Snooker World Grand Prix 2016: Tuesday Results, Updated Draw and Reaction
Ronnie O’Sullivan fell at the first hurdle in the World Grand Prix at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales, on Tuesday, suffering a shock 4-3 loss to Michael Holt.
The Rocket, who was crowned as the Welsh Open champion last month, recovered from a 3-0 deficit to force a deciding frame, but his opponent was able to hold his nerve and notch a memorable triumph. In another shock, No. 2 seed Neil Robertson was eliminated as he lost to veteran Peter Ebdon in another seven-frame thriller.
Meanwhile top seed John Higgins and third seed Martin Gould avoided any slip-ups, both enjoying comfortable 4-0 wins.
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With a stellar field of 32 players, Day 1 of the competition lived up the excitement. Here’s a reminder of who went through, the matches to come on Wednesday and a recap of how the action panned out in Llandudno on the opening day.
| John Higgins | 4-0 | Stephen Maguire |
| Matthew Selt | 1-4 | Ryan Day |
| Joe Perry | 4-0 | Barry Hawkins |
| Martin Gould | 4-0 | Tian Pengfei |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3-4 | Michael Holt |
| Nathan Robertson | 3-4 | Peter Ebdon |
| Ben Woollaston | 3-4 | Ding Junhui |
| Mark Allen | - | David Grace |
| Judd Trump | vs. | Mark Williams |
| David Gilbert | vs. | Stuart Bingham |
| Mark Selby | vs. | Tom Ford |
| Luca Brecel | vs. | Ali Carter |
| Kyren Wilson | vs. | Jamie Jones |
| Shaun Murphy | vs. | Michael White |
| Liang Wenbo | vs. | Graeme Dott |
| Marco Fu | vs. | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh |
For the full tournament bracket visit the World Snooker website.
O’Sullivan Falls Short in Fightback
O'Sullivan was left to rue an awful start to his match on Tuesday, as a potentially stunning late fightback fell just short. Initially Holt seemed to be on course for one of the most remarkable wins of his career, dominating the first three frames.
Great credit must go to the underdog for the way he began this one, with a break of 88 in the first frame settling him down. Holt then took the second, and when he rattled in a sequence worth 119 in the third, it seemed set to be curtains for O'Sullivan.
But there's a reason the great man is five-time champion of the world, and it was no massive surprise to see him respond. As Matt of ProSnookerBlog noted, O'Sullivan's recently improved attitude towards the game seemed to make a comeback look more likely than it had in the past.
In the blink of an eye it was 3-3, and going into the decider, Holt seemed stunned. But he recovered well, getting among the balls first in the seventh frame and keeping his cool to eliminate one of the game's all-time great players.
Robertson will be desperately disappointed with his efforts on the opening day, as Ebdon ended any title hopes early on.
Seeded second, the Australian was a player expected to go far at the World Grand Prix, but he struggled to find a rhythm throughout. It allowed Ebdon, the 2002 world champion, to cling on gamely, twice coming from a frame down to lead 3-2; he then held drew on his experience when Robertson forced a decider.
As we can see here courtesy of the SnookerRoom, Ebdon's under-pressure 69 in the deciding frame was classy indeed:
Higgins will be eyeing a better performance here after an early elimination at the Welsh Open, and he seemed intent on laying down a marker in his match with Stephen Maguire.
The four-time world champion rattled in a break of 92 in the opening frame, and from there he was in complete control of the contest. Granted, Maguire made errors, but Higgins was ruthless in taking chances, recovering from a 55-point deficit in the third frame to move 3-0 in front.
As Live Snooker reported, afterwards the top seed admitted he felt as though he was playing brilliantly:
Also impressive was third seed Gould, who was equally clinical against Tian Pengfei. Seeded third here, the Englishman was one of the star attractions on Day 1, and he duly delivered with a performance of tremendous quality.
Encouragingly for snooker fans, there are still some of the best players in the field yet to cue off, including reigning champion Judd Trump, who faces Mark Williams in what should be a fascinating contest. Fourth seed Kyren Wilson and 2014 world champion Mark Selby also play their first matches on Day 2.
And with the likes of O'Sullivan and Robertson already out of the running, all of the players left in the hat by Wednesday evening will feel they have a fine chance of making a deep run in this gripping competition.
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