It was a dramatic opening night at the World Grand Prix with a series of electrifying performances and heart-shattering results. At the heart of these thrilling displays was Ronnie O’Sullivan, who progressed to the second round of the tournament.
On the other hand, the duo of former world champion, Mark Selby and UK Championship runner-up, Stephen Maguire, can now kiss the trophy goodbye after failing to take out their opponents.
All three members of the world’s top 16 faced contrasting fortunes, with Ronnie the only one to come out unscathed. The 36-ranking titles winner who hasn’t participated much in tournaments this term competed in 2020 for the very first time. He opened his 2020 campaign with a duel against David Gilbert.
Both players had a fair share of the spoils after two frames before Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled away clear with a 3-1 scoreline despite not being at his very best.
In what was a tricky and keenly contested affair, Gilbert drew his sword and forced a leveler with superb breaks of 69 and 119. It was the Rocket who, however, came out tops in the deciding frame and did so very confidently. Ronnie bit hard into Gilbert’s World Grand Prix with a magnificent 129. Definitely the end of the road for David Gilbert!
O’Sullivan, who came out victorious in the 2018 Grand Prix tournament, would need to be at his very best to retain the title. A good run this week would also help him have a good standing in the Coral Series order of merit.
The much-talked-about Coral Series consists of the Player Championship, Tour Championship, and the World Grand Prix. Only the top 16 professionals in the one-year rankings list are poised to be invited to the Player Championship, another tournament which Ronnie won last time out. However, the 44-year-old is currently 19th on the provisional standings and is in danger of not qualifying for the tournament in the first place.
Elsewhere, Selby crashed out to Xiao Guodong after the Chinese cueist took him out in the deciding frame of a seven-frame game. Selby’s run of 131, 111, and 83 breaks were quickly nullified by the Chinese runs of 101, 89, and 78 before his opponent then finished it off in the deciding frame.
Written by: Roland Arum
