2023 Scottish Open (snooker)

The 2023 Scottish Open (officially the 2023 BetVictor Scottish Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 11 to 17 December 2023 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the tenth ranking event of the 2023–24 season (following the Snooker Shoot Out and preceding the World Grand Prix), the third tournament in the Home Nations Series (following the English Open and Northern Ireland Open and preceding the Welsh Open), and the sixth of eight tournaments in the season's European Series. Sponsored by BetVictor, the tournament was broadcast by Eurosport and Discovery+ in the UK and Europe, and by other broadcasters worldwide. The winner received the Stephen Hendry trophy and £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000.

Qualification for the tournament took place from 30 October to 2 November at the Morningside Arena in Leicester. Qualifying matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings and two Scottish wildcards were held over to be played at the main venue in Edinburgh. World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the tournament before his held-over qualifying match against Liam Graham.

Gary Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Joe O'Connor 92 in the final of the 2022 tournament. Wilson successfully retained the title, defeating first-time ranking finalist Noppon Saengkham 95 in the final to win the second ranking title of his career. The main stage of the tournament produced 59 century breaks, in addition to the 19 centuries made in the qualifying rounds. Stuart Bingham made the tournament's highest break, a 145 in his last-64 match against Manasawin Phetmalaikul.

Format

The event took place from 11 to 17 December 2023 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. All matches were played as the best of seven until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frames match played over two .

Broadcasters

The qualifying matches were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe (including the UK); , Youku, and Huya in China; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.

The main stage of the event was broadcast by Eurosport, Discovery+, and DMAX in Europe (including the UK and Ireland); Liaoning TV, Migu, and Huya in Mainland China; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; TrueVisions in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; Premier Sports Network in the Philippines; Fastsports in Pakistan; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.

Prize fund

The tournament winner received the Stephen Hendry trophy. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:

* Winner: £80,000
* Runner-up: £35,000
* Semi-final: £17,500
* Quarter-final: £11,000
* Last 16: £7,500
* Last 32: £4,500
* Last 64: £3,000
* Highest break: £5,000

* Total: £427,000

Summary

Qualifying round

Qualifying for the event took place from 30 October to 2 November 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. All qualifying matches were the best of seven frames. The match between Chris Wakelin and Mark Joyce, due to be played on 30 October, was rescheduled to 31 October due to Wakelin's participation in the Northern Ireland Open final on 29 October. Wakelin defeated Joyce 42. Jimmy White recorded his first win of the season with a 43 defeat of Duane Jones, who replaced Marco Fu in the draw after Fu withdrew from the event. Scott Donaldson came from 13 down to beat Ashley Hugill 43. James Cahill defeated Stan Moody 43.

Early rounds

Held-over qualifying matches

The held-over qualifying matches were played on 11 December. That morning, the World Snooker Tour announced that world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan had withdrawn from the event and would not play that afternoon as scheduled. His opponent, Liam Graham, received a walkover, but criticised O'Sullivan for his late withdrawal, calling it "disrespectful." O'Sullivan responded that he had withdrawn the previous evening and said he "did not leave it to the last minute."

Ding Junhui David Grace 40. Elliot Slessor made a century break of 104 to tie the scores at 33 against defending champion Gary Wilson, but Wilson won the with a 90 . Sam Craigie trailed ninth seed Mark Williams 03, but won four frames in a row to clinch a 43 victory, making a century break of 126 in the deciding frame. Reigning World Champion Luca Brecel whitewashed Iulian Boiko 40 despite arriving at the venue just before the match, due to a delayed flight. Seventh seed Shaun Murphy lost 14 to Liu Hongyu, and 16th seed Hossein Vafaei was defeated 34 by Daniel Wells. The 14th seed Barry Hawkins made century breaks of 127 and 100, but lost 34 to Pang Junxu.

In the evening session, 12th seed Robert Milkins was whitewashed 04 by Mark Davis. Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski, and John Higgins also whitewashed their respective opponents Sydney Wilson, Mohamed Ibrahim, and Oliver Brown. World number two Trump revealed afterward that being scheduled to play on tables two and three earlier in the season had given him "extra incentive" to return to the main table. Jamie Jones defeated fifth seed Mark Allen 42 with century breaks of 141 and 103.

Last 64

The last-64 matches were played from 11 to 13 December. Martin Gould withdrew from the tournament, and his opponent Zhou Yuelong received a walkover. Zhang Anda defeated fourth seed Trump 42. Brecel beat Cahill 43, and Aaron Hill defeated 13th seed Lisowski 41. Liu Hongyu and Lyu Haotian whitewashed their respective opponents Zak Surety and Jackson Page 40. He Guoqiang won the first frame against Higgins after needing two , but Higgins took the next four frames to win 41. Higgins attempted a maximum break in frame three, but missed the ninth to end the break at 65. Higgins described some of his shots "amateurish" and "pathetic", commenting: " waspoor, really poor. I'm just lucky he didn't put me under any pressure really because I was all over the place."

