Evening all, Reggie here.
Midday we left you with Wilson against Fan in Thursday's first International Championship semi-final. The evening session in Nanjing has finished the job: Chang Bingyu has dumped world number one Zhao Xintong, John Higgins has put Marco Fu away, and Friday's other semi is a proper generational scrap. Away from China, Bucky Souvanthong has double-dipped his way to another Joss NE title, and UK blackball's amateur pathway hits its Grand Final this weekend in Bolton.
NANJING — CHANG'S CENTURY BLITZ SINKS ZHAO
Chang Bingyu beat Zhao Xintong 6–3 in a rematch of August's Wuhan Open final, and he did it the way he does everything at the moment: by filling the scoreboard.
Per the World Snooker Tour and Totally Snookered, Chang opened with centuries of 100, 102 and 115 in successive frames after Zhao had taken the first with a 74. He stretched it to 4–1, Zhao dragged it back to 4–3 with 64 and 113, and Chang closed it with a 58 and a 107. That is four centuries in the match — the second time in three days he has managed that — and 13 tons across his first four ties in Nanjing.
Whatever happens from here, Chang is guaranteed a first visit to the world's top 16 when the rankings update on Monday, and with it an automatic UK Championship seat in York. Zhao, the world number one and defending world champion, is out.
HIGGINS THROUGH — 95TH RANKING SEMI
On the other table, John Higgins beat Marco Fu 6–3 for his first ranking semi-final of the season and the 95th of his career.
Fu, in his first ranking quarter-final since January 2020, led early and briefly at 3–2 with breaks of 84 and 86. Higgins then took the last four frames, with runs of 78, 51, 54 and 70 among seven fifty-plus breaks on the night. The 51-year-old Wizard of Wishaw is one win from a second straight International Championship final after losing to Wu Yize twelve months ago.
He now faces Chang on Friday. "Chang is an incredible talent… He plays like the bags are bin lids," Higgins told WST after watching the centuries fly in on the other table. "He will be tough to stop, but I'm happy with how I'm playing."
WILSON'S TEN IN A ROW; DING DROPS OUT OF THE TOP 16
Earlier, Kyren Wilson made it ten straight wins on the World Snooker Tour by beating Ding Junhui 6–4, and Fan Zhengyi saw off Hossein Vafaei 6–3 for only his second ranking semi-final — his first since winning the 2022 European Masters.
Ding's exit ends any chance of clinging onto the top 16 this week. He was defending £175,000 from his 2024 title here and needed a deep run; instead he heads for UK Championship qualifying. Wilson, fresh from the Northern Ireland Open, meets Fan in Thursday's best-of-17.
Semi-finals (best of 17, two sessions):
- Thursday: Kyren Wilson v Fan Zhengyi — sessions from 06:00 and 11:30 GMT
- Friday: John Higgins v Chang Bingyu — same session times
- Saturday final: best of 19
POOL — SOUVANTHONG WINS JOSS NE OPEN XXXIII
While Nanjing filled the afternoon, the weekend's American nine-ball news finally landed properly. Bucky Souvanthong, top of the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour points list, claimed Stop #7 at Golden Cue Billiards in Albany by double-dipping Yesid Garibello in the true double-elimination final — 9–3 then 7–1 in the shortened second set, per AZ Billiards.
Fifty players chased the $1,500-added Northeast Open. Kiet Mieu took the $500 Second Chance side event the same way, double-dipping Omar Ashiq. Next up for the tour is Stop #8 at Holden Chin's Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead this weekend, 7–8 November.
BLACKBALL — IPA AMATEUR SERIES GRAND FINAL THIS WEEKEND
UK blackball's national amateur pathway reaches its climax at the Royal Sports Lounge in Bolton on 7–8 November. The IPA Amateur Series Grand Final pulls together the top eight from each of fifteen club venues across Scotland, England and Wales — a field of more than a hundred — for an £11,000 prize fund, £4,000 to the winner, and an invitation onto the IPA Professional Tour for 2027.
Last year's Grand Final winner, Jonathan Price, took up professional status for this season. The professionals themselves follow a week later with the IPA Tour Grand Final at the Comis Hotel, 13–15 November. Bracket and live scoring will be on CueScore.
WHERE TO WATCH / LOOK
- Nanjing semis: TNT Sports, HBO Max, WST Play, Huya
- Cherokee Grand Finals TV table: Ultimate Pool USA on YouTube and Facebook (National Shootout was due to run through Wednesday evening Eastern)
- Joss NE and IPA: scores on CueScore; Joss write-ups on AZ Billiards
That's your Wednesday night desk. Thursday morning belongs to Wilson and Fan in Nanjing — I'll be back when the first session settles.
— Reggie
Feature image: “British standard pool table pocket” by Londonguy78, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 3.0.
