2024 International Championship: World No1 Qualify with Ease as Jimmy White Is Whitewashed
The qualifiers for some of the key events on the World Snooker Tour calendar continue to come thick and fast. Only a day after the final line-up for the Northern Ireland Open was settled at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, the opening stages of the International Championship began at the same venue with world No. 1 Judd Trump and Mark Williams making a winning start to their respective campaigns.
World No. 1 Judd Trump bounced back in style from his quarter-final defeat to Mark Allen at the British Open by completing a 6-1 win over Chris Totten to qualify for the International Championship.
After losing 5-3 to Allen on Friday night in Cheltenham, Trump quickly put that reverse behind him in Sheffield on Monday afternoon.
Breaks of 54, 66, 103, 60 and 71 were enough to see the former world champion ease through after Scottish professional Totten claimed the opener with a 55.
Trump, winner of the International Championship in 2012 and 2019, will face Sanderson Lam or Alexander Ursenbacher when the final stage of the event begins in the Chinese city of Nanjing on November 3.
Mark Williams was equally convincing in his 6-0 drubbing of Haris Tahir as the Welshman produced knocks of 75, 100, 79 and 58 to illustrate his formidable scoring power.
The three-time Crucible winner will next encounter Mark Davis or Baipat Siripaporn.
But six-time world finalist Jimmy White suffered a 6-0 whitewash defeat to Anthony Hamilton in crashing out in his opener.
White edged Jackson Page 4-3 to qualify for the Northern Ireland Open on Sunday, but could not replicate that success.
Former German Masters champion Hamilton finished with three 50-plus breaks to advance to a meeting with Shaun Murphy or Louis Heathcote in the round of 64.
Qualifying continues until Wednesday, with seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan beginning his title bid against former women’s world champion Mink Nutcharut at the finals venue.
The International Championship runs between November 3-10 and is live on Eurosport and discovery+, with Zhang Anda defending the prestigious title.
CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST RESULTS
Judd Trump 6-1 Chris Totten
Mark Williams 6-0 Haris Tahir
Wu Yize 6-4 Wang Yuchen
Xiao Guodong 6-3 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Anthony Hamilton 6-0 Jimmy White
Chris Wakelin 6-2 Cheung Ka Wai
Anthony McGill 6-1 Ashley Carty
Pang Junxu 6-1 Iulian Boiko