NANJING — The morning session of the International Championship last 16 is done, and the man who played some of the best snooker of it is on his way home.
Aaron Hill trailed Zhao Xintong 3–0 after the former world champion opened up with a 131, then hit back with a 103 and a 140 clearance in the next four frames. At 4–3 down he had a chance in the eighth, broke down on 41, and a foul from a simple red proved to be his last shot of the match. Zhao won 6–3. Per RTÉ, the 24-year-old Irishman leaves with his game in excellent shape for the UK Championship qualifiers later this month.
Morning session — last 16 finals
- Zhao Xintong 6–3 Aaron Hill — two centuries from Hill (103, 140) weren't enough against Zhao's fast start, which included a 131.
- Hossein Vafaei 6–3 Si Jiahui — Si led 3–1 at the interval, with four breaks over 50 (80, 71, 51, 56). Vafaei then won four frames in a row to reach match point and closed it out with a century in the ninth after Si let a chance slip. He made 107, 102 and 50 in the match, according to Sina's report.
- Chang Bingyu 6–2 Yuan Sijun — three more centuries from Chang, after four against Chris Wakelin in the last 32. That makes seven tons in his last two matches.
- Kyren Wilson 6–5 Oliver Lines — another decider for Wilson in the all-English tie. He went for a maximum in frame six but missed the 12th black.
Live now — afternoon session (started 11:30 GMT)
- Stephen Maguire v Ding Junhui
- Fan Zhengyi v Liam Davies
- Wang Xinbo v Marco Fu
- Mark Williams v John Higgins
Wednesday's quarter-finals
- 06:00 GMT: Maguire or Ding v Kyren Wilson; Fan or Davies v Vafaei
- 11:30 GMT: Wang or Fu v Williams or Higgins; Chang Bingyu v Zhao Xintong
Three-cushion — Yanggu World Cup qualifying rolls on
The second qualifying day is under way at Yanggu Comprehensive Sports Town, with 149 entries for the sixth of seven UMB World Cups this season. Per the UMB, sixteen players came through Monday's groups and eight of the nine best averages were Korean. Kim Dae Hyun led the way at 1.538, with a high run of 12. Ecuador's Luis Aveiga matched Jeong Yeok Geun's 1.395. Cho Myung-woo, seeded through with Merckx, Zanetti, Jaspers and the rest, is still chasing a fourth World Cup win of the season, which nobody has managed since Jaspers in 2008. All matches are on Soop.
Pool — Cherokee's Shootout takes the TV table
- The 28-player National Shootout at the Ultimate Pool USA Grand Finals runs today and tomorrow at Harrah's Cherokee, with every match on the streamed TV table. Scotland's Craig Waddingham is the defending champion.
- The 10-Ball Teams, National Pairs and National Mixed Pairs also start today, per BilliardNews.
- In Monday's League Area Showdown quarter-finals, Jacksonville beat Indianapolis Metro 5–2 and East Tennessee edged Salt Lake City 4–2. The winning area takes $6,000.
- The 8-Ball Teams champions take $112,000, which BilliardNews calls the richest guaranteed payday in league pool. The final is on Saturday.
Amateur scene — Uganda
Per the Daily Monitor, Genesis Ladies Pool Club won for the first time in two seasons in the Nile Special National Pool League. They beat Silverbacks 17–3 and She Scrap Buyers 16–4 at iTaano Arena in Mukono. In the men's league, defending champions Roxberry lost 14–6 to Scrap Buyers in Mbale but stay top at halfway on 41 points, one clear of the same opponents.
Where to follow
Nanjing: TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO Max, WST Play, Huya. Yanggu: Soop, with results from the UMB and Five & Six. Cherokee: the Ultimate Pool USA YouTube channel and DigitalPool brackets.
— Reggie Rutherford
Feature image: “Aaron Hill 2025 (1)” by Andrej146, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication).