Mark Selby made a century break of 115 in the second frame and led Matthew Stevens 32. Stevens won the sixth frame to take the match to a decider, which Selby won with a 64 break to clinch a 43 victory. The match between Jimmy Robertson and Jimmy White went to a deciding frame after midnight; White won on the last black for a 43 victory. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made two century breaks of 105 and 115 to lead Wakelin 20, but Wakelin replied with a century of 110, and went on to win the match 42. Defending champion Gary Wilson trailed Xing Zihao 13, but won three frames in a row for a 43 victory, making century breaks of 130 and 125 in frames five and six. The previous year's runner-up Joe O'Connor defeated Donaldson 41. The 17th seed Ryan Day lost 34 to Ashley Carty. The 20th seed Stuart Bingham whitewashed Manasawin Phetmalaikul 40, making breaks of 135 and 145 in the first two frames. Kyren Wilson made breaks of 126, 74, 129, and 106 to whitewash Jordan Brown 40, with Brown scoring just 13 points in the match.

Last 32

The last-32 matches were played from 13 to 14 December. Noppon Saengkham defeated 11th seed Ali Carter 42, and Brecel was beaten 24 by Martin O'Donnell. Matthew Selt trailed Selby 13, but won three consecutive frames to clinch a 43 victory. Anthony McGill made a century break of 100 to level the scores at 22 against Pang, and also took the next two frames for a 42 win. The match between Tom Ford and Ding was level at 11 after century breaks of 105 from Ford, and 118 from Ding in the first two frames. They were level twice more at 22 and 33 to enter a deciding frame, which Ford won with a 81 break for a 43 victory. Higgins also defeated Ricky Walden 43 in a deciding frame. From 03 behind, Kyren Wilson won four consecutive frames to defeat David Gilbert 43, narrowly winning the sixth frame on the last black. Dominic Dale beat Jimmy White 41. Zhang defeated Si Jiahui 42. Wakelin whitewashed Craigie 40. O'Connor came from 13 behind against Gary Wilson to level at 33 and force a decider, which Wilson won for a 43 victory. Rory Thor beat Carty 43 to reach his first last-16 match.

Last 16

The last-16 matches were played on 14 December. Sanderson Lam defeated McGill 41 to reach his first ranking quarter-final. Higgins was tied at 22 with Lyu, but won the match 42. Ford trailed O'Donnell 12, but won three frames in a row for a 42 victory. Selt made breaks of 91 and 99 to lead Saengkham 21, but Saengkham won the next two frames with breaks of 113 and 79 to lead 32. Selt forced a decider but Saengkham made a 93 break to secure a 43 victory. Bingham made breaks of 119, 68, 65, and 89 to whitewash Zhang 40. Gary Wilson defeated Thor 41. He twice attempted maximum breaks in the match, but ran out of position after the 11th red in frame three and had to play for the , and missed the 12th black in frame five. Zhou whitewashed Dale 40, making breaks of 138 and 88 in frames two and three. Kyren Wilson led Wakelin 20, but Wakelin won four frames in a row, making breaks of 64, 79, and 75, to win 42.

Later rounds

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played on 15 December as the best of nine frames. In the afternoon session, Zhou made a century break of 100 in the first frame and went on to lead Bingham 41. Bingham won three frames in a row, including a century break of 142 in the sixth frame, to level at 44, but Zhou won the deciding frame with a 70 break for a 54 victory. Gary Wilson made breaks of 68, 96, 118, 68, and 82 to whitewash Wakelin 50. After the match Wilson said: "It was nice to play pretty good for a change. It was a long time coming. I had a bad start to the season and it was just nice to find something and play how I know I can."

Saengkham was level at 22 with Lam at the mid-session interval, but won three of the next four frames to clinch the match 53. Higgins made a century break of 132 in the first frame against Ford, and went on to lead 30. Ford made breaks of 58, 56, and 99 to level at 33, but Higgins won the next two frames for a 53 win. After the match Higgins said: "It was a big win for me. I've lost a few times to Tom ordand he is such an improved player. His head doesn't really go the way it used to in previous years. He is a top player. I know I'm going to have to play well tomorrow night now."

Semi finals

The semi-finals were played on 16 December as the best of eleven frames. In the first semi-final, Zhou took a 53 lead, but Wilson made breaks of 122 and 54 to tie the scores at 55. Zhou made a break of 69 in the deciding frame and celebrated after potting the to lead by 31 points with just 22 remaining. However, Wilson obtained foul points from three , and then won the frame on a to clinch a 65 victory. Afterwards, Wilson said: "I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked. I'm shaking like a leaf here. It was just one of those crazy games. It wasn't a great game. I was really struggling technically. I just fought and fought."

