2023 Welsh Open (snooker)

Last updated

2023 BetVictor Welsh Open
Tournament information
Dates13–19 February 2023 (2023-02-13 2023-02-19)
Venue Venue Cymru
City Llandudno
CountryWales
Organisation World Snooker Tour
Format Ranking event
Total prize fund£427,000
Winner's share£80,000
Highest breakFlag of England.svg  Shaun Murphy  (ENG) (147)
Final
ChampionFlag of England.svg  Robert Milkins  (ENG)
Runner-upFlag of England.svg  Shaun Murphy  (ENG)
Score9–7
2022
2024

The 2023 Welsh Open (officially the 2023 BetVictor Welsh Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 19 February 2023 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales, [1] marking the first time since the event's inception in 1992 that it was staged elsewhere than Newport or Cardiff. [2] Qualifiers took place from 11 to 13 January 2023 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, [3] although matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings, as well as matches involving two Welsh wild-card entrants, were held over and played at the final venue. [4] Organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by online betting company BetVictor, the tournament was broadcast by BBC Cymru Wales and the BBC Red Button domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by multiple other broadcasters internationally. [5] The winner received £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000. [3]

Contents

The 11th ranking event of the 2022–23 season, the Welsh Open was the fourth and final tournament in the season's Home Nations Series, following the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. [6] It was also the final tournament in the season's BetVictor Series, which carried a £150,000 bonus for the player who won the most cumulative prize money across its eight events. [7] Matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were the best of nine frames. The semi-finals were the best of 11 frames and the final was the best of 17 frames.

Joe Perry was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 9–5 in the 2022 final, [8] but he lost 1–4 to Robbie Williams in the last 32. [9] Robert Milkins defeated Shaun Murphy 9–7 in the final to win his second ranking title, and also secured the BetVictor Series bonus, having won cumulative prize money of £127,000 across the eight tournaments. He advanced from 27th to 16th place in the world rankings after the event. [10] [7]

The event's main stage produced a total of 48 century breaks. Murphy made back-to-back breaks of 145 and 147, the highest of the tournament, in the second and third frames of his last-16 match against Daniel Wells. The 147 was Murphy's seventh maximum break in professional competition. [11]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below: [12]

Main draw

Top half

 
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
 
                  
 
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Joe Perry  (ENG) (1)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Mark Joyce  (ENG)1
 
Flag of England.svg Joe Perry (1)1
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Robbie Williams 4
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Liam Davies  (WAL)0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Robbie Williams  (ENG)4
 
Flag of England.svg Robbie Williams 0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Joe O'Connor 4
 
Flag of England.svg  Stuart Carrington  (ENG)4
 
 
 
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Andy Lee  (HKG)2
 
Flag of England.svg Stuart Carrington 0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Joe O'Connor 4
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  Graeme Dott  (SCO)2
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Joe O'Connor  (ENG)4
 
Flag of England.svg Joe O'Connor 4
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Pang Junxu 5
 
Flag of England.svg  Hammad Miah  (ENG)2
 
 
 
Flag of Ireland.svg  Aaron Hill  (IRL)4
 
Flag of Ireland.svg Aaron Hill 1
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Pang Junxu 4
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Pang Junxu  (CHN)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Kyren Wilson  (ENG) (9)2
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Pang Junxu 4
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Jak Jones 2
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Julien Leclercq  (BEL)4
 
 
 
Ulster Banner.svg  Jordan Brown  (NIR) (24)2
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Julien Leclercq 2
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Jak Jones 4
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Jak Jones  (WAL)4
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Mark Williams  (WAL) (8)3
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Pang Junxu 3
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy (11)6
 
Flag of England.svg  Judd Trump  (ENG) (5)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Louis Heathcote  (ENG)2
 
Flag of England.svg Judd Trump (5)2
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Daniel Wells 4
 
Flag of England.svg  Matthew Selt  (ENG) (27)1
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Daniel Wells  (WAL)4
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Daniel Wells 1
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy (11)4
 
Flag of England.svg  Shaun Murphy  (ENG) (11)4
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Peng Yisong  (CHN)1
 
Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy (11)4
 
 
 
Flag of Scotland.svg Anthony McGill (20)2
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  Anthony McGill  (SCO) (20)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Sam Craigie  (ENG)2
 
Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy (11)5
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yuan Sijun 0
 
Flag of England.svg  David Lilley  (ENG)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Ricky Walden  (ENG) (19)1
 
Flag of England.svg David Lilley 2
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Jack Lisowski (12)4
 
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Ryan Thomerson  (AUS)0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Jack Lisowski  (ENG) (12)4
 
Flag of England.svg Jack Lisowski (12)1
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yuan Sijun 4
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Yuan Sijun  (CHN)4
 
 
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Maguire  (SCO) (28)1
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yuan Sijun 4
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Dominic Dale 1
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Dominic Dale  (WAL)4
 
 
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Neil Robertson  (AUS) (4)0
 

Bottom half

 
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
 
                  
 
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Mark Selby  (ENG) (3)4
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Si Jiahui  (CHN)3
 
