On February 14, 2024, Beijing time, the second day of the ** Welsh Open, the performance of Chinese players was not satisfactory, only Si Jiahui and Fan Zhengyi successfully advanced, while Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong, Tian Pengfei, Ma Hailong, etc. all lost in the game. It is worth mentioning that after Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong lost, they tasted hot pot with O'Sullivan and seemed to be in a good mood.
On this match day, a number of Chinese players participated in the competition to try to reach the round of 32, but the results were not satisfactory. Ding Junhui was in a sluggish state and made frequent mistakes, and finally lost to Robbie Williams 2-4 and missed the round of 32. Xiao Guodong lost to Barry Hawkins 3-4 after 7 rounds of hard fighting. Long Zehuang lost 1-4 to Anthony McGill, Tian Pengfei lost 1-4 to John Higgins, and Ma Hailong lost 0-4 to Mark Allen.
Only Fan Zhengyi eliminated Ben Mertens 4-2 and Si Jiahui eliminated Andrew Padgett 4-2, and the two Chinese players successfully advanced to the round of 32. Overall, the Chinese athletes' performance in the first two days of the competition was not satisfactory, which may have something to do with the lack of systematic training during the Spring Festival.
Interestingly, after Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong lost, they tasted hot pot with O'Sullivan, and O'Sullivan also watched the game while eating, looking very focused. Perhaps O'Sullivan expressed his blessings for the Spring Festival to the Chinese players in this way. He selectively participates in competitions, and his life seems very leisurely.
Defending champion Robert Milkins, Barry Hawkins, Gary Wilson, Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, John Higgins, Jack Lisowski and Mark Allen all advanced to the round of 32. Except for Ding Junhui, the performance of the other players is relatively normal.
The next match day will be the round of 64 to the round of 32, in which Fu Jiajun will face Zach Shuerdi, Wu Yize will face Graeme Dort, and Zhang Anda will face Jack Jones. In addition, Selby, Luca Brecel, Kyren Wilson, Tom Forde and other famous players will also try to reach the round of 32. After the top 32 is confirmed, the top 32 will continue to advance to the top 16, and we look forward to the good luck of the Chinese players!