World Snooker Championship 2016 Results: Wednesday's Scores and Updated Schedule
Ding Junhui edged out Martin Gould 10-8 in a remarkable match at the 2016 World Snooker Championship on Wednesday to progress to the second round.
The Chinese player got off to a flying start in his first-round match against Gould, but he was reeled in impressively by the Englishman and finished the morning session just 5-4 ahead before having to come from behind to claim victory in the evening.
Meanwhile, Mark Allen wrapped up his opening-round match against debutant Mitchell Mann in no time, winning all four frames on Wednesday morning to convert his 6-3 lead into a 10-3 victory.
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In the afternoon, Barry Hawkins advanced to the next round as he completed a 10-5 victory over Zhang Anda before Liang Wenbo took a healthy overnight lead against Judd Trump.
Here's a look at the results and remaining schedule for Wednesday's action:
| Morning Session (10 a.m. BST) | ||
| Martin Gould | 4-5 | Ding Junhui |
| Mark Allen | 10-3 | Mitchell Mann |
| Afternoon Session (2:30 p.m. BST) | ||
| Judd Trump | 3-6 | Liang Wenbo |
| Barry Hawkins | 10-5 | Zhang Anda |
| Evening Session (7 p.m. BST) | ||
| Martin Gould | 8-10 | Ding Junhui |
| Joe Perry | 4-5 | Kyren Wilson |
Evening Recap
As Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart noted, Gould started the evening session where he left off from the morning:
Gould edged even closer to victory when Ding missed a swerve shot after a break of 65, which allowed the Englishman to steal and claim an 8-6 lead.
As Live Snooker revealed, Ding did not take the setback lying down:
The 29-year-old built up a further head of steam in the next frame when he came from 41 down to win thanks to an 86 break, and an even ton in the 18th frame finally put him ahead once more.
From there, there would only be one winner. Live Snooker shared the stats from the thrilling match:
Kyren Wilson and Joe Perry also featured in the evening session, and it was the former who took the narrowest of leads overnight.
It was Perry who raced to a 2-0 lead early in the contest, as Live Snooker noted:
The latter break handed him the frame by the tightest of margins, with Wilson having accumulated 60 points himself.
An incredible 130 clearance helped Wilson cut the deficit only for it to be restored by Perry heading into the interval, and the players went through the same routine straight after, per World Snooker:
The 24-year-old enjoyed a stunning finish to the match, as he romped to victory in three successive frames to lead at the close of play.
If he can maintain his momentum, he'll stand an excellent chance of upsetting Perry, but the more experienced Gentleman will have time to regain his composure overnight, so it will be a difficult task indeed.
Afternoon Recap
Wenbo started in magnificent fashion as he crashed home 117 and 107 breaks in the opening two frames, with Trump unable to get on the board at all in either one.
Breaks of 58 and 86 brought the 26-year-old back into the thrilling contest, per World Snooker:
An excellent pot of the red along the top cushion helped spur Wenbo to break Trump's run, and in a hotly contested sixth, he emerged on top to restore his two-frame lead. The Englishman again fought back, this time thanks to a slice of luck, as Live Snooker noted:
A third ton for Wenbo guaranteed him the lead heading into Thursday's session, and he ensured it would be a strong one by fighting back to close out the final frame of the day.
Hawkins kicked off the match with a comfortable 6-3 lead over Wenbo and did not let slip his advantage. The pair alternated frames, as the Englishman moved within two of victory at 8-4 before the Chinese player snatched the hard-fought 13th frame 76-47 prior to the interval.
Perhaps because of the break in play, Zhang was unable to build the momentum he needed from that frame and in fact did not get on the board for the remainder of the match, as Hawkins closed it out in some style.
Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart detailed the final frame after a break of 55 helped him take a 9-5 lead:
As he noted, Hawkins will take on Ronnie O'Sullivan next in a rematch of the 2013 final at the Crucible—one the latter won relatively comfortably.
Nevertheless, the Hawk is playing well, so it could be a thrilling contest, one in which he has the chance to upset the odds.
Morning Recap
Ding barely gave Gould a chance in the opening two frames as he produced breaks of 90 and 110 to move 2-0 ahead.
The world No. 12 then finally got into the balls with a terrific long blue in the third frame and constructed an excellent break of 65 to move within a whisker of claiming the stanza in a single visit.
To Gould's great relief Ding then missed a black after bad contact on the pink as he attempted to steal the frame, and the German Masters winner got himself on the scoreboard.
China's Ding reestablished his two-frame lead before the mid-session interval and then produced an excellent visit of 87 to go 4-1 ahead after Gould handed him the opportunity with a miss on an easy red, per Live Snooker:
Gould, though, then produced his own impressive break of 64 to move back within two before edging a lengthy, safety-filled seventh frame for 4-3, per BBC Snooker:
Another visit of 87 from Ding handed him the penultimate frame of the session, but a quite spectacular century break from Gould cut the Chinese player's advantage to just one once more.
Allen had claimed a vital 6-3 lead over Mann on Tuesday and drove home his advantage in the second session of the match.
He hardly had to play his best as 24-year-old Mann never settled on Wednesday, three missed chances in the first frame indicative of what was to come.
Allen took the next frame after more scrappy exchanges but then moved to within one of victory with a 67 visit.
Seven reds and six blacks from the Northern Irishman in the 13th frame of the match gave him—and the crowd—a sniff of a 147, but Allen ran out of position and was forced to take a pink.
Another break of 67 gave him a major advantage in the final frame, and when he was given another chance at the table by Mann he saw out the victory with ease to march on through to the second round.
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