In the second semi-final, Higgins made breaks of 130 and 90 to lead Saengkham 31, but Saengkham took five frames in a row with breaks of 133, 120, and 83 to win 63 and reach his first ranking final. Saengkham said: "When I was 31 down I just had a 15-minute break. I felt nervous and went back to talk with my wife and aughterlittle Believe. I knew it could either happen again and I could lose in another semi-final or I could win today. I just tried to stay in the game and control something. I did it today."

Final

The best-of-17-frame final was played over two sessions on 17 December between defending champion Gary Wilson and first-time ranking finalist Saengkham. Wilson made breaks of 90, 62, and 66 for a 31 lead, which he extended to 72 with breaks of 79, 105, 78, and 81. Saengkham won the next two frames with breaks of 132 and 97, narrowing Wilson's lead to 74. Wilson took frame 12 to move within one frame of victory. Saengkham won the 13th frame, but Wilson won the 14th with a 53 break to clinch the match 95, successfully defending the title and claiming his second ranking event victory. After the match, Wilson said: "This game is crazy. I was absolutely nowhere for quite a while and didn't expect anything this week. Slowly but surely I found a little bit and a little bit more, to the point where I am actually quite proud of myself for the final. I've wanted to play in a final again and play in a solid way like I used to play when I was younger. I felt like I played that way." Saengkham said: "I have to give all of the credit to Gary. In the first session he was very strong. He scored very heavily and he controlled everything with the safety game. I had so much pressure because he didn’t miss and was very good."

Main draw

The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners. All matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frames match played over two .

Top half

:Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Bottom half

Final

Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 30 October to 2 November at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, although matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings and two Scottish wildcards (Jack Borwick and Amaan Iqbal) were held over to be played at the final venue. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners.

Edinburgh

The results of the held-over matches played in Edinburgh on 11 December were as follows:

Morning session

* 4–3
* 4–2
* 4–2
* 4–0

Afternoon session

* w/d–w/o
* 3–4
* 3–4
* 4–3
* 3–4
* 1–4
* 1–4
* 4–0

Evening session

* 4–2
* 0–4
* 4–0
* 2–4
* 4–0
* 4–0

:Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Leicester

The results of the qualifying matches played in Leicester were as follows:

30 October

* 3–4
* 4–2
* 2–4
* 4–0
* 4–3
* 4–0
* 4–0
* 1–4
* 4–2
* 4–0
* 4–1

31 October

* 2–4
* 2–4
* 0–4
* 4–3
* 4–3
* 1–4
* 4–2
* 1–4
* 4–1
* 4–2
* 4–2
* 4–0
* 1–4

1 November

* 4–2
* 2–4
* 2–4
* 4–3
* 0–4
* 4–3
* 1–4
* 1–4
* 4–0
* 4–0
* 4–1
* 2–4

2 November

* 4–0
* 0–4
* 0–4
* 4–1
* 0–4
* 4–3
* 4–3
* 4–0
* 3–4
* 2–4

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

A total of 59 century breaks were made during the main stage of the tournament in Edinburgh.

* 145, 142, 135, 128, 119 Stuart Bingham
* 143 Jack Lisowski
* 142 Judd Trump
* 141, 103 Jamie Jones
* 140 Cao Yupeng
* 138, 102 Ali Carter
* 138, 106, 100 Zhou Yuelong
* 135 Martin O'Donnell
* 133, 132, 126, 120, 113, 101, 100 Noppon Saengkham
* 133, 127 Luca Brecel
* 132, 130 John Higgins
* 130, 125, 122, 118, 105 Gary Wilson
* 129, 126, 109, 106, 102 Kyren Wilson
* 127, 100 Barry Hawkins
* 126 Sam Craigie
* 120 Andrew Higginson
* 119 Robbie Williams
* 118, 115, 103 Ding Junhui
* 115, 105 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
* 115 Mark Selby
* 115 Si Jiahui
* 114 Zhang Anda
* 113 Rory Thor
* 112 Ricky Walden
* 110 Chris Wakelin
* 107 Jimmy Robertson
* 105 Tom Ford
* 104 Elliot Slessor
* 102 Aaron Hill
* 101 Liam Highfield
* 100 Anthony McGill

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 19 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Leicester.

* 139, 100 Ben Mertens
* 138 Xu Si
* 134, 129 Zhou Yuelong
* 133, 120 Yuan Sijun
* 130 Jordan Brown
* 129 Liam Highfield
* 125, 106 Jak Jones
* 116 Tom Ford
* 115 David Gilbert
* 113 Cao Yupeng
* 113 Noppon Saengkham
* 106 Ryan Day
* 105 Zak Surety
* 102 Tian Pengfei
* 100 Jenson Kendrick

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish Open, 2023
Scottish Open
Sport in Scotland
Home Nations Series
European Series
December 2023 sports events in the United Kingdom
2023 Scottish Open