NEIL ROBERTSON hit another huge snooker landmark on Tuesday – in front of a one-man audience.
The 43-year-old took on Umut Dikme in qualification for the International Championship at Pond’s Forge in Sheffield.
3
Neil Robertson achieved his 1000th century on Tuesday
3
He celebrated in front of a one-man audience
3
The feat has only been achieved by three other players – including Ronnie O’SullivanCredit: Getty
And while leading 4-1 in the sixth frame, he achieved the 1000th century of his career.
After potting the final ball to confirm a score of 126 in the frame, Robertson walked back to his chair and raised his arms in front of the only spectator in the room.
The Australian became just the fourth player to reach the 1,000 century mark.
Speaking earlier this year, Robertson said: “Well to receive the award, you have to do something really special.
“What was quite surprising was, I think I must’ve been the youngest person receiving the award out of everyone there.
Pluto TV adds FREE snooker television channel starring legend Ronnie O’Sullivan
“So that was really special, to receive it and be around so many people that have achieved special things in their lives… it was very inspiring to see.
“It has to rank right up there [among his top achievements] because for me to get this award, I have to achieve everything in my career first. Without all those achievements, I wouldn’t be able to get it.”
Just five minutes before the ideal time for prime, professional sport of 1am, Chang Bingyu sees out his advantage in the deciding frame to sneak by Noppon Saengkham.
Saengkham needed a perfect ending and snookers but missed a pot on the pink which left him needing too much so offered the concede with a handshake.
The dozen people still here broke into minimum applause.
He’s into the next round!
Latest scores
He misses a simple red off the rest. The lead is 60 with 59 remaining, so Noppon needs snookers.
Noppon Saengkham 3-3 Chang Bingyu (0-60)
Latest scores
The Bingyu lead grows and with 74 remaining, he’s only a few pots away from victory.
Noppon Saengkham 3-3 Chang Bingyu (0-52)
Latest scores
The opening Bingyu break is 31. 107 points remain on the table.
Noppon Saengkham 3-3 Chang Bingyu (0-31)
Latest scores
Incredible clearance from Saengkham and he takes the sixth frame!
We’re headed to a decider after a sensational pink pot saw him get the black back into play off the cushion and leaves a simple roll into the left middle pocket to win the frame by 10 points.
The Jester from Leicester secured a 10-5 victory over the Scotsman as he went one better than the 2023 British Open, where he lost in the final to Mark Williams.
In 2024, World No1 Judd Trump became only the third player in history to reach 1,000 century breaks.
But in the very same match, he was eliminated by Mark Allen following a 5-3 defeat in the quarter-finals.
Trump has never won the British Open and will be looking to add the Clive Everton Trophy to his ever-expanding collection of titles.
Kyren Wilson also features in Cheltenham as he looks to put his poor display at the English Open last week behind him.
There will be no Ronnie O’Sullivan this week after the Rocket withdrew from the competition on medical grounds last Tuesday.
When is the British Open 2025?
The British Open 2025 will begin on Monday, September 22.
The tournament will run up until Sunday, September 28.
The Centaur in Cheltenham will host.
What TV channel is the British Open 2025 on and can it be live streamed?
The British Open 2025 will be broadcast live on ITV4.
You can live stream all the action for FREE via the ITVX app/website.
Alternatively, you can keep up to date with all the action by following SunSport’s live blog.
Hello and welcome to SunSport’s coverage of the Wuhan Open!
Unfortunately we do not have anyone working through the night – or from China – to cover the early games (3am BST).
However, we will keep you updated with all the latest scores as they happen for the later sessions, which start at 7am and 12.30pm BST.
Our first person through the door arrives at 7am and has been tasked with immediately updating this blog with the latest headlines.
Eight matches are due to start in 10 minutes, with a further eight at 7am and then eight more in the final session.
Mark Allen headlines this first session, while the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, defending champion Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong are all in action at different points in the day.
Today’s matches are also a mix of round one holdovers and round two games.
SHAUN MURPHY has given his verdict on where the glamorous Saudi Arabia Masters ranks among snooker’s top tournaments.
He claims that the tournament is still far behind the game’s triple crown events, the traditional peak of the Snooker calendar.
2
Shaun Murphy has revealed that he is not convinced that the Saudi Arabia Masters competes with triple crown events in prestigeCredit: Getty
2
The English snooker player, who has won a triple crown himself, feels that the huge prize money alone still leaves the competition far below the sport’s premier competitionsCredit: Getty
The Saudi event offers some of the sport’s biggest prize pots, with the top players in the world competing for a total prize pool of over £2.3million.