Flag of England.svg Mark Selby (3)2
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Robert Milkins (30)4
 
Flag of England.svg  Robert Milkins  (ENG) (30)4
 
 
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  Dean Young  (SCO)2
 
Flag of England.svg Robert Milkins (30)4
 
 
 
Flag of Iran.svg Hossein Vafaei (18)1
 
Flag of England.svg  Barry Hawkins  (ENG) (13)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Ben Woollaston  (ENG)0
 
Flag of England.svg Barry Hawkins (13)3
 
 
 
Flag of Iran.svg Hossein Vafaei (18)4
 
Flag of Iran.svg  Hossein Vafaei  (IRN) (18)4
 
 
 
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ken Doherty  (IRL)1
 
Flag of England.svg Robert Milkins (30)5
 
 
 
Ulster Banner.svg Mark Allen (6)1
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Cao Yupeng  (CHN)4
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Ding Junhui  (CHN) (21)0
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Cao Yupeng 1
 
 
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Luca Brecel (10)4
 
Flag of England.svg  Elliot Slessor  (ENG)0
 
 
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Luca Brecel  (BEL) (10)4
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Luca Brecel (10)2
 
 
 
Ulster Banner.svg Mark Allen (6)4
 
Flag of England.svg  Andy Hicks  (ENG)4
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Wu Yize  (CHN)3
 
Flag of England.svg Andy Hicks 1
 
 
 
Ulster Banner.svg Mark Allen (6)4
 
Flag of England.svg  Mitchell Mann  (ENG)1
 
 
 
Ulster Banner.svg  Mark Allen  (NIR) (6)4
 
Flag of England.svg Robert Milkins (30)6
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tian Pengfei 2
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  John Higgins  (SCO) (7)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Martin Gould  (ENG)0
 
Flag of Scotland.svg John Higgins (7)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Sanderson Lam 3
 
Flag of Egypt.svg  Mohamed Ibrahim  (EGY)2
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Sanderson Lam  (ENG)4
 
Flag of Scotland.svg John Higgins (7)1
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tian Pengfei 4
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Tian Pengfei  (CHN)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Jimmy White  (ENG)2
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tian Pengfei 4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Ali Carter (22)2
 
Flag of England.svg  Ali Carter  (ENG) (22)4
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Ian Martin  (ENG)1
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tian Pengfei 5
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)0
 
Flag of England.svg  Chris Wakelin  (ENG)2
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  David Gilbert  (ENG) (17)4
 
Flag of England.svg David Gilbert (17)3
 
 
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Ben Mertens 4
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Ben Mertens  (BEL)4
 
 
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Jackson Page  (WAL)2
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Ben Mertens 0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)4
 
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Matthew Stevens  (WAL)3
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Rod Lawler  (ENG)4
 
Flag of England.svg Rod Lawler 0
 
 
 
Flag of England.svg Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)4
 
Flag of Scotland.svg  Ross Muir  (SCO)3
 
 
Flag of England.svg  Ronnie O'Sullivan  (ENG) (2)4
 

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: John Pellew
Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wales, 19 February 2023
Shaun Murphy (11)
Flag of England.svg  England
7–9 Robert Milkins (30)
Flag of England.svg  England
Afternoon:61–58, 62–25, 47–67, 70–28, 7–116, 58–68, 27–66, 111–6
Evening: 19–71, 99–0, 62–69, 5–72, 65–16, 0–75, 114–0 (114), 11–72
114Highest break66
1Century breaks0

Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 11 to 13 January 2023 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, England. [13]

Main qualifying

Held-over matches

Matches involving the top 16 seeds and the nominated wild-card players were played at the Venue Cymru. Due to David Gilbert and Hossein Vafaei being late replacements for the 2023 Masters, their matches were also held-over, due to clashing with the scheduled qualifying slot. [13] [14]

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

A total of 48 century breaks were made during the main event. [15]

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 14 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage for the event. [16]

References

  1. "2023 Betvictor Welsh Open". Venue Cymru. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  2. "Welsh Open moves to Llandudno in 2023". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 "BetVictor Welsh Open". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  4. "BetVictor Welsh Open Draw". World Snooker. 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. "How To Watch the BetVictor Welsh Open". World Snooker. 8 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  6. "Home Nations Series - 2023 BetVictor Welsh Open". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Milkins defeats Murphy to win Welsh Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. "Perry beats Trump to win Welsh Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  9. "O'Sullivan, Trump & Higgins progress in Welsh Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  10. "Bob Bonanza: Milkins Wins Title And Bonus". World Snooker. 19 February 2023. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  11. "Murphy Makes 147 In Wales". World Snooker. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  12. "2022–23 Season Prize Money Breakdown" (PDF). WST. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2022.
  13. 1 2 "BetVictor Welsh Open draw". World Snooker Tour. 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022.
  14. "Updated BetVictor Welsh Open Qualifiers Draw". 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023.
  15. "Centuries – BetVictor Welsh Open 2023". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  16. "Centuries – BetVictor Welsh Open 2023 Qualifiers". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.