superb break with great cue-ball control from the very first shot and his positional play was sublime. He missed the final pink and should have ended the break with a 134, but he had made a sensational start.

 

Frame 2, Guodong potted a brilliant long red into the bottom right corner and was looking strong and better of the two. He came unstuck with the break on 16 as the cue-ball glued itself to the pack of reds forcing him to play safe, he tapped the cue-ball and a little further into the pack. Bingtao left a touching ball allowing Guodong to play the cue-ball back into baulk, the white kissed the green, but he was unlucky not to finish behind the brown. Bingtao was struggling to get his potting game together as Guodong was locked in a 10-minute safety dogfight with the current Masters champion, that was excellent. No one made a mistake. It was Bingtao who committed the first foul when he tried to land dead weight on a red on the bottom cushion and was now 20 – 0 behind. Guodong made his first error presenting Bingtao with a long red which took excellently and gave himself the chance to get some rhythm going, but the break broke down on 25 when he missed a pink into right middle pocket. Guodong missed a red into right corner using the rest, allowing Bingtao in to take advantage but failed to convert as he missed a red into the bottom left corner. The scores were 53 – 20 in Bingtao favour, Guodong missed the red Bingtao had left. Bingtao potted a red into the yellow to get the next break going, but he missed the next red along the bottom cushion while using the rest, and then Guodong missed. This long frame was ebbing and flowing but it was Bingtao who eventually won the frame and levelled the match with another break of 16, when he missed a double, Guodong conceded. Apart from Guodong break of 121 in the first frame and adding to the fact that Bingtao was favourite to win the match, at this stage there was nothing to choose between them.

 

Frame 3, Guodong had played a decent containing safety shot but Bingtao picked out the red just above the black and set about building a frame winning break. After potting the blue, he was left kicking himself, he should have spilt the pack, but he thought there was a loose sticking out at the bottom, but he failed to check it and he was left with nothing to go for, he only scored a disappointing 12. Guodong safety shot was not the best and had left a red over the right middle pocket just begging to be potted which Bingtao did and went to make the second century of the match with a solid 113 break. Bingtao had turned the match around was now leading 2 – 1.

 

Frame 4, after a series of tip-tapping the cue-ball in and around the pack both players agreed on the re-rack. It was the first one of tournament.

 

Frame 4 (Take 2), Guodong made an error with his safety shot, and Bingtao made a nice 65 break but missed a tricky cut on the black with the rest. Guodong potted a red into right corner but messed up the cannon, failing to get onto a colour, he attempted a very risky pink to left corner with the rest and missed. Bingtao could not capitalise and missed an easier red into the opposite corner. The current Masters champion lead 65 – 1. It was Guodong who had the next chance but with a huge defiect the pressure was on and it told as the break came to a halt at 24 when he missed the last red into right middle, but the red finished tight on the baulk cushion with the cue-ball near the black. With the scores now reading at 65 – 25, Guodong needed a snooker. Guodong played an excellent snooker, leaving cue-ball tight in behind the yellow, the red had finished just passed the blue spot. Bingtao escaped, leaving the red safe on the bottom cushion close to pink and black. Guodong nearly got another snooker on the blue but Bingtao could just see the fine edge of the red and left it safe. Then Guodong got one as he once again left the white behind the yellow, but Bingtao again successfully escaped and left it safe. Guodong played safe sending the cue-ball to the baulk end but the red finished over the right corner, Bingtao took a chance but missed it and committing a foul, the cue-ball flicked off the pink and went into the left middle, the red he missed planted the green into the yellow pocket. After potting the red, Guodong potted the blue into the yellow instead of the black (which just was sitting just to left of the pink spot) now he was 30- points behind needing one snooker again which would not have been the case if he had taken the black. He potted the yellow but failed to get a snooker on the green, Bingtao attempted a pot on the green but missed it into the bottom left corner. Guodong’s next shot was a mistake not only did he fail to get the snooker, but he left the green hanging over the left bottom corner which Bingtao cleared and potted the rest of the colours to go one frame away from the last 16. 3 – 1.

 

At the start of frame 5, Guodong was playing some excellent safety shots, Bingtao made a mistake by pushing a red over left corner, Guodong blasted it into the heart of the pocket but cannoned into the black and was unlucky that the cue-ball stopped behind the pack of reds thus snookering him on all colours. He nominated the green which he hit first time but left a slight chance of a pot for Bingtao which he refused to take on. Guodong continued to play some brilliant safety shots, although Bingtao was matching him blow for blow he continued to show resilliance and also showing Bingtao no fear in the gritty battle. And then he forced Bingtao into committing a foul as he missed a fine clip on a red. Bingtao hit the next shot all wrong and cannoned the black which left Guodong an opportunity to build a sizeable break but made his first error of the frame when he missed a red into right corner. Bingtao missed a long red but got a good cue-ball by putting on near the baulk cushion. With all the reds spread out, Guodong was faced with a really difficult safety shot, and again played another excellent safety. Guodong was not giving in easily. The score was 0 – 5 to Guodong, the table was in a mess, with reds all out in the open apart from two on the back cushion, the pink was to the right of its own spot, the black had somehow made its way to the left cushion near the baulk line. The green was neat the baulk cushion and the brown was close to the green pocket. The only colours on their spots were the yellow and blue. Bingtao played safe of a red which in turn hit a red close to it and he dropped into the left bottom corner, he put his hand up to apologise to Guodong. With the break on 17 Bingtao missed a relatively easy red into left corner. Gudong missed a red into the same pocket but left no pot on for Bingtao. As the scores were 17 – 5 to Bingtao, another long session of safety took place. Guodong had played another excellent safety but Bingtao picked out a red that he potted, and now was looking to clinch the match on his visit. He accumulated 54-points bringing his total to 71. Gudong needed snookers with three remaining reds left and made his second error of the frame by leaving a red pottable into the yellow pocket for Bingtao but he failed to convert it. A few moments later, Bingtao took on a double with a red but missed it. Bingtao was then trying to pot from anywhere but the red would not go in for him and Gudong was failing to get the required snookers. Guodong potted a long red into the bottom left corner pocket, but there was still a lot for him to do to pull this frame out of the fire. He produced a break of 14 before playing safe of the last red, he did not snooker Bingtao behind the yellow and he gently potted the red from distance he gently potted the red and Guodong conceded. You couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the 19^th rank Chinese player, who did nothing wrong in the last frame, but Bingtao came through that topsy-tury frame to go through to the last 16 to face Mark Selby.