Despite the money being comparable to the prizes on offer in the Snooker World Championships, Murphy feels that the event cannot hold a candle to its more prestigious counterparts.
He told Metro: “I’ve still got one foot in the history camp.
“I still think the history and the legacy of the existing three majors, the Triple Crown events, I think they’re stand alone events.
“This event obviously rivals the World Championship in terms of prize money and it’s a 10-year deal, so it’s got the potential to become in great standing.
“But at the moment, for me, the other three would still be ahead of this one, despite the prize money.”
The winner of the Saudi event will pocket a hefty £500,000 prize, the same on offer at the World Championships.
There is even a £50,000 bounty for any player who manages a 147 break at the tournament, meaning the potential prizes are also very attractive to lower ranked players hoping to pull off a miracle.
But the 43-year-old says that money can only bring the tournament so far when trying to compete with the game’s most established events.
“You can’t buy legacy. The prize money here is massive and we’re all enjoying competing and somebody is going to walk away with £500,000 this week, it’s an amazing opportunity and we’re all very grateful for it.
SHAUN MURPHY Life outside snooker – bullying, religion, golf and music
“But the legacy and how special the Triple Crown events are, you can’t buy that.
“For me, those events are head and shoulders above everything else.”
There are few more qualified to speak on the prestige that comes with the triple crown events, with ‘The Magician’ having won all three, including a World Championship title in 2005.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Ronnie O’Sullivan plays today for a spot in the quarter-finals, while world number one and defending champion Judd Trump was stunned on Tuesday in his round of 32 bout with 68th ranked Oliver Lines.
Zhao Xintong lost his first snooker match for nine months as he fell victim to the Ding Junhui Curse.
Kyren Wilson moved into Sunday’s final of the Shanghai Masters with a superb 10-5 victory over China’s reigning world snooker champion.
The Warrior, 33, scored breaks of 66, 75, 70, 95, 70, 101 and 51 across the 15 frames and crucially claimed all SIX frames in the evening session.
For Xintong, it was a first defeat since losing to Shaun Murphy in the Last 32 of the UK Championship in York on November 23, 2024.
After that loss in the North Yorkshire cathedral city, Xintong won an astonishing 26 matches in a row, which included lifting the Crucible crown in historic scenes for his country.
But Xintong’s Far East homecoming was ruined by the Kettering cueist as he completely flopped in the evening action.
The Cyclone potted breaks of 113, 59, 95 and then a 121 to lead 5-4 in the afternoon but when nighttime came, he was outclassed by the Englishman.
And forget all about the Crucible Curse, which he has to negotiate next spring in Sheffield – the Curse of Ding Junhui struck again in a competitive environment.
This was the 21st time in a row that someone had beaten Ding, 38, and then LOST their next match.
A run that stretches back to John Higgins being the first victim at the Players Championship in February 2024 in Telford.
SOME of the world’s best snooker players return to the table for the highly anticipated 2025 Shanghai Masters – and the seven-day competition promises to be nothing short of thrilling.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s dreams of clinching the title for an unprecedented fifth year in a row got shattered by Judd Trump during the 2024 competition.
1
Judd Trump is the reigning Shanghai Masters championCredit: Getty
The world No 1 dismantled The Rocket in a dominant semi-final, before going on to lift the trophy with an 11-5 win in the showpiece match against Shaun Murphy.
But it was a final that began with an emotional minute’s silence for snooker legend Ray Reardon who sadly passed away after having cancer.
Fast forward a year later, O’Sullivan has been dumped out once again but by Kyren Wilson this time.
And there will certainly be a new winner as reigning champion Judd Trump has also suffered an early exit.
SunSport brings you the full schedule for this year’s Shanghai Masters which has a staggering prize pot awaiting the winner.
When is the Shanghai Masters snooker 2025?
The 2025 Shanghai Masters got underway on Monday, July 28
It will run for seven days and conclude on Sunday, August 3.
Sessions will start at 2:30am BST, 7am BST and 12:30pm BST.
Luwan Gymnasium in Shanghai, China, is the chosen venue for this sensational spectacle.
Judd Trump is the reigning champion after beating Shaun Murphy in last year’s final.
What TV channel is the Shanghai Masters snooker 2025 on and can it be live streamed?
The Shanghai Masters will be broadcast LIVE on TNT Sports
Fans can also stream the action on Discovery+
Alternatively, SunSport will cover the entire action through our live blog.
What is the format?
All matches up to and including the quarter-finals will be played as the best of 11 frames.
The semi-finals will be played as the best of 19 frames.
And the final will be the best of 21 frames.
Shanghai Masters snooker 2025 schedule and results
