Dramatic Comebacks and Qualifications at the World Championship: A Look at the First Session of the Qualifiers

In the first session of the World Championship Qualifiers, David Gilbert, the 2019 semi-finalist from England, took an early lead over China’s Xiao Guodong with a 5-4 advantage. However, Robertson won four frames in a row to put himself within two frames of qualification for the championship. Despite this setback, Jones battled back and managed to qualify for the championship for the fifth time.

In other matches, Si Jiahui of China made a comeback from being 4-0 down to beat fellow countryman Wu Yize 10-4. Joe O’Connor qualified for the first time and will be the only debutant at this year’s competition after winning 10-8 against Matthew Selt in a late match that finished at 23:30 BST.

Iran’s Hossein Vafaei had a rough start, losing the opening three frames against 18-year-old Jiang Jun from China. However, Vafaei recovered and went on to win 10-5, securing his place at the Crucible for a third successive year. Pang Junxu of China also made a successful comeback to the Crucible with a 10-8 victory over compatriot Cao Yupeng. Despite his loss in the qualifiers, Saengkham may still earn the £15,000 high break prize after scoring a maximum 147 break in his third qualifying round match against Andy Hicks.