Monday lunchtime, 2 November 2026
Afternoon, all. This morning I asked who'd get through between Neil Robertson and Wang Xinbo. It was the 18-year-old, and it wasn't luck: Wang made two centuries in a row and closed it out with an 84. Ding Junhui had a much bumpier morning, but he's still in the International Championship after a deciding frame that lasted more than 40 minutes.
Wang sends Robertson home
Wang, ranked 105th, beat the world number three 6–4 in the last 32 in Nanjing. Last time out he beat Jak Jones, and this was better. Wang won the opening frame, and Robertson made a 95 and a 112 on his way to a 3–2 lead. Then Wang won three frames in a row to go 5–3 up, including back-to-back centuries of 131 and 124, per TNT Sports. Robertson made a 70 to pull one back, but an 84 from Wang settled it in frame ten.
That means Robertson and Mark Selby, two former world champions, both went out this morning. Wang plays Marco Fu in the last 16 on Tuesday. Fu, ranked 70th, beat Julien Leclercq 6–3. A teenager playing one of the most experienced players left in the draw is going to be fun to watch.
Ding survives a tip scare and a 40-minute decider
Ding started like he'd be done by mid-session. He made 75 and 51 to lead 2–0 and was 93–0 up in the third when he miscued badly on a simple black off its spot. Per TNT Sports he checked his tip and then spoke to the referee before leaving the arena. He still led 3–0, but after that he looked a different player.
Zhang Anda, who won his first ranking title at this event three years ago, made a 106 and then won four frames in a row, including a 132 and a 78, to lead 5–4. Ding forced the decider with a 97, his best break of the match. In the decider, per Totally Snookered, he came from behind, fluked the last yellow and cleared the colours to win by a single point, 6–5 on the final black.
There's more riding on this week for Ding than one match. He's defending the £175,000 he won here two years ago. Totally Snookered says that unless he reaches Saturday's final, he's projected to drop out of the top 16 from 15th, which would mean qualifying for the UK Championship. Next he plays the winner of Wu Yize v Stephen Maguire.
The rest of the 06:00 GMT session
- Si Jiahui 6–0 Liu Hongyu: two centuries and four more breaks over 60, per the WST results service. Si plays Hossein Vafaei next.
- John Higgins 6–2 Xu Si: after a 146 in the opening frame. That sets up Higgins v Mark Williams on Tuesday.
- Marco Fu 6–3 Julien Leclercq
In play now: the 11:30 GMT session
These are live snapshots at about 12:20 GMT, so they're still early:
- Wu Yize 2–0 Stephen Maguire
- Ryan Day 0–1 Kyren Wilson
- Chris Wakelin 0–2 Chang Bingyu
- Aaron Hill 1–1 Daniel Wells
- Sam Craigie 0–2 Zhao Xintong
Tuesday's last 16 (best of 11)
- Wu Yize or Stephen Maguire v Ding Junhui
- Oliver Lines v Ryan Day or Kyren Wilson
- Fan Zhengyi v Liam Davies
- Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei
- Wang Xinbo v Marco Fu
- Mark Williams v John Higgins
- Yuan Sijun v Chris Wakelin or Chang Bingyu
- Aaron Hill or Daniel Wells v Sam Craigie or Zhao Xintong
The quarter-finals are on Wednesday, the semi-finals are best of 17, and the final next Saturday is best of 19. The winner gets £175,000.
Three-cushion: Yanggu qualifying is under way
The UMB World Cup in Yanggu started this morning with the first pre-qualifying round, which is played to 30 points. Per the UMB timetable, qualifying runs until Thursday, the 32-player main event starts on Friday 6 November, and the knockout rounds and final are next weekend. Cho Myung-woo and Heo Jung-han are seeded into the main draw. Choi Wan-young and Kim Haeng-jik have organiser wildcards. I'll bring you names once the seeds are playing.
Where to watch
- Nanjing snooker: TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK, Eurosport across much of Europe, and WST Play elsewhere. Live scores are on the WST match centre.
- Yanggu three-cushion: every match streamed on Soop, per the UMB.
Coming up
- Snooker: Champion of Champions in Leicester, 9 to 15 November.
- Korean pro carom: the PBA Team League's fourth round runs to 8 November, and the sixth PBA and LPBA individual tour events follow later this month.
Was Wang's back-to-back centuries the best thing you've seen this week, or are you sticking with Un-Nooh's 147? And can he beat Marco Fu tomorrow? Let me know below.
— Reggie
Feature image: “Neil Robertson 2026 (1)” (Neil Robertson at the German Masters 2026) by Andrej146, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication).
