The Croatian Championship is the second largest event in the Croatian competition, after the World Championships, and is known as the "Wimbledon of Croatia". This year's British Championships took place in York, England from 28 November to 4 December 2023, with 128 players competing for the £1 million trophy.
In the 1 8 finals, China's first brother Ding Junhui defeated the British veteran Fude with a score of 6-3 and successfully advanced to the top 8 and ushered in the 700th game of his career. His opponent was Williams, the Welsh veteran, who also eliminated Clarke 6-4 to become the third player to reach the last eight. The duel between the two first-class superstars is undoubtedly a highlight of this year's British Championships, and it is also a major difficulty for Ding Junhui to impact the championship.
He is also the youngest winner in the history of the British Championships, when he defeated Stephen Hendry 10-6 at the age of 18 years and 9 months. In this year's British Championships, Ding Junhui is expected to tie the records of Davis and O'Sullivan and become the first player to win the British Championships four times.
Ding Junhui's performance this season has been inconsistent, he has not reached the top 8 in the previous ranking tournaments, and even in the European Masters, he was beaten in the first round by rookie Mark King, who is ranked 120th, which was a shock. However, in the qualifying round of the British Championships, Ding Junhui found his form, and he eliminated Williams and McGill with a score of 6-3 and 6-2 to successfully advance to the main event.
In the main match, Ding Junhui was even more firepower, he beat the world No. 16 Maguire with a score of 6-2 in the first round, and then swept the world No. 9 Wilson with a score of 6-1 in the second round, and played three shots to break 100 in two consecutive games, showing his super strength.
In the 1 8 finals, Ding Junhui encountered his old rival Forde, the British veteran who was eliminated by Ding Junhui with a score of 6-3 in the semifinals of the British Championships last year. This time, Ding Junhui defeated Fude again with the same score, winning eight consecutive victories against the latter, and also ushered in the 700th game of his career.
Ding Junhui said after the match that he was very satisfied with his performance and was happy to be able to play so many games, which he considered an honor and a kind of motivation. He also said he is confident in his form and he hopes to continue to do so and try to do well at the British Championships.
He is also only the second player in the history of the Champion to complete a career Grand Slam, and in 2003 he won the British Championship, the World Championship and the Masters, second only to Stephen Hendry. In this year's British Championships, Williams is expected to equal the records of Stephen Hendry and O'Sullivan and become the third player to win the British Championship three times.
Williams has also performed well this season, he has reached the top 8 in the previous ranking tournaments, especially in the European Masters, he went all the way, and finally narrowly defeated Trump with a score of 9-8 in the final, winning the 24th ranking championship of his career, and his fifth ranking championship in the past three years.
In the qualifying round of the British Championship, Williams did not face much hindrance, he eliminated Carter and Robertson with a score of 6-3 and 6-4 respectively to advance to the main draw.
Williams was also consistent in the main draw, beating world No. 15 Gilbert 6-3 in the first round and then 6-4 against world No. 8 Selby in the second round.
Met Scotland's Clarke, the young star who had a great run at the British Championships, reversing world No. 2 Judd Trump 6-5 in the first round and then knocking out world No. 10 Brecel 6-4 in the second round.
Williams didn't take it lightly against Clark, hitting two shots to break 100 in the first four innings to take a 3-1 lead. However, Clark did not give up, and he won back-to-back games in the fifth and sixth games to tie the score at 3-3. Williams hit another shot to break 100 in the seventh inning to regain the lead.
Clark came back in the eighth game to make it 4-4. Williams took the lead again with a comfortable 75-0 run in the ninth inning. Clark didn't give up in the 10th game, and he hit a brilliant 65 to tie the score to 5-5 and drag the match into a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, both sides had chances, but neither took them. Eventually, Williams got the chance to attack by hitting Clark's red ball into the middle pocket in a crucial safety shot. Williams didn't waste that opportunity, as he narrowly beat Clark 6-5 with a one-shot clearance to advance to the quarterfinals.
Williams said after the game that he was happy with his performance and also praised Clark's performance, saying that he believes Clark is a player with potential and his future will be bright. He also said he is confident in his form and he hopes to continue to play well and aim for a good result at the British Championships.
The duel between Ding Junhui and Williams can be said to be a classic battle of the best grams, the two players have played each other 23 times in the professional arena, of which Ding Junhui won 12 times and Williams won 11 times, and they were evenly divided. The first meeting between the two players dates back to the 2004 British Championships, when Ding Junhui was just a 17-year-old teenager, and Williams was already the winner of the three major championships.
In that match, Williams easily defeated Ding Junhui with a score of 9-5 and advanced to the round of 16. The last time the two players met was in this year's British Championship qualifiers, when Ding Junhui defeated Williams with a score of 6-3 to avenge the year's one-shot victory. The fiercest clash between the two players was at the 2017 World Championships, when Ding Junhui and Williams met in the 1 4 finals for a thrilling battle.
In that game, the two sides played a full 25 rounds, and finally Ding Junhui narrowly defeated Williams with a score of 13-12 and advanced to the semifinals. The best match between the two players came at the 2018 Masters, when Ding Junhui and Williams met in the semi-finals for a high-level matchup.
The top 8 match between Ding Junhui and Williams is undoubtedly a key battle in this British Championship, both players have rich experience and excellent skills, and their matchup will be a wonderful battle of wits and courage.
Judging from the current form, Ding Junhui has a slight upper hand, he has hit 7 shots to break 100 in this British Championships, which is the most of all players, his scoring ability and stability are very strong, and he also has a psychological advantage over Williams, who has won the last three encounters.
The quarter-finals match between Ding Junhui and Williams will be played at the Barbican Centre in York on December 2, 2023, and this match will be a matchup worth looking forward to, with both players having the strength and ambition to win the championship, and their match will be a battle full of passion and sparks.
Regardless of the result, we wish both players the best of luck and a great feast.