Good morning. Here's the Leicester result I promised you: Neil Robertson, the last man invited, is into Friday's semi-finals. After that there's an India–Pakistan story from the amateur world championships, the first racks in Ho Chi Minh City, and Korea's newest pool partnership.
LEICESTER: ROBERTSON TAKES THE LAST THREE
Neil Robertson beat Jak Jones 6–3 in last night's Group Four final at the Mattioli Arena. He meets Chris Wakelin in the first semi-final on Friday at 7pm.
Robertson was the 16th and final invitation, as TotallySnookered points out: several players had qualified more than once, so the last spot went to the highest-ranked player who hadn't qualified, the world No.3. He hasn't won a professional title since the Saudi Arabia Masters in August 2025. Last night he played like a former champion of this event, which he is: he won it in 2015 and 2019.
How the final went, per the official event report:
- Frames 1–2: Jones won a tense opener by six points, then made an 80 to go 2–0 up.
- Frames 3–5: Robertson won three in a row to lead for the first time, finishing the run with a 130.
- Frame 6: Jones replied with a 133, the highest break of the tournament so far, to make it 3–3.
- Frames 7–9: Robertson took the last three frames with runs the official report lists as 80, 70 and 63.
"Against Jak, I was able to take the momentum and the match away from him, and my break-off caused him a few problems," Robertson said afterwards. "Every time I potted a red, I felt like I could clear the table, and that was the case today." On Wakelin he said: "I love the way he plays, and it's great to see him doing well. He's good for the game."
This is Robertson's eighth Champion of Champions semi-final. Jones goes out after a good day: he had beaten Judd Trump 4–3 in the afternoon.
Today, Group Three (ITV): Shaun Murphy v Ronnie O'Sullivan at 1pm, then world champion Wu Yize v Chang Bingyu, with the group final at 7pm over 11 frames. The last group is on Thursday: Zhao Xintong v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Kyren Wilson v Ali Carter.
INDORE: PAKISTAN'S PLAYERS ARE COMING
The IBSF World Snooker Championships open tomorrow at the Yeshwant Club in Indore, and one entry stands out. Naidunia reports that the Indian government has given visa permission to a Pakistan team. The two countries' cricket teams haven't toured each other for years.
Sunil Bajaj, secretary of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India, told the paper that the government granted the visas at Pakistan's request and described India's sports policy as "very liberal". There are no direct flights between the two countries, so the players, all men, will travel in through a third country.
- The field: about 150 players from more than 30 countries, including the USA, China, England and Bangladesh, playing on 12 tables. Bajaj said around 50 countries had originally agreed to come, but some from Europe and the Middle East have pulled out because of the wars in their regions.
- The money: the prize fund is close to 38 lakh rupees, and the championship will cost close to five crore rupees to stage.
- The schedule (per the IBSF): players' meetings for qualifying on Thursday evening, two best-of-seven qualifying events from Friday, then a 48-player men's main event and the women's event from Tuesday 17 November. Both finals are on Saturday 21 November.
HO CHI MINH CITY: THE No.1 SURVIVES A SCARE
The Universal Open Ho Chi Minh, the $63,000 World Nineball Tour Silver event, broke off at Sniper Billiards Club at 4am UK time. Per the official DigitalPool bracket at about 7.50am GMT:
- Aloysius Yapp 9–7 Wan Kwok Ho. The world No.1 had to win a close one in his opening match.
- Home win: Cao Van Hao beat the Filipino Harry Vergara 9–7, so Vergara drops to the one-loss side.
- Wu Kun Lin 9–8 Luong Van Nam, as close as it gets.
- Olivér Szolnoki 9–4 Ngo Hong Thang. He's still chasing an automatic Mosconi Cup place.
- Mickey Krause and Jerson Cumayas both won 9–0. Robbie Capito beat Nguyen Gia Bao 9–4, Luong Duc Thien beat Liu Nuoen 9–1 and Chu Viet Hoang beat Kouki Sugiyama 9–6.
- Forfeits: Darren Young, John Carlo Miraflor and Zeng Jia Kui Victor are all marked as forfeits in their first-round matches.
Still to come today: Carlo Biado's opener in the session from 10am GMT, and home favourite Duong Quoc Hoang and Philippines Open champion Johann Chua in the 12pm GMT block. Anton Raga and Dennis Orcollo start on Thursday. It streams on WNT TV.
KOREA: SEO SEOA AND GYEONG GYU-MIN MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW
In Yanggu, the President's Cup 9-ball doubles went to Gyeong Gyu-min and Seo Seoa of Incheon. They beat Kim Su-woong and Lim Yun-mi (Seoul) 7–6 in the final, per MK Billiards News. They only teamed up this year. They were runners-up in March, won the Goseong County Governor's Cup in October, and have now won back-to-back national titles.
In the semi-finals they beat defending champions Kim Beom-seo and Jin Hye-ju 7–2. That made up for a 6–8 defeat to the same pair at last month's National Sports Festival. Seo was runner-up at the Women's World 9-Ball Championship in October. The 9-ball singles finals are today, and the three-cushion women's and men's finals close the event on Thursday (SOOP).
ENGLISH BILLIARDS: HALL BACK ON TOP AT LANDYWOOD
Rob Hall won the third EABA ABC event of the season on Sunday at Landywood Snooker Club, beating Peter Sheehan 404–191 in the final with breaks of 233 and 86. Per the EABA, he scored 777 in his 60-minute first-round match and beat Darren Kell in the semi-finals. There were 52 entries, and the next ABC is back at Landywood on 20 December.
USA: $40,000 IN THE MIDDLE
- $40,000 in New Orleans: Tony Chohan and Evan Lunda began their two-day One Pocket money match at Buffalo's Billiards last night (5pm Central). Chohan has won the Buffalo's Pro Classic three times and Lunda is the two-time reigning champion. It's on PoolActionTV, and the result is still to come.
ON THE RADAR
- Today: Champion of Champions Group Three, Leicester (ITV); Ho Chi Minh first round continues (WNT TV); President's Cup 9-ball singles finals, Yanggu
- Thursday: Champion of Champions final group; three-cushion finals in Yanggu (SOOP); IBSF players' meetings in Indore
- Friday: IBSF qualifying begins; Wakelin v Robertson, Champion of Champions semi-final, 7pm (ITV)
- 13–15 Nov: IPA Tour Grand Final, Bolton (scores on CueScore)
- Sunday: Champion of Champions final (best of 19, £150,000 to the winner); Ho Chi Minh final (race to 13)
Robertson only got in as the last invitation and now he's two wins from the trophy. Is he your pick, or does Wakelin's run carry on? Tell us below.
More from Leicester and Ho Chi Minh City later today.
— Reggie
Sources: Champion of Champions Snooker (official), TotallySnookered, snooker.org, Naidunia, International Billiards and Snooker Federation, World Nineball Tour, DigitalPool, Absolute Pool, MK Billiards News, Billiards and Sports, English Amateur Billiards Association, AzBilliards Forums. Feature image: “Neil Robertson 2026 (2)” by Andrej146, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication).
